"Wow! Yuan Gege, are you interested in the Sword Path too? Why not come back to the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect with us? Then Sword Grandpa can guide you whenever you want."
Sword Douluo hadn't reacted yet, but Ning Rongrong beside him had already spoken up excitedly, her beautiful eyes shining.
Qian Renxue, Ning Fengzhi, and Sword Douluo all darkened at her words.
"R-Rongrong is just joking. How could Xiao Yuan keep troubling Senior Sword Douluo? There's no need to go to the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect," Qian Renxue said with a stiff smile.
She grumbled inwardly, You little brat, don't think I don't know what you're scheming. Don't even dream about it!
"It's no trouble at all. Sword Grandpa would definitely be happy to do it." Ning Rongrong fixed her beautiful, wide eyes on Sword Douluo, blinking them adorably.
"Am I right, Sword Grandpa?"
"..." Sword Douluo wanted to say no, but seeing his granddaughter's expression, he nodded against his better judgment.
"Rongrong is right."
That sly little brat, always getting her way by acting cute. She's not even as adorable as my Xiao Yuan... Qian Renxue gritted her teeth silently, clenching her hand beneath her robe.
Ning Fengzhi couldn't stand it any longer. His face darkened as he scolded her.
"Rongrong, stop fooling around!"
Ning Rongrong pouted, looking thoroughly unhappy. She was just about to talk back to her father, but Ning Fengzhi gave her no chance. He immediately turned to Qian Renxue and Sword Douluo.
"Your Highness, Uncle Jian, let's go guide Xiao Yuan in the Sword Path now. After we speak with Ling Tian, we must return to the sect immediately. We have important matters to attend to."
Ning Fengzhi spoke at lightning speed, afraid his daughter would interrupt if he was too slow. He looked down on Qin Yuan, that good-for-nothing with only half a level of Innate Soul Power, and couldn't let his daughter spend time with him.
He had no idea why Rongrong had taken a liking to that good-for-nothing. Was it because the boy was handsome? Ning Fengzhi felt helpless and baffled.
Qian Renxue, who couldn't wait for Ning Fengzhi to leave, and Sword Douluo, who didn't want to waste time guiding an outsider, both nodded at once.
Without giving Ning Rongrong a chance to interrupt, the three headed for Qin Yuan's residence. She couldn't catch up, and no matter how angrily she shouted after them, the trio—each with their own agenda—ignored her completely.
On the way, Sword Douluo asked Qian Renxue so he could tailor his guidance.
"Your Highness, how long has Qin Yuan been studying the Sword Path?"
"Almost half a year." Qian Renxue knew Xiao Yuan's situation like the back of her hand and answered immediately.
Sword Douluo's brows knitted, and displeasure stirred in him. But with the Crown Prince beside him, he didn't show it. He merely scoffed inwardly.
He's only been studying the Sword Path for half a year. He probably hasn't even reached the Sword Path first stage, yet the dignified Sword Douluo himself has to guide him! Any swordsman in Heaven Dou City at the Sword Path fourth or fifth stage would be qualified.
Ah, well. The Crown Prince asked, so I can hardly refuse. I'll give him a little guidance this once, then never come again.
Having made up his mind, Sword Douluo's brow relaxed.
Just then, Qian Renxue's voice sounded beside him.
"Xiao Yuan reached the Sword Path fifth stage three months ago. By now, he must have entered the sixth stage. But he's run into a Sword Path bottleneck and has been troubled by it for days. That's why I asked Senior Sword Douluo to guide him."
At her words, Sword Douluo and Ning Fengzhi both slipped on their next steps, nearly falling. They staggered a few times before regaining their balance.
"Y-Your Highness, what did you just say?" They both turned to look at Qian Renxue in shock, wearing identical expressions of disbelief, as if to ask, Did I hear that right?
Qian Renxue was taken aback, then immediately understood their reaction. They hadn't yet witnessed Xiao Yuan's heaven-defying comprehension, so it was only natural they'd respond this way.
