A Secret Meeting with Qian Renxue

Dugu Bo and Dugu Yan knelt on the ground, unwilling to rise for a long time.

"Little Master, the Dugu family will never forget your grace in giving us a new life!"

Su Chen stood with his hands behind his back, his expression calm.

"That's enough. Get up. I don't need people who kowtow. I need people who can get things done."

Dugu Bo helped his granddaughter to her feet, his face full of respect.

"What orders does Little Master have? Even through mountains of blades and seas of fire, I would not hesitate to die ten thousand deaths."

"Clean up this estate in Sunset Forest. From now on, without my orders, no one may set foot here."

"Understood! This old man will personally set up a poison formation. Even if the heavens themselves come knocking, I will not let them through!"

Su Chen's gaze swept over Dugu Yan.

"Though the poison has been cured, her meridians still need rest. Take your granddaughter back and consolidate her cultivation. If Prince Xue Xing asks about Heaven Dou City, do you know how to answer?"

Dugu Bo nodded repeatedly.

"I do. Everything at the Crown Prince's Residence is normal. There is nothing suspicious at all. This old man will play this act well before Xue Xing and never let the Heaven Dou royal family detect the slightest clue."

"Go."

Dugu Bo bowed once more, then transformed into a streak of green light and vanished into the night with Dugu Yan.

Silence returned to the cliffside.

In the darkness, the shadows of the trees stirred as a mass of black mist silently gathered.

"Your Highness, that old poisoner is fickle and unreliable. Can a few promises truly be trusted?"

"There's no need to fear greed. What matters is whether someone has a weakness. Dugu Yan is that old poisoner's life. With his life in our hands, he has no choice but to remain loyal. Let's go. It's time to meet our young master, who is serving as the crown prince of the Heaven Dou Empire."

The night was deep.

Heaven Dou City, Crown Prince's Residence.

The guards outside were tight, with hidden sentries everywhere.

Inside the study, Qian Renxue, disguised as Xue Qinghe, sat at her desk reading military reports from the front lines.

Her face was gentle and refined.

A breeze drifted in through the half-open window.

The candle flame on the desk flickered.

Qian Renxue did not even raise her head, her gaze remaining on the documents.

"Since you're here, why hide? Since when did people from Spirit Hall become too afraid to use the front door?"

Faint footsteps came from behind the screen.

Qian Renxue set down the document in her hand and looked up.

A short-haired boy of around six walked unhurriedly out of the shadows.

His green robe was spotless, and his expression was composed.

Qian Renxue frowned slightly, a trace of suspicion appearing in her eyes.

"Who are you? How did you get in?"

The boy walked straight to the chair opposite the desk and sat down.

"I just solved a major problem for you, and now you don't recognize me?"

Qian Renxue's gaze turned cold, killing intent brewing in her eyes.

"The so-called Holy Son sent by the Papal Hall?"

"That's me."

Qian Renxue sized up the boy before her.

His frame was thin, and childishness still lingered on his face. No matter how she looked at him, he was just a child.

Spirit Hall had sent word that the newly appointed Holy Son would come to Heaven Dou City to help break the deadlock.

She had assumed it would be some elder concealing his identity, or an elite raised by the Hall of Consecrated Elders.

Yet the Papal Hall had actually sent a child.

"Has that woman gone mad?"

"The situation in the Heaven Dou Empire is tangled beyond measure. That old fox Prince Xue Xing is watching every move at the Crown Prince's Residence."

"At a time like this, the Papal Hall sends some snot-nosed brat to interfere? Do they think I haven't been exposed quickly enough, or that the struggle for imperial power in the Heaven Dou Empire is children playing house?"

Su Chen leaned back in his chair.

"Age and ability sometimes have little to do with each other."

"Little to do with each other?"

Qian Renxue rose to her feet and looked down at Su Chen.

"How many years have I lurked in Heaven Dou City? Every step I take is like walking on thin ice. Every day, I wear this false mask and trade empty pleasantries with those royal nobles."

"For Spirit Hall's great cause, I cannot even reveal my original face. I cannot have the joys and sorrows of an ordinary person. Now, at the most critical moment, that woman sends a useless child like you?"

"What can you do? Help me review memorials, or help me deal with a Title Douluo like Dugu Bo?"

Su Chen did not grow angry at her mockery.

"Dugu Bo has already been dealt with."

Qian Renxue froze for a moment.

"What do you mean?"

"Exactly what it sounds like. From today onward, all the spies Prince Xue Xing sent will withdraw. Dugu Bo will no longer keep watch on the Crown Prince's Residence. Instead, he will become our most reliable piece in Heaven Dou City."

