Snow Qinghe

Every time he felt the Soul Power flowing from the Soul Core, his affection for his disciple grew a little stronger.

His anger toward the bastard who had dared to strike with lethal force grew a little stronger, too.

Dugu Bo raised a hand, and the old man who had fought Yu Tianshuo earlier began screaming in agony.

Before Meng Shenji and the others could react or stop him, the old man had already collapsed onto the ground.

His corpse began to liquefy, quickly dissolving into a pool of pus.

At the sight of such a terrifying scene, Xue Beng could no longer withstand the pressure. His eyes rolled back, and he fainted.

Dugu Bo merely glanced at him indifferently and paid no further attention to that useless Xue Beng.

He simply continued releasing his Soul Power pressure, toying with the three old men.

Just then, a figure spread a pair of snow-white wings and flew into the corridor. He cupped his hands toward Dugu Bo.

"I am the eldest prince, Xue Qinghe. Congratulations on advancing to Titled Douluo, Your Excellency Dugu!"

"This 40,000-year-old Poison Demon Tree trunk Soul Bone is a small token of my regard. I hope Your Excellency Dugu will accept it."

As he spoke, he took a jade box from his Storage Soul Tool and offered it to Dugu Bo.

Dugu Bo beckoned with one hand, and the jade box flew into his grasp.

He didn't open it to inspect its contents, only gazed at Xue Qinghe quietly, waiting for him to continue.

Sure enough, after seeing Dugu Bo accept the Soul Bone, Xue Qinghe went on.

"I hope Your Excellency Dugu will accept the emperor's appointment at the end of the month. At that time, you will also be given a 50,000-year Soul Bone."

Seeing how tactful the young man was, Dugu Bo nodded.

"I'll be there."

After leaving those words behind, he vanished before everyone's eyes.

Only Yu Tianshuo heard the words his master secretly sent him.

"I'm testing your ability to handle things. Accept whatever benefits they offer. With your master's current abilities, you can afford to disregard the consequences entirely."

Hearing that, Yu Tianshuo merely smiled, ready to deal with the rest of the mess.

Before Meng Shenji and the others could speak, Xue Qinghe asked,

"As expected of Your Excellency Dugu's disciple. You're not only valiant, but also so handsome and dashing. Truly, heroes emerge from the young."

"Would you do me the honor of joining me for tea at my residence? I'd like to apologize on behalf of my useless fourth brother."

Yu Tianshuo cupped his hands in return.

"Then I'll accept your kind invitation, Your Highness. I'm grateful for your hospitality."

Seeing how graciously Yu Tianshuo responded, Xue Qinghe was delighted and said at once,

"Not at all. Please, brother, come with me."

Yu Tianshuo didn't correct the familiar way Xue Qinghe had addressed him. He simply followed him out of the school building.

As for the four left behind, they said nothing and silently began cleaning up the mess.

The three members of the Academic Affairs Committee looked especially grim. They didn't resent Dugu Bo or Yu Tianshuo; they were simply furious with the clueless bastard, Xue Beng.

He caused trouble day in and day out, relying on his emperor father to look down on this person and sneer at that one.

Well, now he'd been beaten like a dog, and he'd offended a Titled Douluo, too.

He'd already been a useless prince with no chance of inheriting the throne. Now, he might not even survive.

Perhaps the emperor would harden his heart and hand this useless son over to Dugu Bo, thereby securing the allegiance of a Titled Douluo.

The more the three thought about it, the angrier they grew. They each secretly kicked Xue Beng a few times to vent their fury.

"My invitation was rather presumptuous. I still haven't learned how I should address you, brother."

Inside the carriage, Xue Qinghe smiled at Yu Tianshuo as he asked.

"Your Highness, there's no need to be so formal. Just call me Tian Shuo. I'm only an ordinary One-Ring Soul Master."

"Hahaha, Brother Tian Shuo, you must be joking. To face a Soul King as a Soul Master—that's a feat unseen even in the history books."

"You flatter me. It's all thanks to my master's good instruction."

Xue Qinghe merely smiled at that reply. Setting aside Dugu Bo's abilities as a teacher, Yu Tianshuo's displayed strength was already far beyond that of an ordinary Soul Master.

The two chatted happily along the way, moving from cultivation insights to daily life, then from daily life to matters of state.

By the time they sat down in the tea room at the residence, they had already begun discussing the gods.

"Brother Qinghe, if you ask me, Angel God has contributed the most to the mainland."

"I've heard stories from some elders. Among them was a great person who single-handedly wiped out most of the Evil Soul Masters."

"After she slaughtered her way through that era, no one dared call themselves an Evil Soul Master again."

"Brother Qinghe, why do you look so strange?"

"Brother Qinghe?"

"All right, Brother Tian Shuo. Let's talk about your compensation."

Watching Qian Renxue, disguised as Xue Qinghe, blush and stiffly change the subject, Yu Tianshuo felt like laughing.

He stopped showering her with praise and went along with the change of subject, discussing the compensation he was owed.

"Brother Qinghe and I have had a pleasant time talking along the way. There's no need to stand on ceremony over compensation."

"But if you insist, then give me a Compendium of Herbs and some more thousand- and ten-thousand-year Whale Rubber. I'll take them back for my senior brother, to help him build up his strength."

Xue Qinghe looked at Yu Tianshuo oddly. Seeing that he wasn't asking for anything else, she agreed.

Before long, evening arrived.

After failing to persuade Yu Tianshuo to stay for dinner, Xue Qinghe had the coachman take him back to his residence.

After watching the carriage disappear into the distance, Xue Qinghe returned to the tea room.

She sat back down and pondered for a long while before speaking into the empty room.

"Uncle Snake Lance, Uncle Porcupinefish, what do you think of this Tian Shuo?"

Their figures slowly emerged from the darkness, and they replied,

"Young Mistress, from what we've seen so far, he's a man of great foresight. Not only does he speak nothing like a six-year-old child, but his way of thinking surpasses that of countless people on the mainland."

"That's right, Young Mistress. He also seems to admire Angel God greatly. Why not reveal your identity and bring him into our camp?"

Snake Lance Douluo smacked Porcupinefish Douluo on the head and scolded him,

"You idiot! Wouldn't that expose the Young Mistress's identity? Are we still going through with the plan to seize the throne or not?"

Before Snake Lance Douluo could continue berating him, Xue Qinghe spoke first.

"We can try."

Snake Lance Douluo couldn't help but freeze at those words, while Porcupinefish Douluo beside him grew delighted.

Hmph, he says I'm stupid, but the Young Mistress and I were thinking the same thing. How could I possibly be stupid?

Seeing the message in Porcupinefish Douluo's eyes, Snake Lance Douluo wanted to drag him outside and give him a beating.

Still, he forced down his anger and waited for Qian Renxue to continue.

"He truly does admire Angel God, and I can sense something unusual about him."

"It's a kind of..."

"The aura of one of my own..."

Without looking at the two men, who had fallen into stunned silence, Qian Renxue leaned back on the sofa, recalling that strange stirring.

That unusual, heart-pounding stirring.