Xu Tianran's Wariness! Handsome Old Man, Little Kid!

After returning to the Purple Radiance Prince's Manor, Xu Tianchen relaxed for another three days.

No matter what, the Evil Demon Forest was one of the most dangerous places on Douluo Continent. On top of that, he had absorbed a Spirit Ring and a Soul Bone in succession, which had drained him mentally. So after returning to the manor and parting ways with Kong Deming, Xu Tianchen informed Xu Chengjing and Xu Tianran, then went straight back to his room to sleep happily. He intended to make up for all the sleep he had missed these past two days.

Compared to Xu Tianchen, who was happily sleeping the day away, Xu Tianran sat in his courtyard. Moonlight fell across his face, but illuminated only half of it, while the other half remained hidden in shadow.

Xu Tianran's heart was in turmoil, and his emotions were complicated. He had been sitting in the courtyard for a long time.

To be honest, Xu Tianran truly liked this half-brother of his. Xu Tianchen's cheerful personality was like a little sun, bringing warmth to the somewhat withdrawn Xu Tianran within this cold manor.

But Xu Tianchen's talent was simply too great—Twin Martial Souls, an Ultimate Martial Soul, and Kong Deming's support behind him.

Kong Deming was not merely the master of the Consecration Hall. He also bore the title of the "Father of Rank-9 Soul Engineers." This not only meant that his strength surpassed all Rank-9 Soul Engineers, but also that most of the Rank-9 Soul Engineers in the current Sun Moon Empire had come from his tutelage.

Even Jing Hongchen, who had only recently become the master of Virtue Hall, had to show Kong Deming the respect due to half a teacher.

Xu Tianran, however, did not have such a powerful backer. His mother had left him with only Xue Chen, a Soul Douluo. Although Xue Chen's soul power had reached Rank 88, he was still nowhere near comparable to Kong Deming.

If Xu Tianchen's talent had been poor, or if Kong Deming had not stood behind him, Xu Tianran would never have harbored such wariness toward him. Perhaps they could have remained respectful brothers for the rest of their lives.

Unfortunately, there were no ifs!

Xu Tianchen not only possessed extraordinary talent, but also powerful backing. Xu Tianran could no longer regard him as his good younger brother, but only as a rival for the position of heir.

Even if Xu Tianchen himself had no desire to compete for that position.

What about their father?

Xu Tianran knew that his father was deeply dissatisfied with the current emperor. He desperately wanted to sit on that throne.

Would he choose Xu Tianchen in order to win Kong Deming over?

Xu Tianran did not know, but based on his understanding of his father, he felt that it was highly possible.

If Xu Chengjing later succeeded in rebelling, could Xu Tianchen truly remain uninterested in that position?

Even if he had no interest in becoming a prince, would anyone reject the supreme position in the strongest nation of the age? Even if Xu Tianchen claimed he was not interested, Xu Tianran would not believe him.

No one could resist the temptation of the imperial throne.

Xu Tianran no longer knew what attitude he should take when facing Xu Tianchen.

If Xu Tianran knew that Xu Chengjing and Kong Deming wanted Xu Tianchen to take Long Xiaoyao, an Ultimate Douluo, as his master, he would probably be even more wary.

Purple Radiance Prince's Manor, secret chamber

A man and a woman sat across the table from Xu Chengjing. The atmosphere in the secret chamber was somewhat strange.

The male Spirit Master was tall, with silver hair combed meticulously and neatly behind his head. His complexion was as rosy as a baby's, and there was no sharpness in his eyes, only profound depth. He looked like an ordinary, handsome old man.

This man was Long Xiaoyao, the Rank 99 Ultimate Douluo known as the Dragon Emperor, who was hailed alongside Mu En as one of the Black and White Twin Saint Dragons!

The female Spirit Master, meanwhile, was tall and slender, dressed in a long gown whose dark crimson color resembled dried blood. Her exposed hands were slim and long, exceptionally well cared for. The red polish on her fingernails matched her red dress exactly, giving off an unsettling chill.

She was Ye Xishui, the current supreme leader of the Holy Spirit Cult, a Rank 99 Ultimate Douluo known as the Death God!

"Your Highness, have you made your decision?"

Ye Xishui was the first to speak, breaking the dead silence.

"Pay attention to the situation. I am not the one seeking cooperation with you; you are the ones seeking cooperation with me. With or without your help, I am confident that I can ascend the throne. You are the ones asking me for help."

Xu Chengjing took a sip of tea and spoke unhurriedly.

"Heh, aren't you afraid that we might turn around and tell the current Sun Moon Emperor about your little ambitions?" Ye Xishui sneered.

"Go ahead. See whether he believes you or me. You should know that he is eager to wipe all of you out."