Qian Renxue looked as though she had heard the greatest joke in the world.

"You? A six-year-old Soul Scholar, subduing the Poison Douluo whose name shakes the world?"

"Do you take me for a three-year-old?"

"Not only did I subdue him, I also took control of the treasure vault in Sunset Forest."

Su Chen dusted off his sleeve.

"If you don't believe me, Prince Xue Xing's reaction tomorrow will naturally give you the answer. Now, we should discuss your situation."

A chill filled Qian Renxue's eyes.

She took the boy's words as nothing more than wild nonsense.

"Are all people from the Papal Hall this arrogant?"

"Since you've come to my territory, no matter who you are, you must follow the rules here."

"First, learn how to lower your head when speaking to your elders!"

As soon as she finished speaking.

A pressure belonging to a Soul Emperor erupted from Qian Renxue's body.

To avoid exposing her Six-Winged Angel Martial Soul, Qian Renxue disguised the pressure as the aura of a Swan Martial Soul.

Yet that pure soul power pressure truly locked onto Su Chen.

The air in the study instantly froze.

An invisible pressure surged toward the chair like a tidal wave.

Qian Renxue intended to crush Su Chen with sheer momentum, making this Holy Son who did not know his place retreat in the face of difficulty.

"Kneel!"

The pressure rose once again.

The chair let out a creak under the unbearable strain.

The papers on the desk rustled wildly in the fierce wind.

Su Chen remained seated without dodging, and even his breathing did not falter.

Facing that overwhelming pressure, a faint smile instead curled at the corner of his lips.

"Using the pressure of a fake Martial Soul to scare people—don't you find that laughable?"

"Since you want to play with momentum, let's see whose foundation is stronger."

Su Chen did not circulate his soul power.

His eyes narrowed slightly as his spiritual power reached straight into his sea of consciousness.

Great Sun Tathagata Sword Intent.

A thread of incomparably pure power of light emerged from Su Chen's brow.

There was no blinding radiance, no earth-shaking commotion.

Only a faint golden halo silently spread through the study.

The instant this power appeared, the soul power pressure Qian Renxue had unleashed dissolved without a trace.

Qian Renxue's expression changed.

Before she could react, the blood in her body began to boil uncontrollably.

The Six-Winged Angel Martial Soul hidden in the deepest part of her bloodline seemed to have been intensely stimulated. Without being summoned, a phantom form condensed behind her on its own!

It was the divine Martial Soul of the Angel God.

It represented the holiest and brightest power on the Douluo Continent.

Yet at this moment, the lofty phantom of the Six-Winged Angel was actually trembling slightly!

That thread of Great Sun Tathagata Sword Intent Su Chen released was pure and domineering, without the slightest stray thought.

It lacked the greed and impurity born from the prayers of countless believers.

It was true light that required no worship from believers.

Before this power, the Six-Winged Angel Martial Soul was like one that had encountered its true ruler, instinctively overcome by the urge to submit!

Qian Renxue clutched her chest tightly, her legs turning weak as she collapsed into the chair beside the desk.

The feeling of submission from the depths of her Martial Soul repeatedly assaulted her reason.

The noble Six-Winged Angel, a divine bloodline passed down for thousands of years, had actually bowed before a human's sword intent!

"Th-this... what kind of power is this?"

Qian Renxue was utterly shocked as she stared in disbelief at the handsome boy before her.

The Angel Martial Soul was sacred and inviolable.

Even before the peerless pressure of her grandfather, Qian Daoliu, the Angel Martial Soul would only resonate. It would never react by bowing and submitting like this!

What exactly had this six-year-old boy released?

Why did it make the power of the Angel God feel fear?

Su Chen withdrew that thread of sword intent.

The golden halo in the study faded with it.

Only then did the trembling sensation weighing on Qian Renxue's heart slowly subside.

The phantom of the Six-Winged Angel also vanished back into her body.

A layer of fine sweat beaded on Qian Renxue's forehead, and even her disguised male voice was somewhat unsteady.

"What exactly did you do to my Martial Soul?"

Su Chen picked up a cup of cold tea from the desk and took a sip.

"I did nothing. I merely let your Martial Soul witness what true light is."

Qian Renxue took several deep breaths and forcibly calmed herself.

As she looked at the boy leisurely drinking tea, the disdain and dissatisfaction in her eyes were gone.

"Now, can we properly discuss the situation in the Heaven Dou Empire?"

Su Chen set down the teacup and looked directly at Qian Renxue.

"The Papal Hall sent me here not to listen to you complain."