Are you going to exterminate my nine generations of relatives?

After Yue Guan left, the private room returned to silence.

"Brother, who is that strange uncle?" Na'er asked, putting down the small spoon in her hand and blinking her big eyes.

"A friend... I guess."

Xuan Hao shrugged, picked up a piece of fish, and put it in his mouth. "But that doesn't matter, let's eat first."

"Once you're full, brother will take you to have a good look around Heaven Dou City."

Heaven Dou City, as the imperial capital of the Heaven Dou Empire, was astonishingly prosperous.

Compared to Spirit City, where only Soul Masters could live and which was filled with solemnity and strict hierarchy, this place was brimming with the vitality and liveliness of everyday life.

On both sides of the street, there were jugglers, street performers, all sorts of bizarre snack stalls, and a dazzling array of goods, leaving Na'er wide-eyed.

Xuan Hao was happy to play the role of the "big spender," taking Na'er shopping and eating to her heart's content.

He had more money than he could spend anyway, and even if he did spend it all, he could just go to Spirit Hall and borrow some from that old geezer, Platinum Bishop Salas.

Salas had met him when he returned to Spirit City for his annual report last year and knew his standing with Bibi Dong. Lending him some money would be an opportunity he'd eagerly seize to curry favor.

"Brother, I can't walk anymore..."

After strolling for the entire afternoon, Na'er's little legs finally protested.

She pointed at a candied hawthorn stall not far ahead, which had a long queue, and said with a hint of longing, "I want to eat that... but there are so many people..."

"If you want it, I'll buy it." Xuan Hao rubbed her head and pointed to a tea stall by the roadside. "You go sit there and rest for a while, have some water, and I'll go queue up to buy it for you."

"Mhm! Thank you, brother!" Na'er obediently ran to an empty table at the tea stall and sat down, her little feet dangling back and forth as she watched Xuan Hao's retreating back with a happy expression.

Xuan Hao walked to the candied hawthorn stall and joined the queue.

Not long after.

"Yo, whose little sister is this? She's so pretty?"

A slightly flippant voice suddenly rang out by the tea stall.

Several youths dressed in ornate brocade robes, with the air of spoiled brats, swaggered over.

The one in the lead looked about thirteen or fourteen years old. He was quite handsome, but a hint of frivolousness and arrogance in his eyes ruined his overall demeanor.

It was precisely the Fourth Prince of the Heaven Dou Empire, Xue Beng.

Xue Beng had originally just come out for a stroll with a few followers, wanting to find some amusement to solidify his persona of being "unlearned, lecherous, and dissolute." This was to make his "perfect Crown Prince brother," Xue Qinghe, lower his guard.

But at that moment, he saw Na'er sitting alone, drinking tea.

Although she was only five or six years old, her doll-like beauty, coupled with her rare silver hair and purple eyes, instantly struck a chord in Xue Beng's heart.

A true gem!

If he were to forcibly abduct a civilian girl in a busy area, or even take such a little loli back as a child bride, wouldn't that further cement his reputation as a "lecherous and incompetent" ruler?

He could both win a beauty and smear his own reputation for self-preservation – killing two birds with one stone!

"Little sister, are you lost?"

Xue Beng plopped down on the chair opposite Na'er, fanning himself with a fan, and asked with self-proclaimed charm, "Brother is a good person in Heaven Dou City. Do you want brother to take you home?"

Na'er looked up at him, then silently averted her gaze, her voice cool and clear:

"No need. My brother is buying something up ahead and will be back soon."

"Brother?"

Xue Beng glanced in the direction she indicated, towards the queue, and dismissively curled his lips. "Does it take this long to buy candied hawthorn? I think he's abandoned you."

"I am the Fourth Prince of the Heaven Dou Empire, Xue Beng."

Xue Beng patted his chest with an arrogant expression. "In Heaven Dou City, there's no one I don't know. Tell brother, which noble family's young lady are you? How about I have your brother send you to me as a concubine later?"

Na'er ignored him and turned her head to look in the direction of the candied hawthorn stall, searching for Xuan Hao's figure.

The smile on Xue Beng's face froze.

He was, after all, a dignified prince. Even when he was pretending to be a scoundrel, people always flattered him. When had he ever been so utterly ignored by a little girl?

"Heh, still a fiery little chili pepper."

Xue Beng dropped the pretense and reached out to pinch Na'er's fair and tender little cheek. "Come, let brother see if your face is really this smooth..."

