"The time has indeed stopped. Don't worry, it'll return to normal once we're done talking."
Rayne's voice sounded beside her, making her return to her senses.
She was startled and immediately jumped back, putting a distance between herself and Rayne.
"Brother Rayne, is this your doing? I wonder what you mean by this?" She asked in a seemingly calm tone, but was very cautious and was prepared for any action towards her.
At the same time, she was observing the surroundings secretly with a solemn mind.
'Time stopped... or is it a domain skill like the martial soul fusion ability of Ghost Douluo and Chrysanthemum Douluo?'
Rayne slowly moved towards Qian Renxue with slow steps and a carefree smile on his face.
"Qian Renxue, the granddaughter of Qian Daoliu. Nice to meet you. It's a pity for your beauty to be hidden away under the guise of a man."
As Rayne uttered these words in a soft tone, Qian Renxue's beautiful eyes slightly widened in shock.
But she managed to keep her expression change in control.
"I'm sorry, Brother Rayne. Are you mistaking me for someone?"
Qian Renxue asked, but vaguely, she felt that her identity was discovered by the young man standing opposite her.
"Qian Renxue, it seems you haven't realized it yet. Your disguise ability has already been deactivated. How about we be honest with each other, instead of going about it in a roundabout way."
Qian Renxue was shocked for a moment, then observed herself, confirming Rayne's words.
"You... How did you...? No! Who are you?! How did you know my identity?!"
"Well, no need to get agitated. To be honest, I don't have any ill intent towards you." Rayne said in a soft tone.
"No ill intent? Then why have you dispelled my disguise ability? Even putting uncle She and uncle Ci in such a state!"
Qian Renxue obviously didn't believe Rayne's claim of no ill intent.
"That can't be helped. For starters, I'm not too comfortable with talking to a beautiful lady disguised as a man."
"As for those two... well, they had murderous intent towards me. If anything, they're lucky that's all I did to them. As they say, the strong must be respected."
Rayne spread his arms and said with carefree smile.
"..." Qian Renxue was silent. Rayne didn't rush her, and waited patiently for her to take the initiative to start a conversation.
Strangely, this silence lasted for almost five minutes.
At this point, how could Rayne not understand what Qian Renxue's intentions are.
"Hmm~ Even if you keep silent and stall for time, nothing will change, you know."
Rayne looked at Qian Renxue with a playful smile.
"..." Qian Renxue.
"You seem to be under the impression that I'm using some sort of domain skill, and that it has a time limit."
"Unfortunately for you, that's not really the case. What I'm doing right now is just simply, stopping the flow of time of this city. Rather than a soul skill or innate domain, it's more of an Authority. So, how about we get straight to business?"
Looking at the unnaturally handsome young man, gazing at her with that ever confident smile. Qian Renxue was momentarily confused.
Stopping time.
Even the strongest person in her impression, her grandfather Qian Daoliu, isn't anywhere close to being capable of such a feat.
Especially on a scale as big as a city.
Authority! As a member of Qian family, she isn't too unfamiliar with this term.
In her knowledge, the unique all-encompassing powers of Gods seems to be called Divine Authority.
After being silent for a while and calming her nerves, She looked at Rayne with her beautiful phoenix-like golden eyes.
"What do you want from me?"
"To be honest, not much really." Rayne shrugged.
"What?"
Qian Renxue was a bit lost for words.
"I don't really have anything I want from you. At least for now."
"..." Qian Renxue.
"Well, although I don't have anything I want from you. I do have something I want you to do for me." Rayne said.
"... What is it? As long as I can do it and is not too much of a demand." Qian Renxue slowly said.
"In that case, I want you to give up whatever you are doing in Heaven Dou Empire and go back to Spirit Hall."
"What?!"
"If you didn't understand, I said, quit your undercover mission and go back to Spirit Hall."
"Of course, I understand that! Do you really think I will obey your unreasonable request?!"
