Douluo: Jianmu Martial Soul, Am I an Abomination of Abundance? Part 46

Mu Ci gasped sharply, his vision darkening slightly.

"Big sis, do you really think of yourself as the Heaven Dou Crown Prince? After all these years, haven't you placed your own people in the court? Haven't you ever formed factions to suppress dissidents?"

"The ministers object? Are the Title Douluo under your command just there to collect a paycheck?"

"When the time comes, just pin a charge of rebellion on them. Your fist is the biggest, so whatever you say is the truth."

"And you mentioned Xue Xing. I really don't understand—since you already got rid of two princes, why leave Xue Beng alive?"

"Were you trying to prove to Xue Ye that you were just like him? He kept a Xue Xing, so you kept a Xue Beng?"

"Is that how you seize a country? Either don't do it at all, or do it thoroughly. You don't understand that principle in the slightest!"

"Once Xue Beng is dead, what other way out does Xue Ye have besides handing the throne to you? By then, even if you honor him as the Retired Emperor, he'll have no choice but to accept it."

Mu Ci truly could not understand the thought process of people from Douluo. Was that how one stole a nation?

Ministers? When Zhao Gao and Hu Hai rose to power, had they not considered that ministers might oppose them? Of course they had. Otherwise, they would not have brought Li Si in.

Was Li Si not loyal to the First Emperor? Yet he still made that choice.

Before life and profit, where could absolute loyalty possibly exist?

Once everything had become a foregone conclusion, even if someone pointed at a deer and called it a horse, you had to agree.

Qian Renxue was made somewhat embarrassed by Mu Ci's string of questions and lowered her head sheepishly.

"Let's discuss how to deal with Xue Ye first."

Looking at Qian Renxue before him, Mu Ci could actually understand why she had not used such methods.

Over the years, Mu Ci had traveled throughout the Heaven Dou Empire. He had seen at least eight thousand, if not ten thousand, different Martial Souls, and his research in this area had grown exceptionally deep.

On Douluo Continent, a Martial Soul could influence a person's character to a great extent. Conversely, a person's character could also affect their Martial Soul and cultivation.

Take Yan Shaozhe ten thousand years later, for example. He had been born with the Bright Phoenix Martial Soul, yet problems with his temperament left him unable to advance even a step at the Super Douluo realm.

Even Mu En, his teacher, was infuriated by his repeated failures to improve.

And Qian Xunji, closer to home, was likely much the same as Yan Shaozhe. His personality had affected his cultivation.

Yet because of the Angel Martial Soul, he had not become thoroughly evil either. After doing that to Bibi Dong, he had actually let her live. Mu Ci truly did not know what to say.

He could not be a good person, yet he could not be thoroughly bad either.

Bibi Dong had done this much better. She perfectly matched the traits of a spider Martial Soul—enduring, lurking, and delivering a single fatal strike.

Perhaps that was why, despite carrying a God Trial that dragged her down, she had still reached the pinnacle of the mortal world at such a young age.

Then there were the Evil Spirit Masters of both the present and ten thousand years later. Some had their temperaments altered by their Martial Souls from birth, while others underwent drastic changes in character and caused their Martial Souls to fall into evil.

"The reason you came to find me was simply because you didn't want Xue Beng to find me through Senior Dugu and accidentally ruin your plans, right?"

Qian Renxue looked at Mu Ci with her golden eyes, her little head bobbing rapidly up and down.

"How about this? Find a time, and I'll go with you to the palace to meet Xue Ye. Then I'll cure his illness."

Upon hearing this, Qian Renxue's expression turned urgent as she prepared to speak.

But Mu Ci immediately cut her off. "Listen to me first."

"Although I'll remove the poison you gave Xue Ye, I'll give him another kind of tonic afterward. Anyone who takes it will become physically healthy and full of energy."

"That way, your standing in Xue Ye's heart will rise once more."

"But this medicine has a serious flaw. Long-term use will cause one's vitality to naturally wither away. He absolutely won't live beyond a few years."

"I'll control the dosage so that Xue Ye's life drains away over roughly six years—around the time of the next Continental Advanced Soul Master Elite Tournament."

"When that time comes, you can return and ascend the throne."

Qian Renxue listened from beginning to end, opening her mouth several times but stopping herself each time.

Mu Ci noticed her expression and paused to ask, "Sister Xue, is there something you want to say?"

Qian Renxue nodded, then quickly shook her head again before asking hesitantly.

"What if Xue Ye refuses to take the medicine?"

Mu Ci laughed aloud upon hearing that. How could he not understand the thoughts of emperors?

The First Emperor, Emperor Wu of Han, Emperor Taizong of Tang, and so on—which one had not been a sovereign who dominated an age? And who among them had never believed in elixirs?

"Sister Xue, you don't understand human nature."

"When an old man experiences once again the vigor and boundless vitality of his prime."

"Do you think he would be willing to return to that frail, aged body that could no longer do as it wished?"

"Especially when that person is an emperor above tens of thousands. His desire will become particularly strong, because he does not want to lose everything before his eyes."

No Need to Inherit the God Ancestor, You Will Surpass the God Ancestor

Qian Renxue was stunned when she suddenly heard this line of reasoning.

