Xu Jiawei was startled for a moment, then smiled and waved his hand, saying with a hint of appreciation, "You see things clearly. However, after observing them for this period, I'm not as nervous and worried as before. Just as Teacher said, monster beasts with high intelligence are ultimately different from those low-level Soul Beasts that only know slaughter and reproduction.
We shouldn't look at them with the same eyes as ordinary Soul Beasts. There have been precedents of cooperation between humans and Soul Beasts. If I remember correctly, the Sea God's wife ten thousand years ago was a ten-thousand-year Soft Bone Rabbit who had transformed..."
"Teacher?" Shu Yan keenly caught the key point. Xu Jiawei's teacher was something he had never heard of before. It was likely that even Xu Jiujiu didn't know her Imperial Brother had a teacher; otherwise, she generally wouldn't hide it from Shu Yan.
Of course, there were exceptions, unless the matter involved was extremely deep and the implications were very large, only then could there be a so-called exception.
Xu Jiawei smiled slightly, no longer hiding anything, and said directly, "You met Thousand Old last time. I won't hide it from you anymore. Thousand Old is my Teacher.
He has an extremely deep relationship with several ancestors of my Star Crown Sect. Therefore, after the passing of the ancestors, he joined the Empire's Worship Hall and became the guardian of the Empire in their place."
"Later, when I inherited the position of Crown Prince and showed excellent talent, Thousand Old chose to come out of seclusion and take me as his disciple, teaching me. Without Thousand Old, I'm afraid it would have been impossible for me to break through to the Titled Douluo (Level 90 - 99) realm, which countless Soul Masters dream of, at this age."
Shu Yan was slightly stunned, not expecting such a hidden story behind this matter. But after thinking about it, Shu Yan temporarily shifted the topic.
"I'm still curious about a few things. Imperial Brother, could you enlighten me?"
Xu Jiawei nodded, his gaze gentle, and then said, "Ask away. As long as it's not too much, I can answer you."
Shu Yan also showed a smile and said, "The first thing: what realm has Imperial Brother's current cultivation reached?"
Emperor's Cultivation and Resources
Xu Jiawei looked at Shu Yan, a smile flashing in his eyes. After thinking for a moment, he said, "I didn't expect you to be curious about my cultivation. To be honest, my current cultivation is level ninety-four. I'm not far from Super Douluo (Level 95 - 98); I just lack understanding and opportunity."
Xu Jiawei slowly stood up. Nine spirit rings slowly rose from his feet: yellow, yellow, purple, purple, black, black, black, black, red. The eighth spirit ring was reddish-black. Although the overall configuration wasn't the absolute top-tier, it was still extremely rare.
Seeing that Shu Yan seemed a little surprised, Xu Jiawei withdrew his Martial Soul and spirit rings, sat down gently, and then explained: "There was an accident when I absorbed the eighth ring. That Soul Beast should have been ten-thousand-year cultivation, but because it fought back desperately and burned too much of its essence and original spirit power, the spirit ring's lifespan was slightly less. Otherwise, I should have had two ten-thousand-year spirit rings."
Shu Yan was slightly astonished, but thinking of Xu Jiawei's identity and status, he felt relieved.
Star Crown Soul Masters, influenced by their Martial Soul, while possessing powerful auxiliary abilities or even attack power, experience very little improvement in their physical fitness from their Martial Soul. This leads to physique becoming a major problem that Star Crown Soul Masters must face.
But at that time, Xu Jiawei was the Crown Prince of a nation and the next Sect Master of the Star Crown Sect. The resources he enjoyed were incredibly vast and precious.
Seriously speaking, Xu Jiawei had consumed various treasures beneficial to his physique since childhood, including even rare treasures like ten-thousand-year Whale Jelly Shark Pearls, which are hard to come by in a hundred years.
Such vast resources quickly compensated for Xu Jiawei's deficiency in physique and even made his physique temporarily stronger than Battle Soul Masters of the same level. This gave him the confidence to absorb a ten-thousand-year spirit ring for his eighth ring.
Perhaps there was something Shu Yan didn't know. While Xu Jiawei had a full set of Spirit Bones, two of them had even reached the ten-thousand-year level.
Among these two ten-thousand-year Spirit Bones, the most precious was a torso bone produced by a ten-thousand-year Star Radiance Dragon. At the same time, this torso bone was also the most precious piece among the Star Crown Sect's inherited Spirit Bones.
The Empire and the Martial Soul Hall Remnants
After a brief silence, Shu Yan continued to ask, "The second question: I want to know what kind of relationship exists between the Empire and those Martial Soul Hall remnants, or rather, I want to know Imperial Brother's attitude."
Xu Jiawei fell silent for a while upon hearing this, as if organizing his words or struggling with something. After a long time, he said softly, "It's simple: it's a kind of cooperative relationship."
"Thousands of years ago, the ancestors of my Star Crown Sect led the Star Luo army and people to successfully protect this fertile land where we have lived for thousands of years. The former White Tiger Imperial Family weakened and abdicated the throne to that generation's Star Crown Sect Master. That generation's Star Crown Sect Master then enfeoffed the former White Tiger Imperial Family as Dukes of the Empire, hereditary and perpetual."
"But anyone with a brain can understand that as former imperial blood, how could the successive Dukes White Tiger not have the idea of regaining power in their bones? It was just that reality was never enough to support their ideas."
"The superficial balance between the Imperial Family and the Duke White Tiger was never broken because everyone knew that in such an era, if this balance were broken, the entire Star Luo would face disaster. It was under these circumstances that the Imperial Family unintentionally discovered the remnants of the former Martial Soul Hall in several coastal cities in the southern part of the Empire."
"Those remnants had been oppressed and driven out by the former Heaven Dou Empire for over a thousand years. Later, due to war, they migrated together to the Star Luo Empire. At that time, the Imperial Family and supreme power had just changed hands.
Those Martial Soul Hall remnants seemed to see the possibility of resurgence, so they were not resistant to contact with our Xu Imperial Family. Through long-term interaction, they were forced by reality to gradually accept the resources and support provided by the Imperial Family..."
"But in return, they became a sharp blade secretly supported by our Star Crown Imperial Family to deal with internal conflicts and other troubles. This relationship has been established since thousands of years ago and continues to this day. I only learned of this from the elders of my Star Crown Sect after I succeeded to the throne of the Star Luo Emperor."
Speaking of this, Xu Jiawei paused slightly before continuing, "As for my attitude, you can see it for yourself. Thousand Old is my Teacher. If I had to choose between the Duke White Tiger and the Martial Soul Hall remnants you mentioned, I would choose the latter without hesitation."
Seemingly noticing the surprise on Shu Yan's face, Xu Jiawei smiled, took a sip of fragrant tea, and then leisurely said, "Being an Emperor isn't that easy. Those who lack depth or are too naive won't survive long in this position. What's on the surface isn't necessarily true, and what's hidden is even harder to say..."
Shu Yan couldn't help but laugh, then nodded gently. He gained a little more understanding of the situation and reality...