Douluo Continent: A Thousand Miles of Cultivation

Although he appears to be young, only ten years old, leading a group of young men in their twenties, he is actually a man in his thirties mentoring apprentices. Although he doesn't treat those people as friends because of their age, he truly regards them as his juniors.

"It was my intervention that caused them harm."

"You should know that although the situation may seem bad, it is not actually life-threatening, and the most difficult silver and gold are no longer a problem."

“But once I get involved, the nature of the matter changes. They and I were already too close, both of us standing out from the crowd.”

"After they dispersed to different places, they were no longer a big threat to many people."

"Now that I've appeared, a huge target has appeared. I don't care, but for them, it's a real disaster."

“Whether I help them or not, I will bring disaster to them. I can’t bear to carry my child for the rest of my life just because of a small setback. There will be times when I’m not here. What will I do then?”

The room was dimly lit. One person sat by the window, holding a cup of tea. He put down his tools and began to analyze the situation slowly, while another person listened quietly at the table.

"You really have a lot of profound principles to share..."

"what?"

Qian Renxue muttered to herself. She understood Qian Shui, but she was still there, wasn't she? As long as she wanted to, none of this was a problem, but Qian Shui didn't seem to be thinking about these things.

"Okay, you have a lot of reasons, I'll listen to you."

She also had her own selfish motives; she kept some things from people. Anyway, no one would die, so she figured she might as well leave it at that.

"What do you mean by 'I'm the most reasonable'? Listen to whoever is right!" Qian Shui has insisted on dialectical materialism for a hundred years without changing!

"Oh, by the way, have you ever heard of the Heavenly Dou Empire's national treasure, the Vast Ocean Universe Cover?"

"Ah."

"Find a way to get it!"

"Huh? Isn't that just a symbol?"

"Don't worry about that. Can you even get your hands on it? This thing is fine as long as it's just sitting around collecting dust, it just can't be left out in the open."

"What?! So mysterious!"

Seeing Qian Renxue's displeasure, some people felt a little embarrassed. Although it wasn't something that couldn't be said, they couldn't explain how they knew, so it was better to remain silent and keep it a secret.

'I can't exactly say it's the Heart of the Sea God, that without it, the Nine Trials of the Sea God can't be initiated, right? Hmm? The Nine Trials of the Sea God?'

"Sigh~"

'I'm determined not to inherit the Sea God's position; my strength will increase rapidly!'

Qian Shui didn't know how much energy accumulation was needed to reach the next stage after breaking through to the Golden Core stage, but the soul power required to go from Foundation Establishment to Golden Core was incomparable to that of Qi Refining.

"Where is it? If you can't find it, I'll go get it!"

Seeing Qian Shui looking like he'd taken some kind of stimulant, Qian Renxue knew that this guy had short-circuited again.

"The Imperial Palace..."

"This is easy!"

"Inside the spatial soul tool on a snowy night..."

"This too?! What did you say?!"

Seemingly anticipating Qian Shui's reaction, Qian Renxue turned her head away guiltily. Although she didn't know what she was guilty about, she couldn't bear to break Qian Shui's current super confident excitement.

"Fine, carrying it close to your body is reasonable too. But it's also very simple: drug it, take it! Wait, why are you making that face?"

However, he was met with a very awkward expression from Qian Renxue.

"His soul tool on that snowy night wasn't his own; no one else could open it..."

"I……"

Chapter 129 The Boring Man

"Becoming evil makes you three times stronger..."

Once he starts to slack off, Qianshui will become a mess again. He doesn't do anything productive all day long. He either lazes around cultivating his soul power or idly sows seeds and plants in the Ice and Fire Yin-Yang Well. He's just short of raising a few chickens, ducks, and geese and feeding them beans all day long.

He rarely even activated his Killing God Domain, and he lacked energy when fighting against Qian Renxue.

"Sixth Soul Skill, Angel's Roar!"

Above Sunset Forest, Qian Renxue's true angel form unfolded, her angelic domain opened to its maximum, and she transformed into an illusion, constantly moving around. During this movement, the angel's roaring mental power locked onto Qian Shui, instantly striking the exhausted person.

Under the mental shock, Qian Shui was stunned and dizzy, and her speed slowed down instantly.

"Fourth Soul Skill, Angel Free Will!"

The chains of soul power formed from holy light bound Qian Shui, rendering him unable to move.

However, Qian Shui also regained consciousness, "Sixth Soul Skill, Blazing Sun Technique!"

Ten Qian Shui clones appeared instantly, some rushing towards Qian Renxue, others fleeing. At this moment, he could not attack, but instead used his clones to disperse Qian Renxue's attacks.

"Fifth Soul Skill, Holy Sword!"

At the same time, Qian Renxue held her hands in front of her, and the giant sword shape formed by the holy fire took shape. A magnificent and blazing light shone out, and she slashed out the moment the 'Blazing Sun Technique' was activated.

"what!!!"

The battle came to an end. Those who witnessed it, whether in the open or in the shadows, were all struck by the holy light and determined that Qian Shui had been knocked down into the forest.

Qian Renxue, who was radiating light, also withdrew her soul power, flapped her wings, and flew towards Qian Shui.

"Xiao Shui, you've been slacking off!"

