Hehehe

"Shang An."

Dugu Yan looked at Shang An, wanting to say something but hesitating.

"Eat without worry."

Seeing Shang An say this, Dugu Yan finally set her mind at ease. After all, nothing about Shang An's demeanor suggested he was the type to puff himself up at his own expense.

To be fair, while Fengming Restaurant was expensive, the ingredients were incredibly rare: snow lotuses from the Far North, neck meat from a thousand-year Pan Ox, highland rice from the Pas Plateau...

The taste of the dishes was far beyond that of ordinary restaurants. The chefs might not have been on par with the imperial cooks at the Pope Palace, but they were still world-class; otherwise, they wouldn't have dared to charge such high prices.

Of the hundred-plus dishes, most ended up in Shang An's stomach. The Taiyi Immortal Origin Body possessed the ability to refine essence into energy, allowing him to metabolize spiritual treasures of heaven and earth. The energy contained in the food was a mere drop in the bucket compared to such treasures, and as long as Shang An wished, he could keep eating indefinitely.

"Hiccup, what exactly is your stomach made of, Shang An?"

Xiao Wu let out a burp, looked at Shang An, who was still eating quickly yet elegantly, and leaned in to curiously poke his stomach, which showed no signs of bloating.

Dugu Yan was also dying to ask, but since she and Shang An had only just met, she felt a bit too embarrassed to bring it up.

Shang An swallowed the food in his mouth and said, "I just have a larger appetite."

Dugu Yan felt a bit ashamed. You call that a large appetite? Even soul beasts aren't as gluttonous as you.

Shang An finished the last bite of his meal at a leisurely pace and rang the bell in the private room.

The waiter standing guard outside immediately hurried in. Seeing the stack of clean, empty plates piled to the side, he suppressed his shock and asked:

"Greetings, would you like to settle the bill?"

Shang An nodded.

"Call your manager over."

At the mention of the manager, the waiter's expression shifted. Without a word, he exited the room and hurried to find his superior.

"Manager, the people in private room Earth-3 asked to see you. I suspect... they're trying to dine and dash."

"Oh? Then I'll go see them myself. I want to see who has the nerve to try and dine and dash at Fengming Restaurant."

The manager, followed by the waiter, marched toward private room Earth-3 with a haughty, imposing air.

"Sir, greetings. Your total bill comes to four hundred fifty-eight thousand two hundred gold soul coins."

The manager stared straight at Shang An. Instead of complaining about the price, Shang An simply tossed a token over, which the manager caught instinctively.

When he saw the insignia on the token, the manager's face changed instantly.

"Greetings, Consultant."

What Shang An had produced was not the Saint Son Token, but his Consultant Token. A consultant held the power to oversee and guide the development of the industries under their jurisdiction and was the superior to those in charge of these establishments.

"Hmm, you're doing quite well here, though there are still some flaws.

You could try setting up a few special private rooms and linking them to a membership system. Only members of a certain rank would be allowed to book these rooms; it would better satisfy the vanity of those nobles. Also..."

Shang An said this while wiping the oil from the corner of his mouth.

"Thank you for your guidance, Consultant."

The manager stood perfectly straight, as if waiting for a superior's lecture, and used the bill he was holding to record the suggestions Shang An had made.

As for the waiter, seeing the manager's expression, he realized Shang An's identity was no small matter. He stood to the side, head bowed and back hunched, not daring to even breathe loudly.

"Alright, that's all. I'm leaving."

"Yes, please take your time, Consultant. We look forward to your next inspection."

The manager led them to the door, bowing with the waiter to see Shang An off. As for the bill, it wasn't even mentioned.

Once they were out of earshot, the waiter whispered to the still-bowing manager:

"Manager, who were they?"

"Hmph, you nearly got us into trouble this time. That was a Consultant from above. He must have come to inspect the specific situation of our Fengming Restaurant in Heaven Dou City.

Next time you see this Consultant, you must treat him with the utmost respect and escort him to Heaven-1 immediately, do you understand?"

"Understood, Manager."

As the four of them walked out of Fengming Restaurant, Dugu Yan looked at Shang An with a mix of shock and suspicion. Finally, she couldn't hold it in any longer and asked:

"Shang An, does this Fengming Restaurant have something to do with your family?"

She had heard others say that the restaurant had an extraordinary background. Just a few days ago, an imperial duke had tried to dine and dash, only to be beaten black and blue by the soul masters in the shop, and he had obediently sent the money over the very next day.

"Hmm, I suppose you could say this restaurant is owned by my family."

Shang An hesitated for a moment before answering.

"Then your family must be incredibly wealthy."

Dugu Yan felt a pang of envy. Fengming Restaurant was located in the central district of the Tiandou Imperial Capital, where the land was worth its weight in gold, and the restaurant occupied nearly five hundred square meters.

Although her grandfather, Dugu Bo, was a Title Douluo, the Dugu family had few members due to their martial soul and owned very little property.

