Chapter 83

That night.

The moonlight was hazy, the stars brilliant.

In the sky hung a dazzlingly bright star.

Surrounding it were dozens of smaller stars twinkling with starlight, their presence making the entire sky even more luminous.

Under this starry sky, Xiao Minghuang stepped out of the courtyard, the fire in her heart gradually extinguishing, and her cheeks returning to their normal temperature.

She raised her hand to touch her cheek, feeling utterly confused.

Why had her heart been beating so fiercely just now?

Just moments ago, when she saw her hand touch Lin Wanqiu’s, a sudden thought had crossed her mind.

She wanted to hold that hand, to intertwine their fingers.

She wanted to be close to her, to embrace her, to feel their skin touch, to kiss her lips, to… do even more intimate things…

Xiao Minghuang didn’t know what had come over her. She had never had such intense thoughts before.

But in that moment, she truly wanted to kiss Lin Wanqiu, to feel their skin pressed together.

Before this, she had been close to Lin Wanqiu many times, but her heart had always been clear, without a trace of anything unusual.

Yet, in that moment, ripples had stirred in her heart, a feeling she had never experienced before.

What was going on?

Xiao Minghuang was puzzled.

In both her past and present lives, she had never felt this way. Why was this happening?

“Forget it, let it be…”

Xiao Minghuang decided not to dwell on it any longer and quickened her pace back to her room.

That night, she had originally planned to go into seclusion to break through to the peak of the Qi Refining realm. But after what had just happened, her mind was too unsettled to focus, so she decided to postpone it for now.

The next morning.

Xiao Minghuang woke up early.

As she opened her eyes, she sensed someone waiting in the courtyard.

After a quick wash, she pushed open the door and saw Lin Wanqiu standing gracefully in the courtyard, dressed in a soft red, charming outfit.

The sunlight fell on Lin Wanqiu’s flawless skin, casting a translucent glow.

Xiao Minghuang’s gaze lingered for a moment, but she quickly regained her composure.

“Why are you here so early?”

Xiao Minghuang chuckled softly and walked toward Lin Wanqiu.

“Your Highness.”

Lin Wanqiu’s lips curved into a sweet smile as she playfully asked:

“Do you know why I came here so early in the morning?”

Hearing this, Xiao Minghuang’s lips curled slightly, and a hint of a smile appeared at the corners of her eyes. She glanced at Lin Wanqiu and noticed that her cultivation level hadn’t significantly improved; she was still at the third level of Qi Refinement.

Since it wasn’t a breakthrough in cultivation, there was only one other possibility.

“Is it because the children from Beiyang City have arrived?”

The only thing Lin Wanqiu cared about, besides herself, was Beiyang City.

Lin Wanqiu nodded gently and said:

“Yes! Your Highness guessed correctly. The children from Beiyang City arrived this morning, and as soon as I found out, I came to inform you.”

“Good!”

Xiao Minghuang responded with a smile and said:

“Then let’s go see them.”

The two of them left the courtyard together and headed towards the training ground of the princess’s residence.

Not long after.

They arrived at the training ground, where a group of young girls—or rather, children—thirty in total, were gathered on the vast field. They stood with their familiar companions, chatting softly about their experiences along the way.

These girls were from various villages and towns in Beiyang City, selected to come to the capital either because of their outstanding talents or their virtuous character.

As Xiao Minghuang appeared on the training ground, the children looked at her with awe and admiration in their eyes.

Xiao Minghuang was dressed in a luxurious bright yellow gown, a jade belt around her waist, and a phoenix hairpin in her hair. Her features were exquisite, her beauty unparalleled, her skin as flawless as snow, like a celestial being descended to the mortal world—elegant, ethereal, and noble, beyond the reach of any ordinary person.

To them, this lofty princess was someone they could only look up to.

Not only because Xiao Minghuang was the princess of Great Xia, but also because she had once slain an evil cultivator who had been causing chaos in Beiyang City, eliminating a local scourge.

After that, she represented Beiyang City in a battle against the Golden Elephant Kingdom, promoting the might of Great Xia.

Later, she personally confronted a beast tide, killing a Qi Refinement-level tiger demon, and risked her noble body to protect Beiyang City.

To Xiao Minghuang, these might have been just ordinary trials.

But to the children present, she was revered like a deity, and their gratitude towards her was beyond words.

Xiao Minghuang stood on the high platform of the training ground. Her beauty was otherworldly, her demeanor transcendent, like a goddess descended from the heavens. The children around her couldn’t help but lower their heads, their cheeks flushing, not daring to look directly at her.

