The Murong Earldom.
As an earldom bestowed upon the first generation of nobles, the Murong Earldom covered an immense area.
In terms of size, it was even no less than the territories of some marquises.
However, in Su Changge's view, the first Earl Murong must have been the sort who wasn't very good at handling people.
Otherwise, his territory wouldn't have been assigned to an area bordering the northern part of the Star Dou Mountain Range.
Never mind the countless Soul Beasts in the Star Dou Great Forest on the southern side of the Star Dou Mountain Range...
The Soul Beasts gathered in the northern part of the Star Dou Mountain Range alone were enough to destroy a kingdom with ease.
Soul Beast hordes were a constant threat!
That was also why the Murong Earldom had never managed to develop.
It was also why the Murong bloodline had dwindled.
The Murong line had never produced a top-tier Soul Master. Any Earl with the strength of a Soul Emperor or Spirit Saint had almost always died in battle.
It would have been strange if this bloodline hadn't dwindled.
The carriage traveled along a wide official road, only slowing down as it neared an old castle in a Western fantasy style.
Murong Ruyan lifted the curtain and pointed toward the castle. "Changge, that's Murong Castle."
Su Changge's fingers stroked Murong Ruyan's smooth leg as his deep gaze settled on the imposing Murong Castle.
Murong Castle! It had been built beside a sheer drop.
There was only one path leading to it, while behind the castle lay a bottomless abyss.
In a world of conventional military strength, it would have taken tens of thousands of soldiers to capture.
But he was now in the Douluo World.
A world where extraordinary power like Soul Power existed.
Whether the castle's position was treacherous or not didn't actually matter much.
"The young lady is back!"
The moment the carriage entered the castle gates, all of Murong Castle erupted into a commotion.
Servants and guards surged toward them, nearly blocking the road ahead.
As Murong Ruyan stepped down from the carriage, Su Changge swept his gaze over the servants and guards. He could understand their fervor.
First, it was rooted in the long-standing prestige of the Murong line.
Second, harsh as it was, it was simply the reality.
After Murong Boda's death, nearly all the Soul Masters in his service and the core officers under his command had been poached or assassinated by the neighboring viscounts and barons. Only a handful of minor Soul Masters remained.
Murong Ruyan, a newly advanced Soul Elder, was their hope for the future!
"Huh? It's a man! It really is a man!"
"The young lady is riding with a man, and have you noticed? She seems to be very close to him..."
"Shut your mouths! The young lady isn't someone you can gossip about!"
Murong Ruyan waved the servants and guards aside and led Su Changge toward the main hall.
The moment he stepped inside, Su Changge's gaze was drawn to a woman in a black, lace-up gown.
Aistin Gullier, Murong Ruyan's stepmother and the widow of Earl Murong, Murong Boda.
Fair-skinned? A real beauty.
Su Changge looked Aistin Gullier up and down, his gaze sweeping like a blade over her slender waist and the hint of cleavage beneath her dress.
Aistin Gullier noticed Su Changge's gaze too, and a touch of anger and embarrassment stirred in her heart. The man Ruyan brought back is handsome, but he's a truly rude scoundrel.
"Aistin, this is Su Changge, a noble and extraordinary Soul Master. He's also the fiancé I've chosen."
"Changge, I don't need to introduce Aistin, do I? After all, I've mentioned her many times on the way back."
"Su Changge greets the Countess!"
Su Changge performed a nobleman's bow, took Aistin Gullier's jade-white hand, and brushed his lips over her snowy skin.
In an instant, Aistin Gullier felt as if she'd been shocked by lightning. She swiftly pulled her right hand back, her heart in turmoil, unable to calm herself for a long while.
How long had it been?
Since that old geezer Murong Boda died, how long had it been since she'd been so close to a man?
"Aistin! If there's nothing else, we'll go rest."
"Obtaining a Soul Ring this time was a close brush with death. I'm exhausted."
Murong Ruyan seemed to notice Aistin Gullier's odd reaction. She hooked her arm around Su Changge's, forcefully staking her claim, while secretly pinching him hard at the waist.
She knew that given the personality Su Changge had shown—his heedless, heartless nature—even if he married into the Murong Earldom, she wouldn't be his only woman in the future.
But who would have thought Su Changge would be so shameless?
And that his rival would show up so soon!
Murong Ruyan pulled Su Changge toward the bedroom.
"Changge, I'm telling you, stay away from that wicked woman Aistin Gullier. She... you can't handle her."
"If you really have needs in the future, I can help you pick a few outstanding maids..."
Half a month passed in the blink of an eye.
During that time, apart from working hard at night, Su Changge spent most of his days helping Murong Ruyan handle the earldom's affairs.
Agriculture! Military affairs! Commerce! Construction! Finance!
Su Changge had familiarized himself with every matter touching the earldom's vital interests.
The earldom's actual situation was far worse than Murong Ruyan had initially described.
It had neither generals fit for battle nor soldiers fit for service.
The earldom's finances had also shrunk rapidly after Murong Boda's death. Several neighboring viscounts and barons had seized the territory's various mines under one pretext or another, or bought them up at rock-bottom prices.
Soul Beast trading, which once accounted for thirty percent of its income, had come to a complete standstill because so many Soul Masters had left. The merchants passing through were down by more than seventy percent compared with just a few years earlier.
Nearly all of them had moved to the neighboring viscount and baron territories!
As for agriculture, the earldom had little arable land to begin with, since it bordered the Star Dou Mountain Range. Rationed carefully, the crops barely sufficed for self-sufficiency, leaving no surplus grain to sell...
By Su Changge's estimate, if things continued as they were, then even without outside interference, the earldom had at most a year before it completely collapsed.
"These books are a real mess."
Su Changge sighed and tossed the ledger in his hand aside.
The Murong earldom was a far cry from the earldoms he'd heard about.
At most, it had the advantage in its territory. In terms of overall resources, military strength, population, and the like, it was about on par with the neighboring viscounties.
"Changge, I... I'm sorry. I'm so incompetent that you've had to put in so much effort."
Looking at Su Changge's tired face, Murong Ruyan bent down guiltily and knelt before him.
"It's fine. These are minor problems!"
"They're not unsolvable."
Su Changge pressed Murong Ruyan's head down a little as he considered his options.
Doing two things at once—that was exactly what he was doing!
He might not have much talent for political maneuvering, but he'd read plenty of books!
There had to be a way to solve this.
So, should he start with agriculture? Or tackle the military first?