harleyscars Chapter 146 Guess Who Didn't Receive an Invitation
Chapter 146 Guess Who Didn't Receive an Invitation
Chapter 146 Guess Who Didn't Receive an Invitation
White Tiger Duke's Mansion.
Sunlight shines on the glazed tiles, making them glitter and sparkle.
The golden palace roofs and vermilion gates exude an antique charm, further highlighting the grandeur and solemnity of this mansion complex.
However, the atmosphere inside the mansion was strangely oppressive.
Duke Dai Hao had returned to his residence a few days ago, and the day was brightly decorated with lanterns and a grand banquet to welcome him back. But now, the servants in the residence all walk with their heads down, not daring to make a sound.
Inside an extremely ornately decorated room in the mansion.
Dai Hao stood with his hands behind his back, his usually resolute face now clouded with gloom.
Beside him, the Duchess, dressed in fine clothes, was constantly wiping the corners of her eyes with a silk handkerchief. Her eyes, which should have been elegant and graceful, were now red and swollen, clearly from crying for a long time.
An elderly woman with a weathered face sat in a chair beside the bed. The soft green light in her hand gradually faded, but her tightly furrowed brows remained furrowed.
"I have already cleaned most of the corpse poison from him. But some of it has already invaded his flesh and bone marrow, so he can only rely on his soul power to slowly expel it. This process is estimated to take one or two years."
As for the corrosive injuries he suffered, they will require his body to heal itself, and it should take about a few months to recover. Because the toxins were almost invading his brain, even with my treatment, he will likely remain in a coma for several weeks before waking up.
After respectfully seeing off the Immortal Doctor Douluo, the Duchess could no longer contain her grief and rushed to the bedside to weep loudly.
"My Yaoheng, my son! Who could be so cruel as to ruin him like this!"
Listening to his wife's shrill cries, Dai Hao felt a headache coming on.
His face turned ashen when he recalled the contents of the secret letter that Dureth had sent urgently.
"Shut up!" he snapped angrily. "Does crying and wailing solve anything? You should take a good look at the two good sons you've raised."
"They're all like brainless idiots, daring to plot against Shrek Academy. I bet your good son is trying to get rid of Huo Yuhao again. What have you done to Yun'er these past few years?"
Upon hearing this, the Duchess cried even louder.
"Dai Hao, do you care so much about that concubine's son? I am your lawfully wedded wife, and Yao Heng and Hua Bin are the direct descendants of our White Tiger Duke's mansion."
"It's all because of that damned maidservant's son that we've ended up like this. And now you're going to take your anger out on us, mother and son, for that maidservant's sake? Look at the state of Yueheng now, do you think that damned maidservant has even a shred of affection left for you or this family?"
"you……"
Dai Hao became increasingly agitated.
His early return from the border was not his intention.
When Dai Huabin got into trouble, he was unable to get away because of the tense military situation.
But it was at that moment that he finally managed to extract the truth from the Duchess: Huo Yuhao was Huo Yun'er's son.
A son whose talent surpasses even that of Dai Yueheng and Dai Huabin.
He had planned to find an opportunity during the Soul Master Competition to resolve this matter and mend the relationship between him and his son.
Before he could take any action, Dai Yueheng got into this mess.
Hearing his wife's words now, he couldn't help but wonder if Huo Yuhao would ever acknowledge his ancestors.
Before he could figure it out, a report came from outside the door that Her Majesty Xuanji had arrived.
A glint flashed in Dai Hao's eyes. Seeing his wife still crying, he was also annoyed and turned to leave the room, heading to the living room.
Before long, Dai Hao saw an elderly man, about seventy years old, standing in the reception room.
He quickly put on his usual smile, took a few steps forward, and hesitated before asking, "Uncle Xuanji, what brings you here? Is there something you need?"
Xuanji Douluo sighed inwardly and then went straight to the point: "I know about Yueheng's matter."
Upon hearing this, Dai Hao said in a deep voice, "Yue Heng has always been a calm and composed person. For him to take such a radical action, something must have happened that I don't know about."
"That's why I rushed here after receiving Dures's secret letter. Your youngest son angered Shrek Academy, and now Yue Heng is in this state. Doesn't your White Tiger Duke's Mansion have a ten-thousand-year-old friendship with Shrek Academy?"
Xuanji Douluo's tone was unusually tinged with anger. He couldn't understand why Dai Hao's two sons would do such stupid things one after another.
After Dai Hao stammered out the whole story, Xuanji Douluo's face darkened even more.