Her gaze swept across the group, and she noticed that each of the girls was sweet and lovely, with obedient expressions. She nodded with a smile:

“Very good, all of you are excellent. Starting today, you will stay in the princess’s residence. I will assign teachers to guide you, and I hope you will study hard and not disappoint my expectations of you!”

“Also, your status here is that of my attendants, not servants. No one in the residence will mistreat you!”

As she spoke, Xiao Minghuang glanced at Wang Er, who was standing nearby.

Her gaze was calm, yet it carried an inherent authority.

Suddenly caught under her gaze, Wang Er’s face turned pale, and a chill ran down his spine. He felt as if he were treading on thin ice, trembling with fear.

In the princess’s residence, apart from Xiao Minghuang herself, there were only two other girls: Ye Ruoshui and Lin Wanqiu.

Xiao Minghuang planned to have them assist in teaching the children, so the only one who might cause trouble behind the scenes was Wang Er. Therefore, it was necessary to give him a warning in advance.

The group of young girls responded with a bow:

“Thank you, Your Highness!”

Their childish voices rang out, not in unison, scattered and uneven.

Xiao Minghuang glanced at the children once more and spoke again:

“Alright, you can stay at the Princess’s residence now. In seven days, I will assess your performance. If you don’t meet the standards, you will be sent back to Beiyang City. So, you must work hard!”

Hearing this, the faces of the young girls turned pale, and their hearts were filled with anxiety. Before they came, they hadn’t heard anything about an assessment!

This was no joke!

They all knew that if they were sent away, it would mean they would never have the chance to stay by the Princess’s side.

If they returned alone to Beiyang City, how would they explain it to their parents?

Seeing their sudden change in expression, as if facing a great enemy, Xiao Minghuang couldn’t help but laugh:

“Don’t worry, the assessment isn’t difficult. It’s mainly to see if you can follow the rules of the Princess’s residence. As for other matters, you don’t need to worry. I hope all thirty of you can stay!”

After meeting with the children, Xiao Minghuang turned and left.

On the training ground, the young girls gathered with their familiar friends, chatting animatedly about what had just happened at the Princess’s residence. Everything was joyful and lively.

They wore smiles on their faces, discussing the recent events, and their spirits were high.

Before they came, the City Lord Lin had personally instructed them, saying that the Princess liked well-behaved and obedient girls.

Now, hearing the Princess herself speak, it confirmed this.

But among the group of young girls, three dressed in luxurious clothes stood apart from the others, looking particularly different.

The girl in the center, with an indignant expression, said to her companions:

“My grandfather said I would follow the Ninth Princess to cultivate, so why am I now a maid? I, the Third Miss of the Liu family, how can I be someone else’s maid? Even if she is the Ninth Princess, isn’t this too insulting?”

One of her companions also looked displeased and said:

“Exactly, our status is not the same as those commoners. The Ninth Princess is really looking down on us!”

Another advised:

“We are in the Princess’s residence now, it’s better to be cautious with our words.”

The two stopped speaking, but a trace of resentment remained in their eyes.

…

After leaving the training ground, Lin Wanqiu followed Xiao Minghuang.

“Your Highness, how do you plan to teach these children? They are still young, and now that they are in a strange place, once the novelty wears off, they will likely miss home. It might be difficult to handle then.”

Xiao Minghuang had no experience in educating children. After thinking for a moment, she suggested:

“I will find time to invite a few matrons from the palace to teach the children etiquette. Additionally, I will hire a few martial arts instructors to help the children build a foundation.”

As she spoke, she glanced at Lin Wanqiu and smiled slightly:

“Wanqiu, would you like to be a teacher?”

“Ah?”

Lin Wanqiu was momentarily stunned but quickly understood and laughed:

“Your Highness, you don’t mean for me to be the children’s teacher, do you?”

Xiao Minghuang nodded slightly and said with a smile:

“Exactly, I believe you will be a good teacher. In the future, you can guide these children, and I can rest assured. I don’t want these children to be taught by those with questionable character. Only by entrusting them to you can I feel at ease.”

“Moreover, while teaching the children, you can also refine your own foundation and revisit the basics of martial arts. It’s a win-win situation, so why not?”

“Don’t worry, I won’t keep you tied to this task indefinitely. You just need to check on the children’s progress every morning and report to me periodically.”

Hearing this, Lin Wanqiu understood that her role was not to be a meticulous caretaker responsible for every aspect of the children’s lives, but rather a teacher focused solely on guiding their learning.

