Brothers at Each Other's Throats, the Thief Crying Thief

Qian Renxue rolled her eyes dramatically and said irritably, "What else could it be based on!"

"Naturally, I tried my best to remember the details of Xue Qinghe's appearance, then I found a court portrait of Xue Ye when he was young for reference, combined the two, and finally... I just went with my gut feeling!"

"The Spirit Bone I originally possessed was not enough to support such a detailed and lasting change in appearance. So in the first few years, I relied more on Human Skin Mask to disguise myself."

"It wasn't until later, when I practiced your self-created [All Spirits Affinity Technique (Volume 2)], and combined it with the ability of that Spirit Bone, that I was able to change and maintain my appearance so freely as I do now."

At this point, she changed the subject and asked curiously:

"By the way, speaking of which, what's the deal with the first volume of your [All Spirits Affinity Technique]? Why are you keeping it a secret?"

After listening, Lin Hai felt that things were probably not as simple as she described.

When he entered the palace to steal the Vast Sea Cosmic Shroud, he had seen Xue Ye from afar.

Objectively speaking, Xue Ye is fairly good-looking; he might have been considered handsome when he was young.

But she was definitely not like the "Xue Qinghe" she was pretending to be, who was both male and female and excessively handsome.

There's probably some subconscious influence at play here that even Qian Renxue herself might not be aware of—

I am a delicate woman, not a man!

'But with you looking like this, it's no wonder the city has been saying you're a womanizer!'

Lin Hai smiled and shook his head, no longer dwelling on the matter. With a flick of his wrist, he took out a scroll from his Storage Ring and handed it to Qian Renxue:

"Here, this is the [All Spirits Affinity Technique (Volume 1)]. If you are interested, you can practice it when you have time, but don't let it interfere with your Soul Power cultivation."

He paused, then added, "Also, you should cultivate this yourself and not send it back to the Spirit Hall for now."

"Those people are useless to you, but as for you... you might benefit from it. You'll understand the specifics once you've practiced it!"

Qian Renxue took the scroll and gave Lin Hai a reproachful look. "Why are you being so mysterious? I want to see what's going on!"

Lin Hai didn't reply. Instead, he looked Qian Renxue up and down with a scrutinizing and slightly strange gaze:

"Innate Level 20 Soul Power is a unique advantage... but your current Soul Power Level seems to be..."

He didn't finish his sentence, but the meaning in his eyes couldn't be clearer—

Your cultivation speed doesn't seem to match your exceptional talent.

Qian Renxue was such a proud and arrogant person, how could she stand such a "you're nothing special" look!

She instantly bristled like a cat whose tail had been stepped on, and roared angrily:

"Do you think everyone is like you, a carefree Holy Son who doesn't have to deal with government affairs and can focus solely on cultivation without any distractions?!"

"In previous years, I was extremely cautious in the Imperial Palace, afraid of revealing any flaws. From the age of fifteen, I had to help Xue Ye handle various complicated political affairs and navigate between different factions in the court..."

"Gibberish... crackling..."

She grew angrier as she spoke, pouring out all the hardships and pressures of the past years in a rapid-fire manner, as if she wanted to vent all her grievances and dissatisfaction.

"... Even under these circumstances, I've already reached level 72! Is that slow?!"

She practically screamed it out, her chest heaving slightly with excitement, her purple eyes glaring at Lin Hai as if she would attack him immediately if he dared to utter the word "slow."

Lin Hai found her sullen expression amusing, but he didn't respond to her.

He slowly took out a small Jade Bottle from the ring again, placed it in his palm, and leisurely played with it.

Qian Renxue's throat was parched from talking, and she was just about to pick up her teacup to moisten her throat when she saw Lin Hai's annoying expression of deliberately teasing her. The anger she had just suppressed suddenly flared up again.

"What is this thing again?! What are you showing off for?!"

Lin Hai then raised his eyelids and looked at her with amusement, saying, "A few years ago, Hu Liena's Soul Power Level improved by leaps and bounds. You must have received the news, right?"

Upon hearing this, Qian Renxue was taken aback at first, then a flash of inspiration struck her, and she suddenly looked at the inconspicuous Jade Bottle in Lin Hai's hand again, her pupils suddenly contracting!

About five or six years ago, she received the news—

Hu Liena took a Elixir Pill Lin Hai sent back to Spirit City, and subsequently jumped from a low-level Soul Elder to a high-level Soul Ancestor, shocking the entire Spirit Hall's higher-ups.

Later, Chrysanthemum Douluo Yue Guan also obtained a suitable Elixir Pill, which boosted his level from 95 to 96, breaking through a bottleneck he had held for many years.

According to her grandfather's letter, the Elixir Pill made from this Immortal Herb seems to have extremely strict property requirements.

Only by consuming Immortal Herb Elixir Pill that are extremely compatible with one's own Martial Soul attribute can the maximum effect be achieved.

Attribute mismatch can even be harmful or detrimental.

Could this Jade Bottle contain Elixir Pill suitable for the Six-Winged Angel Martial Soul?!

With this guess, Qian Renxue suddenly felt that the Elixir Pill in the Jade Bottle were calling to her impatiently, eager for her to take and absorb them!

She instinctively reached out her hand...

However, just as her fingertips were about to touch the Jade Bottle, Lin Hai nimbly pulled his wrist back, deftly avoiding her hand.

Then, with a mischievous grin, he said, "Brother Xue, you want it? Call me 'Brother Lin' and let me hear it!"

"What?!" Qian Renxue exclaimed in surprise, her voice rising several decibels in disbelief.

This kid is clearly four years younger than her! How dare he make her call him "Big Brother"?! This is outrageous!

If Lin Hai knew what Qian Renxue was thinking, he would definitely tell her, "Life is full of wonders. If we're really talking about seniority, you can call me 'Uncle Lin,' and I'd be perfectly comfortable with it!"

Qian Renxue stared intently at Lin Hai's perfect yet punchable face, seemingly weighing the pros and cons, or perhaps suppressing her anger.

Suddenly, the anger on her face vanished like ice and snow, replaced by a profound and beautiful smile. She spoke slowly and deliberately:

"The Xue Ye recently issued a strict order, instructing me to use all available resources to thoroughly investigate the culprits behind the attacks on Xue Beng and Xue Xing, and the theft of national treasures..."

"I've analyzed this carefully for a long time, and this audacious fellow must be some kind of powerful outsider Soul Master with special abilities! What do you think, Brother Lin Hai?"

She practically gritted her teeth and uttered the last four words, each one syllable distinct and menacing.

"Hahaha!" Lin Hai laughed heartily upon hearing this, praising, "No wonder you're a top-notch undercover agent who's been infiltrating Heaven Dou for over a decade! You've got a sharp mind!"

He immediately pulled over a chair next to him, sat down with an air of authority, and casually turned the tables on him:

"But what I did is nothing compared to what you did, Your Highness!"

Internal strife, the thief crying "stop thief!"