Chapter 114: External Soul Bone of a Humanoid Soul Beast, Ning Fengzhi Intends to Take a Disciple
"The Dugu Family? After being passed down for so many years, they finally produced a Titled Douluo, but I just don't know whether the problem with their Family Martial Soul has been resolved."
Gold Crocodile Douluo paused slightly in front of a secluded mansion, then stepped away.
"The Nine Heart Begonia Ye Family, it can be considered fortunate to have been passed down until now."
Sweeping his gaze one by one over those forces in his memory that survived to this day, Gold Crocodile Douluo's figure appeared somewhat desolate.
His old friends of the past had all turned into loess, leaving only him walking alone in the mortal world.
Who still remembers the heroic Martial Soul of Xue Tunxing sharpening weapons and pointing his sword at Star Luo back then?
Who still remembers the high-spirited ambition of Ye Haitang and Ning Fengyun competing for the continent's number one support?
And who still remembers the brutality of Dugu Bo's grandfather forcing back thousands of troops with a mouthful of toxic mist?
Time is most merciless; it is like a blunt knife, grinding away the sharpness of countless heroes and submerging them in the torrent of history.
Perhaps only those high and aloft deities can transcend time and indifferently overlook the vicissitudes of this world.
Unawares, Gold Crocodile Douluo stopped his footsteps and looked up at the vermilion gates before him—the First Prince's Manor had arrived.
"I have no hope of becoming a god in this lifetime, but I can forge a god and let her go look at that eternal scenery for me."
With his gaze turning profound once again, Gold Crocodile Douluo looked at the guards on both sides of the gate, who had long since noticed this old man of unknown age.
"I wonder if the First Prince is in? I am a Soul Master, and I wish to pledge my allegiance to him."
As Gold Crocodile Douluo spoke, a formidable fluctuation of Soul Power was released from his body.
The soldiers, who had been somewhat hesitant, felt that already formidable fluctuation of Soul Power, and their expressions changed slightly: "Please wait here for a moment, I will go inside and report to the First Prince right now."
As soon as he finished speaking, before he could turn around and push open the gate, the door opened automatically.
Xue Qinghe took the lead in stepping out, and upon seeing the old man, the joy on his face flashed and disappeared, then he said to the guards on both sides: "This is an honored guest of my First Prince's Manor; in the future, let him pass directly upon encountering him."
The soldiers were somewhat puzzled; it seemed the First Prince knew the old man before them, but earlier the old man had said he wanted to join the First Prince's command without mentioning that he knew the First Prince, which was truly baffling.
However, since Xue Qinghe had made such arrangements, they would simply follow instructions.
Xue Qinghe treated others extremely well, so there was no need to worry that the other party would execute the soldiers on a whim if displeased. In the hearts of these soldiers, Xue Qinghe's prestige was still quite good.
Gold Crocodile Douluo followed behind Xue Qinghe and entered the main hall together.
After Xue Qinghe had the maidservants and others withdraw, he impatiently grabbed Gold Crocodile Douluo's arm, his voice instantly reverting to its original soft and tender female voice, his eyes filled with jubilation as he affectionately shook the old man's arm: "Grandfather Gold Crocodile, why have you come?"
Gold Crocodile Douluo sat in his seat, his heavily wrinkled large hand gently patting the back of Xue Qinghe's hand, his eyes filled with kindness and warmth: "It's just that I haven't seen Xiaoxue for a long time, and missing her in my heart, I came out for a walk."
"By the way, I also wanted to take a look at that Tang Shan you mentioned; we can't let that brat abduct our Spirit Hall's little angel."
Hearing this, Xue Qinghe removed his disguise, rolled his eyes speechlessly, and curled his lips in a spoiled manner: "Grandfather, what are you thinking?"
"I am not a three-year-old child; how could I be so easily abducted by someone?"
