The Unrivaled Tang Sect

Xu Tianran was certain that there was not a single linked defensive barrier in the Palace which could have blocked that blow. In other words, if Huo Yuhao and his group had possessed a sufficient quantity of those shells, they would have been able to destroy the entire Sun Moon Empire. That was a scary prospect for him to think about. 

If that kind of stationary soul cannon shell was not invented by the Sun Moon Empire, it must have come from one of the three original Empires. However, since when did they have the ability to manufacture such powerful soul tools? 

Ye Xishui, who was dressed in a long black robe, stood beside Xu Tianran. Because she was also staying within the Palace, she was able to react immediately after the explosion. However, because she did not stay at the core area of the Palace, she did not sustain any direct injuries from the explosion. 

She chose to stay behind to protect Xu Tianran instead of going after the enemy because there was nothing more important than the Emperor's life. 

As Xu Tianran began to gain greater control over the Empire, Ye Xishui realized that she was starting to lose control over him. His power was increasing steadily, and the Sun Moon Empire seemed to be a lot tougher than she had thought. 

However, under such circumstances, Ye Xishui could only allow the Holy Ghost Church to develop in this manner. At the end of the day, Xu Tianran was almost like her disciple, and was—at least for now—one of the most ardent supporters of the Holy Ghost Church within the royal family. It was crucial to protect his life right now, when the Sun Moon Empire was going to war with the other Empires. If he were to somehow die during this time, there would be no guarantee that his successor would support the Holy Ghost Church in the same way. 

Ye Xishui had originally thought that she would be able to control everything. However, she had started to doubt herself. After witnessing the latest soul tools that the Sun Moon Empire was developing, she started to fear the powers they exhibited. She was also not confident of going up against the entire Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineer Legion. 

It was important to note that the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineer Legion only took orders from the Emperor himself. 

Hence, after weighing the pros and cons from several perspectives, Ye Xishui decided to fully support Xu Tianran. At the same time, she would try to figure out how to exert greater influence on the Sun Moon Empire. Thus, she did not go after Huo Yuhao and his group. 

Xu Tianran coughed loudly as he spat out a mouthful of blood. The servants by his side immediately handed him a clean towel to. 

Xu Tianran revealed a frustrated look on his face as he threw the towel aside angrily. Instead of using the towel, he wiped his mouth furiously with the back of his hand. 

Actually, Xu Tianran was extremely gifted in cultivation. However, his gifts were adversely affected after a very tragic incident. When he was younger, he lost his legs while trying to wrest the throne from his brothers. At that time, he lost a lot of blood and vitality. Because of this, he was only able to attain the rank of Titled Douluo after using all sorts of top-tier medicinal herbs. However, his actual abilities were still a little short of a Titled Douluo.

Previously, when Du Busi sacrificed his life to strike a deadly blow against him, Xu Tianran had sustained an extremely serious injury. Even though he had been undergoing therapies and all sorts of conditioning training, he was unable to fully recover from those injuries. Now, he was attacked by a Class 9 stationary soul cannon shell. It was truly a series of unfortunate events for him. As his injuries piled up, the origins of his martial soul and spiritual power could only recover through protracted rest and conditioning. Even though he had tried to undergo therapies with the help of healing-type soul masters, the effects were not particularly promising. In addition, the loss of his two legs had burdened his body tremendously, and would delay any form of recovery.

The Imperial Physician was afraid to tell him the truth. However, Ye Xishui had told him that even with the support of the best herbs in the entire world, he could at best live for another fifty years. Because he was currently about forty to fifty years old, he could at most live to a hundred. This was simply too short for an Emperor who had attained the rank of Titled Douluo.

How could Xu Tianran be in a good mood under such circumstances?

More figures started to appear by Xu Tianran’s side. All of them were silent as they stood by him. It could be said that Radiant City had just suffered its biggest setback ever. In fact, it was even worse than the huge explosion in the underground ammunition depot. Even though that explosion had affected half of the city and resulted in civilian casualties and damages, it was ultimately an internal mistake. It was not because of Radiant City’s inherent lack of defensive strength.

This time round, the Palace had been directly attacked! Their enemies were somehow able to penetrate their defenses and hurt the Emperor directly. This was a huge blow to the soul engineers of the Sun Moon Empire.

While Xu Tianran’s body had to be fully supported by a chair, he did not show any signs of fatigue. He knew well enough that he must not allow his body to collapse at this important juncture. If not, the optimistic image he had just constructed would crumble.

“Is the Prime Minister here?” Xu Tianran asked with a hoarse voice.

“Your Majesty, I have just arrived.” The Prime Minister appeared from behind as he bowed before Xu Tianran. It was apparent that he was panicking as he addressed him.

Xu Tianran stared at him coldly before saying, “Is this the enemy you were referring to? The enemy who can change directions at top speed on the ocean?”

