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Reborn Into a Doomed Villain Clan, I Realized Too Late My System Was in English (Web Novel) - Chapter 575 The First Night of Chaos
Chapter 575 The First Night of Chaos
This chapter is updated by JustRead.pl
The funeral ended.And just like that, everything seemed to return to normal.
The Imperial Capital slowly resumed its rhythm.
The white banners remained, the mourning had not yet fully lifted-but beneath it, life continued.
At least... on the surface.
Then shocking news spread just after a day has passed.
Like a spark falling into dry grass.
"The Eleventh Prince... has been assassinated!"
Shock rippled through the capital as well as other parts of the Empire.
The announcement came abruptly.
The Eleventh Prince was dead.
Found in his own residence.
There were no signs of struggle.
No trace of intrusion.
No evidence left behind.
Only his lifeless body.
It was said that a maid had gone to deliver his usual meal.
She entered, only to find the lifeless body of the prince.
The news had barely been digested before another followed.
"The Thirteenth Princess has also been assassinated!"
Two royals!
Dead in less than a day after the Emperor's funeral.
Even those who had anticipated bloodshed did not expect it to come this fast. This was ruthless!
Gulp!
Many could not help but swallow nervously.
Those who had never experienced the battle for the throne hadn't expected it to be this brutal from the very first day.
'Do royals not have any bond with their siblings?"
Well, for the throne, those blood relationships certainly didn't seem to have any effect.
Now they understood.
This was the battle for the throne.
But everyone thought the same thing.
Who did it?
And the answer was simple.
Any of the remaining princes.
Any of the remaining princesses.
All of them had the same motive, and they all had the means to do so as well.
As for investigation?
The Imperial officials would definitely take this seriously since it was an Imperial member-but only on the surface.
Although the specific culprit wasn't known, anyone could tell that it was one of the princes or princesses.
Their status was too high for the officials to act freely, and they might lose their lives instantly if they overstepped.
So, they could only appear to do their job seriously-but beneath that, those cases would not go too far.
"Sigh! I didn't think those princes' and princesses' lives would one day be worth less than mine."
Kong Zhanhong let out a quiet breath as he spoke.
There was no mockery in his tone.
Only a heavy sense of reality.
In this period, it was true.
The lives of royal heirs-once untouchable, once revered-had become fragile.
Disposable.
Another prince.
Another princess.
If they died, it would barely cause more than a ripple.
Bai Zihan stood beside him, his expression calm.
He did not refute those words because they were true.
Being born into the Royal Family-something countless people envied.
Power.
Status.
Authority.
Yet now, it seemed almost tragic.
Bai Zihan's gaze shifted slightly, his thoughts steady.
It was cruel, but it was also inevitable.
They were the ones who chose this path.
The moment they set their sights on the throne, they had already stepped into
a battlefield.
A battlefield where retreat was no longer an option.
And where the only end was victory or death.
There were several princes and princesses who had withdrawn from the battle
for the throne and had no intention of fighting for it either.
Well, Bai Zihan thought that the former Emperor was also to be blamed for
today's situation.
If he had properly trained a successor and then suppressed others who wanted to fight for the throne, then this wouldn't have happened after his death.
What was happening now was simply the consequence.
Bai Zihan exhaled faintly.
Then his gaze turned toward Kong Zhanhong.
"So, did you find out who it was?"
Kong Zhanhong shook his head slightly.
"Young Master, it's hard to say for certain right now."
After all, it had been less than a day since the information was received, so even
with their network, it was difficult to find out.
"But judging from those who were killed, there are only a few likely candidates."
Bai Zihan's eyes narrowed slightly.
"Oh?"
Kong Zhanhong lowered his voice.
"The First Prince and the Second Prince."
A flicker of understanding passed through Bai Zihan's eyes.
Kong Zhanhong continued his explanation.
"Both the Eleventh Prince and the Thirteenth Princess had influence that lay
mostly within the Imperial Court and Capital."
"And that is exactly where the First and Second Princes hold their greatest
advantage."
With the deaths of those two, who would benefit the most?
