Douluo Continent: From Internal Martial Arts to the Law of Heaven and Earth

……

Inside the study of the imperial palace, Emperor Xueye heard a knock at the door and said, "Come in!"

A maid entered the study and bowed to report, "Your Majesty, the Crown Prince has entered the city."

Upon hearing this, Emperor Xueye smiled with satisfaction on his aged face and waved his hand, saying, "Alright, I understand. You may leave now."

The maid bowed and withdrew. Emperor Xueye stood up, walked slowly to the window, and looked at the scenery outside with anticipation on his face: "Qinghe, you must not disappoint me."

……

In a courtyard, all kinds of flowers bloom in competition, vying for beauty, and the rich fragrance of flowers permeates the air, making people feel intoxicated.

A refined middle-aged man was half-embracing a stunningly beautiful woman whose belly was noticeably protruding, clearly indicating that she was pregnant.

"Feng Zhi, how is everything at the sect lately?"

The woman's long, dark brown hair fell naturally to her shoulders as she leaned gently against the middle-aged man's chest and asked softly.

"All is well, and the sect is thriving."

Ning Fengzhi held his wife's waist, his face full of doting affection.

"That's good."

The beautiful woman's eyes darted around, and suddenly she changed the subject, asking with a smile, "I heard that you bought a fox spirit at the auction a few days ago? Where is that sister? Bring her over so I can have a look."

Ning Fengzhi's expression stiffened slightly, then he gave an awkward but polite smile: "You're overthinking it. It's not what you think. I just pitied her situation and gave her her freedom after buying her. As you know, I've always disapproved of this kind of human trafficking."

The beautiful woman sat up from Ning Fengzhi's embrace, looking at her husband with a half-smile: "Really? I don't believe it."

Ning Fengzhi's eyes darted away slightly as he managed to calm his inner turmoil. Then, he looked directly at his wife with a serious expression and said, "Of course, why would I lie to you?"

"Then I'll trust you this time."

The beautiful woman leaned back into Ning Fengzhi's arms and didn't press the matter further. Some things are better left unsaid, especially since Ning Fengzhi, as the head of a sect, couldn't realistically love only her. As long as he devoted 60% of his attention to her and the remaining 40% to the other women, it wouldn't matter.

"Sect Master, the First Prince has returned to Tiandou City."

The subordinate's report outside the door finally relieved Ning Fengzhi of this awkward situation. He said softly to his wife in his arms, "The Crown Prince is back. I must go to the palace to see His Majesty first. Take good care of yourself."

"It's alright, you go ahead. There are so many people in the sect, they'll definitely be able to take good care of me."

The beautiful woman responded softly, her words full of understanding.

P.S.: In the story, Golden Crocodile Douluo is Qian Daoliu's elder, so Qian Jun and Demon-Slaying Douluo treat him with great respect. Furthermore, aside from the Second Elder, all the elders of the Spirit Hall are longtime brothers, so privately, including Qian Daoliu, they address each other as brothers. Finally, please add this to your favorites, follow the story, subscribe, and comment—I'm extremely grateful for everything!

Chapter 85 Xue Qinghe's Generous Investment: A New Beginning (Please subscribe and continue reading)

The carriage slowly came to a stop in front of a magnificent mansion. The vermilion gate was inlaid with gilded patterns, and the sunlight reflected off it, giving it a warm and profound luster.

Tangshan got off the bus first, followed by Xue Qinghe.

"This is my palace. I'll have someone arrange accommodations for you first. In a little while, I'll head to the palace to report to my father on the gains of this trip."

Xue Qinghe's subordinates pushed open the gate, the hinges turning with a steady sound. Two rows of soldiers on either side of the gate, dressed in silver armor and with long swords at their waists, bowed to her.

After nodding in acknowledgment, she turned to Tang Shan, who was standing beside her, and said...

Tang Shan nodded: "Your Highness, shall I enter the palace with you?"

"No need. You are mine now. If your talent is exposed to my father or Sect Master Ning, it's hard to say whether you can stay by my side in the future."

Xue Qinghe shook his head and then continued to explain.

"My two younger brothers might not want you to assist me. If they come up with some ulterior motives, it won't be good."

The two walked along the bluestone path deeper into the palace. The path was polished smooth by years of maintenance, reflecting the scenery on both sides. The carved corridors and painted beams were arranged in a well-organized manner.

Artificial rocks and strange stones are everywhere, with lush green vines climbing between the rocks and adorned with a few small flowers at the top. The koi pond below the rocks ripples with light, and the water is so clear that you can see the pebbles at the bottom.

Well-trained maids dressed in plain-colored dresses moved about the mansion with light and silent steps, keeping the entire mansion in perfect order.

Xue Qinghe led Tang Shan to a small pavilion deep inside the Prince's Mansion, which was supported by dark wooden pillars.

