Word Count: 3,718 Words
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Heaven Dou City. Princess Wei Na's Manor.
The main hall gleamed with gold and jade, its scarlet-and-gilt walls carved with ancient murals of exquisite craftsmanship. As the Heavenly Soul Emperor's most beloved daughter, Wei Na possessed a residence whose splendor ranked among the finest of all imperial scions.
Deep in the night, she sat alone upon the seat of honor, not a single servant at her side. A thin, translucent golden gown clung softly to her figure, and warm light cascaded from the crystal spirit chandelier overhead, spilling across her bare, snow-pale shoulders and drawing a delicate, lustrous glow from her skin.
Hum—
A faint ripple stirred through space. Golden radiance flickered, and a figure stepped slowly into the chamber. Wei Na lifted her head. The newcomer wore plain white robes of understated elegance, his handsome features like those of an immortal banished to the mortal world, every motion carrying within it the quiet principles of heaven and earth.
Wei Na turned her gaze upon him. Her full, red lips pressed tightly together as she spoke in a voice of carefully measured submission:
"This sinful woman greets Holy Evil Douluo..."
"Princess Wei Na, there's no need for such hypocrisy between us. If you have something to say, speak plainly."
Ling Bai chuckled softly and shook his head. Wei Na was barely twenty, and her clumsy theatrics could never compare to the seasoned performances of a veteran like Dugu Lin. The sight of a proud imperial princess forcing down her hatred to grovel so pitifully was amusing enough the first time, but the novelty faded quickly.
A crack split Wei Na's rigid, rehearsed expression, and a flicker of bitter resentment darted through her eyes too swiftly to be caught. Between her and the man before her lay a sea of blood. Long Aotian's death, the destruction of the Body Sect, the firestorm of public outrage now consuming the Heavenly Soul Empire whole... every single catastrophe could be traced back to him.
The Wei Na of old would have chosen death over submission, no matter how dire her circumstances. But her actions had dragged the entire Heavenly Soul imperial family into ruin, and now they stood teetering on the brink of collapse.
Led by the Nine Treasure Glazed Tile Clan and Shrek Academy, the great sects and academies had worked in silent concert to escalate the scandal to its most damning heights. In the eyes of the world, the Heavenly Soul imperial family had betrayed the nation and joined hands with the Holy Spirit Cult, the Evil Spirit Master organization. Their crimes were too heinous to forgive, too countless to record even if every bamboo slip in the southern mountains were stripped bare.
Public opinion could be guided. Ling Bai had just won the Battle of Jialing Pass and safeguarded the nation, and countless orthodox powers had stepped forward to openly champion him. The entire Heavenly Soul Empire seethed with righteous fury, angry cries demanding the imperial family's abdication rising from every street, tavern, and marketplace.
The Heavenly Soul imperial family stood utterly isolated and did not even dare resort to iron-fisted suppression. In terms of raw martial strength, the entire imperial house bound together would not have served as a proper warm-up for Holy Evil Douluo.
Cornered with nowhere left to turn, they could only watch helplessly as they slid toward the abyss. At his wit's end, the Heavenly Soul Emperor finally summoned the daughter he had always doted upon and begged her like a man whose spine had been pulled clean from his body to save the imperial family. The one who tied the bell must be the one to untie it. So long as Holy Evil Douluo was willing to forgive them, the imperial family would pay any price he named.
The sight of her father, a man who seemed to have aged ten years in a single month, hollowed Wei Na's heart with a grief beyond grief. She agreed to spend everything she had to obtain Ling Bai's forgiveness. The imperial family could not fall, and above all, it could not fall amid the curses of an entire nation.
"Holy Evil Douluo, conspiring with the Holy Spirit Cult was my act alone. In his fury, Imperial Father has already struck my name from the family register.
