Chapter 81: Leaving Iron Wall City, the Overconfident Second Prince
"Then Father, take care of yourself here. Big Brother and I will head out first."
Tang Shan waved to Su Haichao, who had seen the two brothers to the hotel entrance.
"Go on. I'll be fine here by myself. You two just focus on your Cultivate."
Su Haichao looked at his two tall and heroic sons, his heart filled with infinite emotion.
"Then goodbye, Father."
Su Yuntao stepped forward and gave Su Haichao a big hug, then the two brothers no longer hesitated and turned to board the magnificent carriage.
Xue Qinghe leaned out from the carriage, waving to Su Haichao with a smile. Only then did Snake Lance Douluo crack the whip, driving the carriage slowly forward.
Once in the carriage, Tang Shan let out a long breath. It was foreseeable that he would be separated from Su Haichao for a long time.
Turning to look at Su Yuntao beside him, Tang Shan's heart gradually calmed down: once they reached Heaven Dou City, Big Brother would likely go to travel the continent, and from then on, he might have to rely on himself.
"Tang Shan, tell me about your Physical Body cultivation method."
Xue Qinghe sat opposite Tang Shan, looking at him with burning eyes, clearly very curious.
He almost forgot; once in Heaven Dou City, the one he could rely on wasn't himself, but the golden thigh in front of him.
Facing the request of his future "thigh," Tang Shan naturally wouldn't refuse. He cleared his throat and spoke with a serious expression.
"Your Highness, this special cultivation method was created by my master. Although he didn't say it couldn't be taught to outsiders, he also didn't say it should be announced to the whole continent; so, I can teach it to you privately, and you can pass it to your confidants, but it cannot be spread on a large scale."
"Alright, if I want to pass it to my confidants, I will tell you in advance."
Seeing Tang Shan so solemn, Xue Qinghe couldn't help but sit up straight and respond with a serious face.
At this time, the carriage's speed slowly decreased, and Snake Lance Douluo's voice came from the front: "Your Highness, General has come specifically to see you off. Would you like to—"
"Alright, I'll go down and take a look."
Xue Qinghe answered loudly, then looked at Tang Shan and said helplessly, "Wait until I get back to tell me. I'll go see the situation outside."
"Alright then."
Watching Xue Qinghe get off the carriage, Tang Shan also curiously lifted the curtain to look outside.
Unbeknownst to him, squads of soldiers wearing fine armor, with strict discipline and neat formations, had already surrounded Xue Qinghe's carriage as guards. Each of these soldiers was tall and robust, exuding a fierce aura.
Could these be the Imperial Guards that only the Heaven Dou Emperor can control?
Tang Shan looked on curiously, then shifted his gaze to the front of the convoy. He saw General, whom he had met in the military camp before, leading many Generals to greet Xue Qinghe, and then several of them began to exchange pleasantries.
After watching for about five or six minutes, Tang Shan lost interest. As expected, Cultivate was more comfortable; this kind of negotiation and political matters were ultimately a bit of a torture for him.
Thinking about it, Tang Shan suddenly remembered that the "thigh" he was currently holding onto didn't seem particularly interested in Cultivate. This wouldn't do; how could she neglect her Cultivate? If he couldn't become a god in the future, he would still have to rely on her promotion to gain eternal life.
Tang Shan made up his mind to urge Miss Angel to Cultivate more in the future. Meanwhile, Xue Qinghe, who was talking with General, suddenly felt a chill down her spine, as if she were being watched by something, and couldn't help but shiver.
"Your Highness, are you alright?"
General's perception was extremely sharp, and he immediately noticed Xue Qinghe's abnormality, inquiring with concern.
"I'm fine, maybe I didn't rest well last night."
Recalling the carefree feeling of wandering until almost all the shops in Iron Wall City were closed last night, a warm current surged in Xue Qinghe's heart, slowly spreading to her limbs and bones.
"Your Highness should pay more attention to your health; there's no need to be so eager for quick success."
General thought Xue Qinghe had stayed up late studying or writing reports for Emperor Xue Ye, so he offered a few words of advice and then lowered his voice to say, "I'll have to trouble Your Highness with that matter."
Xue Qinghe nodded slightly, and after a few more pleasantries, she re-boarded the carriage.
"May I ask, Your Highness, what is the level of your Innate Soul Power?"
Upon hearing Tang Shan's question after boarding the carriage, Xue Qinghe's heart skipped a beat. She wasn't sure why he suddenly asked this. Remembering that she had told Tang Shan her cultivation talent was average, she quickly gave an answer.
"My Spirit is a Swan, and my Innate Soul Power is level two. It can only be said that my talent is mediocre, and I basically have no hope of reaching the Spirit Ancestor Realm in this life.
I usually have to study the way of governing the country and the etiquette of the imperial nobility, so I have very little free time, which is why I gave up Cultivate early on."
Good grief, claiming level two when it's level twenty; she really knows how to hide it.
