“Senior Brother Ye is invincible.”
After a brief moment of astonishment, the sounds of a tsunami soon filled the air, and the disciples of the Jin Nation Academy hollered loudly at the top of their lungs.
Their eyes were bloodshot and they were so excited that their faces were flushed.
How many years had it been since the Jin Nation Academy was that powerful?
Huangfu Tianlong was an elite who managed to dominate the Ten Nations within just seven days.
Everywhere he went, he did not face any opposition, and regardless of the agenda, they had at least lost to Huangfu Tianlong.
Today, Ye Ping was like a god who defeated the famous Huangfu Tianlong who had taken the Ten Nations by storm.
It could be imagined that Ye Ping’s name would definitely become famous in the Ten Nations.
On the shattered mountain, Huangfu Tianlong stared at Ye Ping in shock.
He was badly injured. During the battle just now, he had done his best without reserving any trump cards.
Yet, he had been defeated.
He was really defeated this time.
Huangfu Tianlong actually wanted to win, but now that he had been defeated, he somehow felt relieved.
He wanted to use this defeat to hone his Dao Heart and use the supreme willpower to counteract the negative effects of forcing his way through the seventh level.
Of course, that was only Huangfu Tianlong’s own thoughts and it was still unknown if he could really counteract it.
On the sky dome, Ye Ping restrained his brilliance and arrived in front of Huangfu Tianlong in an instant. He cast some blood and Qi to heal Huangfu Tianlong’s wounds.
Soon, Huangfu Tianlong’s injuries were also healed immediately under the irrigation of blood and Qi.
“Thank you very much, Senior Brother Ye.”
At this moment, Huangfu Tianlong also restrained his brilliance and stood up to look at Ye Ping, his eyes full of admiration and respect.
The reason for his behavior was not being defeated by Ye Ping, but rather, he admired and respected the quality of Ye Ping’s martial arts Dao and his personality.
“Junior Brother Huangfu, you’re being too polite. Since we’ve already exchanged blows, why don’t you go to the Jin Nation Academy to cultivate for a few days?”
Ye Ping took the initiative to invite Huangfu Tianlong to go to the Jin Nation Academy to mediate.
“Alright if I won’t be disturbing you. Thank you very much, Senior Brother Ye.”
Huangfu Tianlong pondered for a while before agreeing.
If other people had invited him, he might have refused, but he didn’t want to turn Ye Ping down.
Ye Ping nodded and didn’t say much as he flew towards the Jin Nation Academy.
Outside the city, there were millions of cultivators gathered together, either on their flying swords or flying in the air. They were all staring at Huangfu Tianlong.
Apart from envy, their eyes were full of amazement.
At this moment…
In the imperial palace of the Great Xia Dynasty.
It was extremely opulent and luxurious. There was no gold or jade, but the palace was full of spirit artifacts. Even a lamp was a spirit artifact.
Above the Great Xia Dynasty Palace, there was a True Dragon Qi that was hovering around with a terrifying majesty that could be felt even from 500 kilometers away.
Outside the Heavenly Hall, the steps, which were made of white jade, were known as the Path to Heaven.
Xia Qingmo’s figure slowly appeared on the Path to Heavenly and she made her way to the Heavenly Hall, step by step.
There were seven eunuchs and seven maids behind her.
Xia Qingmo finally arrived outside the Heavenly Hall.
Creak!
The large door opened with a creak and all the eunuchs and maids lowered their heads. They couldn’t stare into the hall because the emperor of the Great Xia Dynasty might be inside. Since they were lowly maids and eunuchs, they could not look directly at the emperor.
The door of the hall was pushed open.
A figure stood in the middle of the hall.
It was a man dressed in a golden dragon robe, but he did not seem tacky at all and was instead standing still like a deity.
He was not the emperor of the Great Xia Dynasty.
He was the crown prince of the Great Xia Dynasty.
Xia Qingmo was a little surprised because she thought that it was her father who had summoned her, but she did not expect that it was her big brother instead.
She was somehow disappointed but had long gotten used to it.
“Greetings, Your Highness.”
Xia Qingmo bowed, not daring to break the rules.
In the palace, everyone had to follow the rules, including the princesses and princes. Only the emperor was exempt.
“Qingmo.”
The Crown Prince seemed to be very calm.
He was composed.
Xia Qingmo did not speak. In her opinion, her father, the crown prince, as well as the other princes, were all extremely scheming.
She did not want to be embroiled in anything with them and would rather be alone.
“I heard something from the Wei-Wu Marquis.”
“This time, you committed a huge crime by leaving the palace without permission. However, you’re going to be in a marriage alliance with the Great Ze Dynasty soon, so we decided not to punish you.”
