Chapter 116 Xue Qinghe Visits
Suddenly, a disciple's respectful voice came from outside the door:
"Sect Master, His Highness Crown Prince Xue Qinghe requests an audience."
Ning Fengzhi raised an eyebrow, then revealed a relieved smile, got up and opened the door.
He explained to Ye Liuyun:
"Qinghe is a respectful child, so he must have encountered a bottleneck in his cultivation or wants to ask for my opinion on matters of the court. Young friend, there's no need to be shy; it's a good opportunity to meet him."
When Ye Liuyun heard Ning Fengzhi praise Xue Qinghe, he was speechless for a moment.
Before he could finish speaking, the door opened slightly.
A young man dressed in bright yellow casual clothes stepped in.
He had a handsome face, refined manners, and an approachable charm that made people feel like they were bathed in a spring breeze.
Upon entering, he performed a standard disciple's salute to Ning Fengzhi, his expression solemn and sincere:
"Teacher. Recently, the Spirit Hall has been making frequent moves on the border, revealing its wolfish ambitions. Qinghe is tossing and turning at night, wanting to share the Emperor's worries and recruit more ambitious people for the Heaven Dou Empire."
At this point, Xue Qinghe clenched his fist, his eyes filled with indignation and concern for the country and its people, his words ringing out firmly:
"Only by recruiting talented individuals and accumulating strength can we resist the Spirit Hall's hegemony and protect the people of Tiandou in the future!"
Ye Liuyun, who was sitting next to him and had just picked up his teacup to moisten his throat, heard this deafeningly bold statement.
"Cough cough!"
A mouthful of warm tea went straight into his trachea, and Ye Liuyun instinctively bent over, coughing.
His face turned bright red, not from embarrassment, but from being stunned by this absurd reality.
If he didn't know, that would be one thing, but he knew Xue Qinghe's true colors, and it was really hard for him not to be moved when she said these things to his face.
Is this what they mean by "When I get ruthless, I'll even hit myself"?
This sudden commotion instantly shattered the solemn and patriotic atmosphere inside the room.
Xue Qinghe's originally righteous and awe-inspiring gaze froze for a moment, then quickly transformed into a perfectly appropriate expression of concern and curiosity.
He turned around, looked at Ye Liuyun with great poise, and asked gently:
"Brother... are you feeling unwell? Or was there something wrong with what you just said?"
Ning Fengzhi smiled helplessly, patted Ye Liuyun on the back to help him catch his breath, and then introduced him to Xue Qinghe:
"This young friend Ye is a distinguished guest whom I specially invited back, and also a...rare young talent."
"oh?"
Upon hearing that he was a "talented individual" whom even teachers would praise, Xue Qinghe's eyes lit up instantly.
That burning desire for talent was more real than real gold.
She strode up to Ye Liuyun, showing no airs of a prince, but instead slightly cupped her hands in greeting, her face full of sincerity:
"Since you are a distinguished guest of the teacher, you must be a man of extraordinary talent. Brother Ye, the empire is in dire need of talent right now. If you do not mind, Qinghe is willing to treat you with the respect due to a national hero."
Xue Qinghe's gaze was intense as he once again rejected the invitation that sent chills down Ye Liuyun's spine:
"Brother Ye, would you be interested in serving in the imperial court? Let us join forces and build an impregnable Heaven Dou Empire, so that the Spirit Hall will never dare to underestimate us again!"
The air seemed to freeze at that moment.
Ye Liuyun finally stopped coughing. He raised his head, tears still clinging to the corners of his eyes from the violent coughing.
He thought to himself, "You're really going too far in poaching talent from the Spirit Hall. You've only just met them and you're already trying to recruit me."
Looking at the Crown Prince before him, who had an upright face and kept shouting "Down with the Spirit Hall," he felt as if a million grass mud horses were galloping through his mind.
He really acted like a prince who was wholeheartedly devoted to the Heavenly Dou Empire.
Faced with Xue Qinghe's offer of recruitment, Ye Liuyun simply smiled nonchalantly.
He neither nodded in agreement nor refused verbally; he simply picked up his teacup and brushed it off with a look that said, "You've had too much to drink."
