The Violet-Gold Sword Soul Douluo had no time to think further.
The angelic female guard had already closed in. Her silver longsword slashed toward his face, forcing him to quickly draw his sword to block.
In terms of pure swordsmanship, the Violet-Gold Sword Soul Douluo was far superior to the angelic female guard.
"I am a disciple of Dustheart, Master of Sword Dao! Who are you?!"
"How dare you trespass into the Imperial Palace?!"
With a twist of his wrist, he declared his identity aloud.
To him, this was a badge of honor.
After all, being a disciple of the continent's number one offensive Titled Douluo was no small thing. His backer was a peak powerhouse.
But the angelic guard said nothing. Her attacks only grew faster and sharper, and her body began to turn semi-transparent, like a fading illusion.
Meanwhile…
A shadow slipped past the Crown Prince's East Palace.
Finding an unguarded corner, it leapt out of the palace grounds.
Right now, all attention in the entire Heaven Dou Capital was focused on the front gates of the Imperial Palace—no one was paying attention elsewhere.
Countless powerhouses were eager to see who this mysterious woman was, daring to charge into the palace alone!
Bone Douluo and Ning Fengzhi hovered in the air.
The attack on the Imperial Palace had naturally reached them at the first possible moment.
With Bone Douluo's bizarre abilities, arriving on the scene had been effortless.
From above, Bone Douluo watched everything unfolding below.
"Fengzhi, this woman is no ordinary soul master."
"She has no spirit rings… and yet she's still able to use spirit abilities. That's utterly absurd."
"And those abilities… they feel very familiar, don't they?"
Ning Fengzhi's expression was equally grim. His gaze was locked on the pure white wings behind the angelic guard.
Many onlookers were focused only on her strength, but not on the abnormalities of her body.
Those snow-white wings… weren't they Angel Wings, a signature of the Angel Martial Soul?
And those techniques she used—familiar wasn't even the word.
They were unforgettable.
Both Ning Fengzhi and Bone Douluo had personally suffered under those same abilities.
Bone Douluo had been bedridden because of them for a long time.
"Sh-should we get involved?" Bone Douluo asked hesitantly.
Ning Fengzhi shook his head firmly.
"Get involved? You mean go down and die?!"
"Whoever she is, her identity must be related to that senior expert we met before!"
"Even if we could stop her—what would be the point?!"
"Our Rongrong's life still depends on his help!"
"We'll pretend we saw nothing!"
Below, the battle raged on.
The Violet-Gold Sword clashed violently against the silver blade of the angelic guard.
Their weapons flashed with opposing brilliance.
Even the Sword Douluo disciple had to admit—this was the most thrilling battle he'd experienced since leaving the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect.
But the excitement didn't last long.
The angelic guard's movement stuttered slightly, revealing a flaw.
The Violet-Gold Sword Douluo seized the opportunity and lunged forward with a thrust!
However—
Before his blade could touch her…
The angelic guard suddenly dissolved into starlight, scattering into the wind and disappearing completely.
If not for the countless unconscious guards around, one might question whether she had ever existed at all.
The Soul Douluo froze in place.
"She… vanished?!"
"How could a living person just disappear?!"
From above, Bone Douluo had seen everything. He spoke two words, voice grim:
"Energy body."
"That woman wasn't a real person."
"She was formed entirely from sacred energy, a perfect replication of a high-level expert."
"For a limited time, she could fight with the strength of a Soul Douluo, or even a Titled Douluo."
"If her summoner was nearby and used a domain-type ability to empower her…"
"Then that copy would be on par with a Titled Douluo!"
"Terrifying… who in the world is her master?!"
Bone Douluo's already skeletal face grew even more twisted with shock—it was frightening to behold.
Ning Fengzhi said nothing.
The emergence of such a mysterious and powerful figure…
Was it a blessing for the continent—or a catastrophe?
"Let's go. We'll head to Emperor Xue Ye's chambers."
"As for what we just saw—"
"We saw nothing."
"We're also very curious about who that woman was…"
Meanwhile…
Qian Renfeng had already flown out of the palace, calm and unhurried.
He headed straight for the top floor of the Listening Cloud Pavilion (Ting Yun Lou).
The restaurant manager was waiting at the door.
Seeing Qian Renfeng, cold sweat broke out on the back of his neck.
"You're going in now, sir?!"
"The Imperial Palace was just attacked—we can't guarantee your safety here!"
"You have close ties with His Highness the Crown Prince—if anything happens to you here, we're doomed!"
Qian Renfeng waved it off casually.
"It's fine."
"I'm just here to have some wine. What could happen?"
"Bring out your best food and wine!"
With that, he strolled into the pavilion, the panicked manager following behind and urgently instructing the kitchen to serve everything quickly.
Stinghog Douluo, from afar, glanced toward the pavilion.
He noticed that a window was open on the top floor.
A young man in a light cyan robe was standing there, holding a wine cup and raising it in greeting.
He hoisted the unconscious Chrysanthemum Douluo onto his back, channeled soul power into his feet, and flew toward the top floor.
"Second Young Master!"
He was about to bow when Qian Renfeng waved his hand.
"No need for formalities."
"There's no one else here. Come, drink with me."
He handed over a cup of wine.
Stinghog Douluo hesitated.
This was his first time meeting the second young master, and he certainly didn't expect him to be so approachable.
Do I take the cup or not?
Before he could decide, Qian Renfeng had already set the cup on the table.
He then turned to look out the window and asked casually:
"Tell me, Elder Stinghog—what's your specialty?"
"Poison?"
Stinghog Douluo nodded.
"I'm not especially skilled in poison."
"It's only thanks to the unique nature of my Martial Soul."
"If anything, my real strengths are disguise and combat."
"Protecting the Young Master has always been my duty."
Qian Renfeng smiled faintly.
In truth, most Titled Douluo were naturally battle-focused.
"All these years, you've worked hard."
Stinghog Douluo waved it off.
"I don't dare take credit. I'm just doing my part for Spirit Hall."
As they spoke, the still-unconscious Chrysanthemum Douluo Yueguan slowly opened his eyes.
Upon seeing Qian Renfeng, he immediately shut them again, pretending to be unconscious.
But Qian Renfeng's voice was calm and indifferent:
"No need to fake it. Since you're awake…"
"Come join the conversation."
His tone was utterly flat, as if Yueguan's presence meant nothing.
To Qian Renfeng, a once-feared Titled Douluo now seemed no different from an insect on the ground.
Yueguan weakly sat up and looked at the two men.
"Greetings, Second Young Master."
"I offended you earlier. Please punish me as you see fit."
Qian Renfeng nodded slightly.
"Spare me the useless apologies."
"You're lucky your Martial Soul is unique—otherwise, you'd have ended up like Guimei."
Then he narrowed his eyes.
"I heard…"
"You two destroyed the maple tree in my courtyard?"