"Then many thanks!" Yuwen Tuo's anger came quickly, and though it wouldn't disappear, it subsided just as fast.
Killing Xu Tianran and Xu Canglan now, and then escaping from the Sun Moon Empire, would not be difficult for him. After all, the Xu Tianran at the end of the original plot was merely a Rank 92 Titled Douluo. In this current period, he was at most a Soul Douluo.
After sealing his defensive soul tools with the Shu-Mountain Bronze, he absolutely wouldn't be able to withstand the combined sword strike of Yuwen Tuo and Snow Empress. As for Xu Canglan, he was nothing more than a sickly ghost. But only killing these two did not align with his psychological goals.
Since that so-called "Imperial Father" had always known about and indulged Xu Tianran's massacre of his village, then it would be better to destroy this Sun Moon Empire.
He would first have a good time playing around in this Sun Moon Empire. Whatever Xu Tianran hated most, whatever he resented most, that's what he would play with. Of course, most importantly,
he would kill evil soul masters. He would definitely investigate which specific one caused his village's destruction, whether it was the fundamental reason or the direct cause, he would thoroughly eradicate them.
Until the Sun Moon Empire could no longer tolerate him, he would then kill a great many before leaving.
However, his actions seemed to have led to some misunderstandings. Jing Hongchen's eyes lit up. "So that's it! I understand now! Prince Tuo's actions hold deep meaning!"
Due to Yuwen Tuo's extraordinary talent, Xu Canglan immediately conferred upon him the title of Prince Yan and bestowed upon him a royal residence.
This princely title was not too high, nor too low.
Among the Sun Moon Empire's princes, the highest position, of course, belonged to Xu Tianran, the Crown Prince. Next were the princely titles.
Xu Canglan's younger brothers, and several other decent sons, were all princes.
Below princes were郡王 (prince of a commandery), which was the status of most princes.
Yuwen Tuo, entering the court for the first time, was conferred the title of Prince of a Commandery, which was quite fitting.
In the future, as long as he rendered some meritorious service to the empire, he could naturally become a Prince. Once he became a Prince, he would have the capital to contend for the succession.
Of course, that was assuming Yuwen Tuo wanted to contend for the succession, but he currently only wanted to destroy the Sun Moon Empire.
After the court session ended, Xu Canglan kept Yuwen Tuo to share an evening meal with him.
Jing Hongchen and Meng Hongchen, grandfather and granddaughter, returned to the Mingde Hall. Meng Hongchen was still shaken, complaining incessantly along the way,
"This Yuwen Tuo is truly infuriating! I warned him again and again not to provoke His Majesty and the Crown Prince, but what does he do? He specifically picks on those two! If he really angers His Majesty, what are we going to do?"
"You're wrong, Meng'er. Yuwen Tuo is smarter than you think. He did it on purpose, for his ambition," Jing Hongchen said.
Meng Hongchen was startled. "What ambition?"
"Of course, the ambition for the supreme position," Jing Hongchen said. "Meng'er, if Yuwen Tuo had done as you said today, showing filial respect to the Imperial Father and deference to his elder brother, tell me,
what would his outcome have been today?"
"Outcome? Of course, the Dragon would be greatly pleased, and then he would be conferred the title of Prince, not just a mere Prince of a Commandery," Meng Hongchen pouted.
"Hehe, Prince? He doesn't care for a princely title," Jing Hongchen chuckled. "What's the point of being a Prince? He has no power or influence in the court, grew up in a rural village, and was confined by Shrek for so many years, so he must be unfamiliar with state affairs. Many people can understand this, Meng'er. If he had done as you said, what would his future have been like?"
Meng Hongchen thought for a moment, "It would be like this, right? Because he's unfamiliar with state affairs, he wouldn't enter the court. But his cultivation is extremely strong, and the imperial family would carefully nurture him.
