Senior Disciple Brother

Xue Qinghe, the First Prince of the Heaven Dou Empire.

Just as befitted his status, his talent was peerless. At the same time Han Tao joined the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, he successfully broke through to become a Soul King.

Han Tao had read Douluo Continent and knew the Crown Prince's hidden identity, but that had nothing to do with him.

The clash between the Heaven Dou Empire and Spirit Hall was a true battle of open and covert schemes, a struggle to the death.

But what did that have to do with a mere Level 19 Soul Master like himself?

Keeping his distance and refusing to get involved was Han Tao's principle. However, given his current status, it was difficult to avoid contact with the Crown Prince.

"Han Tao, Sect Leader Ning wants to see you!"

One pleasant, sunny afternoon, Han Tao's cultivation was interrupted.

From far away, Ning Tian's voice drifted over, then promptly disappeared.

Hidden Dragon Mister was always like this. Once he finished the Sect Master's task, he would head to the Heaven Dou Empire's Foot Bath Club for a wonderfully relaxing journey of pleasure.

"All right."

Han Tao strode into the Sect Leader's Residence and soon met the legendary Crown Prince.

"Let me introduce you. This is the Crown Prince of the Heaven Dou Empire, Xue Qinghe."

Ning Fengzhi's expression was somewhat strange. It was the first time Han Tao had seen such an odd look on his face.

It seems the Sect Master's Keep Emotions Hidden technique is obviously far from mastered.

"Hello." Xue Qinghe offered a faint greeting.

"Your Highness!"

Under the feudal imperial system, there were extremely strict rules. These included the proper etiquette that commoners, nobles, and members of the imperial family had to observe when meeting the Crown Prince or the Emperor. Not the slightest mistake could be made.

There was an established logic to the hierarchy of humility and obedience, to the roles of ruler and subject.

As a commoner, Han Tao performed the proper etiquette before the Crown Prince.

At this moment, he was no longer a Sect Disciple of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, but an ordinary citizen of the Heaven Dou Empire.

Without strength, one must follow the rules. That was Xue Feng's reminder to him.

"Junior Brother Han, there's no need to be so formal. Perhaps you'll be my Junior Brother in the future!"

Xue Qinghe smiled casually. When Han Tao had bowed halfway, he interrupted the rest of the ritual.

His timing was extremely clever. He stopped Han Tao precisely halfway through the etiquette. The first half maintained the dignity of the imperial family, while the second half displayed his own reputation for treating the worthy with courtesy.

He had reached perfection in using the empire's rules to win people's favor.

Ning Fengzhi looked at Xue Qinghe, then at Han Tao. How could he not understand the rules governing the empire?

"Han Tao, this is the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect. There are no such cumbersome formalities here!" Ning Fengzhi reprimanded Han Tao.

On the surface, he seemed to be scolding Han Tao, but in reality, he was protecting him. With his declaration, Xue Qinghe could no longer use the rules to pressure Han Tao.

Han Tao nodded, indicating his acceptance.

Then Ning Fengzhi turned to Han Tao and continued explaining the matter.

"Today, the Heaven Dou Empire and the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect reached a cooperation agreement. His Highness Xue Qinghe will be my first disciple."

"Han Tao, you've been at the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect for a year, but I still haven't taken you as my disciple. Since we're doing it today, we'll take care of both matters at once."

A trace of surprise appeared on Han Tao's face. "Really?"

Although he had arrived first, he was now going to become Xue Qinghe's Junior Brother. That was very unfair.

But for the weak, fairness did not exist in the first place. The most important thing was to recognize one's own position.

Han Tao did not show any dissatisfaction, nor did he dare to.

If he became the Senior Disciple Brother instead, it would be an act of overstepping. It would damage the dignity of the Heaven Dou imperial family and might even lead to someone causing trouble for him.

"Of course it's true!"

Seeing Han Tao's response, Ning Fengzhi smiled as though he had completely forgotten something.

