On the contrary, if the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Clan had stood on the side of 'Xue Qinghe' and chosen to "go with the flow," perhaps the gains would have been even greater?
'Xue Qinghe' possessed the Six-Winged Angel Spirit, clearly an important figure within Spirit Hall, and closely connected with 'Sky Invincible' Qian Daoliu. If not father and son, then most likely grandfather and grandson. He was likely the future ruler of Spirit Hall.
Previously, the reason Ning Fengzhi had chosen to assist Heaven Dou in quelling the rebellion was mainly because he believed that Xue Qinghe, after colluding with Spirit Hall in treason, would become nothing more than a puppet of Spirit Hall. Moreover, with Spirit Hall's immense power, the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Clan would most likely be completely devoured in the future.
Between the sect's legacy and its disciples, as the Sect Master of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Clan, Ning Fengzhi chose the former.
Because he was first the Sect Master of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Clan, and only afterward Xue Qinghe's teacher.
But the reason Ning Fengzhi made this choice was because he believed Xue Qinghe would become a puppet of Spirit Hall. If 'Xue Qinghe' wasn't a puppet, but instead the future ruler of Spirit Hall, then everything would be completely different.
Spirit Hall was the overlord of the continent's Spirit Master world, Heaven Dou Empire was one of the continent's two empires, and the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Clan was one of the top three sects on the continent. If these three parties were united through 'Xue Qinghe', and worked in unison, the day they unified the continent would not be far off.
Furthermore, considering how the second and third princes of Heaven Dou died successively over ten years ago, and that his own disciple hadn't shown any unusual signs recently, Ning Fengzhi could confirm that the real Xue Qinghe had been replaced long ago. In reality, he and 'Xue Qinghe' did have a genuine teacher-student relationship.
With this teacher-student bond, although in the early stages the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Clan would indeed need to support Spirit Hall, once success was achieved in the future, the fruits of victory would surely include a share for the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Clan.
Compared to the uncertain future before him now, Ning Fengzhi couldn't help but feel that if they had chosen to stand on 'Xue Qinghe's' side earlier, it might have been more beneficial for the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Clan.
'Qinghe, oh Qinghe, why didn't you discuss things with your teacher beforehand?'
Ning Fengzhi silently regretted.
In the past, although the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Clan regarded Spirit Hall as a potential enemy, there had never been any irreconcilable hatred between the two sides.
If you can't beat them, join them. This wasn't something completely unacceptable either.
Unlike the original work, in the canon, the Heaven Dou palace coup happened after the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Clan was raided by Spirit Hall.
At that time, the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Clan had been utterly devastated by Spirit Hall, suffering immense losses. With such deep enmity, Ning Fengzhi naturally stood firmly on the opposite side of Spirit Hall.
But right now, Spirit Hall's "Soul Hunting Operation" had yet to begin, and Ning Fengzhi's hostility toward Spirit Hall wasn't nearly as deep. As long as the clan's legacy and interests could be ensured, cooperation wasn't entirely impossible.
Unfortunately, there are no "ifs" in reality. Even if he wanted to regret now, it was already too late.
Ning Fengzhi: This Sect Master is two-faced? Heh~, this Sect Master's surname is Ning, not Xue. Everything I've done has been for the inheritance of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Clan.
"Sword Douluo, Bone Douluo, could you recognize the identity of the one who struck last?"
At this moment, Xue Xing turned and asked Chen Xin and Gu Rong.
Chen Xin shook his head. "No, but if I'm not mistaken, that wasn't a Titled Douluo, but a Spirit Fusion Technique at the level of a Titled Douluo."
"To be able to instantly kill a Titled-level Golden Dragon in one move, the strength is likely no less than my own. The users should be two ice-type Spirit Masters at the eighth-ring level."
"Also, that unknown Spirit Fusion Technique released an invisible domain filled with killing intent. If I'm not mistaken, that domain should be the Killing God Domain that the Clear Sky Douluo Tang Hao also possesses."
"Killing God Domain?"
