"If it were an ordinary person, of course they wouldn't notice your problem. But I'm not an ordinary person." Oscar smiled calmly.
"I never thought that the proud successor of the Six-Winged Angel would go undercover,and for decades at that,but after fighting you once, I started to suspect."
Hearing this, Qian Renxue frowned. "You were testing me?"
"I didn't expect it would really be you. I can only say that you're... a bit foolish."
Qian Renxue almost laughed in anger. You were only guessing, yet you acted like you had me completely figured out?
"With just a guess, you dare question the crown prince of an empire, and speak so casually about your own 'good brother'?"
Oscar replied, "First, I already knew that Brother Xue was a woman,I just wasn't sure it was you. Second, people like us, can we really open our hearts to an imperial prince? Third, I planned to cooperate with you anyway, so think of this as my greeting gift."
Qian Renxue chuckled coldly. "Can't open your heart? Then what about you and the current Star Luo Empire's crown prince, Dai Mubai? I've heard that your good brother Ma Hongjun even became an official there!"
Oscar didn't care that she knew this; after all, it wasn't a secret. Anyone who cared to look could find out.
"When I opened my heart to him," Oscar said, "he wasn't a crown prince yet."
Qian Renxue sneered. "People change. Aren't you afraid that once he ascends, he'll turn his back on you?"
Oscar wasn't worried at all. "What do you think,how do you compare to Dai Mubai?"
Qian Renxue was full of confidence. "I surpass him tenfold."
Oscar didn't argue. "Even so, you had no choice but to cooperate with me. Do you think someone who's lived with me for years and understands the power of the Sword Sect would turn against me?"
Qian Renxue was momentarily stunned. "I... it seems I overthought it."
"So, from the start, your support for Dai Mubai's rise wasn't to find an ally for the Sword Sect,but to pave the way for your own immense ambition? Truly worthy of you, Oscar."
Oscar accepted her praise with a smile. "See? That's one more reason for us to cooperate."
Qian Renxue couldn't help but feel a trace of admiration. "So young, yet already with such ambition and accomplishment. What else do you have that I don't know about?"
With Oscar's current display, even Qian Renxue felt awe.
She had gone undercover for more than a decade, paying who knows how much effort to reach her current position.
Oscar, on the other hand, merely cultivated a subordinate,an abandoned prince,and supported him to the throne. Though this took time, Oscar himself had never been tied down.
Now Dai Mubai was the crown prince of Star Luo. In other words, the empire was already infiltrated by Oscar.
Even if Star Luo possessed Titled Douluo and far stronger armies than Heaven Dou, with a prince as an inside agent, it would not be hard for the Sword Sect to one day make the empire its puppet.
Thinking this, Qian Renxue couldn't help but admire the young man, even if she didn't admit it aloud.
Truly, in the world of spirit masters, strength makes the master. Oscar might be young, but his schemes and foresight already surpassed countless others.
Qian Renxue suddenly asked a question crucial to her. "All of this,is it your idea, or the Sword Sect's?"
Oscar looked at her. "Does it make a difference?"
"Of course," Qian Renxue said seriously. "If all of this came from your own plans, then you're terrifying. When did you start laying all these schemes? How old were you then?"
Though the question seemed simple, it carried heavy meaning. Even Qian Daoliu would look at Oscar differently upon hearing it.
Oscar's smile grew even brighter. "Then thank you for the compliment. Honestly, I didn't expect to get this far. Maybe I've just been lucky."
That was practically an admission that everything was his doing. Qian Renxue's fear of him grew even deeper.
What kind of mind could plan all this from childhood, and carry it out step by step?
Worse yet,Oscar's strength had already surpassed hers.
Qian Renxue asked, "Can you tell me your level now? I want to know exactly how big the gap between us is."
Oscar glanced at her beautiful face. "Are you sure? I'm afraid that once you know, your confidence will shatter."
"You underestimate me," she replied firmly. "You may be extraordinarily gifted,beyond even what I can imagine,but I won't despair. The stronger you are, the more determined I am to catch up."
Oscar stood. "Since you insist, I won't hide it. Consider it a little wager, to show you that this cooperation is worth it."
As Oscar stepped into the courtyard's center, Qian Renxue watched closely, wondering what proof he would show her.
He slowly raised his right hand, and an orange sausage appeared.
At first glance, it seemed like an ordinary sausage, perhaps just more refined than usual.
But Qian Renxue's expression suddenly changed.
From Oscar's body, one after another terrifying spirit ring rose, each one radiating unbelievable power,
Red, red, red, red, red, red, red, platinum, red!
Nine dazzling spirit rings appeared around Oscar. If he hadn't restrained his aura, the pressure alone would have crushed her to her knees.
The spirit rings vanished almost instantly, but their image was burned into her mind.
Eight ten-thousand-year red rings,and one platinum ring.
Impossible. That kind of configuration didn't exist, especially not for a food-type spirit master.
Yet Oscar wouldn't joke about something like this.
If this was his true configuration, then his earlier claims about his spirit abilities made sense.
No wonder he was so confident,he was simply that strong.
An eighteen-year-old Titled Douluo? Qian Renxue was twenty-six,had the past twenty years of her cultivation been for nothing?
She tried to remain calm, but Oscar's display had shattered her composure.
This was beyond outrageous.
Qian Renxue opened her mouth but couldn't utter a word.
