Following Meng Hongchen, Yuwen Tuo arrived at the Imperial Palace's main hall. The civil and military officials of the Sun and Moon Empire stood on either side.
Among them, Jing Hongchen stood in a rather unique position. He was not directly a court official, but he was important enough to be on par with the head of all officials, second only to the one on the throne.
This was Yuwen Tuo's second time attending the court of a great empire.
It was truly completely different from the somewhat archaic court of the Heavenly Soul Empire. Here, the one responsible for broadcasting was not an eunuch, but a loudspeaker soul tool.
As soon as the two entered, they heard a broadcast voice: "Announcing Meng Hongchen, Yuwen Tuo, step forward for an audience!!!"
"Indeed, much more advanced!" Yuwen Tuo smiled faintly, walking into the resplendent hall. Its luxuriousness far surpassed that of the Heavenly Soul Empire.
The officials around them all glanced sideways at Yuwen Tuo. Their gazes varied: some curious, some benevolent, and some hostile.
Curiosity accounted for the majority. After all, they all wanted to know what kind of person this child was, who possessed innate twenty ranks but had been tormented by Shrek for six years.
The benevolent ones were probably rare pure-hearted officials, who usually focused on practical matters and avoided factional disputes. To them, the return of imperial bloodline was, after all, not a bad thing for the nation.
The hostile ones were simple. Nine times out of ten, they already supported a certain prince and feared Yuwen Tuo's interference in the factional struggle. Most of them should have been loyal to Xu Tianran.
The most captivating attention, of course, belonged to the person on the throne: short black hair, a high nose, thin lips, and purple pupils. A hint of gloom lingered in his brows, making him appear cold and ruthless.
When he stared at Yuwen Tuo, he showed no affection, but rather a hint of scrutiny.
Unfortunately, his complexion was somewhat pale. Although not critically ill, it was evident that he had been suffering from a prolonged illness.
Below him, sat a younger version of himself, but unfortunately, he was a cripple, confined to a wheelchair. This was likely Crown Prince Xu Tianran.
This father and son, one a sickly invalid, the other a partial cripple, truly shared a destined connection.
"Your subject Meng Hongchen, greets Your Majesty." Meng Hongchen stepped forward and knelt on one knee.
The etiquette here was also slightly better; at least it didn't require kneeling on both knees and kowtowing.
"Rise!" The Great Emperor of Sun and Moon raised his hand.
"Thank you, Your Majesty." Meng Hongchen stood up, seeing Yuwen Tuo still standing there motionless. She anxiously whispered, "Yuwen Tuo, quickly pay your respects."
"I am a person of the Heavenly Soul Empire. There's no need for me to bow to the Emperor of the Sun and Moon Empire, is there?" Yuwen Tuo took a step forward, looking directly at the Great Emperor of Sun and Moon. "What's your name?"
Jing Hongchen's face changed. What on earth is this Prince doing? Who asks that question like this?
When he was with me, this Prince was very polite and courteous to me. Why is he acting so recklessly at this critical moment?
Jing Hongchen completely misunderstood Yuwen Tuo.
Previously, Yuwen Tuo was polite to him because Jing Hongchen had also always been polite to him. It was a matter of courtesy. Why should Yuwen Tuo be rude to a powerful Titled Douluo who respected him?
Secondly, during the canyon incident, he had protected him without reservation. Although Yuwen Tuo had already made preparations at that time, and could have retreated safely even without his help, he appreciated his kindness.
Thirdly, it was an act, because he knew that this Jing Hongchen also had connections with the Holy Spirit Church. In the original story, Ma Xiaotao was kidnapped by him in cooperation with the Holy Spirit Church.
Yuwen Tuo, out of gratitude for the help in the canyon, would find an opportunity to persuade him once. But if he remained stubborn and continued to cooperate with the Holy Spirit Church, then no matter how he treated Yuwen Tuo, after repaying the favor, he would be one of the people Yuwen Tuo would kill in the future!
Yuwen Tuo was still willing to put on a show for Jing Hongchen, but for the person above, he was genuinely unfamiliar with him and couldn't even be bothered to pretend.
The Great Emperor of Sun and Moon stared at Yuwen Tuo for a long time, then finally spoke, "My name is Xu Canglan!"
