"You're right. Your mother and I were a bit presumptuous. Since that's the case, stay in Heaven Dou City. With your father here, as long as you don't provoke the royal family, everything will be fine."
After returning home, Lin Yu explained the pros and cons of going to Martial Soul City to Lin Zhan, who agreed to let him stay.
At this moment, a slender figure approached. Before she could be seen, laughter could be heard. "Oh ho, what are you two talking about, father and son? May I hear?"
A head of beautiful blue hair cascaded over her shoulders, her skin was like jade, her figure was slender, and her round oval face carried a faint smile, giving her a gentle and approachable air.
The person was none other than Lin Yu's mother in this life, Lin Zhan's wife, Yu Rou, with a cultivation level of seventy-two, her Martial Soul being the Flowing Cloud Scroll, a rare control-type Soul Saint.
After Lin Zhan explained the situation to Lin Yu, Yu Rou sighed, "Fine, since you don't want to, Yu'er, then stay home. Once you reach level ten and obtain your first spirit ring, your father and I will see how the Heaven Dou Royal Academy is, and see if we can send you in."
"Thank you, Mother!"
In front of his mother, Yu Rou, Lin Yu rarely showed his childish side, affectionately rubbing his cheek against her warm face.
Seeing the mother and son being so close, Lin Zhan seemed quite jealous, and pulled Lin Yu off his wife, "That's enough, kid. I need to talk to your mother about some things alone. Get out!"
Before Lin Yu could react, his father threw him out.
Looking at the closed door, Lin Yu muttered, "In broad daylight, really... sigh!"
With a casual sigh, Lin Yu walked across nearly half of the manor and returned to his own courtyard.
In the courtyard, several servants were cleaning, but before they finished, Lin Yu chased them away.
After confirming that no one was around, a scroll appeared in Lin Yu's left hand. The scroll shimmered with emerald light, bearing a striking resemblance to his mother Yu Rou's martial soul, the Flowing Cloud Scroll.
However, unlike the Flowing Cloud Scroll, it didn't possess the water attribute; instead, it possessed the wood attribute, which promotes plant growth.
Undoubtedly, Lin Yu possessed twin martial souls, and mutated ones at that.
However, while both martial souls were quite powerful, their grades seemed rather low; the combined power of the two martial souls didn't even reach the innate full soul power level.
Everything is accomplished through secrecy, and ruined by leaks. Whether it was the Heaven Dou Empire or the Spirit Hall, both were entities that could take his life at any moment.
With his life at stake, Lin Yu couldn't be more cautious.
Several days passed quickly, and Lin Zhan, chosen as the supervisor of the Royal Hunting Grounds, brought Lin Yu to the hunting grounds.
In any world, royal hunts were always merely a show put on by emperors to demonstrate their might.
Xue Ye, the current emperor of the Heaven Dou Empire, is an emperor whose abilities are not particularly strong, but who is ambitious. Led
by Emperor Xue Ye, several princes of the Heaven Dou Empire, a group of noble sons, along with experts from various Soul Master families, soldiers, and other miscellaneous personnel, formed a long and imposing procession. They set off from Heaven Dou City and arrived at the hunting grounds less than a hundred miles away.
The hunting grounds were fully prepared to welcome this large group.
Lin Zhan had already taken care of everything in the hunting grounds, ensuring that nothing that shouldn't go wrong would.
When Emperor Xue Ye arrived, Lin Zhan arrived on horseback with Lin Yu.
"Your Majesty, the royal hunting grounds are ready. Please give your instructions!"
A man in golden armor, riding a docile warhorse with some soul beast blood, glanced approvingly at Lin Zhan. "Minister Lin, you truly are my trusted confidant. Your actions are meticulous; it's all thanks to you!"
Then, Xue Ye noticed Lin Yu sitting in front of Lin Zhan. "Minister Lin, this is your son. I remember he's only six years old. Sending him here, I'm afraid he might be frightened by wild beasts!"
Lin Zhan had been Xue Ye's subordinate in the military camp, and Xue Ye relied heavily on him. That's why Xue Ye spoke to Lin Zhan in a half-joking manner.
"My son insisted on coming; I hope Your Majesty will forgive him!"
A hint of awkwardness appeared on Lin Zhan's seemingly honest face, but Xue Ye simply smiled. "So what? Which noble son of Tian Dou City isn't like this?"
"Thank you for your permission, Your Majesty!"
This time, Lin Zhan and Lin Yu thanked and bowed together, making Xue Ye, who was already in high spirits, quite pleased.
Overjoyed, Emperor Xue Ye, eager to demonstrate his martial prowess, naturally couldn't resist showing off his skills before his court.
Soon, the pre-arranged rabbits, pheasants, and deer were released.
Mounted on his warhorse, Xue Ye drew his bow and fired an arrow.
It must be said, Xue Ye possessed a certain skill; the arrow, flying like a venomous tongue, struck a deer that was peacefully grazing.
With the deer dead, the animals that had been prey scattered in all directions.
The princes of the Heavenly Dou Empire, leading their noble sons, also began their hunt.
Lin Yu, riding a warhorse, remained calm, his gaze occasionally sweeping unconsciously across his surroundings.