After taking him as a disciple, Han Tao naturally became Ning Fengzhi's second disciple.

"Big Brother!" Han Tao cupped his hands.

"Second Brother!" Xue Qinghe replied with a smile.

"Junior Brother Han, I came in such a hurry that I didn't prepare a gift."

"This Crown Prince Token will serve as Big Brother's gift to welcome you."

Xue Qinghe took out the token symbolizing the Crown Prince's identity from his Soul Tool and handed it to his Junior Brother.

Han Tao did not refuse. The Crown Prince Token was merely a symbol of identity, but its practical significance was immense.

With this token, the Heaven Dou Empire's Library Pavilion would not restrict him.

He could also enter the Heaven Dou Royal Academy, and directly use the Simulated Training Field inside.

However, if he wanted to use the token to enroll in a Soul Master Academy and study there, that truly would not be possible. Favoritism and corruption were unacceptable.

The Soul Master Academy and the Crown Prince both valued their reputations. They would not use under-the-table rules, so he could not blame the token for being useless.

Moreover, with this token, even the Pope of Spirit Hall would give him some consideration.

"Thank you, Big Brother!" Han Tao put away the token and thanked his Big Brother.

After dealing with the trivial matters of daily life, Han Tao returned to his dormitory and began isolating himself.

"Damn it, this disgusting Level 19!"

The bottleneck at Level 19 stood before Han Tao like a natural chasm. Even with countless methods at his disposal, he found it difficult to cross that towering mountain.

"Junior Brother Han, have you run into some kind of difficulty?"

Seeing the worry on Han Tao's face, Xue Qinghe walked over and asked curiously.

"Hmm! Hmm?"

Han Tao had initially thought Xiao Yuan had come. He had not expected it to be his newly acknowledged Big Brother.

"What is it? Have you encountered a difficulty but don't want to share it with Big Brother?"

Han Tao shook his head and replied, "You can't solve it."

Deep in Xue Qinghe's heart lay an extreme arrogance. It was something his Martial Soul had given him.

A God-level Martial Soul represented attributes that crushed all other Soul Masters, and those attributes were innate to him.

"Why not tell me anyway?"

Xue Qinghe was very confident. He controlled the resources of the two greatest powers, Spirit Hall and the Heaven Dou Empire, and believed there was no difficulty he could not solve.

Han Tao shook his head helplessly. "I'm stuck at a level!"

"My Soul Power is stuck at Level 19. I can't break through."

His words carried a hint of dejection.

A genius needed only a few strokes to reach a place that ordinary people could spend their entire lives struggling to attain.

If physique, Soul Power, and Mental Power were not the shackles preventing a breakthrough in rank, then only two possibilities remained: Martial Soul quality and Bloodline talent.

And there was practically no way to resolve either of them.

"Uh, well, this Big Brother really doesn't have any solution." Xue Qinghe brushed him off.

He knew about Yu Xiaogang, who had studied Spirit Hall's records and created the Ten Core Competencies of Soul Masters.

Even such an outstanding Theoretical Master was constrained by his talent, let alone himself.

How could someone completely ignorant of theory provide a solution?

"I awakened at Level 20. How would I know what to do when someone is stuck at Level 19?"

A faint sense of superiority quietly rose within him.

Han Tao waved his hand and stopped paying attention to his well-meaning Big Brother's consolation. He still decided to think of a solution himself.

According to the original story, it seemed that the only thing capable of saving Han Tao was an Immortal Herb.

But if he relied on an Immortal Herb to break through, then what was the point of researching theory? It would mean that all his effort, all his thought, exploration, and achievements were inferior to talent and luck.

That would be a denial of everything he had done in the past and a devastating blow to his future exploration, but those were not the key points.

The most important thing was that Immortal Herbs, the greatest opportunity on the Douluo Continent, were closely linked to Fortune.

Having plans and ideas but being unable to obtain one was the greatest problem.