On the day after Yu Yan and Xiao Wu were active in Heaven Dou City, the Crown Prince of the Heaven Dou Empire, Xue Qinghe (Qian Renxue), came to visit them uninvited.
"Brother Xue, I really didn't expect that you would visit Xiao Wu and me during such a busy time as the Ranking Competition of the Continental Advanced Spirit Master Elite Tournament."
In the luxurious Royal Hotel of the Heaven Dou Imperial Family, Yu Yan looked at the banquet that had already been arranged and greeted Xue Qinghe, who was sitting in the main seat, with a bit of helplessness.
From the perspective of Qian Renxue's identity, Yu Yan didn't want to have too much interaction with her for the time being.
But from the perspective of Xue Qinghe's identity, her attitude was impeccable. Having known each other for so long, she had never invited Yu Yan to work for her, nor had she forced him to make any difficult decisions. Every interaction was brief and restrained, a friendship between gentlemen as plain as water.
Under these circumstances, Yu Yan really had no way to refuse.
Even Xiao Wu had developed a bit of a good impression of Xue Qinghe, feeling that he was a friend worth making.
"Trivial matters are handled by those below, and major matters require my Imperial Father's decision. I'm just destined to be busy running back and forth in the middle. I've just stolen a moment of leisure to meet with a good friend."
"Sigh, sometimes I really envy you and Xiao Wu for being so carefree and free to go wherever you want. Unlike me, I have to do so many things every day and engage in power struggles with those old foxes."
Facing Yu Yan's teasing, Xue Qinghe gave a bitter smile and explained his troubles.
"Everyone has troubles, and everyone envies what others have that they don't. For example, I sometimes envy your status, Brother Xue. I occasionally fantasize about what it would be like if I were the Crown Prince of the Heaven Dou Empire, the future heir apparent, or the Emperor..."
Facing Xue Qinghe's confession, Yu Yan quickly filtered her words in his mind and tried to steer the conversation away with a joke.
"Hahaha, that makes sense. Brother Yu, these dishes were made by chefs from the Star Luo Empire. Why don't you have a taste and see how they are?"
Hearing Yu Yan's imaginings, especially when he mentioned leading the Royal Knights of the Heaven Dou Empire to fight across the land, Qian Renxue thought of the reason she came to the Heaven Dou Empire, and the bit of trouble in her heart instantly vanished.
This was why Qian Renxue liked chatting with Yu Yan. If it were anyone else here, they would only talk around the subject in the face of her words, rather than speaking as interestingly as Yu Yan.
Yu Yan seemed to have a temperament completely different from others. It was as if he had never cared about the position of Crown Prince at all; he looked everyone in the eye as equals, including her.
The Star Luo Empire is located in the south of the continent, and the style of food there is completely different from that of the Heaven Dou Empire. Having never set foot in those lands, Yu Yan became quite interested in the delicacies on the table after hearing Xue Qinghe's introduction.
By the time Yu Yan began his tasting, half the food on the table for Xiao Wu and the Spirit Cat Wu Xue was already gone.
Regarding the food on the table, Yu Yan, Xiao Wu, and Qian Renxue began a new round of discussion, including but not limited to various anecdotes about the Star Luo Empire they had heard.
The banquet came to an end when Xue Qinghe's officials from the Eastern Palace arrived to report important matters. Knowing he shouldn't be present, Yu Yan stood up and took the initiative to leave.
"Then we shall gather again when we have time. In my personal capacity, I, Xue Qinghe, wish Brother Yu good results in the upcoming Ranking Competition. I will be cheering for you and Xiao Wu from the spectator stands."
When Yu Yan proposed to leave, Xue Qinghe stood up to bid him farewell.
"Thank you, Brother Xue. Xiao Wu and I will do our best."
After politely responding to Xue Qinghe's words, he left with Xiao Wu.
After walking out of the luxurious private room, Xiao Wu, who had developed a bit of interest in the Star Luo Empire, looked at Yu Yan and asked, "We haven't been to the Star Luo Empire yet. How about we find an Opportunity to visit after this?"
"Sure, no problem. We'll take a trip to the Star Luo Empire then."
Speaking of the Star Luo Empire, the first thing Yu Yan thought of was the Slaughter City, the place where the Asura God left a Legacy to select a successor.
Yu Yan didn't want to inherit the Asura God Position. As long as he thoroughly understood the Ice and Fire Dragon King Opportunity beneath the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well, he could naturally become an existence no weaker than a God King.
As for the Asura God Position—a position that the Asura God himself didn't even want—he didn't want it either.
He thought of the Slaughter City because he was interested in the godhood inheritance system of this World in the Douluo Continent and wanted to study the power left behind by the Asura God.
"Your expression is telling me that when you thought of the Star Luo Empire, you weren't thinking about going there to play."
Xiao Wu, who had been staring at Yu Yan's expression, successfully caught the thoughtful look on his face. Whenever he showed this expression, he definitely wasn't thinking about playing.
Yu Yan, who was deep in thought, had his train of thought interrupted by Xiao Wu's words. He replied somewhat awkwardly, "Ahem, there's a place with a great Opportunity within the borders of the Star Luo Empire. We'll go check it out together when the time comes."
Wanting to study the godhood inheritance mechanism was because the Asura God Position and the Sea God God Position, as the two known paths to becoming a god, were the paths he was considering for Xiao Wu and his friends.
He could become an immortal existence with the help of the Opportunity from the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well, but others might not. It was always necessary to have some backup plans.
"Alright, I'll see then just what this 'great Opportunity' you're talking about is."
"You will definitely be surprised when the time comes."
"Then why can't you just say it now?"
"Because it's currently just hearsay, and I haven't actually seen it or confirmed it yet. We'll talk about it when we get there."
In their back-and-forth conversation, Yu Yan and Xiao Wu continued to wander around Heaven Dou City. Compared to the hard Cultivate of the other contestants, the two of them were living like immortals.
After another ten days or so, Jiang Jing, who could no longer stand it, pulled Yu Yan and Xiao Wu and forced them to join the Exotic Beast Team's special training plan.
How should I put it... In Yu Yan's view, the intensity of the Exotic Beast Team's special training plan was just so-so.
The combat special training jointly conducted by Jiang Jing and several other teachers didn't provide any help to Yu Yan. Instead, it made Yu Yan and Xiao Wu think every day about how to lose and how to prevent Jiang Jing from seeing their hidden strength.
Vice Dean Jiang Jing indeed had good intentions, and since the two of them were only Level 52 on the surface, they couldn't refuse Jiang Jing's combat special training in all fairness.
Dugu Yan, Ye Lingling, Zhu Zhuqing, and Ning Rongrong, who knew Yu Yan and Xiao Wu's true spirit power and combat strength, watched the two of them lose to Vice Dean Jiang Jing every day. Seeing the "I've given it my all" expressions on their faces, they couldn't have been happier as they laughed.