As the news of Wang Chen's decisive killing of a Titled Douluo–level evil soul master spread rapidly, the entire Mingdu grew unusually lively that night…
Mingdu Soul Engineer Academy, girls' dormitory, single suite of Princess Xu Tianzhen.
Mingdu Soul Engineer Academy was a well-known academy within the city—its reputation second only to that of the Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineer Academy, ranking second overall.
By all logic, Xu Tianzhen, as a noble princess, ought to have studied at the Royal Soul Engineer Academy.
However, as Emperor Xu Jing's only daughter, Xu Tianzhen was the recipient of infinite love and indulgence.
Perhaps because Xu Jing had too many sons, they had become "cheap by abundance," while his single daughter was as precious as jade—thus, he doted on her beyond measure.
Even when she was little and extremely mischievous—stealing the concubines' cosmetics, dismantling Xu Jing's bedchamber—she was never punished.
This upbringing fostered her spoiled, willful, and rebellious personality.
At twelve years old, Xu Jing wanted to send her to the Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineer Academy.
But Xu Tianzhen refused outright, clamoring to attend Shrek Academy instead.
Yet, since the Sun Moon Empire and Shrek Academy were mortal enemies, Xu Jing naturally couldn't possibly send his daughter to study there.
Because of this, Xu Jing became angry with her for the first time and confined her for a period.
When her confinement ended, Xu Tianzhen still refused to attend the Royal Academy and instead went to Mingdu Soul Engineer Academy.
Xu Jing didn't really mind; he simply let her have her way.
To him, as long as she stayed in Mingdu, it didn't matter which academy she attended.
At this moment, Xu Tianzhen was lying on her dormitory bed at Mingdu Soul Engineer Academy, reading a book under the soft glow of a soul lamp, laughing cheerfully from time to time.
Her face was exquisitely delicate, her large eyes framed by double eyelids, her petite figure perfectly proportioned—if someone held her in their arms, her little head would just reach their chin.
She wore the standard Mingdu Soul Engineer Academy uniform.
Aside from the seventh-level storage soul tool bracelet on her wrist, there were no other luxurious accessories upon her body.
As she read, giggling sweetly, a knock sounded at the door.
Without looking up, Xu Tianzhen casually said, "It's not locked. Come in."
A woman in palace attire stepped inside—her soul power at the Soul Sage level, clearly a maidservant from the imperial inner court.
Upon seeing the princess, she immediately bowed and said respectfully,
"Your Highness, His Majesty has decreed that you must return to the palace tonight."
Hearing this, Xu Tianzhen immediately lost the mood for reading.
With a huff, she tossed the book aside.
"Back to the palace? I'm not going! The palace is so boring—I want to stay here and have fun at the academy."
Then, pointing at the maidservant, she said imperiously, "Alright, you've delivered the message. You can leave now—and don't forget to close the door for this princess on your way out."
The maidservant could only sigh inwardly.
Among all of Emperor Xu Jing's children, probably only the Naive Princess dared behave like this.
Anyone else receiving an imperial summons would be trembling with fear or at least respectful beyond words—who would ever dare say "no"?
Though sighing internally, the maid forced a wry smile and said,
"Your Highness, please don't make things difficult for me. This is His Majesty's direct order. He said that if you refuse, I'm authorized to use force to bring you back."
As the maid's soul power surged, clearly preparing to act,
Xu Tianzhen suddenly changed her tone and grinned.
"Hehe, alright, I'll go back. I'm actually curious what Father wants from me."
Though Xu Tianzhen could be willful and even a little scatterbrained at times, she was no fool.
Ever since the time she had stubbornly demanded to study at Shrek Academy and been confined by her father, she had learned one thing:
Her father might indulge her, but there were limits.
For minor, harmless matters—such as tearing down a palace hall—he didn't mind.
After all, those things weren't dangerous, nor did they cause real trouble; they could be rebuilt with a few gold soul coins.
But in matters that were important or dangerous, her father would never allow her to act willfully.
And if she ever crossed that line, there would be no good outcome.
Thus, the moment she heard that her father had granted permission for the maid to use force to bring her back,
she immediately understood that this matter was serious—something she couldn't defy.
So she decided to behave and return obediently.
The maidservant let out a breath of relief.
If possible, she would never have wanted to use force against the princess—it would only earn her the princess's eternal resentment.
Xu Tianzhen hopped off the bed and strode toward the door.
As she passed the maid, she asked,
"Do you know why Father wants me back?"
The maid shook her head.
"His Majesty only ordered me to bring Your Highness back to the palace. He didn't say why."
Seeing that the maid knew nothing, Xu Tianzhen lost interest in talking further and walked out of her dorm.
The maid hurriedly followed after her.
——
A quarter of an hour later, Mingdu Imperial Palace.
"Bad news! Princess Tianzhen is back!" a trembling attendant shouted.
"What did you say? Princess Tianzhen has returned?"
"Didn't she go to school? It's still the school term—there's no holiday yet. Why would she suddenly come back?"
As the palace maids and eunuchs trembled and whispered in confusion, wondering why the "little demon star" had returned so suddenly—
Inside the Princess Residence,
Xu Tianzhen was nestled in the arms of a beautiful, dignified woman who looked to be around thirty, coquettishly saying,
"Mother, I missed you so much."
The elegant woman gently pinched Xu Tianzhen's delicate nose and said with feigned annoyance,
"You've been away so long—I was beginning to think you'd forgotten your mother."
Xu Tianzhen stuck out her little tongue and giggled, "How could I~"
After a while of affectionate play, she finally asked,
"Mother, do you know why Father called me back?"
The beautiful woman smiled.
"It's good news. Your father has found you a particularly outstanding and capable young man.
He wants you to meet him tomorrow."
Xu Tianzhen's eyes went wide, her mouth dropped open, and her mind went completely blank—
for a moment, she felt as though the sky had fallen, the sun and moon had gone dark, and the world was ending.
"Ahhh! Nooo! I'm still so young! There are so many fun things I haven't done yet—I don't want a blind date!!"
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