Chapter 88: Ning Fengzhi: Let Xue Qinghe Deal with Spirit Hall, Breakthrough to Rank 20; Please follow and subscribe
Everything returned to tranquility once more, and time flew by silently.
Tang Shan immersed himself in a regular routine of cultivation every day, waking up early in the morning to call Xue Qinghe for morning exercises.
Xue Qinghe mostly focused on the Horse Stance to build a foundation, while Tang Shan mobilized Hidden Force to repeatedly refine his bones and internal organs. After finishing, the two would dine together before heading off to attend to their own affairs.
During this time, a small interlude occurred: that day, Tang Shan's progress in refining his organs broke through again, causing him to spit out a significant amount of accumulated waste blood. Xue Qinghe was startled on the spot and immediately wanted to summon a healing Soul Master for treatment. Fortunately, Tang Shan was quick-eyed and deft-handed, grabbing her hand to stop her.
After hearing Tang Shan's explanation and understanding that spitting out black blood was a normal phenomenon of discharging Impurities and further tempering the internal organs, Xue Qinghe was even more amazed. From then on, she truly began to take the cultivation of Internal Martial Arts seriously.
As for whether Xue Qinghe seriously cultivated her Soul Power in private, Tang Shan had no way of knowing. After all, he could not see through the disguise of her angel god raiment at all.
A week after Tang Shan arrived at the Prince's Mansion, the Second Prince of Heaven Dou, Xue Shan, also returned from Bafang City after a long journey. Immediately following that, Xue Qinghe and Xue Shan were summoned together to the Imperial Palace.
Tang Shan had no way of knowing what exactly happened during that time, but from the brilliant smile on Xue Qinghe's face upon her return, it wasn't hard to see that she had clearly left an excellent impression on Emperor Xue Ye.
Later, after Tang Shan questioned Xue Qinghe, he finally understood the details of that day.
After Xue Shan returned, he also submitted his memorial to Emperor Xue Ye. The content was roughly similar to Xue Qinghe's, mostly complaining about how the officials of Bafang City did not cooperate with his work and gave him the cold shoulder. The most shocking part was a sentence at the end of the memorial: 'In the Heaven Dou Empire, my Xue family is the heaven. If you are a dragon, coil up for me; if you are a tiger, lie down for me.'
Rumor has it that Ning Fengzhi happened to be visiting Emperor Xue Ye at the time and even accompanied the Emperor in reading the Second Prince's 'masterpiece.' Not long after seeing that arrogant statement, Ning Fengzhi took his leave from Emperor Xue Ye on the grounds of important business. He was clearly shocked by the words and couldn't help but suspect if Emperor Xue Ye had intentionally let him see that sentence.
Tang Shan was stunned after hearing the contents of Xue Shan's memorial. He could only say that this time, Xue Qinghe was definitely the winning MVP, while Xue Shan was simply a 'pig teammate' who handed over points.
Setting aside that explosive arrogant remark at the end, the content he reported to Emperor Xue Ye earlier already had significant issues.
The reason Xue Qinghe dared to speak directly to Emperor Xue Ye about the poor attitude of the Iron Wall City army towards her wasn't because every word she said was true, but because of the importance of Iron Wall City itself.
The Empire's elite troops were stationed there. An army should be absolutely loyal to the monarch; once it shows any other thoughts, it absolutely cannot be ignored.
Even if what Xue Qinghe said were false, Emperor Xue Ye would still devote some energy to investigating and verifying it, let alone the fact that everything Xue Qinghe said was the truth.
In Zhu Zhong's detailed report, Emperor Xue Ye thoroughly grasped the situation in Iron Wall City during that period. This included Tang Shan crushing the One and Two-Ring Soul Masters and Xue Qinghe's subsequent takeover of the soldiers, where she displayed both an iron-blooded hand and the skill to win over people's hearts, significantly weakening the Second Prince's prestige in the army in a short time. Emperor Xue Ye could not be more satisfied with Xue Qinghe's performance.
At the same time, the Iron Wall City incident caused Emperor Xue Ye to develop a hint of dissatisfaction with the Second Prince, and this dissatisfaction completely erupted after seeing Xue Shan's memorial.
Not to mention that the arrogant remark at the end nearly caused a rift between him and Ning Fengzhi, the earlier content was also filled with resentment towards the officials and merchants of Bafang City between the lines.
If it were dissatisfaction from the heart, it would be one thing, but Emperor Xue Ye had been in charge of the government for many years. How sharp he was; he could see through the deeply hidden desire for control beneath this surface resentment.