Furthermore, because Dugu Bo disliked being constrained, he only served as a guest elder to repay a favor to Prince Xue Xing, so he didn't earn much money. Thus, even though Dugu Yan was considered a young lady of status, she didn't actually have much money compared to those other nobles.

"It's alright, I'm not interested in money."

Shang An's flat tone made it sound as if he were discussing something completely irrelevant.

Dugu Yan was almost overwhelmed by the sheer aura of pretension radiating from Shang An; it turned out she really was just a poor person.

Seeing the expression on Dugu Yan's face, Shang An added an explanation.

"Yanyan, you don't need to overthink it. It's just that I have so much money that I've lost interest in it."

It would have been better if he hadn't said anything at all. Once those words were out, Dugu Yan felt as if she were being surrounded and mocked by gold coins. Could they even have a pleasant conversation anymore?

Skipping over this minor interlude, the two of them still chatted quite happily.

At the end, Dugu Yan bid farewell to the three of them.

"Shang An, goodbye. If you need anything, you can come find me. My home is at the Dugu Mansion in the north of Heaven Dou City."

"Goodbye, Yanyan. I believe we will see each other again very soon."

The two waved goodbye.

Watching Dugu Yan's figure walk away, Shang An turned to the two beauties who had been ignored for quite some time and said:

"Let's go. I recall that Spirit Hall has property in Heaven Dou City, right?"

Then, Shang An scooped up Xiao Wu and held her in his arms.

"Off we go!"

The jealousy and slight resentment in Xiao Wu's heart vanished instantly. He—he was holding her on the main street! How embarrassing!

Late at night, The moon was dark and the wind was high.

Xiao Wu had already fallen asleep, and Shang An and Ni Huang gathered together.

"Let's go, Ni Huang."

Ni Huang nodded. She generally understood the personality of His Holiness the Holy Son and knew exactly where he was referring to.

"Xiao An, should we..."

As she spoke, Ni Huang made a throat-slitting gesture. She was extremely displeased with Xue Beng; he had dared to flirt with her and even dared to insult Xiao An. He was truly courting death. In this world, only Xiao An was allowed to flirt with her, and she would not allow anyone to insult the world's best Xiao An.

"No need. After all, he is a prince. Just teaching him a lesson will suffice."

Shang An said, appearing completely devoid of grudges. He, Shang An, was a student of the Analects and followed the earnest teachings of the sages. The Master said: "He who initiates such practices, shall he have no posterity?"

Shang An liked to act according to the Analects.

Activating the Taiyi Dharma Domain, the two snuck into the imperial palace without a sound. The strength of the Heaven Dou Empire was not even remotely comparable to the Star Luo Empire, especially in terms of high-end combat power; Heaven Dou did not even have a single Title Douluo.

Dugu Bo was merely a guest elder and would not participate in the war between Heaven Dou and Star Luo.

The several duchies under the Heaven Dou Empire were effectively semi-independent, listening to orders but not summons; the Heaven Dou Emperor could not command these duchies at all.

The Star Luo Empire, however, pursued a policy of iron-fisted centralization. The country was as solid as a rock, its power was extremely unified, and it even surpassed the Heaven Dou Empire in terms of conventional military forces.

It could be said that if Spirit Hall were not wedged between the two, posing a powerful threat to both, the Heaven Dou Empire would have been wiped out by the Star Luo Empire long ago.

After sneaking into the Heaven Dou imperial palace today, the weakness of Heaven Dou was laid bare. Within the grand palace, there were only a few Soul Saints and one Soul Douluo, and that Soul Douluo was likely there to protect Emperor Xue Ye personally.

Shang An paid no mind to these things. He quickly located Xue Beng's residence based on the sensing of his aura. Xue Beng currently still lived in the imperial palace and did not have the authority to establish his own estate.

Entering the palace where Xue Beng resided, they moved along under the cover of the Taiyi Dharma Domain. Not a single guard discovered that two people had already arrived in the prince's quarters.

Xue Beng was completely unaware, still busy with his "exercise," constantly commanding and oppressing two tattered, weak, and pitiful young girls. It was truly detestable.

Seeing Xue Beng enjoying himself, Shang An revealed a dangerous smile.

"Xue Beng, tonight will be your final moment of pleasure."

Shang An was the type of person who never let a grudge last overnight. Daring to flirt with his woman? Heh, the sage said that for the initiator of such things, we must ensure he has no future. After all, Shang An had a benevolent heart, so he only planned to ensure he had no descendants, leaving him his dog's life.

To think he had actually let him enjoy one extra night; he was truly too benevolent. Sigh, this "saintly" habit of his really needed to change.

Shang An waved his small hand, and the Taiyi Dharma Domain enveloped the bedchamber. No matter what happened inside, those outside would be unable to perceive it.

"Hehehe, Fourth Prince, I'm here."