In the center of the pavilion stands a simple yet exquisite stone table with natural textures on its surface. The stone benches around it are covered with soft cushions that feel warm to the touch.

After taking his seat, Xue Qinghe looked at Tang Shan and slowly said, "You will need to stay in my palace for a while. After some time, you will essentially be branded with my mark. With your talent, you will surely be valued by my father and Sect Master Ning. But since you already have my mark, they will not have any other intentions and will only focus on nurturing you. After all, a future powerful ally is worth winning over, even if they don't personally nurture you."

Especially my father, the Emperor, after learning of your talent, will most likely allocate special resources to nurture you. Just tell me what resources you need, and I'll personally select them for you from the national treasury.”

These generous conditions filled Tang Shan with admiration, and he quickly began to calculate the cultivation resources he needed.

"Your Highness, first look for rare and precious herbs that can enhance spiritual power, then rare and precious herbs that can improve physical fitness, and finally medicinal herbs that can assist in cultivating soul power without side effects."

Tangshan listed its needs one by one.

Xue Qinghe nodded in agreement: "I've noted all of that down. What about the soul bones? Do you have any requirements for that? As I said before, if you join me, I'll give you at least two ten-thousand-year soul bones."

Tang Shan's face twitched slightly as he once again marveled at the angelic young lady's generosity. He knew in his heart that these soul bones definitely didn't come from the Heavenly Dou Empire.

After all, soul bones are incredibly precious. Even if he is a genius with the first ring in a thousand years, it may not be worth investing so many resources in his cultivation in such a short time. Moreover, his original martial soul has not yet proven its value on the continent, so there is still uncertainty.

Therefore, the soul bone that Miss Angel mentioned was most likely something she directly demanded from the Spirit Hall.

Ten-thousand-year soul bones are extremely rare. Even Miss Angel would likely encounter considerable difficulties if she wanted to retrieve one from the Spirit Hall.

As Tang Shan pondered this, he suddenly realized he might have misunderstood. Given the affection the worshippers in the Hall had for Xue Qinghe, they would have been more than happy to send a group to the Star Dou Great Forest to gather a set of 100,000-year soul bones for her, let alone two 10,000-year soul bones.

After all, of the seven worshippers in the Hall of Worship, apart from Qian Daoliu, half of them died trying to save Qian Renxue and sacrificed themselves at Jialing Pass.

"Your Highness, the matter of the soul bone is not urgent. I should focus on cultivating my soul power for now."

Tang Shan politely declined Xue Qinghe's proposal, believing that the ten-thousand-year-old soul bone was not worthy of him.

Tang Shan's standards have long been raised by the age of the protagonist's soul bones in the original work. Not to mention the Mountain Dragon King soul bone like Tang Wulin's in the later stages, at least a complete set of 100,000-year soul bones is a must. If they can match one's own attributes, that would be even better.

"By the way, Your Highness, if there is an external soul bone, I am willing to exchange two ten-thousand-year soul bones for one."

Tang Shan said it casually, but it was just a joke.

External soul bones are basically fused together when a soul master absorbs a soul ring. Once they are completely bound to the soul master, the soul bone will also disappear when the soul master dies.

The way that external soul bones like the Dark Gold Terrorclaw Bear appear is extremely rare, if not unique.

"I'll look for it later, I think it's..."

Xue Qinghe responded subconsciously, her voice growing softer as she spoke. Meeting Tang Shan's slightly strange gaze, she coughed lightly and said seriously, "You should know the special nature of external soul bones. There's a high probability that they don't exist in the national treasury, so don't have too high hopes."

Tang Shan quickly nodded. It was normal that the Heavenly Dou Kingdom's treasury didn't have any, but it was hard to say whether the Spirit Hall had any.

He noticed that Xue Qinghe had become increasingly less vigilant towards him recently, and her responses at times easily made people doubt her identity as a prince. If Tang Shan hadn't reacted quickly enough and always pretended to be stupid to get away with it, Xue Qinghe's disguise would probably have been exposed long ago. Girl, can't you be more careful? Wasn't she fine in the original work?

"Alright, I'll take you to your residence. They should have already prepared it. After you've seen the residence, I still need to go to the palace to report to my father."

Xue Qinghe stood up, signaling Tang Shan to follow, while he led the way.

Tang Shan also got up and quickly followed behind Xue Qinghe.

"Your Highness, I was just joking with you. I probably won't be absorbing the soul bone anytime soon; my focus right now is on cultivation. By the way, how's the search for the soul beast we talked about going?"

Xue Qinghe had recovered from the "crisis" of almost exposing his identity, and his tone returned to its previous gentleness.

“I understand, of course. After all, the conditions for the creation of external soul bones are too harsh. I can only try my best to keep an eye out for them in the national treasury. There are quite a few special items in the national treasury, and maybe there is an external soul bone among them.”

