Douluo Continent: The Martial Soul Flowing Blade Like Fire terrifies Bibi Dong

Chapter 48 Rules

The night breeze in front of the main hall seemed to freeze for a moment.

The butler in the plain robe lowered his head even further, not daring to even breathe loudly.

Xue Qinghe's smile remained unchanged; he simply sighed, "Brother Su, you jest. You are the Holy Son of the Spirit Hall; it would be disrespectful of me not to put in my best effort."

"Besides, Heaven Dou City is not like Martial Soul City. The situation has been complicated recently, and I also have to guard against anyone taking the opportunity to cause trouble."

Su Chen stared at him, then suddenly smiled.

"Your words seem to be reminding me."

"Remind me that in Heaven Dou City, besides you, anyone could want me dead."

Xue Qinghe's eyes flickered slightly.

It only lasted a moment before returning to normal.

"If Brother Su interprets it this way, it is not necessarily wrong."

"Please, the tea is getting cold."

The two entered the main hall one after the other.

The room was decorated very elegantly.

There was no glittering gold or extraneous decorations, only a screen, a low table, two palace lanterns, and a pot of tea that had already boiled.

Xue Qinghe poured Su Chen a glass of wine himself.

The rising steam made his already gentle features appear even more harmless.

"This is the newly arrived Yunwu Xueya tea; even Father Emperor is reluctant to drink more than a little. Brother Su, please have a taste."

Su Chen didn't touch the tea, but merely glanced at the cup of noodles after sitting down.

"The tea is good tea."

"But I don't like beating around the bush."

"His Highness the Crown Prince summoned me here; surely it wasn't just for a late-night tea party?"

Xue Qinghe smiled gently and sat down as well.

"Brother Su is a man of few words, so I won't hold back either."

"You have only just entered the Heavenly Dou Martial Soul Temple today, and I have invited you here tonight because I truly wish to see you first."

"One reason is out of curiosity."

"Secondly, it's out of concern."

"Oh?" Su Chen looked at him. "What are you worried about?"

Xue Qinghe did not answer immediately, but picked up his teacup and slowly took a sip, as if he was carefully considering his words.

"What we're worried about this time is not the help the Spirit Hall has sent, but rather a variable."

"Brother Su should understand that it hasn't been easy for me to get to where I am today in Tiandou these past few years."

"Prince Xuexing is watching me closely, Xue Beng is hiding in the shadows pretending to be crazy, the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School is outwardly friendly but always has a backup plan, and the Royal Academy is even more deeply entrenched. One wrong step could lead to total defeat."

"Under these circumstances, if the Spirit Hall suddenly sent a Holy Son, anyone would have to ask him first."

"Did you come to help me, or to keep an eye on me?"

After he finished speaking, the hall fell silent.

Xue Qinghe's tone remained gentle, even quite frank.

But those eyes hidden behind the tea mist finally revealed a hint of true sharpness.

That's right.

This is the kind of person Qian Renxue should be.

Su Chen leaned back in his chair and gently tapped the scabbard with his fingertips, making a soft sound.

"Your Highness's question is quite interesting."

"You're afraid that if I help too much, I'll steal your thunder."

97

"I'm also afraid that if I keep too close an eye on you, you won't be able to do your job properly."

"Ultimately, you're not asking about the Spirit Hall's intentions; you're asking which side I'm on."

Xue Qinghe's smile remained unchanged, but his heart sank slightly.

This Su Chen is even sharper than he thought.

She had barely finished speaking when the other person laid bare her deepest concerns on the table.

"Then Brother Su, you might as well speak frankly," Xue Qinghe said, looking at him. "Whose side are you on?"

Su Chen looked at him for two seconds, then suddenly picked up the cup of tea and drank it all in one gulp.

"I won't take sides."

I only care about the results.

Xue Qinghe's brows twitched almost imperceptibly.

Su Chen placed the teacup back on the table, his tone calm and undisturbed.

"Whoever can make things easier for the Spirit Hall is one of us."

"Whoever holds things back, whoever gets in the way, whoever blocks the way, should be eliminated."

"Whether you are the Crown Prince, Prince Xuexing, Xue Beng, or the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School, it makes no difference to me."

""

"If it's useful, keep it."

"If it's useless, then it's worthless."

The lights in the hall flickered slightly.

Xue Qinghe's hand holding the teacup tightened slowly at the knuckles.

These words were too direct and too harsh.

If it were anyone else, this would be considered blatant insolence in front of the Crown Prince.

But when Su Chen said these words, it didn't seem like he was bluffing or deliberately testing anyone.

He really thought so.

This boy possessed an almost tyrannical desire for control.

It's not the aloof and distant feeling of a temple of worship.

It's not the suffocating coldness of Bibi Dong either.

It is something more direct and more dangerous.

He is like a ball of fire.

No matter who gets close, they should first think carefully about whether they will be burned to ashes.

Xue Qinghe remained silent for a moment, then suddenly burst into laughter.

"Brother Su is even more domineering than the rumors say."

"I originally thought that the people taught by Bibi Dong would mostly talk about rules before discussing killing."

"I didn't expect that the first thing you'd talk about is who deserves to die."

"Rules?" Su Chen smiled, but his eyes were as cold as knives. "Rules are for the subordinates to see, not for me to follow."

"Besides, how many people in this Heavenly Dou City truly abide by the rules these days?"

