Tiandou Empire, Royal Hunting Grounds.
Deep within a secluded forest.
Xue Qinghe's face was filled with terror as he watched his guards being slaughtered one after another by mysterious figures who had suddenly appeared.
Time reverted to a few minutes ago.
Following the advice of his maid, Xiao Xue, he had come to this area, which was said to be teeming with Spirit Beasts, to hunt.
But gradually, he sensed something was wrong.
He was getting further and further away from the Main Camp, and given the seclusion of this location, it would be difficult for anyone to notice if something happened.
To avoid any accidents, he quickly ordered his guards to return to the camp.
Just as they were reversing their formation—the vanguard becoming the rearguard and vice versa—to prepare for the return journey,
several mysterious figures dressed in black robes suddenly descended from the sky and attacked without a word.
In an instant,
of the hundred-man guard he had brought, only a few dozen remained alive.
Even among the maids, only Xiao Xue was left, hiding behind him.
"Damn it, who are these people? How dare they assassinate the Crown Prince today?"
"Could it be my Imperial Uncle? Or one of the other princes?"
Just as Xue Qinghe was filled with doubt,
Puchi!
A sword pierced through his chest.
Xue Qinghe looked back in disbelief at Qian Renxue behind him.
"Xiao Xue... why..."
Qian Renxue had no interest in listening to his nonsense; she pulled the sword out with a sharp tug of her right hand.
With a palm strike, she sent Xue Qinghe flying.
Then, with a single sweep of her sword, she cut down the remaining dozen or so soldiers.
Once finished, she walked slowly toward Xue Qinghe, sword in hand.
Clutching his chest, Xue Qinghe pointed a trembling finger at Qian Renxue: "So you were an assassin hidden by my side all along. Who sent you to lurk near me? Xue Xing? Or the Second Prince?"
Seeing that he still hadn't guessed correctly even at death's door,
Qian Renxue smiled slightly. "Oh? Why does the First Prince think it must be another member of the Imperial Family who wants you dead?"
Xue Qinghe froze. "What do you mean?"
Qian Renxue said no more, taking out a token and tossing it to him.
Picking up the token and seeing the design exclusive to Spirit Hall, Xue Qinghe finally understood.
"So, you are actually from Spirit Hall."
"Why do you want to kill me? You must know I'm about to become the Crown Prince. If you kill me, aren't you afraid of the Tiandou Empire's retaliation?"
Qian Renxue gave a mysterious smile. "Retaliation? Tell me, who would know Spirit Hall did this? Besides, when the time comes, they will see a Xue Qinghe identical to you."
"Of course, this Xue Qinghe will also take your place as the Crown Prince of the Tiandou Empire."
Then, before Xue Qinghe's incredulous gaze,
Qian Renxue transformed into his appearance.
Looking at the fake Xue Qinghe before him, who was identical in both mannerisms and appearance,
the real Xue Qinghe gritted his teeth and said, "Despicable!"
At that moment, the Seven Great Consecrated Elders, having finished dealing with the surrounding corpses, walked over.
Qian Daoliu said, "Don't waste time. Xiao Xue, do it."
And so, under Xue Qinghe's unwilling gaze, Qian Renxue ended him with a single sword strike.
As for Xue Qinghe's body,
it was directly pulverized by Qian Daoliu using his powerful spirit power.
"Xiao Xue, from this day forward, you must remain in the Tiandou Empire as Xue Qinghe. Remember to be careful; you must not reveal any flaws." After giving her these instructions, Qian Daoliu called out, "Snake Lance, Porcupinefish!"
Two figures flashed into existence and bowed. "High Priest."
Qian Daoliu continued to Qian Renxue, "Xiao Xue, the two of them will stay by your side to protect your safety in secret."
Having said that, he turned to the two and said sternly, "Remember, if anything happens to Xiao Xue during this undercover mission, you two shall pay with your heads."
"Yes!"
"The two of us will definitely protect the young lady."
Snake Lance and Porcupinefish quickly guaranteed.
Seeing this, Qian Daoliu nodded and looked back at Qian Renxue. "Alright, Xiao Xue, it's time for you to return. If you stay any longer, the Tiandou Empire might send people to search for you."
"Okay." Although Qian Renxue agreed, there was a hint of loneliness in her eyes.
After thinking for a moment, she asked, "Grandfather, can I see Xiao Mian one last time before I leave? I want to tell him about my situation, otherwise I'm afraid he'll be lonely."
Qian Daoliu shook his head. "No, that kid must absolutely not know about this. Besides, at a time like this, there isn't enough time to bring him here."
"Xiao Xue, since you decided to do this in the first place, you should have anticipated this situation in your heart."
Jin E chimed in at this point, "Xiao Xue, don't worry. I've arranged for that Stinky Kid to attend Spirit Hall Academy. He definitely won't be lonely, so rest easy."
Hearing this,
Qian Renxue said nothing more.
Qian Daoliu waved his hand, and a group of people walked out.
Upon closer inspection, these people were actually identical to the guards and maids who had just been killed.
"Xiao Xue, go."
Qian Renxue boarded the carriage.
Snake Lance and Porcupinefish followed in the middle of the procession.
The carriage drove slowly toward the Main Camp.
After the Seven Great Consecrated Elders watched Qian Renxue leave, they also left the hunting grounds to return to Wuhun City.
On the carriage, Qian Renxue looked at the full moon hanging in the sky and thought to herself, "Golden Crown, you definitely won't forget our promise, right!"
...Three days later.
[Detected that the Host is currently in Saint Spirit Village. Sign-in successful! Congratulations to the Host for obtaining a special item: one bad luck card!]
[bad luck card: The Host can use this on anyone. After use, that person will become incredibly unlucky.]
[Next sign-in location: Nuoding Academy!]
"Damn! I worked so hard traveling for three days, and this is all I get?"
"System, you bastard!"
Looking at the extra black card in his hand, Golden Crown complained wordlessly to the system.
To his surprise, the usually taciturn system actually replied: [I don't have a bastard uncle.]
"..."
After putting the bad luck card back into his storage space, he began to observe the small village before him.
The Saint Spirit Village, so famous in the original story,
was currently just a small village of about three hundred households.
A stone pillar stood at the entrance of the village.
According to the village chief, Old Jack, there was a handprint left on it by a Spirit Saint.
As for whether it was true, who cared.
At that moment, a figure returned to Golden Crown's side. "Young Master, I've found the blacksmith shop you were looking for."
His name was Ling Xi, his Martial Soul was the Furious Rhino, and his cultivation was at the level ninety-one Titled Douluo; he was an Elder of the Elders Hall.
He had been pursued by enemies in his youth and was fortunately saved by Jin E.
Since then, he had joined Spirit Hall and become one of Jin E's trusted aides.
For this trip to Saint Spirit Village, Golden Crown had actually wanted his grandfather, Jin E, to accompany him.
But he didn't know where the old man had gone to enjoy himself; he had searched the entire Hall of Worship and couldn't find him.
Not only that, but the other Consecrated Douluo were also nowhere to be found.
The entire Hall of Worship was empty.
If he hadn't known the strength of those seven, he would have thought they'd been taken out by someone.
In his helplessness, he could only go to the Elders Hall and have Rhino Douluo accompany him.
"Where is that blacksmith shop?"
"It's on the west side of the village."
"Let's go take a look."
With that, the two of them headed toward the blacksmith shop...