Sun Moon Empire, Imperial Palace.
Xu Tianran sat in the main hall, holding a cup of tea in his hand, silently sipping the fragrant brew.
The tea used in the Sun Moon Empire's Imperial Palace was very exquisite, a high-mountain tea that was semi-fermented and then secretly processed using a special method. The annual production was very small, and only the imperial family could possess some.
A faint tea fragrance lingered. Xu Tianran's mood seemed very calm, without much fluctuation.
Xu Tianran sat in the secondary seat, and next to him was the throne.
"Luanshi, you've deployed everything that can be deployed on your end, right?" Xu Tianran appeared very relaxed and said with a smile.
Gou Luanshi, standing before him, was dressed in a brownish-red palace attire. He replied with utmost respect, "Your Highness, this humble servant has already made the arrangements. If that Demon King Huo Yuhao really dares to come, he will surely die with regret on the spot!"
"I am at ease when you handle things." Xu Tianran gently tapped the tabletop with his fingers. The entire imperial palace was instantly as silent as death, with only the sound of his fingers tapping on the table.
"Tell me, that Demon King Huo Yuhao, to have such strength at such a young age is truly rare. It would be a pity for such a prodigy to die young. Or, could he be of use to me?"
Xu Tianran pondered for a moment, and actually voiced the thought that Gou Luanshi least wanted to hear.
"Your Highness, that Huo Yuhao is arrogant and unruly. He relies on his powerful background and acts recklessly. I'm afraid he will be difficult to subdue." Gou Luanshi quickly advised.
"No matter. Youthful arrogance is the nature of the young. When I was his age, was I not also ignorant of the immensity of heaven and earth?" Xu Tianran waved his hand. "The most important thing is that this person has a weakness."
Gou Luanshi instantly looked up, as if he had understood something. "You mean, his women?"
Xu Tianran did not delve further into this topic. Then, he suddenly thought of something.
"The girl I had you investigate last time, what is the result now?"
"Reporting to Your Highness, that girl is named Ju Zi. It seems Huo Yuhao met her during the Dueling Soul Contest three years ago. It is said that their relationship is extraordinary. Her father, Huang Bin, is currently employed in the Sun Moon Royal Imperial Kitchen..."
Gou Luanshi immediately reported truthfully, laying out Ju Zi's life story as if he were listing family treasures.
"I heard that this person is very talented in military command. In the last military exercise at the Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineer Academy, she led several soul engineers with pure support-type martial souls to defeat a much larger opponent."
"Mm... military talent, what a fine military talent..." Xu Tianran nodded lightly, a thoughtful look on his face. He then turned to Gou Luanshi, "In your opinion, can this girl be competent as the Military Grand Marshal for my future conquest of the continent?"
"This humble servant... feels it is somewhat inappropriate." Gou Luanshi's face was a bit unsightly. "This woman is too close to that Huo Yuhao, and Huo Yuhao is implementing a people-centric policy in the Heavenly Soul Empire. I'm afraid it will..."
"If she loses her chastity, and we control her parents, it's not impossible to make her serve me." Xu Tianran chuckled, and then took an imperial decree from the tabletop. "The Dean of Illustrious Virtue Hall has always remained neutral and is also a backer for several of Huo Yuhao's female companions. But everyone has a weakness. You send people to find a chance to control her parents, thereby forcing that Ju Zi to leave the Illustrious Virtue Hall and come to me. I have plenty of ways to make her my person."
"Yes!" Gou Luanshi was secretly delighted. He knew Huo Yuhao's temperament well. If Xu Tianran offended that guy to the death, it would be impossible for him to submit to this Crown Prince. In that case, he could deal with Huo Yuhao without any scruples.
"After the decree is issued, you will still come back to serve me in my bed tonight."
Just as Gou Luanshi was happily walking out of the main hall with the decree, Xu Tianran suddenly said.
Gou Luanshi's face instantly turned pale. Deep in his eyes, a barely perceptible trace of disgust flashed by. However, he still replied in a tone of being overwhelmed by favor, "To be able to serve Your Highness is this humble servant's greatest blessing."
Only then did Xu Tianran lean back peacefully on the lounge chair, a pathological desire reflected in his half-closed eyes.
—
After flying for half a day, Huo Yuhao and the others were getting closer and closer to their destination. According to the map, they would soon be able to reach the vicinity of Rising Sun City.
Time passed in the tedious flight. When they had once again crossed a majestic mountain range on the endless journey, at the end of their line of sight, the silhouette of a massive fortress suddenly appeared.
Rising Sun City was built against a mountain, about four hundred li from Ming Dou, directly to its south. It was surrounded by a boundless plain. The monotonous terrain was very disadvantageous for the rescue operation that took place after the Ming Dou tournament in the original novel. It was like a fierce tiger, guarding the vital passage out of the city. Anyone who wanted to leave this city had to pass through this massive fortress. And this heavily defended fortress, over the years, had swallowed who knows how many souls of rebel soldiers. And this was also what made many of the surrounding powers fear it like a tiger.
In the entire Sun Moon Empire, Rising Sun City could only be considered a small to medium-sized city. It was far from being as magnificent as Ming Dou, with a permanent population of only about one hundred thousand households, and a total population of less than five hundred thousand.
However, because of that world-renowned blind date event, this city had begun to change in recent months. On the city walls, which were about five zhang high, a large number of soul tool searchlights and soul tool detectors had been installed. Outside Rising Sun City, four full soul engineer legions of five hundred men each were stationed.
In the Sun Moon Empire, soul engineer legions also had different grades.
The most powerful among them was the Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineer Legion. This was the most powerful force in the entire Sun Moon Empire. The entry threshold for the Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineer Legion was level fifty. That is to say, one had to have at least a Soul King level of cultivation to have a chance of joining. The total number of members in the Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineer Legion was about three hundred. Among them, the three leaders and vice-leaders were all powerful level-nine soul engineers, loyal only to the imperial family.
And now, this incomparably powerful Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineer Legion was already secretly stationed in Rising Sun City. Coupled with another three well-equipped soul engineer legions, even an Ultimate Douluo would have to weigh their own strength before trying to invade.
Only the Sun Moon Emperor or the Crown Prince, when appointed in a crisis, could deploy this powerful soul engineer legion. The legion was equipped with the finest soul tool weapons and enjoyed the highest treatment in the Sun Moon Empire's military.
The financial resources required to maintain such a legion alone were at least the total annual tax revenue of two of the Sun Moon Empire's major cities!
This legion guarded Ming Dou and was the emperor's most loyal and important fighting force. It, along with the secret Imperial Court Consecrated Hall, were known as the two pillars of the imperial family.
And when these two forces were combined, even powers as strong as the Holy Spirit Cult and the Body Sect had to be wary, to say nothing of others.
This was also the greatest combat power that Xu Tianran could currently mobilize. In order to ensure the smooth running of this blind date event, as well as to guard against the heaven-defyingly powerful Demon King Huo Yuhao, he had no choice but to use all his trump cards.
No matter how strong a single person was, they could not escape the category of being human. Especially when it came to the level of Mu En and Ye Xishui, they had even guessed that even a true god that only existed in legends had limited power; it was just that it surpassed the level of humans. Otherwise, the legendary Sea God Tang San from ten thousand years ago would not have been able to injure the already-ascended Angel God Qian Renxue with special hidden weapons while he was still at the Titled Douluo level!