"Prince Xuexing abides by the rules and will not use the academy to cultivate his own power."

"If Avalanche follows the rules, it won't recruit soldiers with the skin of a rich kid."

"The Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School adheres to the rules, so they won't be your teacher while simultaneously leaving a way out for others."

"If you really believe that things can be accomplished in this place by following the rules, then you've wasted all these years."

Xue Qinghe's smile finally faded a little.

This wasn't because she felt hurt, but because she discovered that the young man's assessment of the situation in the Heavenly Battle was frighteningly accurate.

He only arrived in Tiandou today.

It's as if I've been watching this game of chess for many years.

"It seems Salas has told you quite a bit," Xue Qinghe said slowly.

"He's talking about the surface," Su Chen said, looking at him. "I'm talking about the inside."

"For example, what you're really afraid of isn't Xuexing."

"It wasn't an avalanche."

"What you're afraid of is that you've been laying the groundwork for too long, so long that any sudden variable could cause you to lose everything."

"That's why you're meeting me in person tonight."

"Because others can't tell whether I'm here to help you or to take your spoils. But you have to figure it out immediately."

This time, Xue Qinghe did not respond.

For the first time, his gaze truly turned somber.

The atmosphere in the hall shifted from a seemingly amicable conversation to a silent clash between two opposing forces.

A moment later, Xue Qinghe suddenly put down his teacup, got up and walked to the window.

"Brother Su."

"Since you see through everything so clearly, why don't you guess whether I have any other purpose in inviting you here tonight?"

Su Chen remained seated, his gaze fixed on the other person's back.

The prince's white robes depict broad shoulders, a narrow waist, and a slender figure.

If he didn't know who was really behind this disguise, he wouldn't have been able to find a single flaw in what he was seeing.

But sometimes, the more perfectly you disguise yourself, the easier it is to be exposed in the details.

For example, standing posture.

For example, the shoulder line.

For example, that kind of ingrained, aloof sense of superiority.

And when Bibi Dong was mentioned earlier, there was an almost uncontrollable chill in that instant.

Su Chen looked at the person by the window and suddenly spoke slowly, "Yes."

There's one more thing you'd like to confirm.

"To confirm whether I know your true identity."

A gust of night wind blew outside the window, and the flame of the palace lantern flickered violently.

For the first time, Xue Qinghe's figure paused very slightly.

After a pause, he slowly turned around.

His face still wore that gentle, warm smile.

But the smile was no longer gentle; instead, it was like a thin layer of ice.

"Brother Su, I don't quite understand what you're saying."

"It's okay if you don't understand." Su Chen looked up at him, a slight smile playing on her lips. "As long as you understand, and I'm not stupid, that's enough."

The two men stared at each other across a low table.

One had a gentle smile.

One smiled coldly.

But the invisible sense of oppression in the hall suddenly intensified at that moment.

Several auras hidden in the shadows tensed up at the same time, as if they would pounce out immediately if there was even the slightest mishap in the hall.

Xue Qinghe looked at Su Chen for a long time, then suddenly clapped his hands lightly.

"Don't move."

With just one sentence, all the murderous intent lurking in the shadows was suppressed.

Then, he slowly sat back down and looked at Su Chen again.

"Brother Su is indeed as rumored; not only is his talent astounding, but his courage is also extraordinary."

"You are the first person to dare say such a thing to me in a place like this."

"9

Su Chen's expression remained unchanged.

"Then you should be glad I'm the first one."

"Because if it were someone else, they would be dead by now."

A genuine chill finally flashed across Xue Qinghe's eyes.

But that chill came quickly and went quickly.

The next second, he actually laughed.

It wasn't the gentle, refined, polite smile from before, but a genuine smile with a hint of coldness and sharpness.

"it is good."

"Since Brother Su has made his point so clear, then I won't pretend anymore."

"You guessed right, I was indeed testing you tonight."

"I'm testing whether you're a spy deliberately planted by Bibi Dong, testing whether you're qualified to sit down and negotiate with me, testing whether you'll take advantage of your status as the Holy Son to turn all my plans over the past few years into a complete mess."

"It seems you're more troublesome than I anticipated."

"But it's also more useful."

Hearing this, Su Chen finally became interested.

"Negotiate terms?"

"How do you want to talk?"

Xue Qinghe looked at him, her tone returning to normal, but with an added layer of truthfulness.

"It's very simple."

"Whether your arrival in Heaven Dou is for Bibi Dong's orders or for the greater good of the Spirit Hall, you can't avoid one thing in the end."

"That's the Heaven Dou Royal Academy."

"Prince Xuexing has gotten involved there. Avalanche is keeping a bunch of good-for-nothings and mad dogs there. The three major education committees are opportunists, unwilling to offend either side."

"The Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School is also using the academy to gauge the political climate."

"As long as the academy remains stable, Xuexing will always have a breath left."

"Therefore, if you want to get involved, the best entry point is to start with the academy."

Su Chen looked at him, her gaze deepening slightly.

coming.

This is the real topic tonight.

Xue Qinghe softened his tone and continued, "I can give you a name, I can give you access, and I can also openly shield you from some trouble."

"But I won't clear all the obstacles for you."

"Because I want to watch it too."

"Let's see if you, the Holy Son of the Spirit Hall, can really crush this touchstone."

"If you can't even control the Heavenly Dou Royal Academy, then you have no right to touch the court, sects, or the royal family."