Secrets of the Imperial Hunting Grounds: Qian Renxue Takes Another's Place
After Xue Qinghe and the other two left, Ning Rongrong turned around and waved to everyone.
"A resounding victory in the final battle! I've got the whole place to myself! Nobody's going to hold back today!"
Xiao Wu was the first to raise both hands in agreement.
"I want braised pork and crystal carrots!"
Tai Long followed behind,
"Rongrong so much, Miss Rongrong!"
Huang Yuan and Jing Ling also started to speak, while Zhu Zhuqing walked beside Lin Xuan and quietly stayed close to Lin Xuan.
The meal was enjoyed in a lively atmosphere until 3:45 PM, with the plates stacked three feet high on the table.
After everyone had eaten their fill, Ye Mengyao smiled and urged them to go back and prepare for the battle. Only then did everyone return to the Blue Tyrant Academy together.
Back Hill Courtyard.
Everyone sat down around the stone table in the courtyard.
Ning Rongrong rested her chin on her hands, looking at Lin Xuan was leaning back in the bamboo chair.
"Lin Xuan, it seems that His Highness the Crown Prince truly values you. The Imperial Hunting Grounds are forbidden territory for the Heaven Dou Imperial Family; ordinary nobles are even questioned before they can even approach the gate. Yet he actually offered to take you in to choose Soul Beast."
Lin Xuan didn't seem to think anything of it upon hearing this, and casually replied,
"What's so strange about that? You couldn't find another Soul Master on the entire continent who reached level Level 50 at the age of fourteen, even with a lantern. If I were in a higher position, I would also do everything I could to win them over."
Xiao Wu sat beside him eating green fruit, feeding Lin Xuan as she ate.
"You're so vain! You have the thickest skin in the whole world."
After eating the green fruit, Lin Xuan laughed loudly.
"That's what you call telling the truth. Besides, His Highness the Crown Prince has more than just me as a target."
"Once we win the championship in the Continental Elite Tournament for Advanced Soul Master Academy, he'll still recruit top geniuses like Little San, Xiao Wu, Jing Ling, Huang Yuan, and Jiangzhu —those of you without strong sect backgrounds."
Tang San nodded in agreement upon hearing Lin Xuan's words.
"Lin Xuan is right. It's the same principle as sects recruiting disciples from other families. If a major power wants to maintain its position, it needs to continuously absorb fresh blood; no one will complain about having too many geniuses."
Ning Rongrong tilted her head and looked at Tang San.
"Little San, what if His Highness the Crown Prince offered you an astronomical salary and appointed you to a high-ranking official position? Would you go?"
Tang San shook his head, indifferent to the Dao.
"I have no interest in becoming an official. I only want to focus on my cultivation and make the most of the Hidden Weapon I possess."
Ning Rongrong gave a light snort and turned the topic back to itself.
Lin Xuan recalled Ning Rongrong's words earlier and asked,
"Rongrong, the Imperial Hunting Grounds you just mentioned are forbidden areas. Are you very familiar with those Imperial Hunting Grounds?"
Ning Rongrong nodded slightly.
"I have some understanding of it. That hunting ground is located in a circular valley a hundred miles outside of Heaven Dou City. It covers a huge area and is full of Soul Beast collected and raised by the royal family."
However, don't be fooled by the gentle-sounding word "domesticated." The wildness of the Soul Beast there hasn't been extinguished at all. Their fighting power and ferocity are no different from wild Soul Beast. In fact, because they've been confined to a specific area and fighting each other for years, they've become quite irritable.
At this point, Ning Rongrong's voice suddenly lowered.
"In previous years, when noble sons or imperial guards went hunting in the rings, many died inside, and it was common for them to lose limbs."
Lin Xuan frowned, not expecting this situation.
"Is that so? Aren't the Royal Imperial Guards stationed in the area year-round?"
Ning Rongrong nodded and continued,
"Yes, but there have indeed been far fewer deaths in recent years."
