radicalducati Chapter 194 The Trial Ends, Dai Youheng Reveals His Sharp Edge
Chapter 194 The Trial Ends, Dai Youheng Reveals His Sharp Edge
Chapter 194 The Trial Ends, Dai Youheng Reveals His Sharp Edge
"No—! Impossible! Absolutely impossible!"
A piercing, desperate scream shattered the atmosphere that had just eased in the hall.
Zhu Man sprang from her chair like a madwoman, collapsed to the ground, and struggled to point at Dai Youheng, tears streaming down her face. "You're not an evil spirit master? How could someone as cold-blooded and ruthless as you not be an evil spirit master? Dai Youheng, I'm asking you, is my sister Zhu Shu in your hands? She disappeared without a trace after she went to investigate your whereabouts. Did you kill her?!"
"Yes, she's in my hands. Want her? I'll give her back to you!" Dai Youheng smiled coldly, looking at the seemingly insane Zhu Man without a trace of emotion in his eyes.
With a flick of his wrist, he took out a round ice block from his storage soul tool, which rolled onto the smooth, jade-like ground with a dull thud.
In the center of the ice block was a woman's head with a terrified expression and wide-open eyes—the long-lost Zhu Shu!
The entire room fell into a deathly silence; you could hear a pin drop!
"Sister—!!" Zhu Man let out a heart-wrenching wail, scrambling over to grab the head, her whole body trembling violently, as if all her energy had been drained away in an instant, leaving only endless despair and madness.
She raised her head, her scarlet eyes locking onto Dai Youheng. "Dai Youheng, you killed my sister. You really are an evil spirit master, otherwise how could you be so ruthless?"
"Wrong. It's precisely because I'm not an evil spirit master that I had to kill her," Dai Youheng retorted. "This woman saw me and immediately used my status as an evil spirit master as an excuse to kill me. If I were killed by her like that, wouldn't there be no way to prove it, and I would be forever burdened with the stigma of being an evil spirit master? Left with no other choice, I had to kill her in return!"
Dai Hao also stood up abruptly, his eyes wide open, his chest heaving violently. Looking at Zhu Shu's head, he was both shocked and furious, his heart aching terribly!
Zhu Shu was not only his sister-in-law, but also a key figure in the fusion of martial soul techniques between the Dai and Zhu families. Since Zhu Man fell ill, Zhu Shu was the only one who could still use the Netherworld White Tiger with him. Her death was a huge blow to both families!
"Dai Youheng!" Dai Hao's voice trembled with rage, and a terrifying pressure of soul power spread uncontrollably. "You—you dare! Have you forgotten what you promised me?"
"Your Grace!" Dai Youheng met Dai Hao's gaze without flinching, his voice cold and clear, "My promise not to cause trouble was on the condition that the Zhu family also behave themselves! Now, Zhu Shu, without distinguishing right from wrong, has tried to kill me in the name of killing evil soul masters! Do you expect me to just sit here and wait to be slaughtered because of a promise? I killed her in self-defense, a legitimate counterattack. Now that I'm returning her head to you, shouldn't you thank me? At least when she's cremated or buried, she'll have a head, instead of just ashes."
"Youheng is absolutely right," Xu Jiujiu immediately spoke, his voice carrying the majesty of royalty. "Clan Chief Zhu Shu's concern for the continent and her desire to eradicate evil are certainly admirable, but her actions were too reckless and extreme. To kill an imperial noble without verification is a dangerous trend that must not be tolerated! Fortunately, Youheng was strong enough to protect herself. Otherwise, if Youheng had died unjustly, our royal family would certainly have held the Zhu family accountable! Now that Clan Chief Zhu Shu has paid the price, this matter ends here. Considering her good intentions, she is permitted a grand funeral. As for Youheng, he killed in self-defense and should be innocent!"
After speaking, she turned to Xu Jiawei and asked, "Brother, am I right?"
Xu Jiawei immediately nodded, "What my royal sister says is the most fair and reasonable."
The emperor and his sister, working in concert, instantly characterized Dai Youheng's murder as legitimate self-defense, thus seizing the moral and legal high ground.
"No—that's not how it is!" Zhu Man suddenly raised her head, her blood-red eyes fixed on Dai Youheng like a dying beast. "You can't do it! You're just a Soul Emperor! My sister is a peak Soul Douluo! How could you possibly kill her? You must have used evil magic! You're an evil Soul Master!"