With a smile, she repeated herself.
"Xiao Yuan reached the Sword Path fifth stage three months ago. By now, he must have entered the sixth. I suspect he's trying to break through to the seventh stage and has hit a bottleneck. That's why I asked Senior Sword Douluo to give him some guidance."
Sword Douluo and Ning Fengzhi froze. They still couldn't believe such outrageous claims could come from the mouth of a country's Crown Prince.
Ning Fengzhi was one thing, but Sword Douluo was the Number One Sword Dao Expert on the Douluo Continent, a true Sword Path prodigy! His understanding of the Sword Path had long since reached the divine.
Yet even he had spent a full ten years reaching the Sword Path sixth stage, let alone touching the realm of a Sword Master.
And now, the Crown Prince of the Heavenly Dou Empire, heir apparent to the throne, was claiming that a good-for-nothing with only half a level of Innate Soul Power had studied the Sword Path for barely half a year and was already touching the bottleneck of the seventh stage.
How could he believe that? How could he dare believe it? It was nothing short of an utterly absurd joke!
Sword Douluo and Ning Fengzhi looked at Qian Renxue. They opened their mouths, then stopped themselves. In the end, neither said a word, and they continued toward Qin Yuan's residence.
After all, Xue Qinghe was the Crown Prince of the Heavenly Dou Empire and its future emperor. They couldn't embarrass him.
When they reached Qin Yuan's residence, they found he wasn't there. Red Moon and White Butterfly, the two maids, didn't know where he'd gone either. They only knew he seemed to have something extremely urgent to do and had left in a hurry.
Sword Douluo had gone out of his way to lower himself and offer guidance to a Sword Path novice, only for the other party to be absent and leave him waiting in vain. He was displeased, his brows drawing together.
Qian Renxue only shook her head with affectionate exasperation. What a disobedient boy. I went to the trouble of finding Sword Douluo to guide you, and you've gone wandering off.
Oh well. I could always visit him later—just when Ning Rongrong isn't around.
She couldn't bear to scold her Xiao Yuan.
"Ah, Yuan Gege isn't here?"
Ning Rongrong came running up, panting. When she didn't see the Qin Yuan she'd been thinking about, her lovely face fell, her anticipation turning instantly into deep disappointment.
Qian Renxue glanced at the disappointed Ning Rongrong, the corners of her mouth lifting slightly.
Ning Fengzhi also breathed a sigh of relief. It was best that he wasn't there. Once they'd won Ling Tian over, they'd return to the sect immediately. He couldn't let Qin Yuan spend time with Rongrong.
How could a pig with only half a level of Innate Soul Power be allowed to root up his precious cabbage?
With Qin Yuan gone, Qian Renxue and Ning Fengzhi's group turned to leave. They had just reached the palace gate when a member of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect's branch in Heaven Dou City came running over with a report.
"Sect Master, Ling Tian has appeared at the Heaven Dou Great Soul Arena. He's challenging a high-ranking Soul Ancestor with a Sword Martial Soul."
Qian Renxue and Ning Fengzhi's eyes narrowed. Instinctively, they looked at each other warily.
After a moment's hesitation, Ning Fengzhi smiled. "Your Highness, I'll take my leave."
"Please, Teacher," Qian Renxue replied with the same smile.
Ning Fengzhi didn't even bother getting into a carriage. He took Sword Douluo and Ning Rongrong and hurried toward the Heaven Dou Great Soul Arena.
Qian Renxue immediately returned to the East Palace, ordered that no one disturb her, and locked herself in her study. She followed a secret passage prepared long ago to a courtyard outside the Imperial Palace.
Not long after Qian Renxue emerged, Porcupinefish Douluo, who had been waiting there, appeared in a flash and spoke at once.
"Miss, Ling Tian has appeared!"
"I know." Qian Renxue nodded seriously, then told Porcupinefish Douluo to wait while she went into a room.
Before you continue