Chapter 29

The crabapple is famous, everlasting!

Ye Lingling's clear, crisp voice rang out as light purple crabapple petals fell, enveloping Gu Xuan and the others.

Apart from Du Gu Yan and Ye Lingling, everyone else, including Gu Xuan, suffered burns of varying degrees; this was only because Qin Ming held back at the end, otherwise, with the power of his sixth soul skill, he could have easily burned these young Soul Elders to death.

Qin Ming retracted his martial soul, looked at Gu Xuan and the others with satisfaction, and the fact that he could use his full power was enough to prove that this group of kids was extraordinary.

"Gu Xuan, Yu Tianheng, you can rest for half a day this afternoon's practical lesson; I still have some matters to attend to." After saying this to Gu Xuan and Yu Tianheng, Qin Ming comforted them and then left.

With Ye Lingling's treatment, their burns healed quickly; they each put on their clothes neatly and began sitting cross-legged to recover their soul power.

Half an hour later, the group went to the cafeteria to eat.

At the dinner table, Gu Xuan and the others discussed how to defeat Qin Ming more effectively, but the answer they arrived at was unsolvable.

If they had all broken through to the Soul Ancestor level, it would be fine; but with only Soul Elder-level strength, Qin Ming could unleash a single burst and overwhelm them completely, leaving them no chance to gain the upper hand—only to be dominated by Qin Ming.

After finishing their meal, everyone returned to the villa to rest; the morning's Soul Battle left them feeling somewhat fatigued.

Gu Xuan didn't rest; this amount of training was nothing to him—just a drop in the bucket.

Gu Xuan went to Tian Dou City, headed straight to the Imperial Palace, and, holding a golden Crown Prince's token, went directly to the Crown Prince's residence.

The current crown prince of the the Heaven Dou Empire is called Xue Qinghe, but this Xue Qinghe is not the real Xue Qinghe; the real Xue Qinghe likely died several years ago.

Besides those who are truly sincere, perhaps only Gu Xuan knows that the current Xue Qinghe is actually the granddaughter of the Spirit Hall's Hall of Worship Grand Sacrificial Qian Daoliu—Qian Renxue in disguise.

Moreover, a few years ago, the Tian Dou Imperial family's eldest prince Xue Luochuan and third prince Xue Haizang died one after another under mysterious circumstances, after which the Xue Ye the Great Emperor appointed the second prince Xue Qinghe as crown prince.

Gu Xuan, who is clear on the timeline, knows that Qian Renxue now basically controls most of the the Heaven Dou Empire's secrets and power.

In the original story, she is nine years older than Tang San, while Gu Xuan is one year older than Tang San, meaning Qian Renxue is eight years older than Gu Xuan; Gu Xuan's true age is twelve, so Qian Renxue is already twenty.

At this point in the original story, Qian Renxue had not yet revealed her strength, but she was at least a Soul Emperor; five or six years later, during the Soul Hunt Operation, she reached the Soul Saint level, approaching that of a Soul Douluo.

If it weren't for San Ge possessing the External Plugin Xiao Wu's hundred-thousand-year soul ring and the immortal herb Binghuo Liangyi Yan, Tang San would definitely have been dominated during the Tian Dou Palace Incident.

However, these things aren't that important to Gu Xuan; he currently lacks the ability to protect the Tian Dou Imperial family, so all he can do is strive to gather resources to boost his own strength and that of the Seven Treasure Glazed Sect, to preserve himself in the future Soul Hunt Operation and even inflict heavy damage on the Spirit Hall.

Actually, the Spirit Hall isn't bad; on the contrary, it is currently the largest force still able to assist common Soul Masters and civilians, but the current ruler of the Spirit Hall, Bi Bi Dong, is a lunatic.

The Grand Sacrificial Qian Daoliu, the first lackey of the Angel God, does nothing, allowing Bi Bi Dong to ruin the Spirit Hall, while Qian Daoliu and his powerful followers only care about making Qian Renxue become a god.

It's not that Qian Daoliu has turned bad; rather, his inaction has intensified the continent's turmoil, even causing Bi Bi Dong, that lunatic, to gradually lead the Spirit Hall astray.

As for Bi Bi Dong, Gu Xuan feels both pity and hatred—he pities her fate in the original story, where she was ruined by her teacher Qian Xunji's vile influence, and he hates her because she is a love‑obsessed lunatic who cannot distinguish good from evil, seeking to destroy the world due to her own misfortune.

