"Sixteen years old, rank forty-three, with an External Soul Bone and a ten-thousand-year fourth Soul Ring. Our Sun Moon Empire has finally produced a true genius. At last, it isn't all bad news."
Not long ago, Crown Prince Xu Tianran's imperial uncle and his older and younger female cousins had suddenly died violent deaths, their bodies left in an utterly gruesome state.
To investigate the matter, his father had personally led an army to surround the imperial palace. He had intended to help his eldest nephew ascend the throne, but that poor nephew of his!
His father had all but dug three feet into the ground, yet still failed to find the slightest trace of his eldest nephew. But a nation could not go a single day without a ruler, so his father could only helplessly take the Sun Moon Empire's throne and name him crown prince.
His father had also promised, however, that as long as the former crown prince appeared, he would immediately stop being emperor and abdicate in the former crown prince's favor.
Unfortunately, even then, the former crown prince never came forward. Presumably, he was already dead.
His father could only declare that the men under him had caused him untold misery before ascending the throne with the utmost reluctance and naming Xu Tianran crown prince.
As for this, Xu Tianran could only say that he was terrified-so terrified that he could not sleep for days.
And it was during this time of overwhelming terror that a Soul Engineer within the Illustrious Virtue Hall who had secretly pledged allegiance to him brought him information about Su Qingxue.
As he read the information on Su Qingxue, Xu Tianran, who had only just been named crown prince, had eyes filled with satisfaction.
A ten-thousand-year fourth Soul Ring-before becoming crown prince, he had not been very clear on exactly what that meant.
But after being named crown prince and truly gaining access to matters known only to those at the very pinnacle of the Douluo Continent, he finally understood what a ten-thousand-year fourth ring meant.
Judging by a Soul Ring's age alone, a ten-thousand-year fourth Soul Ring did not seem all that impressive. When it truly came to Soul Ring ages, someone with a ten-thousand-year fourth ring could hardly compare to someone with Twin Martial Souls.
But if the question was who would go further, someone who had achieved a ten-thousand-year fourth ring or someone with Twin Martial Souls, then without question, the expert with a ten-thousand-year fourth ring would most likely go further.
Twin Martial Souls merely meant high innate talent. In their subsequent development, having that talent made it easy for them to squander it, leaving their footing unsteady in the later stages.
But those who achieved a ten-thousand-year fourth Soul Ring not only possessed great talent; more importantly, they had the temperament to support that talent.
According to the Imperial Family's records, the last person whose fourth Soul Ring reached the ten-thousand-year level had been Mu En of Shrek Academy.
According to the Imperial Family's records, Mu En was suspected to be dead, but before his death, his Soul Power had reached Level 98.
A Level 98 Titled Douluo-how many people with Twin Martial Souls could reach that realm?
Once a genius of this caliber supported his position as crown prince, never mind the people at court-even Kong Deming, the towering pillar of the Imperial Family, might enter the fray because of Su Qingxue.
After all, a crown prince could die, because there were plenty of brothers to take his place. But if a genius of the very highest caliber died, what was lost was the towering pillar of the next generation.
Now, not only had a genius of this caliber appeared, but he had also received word of her.
Looking at Su Qingxue's photograph, Xu Tianran was even very satisfied with her looks.
Moreover, Xu Tianran had only just been named crown prince, and the struggle between the brothers had yet to come out into the open, so his legs had not yet been crippled.
At this moment, Xu Tianran was at his most confident. He was very sure of his ability to win over a woman.
Xu Tianran was certain that he only needed to step forward and lend Su Qingxue a hand when she was at her most helpless, sheltering her from wind and rain, and she would naturally become utterly devoted to him.
As for when Su Qingxue would be at her most helpless...
On the outskirts of the Sun Moon Empire's capital.
Amid a stretch of untended mountains, Xu Tianran disguised himself, then brought along the third prince's identity token and arrived at a valley posing as the third prince.
