A Partnership Struck with Ease

What a beautiful day!

When Xue Yu stepped out of the imperial study, the sun hung high overhead.

He paused on the steps and drew a deep breath, letting some of the tension leave his body.

After days of effort, he had finally reached an agreement with the Star Luo Empire.

I never expected this trip to go so smoothly. My luck has finally turned.

Though he was still inside the Star Luo Imperial Palace, Xue Yu could barely contain his delight.

On the day he had secretly led the Diplomatic Mission out of the Heaven Dou Imperial City, his heart had been full of unease.

Now, it was full of joy.

Without thinking, he rubbed the Gem Ring on his right hand.

The Gem Ring was, in essence, a Storage Soul Tool.

Xue Ye had given it to him when he announced that Xue Yu would lead the Diplomatic Mission to a secret audience with the Star Luo Emperor.

Inside the Gem Ring lay the document bearing the Star Luo Emperor's imperial seal.

Every word on that document represented a success of their mission.

The two countries would establish embassies in each other's territory, expand border trade, exchange students, and share some intelligence concerning Spirit Hall...

Truth be told, Xue Yu's hand had trembled as he signed once the details were settled.

He had never expected things to go so smoothly, or the Star Luo Empire to be so generous.

It's like a dream.

As he left the Star Luo Imperial Palace, Xue Yu glanced back at its towering gates and felt momentarily dazed.

He had actually lived to stand in the imperial study of the Star Luo Imperial Palace and be treated with courtesy by several princes of the Star Luo Imperial Family.

Even the Star Luo Emperor had spoken to him politely.

In the past, Xue Yu would not have dared imagine it.

He was a member of the Heaven Dou Imperial Family and the chief envoy of this Diplomatic Mission.

But when facing the Star Luo Empire, Xue Yu had still felt somewhat timid.

After all, the Star Luo Imperial Family had always had the Heaven Dou Imperial Family on the back foot.

Even though the Star Luo Imperial Family had proposed this cooperation first, they still could not afford to take a hard line.

If he could, the one Xue Yu most wanted to thank right now was Spirit Hall.

If Spirit Hall had not become a greater threat to the Star Luo Empire, the Heaven Dou Empire would never have had such a fine opportunity.

And he, Xue Yu, would not have been able to use this chance to climb another rung.

I need to send this good news home as soon as possible, so His Majesty has time to prepare. Nothing can be allowed to go wrong.

I need to hurry and take the Diplomatic Mission away, too. Every day sooner we reach the Heaven Dou Imperial City is another day sooner we're safe.

Walking out along the palace road in his assumed identity, Xue Yu silently reflected on it all.

He also knew he had to lead the Diplomatic Mission out of the Star Luo Imperial City that very night.

They had entered the city in disguise, and their audience at the Imperial Palace to discuss cooperation had been secret.

But a single mishap was all it took. Until the agreement was fully put into effect, they had to be cautious at every step.

If their movements were suddenly exposed, the people of Spirit Hall would likely try every means to sabotage them.

Meanwhile, inside the imperial study...

"Your son greets you, Father." After Xue Yu left, Dai Xuanyu, who had been listening from the shadows, finally emerged.

Only Dai Heng and Dai Xuanyu remained in the imperial study, father and son.

Dai Heng gazed at his child with affection, waved a hand, and said:

"Come now. There's no need for so much ceremony between father and son. Get up."

"Thank you, Father." Dai Xuanyu naturally changed how he addressed him.

Then Dai Heng said with some concern, "My son, must you go to the Heaven Dou Imperial City?"

Many at the Star Luo court, including quite a few members of the imperial family, believed this plan for cooperation had come about because of Spirit Hall.

In truth, only a handful of people knew it had all begun with Dai Xuanyu's proposal.

"Father, this concerns my God Examination. How can it proceed if I don't go?" Dai Xuanyu asked in return.

Indeed, the reason he had given for proposing the plan was that he needed to go to the Heaven Dou Imperial City to complete the corresponding God Examination.

A God Examination really was an excuse that worked for anything.

The moment Dai Heng heard that, he had pushed the plan forward without another word, afraid of delaying his son's God Examination.

Besides, whether the plan succeeded or failed, it would bring the Star Luo Imperial Family nothing but benefits. It had therefore gone forward without a hitch.

"That's true," Dai Heng said regretfully.

If he had a choice, he certainly would not want his son traveling with the group to the Heaven Dou Imperial City.

If danger arose, things could turn disastrous.

But there was no helping it. With the God Examination at stake, this was their only option.

"By the way, my son, tomorrow I'll introduce you to an elder you can call Grandfather."

"He'll accompany you to the Heaven Dou Imperial City and protect you along the way."

With that, Dai Heng let slip a piece of news.

Someone from Grandfather's generation? Dai Xuanyu was curious.

But in the next instant, he understood.

Anyone his father addressed with such respect could not be an ordinary person.

What was more, this elder would travel with the group to the Heaven Dou Imperial City and protect him.

He had to be a Titled Douluo.

There would be no reason to make such arrangements for a Soul Douluo.

A Titled Douluo from the Star Luo Empire?

I'm afraid only that sect has a Titled Douluo to spare to protect me.

Dai Xuanyu thought of the reclusive sect within the Star Luo Empire.

Reclusive though it was, even Spirit Hall acknowledged its standing. The emblem of its inherited Martial Soul appeared on the Heaven Dou Six Imperial Cards.

By the era of Douluo II, it would even become the Star Luo Empire's new imperial family.

Look at the boy, trying to guess who it is. Seeing Dai Xuanyu deep in thought, Dai Heng smiled and did not interrupt.

That was how a child ought to behave.

Dai Xuanyu had always seemed wise beyond his years, almost frighteningly clever, and perpetually calm.

It stood in stark contrast to the appearance of a six-year-old child.

But because Dai Xuanyu had been born with Evil Eyes and Double Pupils, many people considered his behavior perfectly natural.

Seeing this side of him now made Dai Heng rather happy.

His son carried too heavy a burden. A change of pace now and then would help him let his feelings out.

Indeed, Dai Xuanyu's gifts were so extraordinary, and his circumstances so unusual,

that a measure of familial affection had taken root amid the cruelty of the imperial family.

What Dai Heng did not know was that Dai Xuanyu's attention was no longer on the elder.

He had suddenly remembered something about the Heaven Dou Six Imperial Cards.