Only after the other two princes and their entourages rushed forward did Lin Yu notice a handsome young man, still on his horse, accompanied only by a beautiful, long-haired golden maid and a group of guards.
With just a glance, Lin Yu immediately recognized them as Xue Qinghe and Qian Renxue, the one he was about to replace.
Lin Yu's ease in identifying them stemmed from the fact that, compared to his brothers, Prince Xue Qinghe was far too mediocre in both birth and personal qualities.
It was precisely for this reason that the Spirit Hall had set its sights on him, whose background and connections were virtually nonexistent.
Watching his brothers hunt freely in the hunting grounds, Xue Qinghe felt a surge of envy.
At this moment, Xue'er, a maid, smiled sweetly, "Since Your Highness wants to go, then go ahead. Xue'er also wants to see Your Highness's heroic figure while hunting. I'm sure His Majesty will look at Your Highness in a different light!"
With Xue'er's encouragement and his own strong desire for Xue Ye's attention, he no longer hesitated and led his guards out. "Xue'er, you stay here and wait for me to come back!"
Xue'er, who had stopped in place, smiled sweetly and bowed to the departing Xue Qinghe. "Xue'er is here to welcome Your Highness's triumphant return!"
After most of the people who participated in the royal hunt followed Xue Ye into the forest, Lin Zhan also lifted Lin Yu off his horse and earnestly instructed him, "You stay here and don't go anywhere, understand?"
Lin Yu nodded obediently and waved goodbye to Lin Zhan, who was mounting his horse and leaving.
This scene was witnessed by a young girl dressed in a pale yellow palace maid's uniform. Her long, slender phoenix eyes widened slightly as she gently placed her hand on Lin Yu's head, softly asking, "Lord Chengyang, is he your father?"
Lin Yu slowly raised his head, his clear, pale red eyes, now tinged with the color of his awakened martial spirit, falling upon the graceful young girl.
"Yes, but Father is busy. It's already very kind of him to bring me to the hunting grounds."
The girl, whoever she was, was none other than Xue'er, the young lady who had been beside Xue Qinghe, and also the young master of the Martial Spirit Hall, Qian Renxue.
Although she had prepared to ambush him, she didn't seem to be in a hurry, instead enjoying gently rubbing Lin Yu's head.
The two chatted for about fifteen minutes before Qian Renxue left, leaving Lin Yu alone once again.
After an unknown amount of time, cries for help echoed from the depths of the hunting grounds. A heavily wounded soldier arrived at the camp, exclaiming, "Assassins! The Second Prince is being hunted!" before dying instantly.
The commander and his lieutenant stationed there paled in shock. Ignoring everything else, they led the soldiers remaining on the perimeter of the hunting grounds directly into the area.
As the soldiers at the camp departed, the entourages brought by the nobles also entered the dense forest within the hunting grounds.
As the Transparent Prince, Xue Qinghe was of little concern to anyone; these generals and nobles were more interested in capturing these audacious assassins to gain promotions and titles.
After these people left, only Lin Yu and a small number of palace personnel remained.
Lin Yu did not linger but quietly went to the stables where the fine horses were kept.
Fortunately, this was the Douluo Continent, where the activation of the Martial Soul allowed for early maturity; at six years old, he possessed the physique of a normal ten-year-old child from his previous life.
Having been instructed by Lin Zhan, Lin Yu mounted his horse with practiced ease and charged straight out of the stable.
Those left behind pretended not to see Lin Yu; those who came to hunt were all nobles and Soul Master families—how could a nobody dare to provoke him? So they chose to selectively close their eyes.
Riding his horse, Lin Yu encountered few people along the way, until he disappeared into a thicket of bushes. There, he witnessed Qian Renxue, dressed in a pale yellow palace gown, exerting all her strength to unleash the domain of her Angelic Martial Soul, killing a Soul Master with the cultivation of a Soul King with a single sword strike.
However, while using her Soul Venerable cultivation to kill a Soul King two major realms above her own, Qian Renxue's Soul Power was severely depleted, leaving her unable to kill Xue Qinghe before her.
She never expected that Xue Qinghe would be accidentally encountered by a mere lieutenant general of the Heaven Dou Empire; otherwise, how could things have dragged on until now!
At this moment, feeling deceived, Xue Qinghe, his expression grim, drew his sword and walked towards Qian Renxue.
In that instant, Lin Yu also pondered countless thoughts, finally making his decision.
With a neighing of his warhorse, Lin Yu rode his horse and charged directly at Xue Qinghe from the side.
Although Xue Qinghe was only a Great Soul Master, his reactions were quick; his grim face easily evaded the horse's impact.
Then, he slashed at Lin Yu with his sword.
However, his sword was a fraction too slow; in the instant he dodged, Qian Renxue, wielding her longsword, thrust it directly into Xue Qinghe's back.
Attacked from both sides, how could Xue Qinghe, a novice Great Soul Master with almost no combat experience, possibly dodge?
With one strike, Qian Renxue, in killing Xue Qinghe, also exhausted her last bit of strength, collapsing stiffly in front of Lin Yu.
(End of Chapter)