"Your Royal Highness, His Majesty actually—" Jing Hongchen was about to say something.
But he was interrupted by Xu Tianran. "Hall Master Hongchen, there's no need to say more. This prince knows that Father Emperor must have entrusted you to find my younger brother.
Alas, speaking of it, it is this prince's incompetence for not finding him sooner, letting my brother wander outside, suffering humiliation from Shrek. Now that he has finally regained his freedom, I must let him be displaced again, living as a dependent in the Heavenly Soul Empire."
"Hall Master Hongchen, this prince also requests you, please do your best to find my poor brother."
Xu Tianran's inexplicable words left Jing Hongchen utterly bewildered.
What exactly was going on with His Royal Highness the Crown Prince? Hadn't he previously tried so hard to either eliminate Yuwen Tuo or ensure he could never return to the Sun Moon Empire? Why was he suddenly so eager to find him now?
In truth, Xu Tianran had no choice. His previous two thoughts were based on the premise that Yuwen Tuo's talent was, at most, that of an ordinary genius.
After all, he himself was also a super genius, constantly hiding his strength. In the original novel, by his thirties, he had already achieved the Titled Douluo realm with his incredibly powerful Martial Soul, the Purple Heaven Extinction Dragon.
The Purple Heaven Extinction Dragon possessed the attribute of destruction. Legend said its ancestor was a sub-dragon born alongside the Dragon God, also known as the Ancestor of Sub-dragons. Later, due to its overly destructive nature, it was personally annihilated by the Dragon God.
In the current world, only the imperial family of the Sun Moon Empire occasionally produced this Martial Soul.
It could be said that, apart from his crippled legs and inability to reproduce, Xu Tianran was one of the top existences in terms of both strategic intelligence and strength on the current continent.
Thus, he naturally wouldn't fear an ordinary genius younger brother. At most, he would dislike him, worrying that he would cause trouble after returning to the country.
But now it was different. The talent Yuwen Tuo displayed was no longer just that of a genius, but a top-tier prodigy.
A Soul Grandmaster suppressing Soul Kings and Soul Emperors, blowing up a Level 7 Soul Tool with a single finger, innate rank twenty. He didn't know if his Father Emperor was overly excited when he shared a room with Xu Yueran, that their genes were so good, inexplicably producing such a monstrous younger brother for him.
In such a situation, his thoughts could only change. He couldn't allow Yuwen Tuo to develop in the Heavenly Soul Empire.
If Yuwen Tuo remained loyal to the Heavenly Soul Empire, with his innate rank twenty talent, it wouldn't take many years for him to become one of the continent's top masters. Moreover, he seemed to be naturally immune to Soul Engineers; otherwise, how could he blow up a Level 7 Soul Tool with a single finger? When he grew stronger, how could the Sun Moon Empire conquer the Heavenly Soul Empire?
And if he was not loyal to the Heavenly Soul Empire, but merely temporarily using them to develop his own strength and influence, that would be even more troublesome. Xu Tianran would worry that this fellow might one day return to Sun Moon in a state of accomplished cultivation.
At that time, he would undoubtedly possess profound power and be completely intact, even carrying the royal bloodlines of two nations, making him even nobler than Xu Tianran. Wouldn't he be Xu Tianran's greatest rival for the throne?
The only solution, then, was to bring him back to the country before he fully matured.
Only when he returned to the Sun Moon Empire could Xu Tianran employ his schemes against him, either subjugating him or finding a way to kill him.
Otherwise, if he kept staying with the Heavenly Soul Empire, protected by them and growing silently, he would one day become the greatest trouble.
Xu Tianran was suspicious, ruthless, and heartless. His lifelong goal was to unify the Douluo Continent and rename Douluo as Sun Moon. To achieve this dream, he allowed no variables to exist.
"Your Royal Highness the Crown Prince's deep affection for your brother truly moves this minister. This minister will do his best, not to disappoint His Majesty and Your Royal Highness's trust!" Although Jing Hongchen couldn't immediately grasp Xu Tianran's true intentions.
He still chose to obey. Wasn't it the best situation when the commands of the highest-ranking Emperor and the powerful Crown Prince didn't conflict?
"Good, this prince certainly trusts Hall Master Hongchen's capabilities. Oh, right, Hall Master Hongchen, there's one more thing. Father Emperor is gravely ill, his health deteriorating day by day.
To alleviate Father Emperor's burdens, this prince handles state affairs day and night. Currently, this prince is involved in the three most important national matters: finance, politics, and military.
Only with the affairs of the Bright Mirror Hall am I only half-informed. I wonder if Hall Master Hongchen would have some free time someday to invite this prince to the Bright Mirror Hall for a visit? After all, the empire's development cannot be separated from the Bright Mirror Hall, and this prince sincerely hopes to receive Hall Master Hongchen's assistance," Xu Tianran said.
This time, Jing Hongchen understood his meaning. Xu Tianran was trying to recruit him.
With His Majesty gravely ill, and power dispersed within the country, many princes were unwilling to submit to Xu Tianran. His own legs were crippled shortly after he came of age, due to a conspiracy by his royal brothers who coveted the throne. Although he ruthlessly killed the perpetrators immediately, he became permanently crippled.
The internal succession struggle intensified, and outside, there were restless imperial princes. The Sun Moon Empire appeared stable, but in reality, chaos brewed everywhere.
It urgently needed an emperor with an iron fist to consolidate all the nation's power.
Although Jing Hongchen currently had no intention of choosing a side, if one day he had to, the person he would most likely prioritize would be this crippled but determined Crown Prince.
"Your Royal Highness is too kind. It is my honor that Your Royal Highness does not disdain me. The gates of my Bright Mirror Hall are open to Your Royal Highness at any time," Jing Hongchen said.
He had originally thought Xu Tianran wouldn't be so eager to win him over. Now, it seemed Yuwen Tuo's appearance had made him anxious as well.
In reality, these two were completely overthinking it.
Yuwen Tuo had no intention of vying for the throne with Xu Tianran. From beginning to end, his only thought was to destroy the Sun Moon Empire.
After understanding his true origins, he clearly knew that the village's grudge was absolutely inseparable from the Sun Moon Empire.
What was a mere Sun Moon Imperial throne worth? Could it possibly be as important as a single strand of his Village Chief Grandpa's hair?
Within the Star Dou Great Forest, Yuwen Tuo had concluded his training with the Scarlet King and the Three-Eyed Golden Lion.
He discovered that the Scarlet King's Hellfire was indeed more domineering and strange than Ma Xiaotao's previous Evil Fire.
Yet, the Scarlet King could control this evil flame, completely unaffected by it. It had to be said that it was truly worthy of being one of the Ten Great Ferocious Beasts; this level of cultivation was beyond what Ma Xiaotao could achieve.
According to Yuwen Tuo's estimation, with this kind of training, in less than three months, he would be able to elevate the power of the Scarlet King's Hellfire to a level comparable to Ultimate Fire.
He would wholeheartedly help it cultivate, without holding anything back, because this was also very beneficial to himself. His Pure Fire could gain some abilities of Hellfire through this, and the Scarlet King's massive Soul Power could also drive his own cultivation.
Most importantly, the stronger the Scarlet King became, the higher the success rate of his future plan.
"Tuo, I want to eat fish!"
In the evening, the Three-Eyed Golden Lion came to Yuwen Tuo's side. Her first words were always the same, "I want to eat fish."
Although she had already tasted the abnormal spicy rabbit head made by Yuwen Tuo, she still felt that the fish was the most delicious. Was it truly fate? Was she and the boy who grilled fish destined to have an indissoluble bond?
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