The Forty-Second Day of the Rich Second-Gen

Tang Xiao saw off Tang Yunhua's family with great fanfare, Tang San included.

Although he was delighted that his sister had returned, that his niece was an adorable little thing, and that his nephew's existence symbolized the beautiful prospect of family reunion right before their eyes.

He did not want to work overtime anymore. Before his sister and brother-in-law returned, he had been preparing to fight the worship elders. After they came back, there had been actual combat, followed by his nephew's Second Awakening. He spent an entire night worried sick. Just when the awakening was finally over and he could rest for a while, the children discovered the Space Shuttle. To deal with that Space Shuttle, he and the Clear Sky Sect's higher-ups worked day and night. They had barely reached a conclusion before the children discovered the armor!

On the way back, they passed through Heaven Dou Imperial City. The Heaven Dou Division preliminaries for the Elite Competition were about to begin here, and they still had plenty of vacation left. So everyone happily decided to watch a few days of matches before heading home. It was just a pity that the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect had sent Bone Douluo out with Ning Rongrong, or else they could have met up.

The last time they came to Heaven Dou Imperial City for the qualifying matches, they had stayed elsewhere. This time, however, Ming Zhen and Tang Yunhua brought the two children back to their former residence. They had only been gone for a little over a year, yet Ming Sui felt as though she had been away for many years.

The people left behind were still dutiful as ever. The flowers and trees were lush and well tended, the rooms were regularly cleaned, and Aunt Maria in the kitchen had inherited all of Ming Zhen's cooking skills. Every dish was made in flavors they liked. Ming Sui slept in her familiar bedroom and drifted peacefully into dreams.

The next morning, Xue Xing came to visit Ming Residence early after receiving the news. Though he was unreliable, he always showed the utmost courtesy toward his son's savior.

"I won't say too much in thanks. If not for Your Excellency, what would have happened to my little brat? If there's ever anything you need from me, just say the word. I, Xue Xing, will definitely help." Xue Xing's words still could not hide his spoiled young master nature.

Ming Zhen smiled. "Your Highness overstates it. Your son is recovering well, but for safety's sake, it would be best to let him remain in Calais City to recuperate."

Xue Xing was even more grateful and got along with Ming Zhen even better. As they talked, they even began addressing each other as brothers. When he learned that they wanted to watch the preliminaries today, he enthusiastically invited the family to watch from his private box. Ming Zhen truly could not refuse such a loving father and could only agree.

Ming Sui had different views on different matches. When she had a side to support, she wished her side could win immediately, without effort or worry. But if she knew neither side, she wished the match would never end.

Today was exactly the kind of match she hoped would keep going and going. They were unfamiliar with both teams. One was Lyra Advanced Spirit Master Academy, while the other was Blue Tyrant Academy.

"Blue Tyrant Academy? Is it an academy of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan? I remember their disciples were at Heaven Dou Royal Academy, weren't they?" Ming Sui was a little puzzled. During the qualifying matches, there had been a Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan spirit master named Yu Tiancheng on Xue Qinghe's team.

If she had asked someone else, they might not have known the inside story. But asking Prince Xue Xing meant she had asked exactly the right person.

"My eldest niece really does have a sharp mind. This Blue Tyrant Academy is related to the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan, but at the same time, it really isn't related to them." Xue Xing deliberately kept them in suspense.

Ming Sui's eyes sparkled. She poured Xue Xing a cup of tea, sat properly, and waited to hear the story.

"The Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan's second-in-command, that Yu Luomian—he really had that dragon nature, you know. He wasn't satisfied with having a wife and went out to deceive some young girl. That girl bore him a daughter, but once he got tired of her, he simply moved on to someone else." Xue Xing was thoroughly disdainful. He loved his own wife deeply. After she passed away, he simply raised his son alone and never remarried. Though he had not exactly lived a proper life, emotionally speaking, he truly was spotless as jade.

Afraid that Ming Zhen and Tang Yunhua might not want Ming Sui to hear such things, he deliberately glanced at their expressions. Seeing no change on either face, he continued freely.

"Fine, so he didn't care for them. They never expected him to, anyway. But who would have thought that years later, a direct-line disciple of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan would develop feelings for Yu Luomian's daughter from outside?"

Wait! Wasn't that way too explosive? Could this even pass censorship?

Xue Xing was speaking perfectly understandable words, so why could she not understand them?

Ming Sui was not the only one caught off guard. Even Tang San had not expected the story to go in this direction.

The best part of telling gossip was shocking the audience. Xue Xing looked at the two thunderstruck children and was immensely pleased. "They say that loving couple was about to get married when Yu Luomian jumped out and told them, 'You're my nephew, and this is my daughter.' Who could take that?"

Just imagining that scene was suffocating, all right?

"The young man couldn't bear the blow. That disciple ran away, and the girl went mad. Her spirit was not the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon, but it was still the highly destructive Fire Dragon. Oh, her temper was terrible. The nearby spirit beasts suffered terribly. She was a real demoness. No one could find spirit beasts in the surrounding spirit beast forests anymore."

That was way too fierce. Ming Sui swallowed.

"Until a couple of years ago, the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan paid to build her an academy. Only then did she settle down a little and start doing proper work."

Very good. A heartrending romance, a convoluted and bizarre background. Both Ming Sui and Tang San were completely engrossed and still had not recovered.

