Heaven Dou City.
Inside the Crown Prince's Bedchamber.
Qian Renxue looked at Tang San, who had arrived uninvited, and raised an eyebrow, an elegant smile still on her face.
"Tang San, weren't you at the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect? How do you still have the leisure to come here?"
"I heard you recently stirred up some trouble in the Star Dou Great Forest and spoiled the Pope's plans. Why come to me instead of going to her?"
Even though she had remained in Heaven Dou City, Qian Renxue was extremely well informed. Whether through her identity as the Heaven Dou Crown Prince or her position in Spirit Hall, her information channels were far from poor.
The corner of Tang San's mouth twitched slightly at her words.
Sure enough, a woman's mouth was a lying devil.
After learning what had happened in the Star Dou Great Forest, she had wanted to meet him, even sending people to find him at the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect.
It was only because Qian Renxue was still posing as the crown prince of the Heaven Dou Empire that Ning Fengzhi had not grown suspicious.
"Your Highness, you must be joking. Haven't you been looking for me all this time?"
Tang San looked straight into Qian Renxue's eyes as he spoke.
"If you have something to say, say it to my face."
The smile on Qian Renxue's face deepened. As though there had been some misunderstanding, she pulled Tang San down to sit.
"I'm only concerned about you. Although you spoiled His Holiness the Pope's plans, you've made considerable contributions here during this time. The matter of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, for instance."
"As long as I put in a few good words with His Holiness the Pope, I believe what happened in Star Dou won't amount to anything serious."
After sitting down, Tang San lowered his eyes to his nose and focused his mind inward, refusing even to look Qian Renxue in the eye.
"Just get to the point."
At those words, the smile on Qian Renxue's lovely face froze, and a trace of displeasure flashed through her eyes.
"Hmph... you certainly are impatient."
"Do you know why the Pope sent you away but kept Hu Liena at Spirit Hall?"
"Clearly, the next Pope has already been chosen behind closed doors. You can't compete with Hu Liena at all. Sending you here was meant to keep both of us in check."
Tang San was rather speechless.
Did I really need you to tell me that?
Bibi Dong had previously valued Hu Liena, so quite a few people had followed her lead in supporting Hu Liena. Without Tang San, Hu Liena's succession as Pope would have been as certain as a nail driven into a board.
But everything had changed after Tang San joined.
Everyone in Spirit Hall now knew about his relationship with Hu Liena. At the same time, word of Tang San's strength had spread from mouth to mouth, steadily leaving an impression.
On top of that, Yue Guan liked to sing his praises whenever he had nothing else to do, so Tang San also had a group of supporters in Spirit Hall, rivaling Hu Liena's faction.
Spirit Hall was not a place where Bibi Dong's word alone ruled supreme. This silly girl, Qian Renxue, was rather naive if she thought those few words would make Tang San switch allegiance to her Qian Family.
After a moment of contemplation, Tang San asked, "And then?"
"I'm the Pope's disciple to begin with. What's wrong with following the Pope's arrangements?"
Qian Renxue slowly stood up, her expression already carrying a hint of displeasure.
"Must I spell it out? Dai Mubai and the others in the Star Dou Great Forest were personally selected by His Holiness the Pope to join Spirit Hall. You've made enemies of them and stopped Spirit Hall from hunting a hundred-thousand-year soul beast. You'll definitely be punished when you return to Spirit Hall!"
"To tell you the truth, although several elders of the Worship Hall have switched to supporting Bibi Dong, a few still stand with the Qian Family."
"Join us, or all you'll face afterward is suppression from the Pope. Understand?"
"Now, I'm giving you a chance to take part in my Usurpation Plan. That would count as a contribution on your part, and only then will you have a chance to compete for the position of Pope."
"I don't care who becomes Pope, as long as it isn't that woman. At the same time, you need to understand that no matter who the Pope is, the strongest elder of the Worship Hall can only ever be someone from the Qian Family!"
After that speech, Qian Renxue felt she had been wonderfully eloquent and was certain she could easily persuade Tang San.
Unexpectedly, Tang San looked up at her with the expression of someone looking at an idiot.
"I'll be fine if I join the Qian Family? Why don't you go back and ask the strongest elder of the Worship Hall who he's supporting now?"
As his words fell, Qian Renxue's face instantly flushed red.
"You!"
Tang San continued his barrage. "And that Usurpation Plan of yours-don't make me laugh."
"With your talent and Martial Soul, how could your Soul Power have progressed so slowly if you'd cultivated properly?"
"You started with a heaven-sent winning hand, yet played it into a complete mess. I don't understand how that brain of yours works. Do you really think your plan is as seamless as a heavenly robe?"
"Twenty years, and Xue Ye still isn't dead. Have you administered the poison I gave you? He's practically going to die of old age!"
Those few remarks left Qian Renxue seething with anger.
As Qian Daoliu's granddaughter and a supreme genius with innate level 20 Soul Power, when had Qian Renxue ever encountered anyone who spoke to her like this?
Moreover, Tang San's words were tantamount to erasing all her efforts over the past twenty years, telling Qian Renxue that those twenty years had all been fed to the dogs.
"Don't forget the matter of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect. The Soul Hunting Operation is a major undertaking. If I'm not mistaken, you have your own plans for wanting to protect the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, don't you?"
"You think you're clever, yet you want the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect to remain untouched by the Soul Hunting Operation? How is that possible!"
"If the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect doesn't surrender in its entirety tomorrow and affects the Soul Hunting Operation, let's see how you explain yourself!"
Tang San was even more speechless at that and rolled his eyes.
"Do you really think Ning Fengzhi is an idiot like you?"
"We're leaving the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect alone because there are greater benefits that way. I've already gained preliminary control over the sect. By excluding them, we can sow suspicion within the Upper Three Sects, which originally shared one breath and interwoven branches."
"Just imagine: all the other sects are attacked, but only the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect is unharmed. What would those sects think?"
"That way, the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect won't have a choice even if it doesn't want to join us!"
"There's clearly a better way. Why won't you use your brain at all?"
Tang San had not wanted to be so blunt, but he had no choice. Qian Renxue's way of thinking really was rather abnormal.
Thinking about it, that made sense. After all, how normal could someone capable of coming up with something as absurd as the Usurpation Plan be?
Still, problems with her brain aside, Qian Renxue's talent and Martial Soul were both top-tier. Once he took over Spirit Hall, he would definitely have to bring her under his command.
But what form that would take was another matter entirely.
Tang San would not obediently let Qian Renxue manipulate him. Instead, he would take complete control of her.
Who was on top and who was underneath sometimes did not matter, and sometimes mattered a great deal.
His speech had already infuriated Qian Renxue so much that she could not even maintain her disguise.
She had never imagined that the cunning she took such pride in would suffer such a crushing defeat before Tang San!
"Tang San!"
Qian Renxue spoke through gritted teeth, a cold gleam flashing through her eyes.
"I'll make you understand that talk alone is useless. Among Soul Masters, strength reigns supreme!"
Tang San stood up and said with perfect composure, "So you fucking knew that all along?"
"Then why didn't you focus on improving your strength first, instead of running off to work on some grand plan to destroy an empire?"
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