If Star Luo could still resist, Heaven Dou was in even worse shape. With fewer than 400,000 battered soldiers, they were no match for the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect.
When Emperor Xue Ye learned of their alliance with the Spirit Empire, he coughed blood and fainted in his new palace.
Xue Beng stayed at his father's bedside day and night—whether out of sincerity or formality, he was dutiful.
All the ministers gathered in the palace, knowing Emperor Xue Ye likely wouldn't last the night.
"Traitors!" Emperor Xue Ye coughed blood and roared, "I trusted Ning Fengzhi so much—gave him the capital to fend off the Spirit Empire, even provided troops and supplies. In the end, he joined forces with them, disregarding the people. Ning Fengzhi and Jun Tianlin are true traitors!"
"Father, please calm yourself. It was my fault for misjudging the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect. Outwardly, they allied with the Spirit Empire, but according to my sources, Jun Tianlin and Sword Douluo defeated Bibi Dong and Qian Daoliu, then somehow conjured a million-strong army to surround the Spirit Empire—so really, the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect conquered them. They aim to unify the continent." Xue Beng blamed himself. If he hadn't urged yielding the capital, the Sect wouldn't have grown so powerful.
But, if they hadn't yielded, Heaven Dou would have been destroyed without the Sect's help. Whether that decision was right or wrong, no one could say.
The three education commissioners secretly scoffed. They served Heaven Dou, but knew the truth: giving up the capital wasn't out of goodwill.
Their original plan was to let the Spirit Empire and the Sect wear each other down, then swoop in. Now, how could they blame the others for striking first?
Only Tang Yuehua pondered deeper: perhaps the real turning point wasn't giving up the capital, but the death of the Grandmaster. Ning Fengzhi and Jun Tianlin had foreseen this, using the plan to frame the Clear Sky Sect and draw Bibi Dong's focus to Heaven Dou, pulling her forces from Star Luo.
Ning Fengzhi's fake indifference was just to buy time, letting Bibi Dong push to Heaven Dou's heartland before striking, then surprising Star Luo's troops at Gengxin and pushing north, surrounding the Spirit Empire into surrender.
"The kingly path to unification!" Tang Yuehua murmured. If she still couldn't see the strategy, she wasn't worthy of her reputation.
She didn't know when Jun Tianlin and Ning Fengzhi had allied with Tuoba Xi and the Balak Kingdom. If it was before the war began, they were truly terrifying—planning so far ahead.
"Xue Beng, it's no use debating right or wrong now. Your father won't last the night. Tomorrow, you'll be the new Emperor of Heaven Dou." Emperor Xue Ye grasped Xue Beng's hand weakly. "Just remember: never give up an inch of our land."
"Yes, Father! I will not fail you—I'll protect every inch of Heaven Dou's territory!" Xue Beng promised tearfully.
Hearing this, Emperor Xue Ye nodded with relief, then his hand slipped lifelessly away.
But promises are one thing; keeping them is another. "Never yield an inch"? Everyone present knew who held the capital now. With the Sect and Spirit Empire allied, no one could resist them. Xue Ye's words were wishful thinking.
The imperial doctor checked, then knelt and sobbed, "Your Highness, the Emperor has passed away."
The room erupted in tears. Though Emperor Xue Ye and Xue Beng weren't beloved by commoners, their policies greatly benefited the nobility, who truly respected them.
A nation cannot go without a ruler, especially in wartime.
…
The next day, Xue Beng ascended as Emperor under the gaze of Prince Xue Xing and all ministers.
Thus, Emperor Xue Beng took the stage of history.
Meng Shenji sighed, thinking, "Heh, Emperor Xue Beng, how long will your throne last under the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect's army?"
He actually favored surrender, believing that unification and restored order would benefit the continent most.
Meng Shenji was loyal, but not blindly so.
Yet he knew Xue Beng's personality—better to break than bend—he would never surrender. The war would continue.
…
Meanwhile, Tai Tan had been busy. The Tang Army had grown to 40,000, each as deadly as a rank-40 soul master—an elite soul master force. Now, it was finally time for this trump card to appear.
Tai Tan believed that with a surprise attack, the hidden weapon corps could inflict maximum losses on the Sect's soul master army.
He'd also exhausted all of Heaven Dou's precious ores to forge two ultimate hidden weapons: Buddha Fury Tang Lotus and Torrential Pear Blossom Needle, one each due to limited time and materials.
To use these weapons to their fullest, Tai Tan, like Lou Gao in the original story, chose to sacrifice—though he didn't sacrifice himself, but found a random person.
The Buddha Fury Tang Lotus was for the Sect's elite, the Fusion Corps—only dozens strong, each group led by a soul douluo with a Glazed Tile Pagoda soul master as deputy.
Each group could unleash a seven-in-one fusion technique, boosting the leader to titled douluo level.
This corps had once killed over ten thousand under Xue Beng with just two dozen men. Now, as soon as they appeared, the Buddha Fury Tang Lotus would wipe them out in one blow.
The Torrential Pear Blossom Needle targeted titled douluo. Tai Tan's main target was, of course—Tianlin!