Previously, he had felt that Xue Shan had a steady personality, but now he understood that the other party's steadiness was a desire to keep everything firmly within his own grasp.
'School Master Ning, the events of a few days ago were purely an accident. I truly did not expect that rebellious son to have such treasonous...'
'...thoughts.'
Emperor Xue Ye's expression was somewhat awkward as he looked at Ning Fengzhi sitting before him.
'Rest assured, Your Majesty. The Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School will always be the Heaven Dou Empire's most steadfast ally. The Second Prince is still young; it was merely the ignorant words of a child.'
Ning Fengzhi's demeanor was gentle and his expression natural, appearing as though he hadn't taken the matter to heart.
To be honest, when he first saw Xue Shan's arrogant words, Ning Fengzhi was indeed somewhat angry, especially that sentence 'If you are a dragon, coil up for me; if you are a tiger, lie down for me,' which was arrogant to the extreme.
He had also suspected whether Emperor Xue Ye had other schemes and intentionally let him see this memorial, but after thinking it over carefully, he felt it was unlikely.
He knew exactly how much capability Emperor Xue Ye had.
If he announced the cancellation of the alliance with the Heaven Dou Empire today, the Star Luo Empire would dare to bring its army directly to the border tomorrow.
The Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School, having left the Heaven Dou Empire, would still be one of the Upper Three Sects; but the Heaven Dou Empire, having lost the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School, would be nothing more than a paper tiger with a hollow core.
Coupled with Emperor Xue Ye's proactive gesture of goodwill, Ning Fengzhi took the opportunity to back down gracefully and meet with Emperor Xue Ye again.
But after this incident, he also made up his mind that he must intervene in the struggle for the Heaven Dou Empire's throne. If nothing else, if the Second Prince really were allowed to ascend the throne in the end, the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School's days would definitely not be easy.
In Ning Fengzhi's view, Xue Qinghe was the best candidate for successor.
She acted with moderation and was polite to others. Even if the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School and Spirit Hall completely fell out in the future, with Xue Qinghe's way of handling things, it would be enough to win sufficient buffer space for the Sect.
Emperor Xue Ye didn't expect that Ning Fengzhi had already helped him think of a future successor. He raised his wine cup and spoke sincerely: 'School Master Ning, it is my own failing that I did not discipline that little brat well, allowing him to harbor such arrogant thoughts. Here, I toast you as an apology.'
After saying that, he was about to drain the cup in one gulp.
'Your Majesty need not do this. I truly have not taken the Second Prince's words to heart.'
Ning Fengzhi hurried to reach out and stop him. Emperor Xue Ye looked into Ning Fengzhi's sincere eyes before letting out a long sigh and slowly putting down the wine cup.
Seemingly remembering Xue Shan's actions again, Emperor Xue Ye's anger surged once more, and he couldn't help but curse: 'That second son! I may be old, but I'm not stupid! Does his old man not know the situation in Bafang City? I sent him there to test his ability, not to have him escalate conflicts! Even if he accomplished nothing, it would be better than making such a mess of things!'
Emperor Xue Ye was clearly angry to the extreme. His words no longer carried the dignity and decorum of a monarch, filled instead with uncontrolled rage.
Ning Fengzhi raised his wine cup, took a light sip, and his expression also nearly faltered.
He had also seen Xue Shan's memorial back then. Setting aside the arrogant words at the end, he had seen the accusations of tax evasion by Bafang City officials in the preceding lines very clearly.
It could only be said that Xue Shan's scolding was not undeserved at all.
One must know that in the eyes of him, Emperor Xue Ye, and the great nobles of the Heaven Dou Empire, Bafang City was a cornucopia. Normally paid taxes would naturally flow into the national treasury, but those evaded and unpaid funds wouldn't just vanish into thin air; they would all eventually enter the private pockets of these upper-class figures. Without the backing of the powers behind the scenes, wanting to do business steadily in Bafang City was simply a pipe dream.
Xue Shan rashly going to investigate tax evasion was no different from directly touching their wallets. If Emperor Xue Ye himself weren't one of the biggest beneficiaries of Bafang City, Xue Shan probably would have completely evaporated into thin air the day after his investigation.
After a vent, Emperor Xue Ye finally let out a long breath, a visible exhaustion appearing on his face.
'Your Majesty, do not be overly troubled by this matter, lest it harm your health.'
Ning Fengzhi picked up a morsel from the table, placed it in his mouth to taste carefully, and offered comfort in a level tone.