He would definitely become a top-tier powerhouse. Years later, when His Majesty passes away and passes the throne to the Crown Prince, he, as a younger brother, would assist the new Emperor, becoming a vanguard with his extraordinary strength,
sweeping through the three nations in one go, then being conferred the title of Prince. His Majesty would be overjoyed and bestow upon me and Yuwen Tuo a marriage. A year later, he and I would have a pair of dragon-phoenix twins.
Because the continent would have been unified by then, our couple would want our children to live a peaceful and joyful life, so the son would be named Yuwen Yi, and the daughter Yuwen Yue... Wait, no, shouldn't he change his surname back to Xu then?"
Jing Hongchen's forehead was covered in black lines. "Stop! You can stop at 'sweeping through the three nations.' All the rambling psychological activities that went off-topic, bring them back!"
"That's right, just as you said. If Yuwen Tuo obediently acted as a good son and a good younger brother, his future would most likely be as you described. Of course, that's assuming the Crown Prince doesn't 'slaughter the donkey after grinding the mill' (discard someone after their use) and can tolerate him.
But he clearly isn't willing to do that. His goal is to challenge the Crown Prince and contend for the supreme position. Therefore, he cannot allow people to form that inherent impression of him as a good elder brother and good younger brother."
Meng Hongchen was so startled that she covered her mouth. "Grandpa, you mean, Yuwen Tuo wants to contend for the throne?"
"Otherwise? Why would he openly contend with Xu Tianran? It can't be just because he dislikes Xu Tianran and wanted to curse him to vent his anger, can it?" Jing Hongchen said.
At this moment, Yuwen Tuo had just left the imperial palace, having finished dinner with the old emperor. To be honest, the food in the imperial palace wasn't as good as what he cooked himself, but today, under the watchful eyes of everyone, he had exposed his greatest enemy's biggest weakness and cursed him, which was quite satisfying.
"Grandpa, then why did he offend His Majesty? If he wants to contend for the throne, shouldn't he try to win His Majesty's favor?" Meng Hongchen asked confusedly.
"Did he offend His Majesty?" Jing Hongchen countered. "That's right, today, when he spoke to His Majesty, he was full of resentment and refused to call him Imperial Father. But at least he wasn't as rude as he was to the Crown Prince.
He also told His Majesty that he grew up in a rural village, didn't understand etiquette, and had suffered greatly, which led His Majesty to say that he could often visit the palace to accompany him. If it were an ordinary family, Meng'er, what do you think Yuwen Tuo was doing?"
"He was acting spoiled towards His Majesty?"
"Precisely so. He is very intelligent, leveraging his pitiful persona to gain His Majesty's sympathy. Would he truly resent His Majesty?" Jing Hongchen confidently judged.
Yuwen Tuo walked on the street, thinking to himself, "Dog Emperor, do you think I care about a mere princely title? And you want me to often dine with you? Am I that idle? Since you knew about Xu Tianran's massacre of the village, yet did nothing to punish him, then you too are my enemy for destroying my village!"
Clearly, Yuwen Tuo's hatred for the Sun Moon Emperor was not much less than his hatred for Xu Tianran.
"But he has no power or influence in the court, how can he contend with His Royal Highness the Crown Prince? Isn't that just seeking death?" Meng Hongchen asked worriedly. She didn't expect Yuwen Tuo to contend for that position. What was so good about being an emperor? Wasn't it better to live happily with her?
Jing Hongchen nodded. "That's right, he certainly has no power or influence in the court, but he does outside of it. He is currently backed by the Body Sect, and the power he wields is not inferior to my Mingde Hall.
Dugu Bo has even stepped into the Limit Douluo realm, and you think His Majesty can ignore this power? Just the possibility of gaining the Body Sect's allegiance will make His Majesty consider adding Yuwen Tuo to the succession list. If I'm not mistaken, Yuwen Tuo probably won't reside in the royal palace bestowed by His Majesty afterwards.
Instead, he will first come to my Mingde Hall, because he will be concerned about being assassinated by His Royal Highness the Crown Prince during this time. Only my Mingde Hall is the safest place. Then he will also contact experts from the Body Sect to assist him!"
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