Douluo Continent, the imperial capital of the Spirit Hall Empire, the Spirit Hall Imperial Palace.
Within the grand, solemn Hall of Mental Cultivation, gilded beams spanned high overhead. Candles burned without cease, filling the hall with warmth.
Dressed in a black imperial robe edged in gold and embroidered with dragons, Qian Daoliu sat upon the supreme dragon throne. A vermilion brush rested between his fingers as he bent over the mountain of memorials before him.
He had now broken through to become a Peerless Douluo, an emperor who ruled the entire Spirit Hall Empire and commanded its countless soul masters.
He had shed the cool aloofness of a Pontiff Elder and gained the steady dignity of an emperor. Yet deep between his brows lingered a trace of melancholy and longing that the years had never erased.
More than two years.
Since Qian Xunzong had resolutely set sail to seek his mother across the boundless, perilous seas, two years and three months had passed without a single word from him.
Throughout the court, everyone admired the Prince of Equal Rank's devotion to his mother, and everyone lamented the deadly dangers of a voyage across the deep sea.
Even ordinary citizens often spoke of it, marveling at the Second Prince's extraordinary courage while quietly praying for his safe return.
Qian Daoliu rubbed the space between his brows and set down his brush. Looking toward the clear sky beyond the hall, he released a soft, lingering sigh.
"Yanqiu, Zong'er has been gone for over two years. If you know, wherever you are, please protect him and bring him home safely."
That quiet murmur held more than a decade of longing and concern.
Xu Yanqiu had been missing for over ten years, without a trace. Whether she was alive or dead remained unknown.
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