He knew perfectly well that Dai Hao had two wonderful deeds that were widely circulated throughout the Star Luo Empire.
One reason is that Dai Hao joined the army in his youth under an assumed name and rose step by step to the position of corps commander through his outstanding military achievements.
It wasn't until he was transferred back to the capital and received an award from Emperor Xu Jiawei of Xingluo that his identity was coincidentally recognized, and he later became the marshal of the empire.
But Xuanji Douluo knew that this was all nonsense.
The title of Duke of White Tiger will definitely be inherited by the bloodline of the Dai family. Inheriting the Duke of White Tiger will naturally mean taking control of the Western Army Group.
Secondly, Dai Hao loved only one person throughout his life and treated the Duchess with utmost respect.
And now, suddenly an illegitimate child has appeared?
If you can't control your lower body, then don't fucking spread that bullshit outside!
Seeing Xuanji Douluo's unusually grim expression, Dai Hao could only sigh and explain:
"Uncle Xuanji, I really didn't know that Yun'er had given birth to a son for me. As you know, I have been guarding the West for many years, and I have brought all the White Tiger Guards with me to the Western Army Group."
I entrusted everything in this mansion to my wife, and she has indeed managed it so well that I now have absolutely no control over it.
Even the old servants he knew in the mansion had all passed away, and when asked, they were told that they had retired to their hometowns.
It's likely that his wife was behind it all.
"Even if Yun'er and her son are not living well in the manor, Huo Yuhao is still my son. Does he think he can go against his father? Blood is thicker than water, how could he possibly deny it?"
Hearing Dai Hao's provocative words, Xuanji Douluo's face darkened even more.
He only knew from Dureth's secret letter that the situation was urgent and that the White Tiger Duke's Mansion had once again provoked Shrek Academy.
It turns out that the trouble is much bigger than he imagined.
With a dark face, he said bluntly, "Dai Hao, have you been a marshal for too long and think that you can command a thousand responses to you just by raising your arm?"
The issues involving Dai Huabin and Dai Yueheng are clearly all due to Huo Yuhao. Just because you want to acknowledge someone doesn't mean they'll necessarily acknowledge you.
Dai Hao wanted to retort, but he didn't have a chance to speak.
Xuanji Douluo spoke first, shouting, "Before I arrived, I heard that Xu Jiawei was planning to hold a banquet at the Star Emperor Hotel tomorrow night. Guess if he invited you?"
Originally, Xuanji Douluo thought that this was simply an opportunity for the Star Luo royal family to win over the hearts of students from various academies and, incidentally, to demonstrate the strength of the empire to the elites of the entire continent.
But now it seems that things are far from that simple.
It's likely that the Star Luo royal family already knows Huo Yuhao's identity and is preparing to take action against the White Tiger Duke's Mansion.
Dai Hao's expression changed drastically in an instant.
He returned from the border early, not only to see Dai Huabin, but also because of the summons from the Xingluo royal family.
Otherwise, according to his original plan, he would have just returned before the finals, made a brief appearance, and ended the trip there.
Hearing Xuanji Douluo say this, Dai Hao suddenly realized how passive his situation had become.
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"Even I only recently learned about this from Madam. Where did Xu Jiawei get this information from? Besides, even if the Xingluo royal family wanted to contact that rebellious son, shouldn't they do it secretly?"
Xuanji Douluo glanced at him, cursing inwardly, "You don't even know you've had an illegitimate child for over ten years, and you're still so proud of it, huh?"
"We must always prepare for the worst. Even if Xu Jiawei doesn't know, can't Huo Yuhao take the initiative to contact the Star Luo Royal Family? Shrek Academy can't easily get involved in this matter, but what about the Star Luo Royal Family?"
This is a perfectly legitimate, open conspiracy. How are you going to break it? Are you planning to cause a scene at the banquet? I even suspect you won't be able to see Huo Yuhao now. After all, you've personally handed such a sharp weapon to Xu Jiawei. Guess what he'll do?
Cold sweat beaded on Dai Hao's forehead as he finally realized the gravity of the situation. His voice was hoarse as he said, "Uncle Xuanji, save me."
Xuanji Douluo's resolute voice immediately rang out in the reception room.
"The simplest way is to send your wife and two sons to Huo Yuhao so that they can kowtow and apologize for the Duchess's mistreatment of his mother back then."
Dai Hao's face flushed red instantly, and he said angrily, "After doing this, how can I, Dai Hao, establish my authority in the army in the future? How will the soldiers view me as their commander?"
