Imperial Son-in-Law.

After the Middle-aged Spirit Saint sent Li Chang'an back to Li Manor, he hurried off to report the situation to the Heaven Dou Emperor.

Li Chang'an used the excuse that he was tired and told the servants not to disturb him. Then he returned to his room and shut himself in.

After he closed the door.

He immediately began studying the changes in his Martial Soul.

Li Chang'an's Azure Scale Sword had two forms in total. One was Sword Form, and the other was Serpent Form.

What he had displayed in front of the Middle-aged Spirit Saint earlier was only the power of its Sword Form.

As for Serpent Form, because it had gained the First Soul Ring, it had likewise undergone changes.

"Transform!"

The Azure Scale Sword in Li Chang'an's hand flashed with a dim light. Then the lifelike Jade Scale Serpent pattern suddenly began to move.

As the blade melted away, the Jade Scale Serpent pattern coiled around the hilt came fully to life, turning into a true Jade Scale Serpent!

"Hiss!"

The Jade Scale Serpent was about three meters long and as thick as a thigh. Flicking its tongue, it floated in the air as if it had been born able to fly. Its slender Snake Body wound left and right, and with its fierce, horned head, it looked exactly like a little azure dragon.

Li Chang'an stood beside it, quietly sensing the changes in Serpent Form. He discovered that while in Serpent Form, he could not release Sword Qi, but he could shoot the scales on the Snake Body like throwing knives, just like the Poison Sword Bamboo, to attack enemies.

And after absorbing the Poison Sword Bamboo's Soul Ring, the Jade Scale Serpent's own toxicity had also been strengthened. The venomous fangs in its mouth had become even sharper, allowing them to pierce an enemy's skin more effectively.

"It seems choosing the Poison Sword Bamboo for my first Soul Ring was the right choice." Sensing that his Martial Soul Origin had indeed been strengthened, Li Chang'an nodded. In his heart, he had already made a choice regarding the types of Soul Rings he would take in the future.

That was to choose Soul Rings from Soul Beasts that matched his Martial Soul's characteristics as much as possible.

The Soul Skill his first Soul Ring brought him was only a minor matter. The key point, and the real prize, was that the Soul Ring had strengthened his Martial Soul Origin.

In his view, Soul Masters were actually a profession built on plunder. Fusing with a Soul Ring was essentially fusing with a Soul Beast's talent, using the plundered talent of a Soul Beast to strengthen oneself. In other words, to strengthen a Soul Master's Martial Soul!

Therefore, the closer the Soul Beast that provided the Soul Ring was to the Martial Soul in attribute and essence, the more effectively it could strengthen the Martial Soul Origin. For example, the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan only hunted Soul Beasts with dragon bloodlines. Their goal was to strengthen the dragon-blood foundation of their own Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragons.

Although Li Chang'an's Azure Scale Sword had "serpent" at the front, in essence, it was mainly a Weapon Soul, not a Beast Soul. So under normal circumstances, it was still better to obtain Soul Rings according to the standards of a Weapon Soul.

Of course, hunting some serpent-type Soul Rings could also strengthen the Martial Soul. It was just that the part strengthened in that regard would belong to the serpent aspect. The enhancement to the sword would be somewhat less.

Although his Martial Soul had two forms, it also had a drawback. That was, he could only use one form at a time. In other words, if his Martial Soul manifested in Serpent Form, then he would not have a sword in his hand.

A Soul Master losing his weapon was practically a living target.

Li Chang'an could certainly control the Serpent Form Martial Soul to attack enemies or protect himself, but in that case, it was as if he had created an opening out of thin air. It was equivalent to having to split his attention to protect another person while fighting an enemy.

So what he favored most was still Sword Form. After all, having a weapon in hand meant he could protect himself, and he could protect others too. More importantly, it looked cool!

If it was Serpent Form, then it would become him, helpless and powerless, being protected by a giant snake.

Naturally, Li Chang'an favored Sword Form more.

However, he could not give up on Serpent Form either. After all, in certain circumstances, this state could produce miraculous effects.

As for solving the drawback that the two forms could not be used at the same time, the first thing Li Chang'an thought of was a Clone Soul Skill! He remembered that in the Original Work, a certain Clear Sky Sect Elder had a Soul Skill that could separate his Clear Sky Hammer into a hammer clone. That clone possessed fifty percent, or was it eighty percent, of the main body's strength?

In any case, he could control two hammers at the same time to attack enemies, and that kind of skill was even known as one of the finest Soul Skills!

If he could also have a similar Soul Skill...

Then while possessing Sword Form, he could separate out a clone that turned into Serpent Form, and then use his will to control the giant serpent to attack enemies.

It would be the equivalent of two against one.

And it would be two against one with perfectly linked minds.

It would be unbelievably satisfying.

The Imperial Palace of the Heaven Dou Empire.

Li Chang'an rode in a special carriage and arrived before the gates of this magnificent and resplendent Imperial Palace.

When the soldiers guarding the gate saw him get down from the carriage, one stepped forward and was just about to question him when he saw a token appear out of thin air in Li Chang'an's hand. This was something the Middle-aged Spirit Saint had given him yesterday, a kind of identity proof.

