"Oh? Miss Yan, why are you so shy?"
Ye Yunxi smiled teasingly, her jade feet tapping lightly against the ground as she flashed before Dugu Yan.
She reached out and drew her into her arms.
"Im-Imperial Concubine?" Dugu Yan's delicate body trembled, her cheeks turning crimson in an instant.
She was at a loss.
The Imperial Concubine, who usually kept people at a distance and seemed so alluring, was actually being this intimate with her.
"I've been here all along. How has your cultivation been lately? What's changed since you switched from poison to attack?"
Ye Yunxi tipped up her chin with a finger, making her look into her eyes.
Just one glance was enough to make Dugu Yan blush and stammer, unable to get a single word out.
"Thanks to you, Imperial Concubine, I feel confident even without being a control-type Soul Master now. I can take on a more important role in the team, too."
Dugu Yan's face was flushed, the color reaching the tips of her ears as she stammered.
"Why so formal?"
Ye Yunxi bent over with a faint smile, but didn't tease her any further.
She had nearly finished what she'd come for, and lingering would only waste her time.
"The Soul Master Tournament is about to begin. I'm looking forward to seeing you compete, Miss Yan. If you do well, I'll invite you to my residence for a gathering."
Ye Yunxi stared unblinkingly at the utterly entranced Dugu Yan with her limpid, peach-blossom eyes.
"Imperial Concubine, do you really mean it?"
"Of course. Why would I lie?"
Ye Yunxi said no more. After releasing Dugu Yan from her embrace, she used Lingbo Microsteps to leap straight out of Dugu Bo's residence.
She had come quickly and left just as fast.
When Dugu Yan came back to her senses, an emptiness lingered in her heart.
"Grandpa, why did the Imperial Concubine come here?"
"Something's going on. I'm afraid the palace is about to see a change."
Dugu Bo truly couldn't see through Ye Yunxi now. She'd moved with astonishing speed, and she was definitely no ordinary young woman.
All that mattered was remaining loyal and serving her faithfully.
After leaving Dugu Bo's residence, Ye Yunxi was wondering where to treat herself to a meal.
Just as she reached a corner, five black-clad men wearing masks suddenly dropped from the roof.
"Your Highness, the Imperial Concubine, you dare to come out alone at this hour?"
The masked man in the lead was burly. He stared at the alluring Ye Yunxi, his eyes practically shining.
"Oh? Are you planning to kidnap me?"
Ye Yunxi raised an eyebrow, a cold glint flashing through her peach-blossom eyes as she started to move.
Three surges of formidable Soul Power suddenly bore down on her, carrying the pressure of Soul Kings and sealing off every path of retreat.
The two Soul Ancestors on either side attacked at the same time, aiming straight for her vital points. The five surrounded her, trapping her in a space barely larger than a few paces.
"Trying to run? Your Highness, the Imperial Concubine, you'd better surrender!"
The black-clad man in the lead licked his lips, his gaze greedy and lecherous.
"Once we take you back and tame you, we'll grind down that pride of yours and turn you into a mindless plaything. Then the Crown Prince will have no choice but to obey us, won't he?"
The others chimed in with lewd laughter, their gazes shamelessly roaming over Ye Yunxi, full of desecration.
A faint, chilly smile curved Ye Yunxi's lips. She gently rubbed the edge of her sleeve, her voice cold as ice.
"Who sent you?"
"Hmph. I'll tell you when you reach the underworld!"
Before the black-clad man could finish speaking, a mocking voice came from the mouth of the alley, brimming with a young man's arrogance.
"Oh? Who does the Imperial Concubine think would dare do such a thing?"
Ye Yunxi looked up. Xue Beng, dressed in fine brocade and with his hands behind his back, strolled into the alley with a confident smile. Two royal guards followed behind him.
"So it was you."
Ye Yunxi spoke calmly, a hint of surprise in her voice. She hadn't expected Xue Beng to try to kidnap her so soon.
"I'm the Crown Prince's Imperial Concubine. By seniority, you should technically call me sister-in-law. How dare you kidnap your elder brother's woman?"
"Sister-in-law?"
Xue Beng sneered, his gaze sinister. "Once I've taken you hostage, I'll use you to threaten Xue Qinghe and force him to surrender the Crown Prince's position. Then the throne will be mine. Whether you want to be empress or a consort will be up to me."
He looked at Ye Yunxi's peerlessly beautiful face, greed flickering in his eyes.
"Why should Xue Qinghe get to have you? Only I, the prince, deserve a beauty like you."
At that, Ye Yunxi suddenly chuckled. Her laughter rang clear, yet carried a bone-chilling coldness.
"You? And these useless fools?"
As soon as the words fell, a pale pink light burst forth. Nine fluffy, gleaming white fox tails unfurled from her body, their tips shimmering with bewitching scarlet Fox Flame. The Soul Power pressure of a level-sixty Soul Emperor crashed across the area, instantly crushing everyone beneath it!
The three Soul Kings' faces changed drastically. A terrifying force bore down on them, nearly scattering their Soul Power. Their chain-like Soul Power attacks were no match for the fox tails and were swept away with ease.
"This... how is this possible? You're a Soul Emperor!"
The lead black-clad man was aghast, his legs giving way. Three Soul Kings and two Soul Ancestors couldn't even withstand her pressure!
Ye Yunxi tapped the tip of her foot and darted forward like a ghost, her fox tails whipping through the air, swift as lightning.
"Thud! Thud! Thud!"
Several muffled impacts rang out. The two Soul Ancestors didn't even have time to scream before the fox tails struck them in the chest. Their Soul Power crumbled, and they spat blood as they were sent flying, collapsing unconscious to the ground.
The three Soul Kings were horrified and tried to join forces to fight back. Fox Flame gathered at Ye Yunxi's fingertips, and Fox Flame Heart Devourer burst into action. The flames swept toward them, burning their Soul Power while unleashing a powerful, dizzying enchantment.
Their souls shook violently, and their movements faltered. Ye Yunxi seized the opening and closed in, her fox tails coiling around their necks. She tightened her grip and slammed them hard into the wall. The sound of their bones breaking rang out clearly.
In the blink of an eye, all five black-clad men lay on the ground, their fates unknown.
Xue Beng froze in place, his face as white as paper, his whole body trembling. He stared at the stunning woman before him, her nine fox tails whipping through the air, as though she were some god or demon.
He'd never imagined that this seemingly frail Imperial Concubine was such a terrifying Soul Emperor!
Ye Yunxi walked slowly up to him. Her peach-blossom eyes curved, but the smile didn't reach them. She gently lifted his chin with a finger, her voice soft and sweet yet laden with deadly coldness.
"Your Highness, the prince, who do you think you can threaten?"
Xue Beng trembled all over, his teeth chattering. He couldn't utter a word; only deep fear remained in his eyes.
The strategy he'd been so proud of, the one he'd believed was guaranteed to succeed, had been utterly inadequate in her eyes.
No, there was nothing wrong with his plan. The intelligence had simply been inaccurate; she'd deliberately concealed her cultivation. He'd sent Soul Kings, but she was a Soul Emperor.
Perhaps even Xue Qinghe himself didn't know. Besides, few imperial consorts married to the princes possessed the strength of a Soul Emperor. Even across the Heaven Dou Empire, a Soul Emperor this young was rare—almost unheard of.
"Who are you, really? You're a Soul Emperor? What exactly are your intentions in coming to the Heaven Dou Empire?"