"You are right, my lord."
Qian Renxue suppressed the turmoil in her heart and resumed her gentle and refined demeanor as the Crown Prince.
"It was my rudeness."
"It is late, Your Excellency, please rest early. I shall take my leave."
She stood up, nodded slightly to Tang Qing, and turned to leave.
Tang Qing watched her retreating figure until the palace doors closed again before turning his gaze away.
He could sense the faint fluctuations of soul power emanating from Xue Qinghe.
Very strong.
But that's not enough.
Tang Qing sat cross-legged on the bed, closed his eyes slightly, and entered a meditative state.
A halo of blue-gold light emanated from his body, illuminating the entire room as if it were a divine realm.
This was his daily routine, and he never slacked off in the slightest.
Whether it's marching into battle or amidst the clash of swords, their daily training remains unwavering.
However.
Half an hour later, Tang Qing slowly opened his eyes, his brows slightly furrowed.
Soul power... is growing too slowly.
Once you reach the Title Douluo level, every advancement is incredibly difficult.
Even an ordinary titled Douluo might not be able to improve their soul power by even a fraction over several years or even decades.
With the help of the system, his cultivation speed is already hundreds or thousands of times faster than that of ordinary people, but he still feels it's not enough.
He needs to become stronger faster.
A thought flashed through his mind.
The eye of ice and fire.
The magical herbs there are the shortcut to quickly increasing one's strength.
Let's calculate the time.
Tang San should be twelve years old now, which is about time for him to go to Shrek Academy.
His younger brother, whom his father cherished like a treasure.
Tang Qing's eyes turned cold for a moment.
Tang Hao.
In his heart, this name held no familial affection whatsoever, only a chilling indifference.
From as far back as he can remember, he lived in a dilapidated wooden house in a small village.
His so-called biological father ignored him completely.
If it weren't for the love and care of his adoptive parents, he probably would have starved to death that winter.
When he was six years old, he awakened the Blue Silver Grass Martial Soul and was ridiculed by everyone.
Tang Qing vaguely saw the figure of a man in the distance, but after giving him a cold glance, he disappeared without a trace.
They completely abandoned him, a six-year-old child.
Abandoned pawn.
This is the identity that Tang Hao gave him.
Tang Qing's knuckles clenched slightly, and the blue-gold light around him seemed to sharpen a bit.
...
The next day.
Tian Dou City, Golden Palace.
On a snowy night, the Great Emperor sat high on his dragon throne, his expression majestic.
Below, civil and military officials lined up on both sides.
Crown Prince Xue Qinghe, Fourth Prince Xue Beng, and Prince Xue Xing, among others, stood at the head of the officials.
Only one person, dressed in a black marquis's robe with a long sword at his waist, stood proudly in the very center of the hall.
It was none other than Marquis of Champion, Tang Qing.
He did not kneel down.
This is a privilege personally bestowed by the Great Emperor Xueye: one must not kneel before the Emperor, nor use one's name when praising or worshipping him.
"Proclaim the imperial decree!"
A high-pitched voice rang out, and a chief eunuch stepped forward, holding a bright yellow imperial edict.
He cleared his throat and read aloud in a melodious tone.
"By the mandate of Heaven, the Emperor decrees!"
"Champion Marquis Tang Qing, aged sixteen, commands the Xuanjia armor and guards the northern frontier!"
"We breached seventy-two formidable passes and beheaded more than thirty enemy chieftains!"
"Capture a prince, demote a royal title, and expand our territory by three thousand miles!"
"To display the nation's might on the northern border, and to intimidate the enemy in the imperial court!"
"This is an unparalleled achievement, unprecedented in history! It deserves a great reward!"
The eunuch's voice echoed throughout the hall, each word striking a chord in the hearts of the officials.
This is a huge achievement.
It was so big that it was frightening.
The chief eunuch took a deep breath and raised his voice eight octaves.
