Inside Binghai City, the people were terrified and stayed indoors.
They'd heard there was a rebellion at the palace, quickly suppressed, but Emperor Xue Beng was furious.
In Heaven Dou, commoners and nobles were worlds apart; the people dared not discuss it, pretending ignorance.
Actually, Xue Beng's rage had little to do with the three deans' rebellion. He had new backers and didn't care about the three Soul Douluo. What really enraged him was that he failed to capture all three.
During the battle that morning, Xue Beng wanted to show off his Titled Douluo strength and forbade Ge Long and the guards from interfering; he fought the three alone.
Unexpectedly, he couldn't even defeat Meng Shenji alone, let alone three. He only barely held the upper hand due to his deeper soul power.
This was normal. Meng Shenji's strength had been built up step by step—solid and pure, with much more combat experience. Also, Xue Beng's last four soul rings, though black, were of weak beasts, caught by the royal family for easy advancement.
Back then, Emperor Xue Ye had promised advancing soul beasts under 30,000 years for outstanding students; he had a stockpile. Such beasts were weak and lacked fighting spirit, so their rings were weak. Three of Xue Beng's four rings were like this: his sixth at 13,000 years, the seventh at 24,000, the eighth at 30,000.
The ninth was better—a 50,000-year-old ice bird, hunted with the army's help. But his soul power was a mess. Evil Sword Immortal used the power of Pride to bring him to level 90, but after absorbing four rings, he only rose one level—showing how poor his talent was.
Ultimately, unable to defeat Meng Shenji, Xue Beng ordered a group attack. Ge Long and another royal Soul Douluo joined in, plus tens of thousands of guards. The three deans finally fell.
In their last moments, Zhi Lin used his Sky Green Vine's control at the limit to bind Xue Beng and the other two masters, while Bai Baoshan activated the Heaven Star Furnace's strongest defense to hold off the guards.
It couldn't last long. In the end, they sacrificed themselves, yelling for Meng Shenji to escape. Meng Shenji, in tears, broke out alone.
His escape was what truly enraged Xue Beng. His first outing as a Titled Douluo ended in failure.
Meng Shenji, exhausted and wounded, staggered to Yu Tianheng's camp, collapsing less than two miles away.
Thankfully, patrolling soldiers found and recognized him, bringing him to the camp. As a high-ranking enemy, they dared not act rashly and immediately reported to Yu Tianheng.
After taking medicine, Meng Shenji slowly woke.
"Dean, are you alright?" Tianheng asked with concern.
Meng Shenji opened his eyes to see the Emperor Battle Team, his beloved students. "Tianheng, Xiao Qin, I never thought I'd see you again."
"Dean, what happened? Why are you so badly hurt? And the other deans?" Qin Ming asked anxiously.
"Old Bai, Old Lin... I fear they're already..." Meng Shenji wept and recounted what happened at the palace.
Everyone was moved. Though the deans had always been loyal to the royal family, when it mattered, they followed their hearts.
Xue Beng's strength and ruthlessness shocked and angered everyone. No one knew how he advanced so fast, but since he became crown prince, the deans had given up their pasts to help him—yet he still killed them.
"Dean Zhi Lin and Dean Bai are strong—they might still be alive. I'll send people to find out and try to rescue them." Yu Tianheng said at once.
He still held hope that Xue Beng, if he had any humanity left, had only captured them or crippled their powers.
Unfortunately, scouts soon brought despairing news: the city wall of Binghai City displayed two heads—Zhi Lin and Bai Baoshan.
Because Zhu Zhuqing and Oslo had been revived, it was now known the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect could seemingly resurrect the dead. Thus, Xue Beng didn't even leave their corpses. Evil Sword Immortal absorbed their power, and only their heads were hung on the gate, labeled "Traitors, kill on sight" as a warning.
The Emperor Battle Team rushed to two miles outside Binghai City to see for themselves. As Soul Douluo-level experts, it was easy to avoid patrols.
From two miles away, they could see clearly.
Yu Tianheng fell to his knees, voice hoarse: "Grandpa, I'm sorry. You always told me to be calm, but I can't anymore. Teacher Qin, Oslo, Yu Feng, Shimo—gather all available troops. Tomorrow we attack Binghai City. I'll reclaim the deans' heads and let Xue Beng taste utter annihilation."
"Understood!" Oslo was the first to reply, equally furious.
As a minor noble, Oslo's gratitude to the deans was immense—they were his teachers.
Only Qin Ming, still calm amid anger, realized Xue Beng was baiting them into attacking. With their scattered forces, a reckless assault would likely end in disaster.
But he didn't know how to persuade them—he was angry too. After graduating from Shrek, it was the deans who brought him to the Royal Academy and recommended him to the court. Only after the Emperor Battle Team became famous did he gain recognition; otherwise, he might have joined the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect earlier.
Still, the Fire Wolf Douluo decided to act with his students this time.
This was exactly what Evil Sword Immortal missed but Zhu Zhuqing saw: Xue Beng would not just sit and defend, or put all his hopes in an evil ally. The massacre was only the first step. With Tianheng's divided forces and his own concentrated, plus strongholds and top experts, he had the advantage.
If he could lure them to attack, he had a good chance of destroying them all.
With this, why keep hiding? Rather than wait for Gu Ran's army to defeat Star Luo and join them, better to defeat them piecemeal.