Chapter 66
Inside the City Lord’s residence.
Xiao Minghuang emerged from the secret chamber, with Wang Jin following closely behind.
“It’s been many days since we left the capital. With two months left until the grand competition, it’s time to return.”
Hearing this, Wang Jin hesitated for a moment before respectfully asking:
“Your Highness, should we really release General Li inside the room?”
At this, Xiao Minghuang’s delicate brows furrowed slightly as she replied indifferently:
“Do we need to seek approval for such matters?”
“Yes, Your Highness!”
Wang Jin’s expression turned serious, and without further ado, he gathered a surge of spiritual energy, which flew like a serpent into the secret chamber, ending General Li’s life.
After settling the affairs of Beiyang City, Xiao Minghuang made her way to the main hall.
Before leaving, she needed to instruct Lin Zhengquan to select young children from reputable families in Beiyang City and send them to the capital to be trained as her loyal subordinates.
Although this would take some time and consume significant resources, with the system’s assistance, it was no issue for her.
In the main hall, Lin Zhengquan sat behind his desk, handling administrative affairs. Upon seeing Xiao Minghuang enter, he immediately rose and bowed.
“Your servant greets Your Highness!”
After the usual formalities, Xiao Minghuang stated her requirements.
Lin Zhengquan patted his chest and assured her:
“Your Highness, rest assured, I will select the most talented children from Beiyang City to send to your side!”
Hearing this, Xiao Minghuang’s brows furrowed slightly as she clarified:
“City Lord Lin, please listen carefully. I don’t want the most talented; I want those with both good character and appearance!”
“As long as their character is excellent, even if they aren’t naturally gifted, they can be sent to the capital.”
Lin Zhengquan respectfully acknowledged her instructions.
Next, Xiao Minghuang provided more specific requirements, such as the children’s age, gender, and background.
They should not be older than ten years old, and they shouldn’t all be from noble families, among other criteria.
Additionally, since her system only compensates her when she gifts items to girls, her choices were limited to girls.
To summarize, she was looking for girls who were good-looking, honest, and well-behaved. Upon hearing this, Lin Zhengquan hesitated for a moment but ultimately did not ask any questions.
“Perhaps Her Highness simply prefers beautiful girls?”
He furrowed his brow.
After all, his daughter was accompanying the Ninth Princess. If this princess had become so depraved as to target young girls…
The next moment.
Lin Zhengquan quickly dismissed this terrifying thought.
Ninth Princess Xiao Minghuang was elegant, noble, and transcendent—how could she possibly be such a vile person?
After concluding the official matters, Lin Zhengquan proposed to hold a grand farewell ceremony for the Ninth Princess, but she declined.
“Beiyang City has just endured a beast tide, and there is much to rebuild. City Lord Lin, you should focus your efforts on the people.”
Hearing these words, Lin Zhengquan was deeply moved.
The Ninth Princess… she truly… cared for the people!
Without paying much attention to Lin Zhengquan’s reaction, Xiao Minghuang clasped her hands in a gesture of farewell and turned to leave.
Outside, the carriage was already prepared, with Ye Ruoshui and Lin Wanqiu waiting inside.
Xiao Minghuang stepped into the carriage and glanced at Lin Wanqiu, speaking gently:
“Wanqiu, aren’t you going to bid farewell to City Lord Lin?”
Lin Wanqiu glanced at the gates of the City Lord’s residence and shook her head lightly, calmly replying:
“There’s no need. It would only add to the sorrow.”
At the same time.
The carriage began its journey.
On the way here, Xiao Minghuang had taken over half a month.
On the return trip, it took nearly a month.
It wasn’t because the three of them had been playing around and delaying their journey.
The extra half month was spent searching for opportunities.
On the return trip, Wang Jin no longer followed them in secret but instead drove the carriage for Xiao Minghuang, disguised as an elderly coachman, appearing completely inconspicuous.
