Heaven Dou Imperial Palace.
"Have you found the Vast Sea Cosmic Shroud?"
Xue Ye asked from his dragon throne.
"Your Majesty, we are still searching!"
"I am certain the Vast Sea Cosmic Shroud is still somewhere within the palace."
Ge Long spoke with absolute conviction.
"Ge Long, what makes you say that?"
Xue Ye asked.
"We found no Vast Sea Cosmic Shroud on Wei Fan yesterday. He must have hidden it somewhere on the imperial grounds."
"Wei Fan was under my surveillance the entire time yesterday, and he left empty-handed."
"Therefore, I am certain that Wei Fan has not yet taken the Vast Sea Cosmic Shroud out of the palace."
"..."
Ge Long explained his reasoning, though inwardly he was utterly baffled.
He had already dispatched ten squads of Royal Knights. They had even sifted through the mud in the lotus pond, yet there was still no sign of the Vast Sea Cosmic Shroud.
Where on earth did Wei Fan hide the national treasure?
"Enough!"
"Ge Long, stop pinning everything on Wei Fan."
In Xue Ye's eyes, Ge Long was simply looking for excuses to absolve himself.
If Wei Fan were the thief, he would surely have shown his tail yesterday.
If, as Ge Long claimed, Wei Fan had not managed to take the Vast Sea Cosmic Shroud out of the palace, why had they still not found it?
Were the Royal Knights all shit-eaters?
Besides, Wei Fan was only a three-ring Soul Elder. Could he really have escaped Ge Long twice?
And Wei Fan was worlds apart from the Soul King with five Ten Thousand Year Soul Rings that Ge Long had described.
Where on the Douluo Continent could such a Soul Master exist?
Every sign pointed to Ge Long spouting nonsense simply to avoid taking responsibility.
Did he really take Xue Ye for a fool?
Had he not believed Ge Long's rubbish, he might already have succeeded in recruiting Wei Fan to serve the Heaven Dou Empire.
"Your Majesty, I guarantee that I will recover the Vast Sea Cosmic Shroud."
Ge Long knew Xue Ye did not believe him.
What else could he do?
Only by finding the Vast Sea Cosmic Shroud could he prove that everything he had said was true.
"Go."
"Yes!"
Ge Long took his leave.
"Father, who made you so angry this time?"
Xue Ke came running over like a little sparrow.
"Now that I've seen you, all my anger has vanished."
Xue Ye smiled faintly, the anger on his face swiftly melting away.
"Father, are you angry over what happened with Wei Fan? Do you really want him to serve our imperial family?"
Xue Ke's red lips curved upward.
"You clever little imp. You even managed to guess that."
"Yes, I did have that in mind."
"Searching a Soul Tool already violates a Soul Master's taboos. After yesterday's commotion, I'm afraid Wei Fan won't accept our imperial family's olive branch."
Soul Masters were proud by nature, and genius Soul Masters were even more so!
After all these years, the Heaven Dou Empire still had only one Titled Douluo serving as a guest elder: Dugu Bo.
Although the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect supported the Heaven Dou Empire, the sect remained independent and was not subject to the Empire's commands.
"Father, why not let me try?"
"Wei Fan and I are classmates at Moonlight Pavilion. We're on very good terms."
Xue Ke's eyes darted, as though she had an idea.
"You can do it?"
"Let me try!"
Wei Fan's room.
He directed a wisp of soul power into the space between his brows, and a dazzling mass of azure light instantly filled the room.
As the light flared, a tiny point of light emerged from between his brows.
The point gradually grew, becoming an azure triangular solid in the blink of an eye.
The Vast Sea Cosmic Shroud!
During yesterday's battle with Ge Long, he had used two of the Vast Sea Cosmic Shroud's skills in succession: the Vast Sea Protective Shroud and Cosmic Demon-Breaking!
Even he was astonished by how he could control the Vast Sea Cosmic Shroud as naturally as moving his own arm.