“However, as the Crown Prince, there are some things I would have to tell you.”
The Crown Prince’s voice was extremely calm and he had his back facing Xia Qingmo while staring at the dragon throne in the Heavenly Hall.
Xia Qingmo remained silent without giving any answer.
The Crown Prince did not seem annoyed or furious at all and simply continued speaking calmly.
“I don’t know what you’ve been through or who you’ve met, but your destiny has been predetermined the moment you were born.”
“Don’t dwell too much on it or get too involved with other people. Otherwise, you will only end up harming those around you.”
“Take your maid as an example. Due to the fact that you escaped the palace presumptuously this time, Father has already ordered for her to be punished. She has already been executed.”
“Don’t hate Father or the Ministry of Rites. If you must, just blame it on the fact that you are a royal.”
“Do you understand?”
The prince’s voice was cold and emotionless.
However, his words caused Xia Qingmo to feel like she had been struck by lightning.
“This matter has nothing to do with her. It was entirely my idea, and I didn’t escape without permission, I had Father’s approval. Why must she be executed? Even if someone has to be punished, I should be punished.”
Xia Qingmo’s face turned sullen. She tried her best to explain it. She was not afraid of getting punished, but hearing that her maid had been executed, she found it hard to accept.
“Qingmo.”
“The royals are forever right. When you went missing in the Jin Nation, we had already sent the Jin Nation king to investigate, and now that the matter has been leaked, it concerns the pride and dignity of the royals.”
“So, Father will not admit that he allowed you to leave.”
“However, you don’t have to feel too bad, your maid died peacefully. I instructed the Ministry of Punishment to give her a quick and painless death.”
The Crown Prince still sounded as indifferent as ever. He was high up in the air and authoritative.
At this moment, Xia Qingmo froze.
She was speechless, and her eyes were filled with remorse and shock.
This time, she did not flee the palace, but rather, she left only after getting the permission of the emperor.
Besides, no matter what, there was no need for them to kill the maid because it did not result in a huge mistake.
That punishment was somewhat unreasonable.
However, in the next moment, Xia Qingmo suddenly froze.
She seemed to have understood something and froze on the spot.
After a long time, Xia Qingmo spoke.
“I understand.”
She seemed a little bitter.
The Crown Prince remained silent and simply looked at the dragon chair quietly.
“Father allowed me to go to Jin Nation but he was actually just using me as a pawn. You guys knew long ago that the Fiendcelestial Cult has been in Jin Nation, so I was there only to attract their attention.”
“Right?”
Xia Qingmo suddenly understood something and confirmed it with the Crown Prince.
The Crown Prince, on the other hand, was extremely calm as he did not feel any emotions at all.
“Yes.”
He had given his answer.
Indeed, Xia Qingmo had indeed received permission from the emperor of the Great Xia Dynasty to leave the palace this time, but the latter’s goal was to use her to lure the Fiendcelestial Cult.
Otherwise, who would they care if an unknown and unfavored princess suddenly left the Great Xia Dynasty? Who would know about it?
Even if the Fiendcelestial Cult minions were powerful, they wouldn’t pay attention to an unfavored princess, and even if they did, they would not be able to find out accurately that she was in the kingdom of Jin Nation.
The person who knew that she was in Jin Nation was her maid.
Besides, the person who took her to Jin Nation was also her maid.
Those news made Xia Qingmo fall completely silent.
“The fact that you can understand this shows that you’re not stupid.”
“That maid of yours was a minion of the Fiendcelestial Cult. She was lurking in the palace and then showed up beside you.”
“She wanted to lure you and make you become a pawn of the Fiendcelestial Cult, but it turned out that she underestimated the Great Xia Dynasty.”
“Qingmo, you actually should have guessed long ago that you’re not favored nor do you have any advantage. None of the maids and eunuchs in the palace are willing to serve you.”
“You don’t really think that maid of yours decided to serve you because she thinks you’re pitiful, right?”
The Crown Prince’s words made Xia Qingmo completely speechless.
Everything was clear.
However, Xia Qingmo couldn’t accept the truth.
Whereas, the Crown Prince did not care about Xia Qingmo’s mood and simply spoke slowly.
“Qingmo, if you don’t want this to happen again, be careful and wary of the people around you. Don’t become attached to anyone, you’ll marry into the Great Ze Dynasty soon.”
“Remember what I said, do not be involved with others. If not for the expert of that sect, they would have probably died by now.”
“The marriage alliance with the Great Ze Dynasty is very important to us now. The fact that you’re lucky enough to marry the Crown Prince’s brother is a turning point in your destiny.”