This sinful woman knows her crimes are unforgivable. I am willing to offer this lowly body in atonement, to serve at your side from this day forward, to be your obedient handmaiden, your private plaything, the debased princess who exists only to please you. The Heavenly Soul imperial family will submit to your every command. I beg only that Your Eminence show great mercy and pardon the imperial house for the crime of failing to see clearly."
For the sake of her family's survival, Wei Na took every sin upon herself and collapsed forward into a deep prostration, pressing her forehead firmly against the cold jade floor. The jeweled ornaments in her hair slipped free and struck the ground with a soft, ringing chime, and her long gown spilled loose around her trembling, finely curved body.
Those born to the imperial house were schemers by nature, and Wei Na had clearly rehearsed this moment many times over. The thin, translucent fabric of her gown could not begin to conceal the alluring lines beneath it, and the angle of her prostration had been calculated to let Ling Bai's gaze rove freely across every inch of her offered form. Her golden hair cascaded down without obscuring the delicate slope of her back, while the soft, generous swell of her raised peach-shaped rear strained against the silk. Through the gossamer fabric, the pale outlines of white lingerie could be glimpsed, as if waiting to be uncovered.
All men harbored a weakness for such profound contrast. An imperial princess, noble and untouchable by birth, now reduced to a frail, sorrowful woman pleading at another's feet. A woman who bore him a sea of blood hatred, yet who had been forced to offer herself to the tiger for the sake of her family's survival. For any ordinary man, the sheer degradation of an imperial princess surrendering her own body would have ignited an overwhelming, maddening urge to conquer.
Wei Na believed this was the only path that could make Ling Bai relent. She kept her graceful head lowered, her eyes brimming with sorrow, resentment, and desperate longing. Inwardly, she whispered a tearful apology to her dead fiancé. Even if Ling Bai claimed her flesh, her heart and soul would forever belong to Long Aotian alone.
She was still debating whether to crawl forward and press her lips against him when an unyielding force caught her chin and tipped her face upward. Her breath hitched as she met a pair of brilliant golden eyes curved in a faint, unreadable smile:
"Princess Wei Na, the fact that you wanted to kill me doesn't really matter. I'm not short on enemies. But colluding with Evil Spirit Masters is a different matter entirely. I have to give the people of the Heavenly Soul Empire an explanation..."
The cool finality in his voice made Wei Na's delicate body go rigid. She threw herself into frantic, ceaseless kowtowing, and a smear of blood soon stained the jade floor of the hall. Her once-tender forehead was rubbed swollen and raw, fresh blood seeping freely from the broken skin, yet she seemed entirely unaware of the pain as she pleaded in desperation:
"The Body Sect has been destroyed! The imperial family no longer has any strength to resist! Imperial Father can issue a self-condemnation edict and become your puppet! He'll obey you in everything! The Heavenly Soul imperial family cannot be destroyed!"
"You may all go in peace. I've already chosen the new emperor. She will rule the empire and embrace the future."
Ling Bai paused, his gaze settling on Wei Na once more. "One more thing. You are the principal offender. By law, you should be subjected to Extreme Punishment in the public square.
But since you so generously provided the evidence that allows this dynastic transition to proceed in the most peaceful manner possible, I'll grant you one right... whether or not to preserve your final dignity."
Peerless beauties already surrounded Ling Bai, each possessing her own charm, like plum, orchid, bamboo, and chrysanthemum. He had long since passed the age when beauty alone could tempt him. There was no need to keep an enemy at his side, especially not a textbook example of one who had colluded with Evil Spirit Masters.
"Heh... Holy Evil Douluo? You're clearly Death Abyss Douluo..."
The finality in his tone shattered whatever remained of Wei Na's mask. She let every pretense fall away, rising unsteadily to her feet and staring straight into that radiant, righteous face. A hollow, self-deprecating laugh escaped her lips. "Back then... I must have looked like an absolute clown in your eyes, didn't I?"
Her grand alliance with Death Abyss Douluo had been nothing more than placing a poisoned dagger in her greatest enemy's hand and guiding its tip to her own heart.
