She threw the question straight back at him, but it wasn't a strategy.
She truly had no idea what Fang Xuan wanted. For now, she was only the Crown Prince of the empire, not its heir apparent, and there were some things she had no authority to mobilize.
Getting something from Spirit Hall would make it easy to expose her identity, but recruiting someone as talented as Fang Xuan would certainly come at a high price.
So she simply let him name his own terms. Ideally, they'd be within her power to grant. If not, they could go through the proper channels. Either way, she was determined to bring him over.
"Let me choose for myself? I'm afraid I'll ask for too much and put you in a difficult position, Crown Prince."
Fang Xuan couldn't help finding the suggestion amusing.
He knew that Xue Qinghe was actually Qian Renxue in disguise.
As the heir to the Angel God, she was outstanding in every way, from her talent and family background to her strength and appearance.
If he really could choose anything, he'd simply choose her.
After all, she was worth more than the entire Heaven Dou Empire.
Of course, Fang Xuan couldn't actually choose that. He was afraid things would get out of hand.
"A difficult position? Don't tell me, Brother Fang Xuan, that you want my position as Crown Prince."
Clearly, Xue Qinghe didn't know what Fang Xuan was thinking. She was only joking.
Still, she was curious about what he actually wanted.
"Your Highness, that's no joke to make. If word got out, wouldn't people say I was plotting rebellion?"
"I'm just an ordinary person with no grand ambitions. I'm only interested in money and treasures."
"I heard the Imperial Treasury has plenty of rare treasures. If possible, just let me go in and pick one."
A common man ought to act like one. Greed and lust were the hallmarks of an ordinary person.
But Fang Xuan wasn't greedy for ordinary wealth. What he wanted was godhood.
If he remembered correctly, the Heart of the Sea God, the inheritance treasure of the Sea God Godhood, was currently in the Heaven Dou Imperial Family's treasury.
Even if he didn't need it, he couldn't let that bastard Tang San get his hands on it.
He had people depending on him now, and he needed to think about those around him.
There was no harm in getting a few more godhoods for himself. More godhoods meant more options. If one didn't work out, he could move on to the next. Surely one of them would suit him.
Of course, if he had to pick the one he wanted most, it would be the Asura God's godhood.
That was a God King, far stronger than a First-Level God like the Sea God. It was also the only God King-level godhood he could reach in Douluo Continent right now.
Goodness and Evil weren't around here, while Destruction and Life had no intention of retiring. This was the only one within his reach.
"You want to enter the Imperial Treasury?"
Fang Xuan's choice once again surprised Xue Qinghe, though it also seemed perfectly reasonable.
As Fang Xuan had said, he was an ordinary man. Naturally, his eyes would be on ordinary treasures.
"I'm sorry, but I can't decide that on my own. Give me some time, though, and I'll give you a satisfactory answer."
Xue Qinghe didn't refuse. After all, she was very happy to use someone else's money to get things done for herself.
Who didn't like getting something for free?
After a little more back-and-forth, the two reached an understanding.
One needed to recruit talent for her own use; the other needed her help clearing away obstacles.
They might not have been on the same wavelength, but they'd gotten their point across.
Watching Fang Xuan leave, Xue Qinghe's lips curved into a smile.
Fang Xuan was even more interesting than she'd expected. It was a shame she hadn't managed to pry from him the secret behind his astonishing speed of cultivation.
But she'd practically secured him already. There would be plenty of time to find out more. After all, they had a long road ahead.
Over the next few days, Fang Xuan enjoyed a fairly leisurely life.
Ye Qinru and her daughter had both recovered. Ye Qinru went back to handling the affairs of the medicine shop as usual.
Ye Lingling, meanwhile, had to attend Heaven Dou Royal Academy. She hadn't graduated yet.
Put in terms of his previous life, Ye Lingling was still in college.
Dugu Bo seemed to have other things keeping him busy. Fang Xuan hadn't seen him come by to deal with the poison in his body for the past few days.
In short, Fang Xuan was the only one left on his own.
He was happy to take it easy. Qian Renxue probably hadn't finished sorting things out yet, and he had nothing urgent to do.
So he decided to make the most of his spare time and cultivate properly.
It had been a long time since he'd seriously cultivated, ever since he got together with Ye Lingling.
The special effect of the Hypno-shroom had worn off long ago. Fang Xuan had calculated that it lasted about fifteen days.
With its effect boosting him for those fifteen days, his Soul Power had jumped from level fifty-two to level fifty-four. His progress had been astonishing.
Honestly, Fang Xuan now regretted not absorbing it as a Soul Skill. It was practically an experience potion.
Most importantly, he wasn't the only one who benefited. Ye Lingling had gained from it too.
She'd originally been only level thirty-five. With the Hypno-shroom's boost, she reached level thirty-seven, then successfully broke through to level forty after absorbing the enhanced Aromatic Silk Beauty.
She hadn't obtained a Soul Ring yet, but Fang Xuan estimated she'd be around level forty-three or forty-four afterward.
The change had made Dugu Yan green with envy, but she knew some things couldn't be replicated.
Especially since the poison in her body hadn't been completely resolved. Absorbing an Immortal Herb to raise her level would be no different from courting death.
Besides, Ye Lingling had absorbed an Immortal Herb enhanced by an Energy Bean, which was much more powerful than an ordinary Immortal Herb. As a result, Fang Xuan hadn't absorbed an Immortal Herb himself yet. He was waiting until he could grow another Energy Bean.
Turning over the unremarkable stone in his hand, he looked at the seed of the Immortal Herb King, Lovesick Heartbreak Red.
It was an Immortal Herb he'd prepared for himself.
"Lovesick Heartbreak Red..."
Fang Xuan didn't choose to awaken the dormant seed. He was doubting himself.
He wondered whether his love for Ye Lingling was pure enough. Perhaps he wasn't worthy of it yet.
Love needed time to deepen, and it was still too soon.
He put the seed into his Hundred Treasure Pouch and let out a helpless sigh.
Cultivation was dull and tedious, but fortunately, Fang Xuan cultivated in a completely different way from ordinary people.
He didn't need to cultivate through meditation. Like a seed, he needed water, fertilizer, and sunlight.
To put it simply, he just had to eat and drink well, then bask in the sun. His Soul Power would grow on its own, without him needing to sit cross-legged and meditate.
Of course, that alone wasn't enough to explain why his level had risen so quickly.
That had to do with the nature of his Martial Soul.
The miraculous part of his Magic Seed wasn't that it produced a random plant every seven days.
It was that the plants it produced were all experience packs. He simply couldn't absorb that experience directly; he needed a medium.
For instance, he could give them to other people to eat, like seeds that relied on birds to spread them.
The plants produced by his seeds worked the same way. If someone else swallowed one, after some time their Soul Power would flow back to him.
Plants produced by Soul Skills didn't count, of course. Otherwise, he wouldn't be running a small teahouse—he'd be expanding into a whole chain.
If he had enough, he could become a Titled Douluo right now.
As for his Innate Soul Power being only level one, that was entirely due to a misjudgment caused by his malnutrition at the time.
After all, a person's Innate Soul Power was somewhat affected by their condition when their Martial Soul awakened.
And back then, he'd nearly starved to death. Fortunately, he'd awakened Soul Power and received financial aid from Spirit Hall. Otherwise, he might not have survived.
"Hm? It's sprouted again."