Xue Xing spoke to his heart's content, drained the tea in his cup in one gulp, then continued, "That's what people outside say, but I don't think that girl was necessarily driven by love."

"Think about it. A Fire Dragon spirit, and she wanted Yu Luomian to acknowledge her. Her talent had to be exceptional. Would she really be stupid enough to fall for a disciple of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan? That disciple might have been from the direct line, but his spirit had mutated into something useless. What use was he?"

"People outside say that she slaughtered spirit beasts because she was heartbroken, but I think she also made quite a bit selling spirit beast materials. When things finally got completely out of hand, the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan paid to build her a school. She made a killing, didn't she?" Xue Xing shook his head, thinking the girl was quite clever.

Only Tang San frowned. A direct-line disciple of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan whose spirit mutation had rendered him useless—why did that sound like his teacher? He looked at his aunt and uncle. Seeing no expression on their faces, he could only suppress his doubts for now.

Whatever the reason, no one had time for gossip anymore, because both teams had entered the arena.

As the martial spirits were unleashed, they could hear the cheers of the audience outside even from the private box. Blue Tyrant Academy had nothing but dragon spirits: Fire Dragon, Water Dragon, Ice Dragon, Wind Dragon, Diamond Dragon, Thunder Dragon, and Gemstone Dragon. Lyra Academy's spirits were equally distinctive—all Weapon Spirits. Sabers, spears, swords, halberds, axes, polearms, hooks, forks—it was quite a lively sight.

Thus, the battle became extremely intense. There were no control-type or support-type spirit masters. Everyone was an assault type. Each person picked an opponent, and the moment the match started, they fought. Weapons collided with dragon claws, blood droplets flew alongside roars—it was truly thrilling to watch.

Though there was not much strategy to analyze, a Battle Royale was also a kind of strategy. Ming Sui whispered with Tang San as they discussed it and studied the match herself. Her final conclusion was that this group was fighting blindly.

"Dad, when will we get to watch a more satisfying match?" Ming Sui felt a little helpless.

"These are still the preliminaries. The promotion matches will be much better. Don't be upset." Ming Zhen smiled and comforted her.

In the end, their formidable physiques gave them a slight advantage, and Blue Tyrant Academy earned the point. The children in the audience were still enthusiastically discussing the details of the match, but Ming Sui only felt exhausted.

Tang San comfortingly patted her shoulder, and Ming Sui nodded at him.

After the match ended, the family thanked Xue Xing for his generous hospitality. They sent the two children back to cultivate while Ming Zhen and Tang Yunhua headed to their destination: the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect.

Ning Fengzhi and Sword Douluo Chen Xin had long been waiting to receive them.

Compared to the last time they met, Ning Fengzhi looked far more haggard now.

"Well, Sect Master Ning really has been exhausting himself for His Highness the Crown Prince." Ming Zhen smiled without any real warmth.

Ning Fengzhi took a breath. Ming Zhen was the sort of person most skilled at making one's gratitude toward him vanish. Ning Fengzhi, the bastard before you is Heaven Shaking Your Excellency's husband, and he has also helped you greatly. Stay calm. Do not flip the table.

Tang Yunhua shot Ming Zhen a glare. That was far too rude. Ming Zhen behaved himself a little.

Three Titled Douluo were enough to seal off this space, making their conversation completely safe. Tang Yunhua therefore got straight to the point.

"Has the Heaven Dou Royal Family still not reached a unified decision on how to deal with Xue Qinghe? What are they waiting for?"

Ning Fengzhi's face, which had only just calmed down, showed signs of darkening again. "Exactly. They do believe Xue Qinghe is a fake, but they still haven't identified the person behind him, so they don't dare act." A bunch of idiots. Whether they could find out or not did not matter. They should have dealt with him first and investigated slowly afterward. Now they could neither advance nor retreat, while he still had to keep acting alongside Xue Qinghe.

"What is there to investigate? Just find an excuse to depose him first." Tang Yunhua also found it absurd.

Ming Zhen stroked his chin and grew serious. He looked at Ning Fengzhi. "How is that Xue Qinghe doing? Have you found the real Xue Qinghe?"

"The fake is still recovering from his injuries. As for the real one, they don't even know who created the fake. How can anyone expect them to find the real one?" Ning Fengzhi said coldly.

"That child Xue Ling said the real Xue Qinghe left him a trace of origin essence. The origin essence has dissipated." Ming Zhen spoke calmly.

"Then the real one has already been completely dealt with by them." Ning Fengzhi clenched his fists. This was truly going too far. Thinking of Xue Ling, who had not hesitated to use Soul Split to expose this matter, he could not help feeling that both he and the real Xue Qinghe had suffered for nothing. "The Heaven Dou Empire's two finest children were both ruined by this pack of idiots."

The other three present deeply agreed.

"We mainly came to ask what you plan to do." Worried that Ning Fengzhi might anger himself into an illness, Tang Yunhua hurriedly changed the subject.

Ning Fengzhi did not speak for a while. After thinking for a long time, he said, "The one who acknowledged me as his teacher from beginning to end was that fake Xue Qinghe. Presumably, his plan was to bind the Heaven Dou Empire and the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect together, then destroy them both. All this time, I thought Xue Qinghe was excellent in every way and that I had little to teach him as his teacher. But now, this teacher of his will teach him the most important lesson of all."