The two opened the door, and there stood Xue Qinghe, smiling, still with his usual gentle demeanor. When he saw Dugu Yan in Jun Yi's room, a hint of surprise appeared on his face, followed by a teasing look as he asked, "Did I come at the wrong time?"
" Your Highness Qinghe, you've misunderstood. Jun Yi and I were just chatting in the room; nothing happened."
Dugu Yan quickly waved her hand, realizing that Xue Qinghe had misunderstood.
Xue Qinghe glanced at Jun Yi and noticed that he was in much better spirits than the last time they met. She continued with a smile, "Yeah, yeah, I understand. Brother Yi has grown up, it's normal for him to have a girlfriend. But I must remind you two to take precautions."
" Your Highness Qinghe, we really didn't!"
Dugu Yan's face instantly turned red, and she lowered her head shyly, not knowing what to say. She hadn't done anything wrong, but it was as if the two of them had done something bad and been caught by their parents.
At this moment, Jun Yi interjected, " Brother Xue, you've really misunderstood. Sister Yanyan was just trying to comfort me; we didn't do anything strange."
Upon hearing this, Xue Qinghe smiled brightly and said, "Alright, alright, I won't tease you anymore, Miss Dugu. I was just joking with you, I hope you'll forgive me."
"No, it's nothing." Dugu Yan still looked shy.
" Brother Xue, is there something you need to tell me today?" Jun Yi asked.
Xue Qinghe nodded and said, "Yes, Father Emperor asked me to bring you something, and there are some things he needs me to relay to you."
"Um, Your Highness Qinghe, Jun Yi, you two chat, I'll head back now."
After saying this, Dugu Yan bowed to Xue Qinghe and then left Jun Yi's dormitory as if fleeing a disaster.
Watching Dugu Yan Yan's hasty departure, Xue Qinghe chuckled, "She's quite cute."
Jun Yi smiled slightly. "Yes."
Jun Yi actually smile, Qian Renxue looked jealous and teased Jun Yi, "Last time I saw you, you had such a tense face, but this time after seeing Dugu Yan, you're in such a good mood and you even smiled. You weren't like this when you were facing me last time."
" Sister Xue, let's go inside and talk."
Jun Yi did not answer Qian Renxue's question, but invited her into the room. She walked to the sofa and sat down. Then, another golden light flashed, and she returned to her original appearance, still looking lazy.
"Your dorm room is really simple."
Qian Renxue looked around Jun Yi's room and found that apart from the standard furniture provided by the academy, there were no personal belongings of Jun Yi on the outside, giving it a lifeless and empty feeling.
Jun Yi glanced at Qian Renxue's beautiful face, then turned and poured her a cup of tea, handing it to her before asking, " Sister Xue, aren't you afraid that revealing your true appearance will expose your true identity?"
"I'm not afraid. So what if others know my identity? If he can survive the time it takes to brew a cup of tea, I'll consider it a loss."
Qian Renxue took the tea, sipped it carefully, and said...
"Back then, Xue Luochuan discovered some flaws in my work, which aroused his suspicion. That very noon, I used a little trick to kill him in front of the royal guards. If even a prince could be killed like that, what about others?"
Qian Renxue's tone was filled with strong confidence. For someone like her who had never experienced failure, anything could be easily solved, which was both a good thing and a bad thing.
Upon hearing this, Jun Yi sat down in another chair and smiled slightly, " Sister Xue, you didn't come here today just to tell me about your past deeds, did you?"
"Of course not, I brought you a treasure."
After saying that, Qian Renxue lazily took out the Vast Sea Cosmic Shroud from her ring, and the blue light instantly illuminated the entire room in blue.
" Xue Ye has really gone all out this time. After learning about your conflict with the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, he decided to do everything in his power to bring you into the Heaven Dou Imperial Family. In his eyes, the only thing you can rely on right now is the Heaven Dou Imperial Family, so he simply did you a favor and said he would give you this."
As she spoke, Qian Renxue played with the Vast Sea Cosmic Shroud in her hand, looking at its crystal-clear appearance with a puzzled expression in her eyes.
"How do you use this thing? I studied it for a while after I got it, and it feels like a glowing stone."
Jun Yi explained, "Its activation method is somewhat special. If it's not activated, its only function is indeed to emit light."
Qian Renxue placed it in her left palm, in front of her, and said, "Activate it, I want to see."
Jun Yi stepped forward, took the Vast Sea Cosmic Shroud, and then said, "Once activated, you probably won't be able to see it anymore."
Qian Renxue did not understand Jun Yi's words. Jun Yi took out a fist-sized, crystal-clear Ice Ball from his storage ring, which contained a drop of blood that looked extremely solid.
"To activate it, we need our blood."
As he spoke, Jun Yi melted the Ice Ball in his hand and dripped the drop of blood he had been staring at into it. Immediately afterward, the Vast Sea Cosmic Shroud seemed to change, and the originally blue halo gradually turned red.
Not long after, a faint blue light drifted out from the Vast Sea Cosmic Shroud, condensing into a very faint phantom image. A calm yet aged voice rang out, "Finally, we've found a physique capable of withstanding the Vast Sea Power. The owner of this essence blood is truly talented, even surpassing me in my prime."
A flash of blue light, and it disappeared back into the triangular shape of the Vast Sea Cosmic Shroud. The halo on the triangular shape suddenly receded, and then, as if it had gained its own soul, it transformed into a blue stream of light, instantly rushing out of the window and flying away from Jun Yi's hand.
"It seems to be just as I thought. As long as Zhu Zhuqing's essence blood is dripped in, the Vast Sea Cosmic Shroud will automatically activate and directly search for Zhu Zhuqing."
Jun Yi wasn't surprised at all; everything happening before his eyes was within his expectations. Back in the Far North Ice Plains, Jun Yi had taken a drop of Zhu Zhuqing's essence blood and preserved it in Ice Ball in order to activate the Vast Sea Cosmic Shroud. He clearly remembered that in the original story, Tang San had consumed a large amount of ordinary blood to activate the Vast Sea Cosmic Shroud. If it weren't for the Blue Silver Emperor's Soul Skill, Endless Life, which could continuously generate blood for him, Tang San would probably have died on the spot.
"Was that phantom just now the Sea God?" Qian Renxue asked curiously.
"Yes and no. To put it simply, it was merely a projection of the Sea God's consciousness, intended to find Soul Master capable of fusing with the Vast Sea Power to integrate with this Vast Sea Cosmic Shroud."
(End of this chapter)