Xu Chengjing's tone was completely unyielding, without the slightest concession.

The two sides immediately fell back into a tense standoff. Neither was willing to back down, and the atmosphere stiffened once more.

"I'll go out for some air."

After they remained deadlocked for a while, Long Xiaoyao could no longer stand the atmosphere and rose to his feet. He had not wanted to come today in the first place. Ye Xishui had only insisted that he come to lend support, display the Holy Spirit Cult's strength, and add weight to their bargaining position.

"Your Excellency Dragon Emperor, please feel free."

After speaking, Xu Chengjing made a welcoming gesture.

Long Xiaoyao left the secret chamber, but for a moment, he did not know where to go. He then thought of relaxing in the manor's garden and getting some sun. After asking the guard standing outside the secret chamber for the garden's location, he headed in that direction.

At that moment, Xu Tianchen was setting up a grill beside the pond in the garden. Numerous skewers of meat rested on top of it.

Xiao Su squatted nearby, staring at the golden, fragrant skewers on the grill. She could not help swallowing again before asking Xu Tianchen, "Young Master, are the skewers ready yet? I wasn't hungry to begin with, but your skewers smell so good that they've made me hungry."

"Don't rush. They'll be ready soon. Just grill them for a few more minutes, then once I sprinkle on this soul-seasoning blend, it'll be perfect."

As Xu Tianchen spoke, he took out a pile of barbecue seasonings from his storage ring. He grabbed a handful, shaking the skewers as he sprinkled the seasoning over them so that every piece of meat would be coated in the delicious barbecue seasoning.

"Here, eat up. Once you take a bite, you won't have a word to say. Let me tell you, Young Master's barbecue seasoning is so good that even roasted shoe insoles would taste delicious."

Xu Tianchen handed several skewers to Xiao Su. She accepted them immediately, gave them only a few careless blows, and stuffed them into her mouth. After chewing a few times, she cried out in surprise.

"Mmm, delicious! Young Master's grilling is so good."

"Hmph, of course it is. Who do you think I am?"

Xu Tianchen gave a smug snort, his tone filled with satisfaction and pride.

"Smells wonderful."

Just as the two were wolfing down their food, a voice suddenly rang out. It startled Xu Tianchen so badly that the skewer in his hand nearly fell to the ground.

He had almost thought the Supreme Dragon-Binding Cord had come, making him shudder in fright.

He immediately turned around and saw an ordinarily dressed handsome old man standing not far away.

For some reason, the moment he thought of a handsome old man, another one inexplicably appeared in Xu Tianchen's mind—one dressed flamboyantly, fond of traveling at public expense, and chasing women.

Xu Tianchen shook his head, clearing that image from his mind.

Honestly, he had not noticed at first that it was a man's voice, and it had scared him half to death. He had nearly thought the Tang Sect's Dragon-Binding Cord had come to drag him off to revive the Tang Sect.

"Um... handsome old man, which family's elder are you? How did you end up here?"

Xu Tianchen's words were startling as always, leaving Long Xiaoyao momentarily stunned.

Long Xiaoyao then chuckled. "Me? I'm the handsome old man of the Ye Clan. What about you? Which family's little kid are you?"

"The Ye Clan? Then you came with Senior Ye Yulin. Great, I'll have to ask him for a congratulatory gift for awakening my Martial Soul later. As for me, I'm from this manor."

Xu Tianchen patted his chest and pointed his thumb at himself.

"What are you grilling? Why does it smell so good?" Long Xiaoyao first voiced the question that had been bothering him. He had smelled the aroma from far away.

"This? It's the meat of a ten-year Golden-Crisp Rock Bull, along with my special barbecue seasoning. The flavor is incredible. But since you're from Senior Ye's family, I'll share some with you."

As he spoke, he handed over several more skewers. Long Xiaoyao accepted them, said thanks, and took a bite.

"Mmm, not bad. It really is delicious. The heat is just right, the meat is rich without being greasy, and it has a light fruity wood aroma. Combined with your seasoning, it makes the grilled meat even more delicious." Long Xiaoyao gave his evaluation after one bite.

"That's right! I didn't expect you to be such a foodie, old man." Xu Tianchen replied smugly.

"A foodie?" Long Xiaoyao asked.

"Ah, it means I'm praising you for knowing how to eat," Xu Tianchen explained.

"I heard you mention awakening your Martial Soul earlier, but I can see that you're already Rank 14. Even if you were born with full soul power, you couldn't have advanced this quickly, could you?"

"I'm a genius, kid."

The two chatted back and forth like this, while Xiao Su kept her head down and ate, paying no attention to their conversation.

Just as they were chatting enthusiastically, two calls rang out one after the other, interrupting them.

"Xiaoyao!"

"Tian Chen!"