Apocalypse Circular-Chapter 517 - 515 Emperor

Wu Ye Ji looked at Lu Luo, her eyebrows slightly raised.

As a Seventh Tier master and a master of disguise amidst the crowd, Wu Ye Ji naturally had a full grasp of an individual’s every move, especially when she was observing someone with her full attention.

It was like stripping off their clothes.

The current Lu Luo was just like that.

Wu Ye Ji could clearly feel that Lu Luo’s breathing had become slightly more rapid than before.

This was obviously not right.

Because despite the previous battle being so intense, Lu Luo’s breathing had remained steady.

This indicated that his breathing and combat ability were not limited by his physical strength.

His physical strength must be comparable to a high-tier strange being!

If it wasn’t a matter of physical strength, then Lu Luo’s quickened breathing had to have a different explanation.

So this guy does have feelings; I just haven’t found the right way! Hmph.

While Lu Luo was deep in thought, he didn’t notice Wu Ye Ji’s thoughts and subtle movements.

However, just because he didn’t notice didn’t mean the Observer didn’t.

The role of the Observer was to monitor Wu Ye Ji while Lu Luo was pondering, to prevent her from doing something foolish, like running away.

Today, Lu Luo had no intention of letting Wu Ye Ji go.

"If you weren’t targeting Wu Yi, then what happened today is obviously not right. When you made your move, I clearly sensed murderous intent from that group of people. I can almost be certain that if I let things develop on their own, someone among them would definitely make a ruthless move, quietly killing Wu Yi."

Lu Luo’s statement did not get Wu Ye Ji’s approval.

"No, I swear, I had absolutely no thoughts of harming her. If you knew how I usually handle things, you should understand that I always leave some leeway. Even if I want to deal with someone, I would never go as far as to kill them. I’ve never done such a thing."

Looking at Wu Ye Ji’s expression, Lu Luo nodded slightly.

So far, Wu Ye Ji did not seem to be lying, but if she wasn’t lying, then the situation didn’t add up.

"Since you say it wasn’t you, then I will conduct a reverse deduction to determine the essence of this matter."

"The essence of this matter?"

Wu Ye Ji hadn’t felt there was anything strange about the incident. The incident with Wu Yi, seemingly a minor interlude, was being taken so seriously by Lu Luo that she felt he might be overthinking it.

"First of all, eliminating you as a possibility is a prerequisite, because at that time, it was indeed you who stepped forward and triggered this incident. If it’s not you, then we must consider the ultimate consequence of this event."

"The ultimate consequence?" Wu Ye Ji suddenly realized something.

"In the normal course of events, the final outcome would probably be like this: You would use your ability to influence the surrounding crowd, those officials’ offspring would Outburst in the chaos, they would play dirty and truly kill Wu Yi. Once Wu Yi is dead, this tea party would become a sensational event in the Imperial Capital. As the center of this vortex, you would be investigated, put under house arrest, or even convicted. After all, the death of an Imperial Princess in such a public setting would be a loss of face for the Empire. And those families and their offspring involved in the incident might very well face the Imperial Family’s retribution. The power of their entire family would be purged."

Listening to Lu Luo, Wu Ye Ji’s pink lips twitched slightly; she wanted to say something, but she was completely at a loss for words.

Rebuttal? There was nothing to rebut, as Lu Luo’s speculation, upon closer scrutiny, really seemed quite plausible.

If that kind of thing really happened, I would be completely ruined. My Sequence, my ability, once exposed to the light of day, once others are prepared for me, its effectiveness would naturally be greatly reduced.

"If things really develop as you described, then I’m basically finished. ’Killing two birds with one stone,’ indeed! Wu Yi and I would be discarded at the same time. Could this be the Fourth Prince’s strategy?"

Wu Ye Ji muttered to herself, but Lu Luo negated her judgment.

Because he felt that the mastermind behind this was aiming for something much larger than the typical Imperial Family power struggle. While all these princes and princesses were focused on vying for power, the person behind the scenes had already set their sights on a much larger objective.

"Killing two birds with one stone? Far from it."

Wu Ye Ji furrowed her brow slightly, "Is there another purpose?"