The Prime Minister revealed a bitter expression as he replied, “I understand. It’s my fault.”

“You may stand by the side for now,” Xu Tianran ordered coldly. The Prime Minister was no longer entitled to a seat.

All the ministers rushed over at the first instant. It was not only an important moment to declare one’s loyalty to Xu Tianran, but also to understand the Emperor’s situation. If Xu Tianran were truly dead after this attack, they would begin to hatch their own individual plans.

The members of the royal family were the earliest to arrive. Even though the Princes who had fought him for the throne had all died, it was not possible for Xu Tianran to put all their descendants and family members to death. That was something which the seniors in the royal family would never allow. If he were to really do that, he would anger some of the people who were eyeing his throne, and spur them to act rashly.

Hence, it was important to note that there was more than one person present who was hoping for Xu Tianran to die.

"Is the Prince okay?" Xu Tianran asked. 

A member of the Hall of Consecration quickly stepped forward before saying, “The Prince’s palace was protected by the Eternal Star Domain. Your Majesty, rest assured that all is well.”

“Okay.” Xu Tianran nodded. How could he not know that the Prince was protected by a soul tool? The Eternal Star Domain was known as the strongest defensive soul tool in the entire Sun Moon Empire. It was supposed to be used to protect his quarters. However, since Ju Zi had left to campaign, Xu Tianran had placed the Eternal Star Domain with the Prince to reassure her that the Prince would be safe even when she was not around.

Even though the Class 9 stationary soul cannon shell earlier was incredibly powerful, its power was insufficient to breach the defense of the Eternal Star Domain. Hence, the Prince was naturally safe and sound.

It was apparent that Xu Tianran had purposely asked that question in front of certain individuals just so that those people could hear the answer and dismiss certain thoughts that were forming in their heads.

After hearing how the Prince was fine, there were some faces that were visibly disappointed. As long as the Prince was still alive, even if Xu Tianran were to die, they would not have a chance of becoming the Emperor.

Xu Tianran seemed to reveal a mocking smile before he asked an old man beside him. “Elder Kong, when is the Imperial Soul Engineer Legion returning?”

This man who was addressed as Elder Kong was a tall and burly man. He had short and spiky grey hair, and was wearing a yellow long robe. Such robes were supposed to be worn only by members of the royal family, though it was apparent from his surname that he did not belong to the royal family. 

All this while, he had been standing on the other side of Xu Tianran. His face revealed a calm and collected expression, as though he had nothing to do with what had just happened. However, if one were to pay closer attention to him, one would notice the shapeless energy he was radiating, which formed a barrier over himself and Xu Tianran. It was almost as if he was his guardian. 

Elder Kong was, in fact, standing closer to Xu Tianran than Ye Xishui, and the aura he radiated did not pale significantly in comparison to hers.

After hearing his words, Xu Tianran nodded gently before ordering, "Tell them it is my order that they track down our enemies at all costs. Is Elder Ye back?" 

"Your Majesty, I am here." Two people were walking very quickly towards the Emperor from afar. It was illegal to fly above the Palace. This rule still applied to anyone from the Hall of Consecration. 

Ye Yulin was in no better state than Xu Tianran. While Xu Tianran was heavily injured, Ye Yulin was very frustrated. 

During that humongous explosion earlier, he had been caught by the shockwave while he was in the air. Even though he tried to rapidly descend to avoid it, he still lost two precious defensive sool tools in his bid to keep himself alive. 

The energy storm in the air made it impossible for him to track the enemy's movements. He was only able to roughly make out the shape of several soul tools within the linked defensive barrier before he landed on the ground. Other than the soul tools, he could not tell how many people were inside the cloudy barrier. 

"Elder Ye, who were those people? Have you found out who they are?" Xu Tianran was surprisingly calm when he asked this question. 

Anger would only harm his already injured body even more. It was only appropriate for a great character to stay calm in critical moments like this. 

Ye Yulin spoke with a deep voice. "Our enemies are very strong, and they are probably from the other three Empires. If I’m not wrong, they have more than one soul engineer legion." 

After Ye Yulin finished his sentence, the room went silent. 

They had more than one soul engineer legion? What does this mean? 

It was still understandable if this attack was carried out by one or two individuals with the help of powerful soul tools. After all, there were bound to be people who could sneak past the Sun Moon Empire's aerial surveillance soul tools. However, something must be wrong if an entire legion could sneak past the surveillance soul tools. On top of that, more than one legion managed to sneak in!

Ye Yulin continued, "Your Majesty, I have already dispatched my people to investigate this matter. I would recommend that we stop our attacks temporarily. Our enemies might have retreated, but they have left some clues behind." 

Xu Tianran stares at Ye Yulin before saying," I need you to tell me the details. I want to know more about these enemies."