Faced with Zhu Man's hysterical questioning, Dai Youheng suddenly smiled. That smile carried absolute confidence and an overbearing arrogance.
He walked forward step by step, and with each step he took, his aura rose a little more. His soul power, which had been perfectly refined and restrained to the extreme, erupted like a giant dragon that had just awakened. Although his soul power level was still Soul Emperor, the quality and pressure of it made many experts present feel their hearts tremble!
"I may be just a Soul Emperor, but so what?"
He walked towards Dai Hao and Zhu Man, his posture as straight as a spear, his gaze sweeping over Zhu Man like cold lightning, finally landing on Dai Hao, whose face was ashen.
His aura alone was enough to rival and even subtly suppress the combined pressure emanating from Dai Hao and his wife!
"Because I am Dai Youheng! So what if I kill a mere Soul Douluo?" Dai Youheng's voice was not loud, but it resounded in everyone's ears like thunder, carrying an undeniable confidence and power!
"Her level is higher than mine, but that only means she has two more spirit rings. I have a 100,000-year spirit ring, does she? I have a 100,000-year spirit bone, does she? I have an eighth-level melee spirit tool, the Tyrant Tiger Soul Refining Blade, does she? My Abyss Demon Tiger is already a super martial spirit, while her Netherworld Spirit Cat might not even have touched the threshold of a top-tier martial spirit!"
With each sentence Dai Youheng spoke, he took a half-step forward, his imposing aura growing stronger, forcing Dai Hao to subconsciously narrow his gaze.
"I have so many absolute advantages that it's just a matter of killing a high-level, agile-type Soul Douluo who misjudged and overestimated his opponent." He paused, his gaze sweeping across the entire arena before finally settling on Zhu Man's pale face. He asked, word by word, with absolute clarity, "Why not? Don't assume that what you can't do applies to me."
The domineering declaration, the impeccable logic, and the terrifying display of power that crushed its peers plunged the entire hall into a deathly silence.
She gazed for a long time at the tall figure who, despite his Soul Emperor status, rebuked the Soul Douluo with domineering arrogance. Her beautiful eyes sparkled with a strange light, as if stars were shining.
Xu Jiawei, however, was pondering something. He hadn't expected Dai Youheng to be so strong that she could even kill a Soul Douluo. Although Dai Youheng's strength would be helpful to his plans, being too strong would be a problem. Could the honey trap really keep such a person under control forever? An uncontrollable pawn, no matter how powerful, is still a threat.
After all, he was the emperor, and his thoughts went much deeper than Xu Jiujiu's. However, You Heng had already anticipated this level of consideration.
Yan Shaozhe and Cai Meier exchanged a glance, both seeing deep shock and a hint of regret in each other's eyes.
They might really be wrong. And they might have personally pushed a peerless genius, whose future would be enough to shake the continent, into the arms of the empire.
Dai Youheng's domineering and terrifying aura makes people unconsciously believe his words.
Dai Hao stared blankly at his son, his heart filled with mixed emotions.
Anger, heartache, regret, and a hint of astonishment and pity that even he himself was unwilling to admit were intertwined.
He seemed to see a young tiger king already displaying the power to reach the heavens, its claws and teeth sharp, its aura overwhelming, gradually surpassing his own, a mature tiger that had reigned supreme for many years. It was a qualitative difference, an absolute crushing of potential.
"If only—if only Youheng were the eldest son." An uncontrollable thought flooded Dai Hao's mind. "If the White Tiger Duke's Mansion could be handed over to him, with his talent, temperament and domineering spirit, he might really be able to lead the Dai family to a glorious peak that even our ancestors could not have imagined."
This thought made his heart pound. Unfortunately, the current reality was that this son, who had an unlimited future, was already at odds with the direct descendants of the Dai and Zhu families, with a deep rift between them, and he even had the blood of the direct descendants stained with his own.
The hatred between the two sides has deepened to an unsolvable level.
Zhu Man's weeping and cursing seemed distant; Dai Hao simply stared intently at Dai Youheng.
He had spent his life on the battlefield and considered himself an expert judge of character, yet never before had he felt so acutely the relentless tide of changing times crashing down upon him. He and the traditions he had so painstakingly upheld seemed so pale and powerless before this wave.
Xu Jiawei took in Dai Hao's reaction and his sneer inwardly grew even stronger.