Father is Xu Canglan, son is Xu Tianran. The characters 'Cang' and 'Tian' combine to form 'Cang Tian' (Heaven), truly a majestic and grand generation name.
"You just said you were from the Heavenly Soul Empire. Don't you know your own background?" Xu Canglan asked.
"What if I know?" Yuwen Tuo said. "I only heard you were critically ill and came to see you one last time. But you're fine now. So, a question: back then, who did you send to search for me?"
"How dare you, Yuwen Tuo! How dare you speak to His Majesty like that! Kneel and admit your mistake!" Yuwen Tuo's tone instantly ignited a furious reaction from everyone present.
Even the pure-hearted officials, who had just shown a hint of benevolence, were now displeased with Yuwen Tuo's disrespect.
In their eyes, Yuwen Tuo was both a son and a subject. How could he speak to his Imperial Father like this?
"All of you, shut up!" Yuwen Tuo roared furiously. "Your Majesty, Emperor of the Sun and Moon, please answer my question!"
Actually, Yuwen Tuo himself didn't know what was wrong with him. The moment he saw him, his anger became completely uncontrollable, as if he had Supermale Syndrome.
He originally thought he would be able to control himself, after all, he had endured seven years at Shrek.
But he miscalculated one thing. He originally thought that, in his heart, the evil soul master's massacre of his village was at most ten times the hatred of Shrek crippling him. But now he understood that it was not just ten times, but a thousand, ten thousand times.
A deep hatred, etched into his bones, enough to destroy heaven and earth!
Although he had cultivated immortality back then, he had never truly become an immortal. No wonder his cultivation progress became slower and slower after reaching a certain level. It seemed his mental fortitude was insufficient.
He even had the impulse, the first moment he saw this person, to summon Snow Empress and merge their souls, and massacre everyone present.
Ye Xishui and Long Xiaoyao were not here.
Perhaps Kong Deming was not far from here, but at this time, he was only a Level 94. What about the strongest Level 9 Soul Tool Master? Only when he broke through Level 95 would his combat power truly reach the Ultimate Douluo level.
The current Yuwen Tuo, with the Snow Empress's power and the Xuanyuan Sword Art, could kill him with a single sword.
Currently, Yuwen Tuo could basically use the ability of the Shou Shan Zhi Tong twice a day. As long as he used Shou Shan Zhi Tong to restrict the soul tools, Kong Deming was not a problem at all.
One must know that the current Xuanyuan Sword was much stronger than when it killed Xuan Zi, having undergone a gold-level awakening.
However, after delivering one sword strike, he would have to leave immediately, to avoid being surrounded by Level 9 soul tools like Long Xiaoyao and Ye Xishui.
"Imperial Brother, do not be rude to Imperial Father!" Xu Tianran roared sharply. "I was the one who was responsible for finding you back then. If you are angry because Big Brother took too long to find you, then you can vent your anger on Big Brother. But you must not question Imperial Father like this. Imperial Father has no fault in this matter."
"Heh heh, as expected, it's you, crippled waste, dead eunuch!" Yuwen Tuo sneered, full of killing intent. Previously it was just a guess, but now it was confirmed. He felt much more at ease.
Knowing who his first great enemy was, he finally had a definite first target.
He knew that Xu Tianran was extremely afraid of death, and his body was filled with trigger-activated defensive soul tools, both physical and mental. But still, with Shou Shan Zhi Tong, such defensive soul tools were a joke. After disabling his soul tools, killing him would not be difficult. The current Xu Tianran was at most a Soul Douluo.
"You, you dare to curse me!" Xu Tianran's eyes instantly turned bloodshot. He hated two things most in his life: his crippled leg and his inability to perform sexually.
His greatest wish, besides ruling the entire Douluo Continent and restoring the name of the Sun and Moon Continent, was to stand up again and regain his male capabilities. To achieve these desires, he could abandon anything, including his beloved oranges.
But now, Yuwen Tuo dared to expose his biggest scar directly in front of everyone.
Today, all the civil and military officials were present. No matter what Yuwen Tuo's ultimate fate would be, once this matter got out.
The Crown Prince of the Sun and Moon Empire was cursed by his own brother in court, in front of all civil and military officials, as a cripple and a eunuch.
How could he possibly still stand in court?
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