This would likely destroy the foundation of our White Tiger Duke's mansion, which has been passed down for ten thousand years. Besides, no matter how talented Huo Yuhao is, he's still just a child. What can he possibly accomplish?"
Xuanji Douluo looked at his furious appearance and simply nodded calmly.
He knew, of course, that Dai Hao would never agree to this proposal.
No matter what, the Duchess was his lawfully wedded wife, and also the legitimate daughter of the Zhu family's main branch, making her a crucial link in maintaining the relationship between the two families.
But he said that simply to open the roof and prepare for opening the windows below.
Xuanji Douluo placed his hand on his neck and gently stroked it, his eyes revealing a cold killing intent.
"Just like you said, at his age, he can only be a Soul Master at most. Even if his Martial Soul is of extremely high quality and his combat strength is comparable to that of a Soul King, he is already exceptionally talented."
He needs at least another ten years to grow to a level that poses a threat to the White Tiger Duke's Mansion. Therefore, the sooner we eliminate him, the better for the White Tiger Duke's Mansion will be.
Dai Hao's angry expression froze, replaced by a deep look of hesitation.
His youngest son, Dai Huabin, was exceptionally talented. Before he was even twelve years old, he had already reached level thirty-four in soul power. Even Dai Mubai, the ancestor from ten thousand years ago, probably couldn't match his talent.
But now that Dai Huabin has been crippled, and even because his spiritual sea has been damaged, he probably can only live for another ten years or so at most. This will require the White Tiger Duke's Mansion to continuously provide rare and precious materials to nourish his spiritual sea.
His original plan was to try to win back Huo Yuhao, the illegitimate son who had been taken in as a personal disciple by the elder of the Sea God Pavilion.
Perhaps, with this connection, he might be able to plot his return to the throne of the Star Luo Emperor.
But now...
Seeing the ever-changing expression on Dai Hao's face, Xuanji Douluo became even more furious.
He wouldn't have gotten involved in this mess if it weren't for the dying wish of the previous White Tiger Duke.
"A true man makes decisive decisions. One of your sons was crippled because of him, and the other is seriously injured. Do you really think you can reconcile with Huo Yuhao and be a loving father and son again? I bet you don't even know where his mother is now."
Dai Hao's expression instantly turned somewhat awkward; Xuanji Douluo's words undoubtedly struck a nerve.
He quickly stopped hesitating and said in a deep voice, "But how can we kill him now that we are in Xingluo City?"
Not to mention, the instructor leading the Shrek Academy team is likely a Super Douluo. If we fail, the consequences will be unimaginable. Once they return to the academy, we'll have no chance to intervene at all.
Seeing that he had finally relented, Xuanji Douluo slowly revealed the plan she had just come up with.
"I will ask Xu Jiawei for permission to serve as a referee after the semi-finals of this Soul Master Competition. Soul skills are indiscriminate on the competition field. Even if students from other academies cannot kill Huo Yuhao during the competition, as long as they can severely injure or cripple him, our goal will be achieved."
The Soul Master Competition can be traced back to the reign of the Spirit Hall ten thousand years ago.
Back then, the rules of the competition required avoiding injuring opponents, and if an opponent was killed, the academy to which the Soul Master belonged would not only have to pay compensation, but would also be expelled from the Soul Master Competition.
But after tens of thousands of years of evolution, the Soul Master Competition has become a stage for academies under various empires to showcase their strength.
Although students from each academy try their best to restrain themselves during the competition due to the rules, incidents of injury or disability are not uncommon in each competition, and this depends entirely on the referee's control over the competition process.
Dai Hao's eyes also lit up slightly; clearly, Xuanji Douluo's approach was very ingenious.
The only thing to worry about is Shrek Academy holding him accountable after the competition.
However, Xuanji Douluo is a level 94 titled Douluo and holds a high position in the Star Luo Empire's Hall of Worship. Even if he is held accountable, he will probably only have to pay some resources in compensation.
"Uncle Xuanji, my White Tiger Duke's Mansion has been passed down for ten thousand years, so naturally we won't make things difficult for you. We will also pay for any accountability issues raised by Shrek Academy."
Xuanji Douluo nodded, a look of approval on his face.
"Very well, then I will consult with Xu Jiawei in a few days. However, Dai Hao, now that one of your sons is crippled and the other is seriously injured, I think you should really cultivate a new heir. This vast White Tiger Duke's Mansion ultimately needs someone to inherit it."
As a close friend of the former White Tiger Duke, he naturally did not want to see the White Tiger Duke's mansion decline.
(End of this chapter)