"Ah..." This time it was Ye Jingyu who was stunned. Supervising the hundred officials was one thing, but asking him to supervise the Crown Prince? What did that mean? If you didn't trust him, why give him so much authority in the first place? Wasn't that like shooting yourself in the foot?

"Whether it's the Eldest, the Second, or the Third, they are all My sons. The back of My hand and the palm of My hand are both flesh. Before I still had the capacity, I never considered establishing the heir. But do you know why I chose the Eldest as the Crown Prince?" Looking at Ye Jingyu's surprise, Luo Xiaofeng didn't find it strange...

"Forgive my ignorance, Your Majesty, please enlighten me..." Ye Jingyu didn't understand at all, just staring blankly at Luo Xiaofeng. Probably only he in the entire Nanyun Empire dared to look at Luo Xiaofeng so insolently...

"Because of Hailang Bing..." Luo Xiaofeng said faintly...

"Hmm?" Ye Jingyu was startled. Who was Hailang Bing?

"He is the great-grandfather of the current Hai Family Head, Hai Yunming, meaning the Crown Prince's great-grandfather. But he has another identity—a Soul Immortal..." Eunuch Yun, standing behind Luo Xiaofeng, explained on his behalf...

When the two words 'Soul Immortal' reached Ye Jingyu's ears, his whole body trembled slightly. In the time he had been in this world, he had met countless powerful figures. Even someone as formidable as Dugu Bachan was his master, and he had even met people even more profound than Dugu Bachan. But these people seemed to be the peak powerhouses of martial arts, and he had rarely heard of the profession of Soul Master...

Besides Chi Yi and the Spirit Manifestation Soul Master he encountered in the Hundred Burials Valley, Ye Jingyu had never seen another Soul Master, let alone a Soul Immortal. But now, hearing a Soul Immortal mentioned by Eunuch Yun—that was an existence beyond life and death!

A Soul Immortal was an entity whose soul was immortal and indestructible. Even if the physical body decayed, the soul could perfectly reincarnate or possess another body. Memories remained, the soul remained, and even the soul power would not diminish much...

In other words, once you cultivated to the realm of a Soul Immortal, unless you were a pig, you would eventually be able to cultivate to the True Immortal realm, as you possessed endless life...

But what about a Martial Saint? Although they could greatly extend a person's lifespan, they could at most live for a little over two hundred years, unless they could advance further to reach the Martial God realm...

This was the biggest difference between a Soul Immortal and a Martial Saint...

It was easy for a Soul Immortal to kill a Martial Saint, but extremely difficult for a Martial Saint to completely annihilate a Soul Immortal...

Unless one could use overwhelming Fist Intent to completely shatter the soul, otherwise, as long as a trace of the residual soul remained, it could slowly recover its vitality...

However, Ye Jingyu had been on this Douhun Continent for so long, yet he had rarely seen a Soul Master, let alone a Soul Immortal...

Hearing this, Ye Jingyu immediately connected many dots. No wonder Luo Xiaofeng made such a strange decision; it turned out that behind Luo Haitian, there was a Soul Immortal acting as his backer. He truly wondered if, after he brought out Dugu Bachan, Luo Xiaofeng would immediately issue an edict to depose the Crown Prince and enthrone the Prince instead...

"Of course, merely relying on a single Soul Immortal is not enough for Me to immediately establish the Crown Prince. But he gave Me a True Shattering Pill. Tell Me, could I refuse?" Seemingly seeing through what Ye Jingyu was thinking, Luo Xiaofeng explained. As an emperor, one naturally dislikes being threatened, even if that person is a Soul Immortal...

"True Shattering Pill..." Ye Jingyu was shocked again. That was the spirit medicine among spirit medicines!

It was commonly known that to achieve the rank of Martial Saint, one must condense the True Essence Power within the body and form a True Core in the Dantian—a core composed entirely of True Essence Power. Only then could one completely counteract the earth's gravity and achieve the Martial Saint realm. However, to advance to the Martial God realm, besides immense accumulation, the most crucial step was to shatter the True Core within the body, using the immense power contained within it to cleanse oneself...

The saying 'To aspire to godhood, one must first break the core' was widely spread...

But achieving the Martial Saint realm was difficult; achieving the Martial God realm was even harder...

The Bai Family Head, Bai Yunlan, stepped into the Martial Saint realm thirty years ago, but thirty years had passed, and he was still hovering at the peak of Martial Saint because he could not find a method for 'core-breaking body refinement.' If he had a True Shattering Pill, taking just one would be enough for him to immediately break the core and become a god, achieving the Martial God realm...

This was something even Dugu Bachan told him on the small island—something even Dugu Bachan did not possess. Where did that Soul Immortal obtain such a thing?

No wonder Luo Xiaofeng transferred all his authority to Luo Haitian. It turned out that because of this matter, with that True Shattering Pill, once the True Core in his body was refined to the peak of Martial Saint, he could easily descend upon the Martial God realm after successfully consuming the pill...

Martial God! That was a completely different realm of existence...

With just a few words, Ye Jingyu understood everything. For someone like Luo Xiaofeng, achieving the Martial God realm was monumentally important. Back then, he sent Ye Jingyu to find the White Lotus Sword Canon purely to search for a method; now that there was a concrete hope, why would he refuse?

Let alone Hailang Bing only asking him to install the Crown Prince; even if he were asked to immediately abdicate the throne, he wouldn't hesitate. As for what he would think after achieving the Martial God realm, that was another matter...

"Now Qin Yan, that old wretch, and even that fellow Xiao Geng have defected to the Eldest. The world hasn't been conquered yet, and I have no intention of abdicating, yet they are so impatient to pledge allegiance to a new master. I am very displeased. So, Minister Ye, do you understand what I mean?" Looking at the dazed Ye Jingyu, a faint smile reappeared on Luo Xiaofeng's lips...

"Your humble servant... understands..." Ye Jingyu glanced at Luo Xiaofeng and nodded. From his words, he perceived a powerful dominance—a dominance of reigning over all under heaven. It seemed Luo Xiaofeng not only aimed to achieve the Martial God realm but also intended to become an eternal Great Emperor, like Xuanyuan Jue three hundred years ago...

"Heh heh, only you, Minister Ye, possess the courage and ability to handle this. I don't need you to stabilize them for long, only to control the court situation for this year, and that will be enough. As for who the Crown Prince will be in the future, I still need to observe and assess. Do you understand?" The smile on Luo Xiaofeng's face was exceptionally bright...

"Your humble servant knows what to do. Please rest assured, Your Majesty..." Ye Jingyu nodded heavily, yet his heart was filled with shock. Did he have the confidence to achieve the Martial God realm within a year?

"Heh heh, then you may leave. Eunuch Yun, go and arrange matters concerning the Cloud Guards..."

"This old slave obeys Your decree..." Eunuch Yun immediately bowed to Luo Xiaofeng...

"Your Majesty, this humble servant has one more matter to report..." Unexpectedly, Ye Jingyu suddenly spoke...

"Oh? Minister Ye has something else? Speak freely..."

"This humble servant implores Your Majesty to annul the engagement between the Princess and General Xiao..." Ye Jingyu paused for a moment, stating the purpose of his visit today...

Luo Xiaofeng's expression subtly shifted...

(Cough... It's not that I'm not exploding with content; who tries writing over nine thousand characters every day and doesn't feel mental fatigue? Let the stars rest a bit this week, I'll explode again next week! I call for clicks, I call for collections, I call for Golden Bricks~ Hmm~)