Xue Ke pondered these matters, wondering how she could sabotage the marriage without damaging her own reputation.
Meanwhile, Tang San, standing opposite Xue Ke, was quite displeased with her rude question. However, he had seen a portrait of Princess Xue Ke from Tang Yuehua.
He knew the girl before him was the royal family's most beloved little princess.
Therefore, Tang San could only suppress his displeasure and feign gentlemanly conduct, attempting to say something.
However, before Tang San could speak, he noticed that Xue Ke had remained standing in place, lost in thought, after her previous statement.
Tang San felt ignored, and his displeasure instantly turned into anger.
But Tang San, mindful of Xue Ke's status, hesitated to unleash the Dragon Whisker Needles hidden in his hand.
...
Outside the Imperial Palace.
A dark figure moved stealthily through the pitch-black night, agilely darting across the high palace walls.
Somewhere in the Imperial Palace, at the Treasury.
Lin Rong, clad in night-vision attire, hid in the shadows, using his Mind Mirror to scout the surroundings.
"Even after moving half the guard force, I didn't expect two teams of guards to still be stationed here."
"Good thing I was prepared."
After obtaining his second Spirit Ring, Lin Rong had formed a general plan in his mind for how to acquire the Heaven Dou Imperial Family's national treasure – the Vast Sea Konoha Cover.
As the national treasure, the Vast Sea Konoha Cover was always kept under strict guard in the very center of the Treasury.
Each of the guards responsible for guarding the Treasury was at least a three-ring Soul Elder.
The Treasury's main gate alone had seven locks, requiring seven keys to open.
Under normal circumstances, without Xue Ye's imperial decree, it would be impossible to infiltrate the Treasury and steal the Vast Sea Konoha Cover without alerting anyone.
But for Lin Rong, who possessed Spatial Swap, this was hardly a problem.
To achieve this, Lin Rong had, on the day of Emperor Xue Ye's birthday, selected a very valuable birthday gift, marked it, and presented it at the banquet.
According to custom, valuable birthday gifts were registered and then stored in the Treasury.
This way, Lin Rong could use Spatial Swap to infiltrate the Treasury without alerting anyone.
In the darkness, Lin Rong quietly released the Dragon Soul of the Nine Bend Vine Dragon and commanded via telepathy:
"Xiao Qing, after I use Spatial Swap, remember to mark the item that is swapped over and then take it, concealing yourself in the void."
The Nine Bend Vine Dragon, in its Dragon Soul state, nudged Lin Rong's face with its dragon head in acknowledgment.
Seeing this, Lin Rong stroked Xiao Qing's dragon head. Then, a barely perceptible spatial fluctuation flickered, and Lin Rong vanished from his spot, replaced by an item wrapped in red cloth.
After the birthday gift was swapped over, the waiting Nine Bend Vine Dragon immediately seized it in its claws and applied the Green Leaf Mark, its second Spirit Skill.
Following that, the Nine Bend Vine Dragon gradually became ethereal, eventually disappearing into the dark corner and hiding within the void.
Inside the Treasury.
A spatial fluctuation flashed, and Lin Rong appeared on a display stand.
Looking around, his vision was filled with a dazzling array of rare treasures.
Various rare jades, agates, pearls, ambers, amethysts, emeralds...
As well as treasured weapons, armor, and the like.
"As expected of the royal family, there are quite a lot of good things."
"It's a shame most of them are common items. There's basically nothing that can help a Spirit Master improve their strength."
After scanning the area, Lin Rong bypassed the countless luxury items beside him and headed directly for the deepest part of the Treasury.
It had to be said that the Treasury was built very large, and its interior layout was also very complex.
Moreover, the Treasury was filled with all sorts of rare and precious treasures. At first glance, every storage room looked identical.
Fortunately, under his Mind Mirror, the subtle differences of all things were undetectable to Lin Rong's mind.
Even if he got lost in the Treasury, one principle remained unchanged.
The closer he got to the center of the Treasury, the more precious the treasures stored within.
As an hereditary Duke, Lin Rong naturally knew the essential lessons for discerning the value of treasures.
Using this method, Lin Rong wandered around the Treasury for the time it took an incense stick to burn, finally arriving at a storage room in the very center of the Treasury.
Central Treasury Storage Room.
On a display stand in the center, a brocade box covered with red cloth was placed.
Lin Rong merely stood at the entrance of the storage room, gazing at it from a distance. A wisp of divinity born within his body felt a slight tremor.
"No mistake, only divine objects can cause divinity to tremble."
"The item beneath that red cloth must be the Vast Sea Konoha Cover, no, it should be the Heart of the Sea God."
The core item of the Sea God's inheritance was not on Sea God Island but had become the national treasure of the Heaven Dou Imperial Family. It was hard not to speculate whether there was some connection between the royal Xue family and the Sea God.
"Could it be that Bo Saixi's lineage are descendants left by the Sea God and his main consort, while the Xue family's lineage are descendants left by the Sea God and Xiao San's affair?"
Considering the tendency for infatuation on Douluo Continent, Lin Rong couldn't help but imagine a melodramatic plot in his mind.
"So, Bo Saixi's lineage inherited Sea God Island, while the Xue family took the Heart of the Sea God and established the Heaven Dou Empire with the Sea God's help?"
It wasn't entirely unreasonable for Lin Rong to speculate like this.
While the Xue family's Martial Soul, the Swan, was a high-level Martial Soul, it barely met the threshold for being considered one.
Furthermore, this Swan Martial Soul was the purest form, meaning it lacked offensive power and was notoriously a "vase" Martial Soul among high-level ones.
Lin Rong pushed aside his extraneous thoughts and strode towards the center of the collection room. Looking at the transparent light barrier before him, he thought:
"Spirit Tool defense shield. The royal family really has quite a few good things!"
"However, the strength of this defense shield doesn't seem particularly impressive. It's only at the level of a three-ring Soul Elder using their third defensive Spirit Skill."
Gazing at the defense shield before him, Lin Rong suddenly had an idea. He raised his wrist, and over ten golden particles flew out from the Jade Bead of Vine Leaves.
Azure-green Spirit Power was injected into them, and the golden particles unfurled into numerous golden threads.
"Although Tang San has never displayed the Dragon Whisker Needles in front of others so far, that day will come sooner or later."
"I wonder what the royal family will think when they discover that the Dragon Whisker Needles displayed by Tang San are the same golden particles that appeared in the national treasury theft case?"
Under Lin Rong's control, the golden threads transformed into over ten streaks of golden light, shuttling back and forth across the defense shield. In just a moment, they completely shattered it.
As Lin Rong withdrew his Spirit Power, these golden threads reverted to golden particles and fell to the ground.
"Got it!"
Lin Rong yanked off the red cloth, grabbed the brocade box, and pocketed it without hesitation. He hurried back to the original collection room and stood on the altar where he had appeared.
With another subtle spatial fluctuation, Lin Rong vanished. The birthday gift, wrapped in red cloth, reappeared on the altar.
Outside the national treasury, in a dark corner not far away.
Lin Rong's figure flashed, and he swiftly left the imperial palace.
In the manor, the old butler sat calmly in his chair, waiting. Only after seeing the young master return safely did the stone hanging in his heart quietly land.
Meanwhile, in the imperial palace gardens.
Tang San was sitting at the banquet, conversing with Xue Qinghe about something. For some reason, he suddenly felt a shiver run down his spine, vaguely having a bad premonition.
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