"Xu Tianran actually agreed to this? He really came, huh? I was just joking about it."
Qianran was utterly stunned when he received Xu Tianran's message.
Was Xu Tianran so obsessed with becoming emperor that he'd gone mad? Sure, he'd killed his own brother, so why wouldn't he be willing to send his sister? Someone like Xu Tianran was capable of anything. A sister was nothing to him.
But what intrigued Qianran more was whether Xu Tianran had prepared any special surprises.
If it were Xu Tianzhen, Qianran honestly wouldn't harm her. His goal was simply to pressure Xu Tianran, not to actually abduct a noblewoman.
Get someone drunk after dinner and head straight to a room? Qianran wasn't some infamous playboy from those shady forums. He would never stoop so low.
As for Xue Lingxun, she had only been treated harshly because she had the audacity to try and assassinate him. Otherwise, Qianran wouldn't have acted so roughly.
"Brother, what kind of person is Qianran? You should know him well, right?" Xu Tianzhen asked curiously as she stepped into Qianran's residence.
There were countless rumors about Qianran, but Xu Tianzhen felt they were overly exaggerated.
Xu Tianzhen's talents weren't bad; in the original story, she was set to be a core participant in the next Soul Master Tournament.
"Uh… you know, Qianran even defeated a seventh-ranked Soul Engineer from Mingde Hall. And that was after over a hundred consecutive battles. His true strength is likely around that of a Soul Douluo," Xu Tianran admitted reluctantly. Even though he didn't want to praise Qianran, he had to acknowledge the man's monstrous abilities.
Defeating over a hundred disciples from the Sun and Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy without rest—how terrifying was that?
Even most Soul Douluo couldn't manage such a feat.
Xu Tianran and Jing Hongchen had analyzed it thoroughly and concluded that Qianran was exceptionally skilled in spiritual power attacks. His spiritual power was vast and resilient, allowing him to fight for extended periods without significant strain.
Still, this was enough to leave Soul Masters across the continent in awe.
"Really? I don't buy it."
Xu Tianzhen considered herself a genius. Among the royal family, her talent ranked near the top. Unlike Xu Tianran, she had inherited the Sun Martial Soul, the Xu family's pride and joy.
When an anomaly like Qianran appeared, Xu Tianzhen naturally found it hard to believe.
This was normal.
If all the rumors about Qianran were true, where would that leave the so-called top-tier geniuses like her? Could they really be so far behind someone their own age? Without witnessing it firsthand, no self-assured genius would accept being so thoroughly outclassed.
"Brother, can I test him out?"
"Do what you want," Xu Tianran said with a resigned shrug. With Qianran's strength, his sister wouldn't be able to harm him anyway.
"Thanks, royal brother!"
Xu Tianzhen hadn't expected Xu Tianran to agree so easily. Thrilled, she eagerly began her preparations.
When Qianran arrived at the crown prince's residence, Xu Tianzhen immediately launched her attack.
Her eyes gleamed with a pure light as the orange-red orb in her palms shot out countless radiant beams, turning the area around Qianran into a dazzling golden-red world.
"So, you're Qianran? You don't look like much. No sense of caution at all," Xu Tianzhen teased, blinking innocently within the golden-red glow.
The moment Qianran appeared, she unleashed three powerful soul skills in succession: Solar Divine Light, Solar Reflection, and Radiance Overwhelming.
The temperature around them soared with the golden-red light. The ground seemed to melt like lava, the searing heat baking the air until it shimmered.
Her Radiance Overwhelming soul skill was akin to a domain. Not only did it burn enemies with its rising temperature, but it also drew energy from the sun, growing stronger the longer it was maintained. The accumulated power could then be unleashed in devastating attacks.
It was currently noon, when sunlight was at its peak.
If this domain remained active, even a Soul Sage wouldn't dare step into the area.
Though the Sun and Moon Empire's Soul Masters were generally weaker, the royal family's Sun Martial Soul was among the most powerful. In fact, it was superior to the royal martial souls of other nations on the Douluo Continent. Of course, the strongest Soul Masters in Douluo's three kingdoms were concentrated within the major sects, leaving their royal families somewhat weaker by comparison.
But in the Sun and Moon Empire, the Sun Martial Soul was essentially unmatched.
"Did I… roast him to death?"
When Qianran remained silent, Xu Tianzhen's heart skipped a beat.
If she'd really roasted him alive, wouldn't that make her the number one genius on the continent?
"Hey, are you overthinking things?"
"Do you have any other tricks? Feel free to use them all," Qianran said, exasperated as he looked at the naive girl before him. Xu Tianzhen truly lived up to her name—so naive, so sweet.
Did he really look that fragile?
The sun's defining traits were light and fire.
And it just so happened that both were thoroughly countered by Qianran.
If Xu Tianzhen's domain could roast him alive, what would that say about him?
"How are you still fine?" Xu Tianzhen asked dumbfoundedly. When Qianran emerged unscathed, not even his clothes singed, she couldn't believe her eyes.
"Wait! Stay right there! Don't move!" Xu Tianzhen shouted, hurriedly activating her most powerful soul skill: Solar Stare.
Solar Stare was her strongest offensive soul skill, capable of synergizing with multiple Sun Martial Soul abilities like Radiance Overwhelming and Solar Divine Light. It had immense destructive potential, akin to a divine technique.
With all the energy she'd gathered, the resulting attack rivaled, if not exceeded, the full-force strike of a seven-ring Soul Sage in their martial soul true body state. The molten, blazing heat it unleashed neared the upper limit of fire's destructive potential.
"Alright, alright."
Qianran obligingly stepped back into the inferno of her Radiance Overwhelming domain.
As Xu Tianzhen prepared to unleash her Solar Stare, Qianran quietly activated his Ultimate Ice Soul Power.
The temperature around him plummeted.
Though the area should have been hot enough to melt steel, Qianran's soul power instantly brought the heat to heel.
Frost began to form on the ground around him.
(Chapter Ends)