The Third Prince Falls, a Secret Meeting

After meeting Teacher and Qian Renxue, the three entered a secret chamber within the Crown Prince's Palace to discuss matters. No one could disturb them here.

"Greetings, Second Worship!"

At that moment, two figures suddenly emerged from the shadows before the three of them and bowed to Golden Crocodile Douluo.

Their auras were powerful and their Soul Power profound. They were clearly Titled Douluo-level experts—the two Titled Douluo sent by Spirit Hall to protect Qian Renxue, She Long and Ci Xue.

Golden Crocodile Douluo waved a hand, signaling them to dispense with the formalities, then asked the other four about the details of the Usurpation Plan.

Su He briefly informed Golden Crocodile Douluo of the plan's current progress, then shared with the four present what he had contemplated in the carriage on the way to the Crown Prince's Palace.

Other than Qian Renxue, Golden Crocodile Douluo and the two elders all strongly agreed with Su He's idea. This greatly shocked Qian Renxue.

Golden Crocodile Douluo was also remarkably patient with the future young mistress of Spirit Hall and the granddaughter of the Great Enshrined. "Xue, you need to understand that on this Douluo Continent, everyone follows the principle that strength is supreme. Why do others respect the rules set by our Spirit Hall? Because we possess the continent's greatest strength."

The two elders, She Long and Ci Xue, nodded in agreement, while Su He gave a slight nod as well.

"To be honest with you, this old man has already reached level 99—the Peerless Realm." Golden Crocodile Douluo looked at the two Titled Douluo elders. "Other than those three demigods, no one on this continent has the strength to threaten me. Therefore, you need not worry about this plan at all. Should any petty scoundrels try to sabotage it, I will certainly suppress and kill them all!"

"Second Worship's divine might!" The two elders immediately clasped their fists and bowed.

"So that was why He'er told me I must never neglect my cultivation?" Qian Renxue accepted everyone's reasoning as well. When she saw Su He nod, she immediately made up her mind.

"In that case, three days from now, the Third Prince, Xue Haicang, will be assassinated by powerful Soul Masters from the Star Luo Empire while returning to the palace. One hundred Royal Iron Guards will be wiped out, and Xue Haicang will unfortunately perish as well." In the blink of an eye, Qian Renxue had finalized the plan. She could no longer be bothered to keep using slow-acting poison. With level 99 Golden Crocodile backing her, where in the vast Heaven Dou Empire could she not go?

It had to be said that, as the young mistress of Spirit Hall, Qian Renxue was exceptional in both intelligence and decisiveness. She was absolutely a highly qualified ruler.

In the Original Work, however, she repeatedly spared Tang San, which was utterly baffling. Given Qian Renxue's personality, she should not have made such foolish decisions. It was difficult for Su He not to suspect that some hostile deity had been secretly pushing things along behind the scenes.

"Very good." Seeing that his little princess had made her decision, Golden Crocodile made the final call. "The Heaven Dou border is six days' travel from here. Once I obtain a map, I'll depart immediately."

"Then I'll have to trouble you, Teacher." Su He smiled, then seemed to recall something. "Teacher, after you finish the job, please leave one of our Spirit Hall tokens at the scene."

"Oh? What do you mean?" Golden Crocodile Douluo did not understand his disciple's intent and asked aloud.

"Leave the suspicion to Xue Ye. We only need to muddy the waters as much as possible," Su He said.

Mind Arts were certainly useful in many situations. Especially in an imperial household, Mind Arts were a required lesson for every member.

But sometimes, the more one thought, the further astray one went. What Su He wanted was to make them overthink.

Even if someone truly suspected Spirit Hall afterward, Bishop Salas could simply say that someone had forged the token to frame Spirit Hall, and that would clear them of suspicion.

With Spirit Hall's prestige among the common people, their trust in Spirit Hall had already reached an inconceivable level. Once everyone accepted that explanation, no matter how unwilling Xue Ye was, he could only swallow it.

Five days later, on the second day of Third Prince Xue Haicang's journey back to the palace with his guards, the group was suddenly attacked by a powerful Beast Soul Master. None of the hundred guards present, including the Third Prince, survived. Judging by their wounds, they had all died beneath the claws of some ferocious beast. Even more bafflingly, a Spirit Hall token was found at the scene.

Xue Ye was devastated. This was already the second son he had lost, and this one had possessed the best cultivation talent. In a fit of rage, he immediately ordered the Inspector to thoroughly investigate the matter. At the same time, he summoned Ning Fengzhi, the sect master of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, to support him, then stormed toward the Spirit Hall Sanctuary to demand an explanation.

Meanwhile, Xue Qinghe and Xue Beng were confined within the imperial palace by Xue Ye. Ostensibly, it was to protect them both, but in truth, he was watching "Xue Qinghe" while protecting Xue Beng.

