123: A new continental order! (Two-in-one)

"Is anyone still alive?"

Bone Douluo called out, his voice spreading rapidly over the palace ruins as he listened for any signs of breathing within.

One after another, there were indeed many still alive.

Of course, they weren't the nobles in the Star-Plucking Tower; those people had all died when the great wave crashed down.

At that moment, the sound of footsteps echoed from a distance.

Spirit Masters from the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School arrived quickly.

"Venerable Bone..."

Bone Douluo nodded slightly and said, "There are many survivors. Get them out."

"Yes!" The Spirit Masters immediately sprang into action.

Bone Douluo walked to the ruins of a palace ahead, grabbed a wall, and lifted it. Debris and rubble tumbled off the surface.

Soon, the space beneath the wall was revealed—a triangular pocket of space where two girls were huddling together.

"You... who are you?"

A short-haired girl asked with a trembling voice.

"Bone Douluo of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School. I am here to rescue the palace."

Bone Douluo said indifferently.

The girl stood up hastily and bowed respectfully to Bone Douluo. "Thank you for saving my life, Mr. Bone. I... I am Princess Xue Ke."

Bone Douluo gave a non-committal grunt, not paying much mind.

At this point, let alone a princess, even the Emperor no longer commanded much prestige.

The direct summoning of divine punishment had laid the entire Imperial Palace to waste.

This represented the decline of imperial power.

The kingdoms and duchies that relied on the Heaven Dou Empire were likely to become restless.

Princess Xue Ke saw Bone Douluo turn to leave and hurried to catch up, though she didn't dare touch him. She asked, "Mr. Bone, our palace, how did it..."

As the words left her mouth, Princess Xue Ke saw the surrounding scene.

What was once a magnificent complex of palaces was now a complete ruin.

“...” Princess Xue Ke’s eyes widened. She covered her mouth as tears fell drop by drop, looking at everything around her in disbelief.

Her home, the Imperial Palace, had actually turned into this?

In a single day... was this a nightmare?

Bone Douluo seemed to see what she was thinking and said directly, "It is real. Your Father Emperor opposed the Azure Dragon Temple, and so the Azure Dragon Divine Lord brought down divine punishment, resulting in this end."

"No..." Princess Xue Ke still couldn't believe it.

Just then, a voice rang out.

"A'Ke, Mr. Bone is right. Father Emperor did wrong, and that is why he invited divine punishment and fell to this state."

"Xue Qinghe" arrived from a distance, leading a troop of soldiers.

Bone Douluo raised an eyebrow, looking at "Xue Qinghe" with interest.

Now that the palace was destroyed and Emperor Xue Ye along with the noble ministers were dead, the Crown Prince had actually brought out an army. What was he planning?

"Big Brother!"

Princess Xue Ke cried out and threw herself into "Xue Qinghe's" arms.

"It's alright, everything is over. Big Brother will take care of you; I won't let you be frightened anymore."

"Xue Qinghe" gently patted Princess Xue Ke's back and then ordered, "Begin the rescue operations immediately. Request the Spirit Masters from the Heaven Dou Imperial Academy to assist..."

"Xue Qinghe" deployed everyone in an orderly fashion, starting the rescue work.

Bone Douluo took a deep look at "Xue Qinghe," feeling a sense of foreboding.

The Heaven Dou Empire was likely about to face a major change... On an official road.

A carriage was traveling at high speed, kicking up clouds of dust.

Though it looked like an ordinary carriage from the outside, it was pulled by four fine steeds, and the driver was a skilled hand.

Suddenly, a figure appeared on the carriage frame.

"Enough, stop. How much longer are you going to run?"

Poison Douluo said indifferently.

"Brother Dugu! You actually came to see me!"

The carriage curtain was pulled open, revealing Prince Xue Xing's pale, old face.

He immediately said to the driver, "Alright! Slow down! With Brother Dugu here, I won't run anymore! No more running!"

The driver tightened the reins and slowed the carriage.

Poison Douluo followed Prince Xue Xing into the carriage cabin.

There was almost no decoration inside, only a wool blanket spread over the seat.

"You certainly know how to switch from luxury to simplicity now," Poison Douluo teased.

Prince Xue Xing gave a sheepish, bitter smile. "I was afraid that being too flashy would invite the punishment of the Azure Dragon Divine Lord. Sigh, the more I think about it now, the more I feel that life is precious..."

Poison Douluo said, "Consider yourself lucky. The Azure Dragon Divine Lord did not pursue your matter."

Prince Xue Xing was first delighted, then suspicious. "How does Brother Dugu know?"

Poison Douluo pointed outside and said flatly:

"Do you really think you can escape the Azure Dragon Divine Lord's control? Since you aren't dead, it means the Divine Lord didn't insist on your death."

"Furthermore, the dark clouds outside have already dispersed."

