Top floor of Moonlight Pavilion.
The elegant, noble lady image was gone; Tang Yuehua's hair was disheveled, her eyes red and swollen, her face haggard.
Having cried and wailed for who knows how long, Tang Yuehua finally calmed down slightly. Recalling what Tang San had said earlier about Tang Hao being killed by treacherous villains, she asked Tang San in a voice raspy from sobbing.
"Little San, tell me. What exactly happened?"
The tone was not loud, but Tang San could clearly hear the bone-deep hatred in Tang Yuehua's words.
Tang San then told Tang Yuehua everything that had happened that day from his perspective, whitewashed, summarized, and concluded.
From the day Yun Ming lured him to the Four Clans Gathering, exposing the truth that his birth mother was a Soul Beast, slandering his parents' relationship and his father's character, to the final intervention of Sword Douluo, his father being forced to his death, his own threats from Yang Wutian to strip his father's bones, and the theft of Tang San's own Spirit Bone. As he spoke, Tang San shed tears of frustration.
Hearing these events one by one, Tang Yuehua trembled uncontrollably with rage. She could hardly imagine how furious and painful Tang Hao must have been to be driven to his death. At the thought of this, Tang Yuehua felt her heart ache terribly, and she whispered with a face full of heartache and sorrow.
"Hao Ge, why were you so foolish?"
Seeing Tang Yuehua so grief-stricken, Tang San felt even more recognition of her status as his aunt. Tang San advised her.
"Aunt, you must take good care of yourself."
"Father certainly wouldn't want to see you so sad."
Hearing her nephew's advice, Tang Yuehua swayed as she stood up from the floor. She raised her hand to stroke Tang San's cheek, forced a smile, and said to him.
"Little San, don't worry."
"Aunt is fine."
She then looked at Tang San, also feeling immense heartache.
"The matter of your father's Spirit Bone is not your fault; all of this is the fault of the Breaking Clan. So you must also take care of yourself, you hear?"
Tang San nodded, tears in the corners of his eyes.
Thinking of the culprits who forced her Hao Ge to his death, Tang Yuehua's tone turned as cold as midwinter.
"As for the Breaking Clan and the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, I, Tang Yuehua, will definitely make them pay for this blood debt in blood!"
While Tang San and Tang Yuehua were grieving in the Moonlight Pavilion, miserable and desolate, our protagonist Yun Ming was currently viewing the scenery and tasting tea with Crown Prince Xue Qinghe.
Today, while Yun Ming was assessing the training results of the Empire Team, he encountered Crown Prince Xue Qinghe, who had come to the Heaven Dou Royal Academy specifically to handle other important matters.
Since it was a coincidence, Qian Renxue had also taken the opportunity to watch the entire assessment of the Empire Team.
As for her thoughts after watching, Qian Renxue felt quite satisfied.
In just over twenty days, Gong Ming and Ye Qingyin had already shown obvious changes and improvements; compared to the last time Qian Renxue saw him fight, Feng Xiaotian's moves were cleaner, more decisive, and more vicious, with a bit of wildness belonging to a beast added to his combat style; furthermore, the others like Yang Yi, Dugu Yan, and Niu Bi were also quite good.
Qian Renxue followed Yun Ming to the Small Courtyard where he lived, and they sat opposite each other drinking tea. During their conversation, Qian Renxue smiled at Yun Ming and said.
"I didn't expect that you, my virtuous brother, not only possess profound cultivation yourself but are also so skilled at teaching students. It truly leaves me in awe."
Yun Ming responded modestly.
"Your Highness is too kind; the members' own hard work is the key."
Qian Renxue responded happily.
"Both are good; you taught them well, and the members learned well."
Yun Ming thanked him for Xue Qinghe's praise.
Qian Renxue did not continue this topic. Having now seen the results of Yun Ming's teaching—that he could teach six different types of Battle Soul Masters and do it well—he must possess an incredibly deep reservoir of soul master theory!
