Ju Zi was horrified. She turned around and kneeled once again. âNo, Your Majesty. No, I canât do that. How can I bear someone elseâs child? Iâm your Ju Zi, and will only be your Ju Zi. No, I donât agree.â
Xu Tianran was a little stunned, and was also a little touched as he looked at Ju Zi. This was the first time she had dared to resist his orders ever since he had saved her. However, this resistance stroked his ego.
âIf possible, no one will want his wife to have someone elseâs kid. However, I have no choice. I can only do this to shut everyone up. Iâve even selected the candidate. Heâs an authentic bearer of the royal blood lineage, and heâs a distant cousin of mine. Due to a mutation of his martial soul, heâs not even a soul master now, and he holds a very lowly position in the royal family. Apart from you, no one else must know about this. Iâll ask someone to teach you how to carry it out. After that, youâll retrieve the âseedlingâ from his body and implant it into your own body. After that, heâll be killed. No one will know this secret then. Donât worry, I am infertile. The child you bear will be ours. Iâll treat him like our biological son. When I turn a hundred years, heâll inherit the throne. Perhaps we might rule the entire Douluo Continent by then.â
Ju Zi lifted her head and looked at Xu Tianran pitifully, âYour Majesty, is there no other way? I am really unwilling to do this.â
Xu Tianranâs expression turned cold and he said, âAlright, thatâs final. Do you really think I want to do this? I feel heartache doing it too. Alright, with that sort of plan, youâll be touched by another guy. Go and prepare first. Iâll get someone to teach you how to do it, and Iâll get the Imperial Physician to take a look at your body. These few days are the best time for you to be impregnated.â
âYes.â Ju Zi shuddered a little and eventually agreed to his words. She kowtowed to him respectfully.
Xu Tianranâs expression turned gentler. He lifted her up for the third time and patted her back. âSilly girl, donât think too much. I already told you that Iâll treat the child you bear as our own. Only I have the right to be his father. You can go now.â
âYes, Your Majesty.â Ju Zi indignantly made her way out after bowing to Xu Tianran.
After exiting, a heavy look gradually appeared on Ju Ziâs face. However, there was a cold intent that flashed across her eyes.
Xu Tianran, why didnât I realize that Iâll only be your pawn? Even the closest pawn is still a pawn.
â¦â¦
When Huo Yuhao regained consciousness, he was stunned to discover that he was in a clean room. The room also looked very familiar to him. Everything around him was familiar, including the aura.
Where am I? He was a little puzzled.
Everything that had happened earlier replayed itself in his memories.
Didnât I meet the Darkness Holy Dragon and Dragon Emperor Douluo, Long Xiaoyao? Wasnât I stabbed nine times because of his threat? But why donât I feel any pain?
He subconsciously touched his body, and was astonished to discover that there werenât any wounds at all. He then circulated his soul power. His body drifted up above his bed, and there were suddenly strong soul power undulations in the room.
Thisâ¦
Huo Yuhao was shocked as he sensed everything. He discovered that this soul power was like a strong wave. Just by circulating it slightly, it was actually surging. Whatâs going on? Where exactly am I?
âBang!â The door opened. A figure rushed in. Wasnât she Nan Qiuqiu?
When she saw Huo Yuhao sitting up, Nan Qiuqiu was delighted. âAh, Yuhao, youâre awake. Youâre finally awake. What happened exactly!? You were unconscious for seven days.â
Huo Yuhao looked at her and was shocked as he asked, âAm, am I really alive?â
Nan Qiuqiu took a few steps forward and pinched his arm with force.
âAiyo, what are you doing?â Huo Yuhao screamed in pain.
âIf you know that itâs painful, it obviously means that you arenât in a dream. Of course you arenât dead.â Nan Qiuqiu snapped.
Huo Yuhao laughed bitterly. âItâs already not easy for me to come back alive, but you still pinched me so hard. Are you still human?â
Nan Qiuqiu furrowed her brow and placed her hands on her waist. She was furious, âHow dare you mention it? You didnât even bring me on your adventure to Heaven Dou City. How did Tang Wutong find you the moment she was there? Didnât you say that she isnât Dongâer?â
After hearing her mention Tang Wutong, Huo Yuhao was stunned, and asked, âDid she send me back? Is she fine?â
âHow would I know?â Nan Qiuqiu said coldly, âShe dumped you here before leaving. She didnât say anything at all, as if she were dumb.â
Huo Yuhao furrowed his brow and sighed in his heart. Tang Wutong isnât Dongâer after all! Although I donât know why Iâm alive, it seems like the Dragon Emperor Douluo still let her off in the end. Itâs just that I was critically hurt then, and my life energy was about to fully disappear. Now that I think of it, it seemed like the last stab was blocked by something before it reached my body. That prevented my heart from being struck. Donât tell me the Dragon Emperor Douluo did it intentionally? Heâs the only one who could do that at that point in time.
