"Princess Of Xingluo requests an audience!"
With a voice echoing through the air—
Mingdu.
Inside the Imperial Palace.
The gathered officials turned their gazes.
Their expressions varied, but all carried a trace of pride.
This time, Princess Of Xingluo had come on a diplomatic mission to the Sun and Moon Empire. Her intentions were clear—she was here in a humbled, submissive posture. After the recent battle to defend Mingdu, the allied forces of the former continent suffered devastating losses. Even their core strength—Shrek Academy's strongest, Mu En—had perished here. Now that Xingluo had recognized the reality, it was only natural they'd seek to either align with or submit to the Sun and Moon Empire.
However... such a thing had never happened before in history.
Unconsciously, all the ministers straightened their backs.
"Princess Of Xingluo, Xu Jiujing, greets the Crown Prince…"
Xu Jiujing kept her head lowered as she walked past the ministers, her expression unreadable. She stepped to the front of the hall and moved to kneel.
"Apologies, Princess Jiujing. His Highness is not present…"
A woman's voice rang out.
Xu Jiujing paused in her tracks, and reflexively looked up.
The throne—empty.
Below the imperial seat stood a beautiful woman in palace attire, gazing at her. It seemed she was the one who had spoken.
"I am His Highness's chief secretary, Juzi. The Crown Prince has entrusted me with palace affairs for now. If you have important matters to discuss with him, you may wait a few days…"
Juzi smiled lightly.
Not a simple woman.
Xu Jiujing's eyes narrowed.
This bespectacled woman had clearly earned Xu Cheng's deep trust. Even amidst a court filled with powerful warlords, she held such a prominent position and could act in his stead—her importance in Xu Cheng's heart was self-evident.
"My business requires a personal audience with His Highness," Xu Jiujing said softly, lips pressed together, emotions flickering across her heart.
If only she'd been bolder last time… would the outcome have been different?
Born into royalty and steeped in the nuances of power since childhood, she too harbored ambitions.
"This way, please…" Juzi gestured politely.
Xu Jiujing took a deep breath and slowly turned to leave.
Once she was gone—
The court resumed its deliberations.
Juzi stood silently just below Xu Cheng's position, observing the scene quietly while taking occasional notes. She could substitute for Xu Cheng when necessary, but affairs of state were not her domain. As secretary, her duty was simply to record the proceedings.
"A trial run of artificial soul rings within the military?" said Qing Zhi, commander of the Royal Dragon Soul Engineer Regiment, picking up from the previous discussion. "I suggest we wait. The actual trial doesn't begin until half a month from now—plenty of time to finalize the list of soul engineer regiments later."
"The Fire Phoenix Regiment has no objections," said Huo Qing, indifferently.
"Let's just decide now. If you're afraid, Qing Zhi, then let our Evil Monarch Regiment be the pilot unit," Wang Yiheng offered in support.
"…"
Xu Jiangnian sat with eyes shut, silent.
Juzi watched as the high-ranking officers below bickered endlessly.
She clicked her tongue inwardly.
She understood the root of the dispute—it was all about the trial run of artificial soul rings.
So far, Xu Cheng had only hinted at plans to pilot this in the military. Details about these rings were still a tightly held secret of the Mingde Hall, with almost nothing of substance leaked—even the regimental commanders were in the dark.
And yet—
Just a word from Xu Cheng had stirred massive waves within the military.
Xu Jiangnian seemed calm, but he'd visited the Crown Prince's manor several times recently—only to leave empty-handed because Xu Cheng wasn't in. That's why he remained silent for now.
Huo Qing was unaware.
Qing Zhi had backed the wrong prince before—allying with the Fourth Prince—and missed his chance to gain Xu Cheng's favor. Though he'd done some good work recently, among the four major beast soul engineer regiments, his priority ranking was still at the bottom.
Wang Yiheng, though an early supporter of Xu Cheng, still bore the mark of the old emperor.
He was only marginally better than Qing Zhi.
So it was those two who were most anxious.
Qing Zhi didn't want to commit yet—he wanted to observe first. What if artificial soul rings had side effects? He needed time to assess the risk before deciding whether to play his hand.
Wang Yiheng, on the other hand, was ready to gamble.
If artificial soul rings turned out to be a success, the gain would be enormous. If not… well, he'd live with it.
"I just wonder when His Highness will return…" Juzi bit her lip.
Images of the recent wild nights flashed through her mind, and her expression briefly turned dazed.
"Two god-bestowed soul rings, and both reached 300,000 years?"
Tianmeng was stunned.
"That's right," Xu Cheng nodded with a smile.
"Tsk tsk… Being able to condense god-bestowed soul rings to 300,000 years—that's terrifying!" Tianmeng clicked his tongue in awe.
Buzz!
Fourteen soul rings rose beneath Xu Cheng's feet—
Black, black, black, black, white, black, red (Double Pupils)
Red, black, black, black, black, black, red (Ice Jade Scorpion Emperor)
A terrifying aura surged into the air.
Level 75 Soul Sage (the result of a five-level reward from a divine trial).
In just half a month—
Xu Cheng had reaped unthinkable rewards.
"Phew… With my current power, even without using my mecha trump card or the necromantic realm, I can still solo a peak-level Soul Douluo! Maybe even go toe-to-toe with a Titled Douluo!"
Xu Cheng's face lit up with excitement.
As expected of a divine exam… no, as expected of grading your own paper—the rewards are maxed out.
Absolutely awesome!
Just as he was pondering his next step—
A voice called from the distance.
"My Lord, I have found a person of exceptional talent. I hope to designate them as a successor—please assess them."
As the voice faded, a figure slowly approached.
He knelt at the lowest step of the Hall of Destruction, seemingly awaiting Xu Cheng's approval.
Xu Cheng looked confused, glancing around, then pointed to himself.
"???"
After a long hesitation, he finally said: "Are… you talking to me?"
"Precisely!"
The kneeling figure replied respectfully.
"But I'm not the God of Destruction," Xu Cheng frowned.
"Before departing, the Lord entrusted the Temple of Destruction to you and instructed us that you are the future master. We are all divine spirits under Destruction—your orders are as His."
The figure remained deferential.
Xu Cheng's scalp tingled.
Just how much authority did Destruction leave him?!
That guy must've been seriously carefree…
"Which of the Seven Deadly Sins are you?" Xu Cheng asked after a moment's thought.
"I am the God of Ruin."
"The God of Ruin wants to pass on their divine position? Approved. Go ahead." Xu Cheng waved him off.
"Thank you, My Lord!" The God of Ruin's voice was full of joy.
"Hey—wait a second!" Xu Cheng suddenly called out, looking at him in surprise.
If he remembered correctly, in the original story, the latest person to inherit the God of Ruin title around this time…
Wasn't it a guy named Zhou Weiqing?!!
Famously, the biggest traitor under the God of Destruction—switched sides at the most critical moment and changed the entire war!
His impression of Zhou Weiqing?
Not great.
(End of Chapter)