She had never heard such a theory before, nor had she known that an emperor could pursue bodily health so intensely.

If Mu Ci could hear Qian Renxue's thoughts right now, he would definitely laugh at her. Just look at the kind of people around you.

Qian Renxue had been born in Spirit Hall. The grandfathers around her were either Peerless Douluo or Peak Douluo above Rank Ninety-Six.

Even the guards at her side were among the continent's exceedingly rare Title Douluo.

Expecting her to experience the helplessness ordinary people felt in the face of birth, aging, illness, and death while surrounded by these superhumans capable of tearing down cities and fortresses was honestly a joke.

Even in their old age, these Title Douluo could still rise up and smash a hundred-thousand-man legion to pieces on the spot.

Thus, despite having been the Heaven Dou Crown Prince for many years, Qian Renxue still did not truly understand the mentality of emperors and nobles.

"Your plan is very good. Much better than mine. What should I do next?"

After all, if she followed her own plan, Xue Ye would still need many years before the poison flared up and killed him.

Compared to Mu Ci's plan, it truly took far too long.

"Next, arrange forces and a core group that belong to you within the court. Whether they are from Spirit Hall or commoners, they must belong to you personally."

"As for the original nobles, whether you find evidence of crimes or frame them, just keep them out of the court."

"Kill those who are guilty, and demote those who are not."

"No matter what, after you ascend the throne, I hope you'll have a court that obeys your every command."

Compared with the Rakshasa Empress Bibi Dong, Mu Ci still favored Qian Renxue more as the person to become emperor.

Qian Renxue fell silent for a moment, then looked strangely at Mu Ci, who was speaking with great confidence.

"What benefit is there for you in doing this? Following your methods, countless nobles may die. That doesn't quite match your usual image as a good person who heals the sick and saves lives."

Mu Ci looked curiously at Qian Renxue, who had asked the question, and smiled.

"Benefits? It truly benefits my cultivation. I'm still treating illness, except the patient has changed from a person to a nation."

"As for many nobles dying, if all of them were killed, there would definitely be innocent ones among them. But if you kill one and spare one, there will definitely be guilty ones who slip through."

After saying this, Mu Ci shook his head at Qian Renxue.

"As for being a good person, I have never claimed to be one. Truly, from the very beginning, everything was for my own cultivation. Healing the sick and saving lives was merely my way of cultivating."

"I'm a normal person with my own likes and dislikes. So I pity those commoners struggling desperately to survive. I pass on medical books and such to give them more chances to live."

"Sister Xue, think back. In the intelligence reports you've seen about me, how many nobles have you seen me treat?"

This was the Douluo Universe, not the Honkai: Star Rail Universe. The growth of Path Power conformed more closely to the rules of this universe.

That was, one could improve through insight. But because it was a blessing, and because the Paths possessed certain idealistic traits, practicing certain processes could also bring improvement.

And as the source of the Path of Abundance in the Douluo Universe, Mu Ci could also define, to a certain degree, what Abundance was.

Mu Ci was not Yaoshi, willing to bestow blessings equally upon all living beings across the universe.

So whenever Mu Ci encountered a group he detested, no matter how they begged, he would not treat them in the slightest.

Qian Renxue was startled. Recalling the intelligence on Mu Ci, there truly seemed to be nothing about him treating nobles.

"Could it be because those nobles all had healing from auxiliary-system Spirit Masters, so I never paid attention to that information?"

Mu Ci laughed loudly.

"There are countless strange illnesses in this world. Auxiliary-system Spirit Masters are not omnipotent. There will certainly be problems they cannot solve."

"But I still refused them."

Mu Ci looked at Qian Renxue's pretty jade-like face, which still held a trace of confusion.

"Sister Xue, you've been crown prince for over ten years. You must have visited quite a few noble estates and manors, right?"

Qian Renxue nodded without denying it.

As crown prince, attending banquets hosted by major nobles was only proper.

"Then you must also have visited the auction houses in Heaven Dou City and the major cities, right?"

Qian Renxue nodded again.

"Then, Sister Xue, even I can't bear to look at what goes on in those places. As an Angel, how exactly have you endured such darkness and filth?"

This time, Qian Renxue sank into an even longer silence. Even those brilliant golden eyes, brighter than the blazing sun, dimmed.

Qian Renxue understood why Mu Ci refused the nobles' requests for treatment.

How could she possibly not know about everything Mu Ci had mentioned? She had visited those places more than once or twice.

When she was Xue Qinghe, she had witnessed far too many perverse hobbies among the nobles. Within their own territories, they were uncrowned kings.

And the slave auctions in the major auction houses were rampant to a degree beyond description.

There were all kinds of people whose Martial Soul Awakening had gone wrong, leaving parts of their bodies bestial. These rare failed awakeners were objects the nobles competed to obtain.

They could use them to satisfy their twisted desires.

As a Six-Winged Angel, how could she not have wanted to wield the Angel Holy Sword and pass Judgment upon them all?

But in the Heaven Dou Empire, he was Xue Qinghe. As crown prince, he lacked the ability to overturn these unspoken rules that had been passed down for thousands of years.

Even Xue Ye himself lacked that ability.