Sun Moon Imperial Palace.
The morning assembly has just ended.
After completing a series of procedures, the Crown Prince's attendants pushed Xu Tianran's wheelchair towards the Crown Prince's palace. The handsome and easy-going young man, with long, dark purple hair draped over his shoulders, held a book and appeared quite scholarly and refined. However, his lower body was completely bare, with his legs almost completely missing.
" Crown Prince." A figure appeared and blocked Xu Tianran's way; it was Kong Deming.
"Professor Kong." A look of doubt flashed in Xu Tianran's eyes. He raised his hands and respectfully performed a junior's salute, his face gentle and sincere. "I heard that Professor Kong's research has made a major breakthrough, so I would like to congratulate Professor Kong in advance."
"It's just a little progress." Kong Deming shook his head slightly, then his gaze fell on the attendants behind Xu Tianran. "I have something important to tell the Crown Prince, and only the Crown Prince can be here."
The attendants did not move.
"Oh?" A look of curiosity appeared in Xu Tianran's eyes. He had no doubts. Whether it was the emperor or the prince, they all had great trust in this guardian deity of the Empire, who could be considered one of their own. Xu Tianran turned to the attendants behind him and said in a slightly cold voice, "Didn't you hear what Elder Kong said? Go back to the palace and wait for me."
"Yes, sir." The attendants, heads bowed, left.
"I'm sorry, Elder Kong." Xu Tianran's face showed a hint of apology. "My subordinates are ignorant."
"One Titled Douluo and several Spirit Douluos —it's a good thing that such powerful individuals are so loyal." Kong Deming glanced at the approximate strength of the followers and couldn't help but sigh inwardly. Xu Tianran was a very capable child, but since his legs were crippled, his personality had become too extreme. Cooperating with that group of lunatics, including the Evil Soul Master, could easily backfire. After all, they were two Limit Douluos.
But now, he has no right to say anything.
"Follow me." With that, Kong Deming walked out of the palace.
Xu Tianran used spirit power to drive his wheelchair to follow along.
What was Master Kong going to take him to do?
Xu Tianran was unaware of the truth, but he knew that if he could gain more favor with this guardian of the Empire, his position as crown prince, and even his future ascension to the throne, would become more stable. Even the fact that Master Kong had sought him out today, if witnessed by others, could generate rumors that were beneficial to him.
Kong Deming moved quickly as they left the palace, while Xu Tianran, in his specially modified spirit tool wheelchair, was also quite fast. Soon, the two arrived at a mid-range restaurant.
Standing at the door of a private room, Kong Deming glanced at Xu Tianran behind him and said, "This matter today is also related to one person."
"Oh?" Xu Tianran became even more curious.
"Click~"
The door opened.
A black-haired boy opened the door, "Master Kong."
An Zhen's gaze swept past Kong Deming and landed on the young man in the wheelchair, the Crown Prince of the Sun Moon Empire. Xu Tianran. The other person had a gentle and calm expression, like a friendly older brother next door, and his eyes were also sizing him up.
To be honest, this was the first time he had ever met this Crown Prince.
The next moment, a gray chain shot out from between An Zhen's eyebrows like a bolt of lightning.
"Level 88 Spirit Douluo." An Zhen's powerful mental force sensed Xu Tianran's spirit power level after Electrolux's necromantic power pierced his brow.
The young man smiled slightly. This was Xu Tianran before he became emperor and gained access to more top-tier resources and powerful spirit tools; he hadn't even acquired the only spirit tool that might offer a chance of survival—a level nine triggered soul defense spirit tool.
If it's like in the original story, the Sun Moon Emperor, possessing a high-energy compression array spirit tool, several level-nine triggered defensive spirit tools targeting various attack attributes, and whose cultivation has reached the ninth ring of Titled Douluo, would be a prime example. Xu Tianran. An Zhen didn't doubt that Electrolux could kill him, but it was practically impossible to easily lure him out and then forcibly enslave him, as was the case now.
"As expected, it's easier to fight before they've fully developed." An Zhen remarked as he imprinted his spiritual mark on the soul contract brought by Electrolux.
Although he hadn't fully developed by then, he had a powerful mentor carrying him.
"You agree, Your Majesty," An Zhen said, looking at Xu Tianzhen inside the room.
