Douluo: I am a biologist, awakening the weapon spirit?

Chapter 233 Qian Renxue's Invitation

The awards ceremony went fairly smoothly.

Xueye, Ning Fengzhi, and Salas together presented qualification certificates and bonuses to the five teams that advanced.

The qualification certificate is just a note; it's not that important.

After all, both the Heaven Dou Empire and the Spirit Hall knew which academies had advanced.

Therefore, this certificate is just for show and has no practical meaning; it's useless to forge it.

The real useful thing is the bonus: 20,000 gold soul coins for each team, given by the Heaven Dou Empire, to win people's hearts.

After the awards were presented, the host handed over the speaking rights to the most distinguished person on the stage, Emperor Xueye.

Xueye's gaze swept over the captains and vice-captains of the five academies in front of him, paying special attention to the Shui Bing'er sisters. Clearly, after today's competition, he valued Shui Bing'er much more.

To break through to the Soul King level at the age of nineteen—that talent surpasses even the so-called Golden Generation of the Spirit Hall.

Moreover, the Shui family is an old noble family in the Tiandou Empire, and they are very valuable to win over. If they can be tied to the royal family through marriage or other means, the Xue family's rule will be more stable.

In addition, there are Chen Feng and the others, who are also rare talents and should not be allowed to be taken away by the Spirit Hall.

After a brief moment of mental planning, Xueye smiled and said:

"Children, I congratulate you on successfully qualifying for this year's All-Continent Advanced Soul Master Academy Elite Tournament. As the supreme ruler of the Heaven Dou Empire, I am proud of you. You are all the hope for the future of the empire."

"I have decided that if any of your teams can advance in the upcoming ranking matches, I will grant each player on the advancing team a fief of 5,000 hectares and confer upon them the title of viscount. After you graduate, the gates of the Imperial Household will be open to you at any time, and your fiefs will be allocated uniformly after your graduation."

The Great Soul Arena suddenly became noisy, as many people were astonished by Emperor Xueye's move.

"Ha, granting land and titles just for a ranking tournament? Has Xueye gone mad?" Zhao Wuji burst out laughing in the spectator area.

He had great confidence in Chen Feng and his fellow lads, believing that qualifying for the ranking tournament was no problem. Therefore, in his eyes, the bestowal of titles and land was practically a done deal.

"What a wonderful gift delivered to my doorstep! I'd better not refuse it." Flander was also in a good mood.

The master, however, saw through Xueye's thoughts and said:
"The emperor is probably trying to win over soul masters in advance, so that all the talents will be snatched up by the Spirit Hall later."

"It seems the Spirit Hall is putting a lot of pressure on Xue Ye," Flander said with a smile.

Meanwhile, the four clan leaders were also discussing Xueye's move.

“Looks like your family is going to produce a viscount, old white bird,” Titan said.

"Hey, you can't say that. It's not certain whether we'll qualify." Bai He said this, but he couldn't stop smiling.

Yang Wudi saw another aspect: "Xue Ye is getting a little anxious. It seems he has already sensed the threat. If this continues, the peaceful days on the mainland will probably be numbered."

Upon hearing this, Bai He's smile faded slightly. "Yes, the Heavenly Department will also be busy."

On the stage, the captains and vice-captains of the five academies mostly remained calm.

Chen Feng then whispered to Dai Mubai:

"Boss Dai, what do you think?"

"I think it's just so-so, too stingy," Dai Mubai said with some disdain.

As soon as he finished speaking, the sound of snowy night rang out again:

"If any team wins the Soul Master Tournament, the entire team's title will be promoted two ranks, making them hereditary earls of the Heaven Dou Empire, and they will be rewarded with vast tracts of land!"

The clamor in the Great Soul Arena grew even more intense. Chen Feng nudged Dai Mubai with his elbow and mouthed:

"now what?"

"It's alright," Dai Mubai replied somewhat reluctantly.

The hereditary earldom was already considered a grand gesture, so he couldn't keep up the argument that it was just average.

Chen Feng chuckled inwardly. He didn't care much about the title. Although being a feudal nobleman and living a life of debauchery was quite comfortable, the Spirit Hall's war chariot was about to crush him.

Most importantly, whether Bibi Dong had her own ideas or was influenced by the Rakshasa God's thoughts, what she wanted was not just to rule the world, but to destroy it.

If she succeeds, perhaps only the master will have a chance to survive. Faced with such a future, titles and lands are meaningless.