Upon hearing this, Emperor Xue Ye appeared thoughtful. He couldn't help but think of Mu Yang and Shui Bing'er, who had arrived in Heaven Dou City a few months ago and had recently been studying in Moon Pavilion.
As the most outstanding prodigies of the younger generation in the Empire, Emperor Xue Ye had always paid close attention to the two of them.
Moreover, the Heaven Dou Empire's intelligence network was not lacking. It wasn't as if they were unaware of Tang Hao's Killing God Domain and its origins.
However, Emperor Xue Ye quickly dismissed his suspicion.
After all, Chen Xin had said it himself such a powerful Spirit Fusion Technique must have come from two Spirit Masters at the Soul Douluo level with eight spirit rings. While Mu Yang and Shui Bing'er were indeed the Empire's most outstanding young talents, they were still young, and their spirit power levels couldn't possibly have reached the eighth-ring level so quickly. It had to be someone else.
Emperor Xue Ye's line of thinking wasn't wrong, but what he didn't know was that there existed an utterly heaven-defying thing in this world battle armor. A six-ring Soul Emperor equipped with a properly forged two-word battle armor could possess strength comparable to an eight-ring Soul Douluo.
At this moment, Dugu Bo, and the Commander of the Imperial Guard Corps, and Commander Brooke of the Royal Knight Corps arrived together to report the post-battle casualties.
"What are the casualties?"
Emperor Xue Ye asked in a deep voice.
"Your Majesty, excluding minor injuries, this battle resulted in more than twelve thousand fatalities among the Imperial Guard Corps, with six thousand seriously injured. In addition, the rebel Third Legion suffered thirty thousand casualties. The remainder have laid down their arms and surrendered, awaiting Your Majesty's judgment."
"The Royal Knight Corps suffered over ten thousand deaths and three thousand severely wounded."
"Taking into account the hidden agents planted by Spirit Hall, compared to before the rebellion, the Royal Court's guest spirit master corps has lost nearly sixty percent of its members, while the Court Spirit Master Battalion has suffered over thirty percent casualties. As for Spirit Hall's side, they left behind the corpses of more than fifteen hundred spirit masters."
The three men reported the casualty figures one after another.
Upon hearing this, Emperor Xue Ye's vision darkened, and his heart ached so much that he couldn't breathe. He nearly fainted on the spot.
It must be understood that in terms of spirit master strength alone, the Heaven Dou Empire didn't have a deep foundation, and the forces directly under the royal family were even more limited.
It could be said that in this rebellion alone, the royal family had lost nearly half of its spirit master strength.
What was even more crucial was that the Empire had also lost a qualified crown prince.
Spirit Hall harbored great ambition, and the Star Luo Empire possessed formidable strength. In this time of looming chaos, Emperor Xue Ye couldn't help but worry could the Heaven Dou Empire truly preserve itself in the approaching age of unrest?
One couldn't blame Emperor Xue Ye for thinking this way. It was just that, given the past performance of Xue Beng the Empire's only remaining heir to the throne he couldn't help but harbor such concerns.
"Xue Beng!"
After a moment, Emperor Xue Ye fixed his eyes on Xue Beng and shouted.
"Your son is here."
Xue Beng stepped forward and bowed.
"Kneel!"
'Thud—'
Without hesitation, Xue Beng immediately dropped to his knees.
The old emperor didn't have much time left to live. If he wanted to ascend the throne smoothly, he couldn't afford even a hint of disobedience.
Afterward, Emperor Xue Ye, enduring the weakness brought on by his poisoning, struggled to rise from the bed with the support of the palace maids.
"Sect Master Ning, the Empire is now in a time of crisis. Xue Beng lacks experience. I hope Sect Master Ning will guide him well in the days to come."
As he spoke, Emperor Xue Ye gave Ning Fengzhi a deep bow.
"Your Majesty, that is too much."
Ning Fengzhi quickly stepped forward and helped Emperor Xue Ye up.
"Xue Beng, from now on you are to regard Sect Master Ning as your teacher. Always remember to respect your teacher and honor his teachings!"
Emperor Xue Ye turned and sternly instructed Xue Beng.
For additional chapters
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