My father told me that about ten years ago, there was a major accident at the Imperial Hunting Grounds.
The Crown Prince's personal maid accompanied him into the Soul Hunting, but they accidentally got separated and she died inside the hunting grounds.
Everyone's attention was drawn to it.
Xiao Wu was even more shocked.
"And then what? A maidservant of the Crown Prince, didn't she send anyone to look for her?"
Ning Rongrong sighed.
"Why didn't you look for it? Xue Qinghe, who was just the eldest prince at the time, searched the depths of the hunting grounds for more than half a month."
Nothing was found; there was no trace of the remains.
Since that incident, the royal family has increased the strength of its forces whenever it enters the Imperial Hunting Grounds.
Upon hearing this, Tang San, Tai Long, and Zhu Zhuqing, who were present, all sighed, thinking it was a tragedy of a ferocious beast in the deep mountains devouring people without spitting out the bones.
But Lin Xuan was indeed stunned.
His Highness the Crown Prince's personal maid?
No remains?
Others might have dismissed the story as an accident, but Lin Xuan knew the truth.
This is no case of a maid getting lost and being eaten by Soul Beast!
The real Xue Qinghe was probably killed by Qian Renxue that year, deep in the dense forest of that Imperial Hunting Grounds!
The so-called disappearance of the maid and the loss of her remains were clearly just a clumsy excuse used by Qian Renxue to cover up the true eldest prince's vanishing into thin air.
To steal the beams and replace the pillars, to substitute one plum for another.
Taking advantage of that accident, Qian Renxue brazenly survived under the guise of "Xue Qinghe" and took over everything from the eldest prince of the Heaven Dou Empire.
No wonder Xue Qinghe was so familiar with the situation inside the Imperial Hunting Grounds, and even offered to take him to hunt the 39,000-year-old Diamond Mammoth.
That hunting ground was the very place that witnessed the turning point in Qian Renxue's fate.
Seeing that Lin Xuan remained silent for a long time, Ning Rongrong waved her hand in front of him.
"Hey, Lin Xuan, why are you spacing out? Did you get scared?"
Lin Xuan snapped out of his reverie and smiled.
"No, it's just that the hunting grounds seem much more complicated than I imagined."
Ning Rongrong put her hands on her hips.
"Don't worry! My dad and Grandpa Jian just said that they'll be going together tomorrow."
With Grandpa Sword keeping things in order, even if all the Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Beast in the hunting grounds came out and huddled together, Grandpa Sword could wipe them all out with a single strike, ensuring there wouldn't be any trouble.
Lin Xuan looked at Ning Rongrong's spoiled and smug expression and said with a smile,
"That's true. The fact that Sword Douluo and Sect Master Ning are together ultimately comes down to our Miss Rongrong's influence."
Ning Rongrong gave a soft snort.
"Just know how good I am! Don't make me angry anymore, you hear me?"
Xiao Wu was undermining him from the sidelines.
"Rongrong, just now at the restaurant, someone ate so much they couldn't walk and insisted that Lin Xuan carry you downstairs."
Ning Rongrong's cheeks flushed instantly, and she pounced on Xiao Wu to tickle her.
"You brat Xiao Wu! What nonsense are you spouting? I just twisted my ankle!"
The two girls chased and played in the courtyard, their clear laughter echoing through the bamboo forest Back Hill.
Zhu Zhuqing sat beside them, watching them fool around, a slight smile playing on her lips. These days were truly relaxing and comfortable.
Night was falling.
After a period of commotion, everyone returned to their rooms to rest and recharge for tomorrow's hunting trip.
Lin Xuan sat cross-legged on the bed, circulating his Mysterious Heaven Skill to regulate his breathing, filling his Soul Power to its peak state.
The next morning.
The sounds of horses' hooves and wheels could be heard outside the academy gates.
Two luxurious carriages bearing the banners of the Heaven Dou Imperial Family, escorted by thirty heavily armored cavalry guards, came to a steady stop in the middle of the long street in front of the Blue Tyrant Academy's main gate.