Rumors spread throughout the streets and alleys of Tiandou City:
"Have you heard? The night before yesterday, an evil dragon attacked Yuexuan and snatched away Princess Xue Ke, the most beloved of Emperor Xue Ye!"
"Zhao Si, your information is out of date. The version I heard was that the evil dragon raped Yuexuan Pavilion Master Tang Yuehua in front of a group of people, and then took a liking to the spoiled princess at first sight and snatched her away to be used as Star Fury!"
"Where did you get this information? If an evil creature like the evil dragon really appeared in Douluo Continent, would the Spirit Hall just sit there and watch it harm the spirit masters of the world?"
"Hey, you know what, the Spirit Hall is really involved! My cousin's uncle's brother-in-law just broke through from Soul Emperor to Soul Sage a few days ago and went to the Star Dou Great Forest to hunt soul beasts. As a result, he saw the Pope leading three Titled Douluo-level powerhouses to hunt down the evil dragon!"
"The Pope is also a Titled Douluo, right? Oh my goodness, that means there are four Titled Douluos! Nearly half of the Titled Douluos on the entire continent are hunting down the evil dragon! How powerful must this evil dragon be!"
"No matter how strong the evil dragon is, it doesn't matter. The first ones to die will be the soul masters anyway. What does it have to do with us little people?"
"Hehe, you think too highly of them, don't you? If the evil dragon really destroys the city like the legend says, the soul masters will definitely be the first to abandon the people and run away. I'm not sure if the soul masters of the Spirit Hall will do that, but the soul masters of the two empires will definitely do so!"
"I've only heard of stories about dragons robbing princesses, but I've never heard of a dragon robbing"
"…"
Any one of these events, taken individually, would be a major event that could shock the entire continent, and they happened to happen consecutively within a few days.
Therefore, it is obviously impossible for the Tiandou royal family to conceal the truth.
What's more, the degree of feudal centralization in the Tiandou Empire is not that deep. It is still in the model of empire + principality and kingdom, and there are various factions within the empire.
When the imperial nobles learned that Princess Xue Ke was kidnapped by the evil dragon, they were simply shocked.
After all, the princess was gone, and the only one who was sad was her old father, Emperor Xue Ye.
This is directly related to the future succession of power of the emperor of the Tiandou Empire and the future political ecology of the court.
For example, the lineage of the Fourth Prince Xue Beng, under the covert organization of his uncle Prince Xue Xing, has begun secretly discussing how to infiltrate the Ministry of Finance, which originally favored Crown Prince Xue Qinghe.
For another example, the Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Sect, which wanted to use the line of Crown Prince Xue Qinghe to increase its voice in the court in the future, was now as anxious as an ant on a hot pan.
The gentle and elegant Ning Fengzhi had a few more strands of white hair on his head overnight.
In order to get involved in the Tiandou Empire, he has given great support to Crown Prince Xue Qinghe in recent years. Not only did he spare no financial effort, he also personally went to Emperor Xue Ye to lobby for him. Eventually, he became the Crown Prince's Grand Tutor and was able to give Xue Qinghe advice.
"Feng Zhi, let's go all out. The existence of the evil dragon is a disaster! Why don't we join forces with the Tiandou royal family to prevent future troubles?" There was a ruthless flash in Gu Douluo's eyes. He still remembered the dirty words that Ao Xing said about Rongrong when he was in Shengdou Village the day before.
"Uncle Gu, I know you are very angry."
Ning Fengzhi frowned, his face full of worry, and said helplessly: "But you can't lose your mind because of such a small matter."
"People have good and evil in nature, and the evil dragon is evil in nature. However, while the evil dragon is still in its infancy, we can tame it and slowly tame the evil part of its character. When it grows up, it can become the guardian beast of our Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Sect!"
"By then, even the Haotian Sect will not be worthy of being a rival to our Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Sect. Our sect will become the most powerful force in the entire continent."
"There is no need to worry about the direct spirit masters in the sect, because they are auxiliary spirit masters and will not be harmed when they go out!"
How many years!
No one dared to speak harshly to Rongrong in front of him.
A young evil dragon, at most, has the strength of a low-level Titled Douluo. Such arrogant behavior is really too much.
