When Xue Ye saw that Long Yue was the young man with the enormous appetite, he could not help warming to him.
With the gentle kindness of an elder, Xue Ye asked with a smile, "What is your cultivation level, young man? What position do you hold in the Divine Realm Empire after graduating from the Monster Academy?"
"I am nothing special. I am twelve years old, a Soul Ancestor, and still studying at the Monster Academy," Long Yue said modestly.
Twelve fucking years old?
Xue Ye choked on his words, the corner of Xue Qinghe's mouth twitched, and Prince Xue Xing almost swore aloud.
Look at you-with that towering build, those broad shoulders and that massive back-and you're telling me you're only twelve?
You must be joking!
The contrast was so startling that Xue Ye unconsciously overlooked the earlier words, "a Soul Ancestor."
Neither servile nor overbearing, Long Yue said, "Because of my martial soul, my body grew up in something of a hurry. But that is precisely how I live up to the Monster Academy's name."
"The Monster Academy..." Xue Ye mulled over the academy's name. "Is it an academy in your country dedicated to nurturing monsters?"
Long Yue nodded. "Every student at the Monster Academy is a future elite Soul Master of the Divine Realm Empire. Without exception."
"Ha ha."
Xue Ye had a very favorable impression of Long Yue. A boy who ate with such gusto could hardly have much guile. "The Divine Realm Empire's young talents truly are impressive. Hm? Did you just say you were a Soul..."
Xue Ye suddenly remembered that Long Yue had said he was a Soul Ancestor.
How was that possible? A twelve-year-old Soul Ancestor!
"You are actually a Soul Ancestor? Truly?" Xue Qinghe stared at Long Yue, suddenly intrigued.
Twelve-year-old Soul Elders were rare, but not unheard of.
For instance, the disciple that woman in the Spirit Hall favored... Hu Liena, a twelve-year-old, three-ring Soul Elder.
But that was all they amounted to-ordinary geniuses, not heaven-defying prodigies.
Long Yue's talent could almost be compared to Qian Renxue's own.
The God Level martial soul, the Six-Winged Angel, had given Qian Renxue an innate Soul Power of rank twenty, so becoming a Soul Ancestor at twelve was no great challenge for someone with a God Level martial soul.
But how had Long Yue done it? Could he have a God Level martial soul too?
"Merely a Soul Ancestor." Long Yue gave a friendly smile. "My martial soul is powerful enough, so I have simply benefited from a strong bloodline."
A powerful martial soul, a strong bloodline... Could it be!
Qian Renxue spun an entire drama in her mind: did Long Yue, from the Divine Realm Empire, also possess a God Level martial soul?
If such a God Level martial soul could be passed down, that proved the Spirit Ice Continent had definitely produced a God Level powerhouse.
A trace of the indifference beneath Xue Qinghe's mild gaze faded. He finally began to regard Long Yue seriously, as an equal. "You must be among the best of the Spirit Ice Continent's younger generation, then? Truly impressive."
There were very few people Qian Renxue sincerely treated as equals. Long Yue now counted among them.
Long Yue felt that Xue Qinghe's gaze carried a persistent heat. He awkwardly looked away. "I would prefer that Your Highness call me the champion."
The champion!
Number one!
What a bold claim!
"Ha ha, excellent!" Xue Ye laughed heartily.
Long Yue certainly had the right to be proud. That unruly, outstanding bearing only made Xue Ye feel that the young man was frank and honest.
Youth without a little recklessness was youth wasted. Besides, Long Yue was a twelve-year-old Soul Ancestor; there was nothing wrong with a little pride.
"Long Yue, would you be willing to exchange a few moves with the Heaven Dou Empire's young Soul Masters?"
Xue Ye extended an invitation:
"To be honest, though the Heaven Dou Royal Academy, our empire's highest institution, has quite a few geniuses, their horizons are still too narrow. They have been protected too well.
