Inside the imperial palace of the Heaven Dou Empire.
Though Qian Renxue was dissatisfied with Bibi Dong's arrangements, she still increased Xue Ye's dosage of poison.
The commotion Bai Ye had stirred up lately only filled Xue Ye with greater anxiety.
Whenever he thought that the Heaven Dou Empire might be ruined in his hands, his health worsened by the day. He already had little time left to live.
At that moment, he was arranging his affairs with Xue Qinghe for after his death. Naturally, Xue Beng and Prince Xue Xing were also present.
"The Upper Three Sects are gone, and Spirit Hall's selection of the seven sects will begin soon. Once the new seven sects are chosen, Spirit Hall's prestige will surely soar. Trying to pressure Spirit Hall then will become extremely difficult."
Xue Ye understood the threat Bai Ye posed all too well. He had also traveled to the Star Luo Empire during this time, and the leaders of the two great empires had naturally reached an agreement at their meeting.
They had decided to pressure Spirit Hall into executing its Holy Son, Bai Ye.
Otherwise, they truly would not sleep soundly for a single night. Bai Ye posed too great a threat.
Support-type Soul Masters already had a major influence on warfare. Now that Spirit Hall had produced such a heaven-defying support-type Soul Master, even without an army, a team of Soul Masters paired with support like his could crush any empire. Even if the two great empires joined forces, they would meet the same fate.
They currently had vast armies, and Bai Ye had yet to truly come into his own. If they did not pressure Spirit Hall now, they would never have another chance.
In truth, they had already lost their chance, because Bai Ye was growing far faster than they imagined, and his support abilities were even further beyond their imagination.
"Qinghe, you are the Heaven Dou Crown Prince. The empire will have to depend on you in the future. Xue Beng is your younger brother. Though he is something of a wastrel, he can still become your helper."
"After I die, you will be Emperor Qinghe, and Xue Xing will do everything he can to assist you. I hope that after Bai Ye dies, the Heaven Dou Empire will flourish even more under your leadership."
"All right, you may all leave."
Having arranged his affairs, Xue Ye dismissed everyone. He gazed toward where they had departed, his feelings tangled.
As the ruler of the Heaven Dou Empire, he knew all too well that the imperial family was ruthless. Though there was no evidence proving that Xue Qinghe had harmed his younger brothers, Xue Qinghe was the one who had benefited. He did not know whether Xue Beng was truly a wastrel, but he knew that Xue Qinghe concealed himself very well.
In truth, if he did not let Xue Qinghe inherit the throne, could he possibly give it to Xue Beng instead?
He feared that if he showed even the slightest hint of such an intention, Xue Beng would die of poisoning.
"Qinghe is good, but his heart is far too ruthless." Xue Ye closed his eyes and lay down to rest. This was all he could do.
Qian Renxue returned to her residence and spotted Qian Daoliu at once.
"Grandpa!" Overjoyed, Qian Renxue shed all her disguises and hurried over to Qian Daoliu.
"What brings you here?" Qian Renxue asked. She knew Qian Daoliu's strength well, so his appearing here without a sound was perfectly normal. After all, he was level 99, a demigod.
The guards of the Heaven Dou Empire's imperial palace could not stop him at all.
"Your grandpa missed you." Qian Daoliu smiled affectionately and spread his arms. Qian Renxue threw herself into them, her face full of happiness as she savored the feeling.
After all, she had neither a mother's love nor a father's.
Her grandfather was the person closest to her, without exception.
"Grandpa, you must have something else to discuss, right?" Qian Renxue looked up at Qian Daoliu and blinked.
"Nothing gets past those eyes of yours. That's my dear granddaughter." Qian Daoliu smiled and stroked Qian Renxue's head, then the two of them sat down.
Qian Daoliu explained why he had come.
"What?" Qian Renxue was shocked by the news. She had never imagined that the grandfather who doted on her most would actually want to marry her off.
Even less had she expected the prospective groom to be Spirit Hall's Holy Son, Bai Ye.
"Are you unwilling?" Qian Daoliu asked. "If you are, then pretend your grandpa never said it."
Qian Daoliu loved his granddaughter dearly. If Qian Renxue was unwilling, he would never bring it up again. Instead, he would choose to eliminate Bai Ye, this potential threat.
Otherwise, even if Spirit Hall unified the Douluo Continent in the future, there was no telling whether the family in charge would bear the name Qian or Bai.
"It's not that, Grandpa. It's just that I've never even seen what he looks like. And here in the Heaven Dou Empire..."
"The Heaven Dou Empire isn't important." Qian Daoliu interrupted Qian Renxue. "I believe you've already received the intelligence on Bai Ye. His support abilities are extremely powerful. Even if you cannot become the emperor of the Heaven Dou Empire, Spirit Hall can still take it with ease. The same goes for the Star Luo Empire."
Qian Renxue hesitated. She understood that Qian Daoliu was right, but she had spent so many years undercover. She truly could not bring herself to abandon the Heaven Dou Empire and return to marry Bai Ye.
"All right, Xue'er. I respect your wishes." Seeing Qian Renxue's conflict, Qian Daoliu stopped pressing her and instead asked the question that concerned him most.
"What do you think about marrying Bai Ye?"
When it came to a man she did not know, no matter how talented he was, Qian Renxue felt only curiosity without having seen him, not the slightest romantic affection. Besides, Bai Ye was much younger than her.
"Grandpa, I don't think marriage is out of the question. It's just that I've never even met him. You wouldn't want me to marry an ugly fellow, would you?" Qian Renxue spoke coaxingly. She did not refuse, but neither did she agree.
Hearing this, Qian Daoliu felt there was a very good chance. After all, he knew what Bai Ye looked like, though naturally, he only knew how Bai Ye had looked before leaving Spirit Hall.
Even before his appearance had changed, Bai Ye was certainly no less handsome than Oscar or Dai Mubai.
"Hahaha! You can rest assured about that. He's no ugly fellow. Quite the opposite-he's very handsome. In that case, we'll discuss it after you've met him." Qian Daoliu laughed heartily, and Qian Renxue grew even more curious about Bai Ye.
After all, even her own grandfather had said so.
Next, grandfather and granddaughter came to an agreement. Since Xue Ye was unimportant and Qian Renxue did not want her efforts to go to waste, Qian Daoliu decided to give her his full support. He even personally sent Xue Ye to his death.
That very day, Qian Renxue inherited the throne and became the Heaven Dou Empire's new emperor, Emperor Qinghe.
Elsewhere, Bai Ye and the others had just entered a fairly prosperous city in the Star Luo Empire and stopped to rest when they heard the news from passersby.
"Xue Ye passed away?"
"The emperor is now Emperor Qinghe?"
Bai Ye was somewhat bewildered, to say nothing of Ning Rongrong, Zhu Zhuqing, and the others.
The three Titled Douluos secretly protecting them-Poison, Ghost, and Chrysanthemum-were surprised, but did not find it unexpected.
For them, this counted as good news.
"I didn't expect it to happen so quickly." Bai Ye was mildly surprised. Once they had rested, they continued toward the Star Luo Empire's imperial palace.
A month later, they arrived outside the imperial palace, where the Star Luo Emperor and his imperial relatives were waiting to welcome them.
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