When the gatekeeping soldier saw him show the token, he was stunned at first. Then, after saying, "Please wait a moment," he whispered a few words to another soldier beside him.

The other soldier nodded, turned, and walked through the palace gates. Presumably, he had gone to notify someone.

The emperor was not someone just anyone could meet on a whim. Even with a token, one still had to report in. Otherwise, who knew whether you were some assassin?

About a few minutes passed.

Li Chang'an was not kept waiting for long before the soldier who had left earlier led out a feminine-looking man with a pale, beardless face.

"Oh my, you must be Lord Li, the Baron?" This feminine man's tone of voice was extremely strange, and combined with the fact that he had come out of the Imperial Palace, his identity was not difficult to guess.

This was a Eunuch.

As a feudal empire, it was perfectly reasonable for the Imperial Palace to have Eunuchs inside.

Li Chang'an did not mind. He simply nodded, acknowledging his identity. As for Baron, that was his father's title. As the only son, it was reasonable for him to inherit his father's title.

Seeing him admit that he was Li Chang'an, the Eunuch's attitude became even more amiable and enthusiastic. He hurried forward and began speaking to him respectfully. Words of flattery poured out as if they cost nothing. He said things like, the moment I saw you, I knew you were a dragon and phoenix among men, that in the future you would surely become a Titled Douluo, a pillar of the empire, and so on.

After Li Chang'an humbly responded with a few words, he saw that the man was about to keep flattering him and quickly stated that he had come today to have an audience with His Majesty. Only then did the Eunuch quiet down and lead him into the Imperial Palace.

Along the way, this unnamed Eunuch enthusiastically explained to him the points he needed to pay attention to when meeting the emperor later, as well as certain matters of etiquette.

Li Chang'an listened carefully, not showing the slightest trace of impatience. Even though, in his opinion, this Eunuch was somewhat of a chatterbox and talked far too much nonsense.

After they walked for a while.

The two arrived at a golden, dazzling great hall.

A middle-aged man sat upright on the throne. It was none other than Xue Ye, the emperor of the Heaven Dou Empire.

"Your Majesty, Lord Li has been brought here," the Eunuch said respectfully.

"Greetings, Your Majesty."

Following noble etiquette, Li Chang'an bowed to the middle-aged man seated on the throne.

"No need for ceremony."

The Heaven Dou Emperor, Xue Ye, spoke in an extremely amiable manner. The way he looked at Li Chang'an was like looking at some outstanding junior of the family, and his attitude could not have been better.

And the reason he had such a good attitude was, of course, because he had received the Middle-aged Spirit Saint's report and learned that the child before him possessed extremely great potential. In the future, if nothing unexpected happened, he was certain to become a Titled Douluo! When that time came, the Heaven Dou Empire would have another pillar capable of stabilizing the nation.

Faced with such a person, someone with impressive future potential and a proper, loyal background, it would have been strange if his attitude were poor. After all, Li Chang'an's hereditary noble status destined him to be someone on the empire's side from birth. It was unlikely he would join other clans or Spirit Hall, and even more impossible that he would serve the Star Luo Empire. Naturally, they had to do everything they could to win him over.

Next.

Xue Ye began chatting with Li Chang'an about family matters. He was like an ordinary elder and did not put on any airs as an emperor at all. Intentionally or otherwise, he also tested Li Chang'an's views on the empire, as well as the degree of his loyalty.

As for this, Li Chang'an naturally let his acting skills soar. He put on the appearance of someone who would devote himself entirely until death, someone who would shed his last drop of blood for the Heaven Dou Empire.

Regardless of how much sincerity there was in this attitude of his, Xue Ye was very satisfied. After all, for a six-year-old child to have this kind of awareness, one could not demand anything more.

Thus, greatly pleased, Xue Ye immediately announced—a marriage grant!

If he wanted to win over such a promising little genius, what could be simpler than turning him into one of his own people?

Li Chang'an had not expected that in order to win him over, Xue Ye would actually marry his daughter to him and make him an Imperial Son-in-Law. This was truly beyond his expectations.

And since he was going to become an Imperial Son-in-Law, then being merely a Baron was naturally far from enough. Therefore, with a wave of his hand, Xue Ye raised his title directly from the lowest rank of Baron to Marquis.

Duke, Marquis, Count, Viscount, Baron—among these five ranks of nobility, Marquis was already a very high title.

Of course, Li Chang'an's title was only an empty rank. He had no real power or Fief, and could only enjoy the empire's monthly stipend... becoming a corrupt noble.

He was already very satisfied with this. He even felt that the Heaven Dou Emperor was simply far too generous. Did he really think so highly of him?

One had to know that although his talent was excellent, he had not yet grown up. A genius who had not grown up was only a genius, not yet a powerhouse. He could not bring actual benefits to the empire.

What the future would be like was full of uncertainty.

So for Xue Ye to be willing to spend such capital and make him a Marquis when facing a six-year-old child who had only just awakened his Martial Soul, one could see just how badly the Heaven Dou Empire lacked talent.