The moment the Vast Sea Cosmic Shroud reached his hands, he had known how to use it, and it had felt incredibly familiar.
That was also why he had known he could store the Vast Sea Cosmic Shroud directly between his brows.
Could he be the child chosen by the Sea God?
That couldn't be right!
He knew better than anyone that he could not inherit the Sea God godhood.
Forget it!
He would take it one step at a time!
With the Vast Sea Cosmic Shroud, he at least had another way to save his life at level fifty-one.
In yesterday's battle, Cosmic Demon-Breaking had even sent an Eight-Ring Soul Douluo like Ge Long tumbling.
That was such a rush!
At that thought, he summoned the Vast Sea Cosmic Shroud back into his hand and poured his soul power into it...
Four skills appeared in his mind...
The first skill was the Vast Sea Protective Shroud, a defensive barrier that could block attacks while also concealing those within it.
He had used this very skill in Swan Tower to evade Ge Long's search!
The second skill was the Cosmic Spirit-Binding Shroud, which could briefly immobilize enemies whose spiritual power was less than three times his own.
The third skill was Vast Sea Raging Waves.
The fourth skill was Cosmic Demon-Breaking.
The last two were offensive skills. His battle with Ge Long had already shown him the power of Cosmic Demon-Breaking, so Vast Sea Raging Waves would presumably be no slouch either.
Their only drawback was that activating either skill required him to pour all his soul power into it.
"Looks like I can't use these two skills lightly. If the enemy doesn't go down, I will."
That was Wei Fan's verdict on the last two soul skills.
Crown Prince's Palace.
"Your Highness, you wished to see me?"
Ge Long entered the palace and spoke with a bow.
He was puzzled. He rarely interacted with the crown prince, so why had he suddenly been summoned?
"Marshal Ge Long, please sit!"
Qian Renxue motioned for an attendant to serve tea.
"Thank you, Your Highness!"
Ge Long was completely at sea. What was this all about now?
"Marshal Ge Long, I have a few questions for you."
"When you fought the thief that day, did he release his martial soul with his left hand or his right?"
Qian Renxue wanted to use this detail to determine whether the thief had twin martial souls.
Tool martial souls were different from beast martial souls!
Beast martial souls manifested through possession, while tool martial souls were generally formed in the right hand.
"His right!"
Ge Long answered without hesitation.
Didn't martial souls always manifest in the right hand?
Why would the crown prince ask that?
He was utterly bewildered!
"All right, I understand!"
"Thank you for your efforts, Marshal Ge Long."
Ge Long left the Crown Prince's Palace without even taking a sip of tea.
What the hell was that?
One simple question, and that was it?
Wasn't this just holding up his search for the Vast Sea Cosmic Shroud?
After Ge Long left, a figure slowly emerged from a corner of the Crown Prince's Palace.
"Snake Lance, what news is there from the Elder Hall?"
Qian Renxue's voice instantly turned cool and aloof, worlds apart from how it had sounded moments before.
"The Great Enshrined said Wei Fan has only one martial soul: water!"
Snake Lance Douluo replied with a bow.
Only one martial soul?
She knew her grandfather would not lie to her.
It seemed the person who had entered her room that day really was not Wei Fan.
She had indeed been overthinking it!
No matter who that person was, she would find him.
After walking some distance, Ge Long suddenly saw the light...
"Ah!"
He slapped his forehead, inwardly cursing himself for being such a dumbass.
Why hadn't he grasped the crown prince's meaning earlier? If Wei Fan had twin martial souls, that would explain the trident martial soul.
If Wei Fan really had a second martial soul, that would be terrifying!
Still, that did not explain the five Ten Thousand Year Soul Rings. Either way, this was a crucial lead for him.
Once he found the Vast Sea Cosmic Shroud in the palace, he would find a way to force Wei Fan to reveal his second martial soul.
He had to arrest that bastard who had dragged his reputation through the mud and taken his salary!
Before you continue