Tang Shan complained inwardly, but on the surface, he began his persuasion: "Your Highness, it's better to persist in Cultivate if you can. spirit power can maintain your physical state and reduce the possibility of getting sick. Although you only have level two spirit power, if you put in more effort, reaching the Spirit Grandmaster level shouldn't be much of a problem. Not to mention, Your Highness has a Swan Spirit with flight capabilities. In case of an emergency, you can escape using flight. After all, the probability of a crisis being brought to Your Highness by someone at the Spirit Saint level is not high."
"That seems to make some sense." Xue Qinghe appeared thoughtful on the surface, but in reality, she didn't care. Her Spirit was no Swan; it was clearly the God-grade Spirit Seraphim, with Innate level twenty full spirit power. Cultivate was naturally an easy task for her. Compared to Cultivate, gradually taking control of Heaven Dou's power was more important.
Seeing Xue Qinghe's flat reaction to his words, Tang Shan was full of helplessness. It seemed there was still a long way to go to change this Miss Angel's attitude toward Cultivate. He didn't want Xue Qinghe to completely drop her plans and return to the Spirit Hall to focus on Cultivate—that would mean his thigh would be gone—he just hoped she could spend less time on governing and focus more on Cultivate. If she really faced off against Tang San in the future, there would be no need to fight to a draw.
It seemed she would only wake up when his own strength surpassed hers.
Thinking about his future Cultivate plans, Tang Shan secretly made up his mind to at least straighten out Miss Angel's Cultivate mindset by the time he reached the third ring.
At the city gate of Bafang City, a squad of disciplined soldiers also surrounded a low-key and simple carriage. The steady and mature Second Prince, Xue Shan, briefly exchanged words with the officials who saw him to the gate, then turned and boarded the carriage.
Watching the carriage guarded by the army gradually depart, the tall, thin middle-aged man in the lead spat into the nearby grass and cursed, "Bah! Finally sent that trouble away."
The young man following him couldn't help but ask, "Father, will we get into trouble for treating the Second Prince like this?"
The tall, thin middle-aged man put his hands behind his back and replied nonchalantly, "What could happen? Many of the imperial family's supplies have to pass through here. Our Bafang City is a key thoroughfare of the Heaven Dou Empire. This Second Prince actually wanted to audit the accounts; he's dreaming.
Furthermore, the taxes we hand over have never been short, and have even been increasing every year. What right does he have to investigate us?"
A richly dressed merchant following the man echoed.
"Exactly, the taxes we hand over are more each year. Even if there's a slight issue with smuggling things from the Star Luo Empire, it's definitely not something a mere Second Prince can manage."
"Actually, this is a test."
The tall, thin middle-aged man narrowed his eyes, his face full of shrewdness. "As far as I know, His Majesty not only sent the Second Prince to Bafang City but also sent the First Prince to Iron Wall City and the Third Prince to Vast Sea City. Clearly, this is a special test."
The merchants following the middle-aged man were all as cunning as old foxes. They immediately caught the key point and asked hurriedly, "You mean?"
"The candidate for the Heir to the throne should be decided within these two or three years. Looking at the Second Prince's style, he clearly doesn't like us much. Then the options we have left are not many."
"The First Prince went to Iron Wall City, where the Second Prince has considerable prestige. Clearly, his experience there is likely similar to the Second Prince's experience here. His Majesty is testing the two princes' ability to solve problems and difficulties. This shows that His Majesty is also somewhat hesitant."
A trace of gambler-like fanaticism appeared on the tall, thin middle-aged man's face as he said, "I've decided to take a gamble and invest in the First Prince. If he really manages to sit in that position in the end, it will be the time for us to make a huge profit."
Hearing the tall, thin middle-aged man's idea, the merchants who were originally frowning because of Xue Shan's actions suddenly woke up and advised one after another, "Former City Lord, please calm down. Taking sides randomly isn't good. Why don't we just follow the example of previous city lords and stay neutral?"
"Why stay neutral? Haven't you seen the situation clearly? The Second Prince already dislikes those of us in commerce, saying something about governing the country through military might. Without our Bafang City, without us merchants, where would he get the money to expand the army and grow his strength?
He even uses a simple carriage to put on an act; who is he showing it to? I don't believe his lifestyle in his prince's mansion in Heaven Dou City is this frugal."
The tall, thin middle-aged man's words left the merchants of Bafang City in silence, everyone's eyes flickering, clearly hesitating and struggling.
But they all shared a consensus: the Second Prince was definitely not a suitable candidate for emperor to them. He only had an iron-fisted approach and didn't understand social nuances. If he truly ascended to the highest position, the merchants would likely be in dire straits for many years to come.
Inside the simple carriage, the conversation was sealed within by special Materials, unheard by the outside world.
"Your Highness, are you being a bit too cold? I'm afraid that might cause dissatisfaction among those people."
"I'm doing this on purpose, to tell them that the Heaven Dou Empire's world belongs to our Xue family. I must first use iron-fisted and cold methods to show my attitude, so that I can use a soft policy to win them over later. Otherwise, even if I win them over on the surface, they might still harbor other intentions privately. After I return, I will also carefully state my findings in Bafang City in my report to Imperial Father to give them the most severe warning. As for easing relations, the days ahead are long; there's no rush."
Xue Shan's voice was full of a mysterious, confident air of having everything under control
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