Princess Xue Ke was deep in thought, wondering what she could do to sabotage the marriage arrangement without ruining her reputation.
On the opposite side of Xue Ke, Tang San was visibly displeased by the impolite question she had asked, but he had seen a portrait of the princess through his aunt, Tang Yuehua. He knew that the girl before him was the most beloved little princess of the royal family.
Therefore, Tang San suppressed his irritation and, trying to maintain a gentlemanly demeanor, was about to say something.
However, before he could speak, he noticed that Xue Ke, after finishing her earlier statement, had fallen into a daze, staring vacantly into space, clearly lost in her own thoughts.
Feeling ignored, Tang San's annoyance quickly shifted to anger. But he still restrained himself, considering Xue Ke's status. The hidden Dragon Beard Needle in his hand remained still, its launch delayed.
Outside the Imperial Palace
A shadow slipped through the pitch-black night, moving nimbly across the tall palace walls.
Inside the palace, in the section where the Imperial Treasury was located, Lin Rong, wearing his night attire, crouched in the shadows, scanning the surroundings with his Mind Mirror.
"Even though half of the guards have been reassigned, I didn't expect there to still be two squads guarding this place."
"Thankfully, I was well-prepared."
After obtaining his second soul ring, Lin Rong had already formulated a rough plan to steal the Heavenly Dou Empire's national treasure—the Hanhai Qiankun Shield.
As the national treasure, the Hanhai Qiankun Water Shield had always been stored in the heart of the Imperial Treasury, tightly guarded.
The guards responsible for protecting the treasury were all at least Soul Exalted with three rings, and the entrance had seven doors that required seven different keys to unlock.
Under normal circumstances, it would be impossible to infiltrate the treasury and steal the Hanhai Qiankun Shield without alarming anyone, unless there was an imperial decree on a snowy night.
However, for Lin Rong, who possessed spatial exchange abilities, this was not a problem.
To prepare for this, Lin Rong had given a very precious gift to the emperor during his birthday celebration, marking it with a special symbol before sending it off. As per tradition, valuable gifts would be cataloged and stored in the treasury.
With that, Lin Rong could use his spatial exchange ability to sneak into the treasury without drawing any attention.
In the dark of night, Lin Rong silently summoned the Dragon Soul of his Nine-curve Vine Dragon and mentally instructed, "Little Qing, when I perform the spatial exchange, make sure to mark the item once it's exchanged and then hide it in the void."
The Nine-curve Vine Dragon, in its dragon soul form, nudged Lin Rong's face with its head, signaling that it understood.
With a subtle motion, Lin Rong performed the spatial exchange, vanishing from his position. In his place, a wrapped red cloth appeared.
After the gift had been exchanged, the Nine-curve Vine Dragon quickly grabbed it in its claws, using its second soul technique, Qing Ye Mark, to place the mark on it.
The vine dragon then became increasingly transparent before vanishing into the dark corner, hiding within the void.
Inside the Imperial Treasury
A brief spatial fluctuation passed, and Lin Rong appeared on a platform.
As he scanned his surroundings, he was greeted by countless rare treasures: precious jade, agate, pearls, amber, amethyst, emerald... and a variety of weapons, armor, and more.
"This truly is the royal family. They sure have a lot of good things," Lin Rong muttered, admiring the collection.
"Unfortunately, most of these are just trinkets. There's hardly anything here that would be of any help to a soul master."
He took a quick look around, bypassing countless luxuries, and headed straight for the deepest part of the treasury.
The treasury was enormous and its layout complex. There were so many chambers, each filled with precious items, and they all looked the same at first glance.
Fortunately, under the effects of his Mind Mirror, Lin Rong could detect even the slightest differences that others could not.
Even if he had gotten lost, there was one guiding principle that remained constant: The closer he got to the center of the treasury, the more valuable the treasures would be.
As a hereditary duke, Lin Rong was well-trained in distinguishing the value of items.
Following this method, Lin Rong wandered around the treasury for a good while, finally reaching the central storage room.
The Central Chamber of the Treasury
At the center of the room, on a pedestal, was a brocade box covered with a red cloth.
As Lin Rong stood at the door of the room and gazed at it, a faint sense of divine energy stirred within him.
"There's no mistaking it. Only an item with divine properties can cause this kind of reaction," he thought to himself.
"That red cloth must be hiding the Hanhai Qiankun Shield—no, it should be called the Heart of the Sea God."
The core artifact of the Sea God's legacy was not located on Sea God Island but had instead become the imperial family's national treasure, which made Lin Rong wonder if there was a deeper connection between the royal Xue family and the Sea God.
"Could it be that the Poseisi lineage represents the Sea God's legitimate descendants, and the Xue family is the offspring of a forbidden union between the Sea God and his concubine?"
Given the typical romanticized nature of the relationships in the world of the Douluo Continent, Lin Rong couldn't help but imagine a dramatic scenario.
"So, the Poseisi lineage inherited Sea God Island, while the Xue family took the Heart of the Sea God and used it to establish the Heavenly Dou Empire?"
It wasn't hard for Lin Rong to arrive at this theory.
The Xue family's martial soul, the swan, though an advanced martial soul, barely met the criteria for being classified as such. Moreover, it was a pure swan, meaning it had little combat potential, earning it a reputation as a "flower vase" among advanced martial souls.
Shaking off these thoughts, Lin Rong stepped forward, moving closer to the transparent defensive barrier around the artifact.
"An excellent soul guide defensive shield. The royal family really has a lot of good things."
"But the strength of this shield seems lacking—it's probably on the level of a third-circle defensive soul master's third defensive technique."
As he observed the shield, Lin Rong suddenly had an idea. He raised his wrist, and over a dozen golden particles flew out from the Vineleaf Jade Pearl.
Injecting his soul power into the particles, the golden grains stretched and transformed into thin golden threads.
"Although Tang San has never used the Dragon Beard Needle in front of everyone, it's only a matter of time before he does," Lin Rong mused.
"I wonder, when the royal family discovers that the golden particles used by Tang San's Dragon Beard Needle are the same as those found in the treasury heist, what will they think?"
Under Lin Rong's control, the golden threads danced around the shield, weaving through it until it shattered into pieces in no time.
After retracting his soul power, the golden threads turned back into particles and dropped to the floor.
"Got it!"
Lin Rong quickly lifted the red cloth and took the brocade box. Without hesitation, he hurried back to the original storage room where he had appeared, standing once again on the pedestal.
Another subtle shift in spatial energy, and Lin Rong disappeared, with the red cloth-wrapped gift reappearing on the pedestal.
Outside the Imperial Treasury
Lin Rong's figure flashed as he swiftly exited the palace.
At his estate, the old butler sat calmly in his chair, waiting. Only when he saw the young master return safely did the heavy weight on his heart finally lift.
Elsewhere in the Imperial Garden
Tang San was seated at the banquet table, talking to Xue Qinghe. For some unknown reason, a sudden unease washed over him, and a vague premonition lingered in his mind.