What if I invited you to save the people of the Sun Moon Empire?

"If you feel it's not going to work, then let's just forget it," Xu Tianzhen said.

Yes, exactly, just forget it. Good, this matter of the prince consort can come to an end right here. As long as no one leaks this, my, Xu Yan's, backside will be safe!

Seeing that his backside no longer had to get intimate with the wooden paddle, Xu Yan finally breathed a sigh of relief. He had just started to stand up to say something when he saw his little princess extend a hand toward that young man (ง`ω´)۶, issuing a hellish invitation that would surely lead to many deaths.

Xu Tianzhen's eyes shimmered with a strange light as she spoke with deep emotion: "Although... although I know you might not have much interest in titles or money..."

"But what if I, in my capacity as a princess, invite you to the Sun Moon Empire to help us eliminate those detestable Evil Soul Masters who harm the people, and save the countless innocent souls still suffering in the depths of misery?!"

"?!"

Xu Yan: "(눈_눈)", please, I really don't know how to thank you. My little ancestor, why do you have to blurt everything out! Can you just talk about something as sensitive as Evil Soul Masters? Don't forget who your father brought to storm the Xuanwu Gate and wipe out your uncle's entire family back then!

"Wait, are you saying... the Sun Moon Empire has many Evil Soul Masters!?"

At the mention of Evil Soul Masters, Qian Yuhan's expression changed abruptly. Clearly, he had also realized that the clues hidden behind this matter were not simple.

It is not particularly strange for a few Evil Soul Masters to appear in one place.

Even when he attained godhood, he had spent a full one hundred and twenty years killing his way from the easternmost edge of the Douluo Continent to the west, yet the fallen would always grow back like chives—cut one batch, and another would sprout.

But now, a princess of an empire—the number one empire on the continent, no less—was explicitly stating that there were large numbers of Evil Soul Masters within the country, and that the empire had not dispatched troops to wipe them out on a large scale.

That could only mean that this empire definitely had some murky, unclear relationship with the Evil Soul Masters, and that these Evil Soul Masters had already formed a secret organization by huddling together for warmth, one whose power had reached a... shocking degree.

'Qian Yuhan, go with her. Evil Soul Masters are a great tonic for both you and me! We must not let them go; we must kill every one we see! Kill a thousand if we see a thousand!'

The Rakshasa Phantom placed its hands on Qian Yuhan's shoulders, shaking his upper body vigorously, urging him with unbearable impatience: 'Agree to her! Hurry and agree! Did you hear me!'

Indeed, what kind of bad intentions could the Rakshasa Phantom have? It simply wanted to treat the souls of the Evil Soul Masters like little snacks, happily munching away.

But Qian Yuhan was different.

In these few short breaths, he formulated a complete short-term plan, then took a deep breath to soothe the Rakshasa Phantom: 'Rest assured, I have my own judgment on this matter.'

Having finished soothing it, Qian Yuhan slowly raised his right hand, gently grasped the right hand Xu Tianzhen had extended toward him, and said in a deep voice: "Very well."

Xu Tianzhen: "(・∀・)", Hehe!

Grasping Qian Yuhan's right hand tightly, the corner of Xu Tianzhen's mouth crooked the moment she turned away, transforming into a (super mastermind). She laughed wildly in her heart:

'Heh, hahahahaha! Let's see who dares to call this princess silly and naive again. This princess is so smart she's practically smoking! With just a tiny little trick, I've lured him back to the Sun Moon Empire. It's just a pity for those idiots, the Evil Soul Masters, hehehe.'

"Then let's head back to the Bright Capital now!" Xu Tianzhen, fearing that Qian Yuhan might suddenly change his mind, pulled him along as she started to walk back. However, no matter how hard she pulled, Qian Yuhan behind her remained unmoved.

No way! It seemed he had changed his mind. How could she allow that!

Xu Tianzhen swallowed hard, slowly turned around, and probed: "What's wrong? Aren't you coming to the Bright Capital with me?"

"That... you're going in the wrong direction," Qian Yuhan said concisely, pointing toward another path:

"The direction you were walking in leads to the core area of the Star Dou Great Forest. That way is the outer perimeter."

A trace of embarrassment flashed across Xu Tianzhen's face. Blushing, she tried to cover for herself:

"Although what you say makes some sense, theoretically speaking, if we walk that way, we can still walk out of the Star Dou Great Forest, right?"

'No, Old Qian, do you even know how to chat? Your emotional intelligence is so low, it's...'