Once she grasped this, Lin Wanqiu no longer hesitated and readily agreed.

“Alright, in that case, I accept, Your Highness!”

Seeing her agreement, Xiao Minghuang smiled warmly and said:

“Great! Since you’ve agreed, let’s make this a happy decision!”

The two walked to the study, where Xiao Minghuang picked up a brush and wrote a letter, handing it to Lin Wanqiu.

“I will be going into seclusion for a while. Wanqiu, please go to the palace on my behalf and ask Eunuch Wang to bring over a few matrons and martial instructors.”

“Your Highness, rest assured!”

Lin Wanqiu took the letter and responded.

Xiao Minghuang then took out a storage bag and handed it to Lin Wanqiu.

“Here are some cultivation resources that can be used as rewards for the children who perform exceptionally well. As for the criteria, we’ve discussed it before, do you remember?”

Lin Wanqiu nodded and said:

“We’ve talked about it more than once on our way back to the imperial city. I remember it clearly, Your Highness, you can rest assured!”

Xiao Minghuang smiled and said:

“After I enter seclusion, the affairs inside and outside the mansion will be left to Wanqiu to handle.”

“I trust you to handle things.”

Hearing this, Lin Wanqiu solemnly said:

“Your Highness, rest assured!”

…

In the training room, Xiao Minghuang sat within the formation.

Since her last seclusion, she hadn’t encountered many opportunities, except for the storage bag that the Third Prince of Jinghai Country had sent her.

But just this one storage bag was a significant opportunity.

After distributing some as compensation to Lin Wanqiu and Ye Ruoshui, and leaving some for the children, Xiao Minghuang still had nearly two hundred thousand spirit stones and over a thousand pills in her possession.

However, these resources paled in comparison to the ten Condensing Spirit Pills.

Xiao Minghuang knew that as her realm continued to rise, the effectiveness of low-grade spirit stones and yellow-tier pills was becoming increasingly negligible. This was not only because her foundation was solid but also because her strength was growing too rapidly.

Now, her realm had reached the ninth level of Qi Refining, just one step away from the peak of Qi Refining.

With her current cultivation, relying solely on low-grade spirit stones and yellow-tier pills, breaking through had become extremely difficult. She needed to rely on higher-tier pills.

And now, she happened to have the low-grade Profound-tier pill, the Condensing Spirit Pill!

Xiao Minghuang’s thoughts stirred, and ten Condensing Spirit Pills floated out from her sleeve, fluttering in the air like butterflies.

“Ten Condensing Spirit Pills are enough to help me break through to the peak of Qi Refining!”

Xiao Minghuang murmured to herself.

This was not because the Condensing Spirit Pill’s efficacy was too weak, requiring ten pills to help her break through just one small realm.

Therefore, the Condensing Spirit Pill could only help her reach the peak of Qi Refining.

If she ignored the impurities brought by the pills and only focused on raising her realm, it would lead to her spiritual power becoming mixed and filled with dregs. The end result would be like the yellow-robed elder of the Golden Elephant Country, who, despite being at the peak of the Spring Realm, was no match for a Qi Refining martial artist like her.

Thus, the more talented a martial artist was, the more resources they needed for cultivation, not because their talent was lacking.

It was precisely because these genius martial artists had exceptional talent and could go further that they needed to take each step carefully, not overlooking any detail, and meticulously refine their cultivation.

Otherwise, having a high realm but being unable to defeat even lower-realm martial artists would be a waste of their talent.

After pondering this, Xiao Minghuang closed her eyes, calmed her thoughts, focused her mind, and placed the Condensing Spirit Pill in her mouth, swallowing it.

As soon as the medicinal pill was swallowed, it immediately transformed into a cool stream of energy that circulated around her, strand by strand, thread by thread, like the spring sunlight shining on the earth, giving her an infinitely comfortable sensation.

She activated her spiritual power and began to refine the medicinal energy.

During the process of refining the medicinal energy, Xiao Minghuang gradually felt her strength slowly increasing.

A strong wave of spiritual power emanated from her body, and ripples spread around her in circles.

Gradually, golden specks appeared on her skin, resembling stars that shimmered with dazzling brilliance, glowing radiantly.

Around Xiao Minghuang, spiritual energy continuously gathered towards her, eventually converging within a three-foot radius around her, forming a massive sphere that completely enveloped her.

The room fell into silence.

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Translator: Glariosa
Editor: Ruu

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