After the snowy night announced the rewards of the nobility, Salas, who was standing next to him, made a slight complaint, clearly not wanting to see the snowy night win people's hearts in this way.

But Xueye put on an attitude of "My Heavenly Battle has its own national conditions, what does the reward have to do with your Spirit Hall?" which left Salas speechless, and he could only stand there with a long face.

The captains and vice-captains of the various academy teams below could clearly see that this was a struggle between the Empire and the Spirit Hall, and Xue Ye was trying to win over talented soul masters with titles and land.

The advantage of the Spirit Hall lies in the fact that it has the strongest group of spirit masters in the entire continent, and if you join it, you will have the opportunity to receive good training.

In Chen Feng's view, even though Xue Ye had made efforts, the Spirit Hall was still more attractive to Soul Masters.

Clearly, Xueye missed the point. He may not understand, or he may not be able to provide what the Soul Master community truly needs.

However, the Spirit Hall also has its shortcomings, namely, the lack of a complete administrative and economic system, and a divine leader.

These two shortcomings are almost impossible to overcome, which makes it difficult for the Spirit Hall to succeed.

The Empire's weaknesses can be addressed. If a way can be provided to improve the strength of Soul Masters, then the Empire's more complete organizational structure will become apparent.

This is also why Chen Feng considered the Empire's side.

The reason he chose the Star Luo Empire as his second choice and the Heavenly Dou Empire as his first choice was mainly because the Heavenly Dou Empire's royal family was relatively weak. Weakness meant that it was easy to manipulate, so using the Heavenly Dou Empire as a base was a good choice.

I wonder if Qian Renxue also had this in mind, which is why she came to Tiandou as an undercover agent.

Thinking of this, Chen Feng glanced at Xue Qinghe behind Xue Ye and found that he was also looking at him and had even nodded and smiled.

Chen Feng returned the smile, then noticed that Xue Xing seemed to have noticed the interaction between Xue Qinghe and him, and looked over as well, her expression turning somewhat gloomy.

Clearly, Xue Xing was unhappy to see the Crown Prince befriending a genius Soul Master like Chen Feng.

But his reluctance couldn't change Chen Feng's attitude. Chen Feng had been in contact with Xue Xing and Xue Beng, and his impressions of them weren't very good. The feudal aristocratic air about them was overwhelming.

Even if Qian Renxue was faking it, at least she gave people a much better feeling. Before she did anything harmful to Chen Feng, Chen Feng still preferred to deal with people like her.

The award ceremony ended shortly after the prize was promised on a snowy night.

Before Chen Feng and Dai Mubai could even step off the stage, they heard a call from behind:
"Xiao Feng, are you alright?" "I'm fine, thank you for your concern, Your Highness," Chen Feng said, turning around.

"I'm leaving now." Dai Mubai didn't want to deal with the Crown Prince of Tiandou, so he chose to leave.

Qian Renxue glanced at his retreating figure, unconcerned, and asked Chen Feng:

"Would it be convenient to find a place to get together?"

"Okay, I'll go tell the teacher and my classmates." Chen Feng hesitated for a moment before nodding in agreement to Qian Renxue's invitation.

Back with his companions, Chen Feng discovered that the patriarchs of the four clans had arrived sometime earlier.

Upon seeing him, Baihe said with a smile:
"Xiao Feng, thank you so much for mentoring Xiang Xiang."

"Xiangxiang is my companion. This is just some help I can offer, nothing much," Chen Feng said, and then explained to everyone that he had been invited by the Crown Prince.

"Then go ahead, Xiao Feng. Be careful. We'll wait for you back at the academy. When you come back, it would be best to have the Crown Prince send someone to escort you," Flander instructed.

"I will," Chen Feng replied.

In a private room at a luxury hotel, Chen Feng and Qian Renxue sat side by side.

"It's been a while since we last saw each other, Xiao Feng." Qian Renxue poured Chen Feng a drink.

"Yes, I was ambushed and then fell into a coma for a while. It's a pity I couldn't keep my appointment with Brother Xue," Chen Feng said.

"Oh, you're being too polite. Didn't I say in the invitation that this isn't a mandatory invitation? I'll host you whenever you want to come. There's no need for any special arrangements," Qian Renxue said with a smile.

Then she sighed again:
"Moreover, Tiandou City also bears responsibility for your injury, since you were ambushed in Tiandou City, which is due to our inadequate supervision."

"It's because Shi Nian's martial spirit is too strange, it's not your problem, Brother Xue," Chen Feng said, shaking his head.

