"Elder Ying?" Xu Jiawei noticed Skyhawk Douluo's strange look and quickly prompted him, puzzled by his loss of composure given his age and experience.
"Greetings, Your Majesty and Your Excellency Skyhawk." Lu Jingming stepped forward and paid his respects, showing due respect to his elders and to Title Douluos.
As an earl of Star Luo, he was technically Xu Jiawei's subject.
"So you're Earl Lu—truly a hero among youths. No wonder my sister's always mentioning you." Xu Jiawei had already read Lu Jingming's file, but seeing him in person, he couldn't help but praise him.
"Your Majesty flatters me," Lu Jingming replied modestly, but inside he was curious—why did Xu Jiawei look at him so similarly to Yi Man?
"Jiujiu has already told me your purpose. Come, let's sit and talk. Your Excellency Phoenix Douluo, please join us," Xu Jiawei said warmly, personally seating Lu Jingming next to him.
He also invited Changli to sit, while Xu Jiujiu naturally sat beside Lu Jingming, showing no concern for appearances.
Lu Jingming breathed in Xu Jiujiu's subtle fragrance and glanced at Xu Jiawei's hand on his shoulder, thinking to himself how enthusiastic this sibling pair was.
Xu Jiawei showed no airs as emperor, even pouring tea for everyone himself—a stark contrast to the normal world, where even monarchs must respect the strong.
Lu Jingming himself might not be that powerful, but he had Herta, Jingliu, and Changli behind him!
"Your Excellency Phoenix Douluo, is your martial soul the True Phoenix?" At this, Skyhawk Douluo could no longer hold back his question, startling Xu Jiawei and Xu Jiujiu.
Though a person's martial soul wasn't a secret, asking so bluntly was a bit improper.
Xu Jiawei, however, suddenly seemed to realize something. Connecting Skyhawk's question to his own thoughts, he looked at Changli with excitement.
Changli elegantly took a sip of tea, meeting Skyhawk's eager gaze and Xu Jiawei's delighted expression. She understood.
"There's nothing to hide. My martial soul is the Vermilion Bird." Changli replied directly.
"Divine Beast Vermilion Bird!" At these words, everyone except Lu Jingming was shocked.
To have the Vermilion Bird as a martial soul—rather than just any Phoenix—meant pure blood, even rarer than the True Phoenix, a genuine divine beast martial soul.
"No wonder—it all makes sense now!" Skyhawk Douluo muttered.
From the moment Changli appeared, he'd sensed his own martial soul coming under a strange pressure, as if compelled to submit—almost affecting him physically.
At first, he thought she had the True Phoenix; he hadn't expected the Vermilion Bird.
The Phoenix was already the king of birds, and the Vermilion Bird, as a pure-blooded Phoenix and southern divine beast, was even stronger.
Skyhawk Douluo's Six-Winged Skyhawk was also a bird martial soul, so it was no wonder he was suppressed.
Not only that, but Changli's soul power was above his; if she wished, dealing with him would be easier than dealing with ordinary Title Douluos.
Though he'd found his nemesis, Skyhawk Douluo was delighted rather than intimidated.
He was from the same generation as Xuan Zi of Shrek Academy and Du Busi of the Body Sect.
But he'd been stuck at level 97 for over fifty years, while Xuan Zi and Du Busi had long since broken through and might even go further.
He'd exhausted his potential, and breaking through seemed impossible. The Star Luo Empire had no shortage of treasures, but without a massive opportunity, he saw no hope.
But Skyhawk Douluo never gave up on finding a way. After decades of research, he'd found one: acquiring the blood of a pure Phoenix.
Unfortunately, the Douluo Continent had no more Phoenixes, much less pure ones. He could only settle for soul masters with the Phoenix Martial Soul.
He'd found that Ma Hongjun's descendants at Shrek Academy were the most likely to have the True Phoenix, but Ma Xiaotao's bloodline wasn't pure enough, and even Bright Phoenix Douluo Yan Shaozhe's Bright Phoenix was insufficient.
After years of searching, he'd lost hope—until Changli appeared and rekindled it.
Xu Jiawei understood Skyhawk Douluo's situation well—after all, he'd used many imperial resources searching for Phoenix blood.
Xu Jiawei wanted to help him break through.
Currently, the most powerful open experts on Douluo Continent were Shrek's Taotie Douluo and the Body Sect's Body Douluo, both level 98. If Skyhawk Douluo could break through, even if slightly weaker, he'd still be a major deterrent, giving the Star Luo Empire more sway.
With this in mind, Xu Jiawei made up his mind.
He'd already wanted to negotiate with Lu Jingming and see what he could offer in exchange for the tournament.
He had high hopes for Lu Jingming and Haiyuan City, and Black Tower and Ice Moon Douluo behind them were worth befriending.
Plus, with Xu Jiujiu and Lu Jingming's close relationship, he'd already intended to help.
The tournament was important, but the Star Luo Empire had already hosted it enough times to reap most of the benefits. As for the gold soul coins and the interests of the noble factions, if Haiyuan City offered enough, persuading them to step aside wasn't impossible.
With Haiyuan City's value and Lu Jingming's relationship with Xu Jiujiu, persuading Xu Jiawei was actually the easy part.
Though the Star Crown clan was royal, they were already in decline. Only Xu Jiawei, Xu Jiujiu, and Xu Yun had the Star Crown martial soul, making the clan's power wane.
In contrast, the White Tiger Duke's branch was thriving, holding most of the army and with rising stars like Dai Yueheng and Dai Huabin aiming for Title Douluo.
Supported by allied Title Douluos and the military, it would only take the right opportunity for the Star Crown clan to lose the throne to the White Tiger Duke.
Even though Xu Jiawei and Duke Dai Hao were friends and could stay as a duke, who would willingly give up the throne?
Xu Jiawei had no intention of letting go of the imperial crown won by his ancestors, especially with the Sun Moon Empire's ambitions growing and frequent border provocations. He felt a looming crisis.
He needed powerful allies.
Before Haiyuan City's rise, his chosen ally was Shrek Academy. He'd started secret dealings with them, hoping for future cooperation against the Sun Moon Empire.
But Haiyuan City's meteoric rise, under Lu Jingming, changed everything. With the Black Tower Herta and powerful allies, it became a force to be reckoned with.
Xu Jiawei realized he didn't need to look far—Lu Jingming and Haiyuan City were the ideal allies.
His thinking was simple: if he could marry Xu Jiujiu to Lu Jingming, their cities would be bound together, becoming a true community of shared fate.
That would reinforce the Star Crown's position against both external threats and internal rivals.
This was why Xu Jiawei was so warm to Lu Jingming today—he wanted not only Haiyuan City's power but Lu Jingming himself as a member of the Star Crown clan.