"Of course. If we talk about the purpose, from this incident, there are two other victims that can be identified."

"Two other victims?"

"Well, to be precise, it’s two victimized forces, or groups of victims."

"Can you be more specific?"

"One involves the families of these officials’ offspring; their ability to attend the tea party naturally indicates their status and position are not insignificant. Otherwise, they wouldn’t have access to so many gatherings of princes and princesses. Am I right?"

"Yes, these people are all influential figures; a significant portion of them are even related to the Imperial Family. However, over time, their titles and statuses have been stripped by the Imperial Family. What else?"

Wu Ye Ji’s interest grew as she heard Lu Luo’s explanation; she even started to believe that Lu Luo’s judgment was the truth of the matter. This made her somewhat eager for the next answer. Moreover... she developed an even more intense interest in Lu Luo himself than before.

"The other is the Imperial Family itself. If these families are not dealt with, the entire Imperial Family, all the princes and princesses, will have to pay the price for this incident. Your status, position, and power will all be affected, and even the Emperor’s dignity could be impacted. But if they are truly dealt with, then it’s particularly hard to decide what approach to take. Should all be treated equally, or should an example be made of a few? If only an example is made of a few, the impact might be small, but it will not create a deterrent effect. Yet if all are treated equally, a large number of families will certainly rebel, as death is something no one is willing to accept. At that time, families will inevitably band together to oppose the Imperial Family. Regardless of their abilities, this will certainly affect the Imperial Family."

Wu Ye Ji’s eyes lit up slightly, "Lu Luo, you really are..."

"Don’t always call me ’guy’; you’re supposed to be a lady, right? A lady should act like one. Stand properly."

"Oh!" Wu Ye Ji complied docilely and stood in place.

The conversation just now didn’t seem to bring their relationship any closer. Lu Luo remained Lu Luo—fierce, explosive. Even though he also displayed keen intelligence, the forcefulness of Lu Luo left a profound impression on Wu Ye Ji. This first impression made her dare not defy him at this moment.

Seeing Wu Ye Ji obediently standing before him, Lu Luo took a deep breath and forcefully suppressed the inexplicable rage within him. Then he said, "The instigator behind this affair should be someone deeply hidden. His objective was definitely not just to vie for power, but to destroy the stability of the entire Imperial Family and even the Imperial structure."

"Is it that outrageous?"

"All of these are just my guesses; take them as a joke and just listen. I can’t determine who the mastermind is right now. I have little knowledge about the Imperial Capital; matters regarding the Imperial Family are more familiar to you princes and princesses."

Lu Luo curled his lips, showing an expression of disinterest in the princes’ and princesses’ struggle for power. However, his remarks were still quite a shock to Wu Ye Ji.

"There’s someone in the Imperial Capital who wants the demise of the Empire?"

Lu Luo shrugged his shoulders; there was more than one person who wanted to see the Empire in ruins.

Meiqi, Leviathan, Outburst! All of them! Oh, to be accurate, those ones can’t be considered human; they’re Angel Envoys, the true enemies of mankind.

He wasn’t sure if the current Empire had any concept of Angel Envoys. And what kind of character this Emperor ’Five Seven One’ was, he wasn’t very clear about that either. Everything would have to wait until he met the Emperor to be clarified.

"Tell me your current thoughts."

"Ah? Me? What should I say?"

"Your abilities and what you want to do."

Lu Luo himself hesitated for a moment before asking this.

Because he also knew that Wu Ye Ji’s abilities were probably her biggest secret.

Could he really force her to reveal it by asking her like this? If she didn’t answer, would he really kill an Imperial Princess? Impossible. The presence of Qi Xinzhu and the others made it impossible for Lu Luo to be lethal at this time.

So if Wu Ye Ji really resisted answering, he wouldn’t press her.

"You should have guessed some of my abilities, but the specifics, I’m sorry, I can’t tell you," she said.

As she finished speaking, Wu Ye Ji’s body tensed up, ready for battle. She was ready to face Lu Luo’s possible iron fist at any moment. But after waiting a few seconds, she realized that Lu Luo had no intention of attacking her.