Seeing that Ning Fengzhi refused to give in, he looked at his mortal enemy, Sword Douluo Chenxin, and said, "Old Jian, how about we go together and kill that beast?"
"Where is that beast?"
"How?"
"Who will be responsible for Rongrong's safety after we leave?"
Compared to Bone Douluo, Chen Xin was much calmer. He knew clearly that Ning Fengzhi was a person who put the interests of the sect first in everything he did.
Since Ning Fengzhi knew that taming the young dragon could lay a solid foundation for the Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Sect to prosper for centuries, he must be more eager to tame it than anyone else.
But he did not make this decision, and obviously there must be a problem.
"Uncle Jian is right. Our only option now is to join hands with the Tiandou Imperial Family."
"I heard they have a way to locate the direction of Xueqing River."
"Although our Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Sect has spies all over the continent, we will be able to find the evil dragon's hiding place sooner or later, but the Spirit Hall seems to have already known the evil dragon's whereabouts, and the Pope has even dispatched himself!"
"It is said that the evil dragon was slain by the ancestors of the Qian family and all the soul masters in the continent. Maybe the Spirit Hall has special skills to deal with evil dragons."
"It would be bad if we let them find Ao Xing first. So, we can only join the Tiandou royal family first, and then find a chance to see if we can tame the evil dragon."
"If it's really impossible to tame him, then I can only..." Ning Fengzhi's facial features became sharp, and his whole body revealed a ferocity that was not typical of an auxiliary spirit master.
Upon hearing this, Sword Douluo and Bone Douluo nodded in agreement.
really!
"Dad, Grandpa Gu, Grandpa Jian, what are you talking about here?"
Suddenly, the door of the room was pushed open, and a young and beautiful figure walked in lively and briskly.
It's the little princess!
"Rongrong, why did you suddenly stop practicing today?"
"Rongrong, do you want to go play in Tiandou City?"
"Rongrong, how about Uncle Jian take you flying in the sky?"
"Oh, Grandpa Jian, I'm not a child anymore." Ning Rongrong said helplessly, "Shrek's five-year period is coming soon. I want to prepare some gifts for them, so I ended my retreat early."
————
"What!"
"The evil dragon is in Wuhun City?"
Inside the Tiandou Palace, Emperor Xue Ye was shocked after receiving the news from the spies.
"Are you sure the evil dragon is in Wuhun City? This is of great importance!"
As the ruler of a country, Emperor Xue Ye lacked all dignity and calmness at this moment.
The spy's news was like a bolt from the blue, and it made him think a lot.
Also, what is the relationship between the Spirit Hall and the evil dragon!
"Your Majesty, according to the clues of the Bi Lian Orb, I can confirm that the other orb is in Wuhun City."
"However, since Wuhun City is heavily guarded and I cannot enter due to my identity, I have no way of confirming where exactly the evil dragon is hiding in Wuhun City!" The spy trembled as he reported all the information he had found to Emperor Xue Ye.
"This..." Emperor Xue Ye's expression suddenly became solemn.
Is the Spirit Hall going to take action against the Heaven Dou Empire?
"Your Majesty, this is most likely the work of the Spirit Hall!" A Xue family relative's staff member nearby said, "Yesterday, the Pope showed up in the Star Dou Great Forest with three Titled Douluo-level masters. This is no longer a secret!"
"What is the intention of the Spirit Hall?"
"There are only two reasons. One is that they got the news to hunt the dragon, and the other is that they quietly took the dragon away from the Star Dou Great Forest. But there is absolutely no possibility that they would take the initiative to help us snatch the Crown Prince back from the dragon!"
"Now, the Pope has returned to Wuhun City, and His Royal Highness the Crown Prince's life or death is unknown. In addition, we have discovered that the evil dragon is in Wuhun City!"
"So, it is very likely that the evil dragon was secretly kept by the Spirit Hall and then used to snatch the prince away!"
This relative told Emperor Xue Ye his conspiracy theory in vivid detail.
This seemingly absurd speculation was liked by other ministers around him.
"There is no other explanation except this speculation!"
"I think he's right."
"This is what the Spirit Hall would do!"
