Happiness had come so suddenly that Ye Qinru and Ye Lingling were both a little caught off guard.
When you left this morning, you'd only said you had a way to handle it. By this afternoon, you'd brought the solution back with you.
This speed, this efficiency—it was almost too fast.
"Oh, right, there's this too. Mom, please take it to Aunt Yuehua."
As if he'd suddenly remembered something, Fang Xuan pulled an Immortal Herb from his Hundred Treasure Pouch.
"This is a Nine-Rank Immortal Ganoderma. Its medicinal power is potent enough that it might help her break through the limits of her Soul Power."
Yu Xiaogang had only broken through the bottleneck at level 29 after eating this thing. Tang Yuehua's situation should be much the same.
The Ruyi Ring's rank should be no lower than Luo Sanpao's. After all, it was a Martial Soul that came with its own domain.
If he remembered correctly, aside from Tang Yuehua, there seemed to be only one other person who had such an advantage.
That was Qian Renxue, who possessed a god-level Martial Soul. The Angel Domain that came with her Holy Angel Martial Soul could purify and burn away all evil, while also enhancing her own abilities.
He had no idea what had been going through Tang San's pig-headed mind. Tang Yuehua was his own aunt, yet he'd helped that useless Yu Xiaogang instead of giving his aunt a hand.
After all, without Tang Yuehua's help, who knew how long it would have taken him to control his killing intent? She had played an indispensable role in his mastery of the Divine Slaughter's Domain.
It could even be said that without Tang Yuehua's help, there would have been no Asura God Tang San.
At first, Fang Xuan had hesitated over whether to help Tang Yuehua. After all, she was Tang Hao's younger sister, and she had special feelings for Tang Hao.
By now, he had already fallen out with Tang San. They were bound to clash in the future, and there was a chance Tang Yuehua might take his side.
What he was doing now might amount to helping the enemy.
But even a drop of kindness should be repaid with a gushing spring.
Remembering how Tang Yuehua had helped him before, he thought that without her support, he might have collapsed long ago.
Reason urged him not to give it to her, but his conscience told him to follow his heart.
Fang Xuan had never thought of himself as a good person, nor had he ever thought of himself as a bad one. But at least he was human, not a beast.
People had feelings. He still couldn't bring himself to be utterly heartless.
Perhaps this decision would bring him trouble, but he accepted that. After all, this problem wasn't impossible to solve.
At worst, he could quietly get rid of Tang Hao and Tang San without anyone knowing.
And if that didn't work, he still had a trump card in hand.
A trump card powerful enough to make Tang San lose everyone who stood by him and turn the whole world against him.
Of course, all this depended on Ye Qinru giving the Nine-Rank Immortal Ganoderma to Tang Yuehua.
The same thing could have different effects depending on who gave it.
"Let's hope things turn out well in the end."
Meanwhile, in the Heaven Dou Imperial Palace,
Xue Qinghe was playing chess and chatting with his "father," Emperor Xue Ye.
Their conversation was about Fang Xuan.
"Qinghe, what do you think of Fang Xuan?"
At Xue Qinghe's words, his hand paused over the chessboard. Then he answered slowly.
"I believe he is worthy of being entrusted with great responsibility."
"Oh? You think that highly of him?"
Xue Ye was somewhat surprised by Xue Qinghe's opinion. His son had always had a sharp eye, and ordinary people rarely caught his attention.
"What makes you say that?"
Faced with Xue Ye's questions, Xue Qinghe remained composed, answering without the slightest change in his expression.
"First, he is Dugu Bo's disciple. That alone is enough to show how important he is."
"At present, Dugu Bo is the only Titled Douluo in the empire who truly stands with the imperial family. Winning over Fang Xuan is the same as winning over Dugu Bo."
Xue Ye nodded, indicating that he agreed.
Dugu Bo's importance to the Heaven Dou Imperial Family was beyond question.
Although the Heaven Dou Empire commanded the Seven Great Sects, the Upper Three Sects were nominally subordinate to the imperial family but remained independent. It was nearly impossible for the imperial family to mobilize them.
Then there were the Lower Four Sects, a pack of rebellious backstabbers who would obey orders but not be dispatched. Without overwhelming strength, they wouldn't heed the imperial family's commands.
It could be said that Dugu Bo alone was the Heaven Dou Imperial Family's greatest support at present.
That alone made Fang Xuan's importance rise dramatically.
"Second, Fang Xuan himself is a rare genius. I looked into some of his information and found that he is only eighteen, yet has already reached the Soul King realm."
At that, Xue Ye's expression froze, and a strange flicker passed through his eyes.
"It's remarkable that such a genius escaped the notice of those sects."
The sects within the Heaven Dou Empire were powerful. Once discovered, most geniuses were fought over by the various forces.
Aside from Spirit Hall, the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect recruited the most.
Relying on its independent intelligence network, it had nearly gathered every genius it could get its hands on under its banner.
The title of the world's second sect was no empty boast.
Someone like Fang Xuan was truly a rarity.
"Perhaps they simply overlooked him. Fang Xuan is rather low-key and has almost no social connections."
"On top of that, he was an orphan, and the person who adopted him died when he was young. If the daughter of the Ye Family hadn't become involved with him, he would probably still be unknown in Suotuo City."
Fang Xuan's Innate Soul Power was a secret of Spirit Hall. As soon as she discovered it, she had sent people to seal off the information. Even if the Heaven Dou Empire tried to investigate, they wouldn't be able to find anything. There was no need to tell Xue Ye.
"Good. This boy is exceptionally talented and has a fine temperament. With some cultivation, he might well become the empire's next pillar of strength."
Having a Titled Douluo of one's own was something every force dreamed of.
But Titled Douluo were exceedingly rare. Even the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect had only two, while the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan had only Yu Yuanzhen.
Now that the Clear Sky Sect had withdrawn from the world and Spirit Hall's influence was growing more and more rampant, Xue Ye, as the ruler of Heaven Dou, naturally worried about the future.
Fang Xuan's appearance had given him a glimmer of hope. After all, the boy's talent was there for all to see.
"I heard that the daughter of the Ye Family has a special constitution and is overwhelmingly likely to give birth to a daughter. I also heard that the matriarch of the Ye Family is willing to find a suitable man for her."
Xue Ye paused, then looked at Xue Qinghe, seated across from him.
"Ke'er is about the same age as him. Why not arrange a marriage between them?"
There was no family affection in the imperial household. Women were merely tools for marriage alliances.
Xue Ke was Xue Ye's youngest daughter and his youngest child. She was doted on, and Xue Qinghe was also very fond of her.
But she and Xue Qinghe had different mothers. If she were married off to Fang Xuan, it might give others ideas.
Xue Qinghe was still only the Crown Prince, not the emperor.
"I'll leave it entirely to Father's decision. I only have one suggestion, and I hope you'll consider it."
"Go on."
Xue Ye was curious about what his Crown Prince had in mind.
"The daughter of the Ye Family is gentle and virtuous, and Fang Xuan is deeply devoted to her. If we force a marriage on him, he may grow resentful. We should ask his opinion first, then decide."
He hadn't refused, nor had he agreed. Instead, he'd tossed the problem back to Fang Xuan.
With anyone else, there would have been no need to think so much about an imperial marriage. But Fang Xuan was different. He had already become the empire's model of true love.
Besides, the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan had its eyes on him too. Such a move might easily push him into their camp, turning an attempt to win him over into a loss.
Of course, none of that mattered. What mattered was that she, Qian Renxue, had set her sights on him.
"He's the one I want. None of you are taking him from me."