Emperor Xue Ye nodded, feeling that what Ning Fengzhi said made sense.
He suddenly seemed to remember something and winked at Ning Fengzhi, his tone suggestive: 'By the way, School Master Ning, some good goods were recently sent from the Star Luo side. Among them is a cat girl, said to have the Bloodline of the Nether Zhu Family in her ancestry, but she has now fallen to commoner status. Do you want her?'
Ning Fengzhi's eyes flickered slightly, then he coughed a few times, his expression instantly becoming solemn: 'Your Majesty can just leave her to me; I will restore her freedom.'
'Of course. It's just that the ten-thousand-year whale glue School Master Ning promised—' Emperor Xue Ye's tone shifted, carrying a hint of expectation.
Ning Fengzhi guaranteed with a smile: 'Rest assured, Your Majesty. I have already sent people to keep a close watch in the coastal cities. Once ten-thousand-year whale glue is found, it will definitely be delivered to Your Majesty's hands as soon as possible. Actually, as far as I know, the Heaven Dou City branch of Spirit Hall should have a hundred-thousand-year whale glue in storage. Why doesn't Your Majesty try asking Salas for it?'
Hearing Ning Fengzhi agree to the matter of the whale glue, Emperor Xue Ye felt relieved; but hearing the subsequent words, he shook his head helplessly.
'I tried. Salas said he doesn't have the authority to move it; it was deposited there by a Senior of Spirit Hall.'
Time flew by, and in the blink of an eye, a month had passed.
Transparent Soul Power slowly circulated within Tang Shan's body, constantly drawing the Soul Power of heaven and earth into his Meridians.
Wrapped in the thick Soul Power within the Dantian, this heaven and earth Soul Power was rapidly refined and purified, eventually merging into his own cultivation and becoming a part of his strength.
Xue Qinghe stood to the side, her eyes full of concern. She turned to look at Snake Lance Douluo beside her and asked softly, 'Uncle She, do you think Tang Shan can succeed in breaking through this time?'
'Rest assured, Your Highness, it shouldn't be a problem. For a Soul Master with Innate Full Soul Power, Rank 20 basically presents no Bottleneck. He only needs to steadily accumulate to achieve a Breakthrough. Young Lord, please put your mind at ease.'
Snake Lance Douluo's gaze fell on the cross-legged Tang Shan, his tone calm.
Just as he finished speaking, the Soul Power in a small area around Tang Shan suddenly became restless, gathering towards him as rapidly as a tide, bringing a gentle breeze that swirled a few fallen leaves on the ground.
'It seems he's about to break through to Rank 20. Uncle She, after he breaks through, take him to the Star Dou Great Forest to hunt that Diamond Mammoth and make it his second Soul Ring.'
Seeing this, Xue Qinghe immediately gave the order.
Snake Lance Douluo's brow furrowed slightly with some concern. 'But Your Highness, your safety—'
'It's fine.' Xue Qinghe waved her hand, her gaze always fixed on Tang Shan. Only after seeing his aura gradually stabilize did she continue speaking.
'Isn't Senior Ci still in the mansion to protect me? Besides, I have this.'
As she spoke, Xue Qinghe took off a simple and ancient pendant from her neck and waved it before Snake Lance Douluo's eyes.
Faint fluctuations of Soul Power flowed on the surface of the pendant; it was clearly no ordinary object.
'Very well then, Your Highness, please be careful in all things.' Seeing this, Snake Lance Douluo no longer refused and nodded to accept Xue Qinghe's request.
Inside Tang Shan's body at this time, the Soul Power was no longer the initial trickle, but had turned into a clear stream, flowing slowly along the Meridians. Everywhere it passed, his Physical Body was repeatedly nourished by the Soul Power, becoming increasingly tough. His Qi and blood became more lively and thick, surging endlessly.
The bones in his body had lost their usual dull white color, becoming like warm precious jade, with a layer of faint, lustrous light lingering on the surface, hiding majestic power.
His internal organs were transparent and clean, his breathing light and long. With every breath, wisps of heaven and earth Soul Power were drawn into his body. Without needing deliberate guidance, they would automatically be refined and merge into the Dantian, becoming a part of his own Soul Power.
After a moment, Tang Shan slowly opened his eyes, a flash of sharp light passing through them as the Soul Power fluctuations around him stabilized.
At this moment, his Soul Power officially broke through to Rank 20, and his Hidden Force had also reached Perfection.
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