So that was it. A Soul Core's purpose wasn't to balance the two opposing energies produced by the Sunlight Martial Soul and the Bright Moon Martial Soul.
It was to unify their power, completely fusing two forces that should have been at odds!
Thinking that one day he would truly be able to cultivate both Martial Souls at once, Xu Tianyao couldn't help feeling a surge of anticipation.
Meanwhile, Kong Deming silently considered the matter.
Given Xu Tianyao's physical condition,
his limit for a First Soul Ring was around seven hundred years.
But that was only under normal circumstances. As a direct member of the imperial family, Xu Tianyao had received the highest level of physical training since childhood.
He had never gone without rare medicinal baths or nourishing spirit herbs, and his physique far surpassed that of Soul Masters his age.
What was more, when his Martial Souls awakened, the two top-tier Martial Souls had strengthened his body.
If Kong Deming tempered it once more,
then a thousand-year First Soul Ring... might not be out of reach!
A glint flashed in Kong Deming's eyes. He then said, "Tianyao, starting today, you won't need to return to the palace for a while."
Xu Tianyao froze. "Why?"
Kong Deming smiled. "Because for the next month, your grandfather will personally help you temper your body."
"The First Soul Ring is the most crucial part of our plan."
"We absolutely cannot afford any mishaps."
As he spoke, Kong Deming took a silvery-white key from his robes, took Xu Tianyao by the hand, and led him deep into the research institute.
At last, they reached a heavy metal door.
With a rumbling clatter, the mechanism turned.
The door slowly swung open. Xu Tianyao looked inside and saw dozens of Soul Guidance devices of various shapes and sizes arranged throughout the spacious room.
Every one of those devices had a single purpose.
To temper the body!
Looking at the priceless instruments, Kong Deming said slowly, "Over the next month, your grandfather will bring your physical strength to the point where you can bear a thousand-year First Soul Ring."
"Once you're ready, we'll set out to obtain your First Soul Ring."
"That will be the beginning of your path to becoming a true powerhouse."
"I understand!" Xu Tianyao said, nodding firmly.
From that day on, the Sun Moon Empire's little prince, Meng Hongchen's fiancé, and the Empire's foremost prince vanished from public view.
Aside from Xu Tianran, the old emperor, and a handful of other high-ranking officials, no one knew where he had gone. Everything concerning him became the Empire's highest state secret.
The First Prince's estate
Only one dim Soul Guidance Lamp lit the study.
Its wavering glow stretched Xu Tianran's shadow long across the room.
He sat silently in the seat of honor, slowly flipping through the intelligence reports on his desk, his expression shifting between light and shadow.
After a long while, Xu Tianran let out a sigh.
"What a fine younger brother I have."
Before him, a mysterious figure cloaked from head to toe in black knelt on one knee, head bowed, like a ghost lurking in the shadows.
Xu Tianran gently set down the report in his hands. A twisted, vicious look flashed across his eyes as he addressed the black-robed figure.
"Tell your Cult's leader."
"The terms we agreed upon remain unchanged."
"Once it's done, I, Xu Tianran, will hand over what he wants with both hands."
The black-robed figure bowed slightly. "As Your Highness commands."
As soon as he finished speaking, a wisp of black mist rose silently.
By the time the lamplight flickered again, the black-robed figure had vanished without a trace.
The study fell silent once more.
Only the night wind howled outside, beating against the window lattice.
Xu Tianran slowly rose and went to the window.
His gaze pierced the layers of darkness and settled on the brightly lit Ming Capital in the distance.
After Xu Tianyao became Kong Deming's disciple,
Kong Deming, in order to protect the junior he valued most and stabilize the imperial family's position, had specially assigned a Soul Douluo powerhouse to guard Xu Tianran closely.
Meanwhile, Xu Tianran's cousin, Xu Tianyuan, his most loyal supporter,
was quietly building up his influence and gathering military power within the Imperial Dragon Soul Engineer Legion, one of the Empire's four great Soul Engineer Legions.
Everything was moving forward according to his plans.
Even so, Xu Tianran didn't dare let his guard down for a moment.
His enemies were even more treacherous and cunning than he was.
The Second Prince and the Third Prince.
And those ambitious old princes among the imperial clan.
By now, everyone in the Sun Moon Empire knew that the old emperor's health had been failing for a year.
No one knew how much longer the old man on the throne could hold on.
And yet, even now, the position of crown prince—the symbol of the heir apparent—remained undecided.
Everyone understood.
This emperor of great ambition and vision was choosing his successor in the cruelest way possible.
He didn't want a benevolent ruler. He wanted a ferocious tiger capable of keeping the entire Empire under its paw.
So he let the princes fight among themselves, court the military, and form cliques for their own gain.
Even Xu Tianyao's enfeoffment as a prince at such a young age, which removed him from the heart of the succession struggle, had been the old emperor's deliberate doing.
In his eyes, imperial power could only ever go to one of his three sons.
Over the years, the Second Prince and Third Prince had continued expanding their influence through their maternal families.
The military, the court, the local nobility...
Their tendrils had reached almost every corner of the Empire.
And the old emperor had always turned a blind eye.
Xu Tianran knew all too well that if he did nothing, his fate would be anything but pleasant.
The struggle for imperial power allowed no survivors.
Once he lost his footing, only one end awaited him: decapitation and the extermination of his entire bloodline.
So he had no choice but to be more ruthless than the rest. If taking one step back meant death, then he might as well wager everything and fight with all he had!
That was why he had chosen the Holy Spirit Cult, chosen to work with this terrifying force hidden in the darkness, chosen to bargain with a tiger.
From that day onward,
the already turbulent currents within the imperial family began to surge toward chaos.
And at that very moment,
Xu Tianyao, far away, knew nothing about any of it.
A month later.
The southern border of the Sun Moon Empire.
The Southern Marsh Volcano Group.
Mountain range after mountain range stretched as far as the eye could see, with dozens of volcanoes rising from the earth and thick smoke billowing into the sky.
Scorching lava trickled through cracks in the mountains, bathing the whole world in crimson light.
The air was thick with fire elements.
This was paradise for fire-attribute Soul Beasts and a sacred ground for fire-attribute Soul Masters.
Flocks of Red Sun Divine Birds soared through the sky.
Their wings swept across the horizon, leaving trails of fiery light behind.
On the ground, Magma Giant Lizards, Fire Armor Rhinoceroses, Flame Horn Dragon Lizards, and other massive Soul Beasts roared from time to time, their cries shaking the heavens.
The entire region teemed with the primitive, savage breath of life.
At the edge of a cliff on a dormant volcano, Kong Deming stood with his hands behind his back, while Xu Tianyao stood quietly beside him.
Master and disciple looked down over the vast, magnificent landscape.
Waves of scorching heat washed over them.
Suddenly, Kong Deming asked, "Tianyao, do you know why I had you cultivate the Sunlight Martial Soul first?"
Xu Tianyao pondered for a moment, then answered earnestly, "Because the Sunlight Martial Soul is fierce by nature, while the Bright Moon Martial Soul is gentle."
"Absorbing a Soul Ring with the Sunlight Martial Soul first, then using the Bright Moon Martial Soul to help balance it, will allow the two to complement each other. That will make it easier to control the power within my body when I condense a Soul Core in the future."
Kong Deming nodded in satisfaction.
"Correct."
"That is one reason."
"But there's another, more important reason."
Before you continue