Chapter 570: Is Ning Rongrong Going to Deal with Qin Jian?

A few days later, Qin Jian flew back from the Star Luo Empire.

These past few days, he had of course mainly been spending time with his little kitten, and while he was at it, he caught a few noble scions and put them on trial.

He did not go so far as to touch the nerves of the Star Luo Empire; he merely found a few typical examples of debauched youths and threw them into the Death Canyon in the end.

By leveraging the trials of Spirit Masters of noble rank from the Heaven Dou Empire and Star Luo Empire, the Spirit Judgment Hall had thoroughly established its reputation across the entire Dalu, its prestige skyrocketing—much like a bull market in his past life...

"Whoosh..."

A glowing Sword plowed a long trail of light deep within the clouds, and Qin Jian soon came to a stop above Heaven Dou City.

"Huh?"

After scanning the Imperial City, he quickly pinpointed the location of Xue Qinghe.

But the scene inside the government affairs hall where Xue Qinghe was located left him quite surprised and suspicious, because besides Xue Qinghe sitting in the main seat, there were actually two people sitting on her sides, one to the left and one to the right: Ning Rongrong and Xue Ke.

"What is this situation?"

Qin Jian, who had intended to go straight in, paused in mid-air, planning to observe the situation first.

"Regarding the Spirit Judgment Hall, my opinion is that there is no need to check and balance it; the significance of its existence also helps maintain the stability of the Empire. Moreover, the current Spirit Hall has not shown any ambition to annex the Dalu, so why oppose it?"

Xue Qinghe's words surprised Qin Jian somewhat; he had not expected their meeting content to actually relate to the Spirit Judgment Hall.

"Rongrong, Xiao Ke, according to the opinions of the imperial clan and the nobles, you now have the right to deliberate on politics. What is your take on this matter?"

Xue Qinghe smiled as she looked at Ning Rongrong and Xue Ke on either side, seemingly without any ill will toward them.

"Ah... I... I don't have any opinion..."

Xue Ke had likely never thought about such matters, so she did not know how to answer at this moment.

The officials in the government affairs hall all quietly shook their heads, knowing that this Princess Xue Ke had absolutely no inkling of these things.

Seeing her like this, Xue Qinghe could not help but relax her brows slightly, then looked toward Ning Rongrong: "And Rongrong?"

Ning Rongrong leaned back in her chair, revealing a proper smile, but opened her mouth to say: "I do not agree with the Crown Prince's point of view."

"Hmm?"

Xue Qinghe frowned, but quickly relaxed again: "Does Rongrong intend to oppose the Spirit Judgment Hall?"

The ministers in the government affairs hall looked at each other in dismay.

Given the relationship between Qin Jian, the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, and Ning Rongrong, they had originally thought that the person least likely to oppose the Spirit Judgment Hall would be Ning Rongrong. Who would have thought she would disagree with Xue Qinghe at this moment?

"That's right. I believe the Heaven Dou Empire cannot rely on the Spirit Judgment Hall to conduct trials for Evil Soul Masters..."

Ning Rongrong stood up and said earnestly to the officials below: "The Heaven Dou Empire is the ruler; it cannot cede the functions that the nation should fulfill to the Spirit Hall. If that happens, the subjects of Heaven Dou will increasingly recognize the orthodox status of the Spirit Hall. Then, in the future, the Spirit Hall will easily tower above the Empire, and the subjects will also come to only recognize the Spirit Hall and lose their sense of awe toward the Empire."

These words were reasonable and logical, and many officials nodded repeatedly as they listened.

It was not that they did not know the Spirit Judgment Hall's functions were overstepping, but they had not expected the first to bring it up to be not the Crown Prince Xue Qinghe, but rather Ning Rongrong, who had inextricable ties to Qin Jian.

"Rongrong, judging Evil Soul Masters is not something that can be done easily. With the strength of our Heaven Dou, if we were to capture and judge all the Evil Soul Masters within our borders, we would need to mobilize the majority of our military force..."