"Speaking of which," Qian Renxue asked casually as she picked up some food, "..."
"Xiao Feng, how did you solve Shi Nian's problem?"

"I have to thank you, Brother Xue, for this."

"Me?" Qian Renxue paused in her act of picking up food, a look of confusion on her face.

“That’s right, Brother Xue, do you still remember the bottle of blood you gave me back then?” Chen Feng asked.

"Of course I remember, but does that have anything to do with you solving Shi Nian's problem?" Qian Renxue was still a little puzzled.

Chen Feng picked up his drink, took a sip, then put down the cup and said:

"That's right. My martial soul wasn't complete when it was awakened. As my soul power increased, I discovered that my martial soul lacked a certain yang power, so it couldn't unleash its full potential."

"Until I met you, Brother Xue, I unexpectedly discovered that you seemed to have something that my martial soul lacked, which is why I asked you for some of your blood to try it out."

"Brother Xue, you should have seen the results of the trial in the competition. My martial soul has gained some amazing abilities. It is because of these amazing abilities and because Shi Nian didn't take me seriously that I was able to survive in his hands."

Qian Renxue picked up a piece of food, put it in her mouth, chewed slowly and deliberately, and then swallowed before speaking:
"I see. I never imagined there were such amazing martial souls. No wonder I had a special feeling when I saw you use that special ability."

"So, does this mean that Brother Xue and I are destined to be together?" Chen Feng asked with a smile.

“It’s fate, of course it’s fate.” Qian Renxue nodded slightly.

"Brother Xue, could you tell me why you were able to replenish the Yang energy of my martial soul?" Chen Feng asked softly.

The private room fell silent. Qian Renxue put down her chopsticks and sat there in silence.

"Brother Xue, we're good friends, right?" Chen Feng said, staring at Qian Renxue disguised as Xue Qinghe.

Qian Renxue paused for a moment, then nodded.

Chen Feng continued:

“You’ve helped me a lot. I consider you my older brother. If there’s anything you can’t tell me, I understand. No matter what, I’ll stand by you. After all, without your help, I wouldn’t have survived Shi Nian.”

"Thank you, but there are some things that are not convenient to tell you right now," Qian Renxue said softly.

“I understand. Just think of it as your martial soul mutating, Brother Xue. It’s not that strange.” Chen Feng said with a smile.

"Speaking of which, Xiaofeng, are you confident about the upcoming matches?" Qian Renxue took the initiative to change the subject.

Chen Feng nodded. "Of course I have some confidence. I believe our team can go all the way."

"The Golden Generation of the Spirit Hall is no ordinary group. All three of them possess at least the cultivation level of a Soul King, and one of them is even a disciple of the Pope of the Spirit Hall. They should not be underestimated," Qian Renxue warned.

"Don't worry, Brother Xue, I will handle it seriously."

The two then chatted over their meal, creating a very harmonious atmosphere. After they had eaten and drunk their fill, Qian Renxue even offered to escort Chen Feng back to the academy.

"No need to trouble yourself, Brother Xue," Chen Feng said.

"That won't do. I have to take you to the academy gate. What if we run into the same thing again? How am I supposed to explain that to the teacher?" Qian Renxue pulled Chen Feng into the carriage.

The elderly coachman cracked his whip, and the carriage slowly began to move.

Not long after, Chen Feng returned safely to the academy. After getting off the carriage, he said goodbye to Qian Renxue and then quietly watched the carriage drive away.

During today's meeting, Chen Feng subtly revealed his awareness of Qian Renxue's unusual behavior, and before Qian Renxue could respond, he used the phrase "you have done me a favor" to bring the two closer.

The meaning is clear: I am on your side, and I will not pry into your secrets. You saved my life, and I will remember that kindness.

So Qian Renxue has only two options left: one is to kill Chen Feng, but the probability of that is extremely small, because judging from Qian Renxue's behavior, she should have realized Chen Feng's identity.

This can be seen from the fact that she never mentioned the fourth ring of the ten-thousand-year cycle from beginning to end.

If Qian Renxue didn't believe that Chen Feng was that scholar, she would definitely inquire about the situation of the fourth ring of the ten-thousand-year cycle.

Therefore, it is unlikely that Qian Renxue will take action against Chen Feng.

Her second option was naturally to confront Chen Feng and then find a way to bring him under her control.

This is exactly what Chen Feng hoped for.

Now it remains to be seen when Qian Renxue will take action.

(End of this chapter)