His tone was extremely casual as he leaned his head against the old man's shoulder: "He is Grandmaster's Disciple, not Grandmaster himself."
"I merely saw that his talent is extraordinary and wanted to take more care of him. Such talent is indeed worth cultivating."
Hearing this, Gold Crocodile Douluo secretly breathed a sigh of relief in his heart.
As the elder with the highest seniority in Spirit Hall, he had some understanding of Bibi Dong's deeds back then, and he was terrified that the child he watched grow up would repeat the same mistakes.
Now hearing these words from Xue Qinghe, it was obvious that he had been overthinking.
"It was Grandfather who overthought; I apologize to Xiaoxue."
Gold Crocodile Douluo smiled and extended his withered large hand, affectionately rubbing Xue Qinghe's head.
Xue Qinghe's eyeballs rolled around as if suddenly remembering something; he leaned in closer and asked coyly: "That's right, Grandfather, how is that Soul Bone?"
"Has no one in Spirit Hall been able to absorb it yet? Have you been carrying it on you all this time?"
"Which Soul Bone?"
After a slight thought, Gold Crocodile Douluo understood the target of Xue Qinghe's inquiry.
"You are asking about that Soul Bone excavated together with that beast in Death Canyon, left behind by an unknown Soul Beast beside it, right?"
"No one has absorbed it yet. Up to now, many people have tried, and various Titled Douluo have also tried, but they simply cannot absorb it."
"It's not that the energy is violent; it's just that there seems to be a special requirement for absorption. If one tries to force the absorption without meeting it, I'm afraid it will directly shatter and be destroyed."
Gold Crocodile Douluo said with some regret: "According to our speculation, the owner of the Soul Bone should have had a fierce battle with that beast, and both sides were evenly matched. In the end, the Soul Bone owner was heavily injured and died, while that beast chose to sleep to heal its wounds after being heavily injured, and only later was it excavated by us."
"An existence capable of being evenly matched with that beast is definitely not simple."
Ignoring that Soul Beast forced to shrink back into Death Canyon, Xue Qinghe hesitated for a moment, but still decided to state his purpose directly.
"Grandfather, why not let Tang Shan try that Soul Bone? He has a Body Martial Soul, which might provide some bonuses to the absorption of this Soul Bone. After all, when we first discovered this Soul Bone, the skeleton of its original owner was also humanoid."
Gold Crocodile Douluo was silent for a moment, then nodded slightly: "Alright, if his talent is truly astonishing enough, what harm is there in letting him try? Anyway, leaving it there is just leaving it there; although it is an External Soul Bone, it ultimately needs to be used before it can play a role."
"Thank you, Grandfather." A heartfelt smile appeared on Xue Qinghe's face; the promise made to Tang Shan earlier had already been fulfilled.
At this moment, Tang Shan and Snake Lance Douluo were on their way over.
Inside the Imperial Study, Ning Fengzhi looked at Emperor Xue Ye: "Your Majesty, this is the general situation of this Tang Shan."
Emperor Xue Ye closed his eyes slightly, and after a brief contemplation, slowly spoke: "School Master Ning, this Tang Shan is indeed worth winning over and investing in, but there is one problem that has not yet been resolved—that concerns his father. His father is currently still a member of Spirit Hall."
"Your Majesty, I believe we should just let nature take its course. When all is said and done, he is merely the master of a small city's Spirit Hall, possessing no status to speak of."
"Even though he came to Heaven Dou City to take office this time and his position moved up a bit, there is still quite a distance away from the true core."
"As long as we can win over the brothers Tang Shan and Su Yuntao to our side, his father will certainly see the situation clearly and will not drag Tang Shan and the others back to Spirit Hall. After all, no one who can sit as the master of a small city's Spirit Hall is a fool."
Ning Fengzhi's reply was unhurried, yet filled with absolute confidence. In his view, no matter how great Spirit Hall's influence was, it was ultimately somewhat out of reach due to the distance, whereas the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School and the Heaven Dou Imperial Family were right under their noses, and the investment was so generous. How to choose is something Tang Shan would presumably not hesitate about at all.
