Ming Capital, the Prince Zhong's Mansion.
This is the residence of Prince Xu Guozhong, located around the Royal Palace and Mingde Hall, adjacent to the Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineer Academy.
Xu Guozhong was originally a prince of the previous dynasty, possessing the most noble royal bloodline of the previous dynasty, namely the lineage of the dark-skinned nobles.
A century ago, he recognized the situation, betrayed the previous emperor, and helped the current Old Emperor seize the throne and change dynasties.
He was thus granted the title of Prince of Empire, the only prince in the entire Sun Moon Empire. Although he did not hold military power, he controlled the most important resource treasury in the entire Sun Moon Empire.
Over the years, he has also used smuggling resources to raise his strength to level 92, Titled Douluo, and has become a genuine Nine-Level Soul Guidance Master.
Even Xu Tianran was willing to go to great lengths to win him over, but unfortunately Xu Guozhong never gave a direct response.
After all, he was a traitor, so naturally he was unwilling to be subservient to others. If given the chance, he would want to take a gamble!
...
At this moment, in the main hall of the Prince's Mansion, two figures sat facing each other, drinking and chatting happily.
The man on the left is tall, with dark skin, thick lips, and a shaved head. He is dressed in a black robe with gold trim, a typical dark-skinned nobleman.
With such distinctive features, this man is none other than Xu Guozhong, the master of Prince Zhong's Mansion.
Opposite Xu Guozhong was an equally powerful white-haired old man. He appeared ordinary, but his entire being exuded a chilling aura.
This man was none other than Linghu Yun, the commander of the Imperial Palace Guard.
Linghu Yun was originally just an ordinary commander in his early years. Later, he met Xu Guozhong and helped Xu Guozhong smuggle goods from the capital. In return, Xu Guozhong helped him acquire resources and status in Cultivate.
In just ten years, he rose from Spirit Douluo to Titled Douluo and even became the President of the Imperial Palace Guard.
However, over the years, Linghu Yun's promotions had reached their limit, and coupled with Xu Guozhong's advancing age, in order to secure a future for himself and his descendants, he secretly conspired with the Crown Prince, without Xu Guozhong's knowledge. Collaboration with Xu Tianran.
But who could have imagined... Xu Tianran would die so quickly, and the Third Prince also met his end, leaving only a bunch of useless princes who were utterly incompetent.
After much thought, he still felt that old man Xu Guozhong was more reliable...
"Brother Xu, with the royal family in turmoil right now, do you have any ideas?" Linghu Yun, seeing that he had prepared himself, tentatively looked at Xu Guozhong and asked Dao in a low voice.
"Hehe, I'm getting old, what ideas could I possibly have? It's better to wait for those youngsters to settle their differences." Xu Guozhong took a sip of wine, showing no other intentions. Instead, he looked at Linghu Yun and asked Dao with a smile, "On the contrary, you, brother, hold considerable military power, the entire Imperial Palace Guard is under your control. What are you going to do next? I bet quite a few princes want to win you over, right?"
Xu Guozhong naturally knew Dao Linghu Yun had these thoughts in mind, but he did not express them.
After all, the Old Emperor is still alive. If he dares to show even the slightest interest in the throne, the Old Emperor will stop at nothing to kill him...
To be on the safe side, we can have ideas before the Old Emperor dies, but we must never let anyone know.
However, that old fox Linghu Yun couldn't sit still any longer. Instead of choosing to pledge allegiance to any of the princes, he came to him instead...
Seeing that Xu Guozhong remained tight-lipped and offered no further thoughts, Linghu Yun grew anxious and quickly said, "Brother Xu, as you know, apart from the Crown Prince and the Third Prince, none of the current princes are likely to amount to anything, and the Old Emperor won't last much longer. Brother, you..."
"Hey, hey, hey... what are you saying, brother!" Xu Guozhong quickly shoved a cup of wine to the other man's lips, interrupting him, and said with a serious face, "I don't have any thoughts at all, don't talk nonsense! I am loyal to the emperor and would never have any other intentions!"
When Xu Guozhong said his last sentence, he emphasized the word "emperor".
Linghu Yun was shrewd enough to understand the meaning behind it.
Xu Guozhong will absolutely not take any action before the Old Emperor dies.
However, after the Old Emperor's death, things might change...
"Hehehe, it was my rudeness, brother. Come, come, let's have a drink!"
Although Linghu Yun did not achieve her goal, she did get Xu Guozhong's attitude, which was enough to satisfy her. She quickly poured wine for Xu Guozhong.
After all, they all knew the Old Emperor's condition; he didn't have many years left to live.
The other princes are not very capable. Even if the Old Emperor leaves a will designating a certain prince as his successor, the others will not obey, and there will definitely be chaos.
At that time, if Xu Guozhong had stood up and supported the other side, then...
Thinking of this, Linghu Yun felt that the future was promising, and who knows, he might even be able to go further and gain more military power!
"By the way, Eighth Prince, do you know anything about Dao? Why did he suddenly announce his involvement in the conflict?" Xu Guozhong suddenly remembered something and casually asked Dao.
The royal family values bloodline the most. Although the Eighth Prince has been living a life of idleness and complacency, his cultivation level is not low, and the concentration of royal bloodline is the highest among these princes. Moreover, he has inherited a pure solar Martial Soul.
If the Old Emperor were to choose his successor based on bloodline concentration, then the Eighth Prince would be the most promising candidate.
After all, bloodlines aren't determined by who was born earlier; it's purely a matter of luck.
If the Eighth Prince had emerged earlier to compete for the throne, he might have been able to rival the Third Prince and the Crown Prince.
It's a pity... this kid likes to coast along and wait to die, and now that he's stepped forward, it might be a little too late.
"Heh, just a clown. Now that all the major powers have their own supporters, they won't change easily. They might even join forces to target the Eighth Prince. He's already courting death." Linghu Yun chuckled.
His thoughts were similar to Xu Guozhong's: if Xu Tianhe had stepped forward earlier, or made a little more effort, there might have been real hope.
But if he suddenly steps forward now, it's hard to say whether he can win over other forces. On the contrary, because of his strong royal bloodline, he could easily be united against other princes.
"Hehehe, it seems I've come at the perfect time. I didn't expect to have such an unexpected gain..." Just then, a strange voice suddenly came from inside the hall.
"Who!"
Upon hearing this unfamiliar voice, Linghu Yun and Xu Guozhong's expressions changed drastically. They turned around and saw a strange young man standing at the entrance of the hall.
"Who are you? How did you get in?" Xu Guozhong suddenly stood up, cast a soul-guided shield on himself, and looked at Bai Zhou with a solemn expression.
You should know that Dao and Linghu Yun are both titled Douluo!
The fact that the other party was able to sneak in silently right under his and Linghu Yun's noses was extremely strange, and he had to deal with it carefully.
Linghu Yun also released her Martial Soul, her expression solemn.
The young man in front of him gave him a vague sense of oppression, making him very uncomfortable.