Seeing this, Ning Fengzhi stepped forward with a smile, waving his folding fan, to smooth things over.
"Qinghe, when will you change your eagerness to find talent? The number of talented people you have recruited is already overwhelming. Young friend Ye is new here, so don't be so impatient and scare him away."
Upon hearing this, Xue Qinghe subsided the eagerness in his eyes, regaining his gentle and refined demeanor, and cupped his hands in a smile:
"The student was impolite, and the teacher's reprimand was justified."
But instead of taking the easy way out and ending the conversation, he changed the subject, a hint of unintentional confusion in his eyes:
"Since we're not talking about national affairs, let's chat about something interesting. Teacher, when I came in today, I found something strange. All those usually energetic and energetic elite students from the outer courtyard were bruised and battered, as if they had been ganged up on."
Ning Fengzhi paused slightly in his tea-serving hand. Before he could speak, Xue Qinghe continued speaking on his own, his voice slowing, each word tinged with probing:
"Moreover, the students also heard an extremely absurd rumor. They said that the person who suppressed them was actually a teenager whose fourth spirit ring was already at the ten-thousand-year level."
As she spoke, Xue Qinghe slowly turned her head.
Those seemingly gentle eyes were now like two precise surgical scalpels, fixed intently on Ye Liuyun:
"Brother Ye, don't you think this is... strange?"
Xue Qinghe personally visited because his undercover agent, who had been placed in the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School, had informed him.
He already had a Soul Master with a fourth-level Soul Ring who had been around for ten thousand years—Dugu Yan.
Upon learning of this, he immediately used his authority as Crown Prince to seal off the Heaven Dou Royal Academy, preventing the information from leaking out.
This is not just the birth of a genius, but also a key to the throne of gods.
He quickly organized core researchers to conduct a thorough, secret investigation into the whereabouts of Dugu Bo and his grandson.
Ultimately, all the clues pointed to something inconspicuous—premium whale glue.
During that period, Dugu Bo demanded a large quantity of top-grade whale glue from the Tian Dou royal family.
The Spirit Hall was not lacking in execution capabilities. Under Qian Renxue's instructions, the Spirit Hall immediately launched the experiment.
The conclusion is encouraging: taking large amounts of whale gelatin can indeed significantly improve a Soul Master's physical fitness and meridian resilience!
Thanks to this discovery, the Spirit Hall has even successfully cultivated a group of super rookies whose second spirit ring is a thousand years old, and whose third spirit ring is approaching the five thousand year mark.
However, when the experiment progressed to the "fourth ring, ten thousand years" stage, disaster struck.
Several geniuses, who had been showered with countless resources and whose physical abilities were fully up to standard, bled from all seven orifices and died in a frenzy the moment they absorbed the ten-thousand-year soul rings.
The reason is that whale glue can only improve physical strength, but not mental strength, and it couldn't withstand the soul shock of a ten-thousand-year soul ring.
Physical strength can be built up through whale glue and training, but mental defense and immunity are an insurmountable barrier in the face of the Spirit Hall's "mass production monster plan".
But Dugu Yan succeeded, which means that this insurmountable barrier can be overcome!
They just hadn't mastered the method.
However, upon closer examination of the Dugu family, it was discovered that not only did the Dugu family lack any spiritual techniques, but they were also nearly extinct.
Dugu Yan was not the source; she was merely a beneficiary.
The key is to find the real source.
And today, in the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School, another "ten-thousand-year fourth ring" has appeared.
If all goes well, the source has been found.
Xue Qinghe's smile deepened, but beneath that smile lay a chilling greed and possessiveness.
The simple recruitment was just a smokescreen, a casual attempt to see if it would succeed, or else.
Now we can get to the main topic.
Xue Qinghe took a step forward, completely tearing away the pretense of casual conversation, his tone carrying an undeniable sense of pressure:
"How did you manage to make your soul as solid as a rock at level 40, ignoring that millennia-old resentment?"
"If possible, I hope you can pass this method on to the Empire. It's a powerful weapon capable of dealing with the Spirit Hall!"
"Within my permission, I will use anything from the Heavenly Dou Empire to exchange for this method."
Please believe in my sincerity!
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[end of the chapter]