Chapter 154: Emperor Xue Ye's Dilemma
"Where is this? Why am I here?" Yu Xiaogang asked in terror.
"Xiaogang, what's wrong with you? Didn't we just escape from the prison? You said the guards were coming, set off the smoke bomb Tang San gave you, and we managed to get out..." Flender replied, frowning.
Yu Xiaogang's expression grew even more alarmed instead of calming down at Flender's words.
He clearly remembered being outside, then losing control of his own body and moving unconsciously to a shop window, after which his consciousness faded. The last thing he saw was his own sinister smile reflected in the glass.
"You said I set off the smoke bomb and warned about the guards?" Yu Xiaogang asked cautiously, having no memory of these events.
"That's right. Why?" Flender found Yu Xiaogang's behavior strange.
Yu Xiaogang fell silent, overwhelmed by an indescribable fear.
"Xiaogang! What's really wrong?" Flender asked again.
Yu Xiaogang forced a strained smile. "It's nothing—probably just inhaled a bit of the toxic smoke and my head's not very clear."
He chose not to share his true experience; it sounded too outlandish.
Flender glanced at him suspiciously, then nodded and carried Yu Xiaogang as they continued hurrying in the direction of Blue Tyrant Academy.
…
Elsewhere at the Great Spirit Arena of Heaven Dou City.
The sudden explosion prevented Fire Dance from continuing the fight with Dugu Yan, and the match ended with Heaven Dou Royal Academy's victory.
Fire Dance was clearly indignant at the result. If not for that distraction, she was confident she could have defeated Dugu Yan.
Both teams returned to their lounges, and at that moment Luo Ling also came back to the arena, running into both teams on the way.
Fire Dance saw Luo Ling, and her mood turned even worse.
Blazing Battle Team had intensely studied tactics to face Luo Ling, but he hadn't even appeared—was he looking down on them?
The more she thought about it, the angrier she became, giving Luo Ling a vicious glare before stomping off toward her team's rest area.
Luo Ling, surprised by her glare, soon spotted Dugu Yan walking up to him.
"How did the match go?" Luo Ling asked, glancing at Fire Dance—her attitude implied Heaven Dou had won.
"Of course we won!" Dugu Yan replied confidently.
As she answered, she recalled the huge noise from outside during the match and asked curiously, "What happened out there? Why was there such a loud explosion?"
"It seems the royal prison was broken into—people say the explosion came from there," Luo Ling replied nonchalantly.
"Prison break?" Dugu Yan's eyes widened in shock.
While they chatted, a guard rushed to Emperor Xue Ye in the VIP box and whispered something in his ear, causing his expression to change dramatically.
Ning Fengzhi and the others nearby also looked surprised.
Despite the guard's low voice, their keen senses picked up every word.
The royal prison had been raided. This was something none of them could have ever expected.
Emperor Xue Ye quickly left the VIP box, with Bishop Salas following closely. Ning Fengzhi hesitated, then chose not to pursue.
…
At the royal prison, chaos reigned.
Broken glass and collapsed walls lay everywhere.
With a grim face, Emperor Xue Ye stared at the prison gates, wide open.
A jailbreak—since becoming emperor, this was the first time he had ever faced such a crisis.
Most prisoners were low-level soul masters or civilians. Only a very few were evil soul masters, the strongest only at Soul King level.
Why would anyone stage a jailbreak for a Soul King? Or even for a lesser soul master?
Emperor Xue Ye couldn't make sense of it.
"What's the situation?" he asked a nearby guard.
"Your Majesty, all the prisoners have disappeared, with a large amount of blood left behind. It appears the criminals not only broke the prisoners out but also carried out a massacre in the prison," the guard reported respectfully.
Emperor Xue Ye's expression grew even more grave. All the prisoners were gone and blood covered the scene—obviously, many had been killed.
Killing all the prisoners in the imperial prison was a blatant provocation to the empire. Rage boiled within him.
"Burn the bodies of the dead prisoners, and immediately send people to investigate who dares commit such crimes in my Heaven Dou Imperial City!" Emperor Xue Ye commanded coldly.
The guard's face showed embarrassment. "Your Majesty, I mean, there aren't actually any bodies—only blood remains. The attackers seem to have removed the corpses."
Emperor Xue Ye was startled. "Even the bodies were taken?"
The guard nodded. "Yes. We suspect an evil soul master group did this, possibly using the soul masters' corpses for spirit power cultivation."
Upon hearing this, Emperor Xue Ye's expression turned solemn.
Using corpses to cultivate spirit power was an absolute taboo—the mark of utterly depraved soul masters.
Normally, such evil soul masters would hide in the shadows, never daring to act in public, let alone targeting the royal prison. Such audacity was unprecedented.
Whoever dared attempt this must either possess horrifying strength and backing, or be a lunatic with nothing to lose.
Either way, this was a delicate problem for the current royal family.
With the Spirit Master Tournament ongoing, mishandling this incident could spark mass panic—a significant blow to imperial authority.
As Emperor Xue Ye agonized over these concerns, a figure emerged from the crowd—it was Crown Prince Xue Qinghe.
Xue Qinghe stepped forward, saluted, and said, "Father, allow me to handle this incident."
Disguised as Xue Qinghe, Qian Renxue smiled gently. "I will uncover whoever is responsible for this atrocity and ensure that the Spirit Master Tournament is not affected!"
Emperor Xue Ye eyed Xue Qinghe, visibly tempted.
He was all too familiar with the rivalry between the crown prince and Xue Beng for the throne. In every way, Xue Qinghe had shown himself supremely capable. Perhaps it really was best to trust him with this matter.
After a moment's consideration, he smiled in approval. "Qinghe, I'll leave this in your hands. Be sure to capture whoever dares trample on the honor of Heaven Dou's royal family!"
"Yes, Father!" Xue Qinghe replied with a smile.
(END CHAPTER)
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