Xue Qinghe's expression remained normal as she said indifferently: "The existence of Evil Soul Masters is unavoidable; there will always be Spirit Masters who fall due to various reasons. But that is not something the Heaven Dou Empire can manage; our Spirit Master strength is still far behind that of the Spirit Judgment Hall."

Hearing her words, many people nodded in agreement.

It was not that they did not want to capture and judge Evil Soul Masters, but that they could not do so even if they wanted to. Their Spirit Master strength was insufficient; if they were all sent out to deal with Evil Soul Masters, the Empire's strength would be greatly weakened.

"Not only that, I actually know that judging Evil Soul Masters can consolidate public support, but..."

Xue Qinghe continued: "The Heaven Dou Empire was founded several hundred years ago, and the situation where the noble class enjoys more privileges and benefits has long since solidified. While it is called capturing Evil Soul Masters, in reality, most Evil Soul Masters are thugs or Honorary Elders kept by the nobles. Therefore, if we were to act like the Spirit Judgment Hall, it would shake the ruling foundation of the Heaven Dou Empire, which is these nobles."

Once these words were spoken, the government affairs hall fell into silence.

Most of these officials had connections with the nobles and naturally knew that what Xue Qinghe said was correct. If they truly were to judge the nobles, it would shake the foundation of the Empire.

"However, even if we don't do it, the Spirit Judgment Hall will. Rather than letting them gain public support from it, it would be better for the Heaven Dou Empire to bite the bullet and purge itself from within..."

Ning Rongrong did not back down, but instead said sternly: "It might be difficult in the beginning, and there will be some chaos, but as long as we endure it, a brand-new Heaven Dou Empire will surely emerge."

The officials were struck dumb; they were clearly discussing how to suppress the Spirit Judgment Hall, so how did it turn into a discussion about purging the nobles?

They did not dare to interrupt; this was something that could bring disaster upon themselves in a heartbeat...

"Rongrong, do you know that if these words of yours today were to spread, it would cause a huge uproar? The nobles are the cornerstone of my imperial family's rule over the Heaven Dou Empire; I cannot smash the cornerstone myself," Xue Qinghe said.

"But the Spirit Judgment Hall is already smashing it," Ning Rongrong said immediately.

Xue Qinghe rolled her eyes: "Then we wait until they have smashed it enough before cleaning up the mess. That is what is most beneficial to the imperial family."

"Is the Crown Prince not afraid that the Spirit Judgment Hall's power will expand, its prestige will soar, and it will eventually backfire on itself?" Ning Rongrong said.

Xue Qinghe shook her head and smiled.

She really wasn't afraid of that...

"This bit of prestige is not enough for the Spirit Judgment Hall to replace my Heaven Dou Imperial Family."

Xue Qinghe looked at Ning Rongrong and said: "In the current situation, coexisting with the Spirit Judgment Hall, using them to eradicate some tumors, and then we handle the aftermath—this is the most secure approach."

Upon hearing this, the officials could not help but nod one after another.

"If the imperial family is unwilling to collide head-on with the noble class, our Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect can do it on your behalf," Ning Rongrong suddenly said.

"The Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect?"

Xue Qinghe's gaze paused, and she said: "Rongrong, you are currently representing the identity of a Heaven Dou imperial princess, not the little princess of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect. Don't get your positions mixed up."

Ning Rongrong smiled slightly: "I am the successor of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect; the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect is inherently a power that belongs to me, so there is no need to avoid it. Since it is also borrowing a knife to kill, does the Crown Prince think it is better to continue letting the Spirit Judgment Hall expand, or to drag my Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect into the water as well?"

There was a buzz of discussion in the government affairs hall.

Xue Qinghe frowned slightly.

She didn't need to ask to guess that these officials would all support the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect stepping in. Compared to the Spirit Hall, the reputation of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect in the Heaven Dou Empire was much better...

(End of chapter)