"One of his martial souls is the Hell Spirit Cat!"
Zhu Wan'er stood rooted to the spot, disbelief written all over her face.
She was no fool, and after hearing that, how could she not understand what Dai Mian meant?
The Dai and Zhu families had intermarried for generations.
The White Tiger and Hell Spirit Cat were the martial souls most easily awakened by descendants of the Dai Family.
If Dai Tianfeng's only martial soul were the Hell Spirit Cat, even Innate Full Soul Power could never have earned him such treatment!
Much less had Dai Mian said "one of."
Zhu Wan'er considered herself fairly familiar with the people of the Dai Family.
Even if it didn't show on the surface, they were immensely proud of possessing the White Tiger Martial Soul.
If they happened to awaken the Hell Spirit Cat or some other Mutated Martial Soul instead, every last one of them acted as if his mother had died.
Moreover, since ancient times, the heir to the Star Luo Empire's throne had been required to possess the White Tiger Martial Soul.
The second prince's martial soul had mutated, for instance, and he wasn't even qualified to compete for the throne.
From that alone, there was no doubt that Dai Tianfeng's other martial soul was the White Tiger!
Twin Martial Souls: the White Tiger and the Hell Spirit Cat!
How was that merely outstanding talent?
He was clearly an unparalleled monstrous genius seen once in ten thousand years!
It was no wonder the Dai Family would break that rule for him.
"Your Majesty, I know what to do!"
Having realized this, Zhu Wan'er felt an instant sense of relief.
Zhu Wan'er understood perfectly well that Dai Mian was reminding her, but also warning her.
Given Dai Tianfeng's importance, if she harbored even the slightest thought of harming him, calamity would surely come crashing down on her head!
Even the Zhu Family wouldn't be able to protect her.
Compared with the White Tiger lineage, the Hell Spirit Cat's Zhu Family was still far too weak.
Besides, the Zhu Family might not protect her over this.
How should she put it?
After thousands of years of intermarriage, the White Tiger's Dai Family and the Hell Spirit Cat's Zhu Family were already bound tightly together.
When one suffered, both suffered; when one prospered, both prospered!
Dai Tianfeng was the future hope of the White Tiger lineage.
He was just as important to the Hell Spirit Cat's Zhu Family!
And though she came from the main branch, she was still utterly insignificant before the rise and fall of the entire family.
"Good."
Dai Mian's expression softened slightly, and he waved a hand. "You may go."
"As you command, Your Majesty."
Zhu Wan'er bowed again and walked slowly out of the imperial study.
The doors slowly closed, and Zhu Wan'er's figure vanished completely from sight.
"Keep a close watch on the empress. If she harbors any ill intentions, execute her on the spot!"
The warmth gradually faded from Dai Mian's eyes.
The instant his words fell, a slender figure clad in black emerged silently from the shadows.
The black-clad figure nodded, then vanished from where she stood, melting into the darkness.
At the same time.
A jumble of emotions churned in Zhu Wan'er's heart.
Twin Martial Souls: the White Tiger and the Hell Spirit Cat.
Her two sons no longer needed to kill each other, but they had also lost any chance of inheriting the throne forever.
Zhu Wan'er's mind began racing.
Fortunately, she had never targeted Dai Tianfeng, that son of a concubine.
For now, she first had to make Dai Weisi and Dai Mubai willingly give up their fight for the throne, then build a good relationship with Dai Tianfeng.
Only then could she save their lives.
Seeing the empress standing still for so long, a maid accompanying her asked softly, "Your Majesty, are we returning to the palace?"
"Send someone to fetch both princes. Also, find out everything you can about the fourth prince."
Zhu Wan'er became the dignified and graceful Star Luo Empress once more, speaking calmly. "I want to know who has bullied him!"
The maid dared not hesitate. She quickly bowed, accepted her orders, and withdrew.
Before long, the information came back!
When Zhu Wan'er learned that Dai Mubai was the only one who had bullied Dai Tianfeng, she was beside herself!
"Mubai! It seems I've spoiled you too much!" A flash of coldness crossed Zhu Wan'er's eyes.
She had never imagined that her third son would pull something like this.
Dai Mubai had to be beaten, and in front of everyone.
This was the attitude she was showing Dai Tianfeng and the White Tiger lineage.
Zhu Wan'er waited quietly outside the palace for her dear son Dai Mubai.
After an unknown amount of time, an extraordinarily arrogant-looking young man strode over.
It was Dai Mubai.
Dai Mubai had yet to suffer a brutal beating from his elder brother. At this point, he was unruly and full of ambition, eager to compete for the throne.
He had no idea that disaster was about to befall him.
When Zhu Wan'er saw him, her expression turned cold. Without waiting for Dai Mubai to speak, she raised her hand and slapped him across the face.
"Smack!"
The slap rang through the palace corridor, and everyone nearby lowered their heads.
Dai Mubai felt a searing pain on one side of his face and stood there in a daze.
"Smack!"
"Smack!"
It wasn't over yet. Zhu Wan'er followed up with several more slaps.
"Mother, not the face! I know I was wrong!"
Only then did Dai Mubai come to his senses and beg for mercy.
He still needed that face to pick up pretty young ladies. What would he do if it got ruined?
Unfortunately, it did him no good!
Zhu Wan'er didn't stop slapping him. She even put a little more force into it.
Only after Dai Mubai's face had been beaten into a big pig's head did she stop.
Dai Weisi arrived during the beating, and when he saw Dai Mubai's sorry state, he nearly burst out laughing.
"Mother, what did I do wrong?"
Dai Mubai felt terribly wronged. His elder brother had just been putting pressure on him, and now his own mother had given him a brutal beating in front of everyone.
What had he done to deserve any of this?!
"What did you do wrong?"
Zhu Wan'er looked at him, her voice frighteningly cold.
"That brat Dai Tianfeng awakened Twin Martial Souls, and they're the White Tiger and the Hell Spirit Cat."
"Those two martial souls appearing in one person-you should know what that means, shouldn't you?"
Dai Mubai felt as if he had been struck by lightning.
Beside him, the smile on Dai Weisi's face froze instantly.
Twin Martial Souls: the White Tiger and the Hell Spirit Cat!
How was that possible?!
It had never happened since ancient times!
Unlike ordinary Twin Martial Souls, the Hell Spirit Cat and the White Tiger had an extraordinary degree of compatibility!
It wasn't as simple as one plus one equaling two!
The ancestors of the Dai and Zhu families had long ago discovered that the higher their Martial Soul Fusion Degree, the stronger their Martial Soul Fusion Skill, Hell White Tiger, would be.
That was precisely why the younger members of the two families were betrothed from childhood, so they could develop feelings for each other.
Even so, those who could achieve a Martial Soul Fusion Degree of eighty percent were few and far between.
And since Dai Tianfeng possessed both the Hell Spirit Cat and the White Tiger Martial Soul, there was a strong possibility that he could use a Martial Soul Fusion Skill by himself. It wouldn't even be strange if his compatibility reached one hundred percent.
"Go apologize to Dai Tianfeng at once. If you can't earn his forgiveness, then run as far away as you can!"
Zhu Wan'er sighed inwardly and spoke in a cold voice.
"Yes."
Dai Mubai clenched his teeth and nodded reluctantly.
What right did that son of a concubine have to awaken Twin Martial Souls, the White Tiger and the Hell Spirit Cat?!
What right?!
He was utterly unwilling to accept it!
A great man knew when to bend and when to stand tall!
Fine, he would apologize.
"Go on."
Zhu Wan'er waved her hand weakly.
Without so much as acknowledging her eldest son, she returned directly to her chambers.