"If those lads could experience the brilliance of the Divine Realm Empire's foremost young Soul Master and learn something of your spirit and bearing, it would be a good thing."
"Sure!"
Before Sima Lanxiao could speak, Long Yue readily agreed. "I love doing good deeds. And not just the Heaven Dou Royal Academy-I hear the Four Elements Academy near Heaven Dou City is famous too. They can join us for some sparring and exchange."
Xue Ye could not have wished for more. "Excellent! Then let us invite them all."
Long Yue did not feign modesty either. "Thank you, Your Majesty. I would also like to see what level my peers on the Douluo Continent have reached."
"Ha ha, refreshingly straightforward indeed."
Xue Ye felt that, among this group from the Divine Realm Empire, only Long Yue suited his taste-the boy was direct, hid nothing, and had no guile.
The delegation's residence.
"Xue Ye asked you to interact with the younger generation. What were you thinking, agreeing so quickly?"
Sima Lanxiao sat across the table from Long Yue. On the table lay fruit prepared for the delegation.
Long Yue reached out and plucked a grape. It had purple skin and silver flesh, and looked quite beautiful.
Long Yue popped the silver flesh into his mouth and chewed, sending juice everywhere. "I was thinking sitting down."
"..." Sima Lanxiao was speechless.
"I don't think it matters." Only when he noticed Sima Lanxiao's expression sour did Long Yue explain, "Besides, weren't you planning to agree too?"
"The delegation's purpose was always to promote exchanges between the younger generations of the Spirit Ice Continent and the Douluo Continent." The moment Sima Lanxiao opened his mouth, he went straight to the political mission. "This is also a way to display the empire's might. You represent the dignity of the Spirit Ice Continent."
"I wasn't thinking as much as you were, Minister." Long Yue plucked another grape and put it in his mouth. "I just wanted to make a few friends in the Heaven Dou Empire. Otherwise, how boring would that be?"
As he spoke, Long Yue picked up the bunch of grapes and sprawled back into the sofa, putting his feet on the table.
"Hey, if you ask me, if His Majesty really wants a taste of having all nations come to pay homage, he might as well invite the Douluo Continent's elite Soul Masters to the Spirit Ice Continent to take part in..."
Long Yue considered it for a moment before continuing, "The Cross-Continental Elite Soul Master Tournament."
"Cross-Continental... Elite Soul Master Tournament?" Sima Lanxiao found the idea novel. "Let them see our empire's strength for themselves, as though on an inspection tour?"
"The power to define culture-or rather, cultural hegemony."
Dangling the bunch of grapes, Long Yue clapped his hands and straightened up. "Ah-exactly! That's what I was trying to express."
Long Yue chewed up and swallowed the entire bunch of grapes, stems and all, then began pacing briskly in circles.
"A vast ocean separates us from the Douluo Continent. It protects the empire's homeland, but also restricts its ability to deploy military force on a large scale.
"The Spirit Ice Continent is all wilderness. The empire can't leave its own homeland undeveloped just to come play at conquest on the Douluo Continent.
"Since ruling the Douluo Continent through political and military power would be inconvenient, why not rule it through culture... or rather, maintain cultural hegemony?"
Sima Lanxiao's eyes lit up. "Tell me more."
"Lord Sima, I've already said all this to old man En Ci. Don't go taking my ideas and passing them off as your own political achievements..."
Long Yue happened to have walked behind Sima Lanxiao. He bent down and rested a hand on Sima Lanxiao's shoulder.
"Tsk. Or, when you submit your proposal for a cultural hegemony policy, put my name down as the second author."
Sima Lanxiao thought it over and realized that he indeed could not complete this proposal on his own. Besides, Long Yue had Imperial Preceptor En Ci backing him, and that was rather too formidable a connection.
So he said:
"Ha ha... I am not so shameless as to swindle a child out of his accomplishments. Go on, then. What sort of cultural hegemony should the empire pursue?"
Before you continue