Douluo: From Internal Martial Arts to the Law of Heaven and Earth

"Don't forget, His Majesty's younger brother, Prince Xuexin, knows that Title Douluo! If we really anger His Majesty, how many of our troops will be left once that Douluo arrives?"

Hong Zhen interrupted his subordinate again, and his subsequent reminder was like a bucket of cold water poured over his head, making him completely sober.

After all, even if that Title Douluo was the weakest among them, in terms of intimidation, probably few Title Douluos across the entire continent could match him. Especially since they had the privilege of witnessing that Douluo's actions firsthand: what was originally just a small area of ​​poison mist, after killing the enemy, could continuously replicate and increase in number, wiping out a well-equipped army of the Star Luo Empire in a short period of time—he was practically a walking catastrophe.

"Moreover, His Majesty is also acquainted with Sect Leader Ning, so we must be clear about our position and not think that just because we have made great contributions in guarding Iron Wall City, we are qualified to influence the Crown Prince or even the throne."

"Yes, General!"

Seeing that his subordinates had finally adjusted their attitudes, Hong Zhen breathed a sigh of relief. Ever since he discovered that the prince who came to Iron Wall City was the eldest prince, he had noticed that his subordinates' mentality was clearly problematic.

Even if the Second Prince had made an excellent first impression, he shouldn't have harbored such inappropriate thoughts. Fortunately, I discovered it early and nipped the evil in their hearts in the bud; otherwise, I really don't know what serious consequences might have resulted.

The eldest prince came to Ironwall City, and the second prince went to Bafang City. Does His Majesty intend for them to compete fairly for the position of crown prince? As for the third prince, he has probably been tacitly abandoned by His Majesty unless he can make some outstanding contributions in Hanhai City. And the fourth prince, Xue Beng, seems to be truly incompetent; otherwise, he wouldn't have voluntarily applied to stay in the palace.

The throne has never been determined by age. Even young people can participate in the struggle for that position; age has never been a limit.

Hong Zhen's mind raced as he carefully pondered the emperor's profound meaning. As the saying goes, serving a ruler is like serving a tiger. Even though he was a Soul Saint and his strength seemed to surpass that of Emperor Xue Ye, he had no ability to resist the true power of the Heavenly Dou Empire.

Whether he can break through to the Title Douluo level in his lifetime is still uncertain. His remaining wish is that his old brothers and nephews, whom he has painstakingly nurtured, can have a good outcome.

From now on, no matter who is the crown prince, I will obey their orders.

After making up his mind, Hong Zhen felt a great weight lifted off his shoulders, as if a heavy burden had been lifted. He stopped thinking about it and threw himself back into his official duties.

……

In the residence that Hong Zhen arranged for Xue Qinghe, the "First Prince of Tiandou" had long lost his refined demeanor and instead wore a frosty expression.

"That Hong Zhen is something else. He gave me a hard time the moment we met." Recalling Hong Zhen's seemingly cheerful smile, as well as the strange atmosphere and barely concealed resentment of his subordinates, Xue Qinghe felt a surge of anger about to erupt.

The generals' aversion, in particular, gave her a sense of déjà vu, as if it were the undisguised disgust in that woman's eyes when she looked at her.

She took a deep breath and forced herself to calm down. Only by maintaining a clear mind could she make a more effective decision.

Clearly, I am not welcomed by the generals of Ironwall City. I remember Snow Mountain also visited Ironwall City last year, and considering his personality, the answer is obvious: these generals are more supportive of the Second Prince.

Now that the Second Prince has gone to Bafang City, if he can gain the support of the rulers there, I will already be at a disadvantage in the struggle for the crown prince position.

Since the righteous path is blocked, why not try the crooked path? If in the end only one person is qualified to be the crown prince, will Emperor Xueye have any other choices?

Even if he suspects that I did this, he would probably understand that a capable crown prince is much better than that good-for-nothing Xue Beng.

A plan quietly took shape in Xue Qinghe's mind. No one noticed that her eyes, which were flashing with golden flames of anger, were faintly tinged with an eerie black aura.

"Young Master, a subordinate from the Royal Palace has sent word that they have discovered a Soul Master who can prove the Grandmaster's theory. He possesses the second ring of a thousand years."

Snake Spear Douluo gently knocked on the door, and the sound came from outside.

"The verifier of the master's theory?" Qian Renxue frowned.

Over the years, she had tried searching in this direction, but in the end, she either found nothing or only found the direct descendants of geniuses cultivated by various powerful forces.

She had initially thought that someone who could achieve the second ring of the millennium might be a disciple of the master. However, she hadn't expected the master's theories to be so brilliant, and various factions to have numerous methods for improving physical fitness. In the end, every time she found a result, it was just a false alarm.

