Chapter 44: Rumors

Gu Can gave an awkward smile and said, "Zhou Heng was arranged into the Heavenly Class by His Highness the Crown Prince, and it was His Highness the Crown Prince who arranged it personally."

Meng Shenji raised his eyebrows slightly, his expression changing slightly: "With a background and talent, it is better to hand this person's information to His Majesty and let His Majesty decide what to do next."

The three of Meng Shenji were loyal to Emperor Xue Ye, and now they had discovered a student with exceptional talent who had been arranged into the Heaven Dou Imperial Academy by the Crown Prince.

Now that Zhou Heng had performed a meritorious service, how could they not report Zhou Heng's information to Emperor Xue Ye?

Bai Baoshan smiled and agreed with Meng Shenji's words, and then left with Gu Can and the other person.

Meng Shenji watched the three of them leave, his thoughts swirling in his mind, and he looked at Zhilin, saying: "Zhilin, do you think this Zhou Heng will join our Heaven Dou Empire?"

"I don't know, but he was arranged here by the Crown Prince, which shows that this person has a good impression of the Crown Prince's faction and should join the Crown Prince's command," Zhilin said, stating his guess truthfully.

Meng Shenji thought the same; now, it was a certainty that the Crown Prince would become the future monarch.

As a person on the Crown Prince's side, with his talent, Zhou Heng might even become a Title Douluo in the future, and by then, the strength of their Heaven Dou Empire would not be inferior to the Star Luo Empire.

The two discussed how to teach Zhou Heng in the future.

At night, in the Heaven Dou Imperial Palace, inside the Imperial Study, under the bright light of a Soul Guidance Device lamp, a hint of joy clearly appeared on Emperor Xue Ye's face, which had already shown signs of fatigue.

"Level 37 soul power, twelve years old (the age falsely reported by Qian Renxue; after all, level 37 soul power at nine and a half is a bit too excessive), he is a genius, and he was able to trap five Millennium Soul Beasts single-handedly and kill three of them.

His combat awareness is also extremely formidable, and he is Qinghe's subordinate!

Hahaha, it seems that the future Heaven Dou Empire will be able to have a Title Douluo as an Honorary Elder.

Someone, pass the decree!"

Emperor Xue Ye's originally exhausted expression had now become extremely excited; as a father, how could Emperor Xue Ye not be happy that a genius had appeared under his son?

Now that the Crown Prince had gone to handle matters at the border, as the monarch of a country, Emperor Xue Ye naturally had to recruit this genius for his son.

The next day, while Zhou Heng was still fast asleep in bed, his door was knocked upon.

Zhou Heng, with a head of messy hair, opened the door and saw the practical training team leader, Gu Can, standing in front of it, which made Zhou Heng wake up.

"Teacher, is there something you need from me?" Zhou Heng asked, looking at Gu Can, who was looking at him with a smile, in confusion.

Gu Can smiled and said, "Student Zhou Heng, hurry up and tidy yourself up. In a while, personnel from the palace will come to issue a decree to you."

Zhou Heng listened to Gu Can's nonsensical words and understood even less.

Seeing Zhou Heng's confused face, Gu Can hurriedly explained: "Yesterday's events were reported to Emperor Xue Ye by the three Education Committee Members, and Emperor Xue Ye wrote a decree for you last night.

He wants to promote you and grant you a title, naming you a Viscount, and will also give you quite a few rewards."

After hearing Gu Can's explanation, Zhou Heng understood what he should do now.

Zhou Heng hurriedly washed up, tidied his attire, and then followed Gu Can to the office of the three Education Committee Members of the Heaven Dou Imperial Academy.

Here, Zhou Heng saw a man dressed in palace attire; this man was fair-skinned and beardless, looking very much like a eunuch from his previous life.

Zhou Heng met the three Education Committee Members and several nobles here.

The ceremony for Emperor Xue Ye to issue the decree was completed very quickly.

After the ceremony was completed, those nobles quickly stepped forward and began to communicate with Zhou Heng; these people had friendly smiles on their faces, and everyone wanted Zhou Heng to join their family.

However, Zhou Heng maintained an attitude of keeping them at a distance.

Not to mention that his original identity was as a disciple shared by the seven Honorary Elders of the Offering Hall, his current identity was as a subordinate of the Crown Prince Xue Qinghe, and he was also a Viscount personally certified by Emperor Xue Ye.

How could he possibly join these people's families? These people were truly wishful thinking.

When Zhou Heng returned to the dormitory, he held a yellow piece of paper in his hand; this was Emperor Xue Ye's decree.

In addition to this decree, Zhou Heng also received 50,000 Gold Soul Coins and a Viscount's mansion.

Zhou Heng asked the three Education Committee Members about the Crown Prince and only then learned that Qian Renxue had gone to handle matters at the border and had already been gone for two days, needing another five days to return to Heaven Dou City.

After returning to the dormitory, Zhou Heng began to cultivate.

Zhou Heng circulated his self-created Heavenly Stem True Art, and the three powers of Xin Metal, Gui Water, and Yi Wood were absorbed into his body by Zhou Heng, causing his affinity for the elements to continuously grow stronger.

Now, when Zhou Heng gathered these Heavenly Stem Powers, he no longer needed to concentrate his mental power and gather these forces with all his might as he did before, and the mental power consumed was also much less.

Zhou Heng cultivated silently in the dormitory, while in the Heaven Dou Imperial Academy, rumors began to spread.

Because a student who went for practical training, while sharing his insights from this practical training with his friends, spoke of Zhou Heng treating Dugu Yan.

Treating Dugu Yan was nothing, but Yu Tianheng also learned of this matter, and Yu Tianheng immediately thought of a way to target Zhou Heng.

Thus, Yu Tianheng had his subordinates—servants brought from the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Family—spread rumors around the Heaven Dou Imperial Academy: the reason why the Heavenly Class's practical training encountered so many Spirit Beasts this time was because Zhou Heng had a special treasure on his person, and this treasure could attract surrounding Spirit Beasts.

And Zhou Heng attracted the Spirit Beasts to come because he wanted to use a large number of Spirit Beasts to charge the team, so that after Dugu Yan entered a dangerous situation, he could play the hero to save the beauty and win the beauty's heart.

This news was initially unbelievable, but this time the Heavenly Class's practical training caused seven or eight noble students to leave the Heaven Dou Imperial Academy.

They lost the opportunity to enter the imperial court because of this and could only be layabouts at home from then on; Yu Tianheng approached them again and had them spread this news as well.

These few noble students had just been expelled and were in a fit of rage.

Yu Tianheng gave them some Gold Soul Coins and used the prestige and interests of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Family to make them work for him.

Now, the Heavenly Class's practical training was rumored among the nobles as: Zhou Heng lured over a dozen Spirit Beasts, caused the deaths of several students, and finally boldly molested Dugu Yan.

Moreover, there were even portraits from that time being circulated, spreading among the crowd.

In the portrait, Zhou Heng was kneeling on the ground, and in front of Zhou Heng was the unconscious Dugu Yan lying flat, with Zhou Heng's hand reaching out toward Dugu Yan's body.

After seeing this portrait, some people had already begun to spread rumors to the commoners in Heaven Dou City and began to incite those who did not know the truth to report Zhou Heng to Emperor Xue Ye.

These matters also caused the Heaven Dou Imperial Academy to be complained about.

Dugu Yan also learned of these rumors, and people in her family even sent someone to ask Dugu Yan about the truth of the rumors.

Dugu Yan told them the truth.