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Su Yu’s concerns were well-founded. With Xu Tiannan’s recent fall from power, his competitors would never allow him another chance to rise again.

Xu Tiannan’s days ahead would be anything but easy.

And once the Sun-Moon Emperor passed away and a new emperor ascended, Xu Tiannan, as the former crown prince, would inevitably be purged.

As Xu Tiannan’s most trusted confidante on the surface, how could Ju Zi expect to fare any better?

Withdrawing now did seem the wisest choice.

Ju Zi pondered carefully. As one of the rare smart people on the continent of Douluo and someone who had once wielded supreme power in the Sun-Moon Empire in the original work, she could not have failed to see through all of this.

After a moment of contemplation, Ju Zi asked, “What exactly do you mean by ‘leave’?”

She realized she had overlooked something. Su Yu’s words seemed to imply more than just her leaving Xu Tiannan.

Was he leaving too?

Su Yu replied casually, “I’m planning to leave the Sun-Moon Empire. The core members of the Holy Slayer Palace will move with me.”

Ju Zi’s beautiful eyes flickered—just as she suspected. She asked, “Why this sudden decision?”

“Is there something wrong with Radiant City?”

Su Yu had no patience to explain everything again, “I have my own reasons. Have you decided?”

Ju Zi lowered her head, kicking at imaginary pebbles with her right foot, and asked softly, “Then how do you plan to settle me?”

Su Yu answered without hesitation, “You can be in charge of all external affairs for the Holy Slayer Palace.”

“I see.”

Ju Zi fell silent, head down, her expression unreadable.

Su Yu glanced at her and said indifferently, “You don’t seem too satisfied?”

Ju Zi shook her head. “I just think I might not be very suited to these things. I’m afraid I won’t be up to the task.”

Su Yu patted her on the shoulder and sighed, “I know, your talents are more military. But at the moment, I don’t have many troops for you to command.”

“The Holy Slayer Palace has only been established for half a year. We haven’t yet formed a real defense force.”

“Our current garrisons are still the Ice God Guard.”

“And the Ice God Guard is special. Even if I wanted to give them to you, you couldn’t command them.”

“Why?”

Ju Zi was puzzled. “Is it because I have no authority?”

Su Yu shook his head. “It’s not about authority. It’s this—”

He pointed to the mark on his forehead. “The Ice God Guard only obeys the mark. Only people from the Ice God Palace have this.”

“Don’t think about joining the Ice God Palace either. Only Soul Masters with the ice attribute can join and receive the mark.”

“I can arrange for someone to be accepted by the Ice God Palace, but giving command of the army to just anyone is against the rules.”

“These are rules that have been in place for tens of thousands of years.”

“I see…”

Ju Zi murmured, looking a little down.

Seeing her disappointment, Su Yu’s tone shifted, “But…”

“But what?”

Ju Zi looked confused.

Su Yu smiled slightly. “But the Holy Slayer Palace’s forces can be given to you to lead.”

Ju Zi was thunderstruck. “Didn’t you say the Holy Slayer Palace doesn’t have a real defense force?”

“Right, not yet. But if you build one from scratch, then we’ll have one, won’t we?”

“If you want to command troops, I’ll entrust this important task to you.”

Ju Zi: “…”

Alright, that’s how it is.

Ju Zi grumbled, “So this was your real intention all along?”

All that talk about external affairs was just a smokescreen.

Su Yu just wanted to trick her into becoming a laborer.

“What are you saying? I’m thinking of your best interests.”

Su Yu grinned.

Ju Zi rolled her eyes, unable to retort.

She said, a bit annoyed, “What if I can’t build an elite force?”

Su Yu replied immediately, “Then you can’t claim to be a military expert.”

“A great commander must first know how to build an army and train soldiers. Otherwise, what kind of commander are you?”

Ju Zi: “…”

Well said, I have no comeback for that.

Looking at Su Yu’s smiling face, Ju Zi complained, “So you planned this from the start, didn’t you?”

Su Yu didn’t deny it. “So, are you in or not?”

