Chapter 250: Return to Spirit City
Spirit City, within the Pope's Palace.
The elders of the Spirit Hall had gathered once more—joined by Poison Douluo Dugu Bo and the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect's Sword and Bone Douluo.
"Xiao Ling, what is it that required all of us to assemble?"
Seated upon the papal throne, Bibi Dong regarded Luo Ling with a hint of puzzlement.
Luo Ling swept his gaze over the assembled powerhouses. He had hurried back to Spirit City just the day before.
The machinations in Heaven Dou City were complete; the next step was to help Qian Renxue seize the imperial throne.
This time, unlike the original plan, it would be an open rebellion—an uprising in the Crown Prince's name.
Emperor Xue Ye and the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan would surely resist. The Clear Sky Sect might even intervene.
To prevent any surprises, Luo Ling had returned to Spirit City. In the original timeline, Bibi Dong had launched the Soul Hunting Operation against the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect and the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan around this time.
"Teacher, are you planning to move against the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan?" Luo Ling asked softly, looking up at Bibi Dong.
Faces shifted around the hall.
Bibi Dong's expression flickered with surprise. She had indeed planned to strike them—an outcome reached by the elders after careful deliberation. Luo Ling should not have known.
Ning Fengzhi and the Sword and Bone Douluo exchanged uneasy glances. After years of cooperation, they had gained some understanding of the Spirit Hall's terrifying might.
Even if all other sects combined their Titled Douluo, they still wouldn't match this hall.
If Bibi Dong struck, the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan would face annihilation.
"How did you know?" Bibi Dong asked.
"A guess," Luo Ling said with a shrug, then continued, "But teacher, a direct strike at the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan would not reflect well upon the Hall's reputation."
Bibi Dong's eyes narrowed. Was he arguing against the action? Why?
He gave her no time to speculate. "Have you considered another way to bring them down?"
"What exactly are you proposing?" Bibi Dong said, exasperated.
"Have you followed the developments in Heaven Dou City?" Luo Ling asked instead.
Bibi Dong frowned. She had been focused on the war plan, paying little attention to capital gossip. She recalled only that Emperor Xue Ye had broken through to Titled Douluo three months ago and had been suspected of practicing a forbidden art—allegations the Blue Lightning Clan had publicly dismissed.
Then her gaze sharpened. "You mean Emperor Xue Ye?"
Luo Ling nodded. "He used a forbidden method to break through. Not only he—the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan and even the Clear Sky Sect have taken up the same path."
A murmur swept the chamber.
Two of the Upper Three Sects, tainted by forbidden arts—this was no small scandal.
"Is this true?" Bibi Dong asked, visibly stirred.
"Beyond doubt. In the imperial garden lies a hidden chamber—where Emperor Xue Ye communes with the Blue Lightning Clan," Luo Ling said.
"How do you know?" Bibi Dong pressed. Matters of such gravity demanded certainty.
"My abilities allow me to move unseen," he replied. "There is no secret in the Heaven Dou Palace I cannot reach. I witnessed Emperor Xue Ye, Yu Yuanzhen, and Tang Hao planning together."
"They have formed a covert alliance against our Spirit Hall."
Another shock tore through the hall. Ning Fengzhi's eyes turned contemplative. He glanced at Luo Ling. "And the recent rumors in Heaven Dou City—were they your doing?"
"They were," Luo Ling answered without hesitation.
"What rumors?" Bibi Dong asked.
Luo Ling explained concisely what he had orchestrated—down to the staged encounter with Qian Renxue.
Once again, the hall fell into stunned silence—especially Ning Fengzhi, who looked at Luo Ling with open admiration.
The scheme was ruthless—yet even where the emperor's guilt was real, exposing it in this manner left him no room to clear his name.
"That's the situation," Luo Ling concluded. "Qian Renxue and I are prepared. Next, she will publicly expose Emperor Xue Ye's crimes, and we will move against him under the pretext that the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan corrupted the throne."
"At the same time, under the banner of 'purging the court,' the Crown Prince will seek aid from the Spirit Hall and the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect—so we can legitimately act against the Blue Lightning Clan."
Silence fell once more. Then Ning Fengzhi spoke, visibly stirred. "Excellent. A brilliant 'purge the court' strategy."
He regarded Luo Ling with newfound respect. Prevented by the nature of his martial soul from surpassing rank 79, Ning Fengzhi had devoted his life to statecraft and strategy. Even so, this plan expanded his horizons.
Bibi Dong, too, found herself compelled by Luo Ling's approach. She couldn't help thinking of Qian Renxue's long, cautious infiltration of Heaven Dou.
If Luo Ling had been at her side from the beginning, would the empire already be under the Hall's shadow?
Accepting their praise with a faint smile, Luo Ling finished: "Teacher, that's why I brought Ning Fengzhi and the others here. The people already distrust Emperor Xue Ye. When the time is right, Qian Renxue and I can strike at once."
Light flashed in Bibi Dong's eyes.
Compared to the blunt force of the Soul Hunting Operation, this was better.
It offered a righteous pretext to move against Emperor Xue Ye and the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan—and even the secluded Clear Sky Sect.
Once their use of forbidden arts was exposed, they would have no place left in the soul master world.
(END CHAPTER)
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