Chapter 237: Dragon Knight Scholar
Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
The royal court dispersed, and Zhang Yong walked out of the hall.
His expression had remained calm throughout the entire court assembly, but a sharp glint could be seen flashing across his eyes.
The selection and change in authority within the royal court seemed to have begun.
He, who stood at the peak of power in Chu, welcomed a crossroad.
“Minister Zhang!” Suddenly, Zhang Yong stopped in his tracks and turned around. He realized that it was the Fourth Prince, Xiang Chun.
He hurried forward and they walked side by side.
Xiang Chun smiled and said, “Minister Zhang is still guiding the younger generation. That Su Yu is already a 3rd Grade Official upon entering the court and is also in charge of the entrance examination. In a few years, he can take over Zhang Xiang’s position.” Obviously, he was trying to sow discord.
Zhang Yong smiled, “Everything should be according to Her Majesty’s wishes.”
“Minister Zhang, why don’t we form an alliance?” The Fourth Prince said in a low voice, “As long as Minister Zhang can help me to transfer outside, I can help you.”
Zhang Yong shook his head slightly, “If Your Highness wants to be released, you have to tell Her Majesty. This old man can’t help you.”
After saying that, Zhang Yong took a few steps forward and pulled away.
“Hmph! Old fox!” The Fourth Prince complained.
Now that being transferred out was impossible, what if he wanted to increase the number of people in the royal court?
“It’s not easy to handle. Big Sister still has the final say in the royal court.” He had a headache the moment he thought about it.
Soon, Yan Ze and the others left with their troops.
However, Yan Ze was no fool. He knew very well that he had to win this battle.
Therefore, the first thing he did after obtaining 80,000 people was to disrupt their original formations and reorganize them.
Yan Luoying, Su Cheng, and Wu Lie each took 20,000 subordinates.
As they marched towards the border, they began to train.
It could even be said that when they arrived at the border, their main mission was still to train and adapt, not fight blindly. Everything was prioritized to strengthen their control over the deployment.
In the capital, the newspapers were starting to be sold.
The sale of the newspapers rode on the wave of popularity for the lottery tickets, swelling to immense volumes.
As the lottery ticket winning numbers were only published in the newspaper, Su Wen even got someone to provide some records of the past winning numbers.
Why so? He knew very well that humans always try to find some rules through their own intelligence to win!
There was no lack of such people in this world.
It was difficult to say whether this study of re-using old winning numbers was useful or not, but at the very least, many people believed it.
At the same time, there was all kinds of news in the newspapers.
Although most of them were about government officials that had been screened or other things that happened in the capital, they could satisfy the needs of the newspaper readers.
Novel matters were something that anyone would want to know about, especially in this era where information was scarce.
This caused the newspaper’s sales to skyrocket the moment they were placed on sale!
Then, in the first few episodes of the newspaper, there was a focus on Su Wen’s introduction of the officials.
This was written under Su Wen’s instructions.
At this moment, a scholar was reading a newspaper loudly.
“This Su Yu is the son of the former Prime Minister of Great Zhou, Su Changqing. Since he was young, he was known as a Gifted Talent. At the age of eight, he wrote a poem about how the great roc rose up with the wind and soared 90,000 miles into the sky.”
“He became the number one scholar of Great Zhou at the age of twelve…”
“A governor at 15, Senior provincial governor at 18…”
This gorgeous resume was naturally written by Su Wen.
To put it bluntly, he wanted to elevate Su Yu’s reputation!
90% of the things inside were fake.
But who would know?
The two countries were thousands of miles apart. No one knew what Su Yu was like.
However, this poem alone had already caused Su Yu’s reputation in Chu to soar.
After all, such a majestic poem was not something that ordinary people could write.
Furthermore, there was a prerequisite to writing it at the age of eight!
At this moment, Su Yu was arguing with Su Wen.
“Tell me! Is this even me? When have I ever written such a gorgeous poem since I was young!”
Su Yu said unhappily, “Aren’t you lying?”
“That’s right!” Su Wen had a matter-of-fact expression on his face. He looked at Su Yu and said with a smile, “My second brother, you don’t think that you can really win the hearts of people just by hosting a royal examination, right? It’s not enough, it’s far from enough. You need a good reputation! A bigger reputation! In the world of scholars, reputation is the symbol of status!”
“You didn’t write the poem? That’s fine. What’s important is that this poem is good enough!”
“The only way you can get hold of the Great Chu Dynasty faster is if you have a reputation. That way, you can avenge our father faster, right?”
Su Wen persuaded him with a smile.