Seeing Qian Shui lying in the deep pit, his body charred black, his hair standing on end, and black and white smoke billowing from his mouth, Qian Renxue had no intention of listening to what was to come and turned her head away, arms crossed.

"Cough cough! Xiaoxue, is it really necessary to be so harsh?"

"I'm not being lazy! There's no way I'm being lazy!"

Then came more lazy words like 'rest, recuperate, conserve energy'.

With a flash of blue light, Qian Shui patted his bottom and stood up.

'Use as much force as you can! As long as you don't kill them!' — Qian Shui

During their first sparring session after returning, Qian Shui didn't let Qian Renxue hold back in order to test the healing ability of her fifth soul skill.

The test was successful, and Qian Renxue never held back again, since she was invincible anyway.

"Xiaoxue~ Hugs~"

Qian Renxue tried to avoid it, but Qian Shui was always decisive at this time, never giving her a chance.

His index fingertip traced the smooth stockings, slowly moving upwards until he lifted the girl's chin. He adopted a domineering CEO persona, saying in a slightly frivolous tone, "I just couldn't bear to hurt my little angel."

Although Qian Renxue was susceptible to this, after all, Qian Shui had been in this area for a long time, and except for a very few occasions, her hands were usually very well-behaved. She was probably just frightened the day she came back.

But this time was different. Qian Renxue received some unusual news, and she felt that Qian Shui needed to appear in front of the world and could no longer hide.

Grabbing Qian Shui's playful hand, Qian Renxue straightened her slightly flushed face and said, "Xiao Shui, don't you think it's boring for a man to just sit still all the time?"

Click! Qian Renxue's words were like a bolt of lightning, flashing through someone's mind, and he felt the whole world dim.

'Boring...boring...boring...'

As a homebody, he may be thick-skinned, but what he fears most is this kind of evaluation, especially from Qian Renxue, the person he cares about most.

"Haha...I know this isn't good..."

Qian Shui was extremely ashamed and indignant. He knew that this was wrong, so he really had no excuse to refute it. After all, he was so lazy that he didn't even bother to acquire his seventh spirit ring. More than a year had passed and his own mother was already trying to kick him out of the house!

Qian Renxue wrapped her arms around Qian Shui's waist and buried her head in his broad chest. With some reluctance, she said in a muffled voice, "Xiao Shui, you should leave. There is a wider world waiting for you outside. You don't need to worry about me and insist on staying with me."

"I have things I need to do, and you have yours. Go and climb, climb to the highest realm of Soul Masters, until you stand firmly on the Douluo Continent, and have nothing to fear!"

How could he remain unmoved by Qian Renxue's deeply affectionate words? But how could he bear to leave this hard-won bond?

"I really wish we could stay together forever!"

Holding the person tightly in his arms, how beautiful this feeling was! But Qian Shui understood many things all along.

If he is strong enough, why hide it? Just stand beside her, and what can anyone do to him?

Why waste her precious rest time on this deserted night for a brief reunion?

……

Looking back, Qianshui has already arrived in Hanhai City, perched on a cliff overlooking the sea.

Parting is always a sad thing, but he didn't want Qianrenxue to suffer such pain in the middle of the night, so this time he left without saying goodbye.

It was now the year 2639 of the Douluo Calendar, more than a year had passed.

During that year, Qian Shui casually acquired the Vast Ocean Universe Cover, causing chaos in the Heavenly Dou Empire.

Taking advantage of the opportunity to capture thieves, with the help of Qian Shui, Qian Renxue successfully took control of the entire defense of Tian Dou City.

Goron was dismissed from his post because of the incident years ago, and no one knows where he is now.

After the imperial marshal left, the huge power vacuum he left behind was naturally distributed among the vested interests.

Under Qian Renxue's manipulation, Xue Qinghe's three younger brothers were placed in the army. The royal family's command of the army was legitimate and justified, and Xue Ye praised this arrangement highly.

After all, having military power in the hands of one's own son, and not just one son, is the most secure strategy imaginable.

However, he overlooked a blind spot, namely, the role played by Xue Qinghe, or rather Qian Renxue, and what status the eldest brother of these three men holds in the hearts of the three princes.

'Who controls the army is irrelevant; what matters is who its leaders ultimately listen to!'

In the Douluo Continent without military reforms, the will of the army largely depends on the supreme commander. What Qian Shui and Qian Renxue want is not the gain or loss of a city or a place, nor do they need the army to be obedient. What they want is the huge political momentum behind it.

Having seized control of the military, the entire Heavenly Dou Empire had become the property of the true power behind the scenes, and was only one righteous cause away from achieving true political control.

The most important reason why Qian Shui was able to leave with peace of mind was that the biggest destabilizing factor did not come from the Heaven Dou Empire, but from the Papal Palace of Wuhun City!

At this time, Bibi Dong's prestige was not enough to suppress Qian Daoliu. There were some things she couldn't do, such as the fact that even though the Heaven Dou Empire was under her control, she still couldn't take it over directly.

Qian Shui would not allow such a good situation to be used as a stepping stone by Bibi Dong. After all, time and strength were entirely on his and Qian Renxue's side, and they could do better and more thoroughly.

The strategic plan has long been determined—to unify the divided Douluo Continent!

As for how to achieve unification, how to achieve unification at a lower cost, and how to plan for the situation after unification, that's not so simple.

It cannot be Bibi Dong's Martial Soul Empire.