“You should understand everything I said, right?”
The crown prince of the Great Xia Dynasty said.
At the entrance of the main hall, Xia Qingmo stayed silent and stared at the rays of sunlight that were cast on the ground.
“Okay. I’ve already said what I should have, it’s up to you to consider the rest.”
The Crown Prince still did not get angry and simply told Xia Qingmo to handle it herself.
“Thank you, Your Highness.”
In the next moment, Xia Qingmo answered.
She then turned around and left.
Soon, the doors of the hall were closed slowly.
The Crown Prince looked rather silent.
After five minutes, someone spoke.
“Your Highness, we have investigated clearly, the sect that the Tenth Princess was staying in was an outcast.”
“Senior Gu Jianxian is indeed in that sect but he seems to only be there to experience the mortal world. He’ll probably leave soon.”
“As for the sect, most of them are extremely ordinary, except for a new disciple who seems to be quite talented and managed to enter the Jin Nation Academy.”
“His name is…”
The voice was low, but the person who was speaking could not be seen. At this moment, the crown prince of the Great Xia Dynasty spoke.
“I don’t need to know so much.”
The person then fell silent and stopped talking immediately.
“Senior Gu Jianxia has been thinking about the matter of mortalization lately so don’t disturb him while he’s experiencing the mortal world.”
“Before Qingmo’s big wedding, we won’t bother about this sect as long as they don’t act abnormally.”
“However, if they get up to scheming and delay the wedding, you should know what to do.”
The Crown Prince was very composed.
“I understand, but Gu Jianxian…”
His voice was low but he seemed to be conflicted.
“Even if Senior Gu Jianxian is powerful, he can’t interfere in the affairs of the imperial dynasty, and he won’t necessarily stay in that sect. He’s bound to leave some day.”
“The marriage alliance between the Great Xia Dynasty and the Great Ze Dynasty concerns the Great Xia Dynasty’s luck. He knows better than us how cruel the battle for national luck is.”
The Crown Prince obviously did not want anyone to intervene with Xia Qingmo’s marriage alliance.
As long as the Great Ze Dynasty and Great Xia Dynasty were bound together by a marriage alliance, there would only be benefits and no disadvantages for the Great Xia Dynasty.
In that case, once he ascended to the throne, he would be able to revitalize the Great Xia Dynasty.
However, at this moment, another voice spoke up.
“Your Highness, something major has happened.”
Hearing those words, the Crown Prince’s expression changed a little.
He did not say anything and simply listened to the report quietly.
“Someone in Jin Nation has refined the non-poisonous pill.”
The voice sounded in the dark.
In just an instant, there was a drastic change in the Crown Prince’s composed face.
“Non-poisonous pill?”
He said, looking somewhat surprised.
As the Crown Prince’s subordinate, he would investigate anything clearly before coming to report. Although he would not sound too definite, what he said was largely true.
“Your Highness, there are rumors spreading from the Jin Nation Academy that a newly matriculated student has refined a non-poisonous pill.”
“Besides, the king of Jin Nation has come to the Great Xia Dynasty and was summoned by His Majesty.”
“I especially investigated and found out that a few days ago, the Jin Nation Academy array formation had been activated and all the students were not allowed to leave. This should not be a groundless rumor.”
The person cited a few pieces of evidence.
All of a sudden, the Great Xia Dynasty Crown Prince’s expression could not help but change greatly.
Since his father had personally summoned the king of Jin Nation, he thought that the matter should be true.
‘Non-poisonous pill.’
As the crown prince of the Great Xia Dynasty, he could not possibly not know what the non-poisonous pill signified.
In an instant, the Crown Prince of Great Xia Dynasty could not help but say,
“Relay my orders to secretly investigate this matter thoroughly. Four hours from now, I want to know clearly if the rumors are true or not.”
The Great Xia Dynasty Crown Prince looked extremely serious.
He knew very well what the non-poisonous pill represented, so he was abnormally excited.
“Yes.”
After he spoke, it seemed to be extremely quiet in the hall.
At this moment, in the Heart-Nurturing Palace.
A middle-aged man who was dressed in a violet-gold robe was standing in the main hall while constantly examining a pill in his hand.
On the other hand, the king of the Jin Nation stood in front of him, looking rather respectful and too scared to even breathe.
“It’s really a non-poisonous pill.”
It was a middle-aged man who seemed to be in his fifties but still looked young and majestic, with a full head of black hair.
He was the emperor of the Great Xia Dynasty who had supreme authority.
The emperor of the Great Xia Dynasty squeezed the non-poisonous Foundation Establishment Pill, only to sense how extraordinary it was.