Oscar calmly sat back down, sipped some honey wine, and said, "So? Is that wager good enough?"
After a long pause, Qian Renxue finally asked, "How did you do it?"
Oscar was about to say "through countless trials," but she cut him off. "I admit you've endured much, but mere hardship couldn't achieve something this heaven-defying."
Oscar smiled helplessly. "Everyone has secrets. And you're not my wife yet, so I,"
Qian Renxue froze, then interrupted, "Fine. I'll go tell Grandfather right now,we'll get married immediately. I'll move into the Sword Sect, and as husband and wife, you won't hide things from me anymore, right?"
Oscar looked exasperated. "Can you not switch between smart and foolish so quickly? It makes me feel like I'm being taken advantage of."
Qian Renxue glared. "If our positions were reversed, what would you do?"
Oscar thought for half a second. "I'd drug you, make it a done deal, use my damned charm to seduce you, infiltrate you from within, and discover how you became so strong,then copy it…"
He paused, realizing how shameless that sounded.
Compared to that, Qian Renxue's reaction was actually quite normal.
She muttered, unwilling to accept it. "We're both inheritors of divine thrones. Why do you feel more like a god than me? Who but a god could do what you've done?"
Oscar knew that she wouldn't turn back now. In her position, no one would, after seeing so much of his true power.
The only thing that annoyed him was that this added another faction to manage.
He hadn't planned to give the Spirit Hall any benefits so soon,after all, their background was vast, and his Sword Sect didn't actually have divine backing; that was all fabricated.
Fortunately, his full set of ten-thousand-year spirit rings had stunned Qian Renxue enough to keep her in line. As long as he grew stronger,strong enough to rival Qian Daoliu,everything would fall into place.
"Then just think of me as a god," Oscar said softly. "Maybe then the gap won't feel so painful."
Qian Renxue's face barely changed anymore. She'd already been shocked too many times today.
Now that she was calm, the two could finally sit and talk,about plans, the future.
Occasionally, Qian Renxue tried to get more out of him, but Oscar ignored her.
And strangely, the more she saw his strength, the less she wanted to resist, as if resistance was meaningless.
Thankfully, his earlier flirtatious behavior had been an act. Otherwise, if he had truly forced himself on her now, she didn't know if she could have resisted at all.
---
**City of Slaughter**
The once-glorious Supreme Pontiff Bibi Dong now wore a black cloak, her luxurious robes replaced by simple silk garments.
She had returned to the City of Slaughter,the place where her descent into madness had truly begun.
The appearance of the Rakshasa God had given her hope,hope to rebel against Spirit Hall, against Qian Daoliu and Qian Xunji.
Step by step, she had climbed to the position of Supreme Pontiff. But just as she was about to take the final step, Qian Daoliu reemerged.
And not only him,many hidden sects across the continent had resurfaced at this very moment, some even with divine inheritance behind them.
In this situation, if Bibi Dong wanted to achieve her goal, she had only one path left,
to become a god before anyone else.
Only then could she reclaim everything that was hers and accomplish what she had always desired.
Beside Bibi Dong were four figures in black robes: Chrysanthemum Douluo Yue Guan, Ghost Douluo Gui Mei, her personal dragon tamer, and Ao Yue, who had gone to train in the Valley of Death.
She brought Ao Yue to the City of Slaughter for one reason,to have him and Hu Liena support each other, survive the trials, and grow stronger together.
Only in such absolute adversity could they forge an unbreakable bond.
As a former Slaughter God, Bibi Dong could freely enter and leave the city.
She led the four directly to the Slaughter King.
The King of Slaughter, seeing another Slaughter God arrive,accompanied by two level-95 Titled Douluo,was shocked.
He knew Bibi Dong's identity, and Qian Daoliu had recently warned him.
Now Bibi Dong had come with two Titled Douluo,was it to keep watch over him?
If that were the case, things would be troublesome.
If it had been other Titled Douluo, he might have killed them and hidden the truth long enough to escape and refine his Blood God Pearl.
But this was Bibi Dong, who possessed the Slaughter God Domain. She was immune to his domain's effects, and her strength was terrifying. If they fought, the entire city might be destroyed.
The King of Slaughter sat on his great skull throne, blood-red eyes glinting.
"Former Supreme Pontiff, Slaughter God of my city. Now that Qian Daoliu has returned, have you been sent to guard me?"
Bibi Dong immediately understood his misunderstanding. Beneath her hood, her lips curved into a bloodthirsty smile.
"You misunderstand, King of Slaughter. I came to cooperate,not on the Supreme Pontiff's orders."
The King's eyes narrowed. "Cooperate? What, did you have a falling out with Qian Daoliu?"
He laughed harshly. "I see... I see. Very well, tell me,what kind of cooperation?"
Bibi Dong got straight to the point. "The evil spirit masters ravaging the continent recently,they're your people, aren't they? I want to know why you're refining so much blood food. The City of Slaughter shouldn't be lacking,"
The King of Slaughter chuckled, his hoarse voice grating. "Of course I need it. That's none of your concern,unless you're here to interrogate me?"
Bibi Dong smiled faintly. "I wouldn't waste my time on that. I only wanted to tell you,spirit masters' blood is far purer than ordinary people's."
The King of Slaughter raised an eyebrow. "Oh? Are you offering to help me?"
Bibi Dong nodded. "Of course. And it will be quite the surprise,if you dare to accept it."
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