Instead, he stood there silently for a few seconds and then nodded, "Alright, let’s not talk about this matter. But I still want to know what you want to do, which is your goal."

Lu Luo’s apparent concession was actually a very wise and indirect approach.

Take a family, for example, where the husband is quite rigid, and the wife wants to install a window. Normally, if she directly tells her husband she wants a window, the rigid husband would surely refuse. But if the wife says she wants to install a skylight for ventilation, the husband will definitely strongly oppose and then doubt if his wife has gone mad. At that point, if the wife turns around and suggests a window instead, the husband is likely to agree. Because the wife has already taken a step back, he should also give in a bit. That’s the normal thought process.

And Lu Luo’s action just now was similar in nature. If he directly asked Wu Ye Ji for her goals, she probably wouldn’t respond at all. The probability of refusal would be nearly a hundred percent. But if Lu Luo played this roundabout way, then he might stand a chance.

I’ve already backed down once; you wouldn’t make me back down twice, would you? Don’t I have any pride? You’ve felt the power of my iron fist, haven’t you? Don’t you know how much it hurts when something is crushed like that?

And so, under Lu Luo’s multilayered psychological manipulation, Wu Ye Ji indeed compromised. She looked at the calm-faced Lu Luo, unable to discern his thoughts at that moment.

"My goal, actually, is the same as theirs..."

"The same as theirs? Who are ’they’? Can you be more specific? Being so young and already speaking in riddles—let me tell you, that’s the most uninteresting kind of person."

Lu Luo’s exaggerated way of speaking made Wu Ye Ji speak a bit faster. She was actually afraid of exposing too much, even more so, afraid that Lu Luo, at this moment, would truly use lethal force. Both were afraid and were testing each other’s limits. But as the passive party, Wu Ye Ji was clearly more scared. Because Lu Luo, as the proactive party, could completely resort to foul play and then run away. Perhaps he would be purged by the Imperial Family, wanted by the Empire. But for a strong Seventh Tier expert like him, truth be told, it would be really hard to catch him if he wanted to escape. That was why Wu Ye Ji didn’t dare to go too far.

"My goal... actually is for a higher position, such as..."

"Such as what?"

"The position of Imperial Prince."

"Imperial Prince?" Lu Luo clearly had never heard of this title before. In the few years he had lived in the Empire, he had read many Imperial books on the structure of the Imperial Family. Although he didn’t understand it very well, he knew the basic hierarchy of titles.

Among the members of the Imperial Family, there was only the highest, the Emperor. Then came the confirmed heir to the throne, the Imperial Crown Prince. After that, there were the scattered Princes and Princesses with actual titles. Lastly, there were the elders of the royal clans; they had no power and were more of a peculiar militant organization. Lu Luo, as an outsider, didn’t know the specific reasons behind this. These were the basics of the Imperial hierarchy of nobility. As for other noble titles, sorry, there were none in the new Empire. Maybe your family was powerful and had strong capabilities, but no titles meant no titles.

Now, Wu Ye Ji mentioned this "Imperial Prince," which was clearly something outside of the normal ranks of nobility.

"Yes, Imperial Prince... I know you may find it strange, but this position has actually been long in the planning by the Imperial Family."

"How many Imperial Princes are there?"

Lu Luo was still very astute. After she mentioned the issue of Imperial Princes, he quickly realized that there must be more than one person corresponding to this title.

"There are four in total, but Father Emperor has promised that among these four, there must be one female Imperial Prince."

"All of you think that the position of Emperor is too hard to fight for, that the competitive pressure is just too great, so you thought of settling for second best, becoming a female Imperial Prince?"

Wu Ye Ji’s gaze flickered slightly, "That’s right. The reason the whole Imperial Capital is in such an uproar right now is because of this Imperial Prince policy. The position of Emperor is too difficult, but that of Imperial Prince is much easier. This position will give many people opportunities, including me. And Father Emperor has already stated that he will provide a position for a female Imperial Prince, which gives us an excellent chance. So..."

Lu Luo looked at Wu Ye Ji. From the flickering in her eyes, he sensed something was amiss and asked, "Do you want to become Emperor?"