Xu Jiawei paused for a moment, then smiled and waved his hand, speaking with a hint of praise:
"You really do see things clearly. But after observing for a while, I no longer feel as tense and worried as before. Just like my teacher once said, soul beasts of higher intelligence are ultimately different from those lower ones that only know killing and breeding. We shouldn't look at them through the same lens. There's precedent for cooperation between humans and soul beasts. If I remember correctly, didn't the wife of the Sea God ten thousand years ago take the form of a hundred-thousand-year Soft Bone Rabbit?"
"Teacher?"
Shu Yan immediately caught onto the key detail. Xu Jiawei's teacher this was something he had never heard of before. Even Xu Jiujiu likely didn't know her own brother had a teacher, or she would never have kept it from him.
Of course, there were exceptions—unless this matter was of extremely high importance and involved too many complications. Only then might there be a reason for such secrecy.
Xu Jiawei smiled slightly, no longer concealing the truth, and said directly:
"You've already met Elder Qian once before. There's no point in hiding it any longer. Elder Qian is my teacher. He had deep ties with several ancestors of our Xingguan Sect, and after they passed, he joined the Imperial Offering Hall and became a protector of the Empire in their stead."
"Later, when I succeeded the position of Crown Prince and displayed exceptional talent, Elder Qian came out of seclusion to accept me as his disciple and personally guided me. If it weren't for Elder Qian, I doubt I could have reached the Titled Douluo realm—a dream of countless soul masters—at my current age."
Shu Yan was slightly stunned. He hadn't expected such a backstory, but after a moment's thought, he chose not to pursue that topic further.
"I have a few other questions I'm quite curious about. May I ask for your insight, Royal Brother?"
Xu Jiawei nodded with a gentle look in his eyes and said:
"Ask away. As long as it's not too excessive, I'll answer you."
Shu Yan smiled slightly and asked:
"First question—what level has your cultivation currently reached?"
Looking at Shu Yan, a trace of amusement flickered in Xu Jiawei's eyes. After a moment, he answered:
"I didn't expect you to be curious about that. To tell you the truth, I've reached Level 94. I'm not far from the Super Douluo realm now. I'm just lacking some insight and an opportunity."
As he spoke, Xu Jiawei slowly stood up. Nine soul rings rose from beneath his feet—yellow, yellow, purple, purple, black, black, black, black, red. The eighth ring was black with a red hue. Though not the absolute peak combination, it was still a rare and powerful configuration.
Seeing Shu Yan's apparent surprise, Xu Jiawei withdrew his martial soul and rings, sat back down gently, and explained:
"There was an accident when I absorbed my eighth ring. The soul beast was originally at the hundred-thousand-year level, but because it fought back desperately and burned too much of its essence and origin soul power, the ring's quality dropped slightly. Otherwise, I would've had two hundred-thousand-year soul rings."
Shu Yan was visibly surprised, but considering Xu Jiawei's status and position, it made sense.
Due to the nature of Xingguan soul masters' martial souls, while they possessed strong support and even offensive capabilities, they offered little to no enhancement to the user's physical constitution. This created a major drawback for them.
However, Xu Jiawei, being the crown prince at the time and heir to the Xingguan Sect, had access to an abundance of rare and precious resources.
It's no exaggeration to say that Xu Jiawei had been consuming various body-strengthening treasures since childhood, including exceedingly rare items like the Ten-Thousand-Year Whale Shark Pearl. With such overwhelming resources, his physical shortcomings were not only compensated for, but his body even surpassed that of many battle-type soul masters of the same level. That was the foundation upon which he dared to absorb a hundred-thousand-year soul ring as his eighth ring.
There was one thing Shu Yan didn't know—Xu Jiawei possessed a full set of soul bones, two of which had reached the hundred-thousand-year level. The most precious of these was a torso bone from a hundred-thousand-year Starlight Dragon. This soul bone was also the most treasured inheritance of the Xingguan Sect.
After a brief silence, Shu Yan asked again:
"My second question: What is the nature of the relationship between the Empire and the remnants of the Spirit Hall? Or rather, what is your stance, Royal Brother?"
Xu Jiawei went quiet for a moment, as if organizing his thoughts—or perhaps weighing his words. After a long pause, he finally said softly:
"It's quite simple. You could call it... a cooperative relationship."
"Several thousand years ago, our Xingguan Sect ancestors led the citizens and army of Star Luo to defend this fertile land that we've inhabited for generations. The declining White Tiger royal family ceded the throne to the then-leader of the Xingguan Sect. In return, the Xingguan leader enfeoffed the former royal family as dukes, a hereditary title to be passed down forever."
"But anyone with a brain can see through that. As former royalty, the White Tiger Dukes surely harbored aspirations of reclaiming the throne. Reality, however, has never been kind enough to allow that."
"The superficial balance between the royal family and the dukes has never truly been broken. Everyone knows that if that equilibrium were ever disturbed, the entire Star Luo Empire would face catastrophe. It was in this context that the royal family, while managing some southern coastal cities, discovered the remnants of the former Spirit Hall."
"These remnants had been suppressed and driven out by the Heaven Dou Empire for over a thousand years. Amidst chaos and war, they migrated to the Star Luo Empire. At the time, the royal succession had just occurred, and perhaps those remnants saw hope for resurgence. They didn't resist our overtures. Over time, pressured by survival, they gradually accepted our resources and support…"
"In return, they became a hidden blade for the royal family—a tool to handle internal strife and other threats. This relationship has endured for millennia. I only learned of it after inheriting the throne, from the elders of the Xingguan Sect."
Xu Jiawei paused slightly before continuing:
"As for my stance—well, what you've seen is the answer. Elder Qian is my teacher. If I had to choose between the White Tiger Dukes and the remnants of the Spirit Hall, I would not hesitate to choose the latter."
Noticing the surprise on Shu Yan's face, Xu Jiawei smiled, took a sip of tea, and added calmly:
"Being emperor is no easy task. Someone without deep foresight or who is too naive won't last long on this throne. What you see on the surface isn't always the truth. What lies beneath... is even harder to discern."
Shu Yan gave a wry chuckle and nodded slowly. He had gained a much clearer understanding of the political landscape and the realities it entailed…
PS: Read Advance Chapters at https://www.patreon.com/c/XenTronix