"That person also said that the Soul Master has a self-created Soul Skill, which is quite powerful," Serpent Spear Douluo continued to report.

"A self-created soul skill?" Xue Qinghe immediately became interested and asked, "What is that person's martial soul?"

"It's a Beast Spirit Wolf. Judging from its age, it's almost eighteen years old this year."

"She's already eighteen..." Xue Qinghe's face showed a hint of disappointment. She couldn't believe that a powerful figure like the Grandmaster, who at least possessed the strength of a Super Douluo, would take a Soul Master with mediocre talent as his disciple.

She was about to say not to worry about it, that maybe the other person had just gotten some kind of lucky break that improved their physical abilities, allowing them to absorb the thousand-year soul ring. But thinking about the series of unfortunate events that had happened to her today, Xue Qinghe sighed helplessly.

"I'll go check. Where is that person now?"

Regardless of whether this matter has anything to do with the master or not, taking a trip out is a way to relax.

"That person was always in the Great Soul Arena, basically always participating in Soul Battles. After his soul power was exhausted, he would rest for a while and then go back into the arena. He seemed to be a complete battle maniac."

PS: Let me clarify here. The angel isn't splitting up; there's no mastermind behind it, just signs of turning evil. Also, these chapters aren't filler. The author's intention is to tell a more realistic story of the Douluo Continent, including why Xue Qinghe would assassinate the First Prince, and some of the reasons why the Heaven Dou Empire has remained standing. Don't worry, the so-called hidden strength won't be revealed in the end; it will be eliminated by the two Title Douluos. The author also doesn't want the pacing to be too fast. Otherwise, a typical fast-paced novel could easily stretch out several months, followed by cultivation bottlenecks, hunting soul beasts, breakthroughs, and some mindless heroine-collecting and flirting. The author's goal for this book is to be as reasonable as possible: reasonable cultivation, reasonable heroine-collecting, and ultimately, everything else.

Chapter 56 Watching the Soul Fighter, Finally Meeting

On the massive arena, the soul rings beneath the feet of the two soul masters flickered, radiating impressive soul power fluctuations. Brilliant soul skills were unleashed one after another, pushing the atmosphere of the entire Soul Arena to its peak time and time again.

Xue Qinghe walked out of the passage, followed by several royal guards, with a man with a pointed mouth and monkey-like face leading the way.

As soon as he stepped out of the passage, the man with the pointed mouth and monkey-like face stood on tiptoe and looked around for a moment. Suddenly, his eyes lit up and he pointed to a corner below the stands.

"He's right there, Your Highness. Look, it's that kid sitting cross-legged at the very bottom of the stands. He's a Great Soul Master, and his title seems to be Lone Wolf."

Xue Qinghe scrutinized the young man with great interest, and after a moment, asked with some doubt:

"Why is he just sitting in the stands instead of going back to rest or going up to challenge?"

"Because he's a war maniac."

The man with the pointed mouth and monkey-like cheeks couldn't help but complain.

"Your Highness should know that as long as you are famous enough, you can not only get the prize money after winning the Soul Battle, but also a share of the ticket revenue. This Lone Wolf, however, negotiated special conditions with the Soul Arena, saying that he did not want a share, but only asked to skip the registration process and be able to go on stage to participate in the Soul Battle at any time. At the same time, the Soul Arena also had to arrange sufficiently strong opponents for him."

Listening to the man with the pointed mouth and monkey-like face, Xue Qinghe's face showed a strange expression. She had never heard of such a bizarre request before.

"This lone wolf challenged two Great Soul Masters by himself before, and his soul power was greatly depleted. He should be recovering his soul power now. Once his soul power is fully replenished, he will probably start challenging again. Look, the lone wolf has stood up."

Below the stands, Su Yuntao, whose soul power had been fully restored, stood up and quietly waited for the battle to end. Many spectators cheered enthusiastically.

With the clash of the two Soul Masters' second Soul Skills, the previous Soul Battle finally came to an end. Several staff members came out of the passage and asked each spectator if they wanted to continue watching. If they did not want to continue watching, they would ask them to leave the main Soul Battle Arena as soon as possible.

"Next up is a new friend who joined us today, but those who have been watching Fighting Spirit will definitely recognize him – he's Lone Wolf!"

The scene was bustling with noise, and the intense cheers made the entire arena exceptionally lively.

While the host was still energetically creating a lively atmosphere on stage, Xue Qinghe, sitting in the audience, raised an eyebrow and asked, "How were his opponents arranged?"

"Once he steps onto the stage, the Soul Arena officials will immediately find a two-ring Grand Soul Master to be his opponent. Usually, it will be a Grand Soul Master with two yellow soul rings, or two Grand Soul Masters with one white and one yellow soul ring respectively."

The man with the pointed mouth and monkey-like cheeks explained earnestly.