At this point, Qian Renxue recalled the main task for which she had come to the Heaven Dou Royal Academy and said to Yun Ming.
"I wonder if you could do me a favor, virtuous brother?"
Since Xue Qinghe was seeking help, Yun Ming naturally had to listen, and he said directly.
"Your Highness is too polite, please speak."
Qian Renxue continued.
"Five days from now, the Heaven Dou Royal Academy will hold a large-scale soul master teaching seminar. By then, all the primary, intermediate, and advanced soul master academies in Heaven Dou City will send teachers and student representatives to attend."
"I would like to ask you, virtuous brother, to help me hold the stage."
Yun Ming found it strange to hear Xue Qinghe's request. Heaven Dou had good faculty, and although the student quality was lacking, the leading students still had some ability, like the Royal Fight Team. Whether from the student level or the teacher level, the Heaven Dou Royal Academy was not lacking in people, so why did Xue Qinghe want him to help hold the stage?
Qian Renxue saw Yun Ming's hesitation and explained.
"If it were just a simple soul master teaching seminar, there would naturally be no need for you to step in. But this time, there is another reason."
Hearing that there was a hidden story, Yun Ming became interested.
Qian Renxue explained with a solemn expression.
"You likely have some understanding of the situation at the Heaven Dou Royal Academy. The faculty and environment are excellent, but because all the students come from noble backgrounds, a large group of them are good-for-nothing playboys. Although I, Qinghe, have the heart to rectify this, I am truly powerless; the general environment of the Heaven Dou Empire does not allow it."
At this point, Qian Renxue looked at Yun Ming and smiled.
"However, your appearance, virtuous brother, has given me a new line of thought."
"Since I cannot change the Heaven Dou Royal Academy, why don't I set up a new stove for the empire?"
"Since the Heaven Dou Royal Academy cannot cultivate talents for the empire, then I will establish an advanced soul master academy specifically for cultivating talents for the empire!"
Is this truly what Qian Renxue thinks in her heart? Yes and no. She is indeed cultivating talent for the empire, but the premise is that she believes she can seize the Heaven Dou Empire. To put it bluntly, she is cultivating her own loyal subordinates.
If not for Yun Ming, Qian Renxue would not have had this idea. However, after cooperating with Yun Ming and deciding to compete for the championship of this Soul Master Academy Competition against Martial Soul Hall Academy, she collected data on the academy and unexpectedly discovered that, in recent years, they seemed to only recognize the Pope Palace and not the Elder Hall.
After learning of this situation, Qian Renxue conducted a detailed investigation into the whereabouts of the top talents from Martial Soul Hall Academy over the years. She discovered that more and more prodigies were throwing their lot in with her "good sister," which naturally meant fewer people were pledging allegiance to the Elder Hall.
Normally, this wouldn't be a problem. Although the Elder Hall stands high above and ignores worldly affairs, as long as its strength is sufficient, it need not fear the Pope Palace spiraling out of control. But the problem is that this generation's Pope has truly high talent! Even Qian Renxue has to admit that Bibi Dong is a genius of the current age; Qian Renxue wouldn't even be surprised if one day she stood on equal footing with her grandfather, Qian Daoliu.
Although the strength of the soul master world in the Heaven Dou Empire is not weak, most of the power lies in the hands of various soul master families; the empire itself does not control much. Even if she takes over the Heaven Dou Empire later, it is uncertain whether those soul master families will lean toward Bibi Dong or her, Qian Renxue.
Once this situation occurs, the Pope Palace will have sufficient top-tier strength and is already the direct controller of the entire Martial Soul Hall. By then, the Elder Hall will no longer be able to check the Pope Palace. Plus, Bibi Dong has never liked her. As the daughter of the former and current Pope, wouldn't she fail to even become Pope herself in the future?
No! Absolutely not!
Qian Renxue may not care about the position of Pope, but even if the seat is given to someone else later, it must be on the condition that she does not want it.
Qian Renxue's current desire to establish a new soul master academy is actually a layout for the future, preparing her own grassroots foundation.
