In the Tian Dou Empire's capital, within the Crown Prince's Residence—
At this moment, Emperor Xue Ye of the Tian Dou Empire had only two surviving heirs left.
Due to the deaths of two exceptionally talented princes earlier, the youngest fourth prince, Xue Beng, had completely disguised himself as a dissolute wastrel. Both Emperor Xue Ye and the commoners of the capital despised this prince, leaving him with no public support whatsoever.
Because of this environment, in order to stabilize the populace, Xue Ye had no choice but to establish Xue Qinghe as the crown prince at an early age—even though this person had long been replaced by Qian Renxue.
Moreover, after the deaths of the two previous princes, if Xue Beng were to be eliminated as well, the suspicion would fall too heavily on Xue Qinghe. Thus, Qian Renxue, who was posing as Xue Qinghe, reluctantly abandoned her plans to kill Xue Beng.
At this moment, within the Crown Prince's Residence, Qian Renxue had wasted yet another day of cultivation dealing with various trivial matters of governance. She also maintained her facade of being a wise and virtuous leader, meeting with nobles and officials, presenting herself as the prime heir of the Tian Dou Empire.
Every move she made appeared effortless and elegant, as if it were ingrained in her very bones.
After seeing off the last visiting official, Qian Renxue collapsed onto the sofa in exhaustion, her gaze hollow.
"Ugh, when will this plan finally end?" Qian Renxue complained.
More than a decade ago, Qian Renxue had taken on this undercover mission from Bibi Dong to prove herself.
Initially, Qian Renxue had been full of enthusiasm and astonishingly adept at mimicking every aspect of Xue Qinghe's persona.
But after more than ten years, even the most fervent passion had long since been worn down. After all, this task had never been something Qian Renxue truly enjoyed.
Now, regret filled her heart. Yet, unwilling to abandon all the effort she had poured into this mission over the years, she found herself consumed by internal conflict.
Beneath the refined and elegant appearance of the crown prince lay a face of exquisite beauty marred by fatigue and anxiety.
Though burdened by worldly affairs, Qian Renxue hadn't entirely given up. She still completed the bare minimum of daily cultivation.
However, just as Qian Renxue was about to head to her secret chamber, a knock came at the door.
"Enter," Qian Renxue said indifferently.
The visitor was not one of Qian Renxue's trusted subordinates from the Spirit Hall—having too many such confidants might expose her true identity. Instead, this was someone she had personally cultivated as a loyal subordinate after becoming crown prince.
"What is the matter?" Qian Renxue asked in a polite and calm tone.
Though Qian Renxue's demeanor was courteous, the visitor immediately dropped to one knee upon approaching her and presented a letter with both hands.
"Your Highness, this is a letter from the specially monitored Countess of Tianxin. Please review it."
Qian Renxue, who had been disinterested moments ago, suddenly perked up. Though the Spirit Hall wasn't lacking in Soul Douluo-level experts, someone like Huo Rui—a Body-type martial soul Soul Douluo—was indeed rare. Moreover, according to Qian Renxue's investigation, Huo Rui had an excellent reputation in the soul world, known for her righteousness and chivalry. This naturally resonated with Qian Renxue's own sense of justice, making her inclined to recruit Huo Rui into her faction.
However, due to Huo Rui's previously neutral stance, Qian Renxue hadn't wanted to appear too eager. She had merely marked Huo Rui as someone to keep a close eye on. Now, receiving this sudden letter, Qian Renxue was curious about why the Countess of Tianxin—who seemingly had no connection to her—had reached out.
With practiced ease, she opened the letter and dismissed the messenger. Upon reading its contents, Qian Renxue's expression darkened.
"These nobles of the Tian Dou Empire are truly lawless! They dare to abduct young women in broad daylight, and after being defeated, they try to protect each other and suppress the victim."
However, Qian Renxue quickly regained her composure. Having served as crown prince for so many years, she was all too familiar with how rotten the Tian Dou Empire truly was.
If it weren't for Bibi Dong's constant delays, Qian Renxue would have long destroyed the empire and built a new nation in its place.
Thus, after her initial surge of righteous indignation subsided, Qian Renxue quickly calmed down and began to think.
"So why has the Countess of Tianxin sent me this letter? From the tone of the message, does she want me to uphold justice?
Heh, thinking about it, it makes sense. Based on the information I've gathered, the Countess of Tianxin is exactly the type of person who detests evil. However, knowing she can't change much, she has spent her years secluded in her fief, Tianxin City."
Qian Renxue's fingers began tapping lightly on the desk, and a faint, pleased smile slowly spread across her lips.
"In that case, I'll play the role of the righteous judge this time. It'll also give me a chance to get out and clear my mind."
At this point, Qian Renxue couldn't help but vent her frustrations about Emperor Xue Ye.
"Damn Xue Ye! Did he see through my disguise long ago and dump all his responsibilities on me, forcing me to do his dirty work? What a despicable bastard!"
Despite her complaints, Qian Renxue knew deep down that Xue Ye hadn't noticed anything unusual about her.
After all, her acting skills—and the Angel God's inherited disguise soul bone—were far beyond the detection abilities of someone like Xue Ye, who hadn't even reached the level of a Soul Sage, let alone a Title Douluo!
Still, Qian Renxue had grown thoroughly tired of being cooped up in the Crown Prince's Residence. She decided to use Huo Rui's letter as an excuse to get out and stretch her legs.
And, of course, to clean up some trash.
Just thinking about it made Qian Renxue's hands itch with anticipation.
Martial souls were peculiar things. While they didn't necessarily influence their wielder 100%, awakening a specific martial soul often brought about certain changes in personality.
For instance, those with frog martial souls tended to develop a taste for insects, while those with snail martial souls preferred a slower pace of life. Similarly, Qian Renxue's Angel martial soul naturally endowed her with a strong sense of justice.
Of course, this wasn't absolute. Some individuals were fundamentally incompatible with their martial souls, and such people would never break through to the Super Douluo realm, which required profound insight into the essence of their martial soul.
But these were secondary concerns. Qian Renxue's thoughts extended further.
"Perhaps this is an opportunity to draw the Countess of Tianxin into my fold. Such a righteous person should naturally fight under the banner of the Spirit Hall for the greater good, rather than mingling with corrupt nobles."
Soon, chaos began to brew within the Tian Dou Empire's capital.
Far away in Tianxin City, Huo Rui had no idea that her simple intention to advise Xue Qinghe, whom she believed had the makings of a wise ruler, would eventually place her squarely against the entire noble faction.
Even so, Huo Rui wouldn't regret her actions. After all, she didn't rely on her noble status to survive!
In an era where Title Douluos were scarce, could a powerful Soul Douluo really struggle to make a living without engaging in commerce?
Moreover, the power structure of the Tian Dou Empire was chaotic. The imperial family itself was constantly at odds with the nobility beneath them.
Thus, even if Huo Rui sided with the royal family, she wouldn't suffer any losses—as long as she avoided opposing the Spirit Hall, she was indifferent.
Though Huo Rui was kind-hearted, she wasn't naive. She would never risk her life or charge into battle for anyone.
In summary, while Huo Rui would outwardly align herself with the royal family in the future amidst the power struggles of the Tian Dou Empire, she would remain deliberately uninvolved, maintaining a neutral stance of minimal effort.
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