Su He, naturally, had nothing to do but rest and cultivate within the Crown Prince's Palace. He trusted that Teacher would handle everything properly.

The slow-acting poison administered to Xue Ye had undergone continual refinement by Old Poison, Dugu Bo, on the top floor of the Spirit Hall Sanctuary. Its toxicity had become even stronger and harder to detect. The instant it came into contact with a human body, it took effect immediately and could not be detected.

That old bastard Xue Ye did not have many years left to live anyway.

Inside the Spirit Hall Sanctuary, Salas wore an innocent expression, looking as though he were saying, Believe it or not, Xue Ye—I can't do anything if you don't.

Even with Ning Fengzhi accompanying him, Xue Ye was unable to interrogate anything out of Salas and could only return empty-handed.

After returning to the palace, Xue Ye sat listlessly on the Dragon Throne, wiping away his tears.

"My son, Haicang!" Tears streamed uncontrollably from Xue Ye's eyes.

It was clear that although Xue Ye had become muddleheaded in his later years, his love for his sons was genuine.

"Your Majesty must also take care of your health. Do not harm yourself with grief." Ning Fengzhi, leaning on his cane beside him, offered consolation. Even in the face of such an unexpected event, Ning Fengzhi continued thinking calmly. "Your Majesty, I do not believe the murderer was necessarily from Spirit Hall."

After pondering for a moment, Ning Fengzhi said, "Spirit Hall tokens are generally carried only by low-ranking Soul Masters in Spirit Hall branch halls. Judging from how the Third Prince and his party were killed, everyone bore claw marks of the same size. Clearly, the murderer was a Beast Soul Master with formidable Soul Power."

"You're right. To kill the two Soul Saint personal guards I assigned to Haicang and leave none of the hundred iron guards alive, the murderer had to be at least a Soul Douluo-level expert," Xue Ye said.

"That is true, but we still cannot rule out the possibility that Spirit Hall was behind this." Ning Fengzhi truly deserved his reputation as an old fox skilled in strategy. "Perhaps the person who left that token merely wanted to use reverse logic against us."

"Haicang is dead. We all know who benefits the most." Xue Ye sighed faintly. "Heaven truly wishes to destroy my Xue family. Last year, it was Luo Chuan. This year, it is Haicang. Whose turn will it be next year...?"

"Your Majesty, as far as this sect knows, there are no experts around Qinghe who have reached the Soul Douluo level. As for that young genius who recently joined his side..." Ning Fengzhi paused after mentioning Su He.

"Oh? Is there something wrong with Su He?" Xue Ye asked doubtfully.

"Our spies in the Heaven Dou Empire's Spirit Hall Sanctuary sent word that they were unable to find any further information on this person." Ning Fengzhi revealed his discovery. "It is as though he appeared out of nowhere. Even his records within Spirit Hall are exceptionally clean."

"Sect Master Ning need not worry about that." Xue Ye spoke slowly. "Su He has sworn upon his martial soul to serve Qinghe. Xue Xing witnessed it personally. Even if Qinghe truly harbors other intentions, he is ultimately still a member of my imperial family. Serving Qinghe means he is serving Heaven Dou as well."

"Since he has sworn upon his martial soul, then this sect was indeed overthinking." Ning Fengzhi frowned upon hearing this, vaguely sensing that something was wrong but unable to identify the problem. "Your Majesty should not overwork yourself either. You still have two sons who need to be raised."

"I, Ning, shall take my leave."

Su He had no idea that his small act of swearing upon his martial soul would have such an enormous effect, even deceiving both Xue Ye and Ning Fengzhi. Had he known, he would surely have laughed until his stomach hurt.

I, Su He, swore loyalty to Qian Renxue. What does that have to do with your Heaven Dou Empire?

After the Annual Banquet ended, the Third Prince was given a State Funeral. The murderer remained at large, with no trace of their whereabouts. Xue Ye, overcome by grief and worn down by years of labor, fell gravely ill and became bedridden.

From then on, Xue Beng was terrified. He stayed secluded in his residence every day, rarely venturing outside, afraid that he would be next.

Xue Beng was not wrong. He would be next. But Su He intended to deal with Xue Beng only after Qian Renxue had further strengthened her control over the court.

There was no need to rush the Usurpation Plan. Once Xue Ye was half-dead, it would not be too late to send Xue Beng on his way. At that point, Qian Renxue could directly inherit the throne and naturally take control of Heaven Dou.

In this life, Su He would not tolerate Little Scamp interfering. Several crucial chess pieces were already in Su He's hands. Even if Tang San wanted to stop him, he was likely powerless to do so.