Who Did I Think It Was? So It Was Yu Yuanzhen, That Old Dog! Ronan, You're Pretty Arrogant!

Upon hearing this definite answer, Prince Xue Xing's taut nerves finally relaxed completely.

He leaned back in his chair and let out a long breath, a satisfied smile appearing on his face.

Ronan was reliable, all right. He had gotten it done that very night!

"Good! Well done!"

Prince Xue Xing did not stint on his praise.

"Ronan, your efficiency in handling matters has truly been satisfying me more and more."

"Tell me, aside from that fifty-thousand-year premium Whale Rubber, what other reward do you want this time?"

"As long as it is within my power, I will not refuse!"

Ronan set down his teacup.

"There is no need for a reward. We are partners; we merely take what we each need."

"However, I did come to see you tonight because there is something I would like you to help me investigate."

"Oh? What is it?" Prince Xue Xing was intrigued. Anything that made Ronan take the initiative to ask around was certainly no trivial matter.

"I want you to help me find something."

"The Vast Sea Cosmic Shroud!"

"Clatter!"

A precious jade pen that Prince Xue Xing had been idly playing with instantly fell onto the desk with a sharp crack.

The smile on his face froze at once. He abruptly rose to his feet, braced both hands on the desk, and stared fixedly at Ronan.

"Y-You... what did you say?! The Vast Sea Cosmic Shroud?!"

Prince Xue Xing did not even care about maintaining his princely composure as he hurried to the study door.

He warily looked outside. Only after confirming that no one was around did he tightly bolt the door.

He turned around, strode quickly over to Ronan, lowered his voice, and roared like a cat whose tail had been stepped on:

"Ronan! Have you gone mad, or have I?! Do you know what that thing is?!"

Watching Prince Xue Xing's frantic appearance, Ronan said blandly:

"Of course I know."

"It is the Heaven Dou Empire's national treasure, supposedly a divine artifact with unimaginable power."

"I am very interested in it."

"Interested?"

"Do you know those three words could get you killed? They could even get me killed!"

Prince Xue Xing was so anxious that he nearly jumped in place.

"That is a national treasure!"

"It is an absolute secret personally safeguarded by every generation of Heaven Dou emperors!"

"Forget a prince like me—even the current crown prince, Xue Qinghe, could never possibly get near that thing!"

"You want me to obtain the Vast Sea Cosmic Shroud for you?"

"You might as well just have me assassinate Xue Ye!"

Prince Xue Xing was truly terrified.

Seeing Prince Xue Xing's utterly panicked expression, Ronan could not help but chuckle.

"Your Highness, do not get worked up. Sit down and let us talk."

Ronan waved his hand, signaling for him to calm down.

"You misunderstood me. I am not asking you to steal the Vast Sea Cosmic Shroud from the imperial palace and hand it over to me."

"Then what do you mean?"

"I merely want you to use your authority and connections within the imperial family to help me determine exactly where in the imperial palace this national treasure is currently stored."

A glint flashed through Ronan's eyes.

"As long as you tell me its precise location, you need not concern yourself with the rest."

"No matter what happens, it will never be traced back to you."

Hearing that Ronan only wanted the location, Prince Xue Xing's expression eased slightly, though his brows remained tightly furrowed.

"Just finding the location..."

Prince Xue Xing paced back and forth in the study, his mind racing.

Investigating the location of the national treasure was still extremely risky, but compared to stealing it outright, there was far more room to maneuver.

He had operated in the imperial palace for many years and planted quite a few informants. If he merely made indirect inquiries about the treasury's location, it was not entirely impossible.

After weighing the matter for a long time, Prince Xue Xing finally stopped, gritted his teeth, and looked at Ronan.

"Fine! I agree!"

Prince Xue Xing said in a deep voice.

"However, this matter is no small thing. I need time to investigate it slowly, and I absolutely cannot alert anyone."

"Give me a few days. Once I find the exact location, I will personally draw you a map of the imperial palace's interior."

Prince Xue Xing naturally knew the general location of the Vast Sea Cosmic Shroud, but he could not simply hand it over to Ronan so easily.

"No problem. I will await your good news."

Ronan nodded in satisfaction and rose to his feet.

His objective achieved, he did not linger any longer at the Prince's Mansion.

Just as he had come, he left without a sound.

Not long after leaving the Prince's Mansion,

as he reached the corner of a secluded street, an extraordinarily violent wave of Soul Power suddenly swept toward him from ahead without warning!

"Crackle!"

A piercing peal of thunder suddenly rang out in the previously silent night sky, accompanied by countless dazzling blue arcs of lightning.

At the center of that violent lightning, an immensely burly figure slowly emerged from the shadows.

He was an old man who appeared to be in his sixties, dressed in an elegant dark-blue robe. His full head of silver hair whipped wildly beneath the lightning's glow.

His hawk-like, razor-sharp eyes were locked firmly onto Ronan.

With his appearance, the air around them became incomparably oppressive, as though an invisible mountain had crashed down upon the street.

"Now this is what I call finding someone without even trying."

Ronan stopped in his tracks as he looked at the old man whose presence towered over the street.

He naturally recognized the man before him.

That iconic violent lightning, that utterly arrogant bearing, and that face somewhat resembling Yu Xiaogang and Yu Xiaolie.

The newcomer was none other than the current sect master of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Sect, the biological father of Yu Xiaogang and Yu Xiaolie.

The possessor of the world's strongest assault-type beast martial soul, a level ninety-five Super Douluo—Thunder Douluo, Yu Yuanzhen!

"Who did I think it was!"

Ronan crossed his arms, openly looking Yu Yuanzhen up and down with contempt. His tone was full of undisguised mockery.

"So it was the sect master of the Rotten Bug Sect, Senior Yu Yuanzhen."

"What, you beat the little ones, and now the old one has come?"

"After all these years, your habit of protecting your cubs is still just as pathetic."

"Impudent!"

Hearing Ronan dare to call the Blue Lightning Tyrant Sect the Rotten Bug Sect to his face, and even insult him as pathetic, Yu Yuanzhen flew into a rage.

"Boom—!"

A terrifying storm of Soul Power erupted from Yu Yuanzhen's body.

In the void behind him, the phantom of a Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon so enormous it defied imagination, wreathed in world-destroying lightning, raised its head and roared.

"Ronan! You traitorous outcast of the sect!"

Yu Yuanzhen's eyes blazed as he pointed at Ronan and shouted.

"Not only have you refused to repent, you even dared to severely injure my sons Xiao Gang and Xiaolie in Heaven Dou City, and publicly insult my Blue Lightning Tyrant Sect!"

"You really think that because your martial soul mutation succeeded and you gained a little insignificant strength, you can look down on the whole world?! You are pretty arrogant!"