Xue Ke's Crisis

The bewildered Xue Ke continued to idle away several muddleheaded days.

However, the blissful life of indulging body and mind was often short-lived, while pain was never late. Life always forced you to do things you did not want to do.

Today, the Court Teacher Crown Prince Xue Qinghe had found finally arrived at the mansion as promised, and Xue Ke had no choice but to begin another miserable academic life on Douluo Continent.

"Greetings, Princess! I am the teacher responsible for instructing you in the basic theoretical knowledge of Spirit Masters. My name is Ma Tian; you may call me Teacher Ma." Ma Tian gave a respectful bow.

"Alright, Teacher Ma." Xue Ke sprawled limply in her chair and answered as though life held no meaning.

Over the following two-plus months, Xue Ke returned to the dreary study life she had known in her previous life and thoroughly "enjoyed" one-on-one private lessons.

Not only did Teacher Ma, who taught Spirit Master Theory, come to the mansion, but so did all manner of imperial Court Teachers.

From Basic Theoretical Knowledge of Spirit Masters on Douluo Continent, to Self-Cultivation of an Imperial Princess, then Chronicles of the Heaven Dou Empire, Overview of the Heaven Dou Empire's Principalities, Geographical Overview of the Heaven Dou Empire, Chronicles of the Star Luo Empire, The Birth and Development of Spirit Hall, and more, a vast and complicated array of theoretical knowledge took turns filling Xue Ke's days until she groaned in misery.

This showed that Xue Ke's outstanding talent as a Spirit Master had drawn the attention of the Heaven Dou Imperial Family, especially Emperor Xue Ye.

As a rare genius of the Heaven Dou Imperial Family with Innate Full Soul Power, and also the Emperor's most beloved little princess, her "kindly" old father, Emperor Xue Ye, changed his initial attitude toward Xue Ke. He abandoned the idea of raising her merely as a "vase," gave her the treatment afforded to imperial princes, and had six-year-old Princess Xue Ke begin studying courses that only princes needed to learn. He also ordered his subordinates to report regularly on Princess Xue Ke's academic progress.

Occasionally, this "kindly" old father even launched "surprise inspections," personally visiting Xue Ke's Princess's Mansion to express his "deep fatherly love" for little Xue Ke. It taught Xue Ke what it meant for "a father's love to weigh as heavily as a mountain," nearly crushing the breath out of her.

"Ke'er, Father Emperor hopes that one day, you will become the first Titled Douluo of our Heaven Dou Imperial Family. Your second and third brothers died young, while Xue Beng is a useless wastrel. You and your brother Xue Qinghe are the children Father Emperor values most. After Father Emperor is gone, the Heaven Dou Empire will be entrusted to you two siblings. With one of you skilled in civil affairs and the other in martial matters, you will surely carry forward the glory of the Heaven Dou Empire. I hope you will not disappoint Father Emperor's expectations."

Emperor Xue Ye looked at Xue Ke with a deeply meaningful gaze and spoke earnestly.

Xue Ke had never imagined that this "discount" father of hers would place such high hopes on her.

Honestly speaking, if Xue Ke were expected to devote everything to the Heaven Dou Empire and sacrifice her own happiness, then this humble servant simply cannot do it.

This had nothing to do with responsibility or morality. Xue Ke still believed that the two parents who had painstakingly raised her for twenty years in her previous life were her true parents, and that the homeland where she had lived for twenty years was her true homeland. She simply could not fully place herself in the role of a Heaven Dou Empire princess and Emperor Xue Ye's daughter, much less feel any sense of belonging toward the Heaven Dou Empire.

Thus, in response to Emperor Xue Ye's high expectations, Xue Ke could only say in her heart, sumimasen—sorry.

She was an independent person, an adult capable of independent thought. Xue Ke did not want to live as she had in her previous life, following step by step along the path laid out by her parents and teachers.

Since she had been reborn and possessed the cheat-like aid of Old Grandpa Green Swan, Xue Ke believed she was fully capable of controlling her own destiny in this life rather than allowing the shackles of fate to bind her. This time, Xue Ke wanted to live for herself and be her "true self."

Xue Ke was not the only one troubled. Qian Renxue, the false Crown Prince, was as well.

Emperor Xue Ye's unusual attention toward Xue Ke had put Qian Renxue on guard.

Qian Renxue had infiltrated the Heaven Dou Empire at the age of nine. Though she was Spirit Hall's favored daughter of heaven, she had come to this treacherous Heaven Dou Imperial Family at the cost of her precious cultivation talent, entering this contest of schemes and deception and painstakingly carrying out the plan to steal the nation devised by the previous Pope.

Qian Renxue was not merely carrying out the dying wish of the previous Pope, Qian Xunji—her biological father. She also wanted to prove to that woman, who had always treated her with indifference, that she was the most outstanding favored daughter of heaven in the world and make that woman finally take notice of her.

Qian Renxue wanted that woman to look up to her, to feel guilty, remorseful, and regretful for everything she had done.

Xue Ke's astonishing talent and Emperor Xue Ye's attention had disrupted Qian Renxue's plans.

The First Prince and Third Prince had been poisoned to death in succession, while Xue Beng was a useless, profligate wastrel. Only that old man Xue Xing remained as a threat. Qian Renxue had believed that only two obstacles remained between her and complete control of the Heaven Dou Empire: Xue Ye and Xue Xing. Yet at this moment, Xue Ke suddenly appeared out of nowhere, causing Emperor Xue Ye to change his mind.

Qian Renxue could not fully understand what Emperor Xue Ye was truly thinking, and this gave her an enormous sense of crisis. The feeling of being unable to control the overall situation left Qian Renxue deeply uneasy.

Although Xue Ke was only six this year and held no real power yet, and though what would happen in the future remained unknown, the ever-cautious Qian Renxue would never allow an "unseen danger" like Xue Ke to slowly grow and ultimately threaten her.

Yet whenever she thought of that adorable little sister who liked clinging to her arm and sweetly calling her "Brother," who liked playing pranks on her and had no guard against her at all, Qian Renxue ultimately could not bring herself to ruthlessly harm Xue Ke.

As the Angel Clan's only daughter, Qian Renxue had no siblings, and her mother did not care for her. Alone in the Heaven Dou Empire, she deeply cherished the "sibling bond" she shared with little Xue Ke.

During the time before Xue Ke awakened her martial soul, the lonely Qian Renxue, who longed for familial affection, had sincerely given little Xue Ke all her heart and treated her like a real younger sister.

The sudden shift in circumstances made a clash between interests and familial affection unavoidable. Faced with the difficult choice between love and profit, Qian Renxue fell into unbearable torment.

My dear little sister, you are not truly my sister after all! If you knew my real identity, could you still treat me as you do now? I killed your three brothers, and in the future, I will kill your father and usurp the Heaven Dou Empire. I am the enemy who will destroy your family. Once you learn the truth, you will surely hate me deeply, won't you?

Though Qian Renxue had developed the intent to kill Xue Ke, her state of mind had not yet been tempered by time. She was only a sixteen-year-old girl and could not yet be as utterly ruthless as Bibi Dong, who had gradually taken control as Pope.

Qian Renxue gazed out the window and paced back and forth through the room. She let out a deep sigh, her heart tangled in conflict.