Before the Rakshasa Divine Sense could finish, Qian Yuhan had already spoken, blocking the Rakshasa Phantom's words with his actions. He looked at Xu Tianzhen and said slowly:

"You are right. Taking a detour that way would indeed lead us out of the Star Dou Great Forest. However, the journey is long and fraught with uncertain dangers, so I believe it is better to take this path."

"What do you think?"

At the end of his words, Qian Yuhan did not forget to politely ask for Xu Tianzhen's opinion, truly putting the words "respect for others" into practice.

"I think... um... what you say also makes some sense. Fine, this princess decides to listen to you." Xu Tianzhen fidgeted for a moment, then nodded with a flushed face.

At this moment, the Rakshasa Phantom finally realized with a start that the clown was, in fact, itself.

Equally miserable was Xu Yan, who had already lost all hope.

The joys and sorrows of people are not shared.

Looking at the visible embarrassment on his little princess's face, he only felt that the table the Emperor had kicked over and the wooden paddle in the hands of the palace guards were one step closer to his backside.

"Additionally... I have some matters to attend to and may not be able to get away for a short time. I wonder if you could grant me some time to handle my personal affairs."

"Once I have resolved my private matters, I will head to the Bright Capital." Qian Yuhan deliberated for a moment, seemingly afraid that this temperamental little princess might stir up some trouble, and added: "You can give me a token, so that when the time comes, I can use it to find you in the Bright Capital."

"Is this something that can be discussed? If it's convenient, I can have Xu Yan accompany you! Although he is getting on in years, he is at least a Soul Douluo. I think he should be able to help you."

"Very well, then I shall trouble you, Excellency." Qian Yuhan did not refuse; instead, he smiled and cupped his hands toward Xu Yan.

Damn it! Am I just a part of your little game too!

Children should act like children!

At such a young age, shouldn't you be studying hard and cultivating properly!

What is this, putting on a youth romance drama right here!

Although Xu Yan, who had been reduced to an unknown part of this strange interaction, was roaring like a madman in his heart, he maintained a "calm" and "gentle" indifferent expression on his face, nodding very profoundly toward Qian Daoliu as a response.

"Fine, then it's settled... wait, let me find something. Eh, where did I put that thing... ah, found it."

Xu Tianzhen spoke while rummaging through the glittering, ring-shaped storage Soul Tool on her hand.

Finally, she pulled a golden plaque engraved with the characters "Princess Mansion" on the front from a star-sapphire ring that looked expensive at a glance.

She stuffed the gold plaque into Qian Yuhan's hand with a solemn expression and said proudly:

"Here, this is the plaque for my Princess Mansion. I'm not boasting, but as long as you carry this in Bright Capital, no matter who they are, they'll have to give you some face. Once you arrive in Bright Capital, come find me at the Princess Mansion in the East City."

"I promise to... to... uh, what was that phrase again?" Xu Tianzhen blinked, seemingly forgetting the words due to a lack of literary flair.

"Perform the duties of a host."

The "cultured" Qian Yuhan parted his lips slightly, whispering the reminder in a voice as thin as a mosquito's.

"Yeah, right, perform the duties of a host." Xu Tianzhen nodded and turned to walk toward Xu Yu.

Suddenly, she turned back, as if afraid Qian Yuhan wouldn't remember, and reminded him: "Remember, it's the Princess Mansion in the East City, not the ones in the West or South."

"My Princess! I'm still right here! If the young brother doesn't know the way in Bright Capital, do you think I don't?"

Having said that, Xu Yan turned around quite freely, patted Qian Yuhan on the shoulder, and asked: "Where are we going next!?"

"Leaving the Star Dou Great Forest, of course, to go to my place and tidy things up." Qian Yuhan took a step forward, slipping past Xu Yan without a trace.

Xu Yan, whose right hand had swiped at empty air, was stunned for a moment before bursting into hearty laughter, praising: "Hahahaha, little brother, nice footwork."

"You flatter me." Qian Yuhan glanced back at Xu Yan, his wings suddenly unfurling, and he transformed into a golden streak of light, flying rapidly toward the outer perimeter.

"Hey, little brother, wait for me!"

With that, Xu Yan leaped from the ground, following the golden trail left by Qian Yuhan toward the outside of the Star Dou Great Forest, leaving Xu Yu and the others to exchange awkward, low chuckles after a brief silence.

On the way out of the Star Dou Great Forest, Xu Yan seemed possessed by a nosy census-taking matron, constantly asking questions as if he were trying to pry open Qian Yuhan's life story.