"What's your name? What level are you at? What's your martial spirit?"

Upon hearing Xue Qinghe's question, the man seemed to understand something and quickly and sensibly replied:

"My name is Jili, my martial soul is the Wind Baboon, and I am currently a level 26 Battle Soul Master. I also know a friend whose martial soul is the Mandragora Snake, and his level is also 26."

Seeing that the other party was so cooperative, Xue Qinghe was very satisfied: "I've remembered your name. Go find your companion and go test the strength of this lone wolf."

"Yes, Your Highness."

Jili bowed in agreement and then quickly retreated. He couldn't be negligent in the task assigned by the First Prince. If he was slow and someone else took the initiative to challenge him, he would definitely leave the First Prince with the impression that he was unreliable.

Not long after, the host finished the warm-up and then introduced Su Yuntao's opponent.

"Next, it will be another tough battle for Lone Wolf, one against two. His opponents are two level 26 Great Soul Masters: one with the Martial Soul Wind Baboon, nicknamed Ape; and the other with the Martial Soul Mandragora Snake, codenamed Poison Tongue."

This combination is truly unique. Now, I declare the match open!

Four yellow soul rings rose from beneath the feet of Su Yuntao's two opponents. The two men's bodies also changed rapidly. The soul master nicknamed "Monkey" had his arms grow longer and longer, reaching down to his knees. Thick hair also sprouted from his skin, making him look exactly like a savage.

Meanwhile, the Soul Master codenamed "Poison Tongue" slowly fused his legs together, transforming into a long snake tail. His two fangs gleamed with a chilling light, and his eyes turned into vertical pupils, making anyone who saw him feel a chill in their heart.

"Even if he has a thousand-year soul ring, it won't be easy for him to deal with two soul masters who both have hundred-year soul rings. I suppose the two of them should be able to figure out this person's background by taking action, right?"

Xue Qinghe communicated with the two titled Douluo in the shadows using telepathy.

“Young Master is brilliant. Even if he has a thousand-year soul ring, he cannot avoid the reality that his soul power is limited. Two great soul masters will definitely be able to find out his background.”

Serpent Spear Douluo offered a compliment, but left some room for maneuver, since the other party was only at the second level of the millennium, and no one could say for sure if he had any other tricks up his sleeve.

"Although he is a bit old, it is appropriate for him to join the Crown Prince's residence. Although his talent is far inferior to that of the young master, if he is properly trained, he can be considered a capable subordinate in the future."

In the eyes of the Porcupine Douluo, Su Yuntao's talent is only average. After all, given his age, his future development is uncertain, but he is still worth investing some effort in nurturing.

“Okay, I’ll personally go and recruit him when he leaves.”

Xue Qinghe already had a plan in mind. Although she had quite a few people under her command, they were mostly from the Spirit Hall and could not show themselves openly. She was still young and could not recruit mid-level experts from the Spirit Master world. If she wanted to build a force that she could show off, cultivating them herself was one of the few options.

They had high hopes, but the situation on the stage still exceeded their expectations.

To their surprise, they discovered that neither of Su Yuntao's two soul skills were offensive; they were both amplification-type soul skills. They could only marvel at how extraordinary Su Yuntao's abilities were.

However, despite lacking powerful offensive soul skills, Su Yuntao managed to hold his own against the two Great Soul Masters. Later on, he entered a special state where his combat experience surged, and he transformed into a lone wolf, quickly defeating the two Great Soul Masters and knocking them off the stage.

"Is this what they call a self-created soul skill? It feels a bit special."

Xue Qinghe was not disappointed because he had not figured out Su Yuntao's background. Instead, he recalled the whole process of Su Yuntao's battle in front of him and frowned slightly.

As Qian Daoliu's granddaughter, although her cultivation level was not very high, she had been exposed to the world for many years and her knowledge was far beyond that of ordinary top-level soul masters. Although she did not have the same way of classifying her self-created soul skills as Tang Shan, she had a general idea of ​​what they were.

In her opinion, the famous self-created soul skill of the Clear Sky Sect, the Chaotic Cloak Hammer Technique, was not particularly sophisticated. It was merely a technique of using the opponent's force against them. Unless one could achieve what her grandfather said, comparable to the creator of the Chaotic Cloak Hammer Technique, where each hammer strike could not only stack power and momentum but also forcibly stun the opponent, this self-created soul skill would be easily countered.

She couldn't quite decipher the self-created soul skill Su Yuntao had just used, but she had a premonition that obtaining this soul skill would be of great benefit to her.

This was the second time Xue Qinghe had felt this special feeling. The first time was when her grandfather handed her the soul bone of the Angelic Armor, and her martial soul felt an primal longing for it.

Ta-da!

The sound of footsteps coming from the side caught Xue Qinghe's attention. He saw a boy who looked to be no more than ten years old walking out of the passage next to him.