In the blind spot in front of the door, Xu Tianzhen sat there. The girl was still wearing the same clothes as before, but the coat that used to be tied around her waist was now on her body. The once lively and cheerful girl now sat there quietly, with a faint sadness in her eyes.
"..." Xu Tianzhen chose to answer with silence.
However, as if recalling what had happened before, the girl nodded quickly, like a startled little rabbit, "Yes."
Xu Tianzhen looked at Xu Tianran, whose head was hanging down, with some concern.
This person seems to have just done something to my older brother.
An Zhen looked at Xu Tianran.
Does this count as the fall of a powerful figure?
The prince, who was injured and crippled, was to be executed by slow slicing, intending to use his broken body to realize his ambitions. However, he was then directly defeated by a dimensional reduction attack, unable to even control his own life and death.
Having received the feedback from his mind, Xu Tianran raised his head, his face calm, unbelievably calm. He glanced at Kong Deming, then looked at An Zhen. However, An Zhen, who could sense the other's inner thoughts, knew that beneath that calm surface lay a raging storm of anger.
However, An Zhen didn't care about this; it was just impotent rage.
" Have you told anyone about Jing Hongchen's grandson, An Zhen, attending Shrek Academy?" An Zhen commanded the master-servant contract using mental force.
"I've told others." Xu Tianran's body moved uncontrollably as he spoke.
"Who?" An Zhen's gaze turned slightly cold.
His identity cannot be revealed at this time.
"Ju Zi, she's a subordinate I trust. She's currently studying at the Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineer Academy. I told her about her during a casual chat." Xu Tianran mentioned someone who surprised An Zhen.
tangerine?
An Zhen recalled information about the girl in his mind. However, it was all from books in his previous life; he had never seen her in person. She had always stayed in her room at Mingde Hall. Because of the war, Orange's father died, and her mother died of depression; she was a pitiful person.
He arrived in this world while still in the orphanage, only figuring out the approximate timeline when the Smile Meng siblings became famous in Mingdu. In his previous life, some of the texts he had read materialized into vivid characters, and at that time, he had considered saving some unfortunate people, including Orange. However, when Orange's father died, he was still in the orphanage and had no power whatsoever. As for the others, he didn't even know their exact locations, such as Orange, who was homeless after losing both parents. At that time, he had no power; he was just a child, only able to take care of himself, let alone save others.
Knowing this news, one should definitely keep quiet.
But, would you like to get to know each other?
However, Ju Zi's enemy is Yu Tong's biological father. Although Dai Hao has also wronged Yu Tong, if both sides want to punish Dai Hao, An Zhen believes he would lean towards Yu Tong over a girl he has never met in person and only knows through some written words. Or perhaps the two of them reach a consensus and both want to kill Dai Hao.
Tsk, Dai Hao is really something...
Well, shutting the other party up is definitely something that needs to be done. An Zhen won't let go of any possibility that could lead to his failure. As for what happens next, we'll see.
Using the master-slave contract, An Zhen commanded Xu Tianran to shut up and not speak. After thinking for a while, he took out a specially made communication transducer.
"Hey, Grandpa."
"Well, there's something I need to do. Help me find a student at the Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineer Academy named Orange. Xu Tianran told her about our agreement."
"Uh, not to silence her, but to bring her to Mingde Hall and have Murasaki keep an eye on her. It's preferential treatment, very preferential treatment."
"By the way," An Zhen put down his communicator and looked at Kong Deming, "Mr. Kong, how are the arrangements going?"
An Zhen's original plan was to directly storm the palace. Now that he controlled the Sun Moon Empire's high-end combat power, even if the Sun Moon Imperial Palace might have other hidden strengths, there were no more Ninth-Level Soul Engineers to unleash their full potential. Moreover, he had Kong Deming, a senior member of the Sun Moon Royal Family, by his side. It was simple, brutal, and highly effective. However, Kong Deming hoped to adopt a gentler approach to reduce unnecessary casualties and unrest.
An Zhen agreed; he only wanted the outcome he desired. Minimizing losses would be even better, since the place would eventually belong to him, and losing these things meant losing his possessions.
Kong Deming bowed slightly and said, "Everything has been arranged. I have already inspected the area, and the high-energy compression arrays at the Spirit Tools in the four cardinal directions of Mingdu have been set up. As long as you give the order, Mingdu will be completely under your control."