Ju Zi put her hands on her hips. “I’ll do it, but I want your full support: funds, equipment, food, talent—you name it.”

“Of course. But I have a condition.”

“What is it?” Ju Zi asked.

Su Yu became serious. “I want an army with firm will and faith. At the very least, they must know whom they fight for.”

“So, I’ll assign dedicated personnel at every level to handle this.”

“At the same time, you’ll be in charge of the military aspects, but for other matters, I’ll assign you a partner to co-manage things.”

Ju Zi’s eyes widened. “You don’t trust me?”

Su Yu put his arm around her shoulder and said with a smile, “What are you talking about? Of course I trust you.”

“But everyone has their specialty. You’re good at training and fighting, so focus on that. I’m just lightening your load.”

Ju Zi pouted. Nice words, but you still don’t trust me.

She also realized that Su Yu was shameless—he could lie with a straight face.

“Su Yu, this way I don’t feel secure. Why don’t you marry me, then I’ll feel at ease?”

Ju Zi looked up at Su Yu, blinking her large, watery eyes.

Su Yu quietly withdrew his arm, face serious. “Ju Zi, you’re still young. Why are you always thinking about marriage?”

“At your age, you should be working hard and making achievements.”

“Don’t you want revenge on Dai Hao?”

“I promise you, when your legion is formed, I’ll let you lead them to take revenge on the White Tiger Duke’s House.”

“You don’t want your father’s soul to be restless, do you?”

Ju Zi replied softly, “But if I marry you, I’ll have a chance for revenge right away, saving a lot of trouble.”

“And my father wants to see me happy, too.”

Ju Zi feigned shyness, gazing intently at Su Yu—she wasn’t going to be fooled by him.

Su Yu was briefly stunned. Goodness, she’s not dumb.

He quickly changed his expression, saying with heartbroken disappointment: “Ju Zi, you let me down.”

“How can you always be looking for shortcuts?”

“I’m sure your father wouldn’t want you to take revenge this way.”

“As a daughter, avenging your father with your own hands and effort is the right path.”

“That’s settled—Ju Zi, I believe in you.”

Su Yu patted her shoulder, making the decision final.

Ju Zi opened her mouth, eyes full of grievance.

Damn Su Yu, even when she offered herself, he turned her down. Was she that undesirable?

How infuriating.

She stomped her foot and said, a bit aggrieved, “I want to bring Keke with me, is that okay?”

Keke was Ju Zi’s best friend.

Before leaving, Ju Zi wanted to help Keke too.

Besides, with a familiar face on Su Yu’s side, she’d feel more at ease.

Su Yu smiled. “Of course. Approved.”

Ju Zi rolled her eyes. This guy, so hard to move, was both lovable and infuriating.

He looked cold but was as sly as a rogue, never willing to take a loss.

She thought Xu Tiannan was ruthless, but Su Yu was even more shameless and cunning.

The key was that Su Yu was also overwhelmingly powerful.

In terms of danger, Xu Tiannan couldn’t even compare.

If there was a plus, it was that Su Yu still had some humanity and boundaries—that was the biggest difference between him and Xu Tiannan.

Su Yu didn’t know what Ju Zi was thinking. Seeing her still in a daze, he patted her.

“Let’s go. I’ll take you to Illustrious Virtue Hall. While you take Keke, I want to borrow a couple more people from the Hall Master.”

“I’m his future grandson-in-law, after all. He can’t let me leave empty-handed, can he?”

Ju Zi’s mouth twitched. With a grandson-in-law like you, the Hall Master is truly blessed.

She grumbled in her heart but obediently followed Su Yu.

…

Xu Tiannan’s Residence.

Sounds of things shattering echoed from a side chamber.

Xu Tiannan, hair disheveled and aura dark as ever, eyes filled with venomous hatred.

“Damn it, damn it, you all deserve to die!”

“Jing Hongchen, you old thief, I’ll kill you.”

“Ahhhhhh!!!”