"Then I'll trouble you, Your Highness."

Since the other party has already provided all the reasons, Tangshan can't say anything more.

"As for the soul beasts, there should be quite a bit of information gathered at the manor during this time. I'll take a look at them for you when I return from the palace."

Seeing how diligently the "Heavenly Dou Crown Prince" was planning for his cultivation, Tang Shan was moved and secretly made up his mind: Putting everything else aside, Your Highness Xue, I will protect those grandfathers in your ancestral hall.

In the shadows, the Porcupine Douluo couldn't help but transmit his voice to the Serpent Spear Douluo: "Old She, what did I tell you? I told you that the young master has taken a liking to this Tang Shan, and he even wants to ask his family for soul bones to help this kid."

The Serpent Spear Douluo, who was secretly protecting him, remained calm: "You're overthinking it. The stance training method that Tang Shan taught you a few days ago is enough to warrant this soul bone."

His tone was confident, with a hint of disdain for the superficiality of the Porcupine Douluo.

"If I were the young master, I would definitely be willing to invest resources in nurturing such a genius, even sparing no expense on his soul bone."

After all, a Soul Master can retrieve their Soul Bones after death. As for the young master taking a liking to this kid, that's simply impossible.

The young master was destined to stand high above the heavens, with such lofty aspirations that even if Tang Shan was exceptionally talented, he would be nothing more than a shooting star to her.

The sun ensnares meteors not because the meteors attract the sun's interest, but simply because the meteors are close enough to be drawn to it.

"That actually makes sense?"

The Porcupine Douluo was "awakened" by the Serpent Spear Douluo's words, and after a moment of contemplation, he suddenly realized the truth.

"It seems I was too naive. I thought the young master liked Tang Shan because of his teacher's identity, but I was clearly wrong."

Tang Shan and Xue Qinghe were completely unaware of the conversation between the two old men in the shadows. Before long, they arrived at a small courtyard next to Xue Qinghe's palace.

The courtyard is several hundred square meters. Pushing open the door, you are greeted by a vibrant atmosphere. In the very center is a two-story pavilion with wooden window frames carved with lotus scroll patterns. The window paper is white and translucent, and sunlight shines through the window frames into the room, casting a hazy light and shadow.

In front of the attic is a square flower bed, where flowers of all colors are in full bloom. Pink, purple and white petals are layered on top of each other, and the refreshing fragrance can be smelled from afar. When the wind blows, the petals fall softly and land on the bluestone road, spreading a light carpet of flowers.

Beside the flower bed stands a tall artificial mountain, its rocks rugged and covered with moss, exuding a sense of ancient strength and simplicity;

Below the artificial hill is an exquisite pond with crystal-clear water. Several koi carp with red and gold stripes swim leisurely in the water, stirring up ripples as they sway their tails, reflecting the blue sky and white clouds above.

At the bottom of the pool is a small spring, from which a constant stream of fresh water gushes forth, carrying tiny bubbles that keep the pool water clear and vibrant. If you get close, you can even hear the gentle tinkling of the spring.

After briefly introducing the courtyard to Tang Shan, several maids filed out from the pavilion and stood neatly in front of Xue Qinghe and Tang Shan, bowing and saying, "Greetings, Your Highness, Greetings, Young Master."

These maids were exquisitely beautiful and had outstanding figures. They wore light pink dresses with subtle embroidery on the hem, and their every move exuded gentle charm.

Xue Qinghe frowned almost imperceptibly as he looked at Tang Shan: "I'm afraid these maids will interfere with your cultivation, so please remove them for now."

Tang Shan didn't think much of it, just glanced at the girls and nodded casually: "Your Highness can make the arrangements."

The girls in front of me were stunning, but they still paled in comparison to the beauties in my previous short videos.

After all, with the blessing of three or even four major evil arts in Asia, no matter what they look like in reality, what is presented on the phone screen are all top beauties who are all natural, harmless, and seemingly without makeup.

Seeing that Tang Shan agreed, Xue Qinghe breathed a sigh of relief for some reason, and hurriedly told the ten girls in front of him to step back, as if afraid that Tang Shan would change his mind.

"Alright, this will be your residence in Tiandou City from now on. I need to go to the palace as soon as possible to report to my father, so I'll be leaving now."

There are few rules in the Prince's residence, so please feel free to do as you please. The cultivation resources will be delivered as soon as possible in the next few days.

"Thank you, Your Highness."

Tang Shan escorted Xue Qinghe to the entrance of the courtyard and watched her figure disappear at the end of the path before turning back into the courtyard.

He plopped down on the bluestone bench by the pool, his fingertips resting on the cool edge, staring blankly at the few carp swimming in the water.