Otherwise, why would Poison Douluo risk coming to find Prince Xue Xing?

Prince Xue Xing breathed a sigh of relief, knelt toward the sky, and whispered, "Azure Dragon Divine Lord above, thank you for your mercy in sparing my life. I have infinite respect for you..."

Poison Douluo watched from the side, a cold sneer on his lips.

This fellow was truly shameless!

No wonder he could hold a place in the imperial court.

"I don't want to deal with the matter of Xue Beng and the Crown Prince, nor am I in the mood to look after Xue Beng. I came to tell you about the situation at the palace..."

Poison Douluo recounted how the Imperial Palace had been turned into ruins.

“!!!”

Prince Xue Xing's face turned deathly pale. "All dead... all dead. The Divine Lord is truly peerless in his Divine Power..."

If he hadn't been clever enough to leave and seek support from various Sects,

He would probably be dead meat by now!

Fortunately... he really felt like he couldn't help but secretly worship the Azure Dragon Divine Lord in his manor now.

After today's events, who would dare not take the Azure Dragon Temple seriously?

"If nothing goes wrong, the Crown Prince will likely take power," Poison Douluo added.

"How can that be?! His Majesty isn't dead yet! He's just hidden away somewhere!"

Prince Xue Xing shouted unwillingly.

He was set on opposing "Xue Qinghe"; how could he watch the other party smoothly inherit the throne?

"No! I have to go back! Brother Dugu! Take me back quickly!"

Prince Xue Xing panicked, grabbing Poison Douluo's arm.

Poison Douluo nodded; this was exactly why he had come.

Otherwise, he wouldn't be willing to help Prince Xue Xing deal with "Xue Qinghe"... A few days later.

The shocking news that the Heaven Dou Imperial Palace had been leveled and the court nobles slaughtered spread rapidly.

This left the Heaven Dou Empire in a state of being a leaderless dragon.

The Balak Kingdom was the first to declare independence, stating they would no longer pay homage to the Heaven Dou Empire.

Many duchies followed suit, all clamoring for independence.

The Star Luo Empire was even more direct, launching a national war. Within three days, they annexed seven cities of the Heaven Dou Empire!

Report after report reached Heaven Dou City.

Leaving "Xue Qinghe," who was acting as regent, with a massive headache.

She didn't even know if Emperor Xue Ye was actually dead or not.

Because body doubles were usually kept in the palace underground.

But now, almost all the nobles in the palace were dead.

She had even found four "Emperor Xue Yes," but they were all corpses, and she didn't even know which one was the real person... On the other side, the Azure Dragon Temple outside Heaven Dou City was being worshipped even more fervently by Believers, almost as if the city's population had migrated there.

The Power Of Faith was unprecedentedly strong.

The leaders of the Upper Three Sects were also very sensible. After some private communication, they visited together.

However, the temple was surrounded by layer upon layer of Believers.

If they followed the queue, they estimated they might not even get their turn after three days and nights.

Ning Fengzhi, Sword Douluo, Tang Xiao, Tang Yuehua, and Yu Yuanzhen looked at each other, sensing the difficulty.

Now, they couldn't use their power to clear a path!

Ning Fengzhi frowned slightly and said, "Let's use gold coins. Compensate each person a bit so we can move to the front."

"That works," the others agreed.

Their time was precious; they couldn't waste it waiting in line, could they?

Ning Fengzhi walked up to a Believer, a smile as pleasant as a spring breeze on his face, and asked:

"Sir, I am willing to give you a hundred gold coins in exchange for your position. Would that be alright?"

The Believer looked Ning Fengzhi up and down, then gestured for him to lean in.

Ning Fengzhi did so, curious about what the man wanted to do.

The Believer whispered into Ning Fengzhi's ear, "Are you doubting my faith? You bastard! If we weren't near the temple, I'd definitely beat you to death! Get lost, you loser!"

“...” Ning Fengzhi's expression shifted through several shades.

The dignified Sect Master of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School had actually been threatened by an ordinary person.

Where was the justice in that?

The other man was wary of the Azure Dragon Temple's grounds.

But wasn't he as well?

The Believer patted Ning Fengzhi's shoulder, a smile returning to his face.

"We are all Believers of the Divine Lord, so we're friends. I speak bluntly, so don't mind me, but the words may be rough while the truth is not—don't use that stuff to test a Believer."

“...”

Maintaining a fake smile, Ning Fengzhi returned to the group.

The others couldn't help but laugh.

The usually socially adept Ning Fengzhi had no power here and had instead been lectured. Where was the justice?

Ning Fengzhi gave a bitter smile, looked at the long queue, and shook his head. "We can only wait in line. Let the Sect's Spirit Masters queue up first, and we'll come to replace them when it's almost our turn."

"That's fine..." Yu Yuanzhen and the others nodded.