Su Yu had nothing to say…
To be honest, what Su Wen said was the truth.
Of course, this was only just one of the articles. When Su Wen continuously created a reputation for himself and his group through these articles…
People started to notice the benefits of the newspaper!
This applied especially to the scholars.
As long as this guy could show his face in the newspaper or write an article, his name would immediately spread throughout the capital.
Hence, some people started to think about how to get onto the newspapers.
Soon, there were people who started to flatter Xiang Feiyan crazily, using all kinds of poems to praise her.
The newspapers began to publish some of Xiang Feiyan’s virtues after her ascension.
Actually, some policies had nothing to do with her. They were all formulated by Zhang Yong and the others.
However, once the newspaper wrote it so, the citizens naturally attributed it to Xiang Feiyan.
Coupled with some poems, Xiang Feiyan’s impression of the people began to change.
This was the benefit of controlling public opinion.
A lie repeated a thousand times was the truth.
The commoners still had a lot of trust in the Royal Court at this moment.
At the same time, an article began to serialize in the newspaper…
This time, Su Wen chose another classic novel!
The Return of the Condor Heroes.
(Another classic by Jin Yong, it exists as a trilogy: The Legend of the Condor Heroes, Return of the Condor Heroes, and The Heaven Sword and Dragon Saber.)
This was the first time anyone in this world had read such a chivalrous novel.
Compared to Liang Zhu, this book attracted more attention.
However, Su Wen chose to use a pen name this time!
Previously in Great Zhou, in order to attract Fei Chi’s attention, Su Wen did not use an alias. This time, he transformed himself as the Dragon Knight Scholar and started his own serialization in the Great Chu’s newspapers!
After all, the newspapers were almost monopolized, so there was no need to worry about having fewer readers.
The reason why he chose this story was because Su Wen knew very well that anyone who had read this novel before would not be able to endure it.
The romantic scenario here would forever exist as a thorn in every reader’s heart.
Back then, someone even threatened to kill the author’s entire family when it was released…
The effect would definitely be good!
In order to speed up the serialization, half of the space in the newspaper was left to Su Wen.
This was how being wilful was spelt.
The hot sales of the newspapers quickly made Yang Guo’s story become a popular story in the capital of Great Chu.
“Old Wang, have you read the Condor Heroes story yet?
“I did, it’s truly too beautiful. I really like that Xiao Longnu!”
“What a coincidence, me too. This Yang Guo has already practiced a lot of martial arts, he will definitely kill everyone!”
“I wonder what grade of cultivation technique these two are practicing.”
“It must be a Heaven Rank cultivation technique!”
“Nonsense, the author didn’t write it. It might even be Earth Rank!”
Well… in short, it was extremely popular.
After all, the newspaper was very popular and there were no other articles on it.
This spread much faster than selling books.
The citizens were discussing the story fervently everyday.
“The newspapers for today are out. If you want them, come quickly!”
On the streets of Great Chu, there were newspaper stands everywhere.
The moment the seller roared, a long queue was immediately formed.
Only today, what made the citizens curious was that there were… more guards around the newsstand…
Not long after… cursing resounded throughout the capital!
“F*ck, Dragon Knight Scholar! I want to kill his entire family!”
“F*ck, did he do it on purpose?”
“It’s too f*cking disgusting. I can’t stand it!”
“Smash the news stand!”
“This Lord, I was joking. Please don’t draw your blade…”
This time, it was a blatant harvest of Emotional Value.
However, just Xiao Longnu losing her purity was not considered much. At least, in the context of the book.
The worst thing was that when this chapter was finished…
At the end of the article, there was a sentence. Because this humble creature was too lazy to write, the book would end here!
This was even more unacceptable to everyone!
Gone just like that! Gone!
He even stopped at the most disgusting cliffhanger… literally and figuratively…
Furthermore, he deliberately did not end the story at all… He was clearly telling the readers that he was now too lazy to write. How could they not be angry?
Whether it was the commoners on the streets or the scholars that had read books, they all began to curse the Dragon Knight Scholar.
But it was useless!
This was the effect Su Wen wanted.
At this moment, he was lying beside Wu Yuehan.
Wu Yuehan couldn’t stay in the inner residence, and had instead found an inn in the city.
Wu Yuehan was also helpless. Ever since Su Wen returned…
No matter how much time they had spent with each other, why was there no movement?
Why couldn’t she get pregnant?
At this moment, Su Wen was feeling his Emotional Value rising rapidly. He could not help but smile.
“Su Wen… we’ve been together for so long… Why isn’t my belly swelling at all?”