However, how did I survive? My injuries were so critical. Furthermore, I donât even feel any pain now. On the other hand, my soul power even seems to have improved. I feel as if I have touched a bottleneck. What exactly is going on?
Huo Yuhao was filled with doubts as he climbed up from the bed. He moved his body. Indeed, it was filled with strength! Everything felt unbelievably good.
It was good to be alive. Furthermore, Huo Yuhao felt that a lot of the pressure on him had been relieved after he went through that near-death experience. The look in his eyes was much more vibrant compared to before. He couldnât help but think of what Wang Dongâer had said to him. Relieving stress from time to time was good for cultivation. Yes, Iâve really been under a lot of pressure. I didnât expect this to relieve so much pressure, although the way it was done wasnât very nice.
âHey, what are you thinking of?â Nan Qiuqiu was displeased as she questioned Huo Yuhao, seeing that he had gone quiet all of a sudden.
Huo Yuhao shook his head and said, âNothing. Alright, Qiuqiu, how was I when I returned?â
Nan Qiuqiu answered, âPretty good! You were just in a coma. There was nothing else really. Tang Wutong didnât say anything else. She just seemed very confused. Eldest senior didnât probe further upon seeing that you were fine.â
I was fine when I returned? My wounds disappeared? It seems like I can only ask Tang Wutong to know whatâs going on.
âQiuqiu, Iâll go and see eldest senior first.â As he spoke, he walked out.
Nan Qiuqiu chased after him and said, âDonât forget what you promised me. Teacher Xuan seems to be very excited after seeing the metal that you brought back.â
âOh right, donât worry. You wonât be excluded.â Huo Yuhao smiled.
When Huo Yuhao saw Bei Bei, Bei Bei was dealing with a lot of things. Seeing him entering, Bei Bei was delighted before his expression sank.
âLittle junior, you are really incorrigible! I wonât let you leave the sect easily no matter what. Every time you leave, you have to get into some trouble. Tell me, what happened this time? Why were you in a coma, and Wutong had to bring you back? She didnât want to say anything. Surely you can tell me whatâs going on, right?â
Huo Yuhao laughed as he said, âEldest senior, donât be angry! Nothing happened really. I went to Heaven Dou City to capture an evil soul master, as well as to find out where Teacher Xiao Ya and Sister Xiaotao are at. I searched the city. They arenât there. After that, I met a strong opponent when capturing an evil soul master, which drained me. I might have fallen into a coma because of that. Oh yes, I almost forgot!â
When he mentioned the evil soul master, Huo Yuhao immediately thought of two important questions. He wondered if the evil soul master he had sealed in his storage-type soul tool was alive after so many days. In addition, the Ice Bear King could still be in Heaven Dou City!
âWhatâs wrong?â Bei Bei jumped in shock when he heard Huo Yuhao shout.
Huo Yuhao didnât say anything, but hurriedly poured in his soul power into his storage-type soul tool. A light flashed before an ice statue appeared in front of him.
Huo Yuhaoâs Ultimate Ice had improved compared to before. He had frozen the evil soul master for at least seven to eight days, but there werenât any signs that it was going to melt. It wasnât even damaged in the slightest. The evil soul master that was frozen was still astonished, and even terrified.
Bei Bei was stunned as he asked, âThis is? An evil soul master you caught?â
Huo Yuhao nodded and replied, âYes! It took me quite a lot of effort to capture this fellow.â When he faced the Darkness Holy Dragon, he wasnât fearful at all. However, now that he thought of it, he was actually pretty terrified then. When it came to Long Xiaoyaoâs cultivation, it was not something that he could surveil using his Spiritual Detection. This was because Long Xiaoyao was spiritually much stronger than him. It was very easy for him to unleash a spiritual barrier that kept out Huo Yuhaoâs spiritual power. Huo Yuhao had no way of dealing with Long Xiaoyao directly.
Of course, Long Xiaoyaoâs spiritual power was stronger than his in terms of absolute volume rather than the level of it. Huo Yuhaoâs spiritual power had reached the concrete-material realm. Even the Dragon Emperor Douluo wasnât at that realm yet. This was the advantage of a spiritual-type soul master. Just like Long Xiaoyao had said, if Huo Yuhao purely cultivated his Spirit Eyes to the standard of a Transcendent Douluo, he might actually be able to fight him. In fact, Huo Yuhao had the confidence of challenging Long Xiaoyao when he considered his Ultimate Ice.