The high-energy compression array Spirit Tool, each possessing the equivalent of one hundred Titled Douluo's spirit power reserves, is one of the Sun Moon Empire's trump cards.
"What about the imperial palace?" An Zhen remembered that there were four imperial palaces in the original novel, which were used by Xu Tianran, who had become emperor at the time, to deal with Leaf Evening Water and Dragon Xiaoyao.
"?"
Kong Deming looked at An Zhen with some surprise and doubt, " I haven't started making the miniaturized high-energy compression array Spirit Tool yet; it's still just a concept."
He didn't tell anyone else about this, so how did this person know?
"I see." An Zhen nodded slightly, not explaining to Kong Deming's puzzled expression, but instead picked up the communication spirit tool in her hand and spoke into the other end:
"Grandpa, I've reached the final step. You should come over too. Well, except for those few Ninth-Level Soul Engineers who went out, I've taken care of the others and am preparing to enter the palace."
...
Mingde Hall.
"Go in."
At the door of An Zhen's room, Zi Ji, dressed in a purple outfit, sized up the girl in front of her.
Ju Zi, almost nineteen, was in the prime of her life. Her long, smooth brown hair made her look only seventeen or eighteen. She had a beautiful face, and her large, bright eyes looked timid, as if she was a little uneasy about what had suddenly happened. Her skin was very good, pink and tender, as if you could squeeze water out of it if you pinched it. Her white school uniform accentuated her beautiful figure.
"Is this the toy Uncle found?" An Qiuer peeked out, her golden eyes scanning the orange up and down. It wasn't short, and it looked soft and cuddly, seemingly useless.
'Uncle? Toy?' Orange was startled.
She was just making her usual spirit tool when she was suddenly notified that the head of the hall summoned her, and then she was brought here by Lord Hongchen.
Was she given away as a plaything to other nobles?
"I don't know." Zi Ji shook her head gently. "That human said this is the person the master wants, and told me to keep a close eye on him. The master will deal with him when he returns."
'That human?' Orange sensed something strange about those words.
Orange's large, bright eyes subtly observed the two people before her. The girl, skilled in self-control, was not as timid as her appearance suggested, like a timid little rabbit. The blonde girl's stunning beauty was the most exquisite she had ever seen, as for the purple-haired one…
Ju Zi glanced at Zi Ji almost casually, and the next second, an unprecedented sense of crisis washed over her. In a daze, Ju Zi felt as if she were staring at a giant dragon, its sharp claws seemingly pressed against her neck, as if death was imminent, a suffocating terror gripping her. When she came to her senses, Ju Zi found herself sitting on the ground, her back soaked in cold sweat.
"Stay put." Zi Ji's figure appeared in front of Ju Zi at some point, looking down at the girl who had fallen to the ground. She reached out, picked Ju Zi up, and threw her onto the sofa next to her.
"..."
Hugging her long, beautiful legs, with her feet in white boots resting on the edge of the sofa, the girl curled up on the sofa, trying her best to appear cute and docile, but inwardly she was filled with huge surprise.
Spirit Douluo! This woman is at least at the Spirit Douluo level, and a powerful being who possesses a powerful dragon-like Spirit.
To command the submission of such a powerful figure, and to have Lord Hongchen bring her here— who exactly is this master she speaks of? He must be at least a Titled Douluo, right? She's never heard Xu Tianran mention Mingde Hall before.
Orange's fair fingers quietly rested on her storage spirit tool, her gaze shifting subtly to the blonde girl. After a moment's thought, she abandoned the idea.
Although her storage spirit tool wasn't taken, the things she made were nothing more than toys to the purple-haired woman. As for the blonde girl, she couldn't sense any spirit power fluctuations from her. Although her spirit was geared towards support systems, she was still a mid-level spirit master, and the blonde girl's strength was definitely above hers.
What bad luck!
How did she end up in such a situation?
Let's wait and see.
She couldn't possibly break through on her own, especially since this was Mingde Hall, where different identification was required to enter and exit various areas, and besides, it was Lord Hongchen who brought her here.
The purple-haired woman carrying out the orders was clearly incapable of communication.
I wonder if Ms. Xuan Ziwen will be able to discover anything from the time she was missing.
Otherwise, we can only wait for that so-called master to return and use Xu Tianran's name to put pressure on the other party.