Without that alliance, overthrowing a Heavenly Soul imperial house that had committed no openly visible crime would have earned Ling Bai at least some measure of infamy. The people would not have accepted a new sovereign so easily, and he would have needed considerable time to slowly guide and reshape public sentiment. Now, however, the entire nation yearned for the imperial family's fall.
Ling Bai stood not as a usurper but as a righteous champion ridding the world of a public scourge, his feet planted firmly on the side of the masses.
"Aotian, I'm coming!"
The humiliation of a public execution was something Wei Na could never accept. With her dead fiancé's name on her lips, her body crumpled to the floor with a heavy thud, and a thin trail of blood traced the corner of her mouth. The first light of dawn spilled through the windows and bathed her still form, and her sheer golden gown fanned out around her like a single tragic flower in full bloom.
Princess Wei Na of the Heavenly Soul Empire had severed her own heart meridians, ending her life by her own hand.
…
Heavenly Soul Empire. Imperial Court.
"Reporting to Your Majesty! Marshal Ge Peng has sent word. The imperial army has reclaimed all lost territories and is currently devoted to restoring the people's livelihoods. He states he cannot return to Heaven Dou City for the time being and implores Your Majesty to prioritize the empire's overall interests!"
"We know."
The Heavenly Soul Emperor's expression remained outwardly composed, but his complexion had drained to a ghastly, livid hue. His hand gripped the armrest of the throne so tightly that his knuckles had gone bone-white.
The past month had turned the Heavenly Soul Empire upside down. Holy Evil Douluo had struck like a relentless storm, plunging the imperial family's reputation into freefall and leaving the throne teetering on the brink of collapse. Never in his reign had the emperor known such suffocating humiliation.
The civil and military officials had all adopted ambiguous, self-serving postures. Some had even secretly reached out to the Nine Treasure Glazed Tile Clan with letters of surrender. The Titled Douluo Worships took one look at their prospective adversary, learned it was Holy Evil Douluo, and promptly packed their bags and fled one after another. The world was vast. They could serve as enforcers for anyone, so why throw their lives away for nothing?
In short, Marshal Ge Peng's army had been the emperor's final lifeline, and now even he refused to return.
The emperor let out a long, hollow sigh, pinning what remained of his hopes on Wei Na. If she could seduce Holy Evil Douluo, then becoming a puppet emperor at least left a sliver of room for an eventual reversal. It was a far better fate than dying as the last sovereign of a fallen dynasty.
Hum—
Beneath the watchful eyes of the assembled court, two figures stepped from a spatial passage. Throughout the month of fermenting public opinion, Ling Bai had devoted most of his time to analyzing the Evileye Tyrant Emperor and comprehending the power of space. His efforts had not been in vain; he now possessed modest but tangible results.
The Heavenly Soul Emperor's eyes blazed with sudden brilliance, and the corners of his mouth ticked upward. He had heard that Holy Evil Douluo was not yet twenty years old. Young men were hot-blooded by nature, and as expected, this one had proven unable to resist the seductive charms of an imperial princess!
That smile froze and shattered in the very next breath. The figure at Ling Bai's side was not Wei Na, but another blonde woman bearing six pure-white wings upon her back. Her features radiated a sacred, flawless beauty, and the aura pouring from her surged like a raging tide.
"Greetings, Your Eminence Holy Evil!"
A quick-witted official took the lead and dropped to his knees. The rest of the court followed in a rustling wave, ministers and generals alike kneeling uniformly across the hall. Upon his throne, the Heavenly Soul Emperor's heart trembled with helpless fury, but there was nothing he could do. Forcing himself to maintain a shred of imperial dignity, he probed cautiously:
"Holy Evil Douluo, my daughter Wei Na..."
Ling Bai could not be bothered to dress up the truth and cut him off mid-sentence. "Princess Wei Na recognized the gravity of her crimes and atoned for them with her life.
