Summer Insects Cannot Speak of Ice, Well Frogs Cannot Speak of the Sea (Revised)

Summer insects cannot speak of ice, well frogs cannot speak of the sea (Revised)

From Slaughter City to Heaven Dou City, one had to cross the border between the Star Luo Empire and the Heaven Dou Empire.

Whether taking the upper route through Yunluo Duchy, passing through Pelage Kingdom, crossing the border into Fasinuo Province under Heaven Dou Empire rule, then following the Notting City → Suotuo City → Xilu City → Jialing Pass route before finally reaching Heaven Dou City.

Or taking the lower route through Antuoni Ao Province, passing through the Golden City Mountain Range, entering Spirit Hall's neutral territory, crossing the border, heading directly into Sylvis City, then crossing the Frost Gallop River and reaching Heaven Dou City by water from the west.

No matter which route they took, they had to cross the border.

In the end, Qian Renxue chose the first route.

The route through Yunluo Duchy.

In terms of distance, the lower route through Antuoni Ao Province was closer. However, for the same reason, it was also riskier. Not only would they have to pass through the Golden City Mountain Range, a defensive barrier extremely close to Xingluo City, they would also have to pass through Spirit City, Spirit Hall's headquarters. Qian Renxue had no desire whatsoever to see that woman consumed by greed and ambition, even if that woman was her biological mother.

Besides, they had Unicorns as transportation.

Even though the route through Yunluo Duchy was longer, it was not longer by much.

Eight Unicorns spread their wings.

They pulled the carriage into the air.

In roughly eight hours, they crossed Yunluo Duchy and Pelage Kingdom, passed over the border, arrived in Fasinuo Province within the Heaven Dou Empire, and stopped to rest in Notting City.

To the Notting City Lord, this immense fortune had finally fallen into his lap. He wished he could receive the Crown Prince of the Heaven Dou Empire and the honored guest whom even the Crown Prince treated with courtesy as though they were his own fathers.

Over the years, Qian Renxue had built quite a good reputation.

She respected worthy men and treated subordinates with humility, carrying herself like a wise ruler.

In stark contrast to Qian Renxue, this "counterfeit Xue Qinghe," were Xue Ye's other worthless, spoiled princely sons.

For instance, Fourth Prince Xue Beng.

He would occasionally ride through Heaven Dou City, often seriously injuring people. Whenever he went out, the small merchants and street vendors fled like they had seen a wolf.

For instance, the Third Prince, who had long since died young.

Fond of women, he forcibly abducted young girls. Though no one among the common folk dared to say he was in the wrong, after he died young, every household shut its doors and celebrated.

Then there was the Second Prince, who had suddenly died violently.

Wildly ambitious, he tormented the people of Heaven Dou. Only after he suddenly died in his residence did Xue Ye sense something suspicious and send people to investigate the Second Prince's estate. They discovered that the Second Prince had maintained a private army of two thousand men for five years. The funds for this private army had been drawn from many illicit businesses, and the Second Prince had even reached into the national treasury. This discovery provoked Xue Ye's thunderous fury. He directly stripped all of the Second Prince's descendants of their status and reduced them to commoners. Yet, to preserve the Imperial Family's dignity before outsiders, he merely announced that the Second Prince had died suddenly of illness and concealed the truth.

But basically every official knew about it.

Therefore, Qian Renxue, this "counterfeit Xue Qinghe," was not actually all that outstanding. She had no merit in expanding the empire's territory, nor had she earned achievements in controlling floods. She had merely diligently handled the Heaven Dou Empire's affairs in Xue Ye's place. Now that Xue Ye's health was worsening by the day, so long as she made no mistakes, the future ruler of Heaven Dou would certainly be her. After all, all her competitors were trash.

As for whether those princes really were trash, one could only say that Qian Renxue's methods were simply too brilliant!

The bright and righteous side was her.

The dark and evil side was also her.

Even Xue Ye had no Titled Douluo guarding his side. Poison Douluo was merely a Heaven Dou Empire consecrated official, not Xue Ye's bodyguard. Yet Qian Renxue had two Titled Douluo under her command. If that was not enough, she could ask her grandfather, Qian Daoliu, for reinforcements. The several consecrated officials in Worship Hall were around Qian Daoliu's age. They had all watched Qian Renxue grow up and addressed her as Young Mistress. They revered the Angel God, but that did not mean they had no familial affection beyond that reverence.

If Qian Renxue still failed a palace coup while holding such an unbeatable hand, then it would not be her ability that should be questioned, but her intelligence.