Things like: "Little brother, which province are you from? Who do you have at home?" It made Qian Yuhan roll his eyes incessantly in his heart.

Where am I from? Naturally, Angel City, or what would later become Martial Soul City.

However, on this current Douluo Continent, places like Angel City or Martial Soul City no longer existed.

But according to the geography of Martial Soul City ten thousand years ago, it seemed to be closer to the Heaven Dou Empire, and after the Heaven Dou Empire split, the Xue Clan imperial family rebuilt the Heaven Spirit Empire.

So...

Qian Yuhan took an identity document he had paid a high price for on the black market of the Heaven Spirit Empire out of his storage Soul Tool and tossed it to Xu Yan: "Here, if you want to know something, see for yourself."

(Of course, if the situation required it, Qian Yuhan could also produce identity documents for the Heaven Dou Empire, the Star Luo Empire, or even the Sun Moon Empire. He specialized in having everything covered, just in case.)

What, you ask why Qian Yuhan didn't use Sun Moon Empire papers to build rapport?

That goes without saying; the person currently checking his background was royalty from the Sun Moon Empire. If they really wanted to, they could investigate a citizen's ancestors back eight generations from top to bottom.

In such a situation, it was definitely better to use an identity document from the Heaven Spirit Empire, which was furthest from the Sun Moon Empire and shared no borders, to increase the difficulty of their investigation!

Holy crap, he's really eleven?

This age seems even younger than the Princess's?

Eleven years old with a four-ring cultivation, solo-killing an eight-ring Evil Soul Master. What was I doing when I was eleven? Oh, right, I was still playing in the mud in the garden... Truly, comparing people to others is infuriating.

Xu Yan's eye twitched a few times as he continued to read.

Heaven Spirit Empire, Salalik Province, Walden City, Holy Fire Village.

Eh, what's that stack behind it?

Death certificate?

Xu Yan continued to flip through, and the more he read, the uglier his expression became. In fact, after finishing the entire contents, he felt an urge to raise his hand and slap himself in the face.

To think this child has already... at such a young age. He must have had a very difficult life growing up to this point. And I actually... interrogated him so strictly... I really deserve to die!

"Ahem, ahem."

After a few dry coughs, Xu Yan returned the stack of death certificates—which were essentially written in the language of "misery"—to Qian Yuhan with a look of guilt, changing the subject: "Little brother, how much further until we arrive?"

"Almost there, about three hours."

"Good." Xu Yan nodded and said nothing more, turning into an expressionless machine, head down, flying coolly and fiercely.

It wasn't until Qian Yuhan began to decelerate and descend above a small gathering place for soul beasts that he spoke his first words in three hours: "Your home is here?"

"Is that not allowed?"

After speaking, Qian Yuhan landed steadily in the center of the soul beast gathering area.

The two had barely walked a few steps before some soul beasts lurking in the shadows of the woods began to flicker in and out of sight.

However, the strength of these soul beasts was pitifully weak. Xu Yan merely released a bit of his eight-ring Soul Douluo "kingly aura," and the group of soul beasts scattered in all directions.

"This place is truly barren! There aren't even many thousand-year soul beasts."

That's because I've eaten almost all of the ones over ten thousand years old.

Thinking of this, Qian Yuhan couldn't help but curl the corner of his mouth, then said:

"You can't compare this place to the Star Dou Great Forest. After all, the Star Dou Great Forest is the premier gathering place for soul beasts on the entire continent, and the Great Fierce Land at its core, along with the Far North Core Circle of the Far North and three other extremely dangerous locations, are collectively known as the Five Great Forbidden Zones of the Human World."

"If it weren't for the arrival of our Sun Moon Continent providing two extra spots, your Douluo Continent would be lucky to scrape together three at most."

Qian Yuhan: "ಠ_ಠ", what is the meaning of this?

Perhaps too lazy to engage with Xu Yan's obviously targeted remark, Qian Yuhan simply kept his head down and continued walking; in any case, there was nothing in this place that could pose a threat to him.

Eventually, the two stopped in front of a bare cliff face.

Looking around and seeing not even a few blades of grass in the vicinity, Xu Yan scratched the back of his head and asked Qian Yuhan in a low voice: "There's no path left!?"

"Correct, there is no path."

"Then where do we go from here? Up to the heavens or down into the earth?"

"Up to the heavens."

Having said that, Qian Yuhan took off from where he stood, quickly coming to a stop on a protruding ledge of the smooth cliff face.