The imperial family harbors filth and corruption. It has colluded with the Holy Spirit Cult, the Evil Spirit Master organization, and brought calamity upon every living soul within the empire. This Seat acts in accordance with Heaven's will above and the people's desires below.
Emperor, abdicate!"
"You...!!!"
The Heavenly Soul Emperor erupted in fury, bellowing at the top of his lungs, "Where are my loyal ministers?! Where are my loyal ministers?!"
The entire court remained deathly silent. Not a single soul dared rise against Ling Bai. The Heavenly Soul Emperor watched the last of his hope crumble to nothing. With a violently trembling hand, he extended one finger and swept it across the officials below, pointing at them one by one.
"Treacherous scum! A pack of treacherous scum!
Holy Evil Douluo, We will never suffer the humiliation of a prison cell!"
The Heavenly Soul Emperor followed in his daughter's footsteps and took his own life upon the throne. Even in death, his eyes remained fixed in a furious glare upon the kneeling crowd below. Riddled with guilt, many officials averted their gazes.
In the heavy silence that followed, the Heavenly Soul court historian gave a discreet cough, wet his brush with a quick lick, and began scribbling furiously. "In the imperial court, Holy Evil Douluo merely shook his tiger-like body, and boundless tyrannical aura burst forth. The last emperor of Heavenly Soul, terrified by the weight of his crimes, committed suicide on the spot..."
Every word reached Ling Bai's ears without fail, and his brow twitched in spite of himself. He remembered that historian well. The man possessed not a shred of backbone and had been the very first to contact the Nine Treasure Glazed Tile Clan begging to surrender. Spineless as he was, however, men like him proved useful in their own way, sparing the dynastic transition no end of unnecessary trouble.
Had Ling Bai sought nothing more than dominion over the Heavenly Soul Empire, he could have stormed the court a month ago and cut down every Evil Spirit Master, one slash each, clean and decisive.
But what he sought was the empire's faith. That meant even matters resolvable through swift violence had to be subjected to repeated propaganda and ideological reinforcement. The people of Heavenly Soul needed to witness with their own eyes the decay and corruption of their former rulers, so that they would yearn from the depths of their hearts for a new imperial house to take the reins.
"We respectfully beseech Holy Evil Douluo to ascend the throne!"
The civil and military officials switched allegiances with breathtaking speed, instantly begging Ling Bai to proclaim himself emperor.
"This Seat has no interest in the throne," Ling Bai replied evenly.
The court froze in collective disbelief. Could it be that Holy Evil Douluo was truly some manner of saint, willing to cast aside supreme power even when it lay securely within his grasp?!
Ling Bai smiled, drew Ye Guyi forward, and announced in a clear, resonant voice, "Ye Guyi has awakened the Holy Angel Martial Spirit of the Angel lineage.
From this day onward, the Heavenly Soul Empire shall be renamed the Angel Empire!
Ye Guyi shall inherit the throne and become the first Angel Empress, guiding the Angel Empire toward a bright and glorious future!"
"We subjects pay our respects to Your Majesty!"
In the eyes of outsiders, the Holy Angel was the Martial Spirit most closely related to the Seraphim, and Ye Guyi clearly belonged to Ling Bai's innermost circle. With the empire itself now bearing the name Angel, a wielder of the Holy Angel ascending the throne was only natural. The ministers scrambled to kowtow and pledge their loyalty, terrified that even a moment's hesitation might invite Ling Bai's retribution down the road.
The coronation was set for three days hence. Once the court had been dismissed and the officials dispersed, Ye Guyi turned to Ling Bai with a deeply complicated expression and spoke hesitantly:
"Can someone like me... truly be a good ruler for an entire nation?"
"Never doubt yourself. Besides, haven't you always hoped to do some genuine good for the country and its people?"
"Mm!"
Ye Guyi nodded firmly. This Miss Angel possessed a forthright nature, and her innate sense of justice meant she would never refuse a request that truly served the nation and its people.