"My only concern right now is the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect's reaction."

"If Heaven Dou is united as one."

"With Dugu Bo at the forefront, the principals of the Four Elements Academy are all Soul Douluo, and the three Education Committee members at Heaven Dou Royal Academy are also Soul Douluo. Add in the sects and families, such as the Nine-Heart Begonia lineage, the Mystic Armor Turtle Xu Family, and the Four Element Families that once belonged to the Clear Sky Sect."

"That is a very unstable force."

"They have the ability to hold out until the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect arrives."

"By then, I will not be facing one Titled Douluo and over a dozen Soul Douluo, but three Titled Douluo and more than thirty Soul Douluo."

Sitting in the carriage, Qian Renxue looked at the increasingly familiar scenery outside the window and the grand, magnificent Heaven Dou City in the distance. She sighed in frustration. "It's like I prepared one table of food, but two tables of guests showed up. How are we supposed to eat?"

"Eat it banquet-style, of course!" Like Qian Renxue, Ye Qingcang watched Heaven Dou City draw closer and closer. His words jolted her awake. "First, make it a done deal and take Heaven Dou City. Then slaughter Xue Beng, Xue Xing, and the Heaven Dou Imperial Family to the last man. Find an excuse to keep Ning Rongrong in Heaven Dou City and have your people watch her closely. You should personally visit the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect and lay everything out before Ning Fengzhi. Give him two choices, and he must choose one. One choice is to remain your teacher and follow you in contending for the world, kick the Clear Sky Sect off its position as the world's number one sect, and elevate the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect. The other is to kill you, invite Spirit Hall's all-out retaliation, and have Ning Rongrong, who is in Heaven Dou City, die in an accident."

Snake Lance Douluo and Spiny Porpoise Douluo both lowered their heads.

We dared not say anything, and we dared not ask anything.

As long as you two God Trial Takers were happy.

"It's a little ruthless, but I like it..." The corners of Qian Renxue's lips rose slightly. "Ning Fengzhi is a smart man. He knows which choice would benefit himself, the entire Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, and his daughter Ning Rongrong the most!"

"If his stance resembles that of the Clear Sky Sect, if he merely supports the Heaven Dou Imperial Family rather than a specific person within it, then he really could become one of the unstable factors in the coming palace coup."

"Unfortunately, he wants too much."

"Once he obtains the position he wants and becomes your teacher, he becomes firmly bound to you, turning into a blade in your hand. At that point, as long as you give him the slightest glimmer of hope, he will follow you onward and become your diehard loyalist, willing or not."

As he spoke, Ye Qingcang took a jade tablet roughly the size of his palm from his thumb ring. With a press of his finger, the tablet immediately lit up.

Several messages framed in black appeared one after another on the jade tablet.

Black words on a white background, perfectly clear.

"No matter how many times I see it, I am still amazed by your talent..." Watching Ye Qingcang put the jade tablet back into his thumb ring, Qian Renxue praised him from the bottom of her heart. "Just the Jade Seal Machine you developed is already remarkable. You were not the one who proposed the concept of Soul Tools, nor did you create the first Soul Tool. But only in your hands can Soul Tools truly shine. Without anyone noticing, they have already affected our lives and even influenced the outcomes of battles between soul masters!"

"You flatter me."

"I am merely a successor standing on the shoulders of those before me."

"I inherited the wisdom of my predecessors and brought that wisdom to this world."

Ye Qingcang shook his head, exceptionally clear-minded. "The progress of an era cannot be stopped. Even without me, others would have brought Soul Tools before the world and shown people their charm. I merely took one step ahead of others. I dare not compare myself to the pioneers."

Qian Renxue merely shook her head when she heard that.

She understood Ye Qingcang's personality.

Ye Qingcang was good in every way, except that he was far too humble.

However, as Ye Qingcang put it, he was merely speaking the truth. When a person had a higher mountain in his heart that he wished to climb, he would not care about the mud beneath his feet. To those who could not climb it, he was already a legend standing atop the mountain. Yet on the mountain in his heart, he might have only climbed one-tenth, one-hundredth, one-thousandth, or one-ten-thousandth of the way. Before all the remaining heights, what did he have to be proud of?

People were different from one another.

Some people went their whole lives without ever tasting abalone or lobster.

Others could eat abalone and lobster until they threw up.

Summer insects cannot speak of ice, well frogs cannot speak of the sea. That was all there was to it!

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