Jing Hongchen

It was his own fault; after all, he was the one who poured boiling water on the flowers, but he had simply forgotten that he was holding boiling water in his hand, hadn't he?

Xu Yanli had soaked in the ice water for a long, long time, and only after finally cooling down that wave of restless heat did he hurriedly crawl out of the cold spring.

The next morning, Xu Yanli slowly rose from his bed, his entire body splayed out like a lump, not wanting to move a single muscle.

"Luo Xu, help me ask for leave from my teacher; I won't be going today," Xu Yanli said with a yawn on the bed. "Just say I caught a cold from soaking in the cold spring last night."

"Your Highness, your Martial Soul..." Luo Xu said respectfully.

"Oh, just use that excuse. Just let me rest for a day; I'm truly exhausted," Xu Yanli waved his hand, speaking listlessly to his personal guard.

Hearing the footsteps fade away, Xu Yanli let out a long sigh of relief.

Good heavens, being a prince is truly not a job for a human; it's exhausting, and I'm not even allowed to slack off.

After only a short while, Luo Xu returned.

"Your Highness, your teacher has agreed and said you should rest well," Luo Xu said respectfully.

Xu Yanli immediately relaxed, smiled, and said, "That's great. Stop kneeling; don't be kneeling back and forth when we're in private."

Xu Yanli finally managed to crawl out of bed, but he didn't even take two steps before running to the lounge chair in the courtyard and collapsing onto it.

Looking at the sunlight in the sky and feeling his Martial Soul seemingly resonating with the sun, an indescribable warmth continuously spread through his body, and he gradually fell asleep once more.

"Death God Douluo, are you planning to abandon our covenant?" In the neighboring Crown Prince's Mansion, Xu Tianran said.

"What is the Crown Prince saying?" Ye Xishui chuckled. "A wise bird chooses its tree to perch on, does it not?"

"Are you all wise birds?" Xu Tianran sat with his hands clasped together on his lap. "Yanli, Prince Xiaoyao, might not necessarily want you."

"That won't require the Crown Prince's concern; it is still better than being purged by the Crown Prince later," Ye Xishui twirled a strand of dark hair with her fingertips, her eyes slanted as she tilted her head slightly to look at Xu Tianran, her voice seemingly hiding a venomous chill.

Having said that, she transformed into a cloud of black mist and departed.

"I warn you, do not seek him out before he turns fifteen," Xu Tianran said coldly from behind. "I hope he can make his own choices."

Xu Tianran tapped his fingers on the table, seemingly contemplating something, a flash of sinister intent crossing his eyes.

In a family full of ambitious schemers, a salted fish had finally appeared, and he really ought to be well protected.

Xu Yanli lay limp on the chair, feeling the soul power within his body seemingly rising continuously.

It seems the legend of the Purple Imperial Heaven-Extinguishing Dragon must be true—a sub-dragon born within the sun.

Xu Yanli had thought he could lie down for the whole day without anyone bothering him, but as it turned out...

Jing Hongchen rushed into his mansion holding that first-grade Soul Tool pistol he had created.

"Your Highness Prince Xiaoyao, did you make this during your exam the other day? Can it really be used by ordinary people? Does it not require the use of soul power?" As soon as Jing Hongchen arrived, he asked a barrage of questions, leaving Xu Yanli unsure of which to answer first.

"Yes, this truly does not require soul power. Do you think there is any problem with that?" Xu Yanli stretched his arms and looked up at Jing Hongchen.

"No, no, this humble one just wanted to simply understand regarding Soul Tools—how are you able to create such a Soul Tool that can be used without soul power?" Because he was somewhat nervous, Jing Hongchen spoke in a rather incoherent manner.

Xu Yanli looked at him for a long while before slowly saying, "Mechanics, gears; furthermore, this doesn't count as completely not needing the assistance of a Soul Master, after all, it still requires charging. In terms of usage intensity, it is certainly more powerful if used by a Soul Master."

"This is already a great advancement for our technology. May I invite you to the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineer Academy?" Jing Hongchen said excitedly.

Xu Yanli shook his head. "Most of the time I will go to my teacher's place, and at other times I will be doing experiments in my mansion. If you don't mind, you can come here."

"Then I shall respectfully obey," Jing Hongchen said excitedly. "It just so happens that my grandson and granddaughter are about your age; how about I have them come here to play and serve as your study companions?"

Xu Yanli: ???

Is this guy selling his grandson and granddaughter this quickly?

"If you want them to come, then let them come," Xu Yanli supported his forehead.

"Then Your Highness rest well, I shall return shortly." Jing Hongchen dashed out rapidly, leaving behind a blurred trail.

"Luo Xu, would you say this Hall Master Hongchen of ours is a bit lacking in composure?" Xu Yanli said, feeling somewhat speechless.

"Yes," Luo Xu replied.

"Luo Xu, would you say our Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineer Academy can surpass Shrek Academy?" Xu Yanli continued to lie on the chair, sighing with emotion.

"Yes," Luo Xu replied.

"Luo Xu, would you say this young master is exceptionally brilliant?"

"Yes," Luo Xu replied.

Xu Yanli suddenly sat up, raised his eyebrows to look at Luo Xu, then thought for a moment and lay back down.

Getting up is too tiring; I don't want to do it.

Sigh, I'm not in the mood to talk anymore either.

However, Xu Yanli didn't end up waiting for Jing Hongchen; instead, he waited for Xu Tianran.

"Yanli, come, brother has something to tell you." Xu Tianran pushed his wheelchair to the side of Xu Yanli's lounge chair and said.

Upon hearing this, Xu Yanli signaled for Luo Xu to leave first.

"Imperial Brother, what is it?" Xu Yanli asked with a smile.

"Regarding the Holy Spirit Cult, I have come to tell you a little bit about it," Xu Tianran said very calmly.

"Imperial Brother, how do you intend to deal with them?" Xu Yanli asked calmly.

"Deal with them? I intend to hand the matter of the Holy Spirit Cult over to you once you have grown up," Xu Tianran said, tapping the armrest of his wheelchair.

Xu Yanli was stunned for a moment before saying, "The reputation of the Holy Spirit Cult is too poor. In the future, we could carry out a certain degree of integration."

"As you wish," Xu Tianran said nonchalantly, tossing a jade tablet engraved with the characters 'Xiao Yao' to Xu Yanli.

"This is?" Xu Yanli looked bewildered.

"I used your princely title to establish a firm; this business is now yours," Xu Tianran said calmly.

Xu Yanli inexplicably felt as though Xu Tianran was a weasel paying a New Year's call to a chicken—harboring no good intentions.

However, judging by his expression, it did not look like he was trying to set him up.

Xu Tianran remained silent for a long while. Seeing that he did not take it, he sighed and said, "Take it. Rest assured, I am not setting you up. As long as you have no desire to be emperor in the future, you will always be my younger brother."

Xu Yanli paused, then reached out to take the jade pendant, smiling as he said, "Then thank you, Imperial Brother."

"Also, regarding that Jing Hongchen, you should have some contact with his granddaughter and grandson. After all, you are peers and should have common topics to discuss," Xu Tianran said, rubbing Xu Yanli's face.