Douluo: Jianmu Martial Soul, Am I an Abomination of Abundance? Chapter 44

"However, Bing'er, although Ultimate Ice is incredibly powerful—powerful enough to let you fight opponents two ranks above you, allowing a Spirit King to contend with a Spirit Saint—it has one enormous flaw."

At this, Shui Bing'er grew a little flustered. She feared it would be some terrible defect.

"Brother Mu Ci, what flaw is it?"

Mu Ci could not help but smile when he saw Shui Bing'er like this.

In the days he had known Shui Bing'er, she had always been like a snow lotus atop the Heavenly Mountain—cool and pure. Moments of such emotional fluctuation were rare for her.

"Don't be nervous. It isn't some major flaw. On the contrary, this issue brings both misfortune and blessing."

"Once Spirit Masters with Ultimate Attributes reach level thirty, their Soul Power becomes extraordinarily condensed due to their own attributes.

"The result is that from level thirty to level seventy, their cultivation speed becomes extremely slow."

"But the benefit is that after level seventy, your cultivation speed will far surpass those of the same rank, and there will be no more bottlenecks before becoming a Peerless Douluo."

Hearing this, Shui Bing'er let out a long breath and shot Mu Ci a glare.

She had thought it was some terrible flaw.

As for her later soul skills and Soul Power, Shui Bing'er only gave a brief explanation. Compared to the power of Ultimate Ice, those things were hardly worth mentioning.

Seeing that the three girls were more or less ready, Mu Ci clapped his hands. "Since everyone is ready, let's move on to the next step."

As he spoke, Mu Ci released his Martial Soul and used vines to bring over three heavily wounded, dying soul beasts.

"These are the soul beasts most suitable for you. I found them outside while you were absorbing the pills."

"A four-thousand-year Earth King, a three-thousand-eight-hundred-year Water-Controlling Dragon Lizard, and a four-thousand-one-hundred-year Articuno. I marked them before you even came here, specifically for you."

Seeing the scene before them, the three girls were deeply moved beyond words.

Following her instinctive urge, Huo Wu stepped forward first and kissed Mu Ci, her eyes reddening.

With someone setting the example, Shui Bing'er and Shui Yue'er refused to be outdone and did the same as Huo Wu.

"Alright, absorb your soul rings first. You still have plenty to learn afterward."

The three girls decisively ended the soul beasts' lives, then sat cross-legged on the ground and began absorbing their respective third soul rings.

Watching everything from the side, Mu Ci grew increasingly eager for the Continental Advanced Spirit Master Tournament a few years from now.

Huo Wu with her Body Martial Soul awakened, Shui Bing'er with Ultimate Ice, Dugu Yan and Shui Yue'er at the Spirit King level, Feng Xiaotian who had comprehended things ahead of time, and Hu Liena far away in Spirit City.

Every one of them possessed terrifying combat power far beyond the original story. Just thinking about it was amusing.

Under this storm, how far would the future Shrek Team be able to go?

Revealing That She Was a Woman

"Please come this way. His Highness the Crown Prince is already waiting for you in the meeting room."

Inside Crown Prince Manor, a maid led Mu Ci from the front, giving him time to observe the place where Xue Qinghe lived day to day.

Over the past two days, the cultivation of the three girls at the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Eye had steadily fallen into place.

Mu Ci had also taught them all the Medicine King Secret Method. While studying alongside them, Huo Wu had begun researching a method for the self-awakening of her Body Martial Soul.

Due to the peculiar nature of the Fire Shadow Martial Soul, she needed to find the optimal frequency through the connection between her body and shadow in order to carry out her own self-awakening.

Mu Ci could not help her with this. She could only rely on herself.

Compared to the peculiarities of Huo Wu's cultivation, Shui Bing'er and Shui Yue'er were far more conventional. Other than sitting beside the ice spring to cultivate their Soul Power, they sparred with soul beasts under Mu Ci's supervision.

After passing through a courtyard filled with Heaven Dou's royal style, Mu Ci finally arrived at the reception area.

At that moment, the handsome golden-haired young man Xue Qinghe hurried out to greet him.

"Brother Mu Ci, we have not seen each other for several days. Let's go inside and talk."

As he spoke, Xue Qinghe warmly took Mu Ci's hand and led him toward the meeting room.

Once they sat on the sofas, Xue Qinghe dismissed the surrounding maids, leaving only the two of them in the room.

Feeling the silence around the room, Mu Ci finally voiced his question.

"I wonder what business His Highness the Crown Prince has with me that requires dismissing everyone else."

Xue Qinghe did not answer immediately. He poured a cup of clear tea and pushed it before Mu Ci, then leaned back on the sofa and looked at him.

"Brother Mu Ci, the name Medicine King has spread across the land along with your deeds. I wonder whether you have any insights into the art of poison."

Poison?

Mu Ci's brows furrowed ever so slightly. He picked up the tea Xue Qinghe had pushed over and took a sip, buying himself some time to think.

Why is Qian Renxue asking this? Judging by the timeline, hadn't she already poisoned Xue Ye with the mixed poison formulated by Yang Wushuang? Why ask me about this?

Does she want me to concoct a poison for her, adding another safeguard to her plan?

However, Mu Ci did not ponder for long before following the other party's topic.