His eyes were full of disbelief.
The king of Jin Nation, who was standing in front of him, spoke.
“Your Majesty, I have received news that the supreme alchemist is willing to share the pill formula with the Great Xia Dynasty but we have to wait until tomorrow.”
The king of the Jin Nation said.
He had come to the Great Xia Dynasty a few days ago, but he hadn’t taken the initiative to come to the Great Xia Dynasty Emperor because he did not get the exact news confirmation.
What if Xu Luochen did not agree?
He only received a response from Elder Xu Chang a few hours ago, and hence, he came to meet the emperor of the Great Xia Dynasty as soon as he could.
“Good, Li Jin, you have done well this time and I understand your intentions, as well as those of the people of Jin Nation. As long as the non-poisonous pill can really be refined, Jin Nation will be the best of the Ten Nations.”
The emperor of the Great Xia Dynasty accepted the non-poisonous pill and praised the king of the Jin Nation instead of asking why he had to wait until tomorrow. He even promised to make the Jin Nation the best of the Ten Nations after the matter was settled.
“Thank you for your kindness, Your Majesty.”
The king of the Jin Nation performed a great salute to thank him, but at the end, he continued to speak.
“Your Majesty, it was mainly thanks to that disciple of the Jin Nation Academy. If not for him, it wouldn’t have been possible for us to get the non-poisonous pill formula. Hence, I hope that you can give him a handsome reward.”
The king of the Jin Nation spoke. He did not forget about Ye Ping and tried to ask for a reward on his behalf.
“I definitely will. However, the non-poisonous pill is too significant. What should I reward him with? Should I make him the Hereditary Marquis?”
The emperor of the Great Xia Dynasty asked.
Hearing these words, the king of Jin Nation’s expression changed.
‘Hereditary Marquis?’
That was not a trivial matter. There were a total of nineteen marquises in the Great Xia Dynasty, of which seventeen had obtained their titles because of the dragon’s merit. Later on, two more marquis were added. They had all obtained their titles by building their careers or served the military for generations.
One of the marquis could not be hereditary.
Yet, Ye Ping was given the title of Hereditary Marquis.
It was too exaggerated.
“Your Majesty, the matter of conferring him that title is too exaggerated. Besides, the matter of the non-poisonous pill must not be leaked. Once he is given the title, it will definitely attract the attention of the five dynasties, and it will become very troublesome. Your Majesty, please think twice.”
The king of Jin Nation said seriously.
He thought that the conferment of the title of marquis was too exaggerated.
The status of a marquis was superior to his status as the Jin Nation King and the only difference was that the marquis enjoyed lesser benefits. However, he would have high control over the military.
“The matter of the non-poisonous pill involves too much and it can enhance the national capital. There’s nothing wrong with conferring him the title of Hereditary Marquis, but you’re right, the title will have too much of an impact.”
“Li Jin, what do you suggest?”
The emperor of the Great Xia Dynasty nodded and then asked the king of Jin Nation.
“Your Majesty, how about giving Ye Ping a place in the Great Xia Dynasty Academy? How about that?”
“Great Xia Dynasty Academic Palace?”
All of a sudden, the emperor of the Great Xia Dynasty frowned.
It wasn’t that he couldn’t bear to do it, but rather, the Great Xia Dynasty Academy was a completely independent existence. Although he could rule the nation, the Great Xia Dynasty Academy had its own rules. Just like the Heavenly Supervisory, it was left behind by the ancestors.
He really couldn’t let anyone join the Great Xia Dynasty Academy or the Heavenly Supervisory at will.
However, the value of the non-poisonous pills let the Great Xia Dynasty Emperor know that he had to use his authority.
“A place in the Great Xia Dynasty Academy is not at all comparable to the value of the non-poisonous pill. However, I’ll first give him a place there, and after he graduates years later, I’ll bestow him the title of marquis.”
The Great Xia Dynasty emperor said.
He agreed to the request.
“Thank you for your kindness, Your Majesty.”
The king of Jin Nation immediately thanked him.
“Li Jin, according to what you said, it seems that some people have already found out about the non-poisonous pills.”
“Apart from you, Ye Ping, and me, no one else should know about this. Erase their memories, and before the non-poisonous pill is produced, this matter cannot be spread around. Do you understand?”
The Great Xia Dynasty emperor said.
“Yes.”
The king of Jin Nation nodded, then turned around and left the hall.
After the king of Jin Nation left, the emperor of the Great Xia Dynasty took out the non-poisonous pill and stayed silent.
He had no idea if the non-poisonous pill was a blessing or a curse, but he knew that the non-poisonous pill could make the Great Xia Dynasty truly prosper.