As for the olive branch thrown out by the Heaven Dou Emperor, Li Chang'an naturally had no reason to refuse. He accepted the decree and thanked him for his grace with great decisiveness.

From then on, his identity became the Heaven Dou Imperial Son-in-Law, plus an imperial Marquis. In the future, if his strength increased or he made some contribution, his title should be able to rise even higher. It was not impossible for him to even possess a Fief with real authority.

After the rewards ended.

The two chatted for a while longer before Li Chang'an finally took his leave and departed.

When he came, it had been that Eunuch who led the way. Naturally, when he left, the same Eunuch led the way as well.

On the road out of the Imperial Palace.

Li Chang'an began asking him about his Princess fiancée.

He soon learned that Xue Ye had five children in total, four sons and one daughter. The youngest was a girl named Xue Ke. She was only four years old this year, two years younger than him.

If there were no surprises, her Martial Soul would be the Swan inherited by the imperial family. Referring to the standards of previous Princesses, her Innate Soul Power should not be too high either, generally around level five or six.

For a Princess of a nation, this level of aptitude could only be considered average.

When Li Chang'an heard this name, he immediately recalled that this Xue Ke seemed to have appeared in the Original Work as well, a character with both name and presence.

Her appearance was naturally extremely beautiful. After all, as a dignified Princess of a nation, there was no way she could be ugly.

If his fiancée was her, Li Chang'an could accept it. Of course, in truth, even if his fiancée were ugly, he would most likely pinch his nose and accept it.

After all, compared with the many resources he could obtain by becoming the Imperial Son-in-Law, whether the Princess was beautiful or not could only be considered an added bonus. What he valued was the benefit that the identity of Imperial Son-in-Law could bring.

This world was simply that realistic.

In the Original Work, Tang San was two years older than Xue Ke. Li Chang'an was also two years older than Xue Ke. In other words, he and Tang San were the same age. The current Tang San should have only recently awakened his Martial Soul and should still be playing house with that rabbit at Notting Academy.

Tang San had probably become a god in his twenties. Based on that, Li Chang'an could infer that he still had about twenty years to develop.

And within these twenty years, he had to become a god!

Otherwise, once Tang San became a god.

He would no longer have any chance of becoming one.

Because Tang San would never allow someone outside his control to become a god. Therefore, from Douluo One in the Original Work to the time of Douluo Two, Three, and Four, those who became gods were basically all surnamed Tang, or else they were dogs of the Tang Family. Everyone else had no opportunity whatsoever to become a god.

They forcefully turned Douluo Continent into the Tang Family Continent, leaving no path of survival for anyone else.

So he had to become a god as early as possible!

Li Chang'an had to become a god before Tang San, or else he would never have another chance.

As a Transmigrator, he possessed the advantage of foreknowledge. Added to that, his talent was not low. He refused to believe he could not become a god one step earlier.

As long as he could become a god, there would be nothing to fear.

And the closest opportunity to him was the Vast Sea Cosmic Shroud in the Heaven Dou Imperial Treasury. That was the key object for obtaining the Sea God inheritance! He could not possibly hand it over to Tang San.

But if he wanted to obtain the Vast Sea Cosmic Shroud's recognition, then first, he had to obtain Immortal Herbs to improve his aptitude. If he wanted to obtain Immortal Herbs, then he first had to establish a connection with Dugu Bo and slowly plan things out...

For a time, Li Chang'an thought of many things. He was destined not to be on the same path as Tang San or Spirit Hall, so naturally he needed to make preparations early.

If he could inherit the Sea God's position, then nothing else aside, at least protecting himself in the future turmoil would definitely not be a problem. As the strongest below a God King, a Level One God was also called a Main God! Even in the God Realm, he would count as a big shot and would have no need to fear anything.

Even if Tang San ultimately became the Asura God, he could not possibly attack him for no reason. Moreover, the Sea God was not an ordinary Main God, but a Main God who possessed a Super Artifact. He could be considered the strongest Main God below a God King. If he truly went all out and risked his life, even a God King would not get away clean.

Speaking of this, a question arose. Since Li Chang'an was so wary of the Asura God, why did he not go to the City of Slaughter himself, destroy Tang San's inheritance, or even replace him and inherit the Asura God's position himself?

In truth, it was not that he did not want to, but that he could not. Because the position of Asura God had already been decided long ago. That person was Tang San. One could even say that even Tang San's transmigration was part of the Asura God's doing. He was the successor chosen by the Asura God.

Although this point was not stated outright in the original text, many of the Asura God's actions were practically an open hint.

Otherwise, how could there be such a coincidence? Tang San just so happened to be born into the Clear Sky Sect, and then his great-grandfather Tang Chen just so happened to have already completed the Asura God's Eighth Test. He was only one final step away from inheriting the Asura God's position. In the end, his body just happened to fail to meet the standard, and the benefit could only fall to Tang San, this grandson.

Did all of this not seem far too coincidental?

Li Chang'an had reason to suspect that Tang San definitely had some kind of connection with the Asura God. Perhaps he was a divided soul, or a clone, or something of that sort.

Another 4,000 words!

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