"Medicine and poison are inseparable. Although I have never poisoned anyone, since I can use medicine to treat people, then from another perspective, I can naturally use it to poison people as well."

"However, such matters bring me no benefit, so I have neither researched nor achieved anything in this field."

"Your Highness, you should not become curious about this. If poison arts are not mastered properly, they can harm the user as well."

Xue Qinghe smiled bitterly and shook his head. "Brother Mu Ci, you misunderstand. It is not that I wish to learn poison arts. I have another request."

"Please speak, Your Highness." Mu Ci sneered inwardly, wanting to see what tale this fake Crown Prince could spin.

"Over the years, Father Emperor's health has worsened by the day. I see it, and it pains my heart."

"These past few days, Father Emperor has fallen ill again and taken to his bed. Even the Palace's Auxiliary Spirit Masters have been helpless."

"I strongly suspect that someone has poisoned Father Emperor."

As he spoke, Xue Qinghe's handsome face filled with anguish, and he repeatedly pressed at his temples.

Looking at Xue Qinghe, whose face was full of grief for Xue Ye, Mu Ci could not help but marvel inwardly.

Qian Renxue's acting was truly incredible. She had replaced Xue Qinghe for over a decade without anyone noticing anything amiss.

Even Prince Xue Xing and Xue Beng only suspected that Xue Qinghe was ruthless and would stop at nothing for the throne because of the unexpected deaths of the two princes.

For their own safety, the two had endured humiliation and deliberately shown weakness.

Even so, they had never suspected that Xue Qinghe was an impostor.

If Mu Ci had not known the truth beforehand, he might really have been fooled.

"Why not seek out Elder Ye of Nine-Star Begonia? He should still be in Heaven Dou City these days, shouldn't he? Sect Master Ning of Seven Treasure City should also be a prime choice."

Mu Ci frowned slightly. It was hardly unusual for Xue Ye to have some health problems.

As the Imperial Family of the Heaven Dou Empire, the Xue Family did not possess Martial Souls as powerful as those of the Star Luo Empire's Dai Family.

The cultivation of successive emperors had never been particularly high, generally around the Spirit King or Spirit Emperor realm.

For Spirit Masters of this level, their lifespans were no different from ordinary people's. Thus, the ordinary cycle of birth, aging, sickness, and death was perfectly normal.

However, since he was the emperor, even if the court Spirit Masters could not resolve Xue Ye's problem, they could seek renowned Spirit Masters from throughout the land.

The Heaven Dou Empire's most prestigious Auxiliary Spirit Masters were Elder Ye of Nine-Star Begonia and Ning Fengzhi of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect. No matter how one looked at it, it should not have come to him.

It was not that he lacked confidence in his own abilities. He was simply too young. In Douluo Continent, the saying that a beardless man could not be trusted still held true.

For the emperor's life, they should surely seek those great figures for safety.

"Sigh, Elder Ye is helpless in this matter as well. You and I both know the effects of Nine-Star Begonia. Saying it can revive the dead and regrow flesh from bone would not be an exaggeration, but Father Emperor's problem is not of that nature."

"As for teacher, to be frank, the Imperial Family's offering is also a high-level Auxiliary Spirit Saint. Compared to the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda, the difference in effect is not great."

"That is precisely why my brother and I are so anxious. I happened to know that your medical skills are exceptional, Brother Mu Ci, so I came to seek you out."

Only when he heard Xue Beng mentioned did Mu Ci understand.

This was not because Xue Qinghe wanted to find him. Rather, he was doing this so Xue Beng could not find him.

Everyone in Heaven Dou City knew that Poison Douluo Dugu Bo was Prince Xue Xing's honored guest. Once Xue Beng learned of Xue Ye's condition, he would surely discuss it with his uncle.

If they could cure Xue Ye first, they might be able to suppress Xue Qinghe. With some maneuvering afterward, Xue Beng might not be unable to become Crown Prince.

And Prince Xue Xing would certainly seek out Dugu Bo in order to seize that opportunity. Because of their agreement, Dugu Bo would definitely come looking for him.

That was why Xue Qinghe had become so anxious. If Mu Ci truly cured the poison, then his plan of more than a decade would go down the drain.

With that thought, Mu Ci straightened his posture.

He no longer wanted to keep circling around the issue with this young lady from Spirit Hall.

Rather than playing a game of mutual guessing, it would be better to lay everything out in the open.

His family's ties with Spirit Hall were no weaker than anyone else's. If it came to choosing sides, he stood with Qian Renxue as well.

"Your Highness the Crown Prince, why don't we speak frankly?"

Xue Qinghe's expression froze. What was going on?

Weren't they discussing Xue Ye's affairs? Why had they suddenly moved to speaking frankly?

"Brother, what do you mean by that?"

"I mean, let us first discuss the Crown Prince of the Heaven Dou Empire."

"Why she is actually a woman!"

Qian Renxue

The moment Mu Ci's words left his mouth.

Xue Qinghe's handsome face immediately stiffened, and his golden eyes became slightly vacant.

His entire body seemed as though it had been petrified.

But the impact of those words had not yet ended.

The air in the meeting room instantly seemed to have been filled with lead. In the already quiet room, even breathing became deafening.