Xu Tiannan let out a furious, sinister roar. This time, his scheming backfired, and the Sun-Moon Emperor punished him.

His political enemies seized the opportunity, stripping him of much power.

Especially Jing Hongchen, who kicked him while he was down.

As the head of Illustrious Virtue Hall, a key figure in the empire, Jing Hongchen’s intervention was a fatal blow.

If not for him, Xu Tiannan might have had a chance to hang on.

Now, he was basically out of the running for the throne.

He was still Crown Prince in name, but anyone could see it was only a matter of time before he was deposed.

For someone with such a twisted desire for power, how could Xu Tiannan accept this?

He hated Jing Hongchen for kicking him while he was down, hated Zhongli Wu for being useless, and hated the Holy Spirit Cult for being weak.

But most of all, he hated Su Yu for wrecking all his plans.

If looks could kill, Xu Tiannan would have torn Su Yu to pieces.

But the truth was, Su Yu was living freely, while he was on the brink of destruction.

He didn’t even dare to badmouth Su Yu in public.

The humiliation was driving Xu Tiannan mad.

Even with his usual dark temperament, right now he couldn’t help venting his fury.

After a while, Xu Tiannan slumped in his wheelchair, gasping for breath.

His face was twisted and flushed, hair a mess—gone was his usual demeanor of modesty and calm.

He shouted, “Ju Zi! Ju Zi!”

He called several times, but there was no answer.

Face darkening, he wheeled himself out and summoned a maid.

“Where is Ju Zi?” he demanded coldly.

The maid trembled. “I-I don’t know, my lord.”

“Useless!”

Xu Tiannan snapped, “Go—go find her!”

Several maids and guards hurried to search, but Ju Zi was nowhere to be found.

For three days, Xu Tiannan found no trace of her.

Finally, a kind soul brought him a message.

It was a note: “I’ve taken Ju Zi. You’re a eunuch now, so you don’t need her. It’s a waste for her to follow you. I’m kind-hearted and can’t bear to see her suffer—she’ll be taken care of by me now. Don’t worry, Your Highness. —Su Yu.”

“Ah!!!”

Seeing those words, Xu Tiannan completely lost it.

His eyes turned blood-red, and he screamed like a demon from hell, “Su Yu, I’ll kill you! I’ll kill you!”

“Pfft!”

Blinded by rage, he coughed up blood and fainted on the spot.

A once mighty schemer, finally broken by repeated blows—his mind utterly collapsed.

…

Meanwhile, the Ju Zi Xu Tiannan so obsessed over had already left with Su Yu, heading back to the Heavenly Soul Empire.

“Xiao Su, are we going to Heaven Dou City first, or the Ice God Palace?” asked Wang Dong’er as they flew through the sky, traveling in a group.

Su Yu replied, “The Holy Slayer Palace’s move will take time, and the palace in Heaven Dou City isn’t finished. We’ll go to the Ice God Palace first and rest, then on to Heaven Dou City.”

“Okay!” Wang Dong’er made a hand gesture.

Su Yu chuckled, and they all headed north.

Through the swirling snow, they returned to the Ice God Palace’s grounds.

Opening the barrier, they entered.

A thousand-year path of ice led to a colossal city of snow and ice.

“Wow, this is the Ice God Palace?” called out Xiao Hongchen in amazement.

He had prepared himself, but seeing an ice city with his own eyes was still shocking.

Su Yu smiled. “Let’s enter and talk.”

They crossed the ice bridge into the city.

For first-timers like Xiao Hongchen and Ju Zi, it was like country folk entering a grand palace—curious about everything.

“Young master!”

At that moment, Lu Yuan, left in charge of the Ice God Palace, led a group of strong people to greet them.

Su Yu waved them off the formalities. “We have several new guests. Please arrange accommodations.”

“Leave it to me,” Lu Yuan said heartily.

Su Yu smiled and introduced, “This is our Ice God Palace’s Second Guardian, Lu Yuan. His martial soul is the Titan Snow Demon—he’s as strong as the top sect leaders.”

“If you need anything, just ask him.”