Throughout this period, Ling Bai had given long thought to who should inherit the throne. His own future belonged to the Divine Realm; he had no interest in playing mortal emperor and miring himself in affairs of state. Ning Fengya wanted only the resurgence of the Nine Treasure Glazed Tile Clan and the title of Guardian Sect, while Ning Tian was equally indifferent to imperial power.
After turning the matter over repeatedly, Ling Bai concluded that entrusting the empire to one of his own women was the safest course. Yet while the beauties at his side were far from brainless ornaments, they were decidedly low scorers when it came to statecraft and governance.
Given that the new nation would be christened the Angel Empire, it was only fitting that a sovereign bearing an Angel Martial Spirit take the helm. And so the imperial throne came to rest, with quiet grandeur, upon Ye Guyi's head.
Having distinguished herself during the summoning of the Spirit Empire at Jialing Pass, Ye Guyi had already cultivated a measure of fame within Heavenly Soul. Her ascension was perfectly timed.
…
Three days later, sunlight poured from the heavens like liquid gold, gilding the magnificent imperial palace in dazzling brilliance.
The focus of ten thousand eyes was the Angel Empress standing atop the high platform at the heart of the palace grounds. The assembled ministers stood below the steps with ceremonial tablets clasped in their hands, watching as she lifted the crown and raised it high overhead. Layered strands of pearl beads hung in graceful tiers from its front, and wherever her gaze swept, the ministers bowed in deep reverence.
Ye Guyi was clad in a resplendent gilded imperial robe. Fine, intricate patterns were densely embroidered across the fabric, and a closer inspection revealed them to be a sprawling tapestry of the realm's mountains and rivers.
A few loose strands of golden hair rested against the imperial silk. Sharp brows framed bright, clear eyes above delicate lips and pearly teeth, and the faint flush coloring her cheeks wove a touch of feminine allure through her otherwise commanding, heroic bearing.
She passed through the palace walls, ascended the grand staircase, and advanced toward the main hall one measured, deliberate step at a time.
As her footsteps drew closer, an invisible pressure seemed to settle over the hearts of the assembled officials, forcing them to bow lower and press their knees harder against the stone. Not one among them dared lift his head even for a fleeting glance.
Such an overwhelming sensation was something the previous Heavenly Soul Emperor had never once inspired upon his own succession.
Ye Guyi swept her sleeve in a grand flourish, turned, and seated herself upon the throne. Her gaze pierced through the vast hall and beyond the palace walls, seeming to look down upon all under heaven, yet also as though she peered across the chasm of time, beholding the Empress of the Spirit Empire and the fallen Angel God from ten thousand years before.
On the horizon, a streak of purple qi drifted in from the east, as though the Heavenly Dao itself acknowledged and blessed the birth of the Angel Empire.
"Long live Your Majesty!"
The ministers performed their formal salutes and cried out in unison, their voices piercing through the palace tiles and soaring into the clouds.
Ye Guyi slowly opened her mouth, her majestic, commanding voice carrying far across the palace grounds. "We have claimed this throne to uphold Heaven's Mandate and govern all within Our dominion. We shall purge corruption across ten thousand miles, bring iron order to the Eight Wastelands, open the roads Our predecessors could not open, and subdue the foes that former kings could not subdue!
The nation shall be named the Angel Empire. Heaven Dou City shall serve as the imperial capital and is henceforth renamed Angel Holy City.
The Nine Treasure Glazed Tile Clan is hereby ordained as the Guardian Sect. Its Clan Head, Nine Treasure Douluo, is honored as the State Preceptor of the Angel Empire. The Golden Tortoise is decreed the empire's Guardian Auspicious Beast!
Holy Evil Douluo's merits tower above the heavens. He is hereby bestowed the title of Holy Evil Monarch. In every city across the empire, a golden statue shall be erected in his likeness, that all the people may revere him in eternal faith!"