Yun Ming was somewhat surprised to hear this idea from Xue Qinghe. For a Crown Prince to establish a soul master academy is no different from a mercenary building his own strength; he really isn't afraid of the Emperor's suspicion. No, wait—judging from the current situation, Xue Qinghe has a much higher chance of becoming the next Heaven Dou Emperor than the historical successor, Xue Beng.
Yun Ming recalled what he had recently learned about the Heaven Dou Imperial Family. Anyone with eyes can see that the deaths of the Second Prince and Third Prince must have something to do with Xue Qinghe. The fact that Xue Qinghe can still remain Crown Prince in such a situation means that the current Emperor Xue Ye has essentially tacitly accepted Xue Qinghe's status as the heir.
In that case, it seems it's no big deal for the likely next Heaven Dou Emperor to build an academy.
However, Yun Ming remembered discovering a problem: if Xue Qinghe is basically the nailed-on next Emperor, why would he collude with Martial Soul Hall for a palace coup? In historical records, the former Crown Prince was ousted because he colluded with the evil force, Martial Soul Hall, and failed in a palace coup.
Now that Xue Qinghe's position as Crown Prince is as stable as a rock, there is no need to contact Martial Soul Hall, so the collusion must have happened before.
Following this line of thought, the most likely reason for Xue Qinghe to launch a palace coup was that the collusion with Martial Soul Hall was discovered, making his position unstable, forcing him to take a desperate risk. So, what is this current Xue Qinghe doing?
Yun Ming felt that something crucial was missing here; perhaps only by finding it could the mystery be solved. Yun Ming stopped thinking about these messy problems.
After listening to Xue Qinghe, Yun Ming understood: he felt that the Empire Team had the potential to win the championship in the Soul Master Competition and wanted to pull the Empire Team into the new academy. If the Empire Team succeeded in winning the championship, the new academy would leap to the top. Even if the Empire Team disbanded after the competition, the reputation would remain with the new academy. Thinking of this, Yun Ming asked directly.
"Your Highness, you want to pull the Empire Team into your new academy."
"This time, I hope you can indicate to Heaven Dou that the future affiliation of the Empire Team is the new academy, not the Heaven Dou Royal Academy."
Seeing that Yun Ming had figured it out, Qian Renxue admitted it directly.
"Brother is indeed clever; I do have this thought. I wonder what you think, brother?"
Yun Ming pondered for a moment and looked at Xue Qinghe.
"It is fine for the Empire Team to transfer academies, but it cannot affect their participation in the Soul Master Competition or lower their conditions, standards, and resource supply."
Hearing this question, Xue Qinghe smiled and said.
"That goes without saying. Although the construction of the new academy has not yet begun, there is absolutely no problem in obtaining the qualification for an Advanced Soul Master Academy before the competition starts. Afterward, the training for everyone on the Empire Team will still be at the Heaven Dou Royal Academy; everything will remain unchanged."
Yun Ming nodded; he had no objections. He would just treat it as a favor and a blessing for the Breaking Clan.
Although he didn't understand what Xue Qinghe was trying to do, he still hoped that Xue Qinghe would succeed in taking the throne. Future history told Yun Ming that Xue Beng was really not a good emperor. What he brought to the Heaven Dou Empire was just like his name, a "collapse" (Xue Beng), which planted hidden dangers for the later division of the empire.
Seeing that Yun Ming had agreed, Qian Renxue was overjoyed. She promised Yun Ming.
"Qinghe, on behalf of the empire, thanks you for your help, brother."
"Rest assured, brother. In the future, anything involving the Breaking Clan in Heaven Dou City is my business."
Hearing this, Yun Ming returned the gesture.
"Thank you, Your Highness."
Although with the strength of the Breaking Clan, as long as the Heaven Dou Imperial Family does not specifically target them, there won't be any major trouble, but having an imperial background can make many things much more convenient.
After the two chatted for a while longer, Xue Qinghe took his leave.
Five days later, early morning.
