After a long time, Chen Ming finally came to his official workplace in name, the "Crown Prince's Residence."
Theoretically speaking, his identity was the crown prince's study companion. Although he had never studied with the crown prince for even a single day, and the crown prince was now too old to need lessons, he was indeed an official of the Crown Prince's Residence.
After hearing that Chen Ming had come to visit, Qian Renxue, who had been discussing some exchange of interests with a few people, immediately became energetic. She quickly sent those people away, then personally went out to welcome Chen Ming and brought him into her study.
Facing Qian Renxue, Chen Ming directly stated his purpose.
"Your Highness, I've recently done some research on soul tools and can already recreate some ordinary ones. Aside from normal storage-type soul tools, there are also attack-type, defense-type, and support-type soul tools. But special soul tools are very rare in this world, and without examples, I have no way to study them."
"I heard there is a soul tool called the Vast Sea Cosmic Shroud, said to be the peak among soul tools. Right now, it is in the royal treasury of the Heaven Dou Empire. I want to find a way to exchange for it."
"I have some soul tools I made myself, as well as new technology and some resources. I think that should be enough."
"The Vast Sea Cosmic Shroud?"
Qian Renxue thought for a moment, then remembered that thing sitting in the corner of her memory, collecting dust in the treasury.
"In the legends of the Heaven Dou Empire, the first founding emperor of our empire once gained the Vast Sea Cosmic Shroud's recognition by chance. His Spirit Master cultivation and talent were greatly strengthened, and even his Martial Soul was enhanced. It can be said that in the legends, the founding of the Heaven Dou Empire is closely tied to the Vast Sea Cosmic Shroud."
"This soul tool has four abilities at the same time, and each one is no weaker than a ten-thousand-year Spirit Ability. It is an incredibly fine treasure. Unfortunately, ever since the first emperor, almost no one has been able to gain its recognition."
"The Vast Sea Cosmic Shroud has always been kept deep inside the treasury. Only the emperors of each generation have the right to deal with this treasure. Back then, I also tried to gain its recognition, but I didn't receive any useful response…"
Qian Renxue lied here.
The one who had tried to gain the Vast Sea Cosmic Shroud's recognition back then was not her, but the real crown prince of the Heaven Dou Empire, Xue Qinghe.
She herself had actually never seen the Vast Sea Cosmic Shroud.
"This treasure has a very important influence on the Heaven Dou Empire. Under normal circumstances, it would be almost impossible for an outsider to obtain it…"
"But!"
At this point, Qian Renxue patted her chest and solemnly promised Chen Ming,
"With Brother Chen's current talent, strength, and creativity, the Vast Sea Cosmic Shroud is exactly the kind of treasure that should be handed to you."
"I will report to Father Emperor right away and ask him to take the Vast Sea Cosmic Shroud out of the royal treasury and reward it to you."
During these years of hiding, through a humble attitude and all kinds of exchanges of interest, Qian Renxue's prestige in the Heaven Dou Empire had already reached its peak.
Chen Ming himself was already a legendary figure among the new generation of Spirit Masters. Even though he was only nominally attached to the Crown Prince's Residence and rarely came here, his fame still made it much easier for Qian Renxue to gather talented Spirit Masters.
Before this, she had gone northeast with Chen Ming to suppress the Spirit Beast tide, and their success had pushed her prestige even higher. Now, she already had the strength to forcefully seize part of Xue Ye's authority. Many people were even supporting her to ascend the throne right away.
If the timing had not yet arrived, and if there were not still a few forces in the Heaven Dou Empire that she had not fully subdued, then at this moment, she would already have the power to threaten Xue Ye's throne.
A mere Vast Sea Cosmic Shroud? If Emperor Xue Ye was willing to give it, then good.
If he was not willing, Qian Renxue had at least nine ways to take this treasure straight out of the royal treasury and hand it to Chen Ming.
And what if this thing was truly precious, even tied to the secret of the Heaven Dou Empire's founding emperor's strength, just like the legends said?
What a joke. As the successor of the Angel God, would she, Qian Renxue, really lack one little Vast Sea Cosmic Shroud?
Would she really fail in the end because of one little Vast Sea Cosmic Shroud?
Chen Ming did not even need to take out the soul tools, new technology, and resources he had promised. Qian Renxue immediately gave him her word, then entered the palace at once to discuss it with Emperor Xue Ye.
Less than an hour later, Qian Renxue returned from the palace with the look of someone who had won a battle, holding a wooden box tightly in her arms.
Inside the study of the Crown Prince's Residence, Qian Renxue opened the wooden box, revealing the Vast Sea Cosmic Shroud inside.
The Vast Sea Cosmic Shroud looked extremely special. It was a triangular cone, made of a material like gemstone, yet also like some kind of translucent blue crystal. Countless natural patterns, like water ripples, flowed within it, and those patterns kept changing according to some unknown rule.
This thing is a soul tool? Or maybe… this thing could be a soul tool?
It looked incredibly sci-fi.
The first thing Chen Ming thought of when he saw the Vast Sea Cosmic Shroud was not a soul tool or a divine weapon, but the core or energy part of an alien spaceship from a science fiction movie.
This thing gave Chen Ming a very strong sense of wrongness.
Just by observing the crystal, Chen Ming could not sense even the slightest flaw. Every line was straight. Every surface was pure. There were no bumps, no dents, and no uneven parts.
The entire crystal seemed naturally formed, as if it had grown into this shape from the very beginning. There was no trace of artificial work or later polishing at all. It was almost as if this thing had been gathered together from some kind of strong-interaction material.
Chen Ming carefully held it in his hand and probed it with a tiny bit of spiritual power.
The Vast Sea Cosmic Shroud, which had shown no reaction no matter how Qian Renxue secretly observed it before, immediately seemed to come alive. It flew out of Chen Ming's hand, released blue light in midair, then directly smashed toward Chen Ming's head.
Chen Ming subconsciously released his Martial Soul and deeply dragonized his head.
The defense formed by those powerful scales and bones was something even a Title Douluo might not be able to break through easily.
But the Vast Sea Cosmic Shroud pierced through Chen Ming's dragon scales and bones as easily as stabbing tofu, then directly merged into his skull.