"Why do you say, it's unreasonable?"
"You!! Just how much time and effort do you think I have put into this mission?! Just who do you think you are to come here and order me?!"
"My grandfather is a Peerless Douluo, the person closest to God level! Do you really think I'm afraid of you?!"
Qian Renxue was visibly angry, even furious.
If it wasn't for the fact that Rayne seems to be unimaginably powerful, she would've gone up to fight him.
Even so, Qian Renxue still glared at him with utmost animosity.
Seeing this, Rayne shrugged his shoulders and shaking his head.
"Your grandfather is a small fry. A guy who has no possibility of any further improvement. I really don't take him seriously."
Rayne said in a joking tone, causing Qian Renxue's ire.
"Mission... Undercover... Don't you feel embarrassed to even mention that?" Rayne asked in a dull tone.
"... What?"
"You came to Heaven Dou Empire and took over this prince position to weaken the empire and take over it with minimal damage, correct?" Rayne asked.
"... That's right." Although confused, Qian Renxue still answered.
"Then what have you been doing till now? How have you been carrying out your so-called mission?"
Rayne felt kind of absurd, thinking of all the things he had learned about this so-called mission in his previous life (third simulated life).
"If you are an undercover agent, then just be that! What the heck are you even doing? Mediating the conflicts between nobles, disaster reliefs, supression of rebellions, fund embezzlement investigations, attending all sorts of noble meetings to prevent chaos and disturbance, cleaning up after the mess of other nobles, etc,."
"Seriously, what the hell are you even doing? Are you an undercover agent, or a loyal and dedicated prince of Heaven Dou Empire?"
Hearing Rayne speak of her deeds in a sarcastic speech, Qian Renxue felt a wave of embarrassment rising in her heart.
A blush crept up to her face, making her already stunning and beautiful face, more captivating.
Even she had felt it numerous times, how absurd everything she is doing.
She obviously came here to be an undercover agent. So why is she working so hard for the Heaven Dou Empire, as if she is a slave?!
After she had taken over the position of prince by disguising as Xue Qinghe, she had already come to know that...
Heaven Dou Empire is rotten to the core, and is already on the path to its doom.
Although it is considered as equal to its counterpart, Star Dou Empire, in name.
There really isn't any comparison when you look at it closely.
The Heaven Dou Empire's military force was notoriously weak, with a lack of high-level combat power, and it relied entirely on a large number of soldiers to maintain its combat power.
The imperial power was unstable, and a large number of nobles in the country divided the rights that should have belonged to the royal family.
The nobles in various places almost formed separatist regimes, obeying orders but not announcements, and committing countless illegal acts.
Unless it involved the interests of the royal family itself, the royal family would not manage it.
There are many laws established by the Royal family, including the one that bans slavery.
But if you go to an exhibition at Heaven Dou Auction, you'll know that there is pretty much no meaning in the existence of these laws.
The Royal family itself is taking the lead in setting an example for the other nobles. Courtesy of Xue Xing, the veteran slave consumer at Heaven Dou Auction.
If not for the intervention from Spirit Hall, a rotten empire like this would have long been conquered and absorbed by the obviously stronger and more unified Star Dou Empire!
But, despite all this, Qian Renxue doesn't want to give up on this mission. It holds a significant meaning to her.
But, there is too much obstructions for her.
For starters, Prince Xue Xing seems to be adamant on going against her, and seems to be very much against her succession to the throne.
The Emperor Xue Ye is also unnecessarily restricting her everywhere, most likely because of assassinations of the few princes that were competing with her in the past.
Xue Ye seems to be sure that she is the one behind those assassinations!
Well, she really was the culprit.
The biggest obstruction of all, is the lack of support from Spirit Hall, courtesy of the current Supreme Pontiff Bibi Dong.
That woman seems to hate her Qian family for whatever reason. And her grandfather is also a bit too lenient towards that woman.
