The main hall in the inner courtyard of the Crown Prince's Residence in Heaven Dou.
Qian Renxue wore a white fox-fur robe threaded with gold as she sat behind a broad rosewood desk, reading documents sent from the empire's provinces.
Just then, someone hurriedly pushed open the hall doors.
Qian Renxue looked up and immediately saw the blood still staining Meng Chen, along with the guard following behind him.
Buzz!
"What happened?"
Qian Renxue rose and came around the desk to meet them, her eyes icy as killing intent flashed within them.
The guard jumped in fright and hurriedly explained, "Your Highness, the young lord just returned from outside with blood on him. I dared not delay. Once I confirmed that he wasn't injured, I brought him here immediately!"
Hearing this, Qian Renxue's heart eased somewhat.
"All right. You may leave."
The guard had been terrified that the Crown Prince would take her anger out on him. At these words, he dared not linger and hurriedly bowed before withdrawing.
Once the guard left, only Qian Renxue and Meng Chen remained in the room.
"Little Chen, tell me. What happened?"
As Qian Renxue spoke, she looked him up and down, afraid that something might be wrong with him.
Meng Chen shook his head. "Brother Qinghe, I'm fine. The blood on me isn't mine."
Then Meng Chen recounted the ambush in the Maple Forest in the southern outskirts.
He kept his wits about him, however, and said nothing about killing the Soul Ancestors or Gu Yuena's appearance.
Instead, he said that he had briefly immobilized his enemies with Spiritual Charm, then escaped using teleportation.
After all, a Soul Grandmaster killing a Soul Ancestor was far too earth-shattering. If he added Gu Yuena to the account, he could forget about living such peaceful days ever again.
Even though Meng Chen did his best to make the story sound ordinary, when he mentioned being hunted by Soul Ancestors,
Qian Renxue's expression still shifted again and again.
A short while later, when Meng Chen finished explaining everything, all trace of refined gentleness had vanished from Qian Renxue's face, replaced by utterly cold killing intent.
Even setting Spirit Hall aside, her current cover identity alone was the Heaven Dou Empire's Crown Prince!
That title alone was enough for her to cover the sky with one hand in the Heaven Dou Empire.
Yet someone had actually dared to break ground over the god of calamity's head.
"Good. Very good."
Who didn't know that Meng Chen was under her protection?
He had even taken first place in the Heaven Dou Royal Academy's Freshman Tournament not long ago.
Yet at such a turbulent moment, those people had openly dispatched two Four-Ring Soul Ancestors to brazenly lay an ambush in Heaven Dou City.
This was no longer an assassination attempt. It was two vicious slaps across her face in front of everyone.
There was no need to think about it. Once word got out, everyone would consider her a weak Crown Prince who could be bullied.
"Heh. They really think I'm a soft persimmon they can squeeze."
After murmuring those words, Qian Renxue suppressed her fury and turned to reassure Meng Chen.
"Little Chen, don't worry. I won't spare a single person who tried to hurt you."
Meng Chen naturally had no doubts about that.
It was a joke to think otherwise. Qian Renxue had a Titled Douluo protecting her, and as the Heaven Dou Crown Prince, she also had high-ranking Soul Masters under her command in droves.
Still, he had to play his part.
So he put on a worried look and asked, "Brother Xue, why don't we leave this matter alone for now? I'm all right, aren't I?"
But seeing Meng Chen act like this reignited the anger Qian Renxue had only just suppressed.
Look at him! What a good child! He was the one who had been ambushed, yet he was still thinking of me.
If I, his big brother, couldn't give him an answer, I truly wouldn't deserve to hear him call me that.
"What? Don't you trust me?"
"No, no, Brother Xue, I..."
"All right. Go back and get some rest. Don't go to the academy for the next couple of days."
Meng Chen knew he had said enough. He offered no further words and turned to leave the room.
Watching his retreating back, Qian Renxue turned toward the space behind the curtains in the side hall.
"Elder Snake Lance!"
The shadows rippled, and a tall, thin, middle-aged man stepped out without a sound.
"Young Mistress."
Snake Lance Douluo bowed slightly, his expression solemn.
He had been listening nearby while Meng Chen described his ordeal.
A promising young talent valued by his young mistress had nearly been snuffed out in the city's outskirts.
To a Titled Douluo who protected Qian Renxue from the shadows, this was an enormous provocation as well.
"Investigate!"
Qian Renxue narrowed her phoenix eyes and spoke each word distinctly.
"Shadow Ghost Bat and Heavy Armor Mad Rhino-neither of these martial souls is ordinary. Check the imperial guard's investiture registers, the city guard's retirement records, and the covert networks of every provincial office in the capital!"
"Before nightfall, I want to know exactly who stands behind those two!"
"Whether they're deathsworn soldiers Prince Xue Xing keeps in the shadows or some other restless dogs, once you have proof..."
Qian Renxue coldly spat out her next words.
"Root them out."
"They dared touch one of mine. I'll make them understand what it means to regret ever being born into this world!"
"As you command!"
Snake Lance Douluo bowed, his body turning into a streak of shadow before vanishing without a trace.
Meanwhile, outside Heaven Dou City, at the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect's headquarters.
Inside the sect's grand, exquisite castle, Ning Rongrong had been idly playing with a box of translucent spirit fruit pastries in her bedroom.
But when she heard her guard report the news from the southern outskirts,
the little girl who feared neither heaven nor earth looked as though she had been struck by lightning.
She had stationed this guard outside the Crown Prince's Residence as her eyes and ears in the first place. She didn't want anyone to trick her playmate away from her.
So she had arranged for someone to keep watch outside the Crown Prince's Residence.
"You're saying Meng Chen returned to the Crown Prince's Residence covered in blood?"
"Yes, miss! I wanted to ask what had happened, but that guard never came back out after going inside."
The guard looked troubled too. His young mistress was very close to Meng Chen, after all, and he had even received quite a few rewards lately because of Meng Chen.
Hearing that there was no further news, Ning Rongrong stamped her feet in anxiety.
"Miss, I think you could ask the Sect Master. He must know."
At that, Ning Rongrong came to her senses. She immediately lifted her skirt and ran out, rushing from her room and pushing open the doors to the sect's council hall.
"Daddy! Grandpa Sword! Hurry and do something!"
Inside the hall, Ning Fengzhi and Sword Douluo Chen Xin sat facing each other, an unfolded intelligence report before them. Their expressions were somewhat grim.
Seeing Ning Rongrong rush over with worry written all over her face, Ning Fengzhi understood what his daughter was concerned about.
"Rongrong, don't panic. The boy is fine."
Ning Fengzhi soothed his daughter, a rare trace of anger in his gentle eyes.
"According to the news sent back by the Crown Prince, Meng Chen used his teleportation soul skill and has already returned safely to the Crown Prince's Residence."
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