Qian Renxue instantly grew curious about Su Ze, who had caused such a remarkable phenomenon.
"Every bolt of lightning in the world is mine to command."
What an audacious claim!
I'd like to see what kind of person could possess such a lightning attribute Martial Soul and say something like that.
Standing in the sky, Su Ze also noticed the handsome young noble walking toward him, accompanied by a warrior clad in golden armor.
When he saw the warrior in golden armor, Su Ze's Sikong Zhen Martial Soul suddenly stirred with a feeling.
A strong opponent. An absolute powerhouse!
If he fought him, there was only one thing to do: run!
A powerful man wearing golden armor!
He remembered that in the Original Work and the anime, Snake Lance Douluo, who stood beside Qian Renxue, always wore golden armor.
At that thought, Su Ze looked once more toward the carriage in the distance, embroidered with a swan.
Then he turned his gaze back to the nobleman in white.
The swan was the Martial Soul of the Heaven Dou Royal Family.
And that powerful man in golden armor was with him.
Su Ze was now completely certain: the two approaching him were Qian Renxue, disguised as Xue Qinghe, and Snake Lance Douluo, who was accompanying her.
Once he confirmed his guess, Su Ze's eyes lit up.
He had been planning to seek out Qian Renxue when he reached Heaven Dou City, hoping to use her as a stepping stone to enter Heaven Dou Royal Academy.
He hadn't expected her to come straight to him.
That saved him the trouble.
Su Ze didn't dislike Qian Renxue at all. He just thought the girl—and the Soul Martial Hall higher-ups who had made this decision—were a little foolish.
What sort of person was Qian Renxue?
She had one of the highest-tier Martial Souls, the Six-Winged Archangel.
Her Innate Level was Twenty Soul Power.
With such an absurdly powerful Martial Soul and such exceptional talent, she'd gone to the Heaven Dou Empire to carry out some Undercover Mission.
Su Ze sincerely believed it was a complete waste of her potential.
On Douluo Continent, the first twenty years of cultivation were the golden years.
With Qian Renxue's talent, after twenty years of cultivation, she might not have become a god, but she should at least have reached the rank of Titled Douluo, right?
Instead, in the Original Work, she was nearly thirty before she became a Soul Saint.
What a waste of talent!
While Su Ze was still puzzling over it, Qian Renxue had already arrived nearby with Snake Lance Douluo.
By then, the duration of Su Ze's Thunderous Force had run out.
His body slowly descended from the sky. The lightning around him vanished, and his white hair turned black again.
At the same time, the powerful technique had torn his shirt to shreds.
His well-defined muscles were now on full display before Qian Renxue.
Not bad.
And handsome, too.
Seeing Su Ze's face and physique, Qian Renxue felt her fondness for him grow.
As a woman, she naturally cared about appearances.
This young man was among the best she'd ever seen, both in looks and in the strength he'd just displayed.
Qian Renxue even thought that if he'd been born into the Golden Generation of the Soul Martial Hall, he would have deserved a place among them.
A talented young man who was also so handsome!
She ought to make an effort to recruit him.
While Qian Renxue was thinking this over, Su Ze landed and spoke first.
"Your carriage bears the insignia of the Heaven Dou Royal Family. May I ask which Your Highness you are, Young Master?"
Su Ze's goal was to get close to Qian Renxue.
So he directly pointed out the Crown Prince identity she was pretending to have.
That made things easier!
At Su Ze's words, Qian Renxue paused, then broke into a smile.
This young man's talent and looks both appealed to her, and so did his straightforward nature.
"Young brother, you're quite observant. I am Xue Qinghe."
"I pay my respects to Your Highness, the Crown Prince!"
After Qian Renxue gave her name, Su Ze naturally bowed.
"Oh? Young brother, you know my name?"
"Of course. You're the Heir Apparent of an empire, the Future Lord of the World. Even someone like me, born in the countryside, has heard of you."
"I'm Su Ze. I pay my respects to Your Highness, the Crown Prince."
At Su Ze's words, the smile on Qian Renxue's face grew even wider.
She had come to the Heaven Dou Empire to replace Xue Qinghe so she could become the Future Lord of the World.
That goal had always kept her going with the Undercover Mission.
Qian Renxue looked forward to seeing the wonderful expression on that woman's face once she became the Future Lord of the World Su Ze spoke of.
Watching Qian Renxue's excited expression, Su Ze showed nothing on the surface, but inwardly shook his head.
She was a Soul Master, and one with Innate Level Twenty Soul Power.
Yet her goal was to become the Future Lord of the World, rather than a Titled Douluo or a god.
She'd clearly gone astray.
Su Ze took the lesson to heart.
On Douluo Continent, the most important thing was one's own strength. Everything else was empty.
He couldn't end up like Qian Renxue.
"Brother Su!"
"Your lightning attribute Martial Soul has truly opened my eyes."
To Qian Renxue, it hardly mattered whether she got to see the Lightning Devouring Electric Python.
It was just a Soul Beast a little over two thousand years old. So what if it had mutated?
A genius like Su Ze was what she needed.
"Brother Su, absorb this Soul Ring. We'll guard you while you do."
"Go ahead and absorb it without worry!"
Of course, Su Ze didn't refuse Qian Renxue's offer.
Absorbing a Soul Ring alone in Sunset Forest carried considerable risk.
With Qian Renxue and a Titled Douluo like Snake Lance Douluo protecting him, he would be completely safe.
After thanking Qian Renxue, Su Ze wasted no time. He entered meditation and began absorbing the Soul Ring.
Soon, the purple Soul Ring was drawn into Su Ze's body, and a vast surge of Soul Power began flowing endlessly through him.
Watching Su Ze absorb a Thousand-Year Soul Ring, Snake Lance Douluo was visibly moved.
Most ordinary Soul Masters could only handle a Second Soul Ring of around seven hundred years at most.
This boy named Su Ze had gone well beyond that limit and was absorbing a Soul Ring close to two thousand years old.
Thinking of Su Ze's earlier Combat Power and his Soul Elder-level physical strength, Snake Lance Douluo sincerely felt that if Su Ze survived, he had a good chance of standing shoulder to shoulder with him one day.
Qian Renxue, standing nearby, was watching Su Ze as well.
As he absorbed a Soul Ring more than two thousand years old, his body remained perfectly still, without even the slightest tremor.
The violent power of the thousand-year Soul Ring seemed as calm as a stream.
Seeing this, Qian Renxue realized that Su Ze had probably succeeded in absorbing it.
Remembering how Su Ze had performed earlier, her resolve to recruit him grew even stronger.
If she brought a genius like Su Ze under her command, he would surely become one of her greatest assets in the future.
It so happened that the Heaven Dou Emperor had recently put her in charge of Heaven Dou Royal Academy.
Qian Renxue planned to send Su Ze to study there.
If he performed well,
she intended to cultivate him into a trusted confidant within the Heaven Dou Empire.