This was exactly the effect he wanted. In the end, he decided to help Dai Youheng first, and then he would find a way to completely control Dai Youheng later.
Then he spoke slowly, his voice carrying the final decision of an emperor, bringing this dramatic public trial to a close: "Alright, the truth is now clear. Dai Youheng is innocent and his self-defense is understandable. The matter of Clan Chief Zhu Shu is now settled. As Jiu Mei suggested, she shall be given a grand funeral befitting a noble. The misunderstanding at Shrek Academy has been cleared up, and the promises made should be fulfilled."
That's enough for today!
The emperor's words were the final word, sealing everything.
Yan Shaozhe and Cai Meier looked grim, but they had nothing to say and could only silently accept the outcome. Today, Shrek Academy had suffered a significant loss of face in the Star Luo Imperial Palace.
Dai Hao took a deep breath, as if he had aged several years in an instant. He looked deeply at Dai Youheng, his gaze indescribably complex, which eventually turned into a silent sigh. He helped up the almost limp Zhu Man, took Zhu Shu's head, and turned to walk out of the hall, his back view appearing somewhat hunched.
A public trial aimed at judging evil spirit masters ultimately ended in a complete defeat for the judges and an absolute victory for the defendants.
Dai Youheng not only cleared his name, but also took this opportunity to fully demonstrate his terrifying talent, domineering strength, and unfathomable cunning and methods to the entire Star Luo Empire's high-ranking officials.
After a long while, she walked to Dai Youheng's side, her beautiful eyes sparkling, and whispered, "Youheng, let's go back."
Dai Youheng nodded slightly, then glanced at the vast palace one last time. His gaze was calm and unwavering, as if the earth-shattering confrontation just now was nothing more than an insignificant farce to him.
He turned around and walked calmly out of the main hall alongside Xu Jiujiu, under the watchful eyes of countless people with inscrutable expressions.
The sunlight cast long shadows of the two men.
Several days later, the uproar in Xingluo City and the thrilling public trial were still being talked about.
During this period, Shrek's reputation plummeted. After all, framing one's own graduate is never a good thing. Some even spread rumors that Shrek's real purpose in doing this was to help Dai Yueheng compete for the position of heir to the Duke's mansion, rather than to punish evildoers.
Because Dai Yueheng was a pro-historian, while Dai Youheng was a pro-emperor.
This directly led to the dissatisfaction of the major empires. No matter how powerful Shrek was, he could not interfere in the internal affairs of other countries.
As for who spread this news, it was Dai Youheng who had Nana spread it. Just like at the Sun Moon Royal Academy, Nana used soul threads to control many people, and then the news spread from one to ten, and from ten to a hundred.
Although this was just a small act of revenge by Dai Youheng, it actually laid the foundation for one of the later tests of the original sin gods.
In fact, this trial is related to the next three divine trials. For Dai Youheng, nothing is more important than completing the divine trials. All his current plans, such as seizing the Western Army Group, counterattacking Shrek Academy, and acquiring the secret soul bone, are for the future divine trials.
Dai Youheng is using his own intellect and the power of fate to predict the questions for the future divine exam!
Shrek couldn't pinpoint the source of the rumor and had to swallow their anger. Under these circumstances, they couldn't afford to be careless or perfunctory in their compensation to Dai Youheng.
When Shrek Academy's compensation soul bone arrived, it turned out to be a secret technique soul bone with an effect of 50,000 years. You Heng was quite satisfied, since the method of forming a secret technique soul bone was not easy. To obtain such a soul bone, simply hunting soul beasts would not work. One needed to select a type of soul beast, kill 100 of them within half an hour, and use a secret technique to activate their soul rings. There was a one in ten chance of obtaining such a soul bone.
Moreover, the age of the secret technique soul bone obtained is uncertain. After all, after killing a hundred beasts and activating the secret technique, the secret technique soul bone will randomly appear in one of those hundred beasts. And it is impossible for every soul beast hunted to be a high-age soul beast, right? More likely, they are hundreds or thousands of years old. The secret technique soul bone is more likely to be born from a low-age soul beast, such as the one that Huo Yuhao obtained.
A lifespan of 50,000 years is considered top-tier among secret soul bones.
Everyone thought he wanted the Mystic Soul Bone to increase his soul power limit after absorbing it, but in reality, he wanted another use for the Mystic Soul Bone: to prepare in advance for a future divine test.
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