The First and Second Princes' control over the court would only increase
further.
Thus, Kong Zhanhong came to the conclusion that it must be them.
As for who sent the assassins, the answer could be either.
Perhaps even both.
One might have been sent to kill the Eleventh Prince, while the other was
responsible for the Thirteenth Princess's death.
They might even be cooperating to eliminate their rivals before turning on each
other.
***
The next day, the Empire did not wake to peace.
It woke to urgency.
P
The assassinations of the Eleventh Prince and the Thirteenth Princess had done
more than remove two contenders.
They had shattered hesitation.
What was once a silent, cautious struggle had now become a race.
A race against death.
Because everyone understood one thing-
If they were slow, they would be next.
Across the Desolate Heaven Empire, movements began at once.
Princes and princesses who had once maintained dignity and distance now
acted without hesitation.
Envoys were dispatched.
Tokens were sent.
Meetings were arranged.
Some moved openly.
Others vanished into the shadows but their goal was the same.
To garner support from more clans and sects.
To increase their power.
They needed power. And they needed it now.
First-rate clans!
Second-rate clans!
Major sects.
Minor sects.
No one was spared from their reach.
One invitation after another was sent out, every one of them asking the other
party to support them.
Some were respectful while others were forceful.
At first glance, being chosen seemed like an opportunity.
To stand beside a future Emperor.
To rise with them.
To gain influence, authority, and unimaginable benefits.
But that was only one side of the coin.
Because the other side was far more terrifying.
If they chose wrong-
If the prince or princess they supported lost-
Then everything they had, their legacy could be erased by their opposition.
For the truly powerful forces, they could still choose to refuse even if that
came from someone like the First Prince.
Top clans and top sects.
Behemoths like the Bai, Li, and Zhao. They could refuse.
They could remain neutral. Because they had the strength to do so.
No prince or princess would dare push them too far.
But for the rest?
Second-rate clans!
Rising sects!
Newly established powers...
There was no such luxury. Refusal was not truly an option. If they did, they would be destroyed.
Compared to uncertain destruction and certain destruction, the choice was
obvious.
For some, there was no need to even act directly.
A trade route might collapse overnight. Allied clans might suddenly withdraw support.
Or worse-they would be directly exterminated.
Before, such actions would have been unthinkable.
The Emperor had been the final authority.
The one who maintained order. The one who kept everyone in check.
No matter how powerful a prince or princess was, they would not dare cross
certain lines.
At least, not directly.
If they did, the Emperor would mercilessly punish them.
In some cases, punishment even involved being sent to the battlefield at the
borders.
And for those princes and princesses, survival was rare.
Whether due to plots or incompetence... they never returned.
Thus, no one dared act out of line before.
But now, there was no Emperor.
No one to enforce those boundaries.
No one to restrain them.
And so, those lines no longer existed.
***
Far from the Imperial Capital, within a vast territory that had stood firm for
centuries, a First-Rate Clan faced its reckoning.
The Xue Clan!
A lineage that had weathered wars, upheavals, and countless shifts in power.
Their halls stood tall.
Their formations were layered and intricate.
Their influence stretched across multiple regions.
For generations... they had remained independent and unaffiliated.
And just yesterday, they had rejected him.
At the entrance of the Xue Clan's ancestral grounds, the atmosphere was
suffocating.
The gates stood open.
But not in welcome.
Guards lined both sides, their expressions tense, their grips tight on their
weapons.
Elders had gathered.
Disciples stood in formation.
Every single one of them could feel it.
That pressure.
Yu Longxuan had arrived.
The Seventh Prince!
He did not come alone.
Behind him stood figures clad in dark robes, their presence crackling faintly
with suppressed power.
The unmistakable aura of those from the Crimson Thunder Palace. Lightning flickered subtly around them.
The air itself seemed to hum-violent and unrestrained.
Yu Longxuan stepped forward slowly.
Each step echoed across the stone path.
His gaze swept across the gathered members of the Xue Clan.
Cold!
Indifferent!
As if he were not looking at people but at something far less significant.
