At this very moment, in a corridor not far from the inner hall, the hurriedly approaching "Xue Qinghe" seemed to sense something. Slightly startled, "he" instinctively raised "his" head and glanced toward a certain direction, disbelief appearing on "his" face.
But only a moment later, Qian Renxue, disguised as Xue Qinghe, adjusted her expression, lightly straightened her clothes, and continued toward the nearby inner hall. Even the attendants beside her failed to notice anything unusual.
Yet a question continued to linger within her mind.
"This… the aura of a Six-Winged Angel? Did I sense it wrong? Besides me and Grandfather, could there really be another Six-Winged Angel in this world? And if there is, why are they inside the imperial palace? Why do I know nothing about it?"
There was mutual resonance between Six-Winged Angel Martial Souls. Though faint, it was a spiritual vibration that exceeded the limits of ordinary perception. However, Qian Renxue's strength was ultimately still too weak, and years of espionage work and political maneuvering had left her with no time to truly live as a Spirit Master. In the end, she could only dismiss it as an illusion.
Qian Renfeng, however, had discovered Qian Renxue's presence.
Thinking back to the things the Grand Worship had secretly told him earlier in private, , Qian Renfeng felt a severe headache regarding this relative of the same generation.
He could not understand why someone would abandon the talent of the Six-Winged Angel to play such childish political games. Nor could he understand why Spirit Hall would engage in something like usurping a nation—a matter that was entirely inappropriate both morally and in terms of dignity.
A true Six-Winged Angel was born with innate Level 20 Spirit Power. In terms of cultivation talent, it was not vastly different from innate full Spirit Power, but starting one realm higher naturally saved a tremendous amount of time.
Even so, Spirit Masters with the Six-Winged Angel Martial Soul still cultivated faster than almost any other Martial Soul.
After all, at minimum they surpassed ordinary innate full Spirit Power Spirit Masters in cultivation speed and also began one realm ahead. The advantage in the early stages was enormous.
And the Six-Winged Angel was a genuine all-around monster in terms of raw attributes. Every aspect was top-tier. No matter which path one pursued, it possessed tremendous development potential. Even if one focused on support abilities, its support capabilities would not be inferior to the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda.
If he himself had been born with a Six-Winged Angel Martial Soul, he would have desperately cultivated and desperately slaughtered evil. Even if he failed to reach the highest realms and died halfway through, he still would never have done something so unreasonable in every possible sense.
Because this was neither worthy of an angel, nor worthy of a Spirit Master.
But what could he really say? In the end, he could only pretend not to see anything…
After all, his current duty was simply to protect Elder Chen as a hidden guard. The only thing he truly needed to pay attention to was not repeating the mistakes of the past and not allowing tragedy to occur a second time.
As for political matters… better to forget about them.
Still, even though he claimed not to care, Qian Renfeng actually did feel dissatisfaction toward Qian Renxue as the Young Lady of Spirit Hall.
From an individual perspective, she was wasting her talent. From the perspective of Spirit Hall as a whole, her actions were simply far too unlike an angel—and unlike Spirit Hall itself.
The only thing giving Qian Renfeng a headache was that Elder Chen still knew nothing about the nation-usurping plan. He did not know that Heaven Dou Empire's Crown Prince Xue Qinghe had long since been replaced by Spirit Hall's Young Lady, Qian Renxue.
If Elder Chen were to learn of this plan and express dissatisfaction…
When he had once asked the Grand Worship about it, even the Grand Worship had refused to state his position. If it were left to Qian Renfeng himself, he truly would not know how to answer.
After some thought, Qian Renfeng quietly approached Snake Lance Douluo and Porcupinefish Douluo, establishing contact with them.
Snake Lance Douluo, who had only recently received a thousand-year Spirit Bone from Chen Ming, was extremely excited about Chen Ming's arrival, while Porcupinefish Douluo was simply curious.
Maintaining vigilance throughout, the three Titled Douluo and two Spirit Douluo of Spirit Hall quietly conversed in the shadows.
The soldiers and imperial guards of the Heaven Dou Empire remained completely unaware that this group of walking "strategic weapons" had already appeared in the most heavily guarded place of the empire.
...
After announcing his arrival, "Xue Qinghe" entered the hall. Upon seeing Chen Ming seated in the first position to Xue Ye's left, surprise flashed through Qian Renxue's eyes, though she did not reveal it on the surface.
She first bowed respectfully to Xue Ye and Xue Xing as her elders, then gave greetings toward Chen Ming and Dugu Bo.
Toward Chen Ming, Qian Renxue behaved entirely like a proper imperial prince greeting a Spirit Hall elder, treating him with the same level of courtesy she showed Dugu Bo.
Even Chen Ming, who knew the truth, felt that Qian Renxue now truly behaved like a genuine member of the imperial family rather than Spirit Hall's Young Lady.
"Greetings, Your Highness the Crown Prince," Chen Ming replied while rising and cupping his fists.
Seeing Chen Ming's actions, Dugu Bo—who had originally intended to casually respond while remaining seated—also immediately stood up and replied with a more respectful attitude.
As long as you acknowledge your own weaknesses, you are invincible.
After experiencing so many things, Dugu Bo had already accepted the reality that his brain simply was not particularly sharp. Whether in cultivation or in other matters, he was not a genius. So he had decisively chosen to simply follow Chen Ming's lead.
Even if it was not always the most suitable approach for him personally, it was still better than trying to think everything through himself.
After all, could his sworn brother possibly trick him?
"There is no need for such courtesy, Elder Chen," Qian Renxue replied gently before taking her seat beside Prince Xue Xing.
Once the dishes had all been served and everyone had arrived, Emperor Xue Ye finally opened the conversation. Raising his wine cup, he began offering congratulations to Chen Ming and Dugu Bo.
His words flowed smoothly and naturally, containing both the majesty of an emperor and the warmth of an elder, along with the closeness of a friend. There was both the profound insight of a high-level Spirit Master and the admiration a ruler held toward genius.
The overall impression he gave was like a spring breeze—perfectly fitting for a monarch, appearing every bit the image of a wise and enlightened ruler.
Dugu Bo and Chen Ming both smiled and nodded repeatedly while responding politely.
The difference, however, was that Dugu Bo was genuinely stirred by Xue Ye's speech, feeling rather proud and excited.
Chen Ming, meanwhile, had already analyzed from Xue Ye's microexpressions and subtle details in his speech that these remarks had likely been specially written months in advance by professionals, repeatedly revised, and then memorized over a long period of time.
There were brief moments of thought and hesitation while speaking, and some of the information was slightly outdated.
Still, giving face where face was due, the fact that Xue Ye was willing to have people carefully prepare and polish his words before memorizing them was already commendable enough.
There was no need to overanalyze it further—so long as one did not get emotionally swept along by it.
...
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