Wu Yuehan finally couldn’t help but ask.
Su Wen smiled and said, “It might be that fate hasn’t blessed us yet. You know that we can’t force such things.”
Wu Yuehan frowned and said, “That doesn’t make sense. You and I are both martial artists. We have vigorous vitality and strong bodies. How could I not get pregnant…”
“Aiyaya… such a complicated question, how would I know…” Su Wen pretended to be dumb.
He then hurriedly changed the topic and asked, “There’s something that I still don’t understand! What is in the north of Great Chu? Why didn’t I obtain any information from the books I have currently? I only know that it’s a wasteland. Could it be that there’s no one there?”
Wu Yuehan rolled her eyes at his blatant diversion, but replied, “There are records in the Flame God Sect. One look and I can tell that you didn’t read it carefully.”
“To the north of the continent is the Ten Thousand Miles Wasteland. To the north of the Wasteland is Nine Nether Island! This island is said to be extremely huge, but it has not appeared for tens of thousands of years!”
“It’s said that there’s nothing there now.”
“Huh?”
Su Wen was stunned.
Nothingness? He really did not know what that would look like.
But no one was aware that at this moment, a few people were standing in the extreme north of the continent.
In front of them was an endless gray fog.
There was no land, no sky, and no sun. Even if the sunlight from Great Chu shone over, it was difficult for it to penetrate the mist. It was as if everything was isolated.
The few of them stood there and listened attentively!
One of them could not help but say, “Did you hear wrongly!”
“Impossible! Just wait. It will basically appear once every ten days or so. Today is the tenth day,” another person said.
Suddenly, a strange voice came from the gray fog.
This voice seemed to shake the heavens and the earth as it rumbled.
Everyone’s expressions changed.
This voice seemed to sound from very far away!
But how could it be so clear?
Everyone looked at each other. What was going on?
In the capital, in the inn, Su Wen did not know about this. He frowned and said, “How could there be nothing?”
Wu Yue smiled and said, “That Nine Nether Island was originally connected to the Demon Realm. Back then, when the Demon Race invaded, the Nine Saints and Four Emperors of the Human Race led the hundred races to fight with them. After 3,000 years, they finally drove the Demon Race back to Nine Nether Island and finally had a showdown with the Demon Race on Nine Nether Island.
It was said that that battle destroyed the heavens and earth, sundered the sky and ground, and severed the two realms. Seven of the Nine Saints of the Human Race died in the battle! The four Emperors all died in battle, which was why they managed to forcefully win this battle!”
Wu Yue smiled again and said, “Actually, the current God Sects are the inheritance left behind by the Nine Saints of the Human Race back then. As for the Chu, Yan, Qi, and Zhou, they are descendants of the Four Emperors. Unfortunately, the Qi Country has already been destroyed by the Yan Country, leaving only the three countries.”
Su Wen finally understood why there were those strange races in the Star Martial Mystic Realm!
Those things were originally built from the races of the Demon Realm.
It was to temper the human elites.
However, even Su Changqing was probably not aware of this, let alone Su Wen.
“Haha! So there’s such a secret matter. Why is it rarely recorded in the ancient records of the continent?”
Wu Yuehan shook his head and said, “I don’t know about this either.”
In reality, the first reason was that it had been a long time since then. The second reason was that the authorities of the past dynasties had been diluting the existence of the Nine Saints.
The Emperor of the Royal Court had to be supreme.
Controlling the hearts of people was what the ruler wanted to do.
Shortly after, Su Wen put on his clothes and bid Wu Yuehan farewell. He left the inn and boarded the carriage before heading straight for the palace.
At this time, Xiang Ding had already returned.
Furthermore, he brought with him good news. He had gotten his hands on a vicious beast’s egg!
Su Wen returned to his residence and picked up Ni Hongxiao before entering the palace.
A huge green beast egg was placed in front of everyone present.
Xiang Ding asked proudly, “How is it? This is the Violent Wind Scaled Dragon’s egg! It’s a true 7th Grade Heaven Rank vicious beast. That thing was tricked by me and I took the opportunity to steal the egg.”
Su Wen looked at Xiang Ding.
This guy was truly fierce!
“Is it really okay for you to steal her egg?” Su Wen was still a little worried.
Xiang Ding said indifferently, “What problem can there be? This daddy here ran over 70,000 miles in a flash and spent a huge amount of effort to get it back. There’s absolutely no problem.”
Su Wen turned to Ni Hongxiao.
Seeing his cue, she immediately walked to the egg and placed her hands on it.