A haggard, beautiful woman dressed in white, accompanied by an ordinary-looking youth in white, arrived at the Northern Cemetery in Heaven Dou City. The two walked along the path inside the cemetery until they reached a marble tombstone facing north. The tombstone read:
'Tang Hao'
That's right, this is the tomb of the continent's legendary figure, the destined father, Clear Sky Douluo Tang Hao. The ones who could come here to see Tang Hao were naturally Tang Yuehua, who had always wanted to play "orthopedics" with him but couldn't, and Tang San, the God King who was not favored by him.
Even though this was not the first time Tang San had come to see Tang Hao, arriving here again, her eyes still turned red, and tears began to well up in her eyes.
Tang Yuehua gently stroked the inscription on Tang Hao's tombstone and said in a choked voice.
"Hao Ge, I'm sorry!"
"Big Brother is in closed-door cultivation seeking a breakthrough to the ninety-sixth level and has not received the news, so he cannot avenge you immediately."
Thinking of the decision made by those elders a few days ago, Tang Yuehua was furious. Tang San felt the same; the Clear Sky Sect's inaction this time left a very bad impression on him.
That's right, five days ago, ever since Tang Yuehua learned of Tang Hao's death, the first thing she did after regaining her reason was to personally go to the Clear Sky Sect to find her and Tang Hao's biological eldest brother, the current strongest of the Clear Sky Sect, Howling Sky Douluo, Tang Xiao, to explain the reason and hope that her brother could come down the mountain to avenge Tang Hao.
But as soon as Tang Yuehua returned to the sect, she heard from Tang Xiao's adopted son, Tang Long, that not long ago, Tang Xiao had a premonition and seemed to have signs of a breakthrough. He was currently in closed-door cultivation and would not come out until he broke through the realm.
With no other choice, Tang Yuehua, eager for revenge, went to find the First Elder of the sect. She hoped that the First Elder would look at the two inherited Spirit Bones and come down the mountain to help Tang Hao take revenge, destroy the Breaking Clan, and take back the Spirit Bones.
But as luck would have it, her conversation with the First Elder was accidentally overheard by the Seventh Elder of the Clear Sky Sect. Of course, this was only what she considered an accident; later, she realized it herself. The First Elder had intentionally let the Seventh Elder hear it.
Because Tang Hao had killed his son back then, the Seventh Elder of the Clear Sky Sect hated Tang Hao to the bone. How could he let his big brother help Tang Hao take revenge? He immediately summoned the remaining five elders of the clan.
In the end, all seven elders knew the cause and effect of Tang Hao's death. Even though the inherited Spirit Bones were taken away and the Breaking Clan and the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect did not take them seriously, making every one of them gnash their teeth in anger, after discussing and weighing the pros and cons, they finally decided to remain still and wait for Tang Xiao to come out of seclusion.
As for the reason, although part of it was their resentment toward Tang Hao, more of it was that they heard the other side had Titled Douluo guarding them, and they dared not make a big move and reveal their tracks in front of Martial Soul Hall. They knew very well in their hearts that five Titled Douluo could not defeat Martial Soul Hall.
Tang Yuehua certainly wouldn't let such a result stand, and she immediately wanted to have Tang Xiao come out of seclusion, but she was blocked by several elders.
Tang Xiao was attempting to break through to Super Douluo this time, and they would not allow anything to affect him. In the end, having gained nothing, Tang Yuehua left the mountain in a rage.
Noticing Little San's expression, Tang Yuehua spoke up to comfort him.
"Little San, don't worry."
"Once your uncle comes out of seclusion, not a single one of them will be able to escape."
"This time, we will start by taking care of that kid named Yun Ming, and we can settle the rest slowly later!"
At this point, Tang Yuehua's voice turned icy. If she did nothing, her conscience would not be at ease, and Yun Ming, whose cultivation was not high, was the first target she had chosen. Furthermore, the time was today!
ps: Seeking subscriptions, monthly tickets, and recommendations.
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Translated by: randomtranslator.com
Proofread by: DaoistReader