of the Heavenly Dou Imperial Palace, besides some court officials, three of the four princes, including Xue Qinghe, had arrived.
Xue Beng was too young; how could a four-year-old possibly appear in court?
Finally, there were Lin Zhan and his son Lin Yu.
In court, "Xue Qinghe" recounted the story he had prepared beforehand.
Emperor Xue Ye, seated on his throne, listened attentively until Xue Qinghe finished, then opened his eyes.
Unlike more than ten years later, when he was old and frail from the poison, Emperor Xue Ye was now in his prime.
His sharp eyes immediately fell on Lin Zhan and Lin Yu, a smile appearing on his face. "I never imagined that while Marquis Chengyang saved my life, his son also saved my son's life."
Indeed, Lin Zhan had saved Emperor Xue Ye's life, albeit under the careful planning of someone deep within the Spirit Hall. Lin Zhan had undeniably saved Xue Ye's life.
Otherwise, even with the Spirit Hall's secret support, Lin Zhan wouldn't have been able to obtain the title of Marquis.
After all, the Heaven Dou Empire has a long history, and its class barriers are exceptionally strong. Lin Zhan himself only possessed an ordinary, unremarkable top-tier beast spirit—the Emerald Bird—derived from a sparrow spirit.
Although his talent was good, breaking through the class barriers was extremely difficult, let alone obtaining a high-ranking title like Marquis.
Hearing Emperor Xue Ye's slightly wistful words, Lin Zhan immediately declined, "Your Majesty, why do you say that? Protecting Your Majesty is simply my duty; there has never been any question of favor. Yu'er's ability to save His Highness the Second Prince is also due to this."
Upon hearing this, everyone present looked at Lin Zhan with newfound respect.
Previously, they had simply thought Lin Zhan was a lucky one, merely benefiting from the merit of saving their lord.
But now, they no longer thought so; everyone's success has its reasons.
They never expected that Lin Zhan, always so quiet and honest in the army, could utter such crude yet seemingly loyal words.
These words pleased Xue Ye, but she rebuked Lin Zhan, saying, "Lin Zhan, what are you saying? You saved my life, you are indebted to me. Your son saved my prince, so he is also indebted to me and has rendered meritorious service to the empire. I will naturally reward my nephew!" For a moment,
many ministers present envied Lin Yu; to be recognized as a relative by the emperor, they would gladly be his grandsons!
Unfortunately, even if they were grandsons, Xue Ye wouldn't look down on them. He had already made his judgment when he heard that Lin Yu's innate soul power had reached level nine. A
short while later, several palace maids brought up trays containing the gifts Xue Ye had bestowed.
Although there were only three items, they were all treasures from the royal treasury, each priceless.
The first item was a wristband, entirely emerald green, inlaid with a blue gem the size of a pigeon's egg.
Those with discerning eyes immediately recognized it as a valuable storage soul tool.
There was also a dagger, entirely dark blue, engraved with the characters "Lou Gao."
Finally, there was a jade box, which Xue Ye had placed inside the wristband soul tool; apart from Lin Yu, who was wearing the wristband, no one knew of its existence.
Although Xue Ye didn't particularly value Xue Qinghe, Xue Qinghe was still a prince, representing the face of the Heavenly Dou Empire.
After the ministers and Lin Zhan and his son left, Xue Ye finally made his move, further unsettling the already turbulent Tian Dou City.
Everything in Tian Dou City was naturally observed by those with ulterior motives.
Not far from Tian Dou City, only about a hundred miles away, the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School, known as the world's number one support sect, was located there.
Unlike the shabby Haotian Sect, which had already gone into seclusion, the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School directly built a city and named it after the sect—Seven Treasure City.
In the heart of Seven Treasure City, amidst a not-so-high mountain range, pavilions and towers were scattered everywhere, luxurious yet elegant. Men and women with glazed pagoda symbols on their robes could be seen chatting and laughing together.
At the summit of Seven Treasure Mountain, the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School's headquarters, a refined and handsome middle-aged man was enjoying top-grade tea purchased from the Star Luo Empire with two elderly men.
"Good tea, Uncle Gu, are you sure you don't want some?"
Ning Fengzhi smiled gently, addressing the tall, imposing old man beside him, whose frame resembled a skeleton. "You're not a child anymore, why are you so angry with Uncle Jian?"
Before Gu Rong could reply, Chen Xin, with his white hair and beard, snorted coldly. "Such good tea, it would be a waste for him to drink it. Besides, I don't believe you brought me here just to taste this tea."
Chen Xin slowly placed the pure white porcelain cup on the table. Ning Fengzhi, the sect master of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School, gazed in the direction of Heaven Dou City and said calmly, "As you said, Uncle Jian, the matter at the Royal Hunting Grounds has attracted quite a few people. Although those perpetrators made considerable moves, they still failed to assassinate him. Instead, their plan was ruined by a child who had just awakened his martial soul."
Even the usually composed Sword Douluo Chen Xin looked as if to say, "Ning Fengzhi, are you trying to fool me?"
Ning Fengzhi chuckled, "Uncle Jian, you don't need to look at me like that. I'm telling the truth, but I don't quite understand why the assassination target was only the unremarkable Xue Qinghe, and not the other two talented princes. Could it be just to make the Heaven Dou Empire lose face? I find that unlikely..."
"Moreover, since the Clear Sky Sect went into seclusion, a storm is brewing, and it's not just Heaven Dou City that's experiencing undercurrents. Since the Pope's death last year, the entire Douluo Continent seems to be in a state of silence. Who knows when it will erupt?"
Like Ning Fengzhi, others also had a certain sense of the current situation, only their feelings differed due to their different allegiances.
These worries of the upper echelons were temporarily irrelevant to Lin Yu. More than ten days after returning home, Lin Yu actually broke through to level ten, able to obtain his first spirit ring.
Because of the incident at the Royal Hunting Grounds, Lin Zhan, who bore some responsibility, was unemployed at home and was just about to go for a stroll in Heaven Dou City.
Before he could even act, Lin Yu was already beside him, releasing his soul power through the soul power detection crystal.
Lin Zhan was quite surprised, "Little Yu, you've broken through?"
"That's right, I just broke through not long ago. I hope you can help me, Dad."
"Good, good! Since you've broken through, then I'll naturally take you to find the best soul ring!"
Lin Yu's breakthrough undoubtedly made Lin Zhan, who was somewhat depressed from being idle at home, very happy. He didn't go out to play anymore; accompanying his son to obtain a soul ring was the most important thing.