"By imperial decree, Marquis Tang Qing shall be enfeoffed as a king!"
"Title banned, Blue Silver!"
"The fiefdom is granted to the three northern provinces, with the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School as the boundary! So be it!"
"boom!"
These words caused an uproar throughout the entire Golden Palace.
He shall be made a king!
A king of a different surname!
This is something that has never happened before in the history of the Heaven Dou Empire!
"Your Majesty, this is absolutely forbidden!"
Prince Xuexing was the first to step forward, his face flushed.
"Although Tang Qing has made great contributions, he is still young! He is already the Marquis of Champion. If he is made a king, there is nothing more to be granted or rewarded! What should we do if he makes further contributions in the future?"
The fourth prince, Xue Beng, immediately echoed this sentiment.
"Your Royal Uncle is right! Father, the matter of bestowing titles upon princes concerns the very foundation of the nation. I urge you to reconsider!"
"Yes, Your Majesty. Those whose achievements overshadow their rulers are always the path to chaos throughout history!"
"Your Majesty, please rescind your order!"
For a time, voices of opposition rose and fell in the imperial court.
Emperor Xueye raised his hand, and the noisy hall instantly fell silent.
His gaze swept over the crowd, finally settling on Crown Prince Xue Qinghe.
"Your Highness, what do you mean?"
All eyes were now focused on Xue Qinghe.
Xue Qinghe stepped forward, bowed, and spoke in a clear voice.
"Your Majesty, I believe he should be rewarded!"
"The Marquis of Champion has rendered unparalleled service. If we do not reward him handsomely, how can we appease the army's morale? How can we demonstrate the prestige of our nation?"
"Rewarding merit and punishing wrongdoing are the foundation of a nation! Your Majesty is wise!"
Upon hearing this, Emperor Xueye smiled with satisfaction.
"Excellent! What the Crown Prince says is exactly what I agree with!"
"Those who have made contributions must be rewarded!"
"His Majesty!"
An elderly imperial censor with white hair and beard walked out from the ranks, trembling, and knelt down.
"Your Majesty! This is absolutely unacceptable!"
The old censor, with tears streaming down his face, pointed at Tang Qing and shouted insults at him.
"This boy is only sixteen years old, yet he commands a large army and wields immense power in the court! Now that he has been further enfeoffed as a king, his wolfish ambitions are blatantly obvious!"
"What he wants is not rewards, but the empire and its people that Tian Dou has conquered!"
"If Your Majesty insists on doing so, you are inviting a wolf into the house and digging your own grave!"
"This old minister will now die to prove his innocence! I beg Your Majesty to punish this vile man!"
After saying that, he suddenly stood up and actually rammed his head into the dragon pillar of the main hall.
Tang Qing stood still, watching all of this with a calm expression.
But inwardly, a cold laugh escaped his lips.
play.
Continue the performance.
Snow Night Emperor, your performance in this scene was truly convincing.
Winning over, testing, praising to death, suppressing...
You've mastered the art of ruling from above.
Unfortunately, you miscalculated one thing.
Faced with absolute power, any conspiracy or trickery is nothing but a worthless blunder, utterly vulnerable.
Ordinary titled Douluo might still be wary of thousands of troops.
But do I, Tang Qing, and my indestructible Xuanjia Army have any fear?
This world, I can take it if I want to.
Why do we need you to seal it?
"Quickly, stop Imperial Censor Wang!"
"Lord Wang, you mustn't!"
The surrounding officials rushed forward and managed to hold the old censor tightly before his head was bleeding.
Emperor Xueye looked troubled. He glanced at Tang Qing and sighed.
"Champion Marquis, look at this..."
Tang Qing did not answer him.
He moved.
Step by step, he slowly walked toward the old censor who was still struggling and cursing.
He didn't exude any soul power pressure, but the iron-blooded aura honed from mountains of corpses and seas of blood caused the temperature in the entire hall to drop a few degrees.
(End of chapter)