However.

Just as his hand was about to touch Na'er's cheek.

A slender, fair, yet iron-like hand reached out from the side without warning and firmly gripped his wrist.

"Who?!"

Xue Beng instinctively prepared to lash out in anger, but immediately after, a bone-piercing pain shot through his wrist, distorting the expression on his face.

He looked up and met a pair of extremely cold, sky-blue eyes.

Xuan Hao held two candied hawthorns in one hand and Xue Beng's wrist in the other, his face devoid of expression:

"What do you want to do to my sister?"

"Ah--! It hurts, it hurts!!"

Xue Beng let out a pig-like scream. "Let go! You lowly commoner! I am a prince! How dare you..."

"Crack!"

A crisp bone-cracking sound echoed.

Xuan Hao didn't let go; instead, he tightened his grip, directly crushing Xue Beng's wrist bone to smithereens!

"Ah--!! My hand!!"

Xue Beng collapsed onto the ground, clutching his deformed wrist. He writhed in pain, snot and tears instantly streaming down his face.

Xuan Hao handed the candied hawthorns to Na'er. "A prince? Is that so impressive?"

"You bunch of useless trash! What are you standing around for?!"

Xue Beng, still screaming, yelled at his stunned followers who had been scared stiff. "Attack me! Kill him!!"

The followers finally reacted. They roared, summoning their Spirits, intending to rush forward and save their master.

"Let's see who dares to move."

Xuan Hao didn't even lift his eyelids.

A terrifying pressure instantly erupted from him as the center.

His pupils instantly shifted from sky blue to golden-red vertical pupils. Although he hadn't fully unleashed his Spirit, the suppression from the Golden Dragon's top-tier bloodline was like a natural enemy to these followers, most of whom were only level ten or twenty and possessed beast Spirits.

"Thump! Thump!"

The followers, who had just summoned their Spirits, felt their legs go weak. Their Spirits were instantly suppressed back into their bodies. They all collapsed to the ground like quails, trembling, unable to even stand steadily.

The commotion here was too great and quickly attracted the attention of the patrolling Imperial Guards not far away.

"Who goes there?! How dare you cause trouble in Heaven Dou City?!"

A squad of fully armed Imperial Guard soldiers rushed over, spears in hand. The captain at the front saw Xue Beng writhing on the ground, his face instantly turning pale.

"Fourth Prince?!"

The captain quickly helped Xue Beng up, then drew his sword and pointed it at Xuan Hao. "Bold criminal! How dare you attack a prince in Heaven Dou City! Seize him!!"

"Swish--"

Dozens of Imperial Guard soldiers instantly surrounded Xuan Hao and Na'er, their spears forming a forest, exuding murderous intent.

"Seize him?" Xuan Hao glanced at these soldiers, who weren't even Soul Masters, at most just stronger-than-average ordinary people.

"Buzz!"

Another wave of Dragon Might was released, this time with a bit of mental shock.

The soldiers, who had been full of aggression, suddenly felt a wave of dizziness wash over them. Their legs went weak, and they couldn't even hold their weapons steady. They clattered to the ground.

"You... What do you want to do?!"

Xue Beng, who had been helped up, had recovered somewhat. Although his wrist throbbed with pain, seeing so many Imperial Guards around, his courage returned.

He pointed at Xuan Hao, roaring with feigned ferocity:

"I am a prince of the Heaven Dou Empire! You dare to hit me, even dare to resist the Imperial Guards, this is rebellion! This is treason!!"

"You will be executed along with your nine generations of relatives! Your family, your friends, everyone will die!!"

Upon hearing the words "nine generations of relatives," Xuan Hao, who had been about to take Na'er and leave, abruptly stopped.

He slowly turned around and looked at the still-ranting Xue Beng, a flicker of confusion in his eyes.

"Whoosh!"

A gust of wind swept past.

The next second, Xuan Hao's figure passed through the heavy encirclement of the Imperial Guards and appeared directly in front of Xue Beng.

The soldiers who tried to stop him were sent flying over ten meters away, landing in a dazed heap.

"You... Don't come any closer..." Xue Beng was truly terrified now. He stumbled backward in fear, falling to the ground.

Xuan Hao placed a foot on Xue Beng's chest and looked down at him:

"Nine generations of relatives?"

"Do you know who my nine generations of relatives are?"