Sometimes Gu Xuan thinks that if he had Qian Daoliu's strength, he would surely press Bi Bi Dong, that lunatic, to the ground and give her a good thrashing—even if it couldn't make her see reason, he would at least stop her lunatic behavior.

It's just that, although Qian Daoliu lived an upright and honest life, in old age he got sand in his eyes and could no longer tell black from white.

Forget it!

And Qian Renxue, who is also Xue Qinghe, a few years ago, under the recommendation of Xue Ye the Great Emperor, became a disciple of Ning Fengzhi—a teacher who observes the proper rites between teacher and student, just like San Ge and Da Shi.

However, Ning Fengzhi still doesn't know that his beloved disciple is a double‑agent, a major undercover operative.

Moreover, Gu Xuan also finds it difficult to warn Ning Fengzhi, because he simply cannot accept it at present, and even if he did warn Ning Fengzhi, it would at most disrupt that person's plans, not necessarily bring any benefit.

It would be better to just let things follow the original storyline, so Gu Xuan can clearly know how the future timeline will continue to develop.

If the other side changes their plans, Gu Xuan would be left completely in the dark, unaware of future plot developments, and his biggest advantage would be gone.

As for the idea of taking the two Sword Bone Soul Douluo to directly kill or slay Qian Renxue, Gu Xuan dare not even think about it—while the Sword Bone Soul Douluo certainly have that ability, they cannot withstand Qian Daoliu's wrath.

Although Qian Daoliu allows Bi Bi Dong to run amok in the Spirit Hall, he likewise does not go out, giving these minor figures time to develop, which has both advantages and disadvantages.

So Gu Xuan simply stops thinking about it, lets Qian Renxue continue pretending to be Xue Qinghe while developing within the Tian Dou Imperial family, and he himself tries to influence her as much as possible.

Because of Ning Fengzhi's relationship with Xue Qinghe, Gu Xuan also got to know Qian Renxue early on and even affectionately calls her "Xue Dage."

Moreover, Qian Renxue's acting is so convincing that there is not the slightest sign she is pretending.

Gu Xuan sometimes deliberately tries to make her slip up—for instance, by going to the bathroom together to show his masculinity—but Xue Qinghe always finds a suitable excuse to deflect, and the excuse is utterly unreasonable.

Once, Gu Xuan wanted to test whether Qian Renxue could truly disguise her soul bone skill to appear as a perfect man; since urinating together wasn't an option, he tried various ways to get her to sleep with him, all under the pretense of deepening their "brotherly" bond.

And because of this, Qian Renxue used to sometimes stay a week at the Seven Treasure Glazed Sect to study, but after Gu Xuan proposed deepening their "brotherly" bond, she never stayed overnight there again.

Even if it's very late, he can always find an excuse to leave.

Regarding these matters, Gu Xuan naturally enjoys them without tiring; he isn't afraid of provoking Qian Renxue, because she has found that she isn't actually angered by him, except for a few initial instances.

Later, this guy seems to have grown accustomed to Gu Xuan's frivolous behavior; as long as she doesn't let him succeed, she also finds some enjoyment in it.

It seems Gu Xuan is the only source of amusement for her while she remains undercover.

Moreover, Gu Xuan cannot help but say that the disguised Qian Renxue truly resembles Xue Qinghe—she has lost her bear-like traits; don't ask how Gu Xuan knows, just know he got kicked twice and was retaliated against by Qian Renxue for a while.

Later, Qian Renxue was rumored to have an aversion to men, meaning she cannot have intimate contact with them; moreover, her harem contains dozens of women, yet over the years none have become pregnant, and this time Gu Xuan came to see her bringing whale gelatin as a potency enhancer and other high‑grade supplements.

After all, with dozens of women over so many years and still no children, it's naturally not the women's fault; the problem must lie solely with Xue Qinghe.

In fact, Xue Qinghe indeed has issues—he is actually a bottom; are you trying to top him?

As for arranging a man to serve as a stud, that's even more impossible—the imperial lineage has endured for ages, Qian Renxue can conceal it with her soul bone skill, but any other man lacks the imperial bloodline.

PS: Typos will be corrected later.

(End of chapter)