Left Alone, Pacing Through the Moonlit Night

If the Sea God heard that from above, he would definitely be pissed as hell.

"Who would've thought your Xue family was this useless? You're the ruler of a nation, yet you've ended up like this—you can't even produce a single Titled Douluo."

"And all those heirs you found for me were nothing but crooked melons and cracked dates. Not a single one was any good."

Qian Renxue stood alone in the wind, quietly letting the cold evening breeze wash over her. She was withdrawn yet tranquil, like a goddess in the dark of night.

"The plan to usurp the nation will proceed as usual. The plan to poison Xue Ye cannot stop either."

"At least for now, Xue Ye is completely beneath the Sea God's notice. The Sea God won't be paying much attention to him."

"Of course, that's only my guess."

Qian Renxue murmured to herself. Her assessment of the Xue family was reasonable enough, but the biggest issue now was that no one could guarantee Xue Ye had been telling her the truth.

Still, judging by Xue Ye's timid, subservient manner earlier, and the fact that the Sea God's divine power was limited and he could not directly contact the Sea God, the matter had essentially been settled.

It had to be true.

After all, the Xue Ye from before had truly let others push him around. When the Star Luo Empire invaded several times, Xue Ye had been unable to resist.

If he really could contact the Sea God, or even just wave the Sea God's name around as a banner, things would not have turned out this way.

However, whether the Sea God's divine power had truly been exhausted remained unknown.

"I'll have to be more cautious with the usurpation plan from now on."

The reason she had not urgently called it off was naturally because Xue Ye's body had long since been riddled with damage. The mixed poisons had been administered for so long; they had not been used for nothing.

Qian Renxue was currently full of confidence. She had secretly sent She Long to investigate, and Xue Ye's health seemed to have worsened further. As long as the poisoning continued, she could ascend to the throne as heir apparent when the time was right.

Moreover, the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, the greatest threat within Heaven Dou Empire, was now half-dead and crippled. More importantly, Xue Ye's decisive actions this time had intimidated all factions, effectively clearing away the obstacles in Qian Renxue's path.

Now, once Xue Ye died, Qian Renxue would inherit a clean empire free of external threats.

Combined with her identity as the young mistress of Spirit Hall, once she succeeded, half the continent would be under her control.

But...

"Little Chen..."

The pleased expression Qian Renxue had worn just moments ago instantly collapsed, and her face darkened unpredictably.

Yun Chen had truly gone through a life-and-death crisis today. Though he had brought it upon himself to some extent, it had only been a squabble among children, and Ning Rongrong had started it. In the end, the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect was responsible.

Yet the one who saved Yun Chen in the end had not been her, but Xue Ye. Qian Renxue had seen the worshipful look in Yun Chen's eyes when he looked at Xue Ye.

Yun Chen shouted, "I was surprised, okay? Who would've thought that frail Xue Ye could unleash an attack strong enough to instantly kill a Super Douluo?"

Qian Renxue felt extremely displeased. First, when Yun Chen's life had been in danger, she had not been the first to step forward and save him.

Second, she worried that Yun Chen would think she had chosen not to save him—or that she had been incapable of saving him—and would therefore be disappointed in her.

After all, just the night before, she and the little fellow had sworn eternal vows to one another. The little fellow had blinked his big eyes and earnestly said that she would definitely become the Angel God.

And that he would become her first subject and protect her well.

But what about her, this "Angel God"? She had not even possessed the ability to protect him.

More importantly, Qian Renxue had noticed, intentionally or otherwise, that Yun Chen had spent the entire day sitting alone in a daze. He was completely unlike before, when he would always come close to her and tell her all sorts of happy things.

Of course, if Yun Chen heard this, he would feel even more wronged.

First, he had been thinking about the Sea God. Second, Qian Renxue's expression had been awful all day, and Yun Chen himself had thought that this matter had caused considerable trouble for her infiltration plan, so he had not dared to go over and bother her.

At the thought of this, Qian Renxue grew irritated. She suddenly punched the railing beside her and slowly exhaled a breath of stale air.

Her irritation had a very specific shape.

Rather than saying Qian Renxue was irritated, it would be more accurate to say she was worried—worried that Yun Chen would no longer trust her because of this, or that he would be disappointed in her.

After disappointment came the severing of this, her only emotional connection, leaving her alone once more.

That feeling was terrible.

Yun Chen was the second person from whom she had experienced being cared for and trusted unconditionally. The first had been her grandfather, Qian Daoliu, but Qian Daoliu was ultimately an elder. What he gave Qian Renxue was the warmth of a father figure.

It was entirely different from the feeling of being needed and admired that Yun Chen gave her.

"Ah..."

Qian Renxue let out a long sigh, her eyelids lowering slightly. She had no experience handling this sort of relationship—or rather, she had no experience handling any relationship at all.

"My little Regent... actually... infiltration isn't more important than you."

At this moment, in the God Realm, within the Sea God Hall.

"Hm? My inheritance core has been activated?"

"This time, the candidate wasn't eliminated outright and was even presented before me. It seems this candidate's talent is pretty good."

The Sea God, ever one for a good show, grew interested. He chuckled and rose to project his gaze into the Sea God's Heart, his inheritance token.

"Hm, a Golden-Haired Lion Mastiff? A martial soul like that can appear in a human?"

"Interesting."

"A first soul ring of four hundred years... Hmm, fairly decent."

"A natural domain. Not bad luck, and there's even an external soul bone."

"But... aren't this martial soul's stats ridiculously overpowered? Then again, it makes sense. The Golden-Haired Lion Mastiff— even as a martial soul, it would still be an absurd existence."

The Sea God nodded slightly. For now, Yun Chen's talent was quite impressive, and his luck was decent as well.

In truth, soul ring age was not particularly important to the Sea God. After all, inheriting a godhood could increase the age of one's soul rings. To a Sea God who only wanted to make a quick escape, as long as the candidate's talent was not too problematic, they could barely qualify for his assessment.

"Alright, this Yun Chen is pretty good."

"Especially his martial soul. Its development is already quite advanced. As long as he doesn't do anything reckless, his talent should be enough to handle the Sea God's assessment."

At that thought, the Sea God felt utterly relaxed and delighted. He even began humming a little tune.

"And I'm also curious—just how far can a martial soul like the Golden-Haired Lion Mastiff go? This is practically a stat monster. If he truly becomes a god, could he wrestle with the Golden Dragon King?"

Clearly, the Sea God's focus was rather unusual. After pondering it for a long while without figuring it out, he decided not to think about it anymore. Being happy was more important.

"I can finally make my escape. I've really had enough of this God Realm!"

"And Asura, tsk... didn't he send the soul of someone from another world into the Douluo plane before?"

"Looks like there'll be another show to watch."

"With his status as an enforcer, he definitely can't interfere directly. I just wonder whether my inheritor will end up facing that otherworldly soul."

The Sea God showed no concern whatsoever from beginning to end—only anticipation. He was clearly an old hand at enjoying chaos.