Chapter 178: The God Does Not Favor Fools
Feeling Emperor Xue Ye's cold gaze, Xue Beng's heart turned to ash.
"Speak. Why were you here?" Emperor Xue Ye demanded in a low, severe tone.
Xue Beng came to his senses, looking at his father's uncertain, shifting expression. Gradually, he calmed himself.
The Emperor had not immediately lashed out. Instead, he asked why his son was there.
Xue Beng was no fool—he quickly understood that Emperor Xue Ye did not want to directly label him an evil soul master.
This was a matter of royal dignity. For a prince to consort with evil soul masters would be a humiliating blow to the prestige of the royal family.
Realizing this, a flicker of hope rose in Xue Beng's chest. He hurried to kneel before his father, crying out, "Father, I only wished to aid in the investigation of the prison break. That's why I came here!"
"I thought that since those evil soul masters dared to raid our royal prison, they might also target the Wuhun Hall prison, so I came to help!"
Xue Beng spoke with dramatic emotion, his poor acting making Emperor Xue Ye's mouth twitch slightly.
No one knew his son's true nature better than he did—and this excuse was full of flaws.
"Is that so? Next time you wish to serve the royal family, make sure to prepare thoroughly," Emperor Xue Ye replied smoothly. "Otherwise, being mistaken for an accomplice of evil soul masters brings great shame upon the crown!"
At his side, Platinum Bishop Salas let out a sharp laugh. "Does His Majesty take us for children?"
"Prince Xue Beng was seen with evil soul masters—we witnessed it ourselves. Surely His Majesty doesn't intend to pardon them as mere rumors?"
Emperor Xue Ye's face darkened, but he forced himself to respond, "Bishop Salas jests. Though Xue Beng is spoiled, he would never join evil soul masters."
"Is that so? Then there should be no problem if we inspect his soul tool, correct?" Salas said coldly.
The Emperor's eyes narrowed. He wasn't sure whether Xue Beng truly had ties to evil soul masters, nor what lay hidden inside his soul tool.
Salas's demand was reasonable, yet Emperor Xue Ye felt uneasy.
"The Wuhun Hall prison was just attacked," Salas pressed. "Prince Xue Beng was at the scene—he's a prime suspect. Or does His Majesty forbid even a simple inspection?"
The Emperor's face grew uglier by the second. After a long pause, he turned to Xue Beng and said gravely, "Show your soul tool to Bishop Salas."
Xue Beng's complexion turned pale, and seeing that, Emperor Xue Ye's heart sank.
"Prince Xue Beng, are you hiding something?" Salas asked, his eyes sharp with scrutiny.
"Father! I truly didn't—" Xue Beng began, panicked.
"Hand it over!" Emperor Xue Ye's roar cut him off. His chilling glare left Xue Beng frozen in place.
After a few seconds, Xue Beng lifelessly removed his soul tool.
Inside was the Blood Demon Ritual bestowed upon him by the Original God.
It was the foundation of his ambition to become emperor—but now, it was his downfall.
Salas took the soul tool and quickly found the ritual.
As he flipped through the pages, his expression turned grim upon seeing the words "Original God."
"Emperor Xue Ye, it seems this evil soul master group raiding prisons includes none other than Prince Xue Beng himself."
Salas sneered and held the ritual before the Emperor. "The Blood Demon Ritual—sacrifices offered to the so-called Original God. It appears the widely rumored cult of this god is closely tied to your son."
Emperor Xue Ye glanced at the book. The gruesome sacrificial rites and references to divine worship left him speechless.
"Xue Beng! I thought you were merely frivolous, but to commit such blasphemy—how dare you defy heaven and your lineage!" The Emperor's fury erupted.
Xue Beng panicked completely. He knew that once branded an evil soul master, his claim to the throne was forever lost.
Worse, he might spend the rest of his life in a cell. Wuhun Hall would not spare him, and even his father would abandon him.
The more he thought, the more despair consumed him. Amid the chaos, his gaze fell upon the book in his father's hands, and suddenly, he remembered the Original God.
At once, as if grasping his last hope, he thought—he was the god's chosen messenger! The deity wouldn't forsake his apostle!
Before the stunned Emperor and Salas, Xue Beng prostrated himself and began to kowtow desperately, crying out,
"Original God! Please save me! I am your messenger! You must save me!"
For a while, both men stood frozen. Then Salas looked down at the kneeling prince with mocking amusement.
He had never believed in the so-called Original God. Wuhun Hall worshipped only the Angel God.
Emperor Xue Ye's face flushed red with humiliation, nearly ready to strike his son to death.
Around them, the guards' strange stares burned with contempt, as though asking—how could Emperor Xue Ye have fathered such a disgraceful fool?
Before the Emperor could stop him, Xue Beng suddenly went silent and looked forward in elated disbelief.
In his eyes, a dark shadow appeared before him.
The god had come to save him!
"Original God! You truly came for me!" Xue Beng cried out in joy.
Emperor Xue Ye and Salas looked in the same direction, but there was nothing—only empty air.
Xue Beng crawled forward toward the illusion, but just before his hands reached it, the shadow vanished.
He froze, then panicked.
"Where is the god?! Why did he disappear?!" Xue Beng screamed hysterically.
"Enough!" Emperor Xue Ye roared, utterly enraged.
Xue Beng snapped back, realizing how everyone around looked at him—like a fool performing for their amusement.
"Emperor Xue Ye," Salas said coldly, "Prince Xue Beng cooperated with evil soul masters and aided in raiding our prison. We must take him into custody to uncover the truth."
He gestured for the Wuhun Hall guards, who immediately restrained Xue Beng. Then Salas looked at the livid Emperor.
"You have no objection, I trust?"
Emperor Xue Ye clenched his fists, his face ashen, and finally nodded.
With his consent, the guards dragged Xue Beng away.
"Let me go! I am blessed by the god! I am the future Emperor of Heaven Dou! How dare you treat me like this!" Xue Beng screamed in despair.
The guards ignored him completely, moving forward in silence.
Just as Xue Beng tried to struggle, a voice echoed in his heart: "A god does not favor a fool."
His movements stopped instantly. The voice—it was exactly the same as the "god's."
"A god... does not favor fools…" he murmured, and in that instant, he finally understood.
The so-called god had never existed. He had been played for a fool all along.
(END CHAPTER)
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