"That makes sense; then we shall focus on winning over the two Tang Shan brothers in the future."
Emperor Xue Ye approved of Ning Fengzhi's analysis and decided to increase their investment in Tang Shan together with the other party.
"That's right, Your Majesty, I have another unprompted request upon coming here today."
Seeing that both sides had basically reached a consensus on the handling of Tang Shan, Ning Fengzhi, while feeling happy in his heart, also stated the other purpose of his visit to the imperial palace.
"If there is any favor, as long as it is within my capability, I certainly will not decline."
Emperor Xue Ye raised his brows slightly, raised his teacup and drank it in one gulp, picked up the teapot to pour himself a fresh cup of tea while speaking.
"I see that the First Prince treats others with courtesy, is modest in conduct, and does things in an orderly manner. I am exceedingly pleased in my heart, and I hope I can become his teacher."
"School Master Ning wants to take Qinghe as a Disciple?"
Emperor Xue Ye was somewhat surprised. One must know that Xue Qinghe's cultivation talent was not that great, and he was not a prime candidate to be a Disciple.
"It is not the relationship of master and Disciple, but the relationship of teacher and student."
"After all, I have been Sect Master for so many years, and I can still teach the First Prince quite a few things in terms of etiquette and conduct. Furthermore, with Qinghe as a bond, perhaps our noble sect and the Empire can carry out even deeper cooperation."
Emperor Xue Ye heard the meaning in Ning Fengzhi's words: he was rather optimistic about Xue Qinghe's future and intended to invest, and if Xue Qinghe could really walk to the end, the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School might be able to tie itself even more deeply with the Heaven Dou Empire.
To be honest, when he learned that Ning Fengzhi wanted to meddle in the struggle for the imperial throne, Emperor Xue Ye was somewhat unhappy in his heart. In his view, the struggle for the throne was ultimately his Family affair, and whatever his subordinate ministers participated in could be within his control; however, if the massive force of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School reached in, the nature of everything would change. It itself was a force sufficient to alter the balance and reverse the overall situation.
But later, Emperor Xue Ye gave it a second thought: even if Ning Fengzhi did not intervene, the final position would most likely still be left to Xue Qinghe. Leaving aside the orthodoxy of the First Prince serving as Crown Prince, purely from various aspects of capability, Xue Qinghe was superior to Xue Linsen.
As for the Second Prince Xueshan, when he displayed that peerless desire for control in his memorial, it was basically predestined that he would have no affinity with the final position.
This is Heaven Dou, not Star Luo. A strong desire for control placed on a Star Luo prince might be a very good personality trait, but placed in Heaven Dou, that is a disaster.
The Heaven Dou Empire being able to maintain a balance between both sides with the Star Luo Empire until now relied on maintaining a good balance with various forces. If Xueshan's ambition were perceived by all parties and he still ascended to the position of Crown Prince, the Heaven Dou Empire might fall apart within three days, the Star Luo army would strike within seven days, and the Empire would perish within a month.
After figuring out just how great an advantage Xue Qinghe occupied, Emperor Xue Ye felt somewhat more relieved in his heart. In other words, if Ning Fengzhi wanted to participate in the contention for the Crown Prince and even the imperial throne, he didn't have any power to stop it either. If he chose to support other princes at that time, it would be undesirable instead; being able to support Xue Qinghe was at most just finalizing the conclusion a few days early, which couldn't be considered truly manipulating the change of imperial power.
How fast is the flow of thoughts? Emperor Xue Ye's seemingly long contemplation was in reality just a slight pause of his. After listening to Ning Fengzhi's intention to take Xue Qinghe as a student, Emperor Xue Ye raised his teacup: "Then in the future, Qinghe will have to trouble School Master Ning."
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