After entering the valley and walking a mere few dozen meters, a thick stench of blood filled Xu Tianran's nostrils. Had he not had his cultivation to protect him, that bloody smell alone would have been enough to sting tears from his eyes.
As he continued a little farther, cries and pleas for mercy rose one after another, making even Xu Tianran feel pity.
But Xu Tianran was indeed Xu Tianran. Just as he began to feel a little compassion himself, he sealed his ears without another word, keeping himself from hearing those distressing sounds.
"Well, if it isn't Your Highness the third prince. What brings you to our place?"
An old man appeared before Xu Tianran. He glanced at the identity token representing the third prince, then gave the guard behind Xu Tianran a wary look before inviting Xu Tianran into a room.
The room still reeked heavily of blood, but at least those sounds that were distressing just to hear were gone. Xu Tianran could release the Soul Power over his ears and let himself hear again.
"The Su Clan of Shanhai City, an earl's family. They have two Soul Douluos, more than a dozen Soul Saints, and nearly a hundred Soul Emperors. Wipe them out. Leave no one alive."
At those words, the old man receiving Xu Tianran was taken aback.
"Are they Xu Ming's supporters?"
"No."
"If they aren't Xu Ming's supporters, why are you asking us to act? Two Soul Douluos and more than a dozen Soul Saints, and you would just throw them away? I need an explanation."
The old man gave Xu Tianran a hostile look. If Xu Tianran had told him earlier that he wanted the Su Clan wiped out, he would simply have wiped them out.
Two Soul Douluos, more than a dozen Soul Saints, and over a hundred Soul Emperors would be a feast for the Holy Spirit Cult.
But right now, the Holy Spirit Cult had only just made its move and wiped out Xu Ming's supporters. While suffering heavy casualties, they had also obtained considerable spoils and were in the process of digesting them.
Being asked to divert fighting strength at short notice to wipe out the Su Clan at a time like this made the old man seriously suspect that this father and son surnamed Xu wanted to slaughter the donkey once it had finished turning the millstone, setting them up to die again before they could turn their spoils into fighting strength.
Then they could splash the dirty water of the former emperor's murder onto the cult, wash their own hands clean, and make the current emperor's accession perfectly legitimate.
Although the presence of the Supreme Cult Leader and the Great Enshrined meant that the Holy Spirit Cult could not be destroyed, the Sun Moon Empire did not know how powerful those two were!
They had never produced a Limit Douluo themselves, so what understanding could they have of one? If some brain-dead fool really started a war, the Holy Spirit Cult would be crippled outright.
This was not a Holy Spirit Cult that had developed in the Sun Moon Empire for many years. The current Holy Spirit Cult did not have that many Titled Douluos. Once war broke out, apart from the two Limit Douluos at the top remaining unharmed, nearly everyone else would die, if not all of them.
"The Su Clan has produced a genius. I need to win her over to oppose my eldest brother, but her talent isn't something I can casually win over. After thinking it through, the only convenient time to approach her is when she's at her most helpless."
Hearing this, the old man was stunned by Xu Tianran's scheme.
Two Soul Douluos, more than a dozen Soul Saints, and nearly a hundred Soul Emperors, all to gamble on a single genius-this scheme felt more than a little brain-dead.
Still, feelings were feelings. Whether the Su Clan had a top genius was easy enough to investigate. After all, they also had people in the Illustrious Virtue Hall, and any genius of the Sun Moon Empire could not avoid the Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineer Academy. A simple inquiry would suffice.
As long as they confirmed that this was not a trap laid by the Sun Moon Empire's Imperial Family to deal with his Holy Spirit Cult, there would naturally be no problem accepting it.
After briefly contacting their people at the Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineer Academy and confirming that the Su Clan really had produced a genius, the Holy Spirit Cult's old man no longer hesitated.
"Such boldness, third prince. In that case, I'll take on the task of wiping out the Su Clan."