"Hiss—!"
Emperor Xue Ye sucked in a sharp breath, his expression twisting to the extreme.
"H-He… he's already level ninety?!"
Shock.
Envy.
Unwillingness.
And finally—only endless bitterness remained.
Why?!
Why did this old bastard have such absurd luck?!
Dai Tianfeng slowly opened his eyes, feeling the vast, surging spirit power coursing through his body. His entire frame trembled with uncontrollable excitement.
He dropped to his knees and kowtowed heavily in Lin Feng's direction.
"Thank you, Senior, for this tái zào zhī ēn—the grace of rebirth and renewal!"
Then, as if he could no longer contain himself, Dai Tianfeng sprang to his feet, no longer bothering to maintain appearances.
He strode straight toward Emperor Xue Ye and—bang!—slung a thick arm over his shoulder.
The force nearly dislocated Emperor Xue Ye's old bones.
"Oh, Brother Xue!"
Dai Tianfeng's face was lit with an unbearably smug, dazzling grin.
"You were absolutely right just now—completely right!"
He leaned in close, practically shouting into Xue Ye's ear, his voice loud enough for half the restaurant to hear.
"When you're a person, the most important thing is to be happy!"
"Look at this—ah! I accidentally broke through to level ninety!"
He pointed at his own nose, his face screaming Look at me! Envy me!
"I'm so happy… but why do you look like you're not happy for me at all?"
Emperor Xue Ye's teeth ground together with an audible crack.
He felt as if his molars were about to shatter.
Happy?!
I'll be happy when your grandmother's leg falls off!
His chest heaved violently. A mouthful of old blood churned in his throat, threatening to spray straight onto Dai Tianfeng's smug face.
But he couldn't refute a single word.
What could he say?
That he was jealous to the point of insanity?
No.
The dignity of an emperor would never allow that.
So he could only watch helplessly as Dai Tianfeng pranced about before him, showing off without restraint.
His old face cycled through crimson, purple, and green—like a dye shop in full operation.
Yet while Dai Tianfeng was reveling in the double joy of breakthrough and humiliation, he failed to notice—
Behind him, his own son, Dai Weisi, looked even worse than Emperor Xue Ye.
Titled Douluo…
Father was actually about to become a Titled Douluo.
An ordinary Titled Douluo could easily live to one hundred, even one hundred and thirty.
Father was already well preserved. Now, with this breakthrough, he would likely live another seventy or eighty years!
Seventy… eighty years…
Dai Weisi's heart sank inch by inch.
If he didn't encounter some heaven-defying opportunity, whether he himself could ever reach the Titled Douluo realm was unknown.
He might… might even die before his old man.
Then what in the world would he inherit the throne for?!
The moment that thought formed, Dai Weisi felt his life turn bleak. Even the delicious food before him suddenly tasted bland.
Meanwhile—
Xue Beng, whose head had swollen into a pig-like shape and whose eyes were still unfocused, was finally helped up from the floor.
Though beaten half senseless, he hadn't completely lost awareness.
He glanced at Dai Weisi's constipated, grief-stricken expression—like both his parents had died—then looked at his own father, Emperor Xue Ye.
Though Xue Ye was furious and on the verge of exploding, he was still old: white-haired, wrinkled, clearly nearing the end of his lifespan.
Compared to that—
A strange, twisted sense of relief quietly bloomed in Xue Beng's heart.
Driven by the absolute force of "True Self Liberation," the thought bypassed his brain entirely and spilled straight from his mouth.
A murmur—clear enough for everyone to hear—floated distinctly from his sausage-swollen lips.
"Good thing…"
"Good thing my dad's almost dead…"
Silence.
Absolute silence.
The entire restaurant fell so quiet that even a pin dropping would have sounded deafening.
Every gaze snapped toward Xue Beng's pig-headed face.
Especially Emperor Xue Ye's.
His face—already green with rage from Dai Tianfeng—instantly drained of all color, turning deathly pale.
Dai Tianfeng froze for a split second, then hurriedly slapped a massive hand over his mouth.
As if afraid laughing out loud would ruin this perfect moment.
But his violently shaking shoulders and eyes narrowed into slits betrayed his uncontrollable joy.
A good show.
A truly excellent show.
Emperor Xue Ye slowly—inch by inch—lowered his head.
His cloudy, bloodshot eyes locked onto his son.
His voice was soft, squeezed through clenched teeth, yet cold enough to freeze flesh and blood.
"You… what… did you just say?"
Faced with his father's murderous gaze, Xue Beng instinctively trembled.
But under the power of True Self Liberation, his will to survive stood no chance against his genuine thoughts.
He even considered it seriously before answering, earnestly explaining—
"I said… it's a good thing you're almost dead."
Boom!
If the first sentence was a whisper, this one was a thunderclap, detonating directly above Emperor Xue Ye's head.
His body swayed violently, nearly losing balance.
He stared at his "honest" son, desperately searching for even the faintest trace of a joke.
But Xue Beng's next words shattered his final illusion.
"Imperial Father, think about it."
His tone was calm. Logical. Matter-of-fact.
"If you, like Dai Tianfeng, also broke through to Titled Douluo and lived another hundred or eighty years…"
"…then I probably wouldn't become emperor in this lifetime."
"This way is pretty good. I'll just endure a few more years—"
Slap—!!!
A slap louder than any before cracked through the air.
Emperor Xue Ye finally lost all restraint.
This slap used every ounce of his strength, sending Xue Beng tumbling across the floor twice, stars bursting before his eyes.
"Rebellious son!"
"You rebellious son!!!"
Emperor Xue Ye pointed at him, trembling violently, chest heaving as if he might faint at any second.
"I—how could I have given birth to such a disloyal, unfilial creature?!"
"Hahaha—HAHAHAHAHAHA!"
Dai Tianfeng completely lost control.
He slapped his thigh and burst into thunderous laughter, tears nearly streaming from his eyes.
"I can't—hah—I can't take this! I'm dying of laughter!"
Gasping for breath, he pointed at Emperor Xue Ye and Xue Beng.
"Xue Ye! Oh, Xue Ye! Listen—listen to what your precious son is saying!"
"A talent! Truly a once-in-a-generation talent!"
Still laughing uncontrollably, Dai Tianfeng turned and called out to his own son.
"Weisi! Look! Take a good look!"
"This is the future heir of the Heaven Dou Empire—actually praying for his own father to die early!"
"You must never learn from him in the future, do you hear me?!"