After closing his eyes and sensing for a long time, he said, “There’s no problem. This thing’s vitality is extremely exuberant. It will do!”
Then, she looked at Xiang Feiyan and said, “Help me prepare the items on this list. I need a quiet room. No one can disturb me. And the two of you, you have to come with me!”
“Alright!”
Xiang Feiyan agreed immediately.
Although Ni Hongxiao’s supplementary materials were still rare, they paled in comparison to the Heaven Rank beast egg.
Three days later, a huge spirit array was completed within one of the palace halls!
Only Su Wen and Ni Hongxiao were in the room.
The huge egg was in the middle of the array.
However, at this moment, there was already a tiny round hole above the eggshell.
Su Wen and Xiang Feiyan had already injected their bloodlines into it.
At this moment, Xiang Feiyan and Xiang Ding entered.
Seeing the array shining, Xiang Feiyan asked with anticipation, “How long will it take for this child to be born?”
Ni Hongxiao solemnly answered, “About a year.”
Xiang Feiyan beamed and spoke sincerely, “Thank you!”
Ni Hongxiao did not say anything in response, simply leaving with Su Wen.
The two of them left the palace and boarded the carriage. As it slowly drove towards the Nanli King’s Residence. Ni Hongxiao took out some energy stones and set up a soundproof array.
She then said, “This child, I have already injected the Su family’s interests and the fact that he is part of the Su family into the depths of his consciousness. No matter how Xiang Feiyan and the others nurture him, this will not change. However, I did not infuse him with daily knowledge like Su Su, so he should be similar to an ordinary baby after he is born.”
“What about his talent?”
Ni Hongxiao said matter-of-factly, “Of course not as good as Su Su!”
“Huh? Why? Isn’t that a 7th Grade Heaven Rank vicious beast egg?” Su Wen was extremely puzzled.
Ni Hongxiao tilted her head and looked at him, puzzled. “What does the grade of a vicious beast egg have to do with a child’s talent? It’s not like you’re giving birth to a child with that vicious beast. That vicious beast egg only serves as a nutrition pool. Do you think that no matter how much you feed a pig, it can become a dragon?”
Su Wen frowned and said, “In other words, there’s not much difference between a first-grade Heaven Rank beast egg and a seventh-grade Heaven Rank beast egg?”
Ni Hongxiao nodded and said, “That’s right. The key factor is the strength of the parents’ innate bloodline. You are naturally extremely good, but Xiang Feiyan’s bloodline talent is only average, and she’s not even qualified to carry my shoes. Furthermore, I used some special methods on Su Su, and I didn’t use them for this child! But don’t worry, with your bloodline, his talent will definitely not be bad.”
“Besides, you don’t want him to mature too early, right? I’ve omitted these methods, but on the other hand, it will also slow his growth.”
Su Wen sighed. “If the child matures too early, I’m afraid Xiang Feiyan will develop a grudge against me!”
That’s right, now that the production process was already missing, if the process of raising the child was also excluded, Su Wen was worried that their relationship might end up being strained.
Instead, it would make Xiang Feiyan even more inclined to Xiang Sheng.
Su Wen still hoped that this child would be more like a normal human child.
In the hall, Xiang Ding and Xiang Feiyan looked at the array formation with joy as it constantly flashed with lights.
Xiang Ding said in a low voice, “This egg is the future of my Xiang family! Why was the Qi Country destroyed? It was because the experts of the royal family had withered away. In the end, martial dao talent is the most important foundation of a country. There are no outstanding people in your generation. Only Second Brother is still in a state of seclusion, and we don’t know when he will break through to the Heaven Rank. If there are no more geniuses in the next generation, I’ll be even more worried.”
Xiang Feiyan smiled and said, “Then I’ll have to trouble Ancestor to protect it!”
“Of course!” Xiang Ding nodded and said, “There’s also one more thing. Once this child is born, we must let him have less contact with Su Wen. That kid is cunning and has many schemes. We are not his match, and furthermore, this child is extremely talented. We must make him wholeheartedly belong to our Xiang Family!”
Xiang Feiyan said with a solemn expression, “Don’t worry, Ancestor. I still know about this matter. Furthermore, this child is going to grow up in the palace, and I am his mother. When I meet Su Wen in the future, I will also pay attention to their conversation. There will definitely not be a situation that Ancestor will be worried about.”
“Sigh…” Xiang Ding sighed inwardly. He actually wanted to kill Su Wen even more now!
However, he also knew that Xiang Feiyan would definitely not agree to it.
Furthermore, Su Wen was a Heaven Rank expert himself. He would be a great help to the Chu Country..