Apparently, she is protected by the power of the God of Contracts.
Anyway, Qian Renxue's undercover mission has been unnecessarily hard because of all these obstructions.
But even so, she was determined to carry out this mission.
She looked at Rayne seriously.
"Is there anything you want from Spirit Hall? I can get it for you. There is no need for me quitting this undercover task." Qian Renxue said in a softer tone.
Rayne shook his head, knowing that she is trying to persuade him. But he has no intention of negotiating in this matter.
"I can understand that you're unwilling. But do you really have any other choice?"
"..." Qian Renxue.
"I can just expose you publicly, which will not only force you to retreat, but also greatly affect the reputation of Spirit Hall as a whole."
"So, it's better to just go back to Spirit Hall and secretly end this so-called mission of yours without any further damage."
Rayne was blunt in his stance that, this decision can't be changed.
"If you really know about me, then you should know just how many years, how much time and effort I've spent on this undercover mission! I can't afford to give up at this point of time, not when I'm so close to success!"
Qian Renxue, despite knowing the vast difference in strength and her lack of choice in this matter, still didn't want to give up.
In her opinion, she is close to succeeding. Just a few more years, at best.
"What's the point of saying that to me? I'm not your grandfather. There's no point in using your vain persuasion on me. What I want is simple. I just want you to quit your so-called undercover mission and return to Spirit Hall."
Rayne had no intention of listening to any of the possible reasons Qian Renxue can come up with.
In about just a month, seven people (or even more since Rayne had intervened in that timeline) will regress from a future timeline.
Qian Renxue is included among these people.
Which means, Qian Renxue will definitely be aware of the future knowledge, as well the memory of her previous timeline's failure in taking over Heaven Dou Empire.
Normally, you'd think Qian Renxue, with her previous experience, will definitely abandon the undercover mission, and focus on other things.
Even so, Rayne's system still issued a quest of the highest level, a fate quest.
Which could only mean one thing.
That is...
Even with the future knowledge, Qian Renxue has no intention of abandoning her undercover mission.
With the regression of Tang San and his stooges, this mission of hers is destined to be ruined, she might even face harsher repercussions than in the original timeline.
'Well, it's not really hard to understand, considering her stubborn personality. This undercover mission has become something of an obsession to her, at some point.'
'Even if Qian Daoliu personally came to persuade her, I doubt she'd listen to him.'
Rayne thought to himself, while observing the unsightly expression on Qian Renxue's stunning face.
"..."
Rayne's immovable attitude made Qian Renxue feel angry and frustrated.
If it wasn't for the clearly vast gap between their strengths, Qian Renxue would've definitely resorted to violence.
Unfortunately, the opponent is too strong, beyond her perception.
Qian Renxue clenched her teeth tightly, feeling helpless and powerless.
She really didn't want to give up after ten years of effort. More than half of her life was spent on this undercover mission. This mission has a special significance to her.
She knew that it was checkmate. Even if she stubbornly refuse Rayne's suggestion, all it will do is add unnecessary reputational damage to herself and Spirit, on top of not changing the original result.
After realising that there is no other option, Qian Renxue felt tight in her heart, as if something was stuck in her heart.
She even felt like crying, but she bit her red lips and refused to let the tears fall from her eyes.
"..."
Seeing her like this, Rayne felt a bit soft in his heart.
'Although what I'm doing right now is ultimately for her own good, I feel awful seeing her on the verge of tears.'
Rayne sighed in his heart.
"Well, it can't be helped."
"!!" Startled, Qian Renxue looked at Rayne in caution.
"I'll give you an additional choice. Let's have a battle! Don't worry, I'll supress myself to be somewhere around your own level!"
"If you lose, just listen to me and go back to Spirit Hall."
"But if you win, not only will I take back what I said before, but I'll also let the Ouroboros Tower assist you in taking over the Heaven Dou Empire's throne!"
......
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