The boy nodded with satisfaction as he looked at Su Yuntao on the arena. Then, when he subconsciously looked around, he noticed Xue Qinghe and his group.

Hearing footsteps, Xue Qinghe turned around and met the boy's gaze. Both of them were stunned for a moment, clearly recognizing each other.

Tang Shan was somewhat surprised, not expecting to run into the Heavenly Dou Royal Family member he had stared at at the window that morning at the Great Soul Arena. Looking at the direction the other person had been looking, he instantly realized: it seems that his elder brother's second ring of the millennium has been discovered.

Tang Shan's brow furrowed almost imperceptibly. Joining the Heavenly Dou Royal Family himself was one thing, but getting his elder brother to join was another. Ultimately, he wasn't Su Yuntao and couldn't make the decision for him.

If this prince wants to recruit his elder brother, it would be fine if the other party is the "eldest prince" Xue Qinghe, but if it is another prince, it might be a bit troublesome.

Tang Shan did not expect that Su Yuntao's battle with the spirits would attract people who were difficult to deal with in a short period of time. After all, he was just an ordinary person, not a wise man. No matter how well he planned, there would inevitably be oversights.

As for his certainty that the other party was a prince and not another member of the royal family, it was all because of the swan mark on the other party's body.

This emblem was not permitted to be used by anyone other than Emperor Xueye, Prince Xuexin (whom he specially authorized), and the other princes. If Prince Xuexin's son were to use this emblem, what kind of symbol would it imply that a prince's son was using the same emblem as the other princes?

Is it your father who has designs on the throne, or is it you who are interested in that position?

Xue Qinghe never expected that when he came to the Great Soul Arena to see the so-called "Master Theory Verifier", he would run into the boy he had stared at that morning again.

If a few more days had passed, she might have forgotten about the boy, but after all, they had only made eye contact for a short time, and his calm, deep-pool-like gaze had left a fairly deep impression on her, so Xue Qinghe recognized Tang Shan at a glance.

A brief silence fell over the room. Tang Shan was the first to react; he stepped forward and bowed slightly in greeting.

"I have met the prince."

After saying that, he straightened up again.

How can you be sure I am a prince?

Xue Qinghe looked at Tangshan with great interest, then glanced at Su Yuntao on the arena, his memories swirling in his mind.

She vaguely recalled that when the boy looked at her through the window, there were two other people with him, one of whom seemed to be the "Lone Wolf" in the ring. This was getting more and more interesting.

"To be able to ride in a royal carriage, and to have such an extraordinary temperament, with such gentle manners and a noble aura in every gesture, I really can't think of anyone else besides Prince Tiandou who could have such demeanor."

P.S.: Thank you to Pineapple Snow's Lonely Quest for Victory for the generous donation. Please add to your favorites, follow, subscribe, comment, give monthly tickets, and recommend! I'm asking for everything. Our formal meeting is also the beginning of our connection.

Chapter 57, "A Two-Way Journey," is the most lethal form of imaginary speculation.

Even Xue Qinghe, whose composure had been honed to a high degree, was not immune to praise.

With a humble smile, she said modestly, "You flatter me. This is a quality that every prince should possess."

Tang Shan was not ashamed at all of his flattery. He went to great lengths for his own future and to get rid of the other princes' advances.

"Forgive my poor eyesight, but I do not know which prince is speaking to you?"

Tangshan asked the question with great respect.

Xue Qinghe carefully examined the boy in front of him. The boy was over 1.7 meters tall, a little taller than himself, with a strong and muscular build, the outline of his muscles faintly visible under his clothes.

"Young Master, this person has an extraordinary physical body, and his blood and qi are as powerful and fierce as a soul beast."

The voice of the Serpent Spear Douluo rang in Xue Qinghe's ears, making her even more interested in Tangshan.

"I am the First Prince Xue Qinghe."

Upon receiving the answer, Tang Shan was somewhat surprised. Although he had made a guess when he recognized the other party as a prince, he ultimately dared not be certain.

After all, in the original novel, the second and third princes were poisoned when they were around ten years old, and there was no specific description of them in the book. The person in front of him was refined and humble, which matched Xue Qinghe's appearance description very well, but he still dared not be sure.

In his view, even without siding with the eldest prince, the fourth prince, Xue Beng, was far more reliable than the second and third princes. The latter two were unlikely to live long, while the fourth prince, Xue Beng, had become more forbearing after his brother's death, and he also had Prince Xuexin and Dugu Bo backing him up. In terms of risk investment, betting on the fourth prince was more secure than betting on the second or third prince.

Now that the best investment opportunity is right in front of him, how could Tang Shan not be excited?

He took a deep breath, forcibly calming his somewhat excited heart, and bowed again: "Greetings, Your Highness."