Then, the group dispersed.

A moment later, they all found themselves at the back of the line, coincidentally gathering together again.

“...”

They looked at each other, all appearing embarrassed.

They had said they would let the Sect Spirit Masters wait for them, yet they had all come to queue personally!

"It is the Azure Dragon Temple, after all. It's understandable..."

Ning Fengzhi said with a laugh.

Yu Yuanzhen and the others nodded, agreeing that it was indeed so.

"Our Sect Spirit Masters are very busy and have other things to do..."

"You know, our Clear Sky Sect was forced into seclusion by Spirit Hall, so we can't really come out now..."

“...”

...Junlin City.

This was the twentieth city captured by the Insurgent Army.

The Insurgent Army's offensive was as sharp and swift as a hot knife through butter. Wherever they went, they first secretly preached their ideals, which quickly dismantled the enemy's will to fight.

Most importantly, they did not slaughter cities; instead, they protected the interests of the common people and overthrew the oppression of the nobility.

In the feudal noble society of the Heaven Dou Empire, this was like a divine army descending from the heavens!

Every time they occupied a city, they immediately mobilized the people, overthrew the nobles to redistribute farmland, and invited teachers to educate the populace and newly recruited soldiers on why they were fighting this war and what they aimed to achieve.

In short, like a prairie fire, the Insurgent Army had already gained momentum!

On this day, at the supreme command post, City Lord Xiao learned of what had happened in Heaven Dou City. Overjoyed, he slammed the intelligence report onto the table, his face full of delight.

"Look! This is great news!"

"Heaven Dou has lost its prestige, and all the powers are breaking it apart!"

"They actually wanted to send an army to suppress us. Now, in every part of the Heaven Dou Empire, those noble forces are likely to start getting restless!"

City Lord Xiao's face was flushed with excitement as he pointed at the descriptions in the report.

Dragon Duke Meng Shu took a look and couldn't help but laugh, nodding. "Things have come to this. Surely more and more people will know that we are practicing the beliefs of the Azure Dragon Divine Lord! More people will join us!"

Dragon Duke Meng Shu's voice was filled with excitement. Originally, he had only wanted to 'invest.'

By having the 'abandoned' members of his Family join the Insurgent Army.

But now, he had fully committed the Meng Family to the Insurgent Army.

Yu Xiaogang laughed loudly. "It's just as I expected! Your Majesty..."

City Lord Xiao and the others were stunned, looking at Yu Xiaogang in confusion.

"Great Master, you've misspoken..."

Yu Xiaogang shook his head, his voice slightly shrill and full of conviction. "Your Majesty, no one understands the current situation better than I do! The Heaven Dou Empire's fortune is at its end, and you are bound to be the heroic leader who replaces them! You will be the founding emperor! You will also..."

The more Yu Xiaogang spoke, the more excited he became, his face turning red. If he could help support an emperor, then he would have proven his talent, wouldn't he?!

It would be best if he could fool the other party into naming him the Imperial Tutor!

When he saw Bibi Dong and Liu Erlong again, or returned to his Family, he would truly be basking in glory!

"Cough... Great Master, please don't get so excited. I never said I wanted to be emperor! Our Insurgent Army is meant to overthrow the old era of nobility. In the new era, there will no longer be emperors or nobles—those bad things that oppress others!"

City Lord Xiao grabbed Yu Xiaogang's arm, feeling awkward.

This guy was really too good at causing trouble, wasn't he?

He was actually thinking of having him declare himself emperor?

He was afraid that if he agreed now, he'd be struck dead by the Divine Lord's lightning the next second!

Yu Xiaogang became unhappy and frowned. "Only by becoming emperor can you make other nobles work diligently for the people!"

If City Lord Xiao didn't become emperor, wouldn't that mean he couldn't be a noble either?

Yu Xiaogang didn't hate nobles; he only hated that he wasn't one!

Dragon Duke Meng Shu and the others watched with varying expressions.

Regardless of whether they felt the same as Yu Xiaogang, at this moment, they all labeled him as an 'idiot.'

Was this the kind of thing one should say out loud?!

Just then, someone else knocked and entered.

"Great Marshal, good news! Spirit Hall, the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan, the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School, and the Clear Sky Sect have all sent letters..."

With the Insurgent Army's momentum, people were already eager to invest!

...Meanwhile, outside Spirit City, the Azure Dragon Temple built by the Believers with their own hands was finally complete.

Several worshipful elders looked down from the sky with varying expressions.

"It's this thing again! I really want to just destroy it!" Lion Douluo said irritably.

Qian Daoliu waved his hand. "You all go back first. I'll stay and see what the situation is."

"Big Brother..."

The others had no choice but to agree.

Qian Daoliu allowed no argument and slowly descended.

As a descendant of the God of Angels, he was very curious about this other temple!