To avoid arousing Wang Jin’s suspicions, Xiao Minghuang used the excuse of sightseeing with Ye Ruoshui and Lin Wanqiu to collect opportunities along the way.
On the return journey, they found seven more opportunities.
Of these seven opportunities, six were rare natural treasures, with the most potent one being a herb that Ye Ruoshui claimed could serve as the main ingredient for an Earth-tier elixir!
The seventh was a strange token, entirely grayish-white, made of an unknown material—neither metal nor stone, nor jade. It was incredibly smooth to the touch and exuded an air of mystery.
Xiao Minghuang studied it for a while but couldn’t discern its purpose, so she stored it in her storage pouch and stopped paying attention to it.
Throughout the journey, Ye Ruoshui and Lin Wanqiu did not slack off and continued to diligently cultivate.
Ye Ruoshui still focused primarily on alchemy, constantly experimenting with using giant elephant blood to refine elixirs, and occasionally dabbling in other unorthodox arts.
Lin Wanqiu, on the other hand, concentrated on martial arts. Her comprehension was exceptionally high, and no matter what martial art she practiced, she could quickly grasp the basics. In just one month, she had mastered over ten Yellow-tier martial arts to a minor level.
Although they were only Yellow-tier martial arts, the fact that she could master so many to a minor level in such a short time was nothing short of terrifying.
While her progress was aided by elixirs, it was largely due to her innate talent.
The distinct talents displayed by Ye Ruoshui and Lin Wanqiu also helped Xiao Minghuang decide on their respective training directions.
Ye Ruoshui’s path was relatively straightforward, focusing solely on the art of alchemy. If she had any spare capacity, she could dabble in other auxiliary disciplines such as artifact forging, talisman crafting, and formation arrays.
Lin Wanqiu’s situation, however, was more complex.
As a martial artist, there was no fixed path for her. Some wielded swords, others used sabers, and there were those who relied solely on their fists to conquer the world.
Xiao Minghuang had once sought Lin Wanqiu’s opinion on the matter.
Lin Wanqiu simply smiled warmly, her eyes filled with tenderness, and replied:
“Whatever Your Highness wishes me to learn, I will learn.”
Hearing these words, Xiao Minghuang felt a warm glow in her heart.
Girls are truly so adorable!
She really liked her!
After considering various factors, Xiao Minghuang ultimately decided to have Lin Wanqiu learn swordsmanship.
One reason was that there were many methods and paths in sword cultivation, offering a wide range of references. It wasn’t a lonely road but a broad and smooth path that could be walked with relative ease.
During this time, Xiao Minghuang attempted to teach Ye Ruoshui and Lin Wanqiu the chapters of 《Purple Star Imperial Path Scripture》 and 《Seven Stars Sword Technique》 that focused on refining Qi. However, after reading them, both girls found the techniques too profound and obscure, unable to even grasp the basics.
This left Xiao Minghuang puzzled. When she had first studied these techniques, she had easily grasped the fundamentals after just a few readings.
Now, she realized there must be some hidden secret she wasn’t aware of.
In the end, Xiao Minghuang taught Ye and Lin a top-grade Yellow-tier technique called 《Pure Origin Art》.
Although this technique wasn’t of the highest tier, it had the advantage of being gentle in nature and excellent for foundation building. If they obtained other techniques in the future, they could switch without any issues.
Earlier, Xiao Minghuang had gifted 《Dragon Soul Heart Method》 to Ye Ruoshui, but after an unexpected incident, the technique returned to her hands.
After all, this was a secret martial art of the royal family. If the Old Ancestor discovered she had privately passed it on to others, it would undoubtedly be awkward.
Moreover, with her system in place, it wouldn’t be long before she obtained higher-tier techniques. By then, teaching them to Ye and Lin wouldn’t be too late.
Translator: Glariosa
Editor: Ruu
Please support us on Ko-Fi.
What did you think of this chapter?
0 reactions
Discussion
0 comments
No comments yet.