"The evil dragon in ancient times was killed by the Qian family. Maybe they had some way to preserve the dragon egg and then secretly hatch it."
The people around were chattering, but Emperor Xue Ye remained silent.
"Report——"
"Prince Grand Tutor, the Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Sect's Sect Master Ning Fengzhi requests to see you."
Suddenly, someone reported.
"Please invite him in quickly!" Emperor Xue Ye was very excited after hearing this.
He knew that Ning Fengzhi had been wanting to enter the power center of the Tiandou Empire by investing in Xueqing River over the years, and his ambition was extremely great.
His arrival now is indeed of great help to the current situation.
At least, it can stabilize people's hearts.
After all, the bureaucrats all knew that Ning Fengzhi was from the faction of Crown Prince Xue Qinghe, and he would never sit idly by!
Emperor Xue Ye didn't waste any words. After Ning Fengzhi arrived, he directly told the other party all the information he knew so far.
"Your Majesty, I think."
"There's no need to hide some things. It's better to make the matter of the Twin Jade Ripple Orbs public and let the Spirit Hall come out to explain."
"Today the evil dragon kidnapped the crown prince of the Tiandou Empire. Will it be the crown prince of the Xingluo Empire tomorrow?"
"Evil dragons are the enemy of mankind and soul masters!"
"If the Spirit Hall really keeps evil dragons in captivity, then it is standing on the opposite side of humans and spirit masters!"
"Even though there are many Soul Saints, Soul Douluo, and Titled Douluo in the Spirit Hall, can they be as powerful as all the soul masters in the world?"
"So, why not lead everyone outside of Wuhun City and announce the matter of the Twin Jade Ripples to the world, and ask Wuhun Hall for an answer!"
"Great!" Before Emperor Xue Ye could speak, the ministers beside him applauded and cheered.
Seeing this,
Emperor Xue Ye thought about it and could only say helplessly: "This is the only way for now. I hope Qinghe is okay now!"
…
The Tiandou Empire is in the north of the continent, and the Xingluo Empire is in the south. Tiandou City and Xingluo City are far apart.
However, since both empires had many flying spirit masters as spies, two and a half days after Tiandou Prince Xue Qinghe was abducted by the evil dragon, the news finally reached the Xingluo royal family!
For a moment, the Dai and Zhu families were all shocked.
The emperor even directly ordered the border troops to be on martial law and enter a level two war state to prevent the evil dragon from entering the Xingluo border.
However, he also knew that this move would be of little use in preventing a sudden attack from the evil dragon.
At the same time!
As a smart dragon, Ao Xing noticed something strange from Ning Fengzhi's recruitment and Bibi Dong's attempts to tame him.
Through indirect questioning of Qian Renxue along the way, he learned the secret that if you grab the horns of a young dragon and then compete with it in physical strength, you can tame the dragon!
"No wonder after Bibi Dong grabbed my dragon horns, she could only use half of her strength, and her brain seemed to be filled with paste, unable to think normally."
"I thought she used some soul bone skill."
Ao Xing suddenly realized, "The Xingdou Great Forest is geographically sandwiched between the Tiandou Empire, the Xingluo Empire, and the Wuhun Palace, and the evil dragon is not a soul beast. The two things in the core of the forest and the guys underground probably have the same attitude towards me as towards humans."
"If we continue to stay in the Star Dou Great Forest, we will be attacked from all sides!"
"So, why not find a safer place and slowly complete the task of [Taming the Princess], and then come out and move around after you can transform into a human or evolve a second time."
Ao Xing looked down and saw Qian Renxue gradually calming down after he talked to her and promised that he would not harm her life.
"Xiaoxue, have you ever seen the sea?"
"No.."
"That's great! Let's find an island to settle down!"
"Spring is here, flowers are blooming, facing the sea."
"Wuhu, I'm looking forward to it!"
Ao Xing was very excited, but Qian Renxue was dumbfounded.
She never imagined that her answer would lead to her being abducted to an island by a dragon!
"Island. Doesn't this mean being far away from the mainland?"
"Then how can Grandpa find me?
Read 20+ chapters ahead at Patreon
p@treon.com/TaroYamato