Chapter 391: The Sincerity of His Highness, the Crown Prince
Translator: Transn Editor: Transn
“Zhou Bao is crazy!”
The news was heard that Zhou Bao had gone up to Qianyuan Mountain and defeated the Master of the Golden Lights Cave.
The people were initially calm when they first heard about that, but soon after, exclamations began to arise.
The people were already immune to Zhou Bao’s daring acts. Compared to dashing into the Mingyi School on his own, demolishing the door of Qianyun Mountain did not seem all that surprising.
Qianyun Moutain was a solo act outside of the three big sects of the Jin. Although there were occasional partnerships, Qianyun Mountain did not have any backup. Instead, their vigorous expansion now had even endangered the well-being of the three big sects. Hence, the people were actually smiling in their hearts when they heard what Zhou Bao had done.
The only thing that they felt bad about was the Divine Wind Palace, which was also the School of the Five Virtues.
Through his actions, Zhou Bao had proven that he had a very stern, determined attitude. Under such circumstances, there was only one way to lay hands on his Yin and Yang Dust Formation. And that was to snatch it by force.
However, that was impossible.
The conditions were not right. The internal opinions of the Mingyi School were divided and the School of the Five Virtues was on disagreeing terms. Furthermore, it was the prime time to take over the Azure Secret Area and no one was willing to fight a one-on-one with Zhou Bao at this point in time.
Hence, with much pent-up dissatisfaction, they had to sit back and watch Zhou Bao, the shit-stirrer, show off.
While the Master of the Golden Lights Cave may have been defeated, the cave still remained the same. Regardless, the Master had several strong disciples. They set up a new fort on a mountaintop near Qianyun Mountain and vowed to fight Zhou Bao till the end.
The White Blademaster Lu Shaoyou had especially sworn to destroy Zhou Bao’s body. However, by the time he had done so, Zhou Bao had already returned to the Wuyang Region, seemingly oblivious of his threat.
Wang She had his eyes on Lu Shaoyou, so there was no need for Zhou Bao to worry about him.
And as for the Golden Lights Cave, while it had not collapsed despite losing its Master and the underground spirit vein, it was destined to fail. And for whatever might come next, Zhou Bao did not even need to care too much because he could just fight back in the dark.
The only thing that he was worried about now was the Original Spirit of the Master of the Golden Lights Cave. It had already entered the Mysterious Realm and attained immortality. Even though it was being put in the Furnace of Immortality at the moment, its name was still in the Golden Book of Fate. That being said, it still had the chance to be reincarnated. And if it were to be reincarnated with the memories of its previous life, it would indeed be a threat to Zhou Bao.
However, Zhou Bao did not have the time to worry about him now. While his name was still recorded in the Golden Book of Fate, it was not easy to be reincarnated completely. The Divine Wind Palace had great control over the Golden Book of Fate, but not enough to determine who got to be reincarnated. That being said, there were disputes within the Divine Wind Palace. For example, the Third Supervisor of the School of the Five Virtues, Li VII, was not on good terms with Yi IV. If Li VII decided to side with Zhou Bao and help him in the dark, the Original Spirit of the Master of Golden Lights Cave might not come out at all.
Henceforth, Zhou Bao was not worried about the Master of the Golden Lights Cave at all.
“Crown Prince, Crown Prince… This is interesting. The Crown Prince is trying to get close to me at this time. What is he planning?!” Zhou Bao tapped his index finger lightly against the table while looking at the long list of presents that he had received. Doubts and guesses shimmered from his eyes.
400,000 taels of gold, eight million taels of white jade pearl, 3,000 pairs of jade, five Blood Jade Coral that were 10 feet tall, and diamonds of every color—there was no lack of precious jewels.
It took a whole three days just to transport the gifts, and that was on top of the fact that those in the Anyuan Store had already mastered the legendary Chunyun transportation ability.
This bunch of precious items was enough to support one’s wealthy lifestyle for 10 lifetimes. They were sent by the Crown Prince without any hesitation. At the same time, he also gave Zhou Bao 500 beautiful servants. He did not even try to cover up his effort to draw close to him and get on his good side. Just what was he thinking of doing?
Below Zhou Bao stood his servants, Jiang Xiao, Wang Cheng, Zhu Ba, and Renzhen Cuo. They were all looking down out of the corners of their eyes, occasionally eyeing the gifts that filled the yard. Zhou Bao had no idea what was going on in their minds!
“What do you think, Jiang Xiao?”
“Your Excellency, it is very obvious that the Crown Prince is trying to get on your good side for the sake of his future. Nonetheless, based on your powerful status, it is perfectly fine if you accept the gifts and do nothing about them!”
“That’s right, Your Excellency, there is no need to bother so much. If they want to send us gifts, isn’t it perfectly fine to accept them?” Zhu Ba spoke deeply.
“Who let you speak? What, now that you’re an expert, your voice has also gotten louder?!” Zhou Bao questioned Zhu Ba while staring at him intensely.
Zhu Ba could sense that Zhou Bao was in a bad mood and quickly shut up.
“Renzhen Cuo, you look like you have something to say!” Zhou Bao saw her trying to hold back an urge to speak.
“Your Excellency, oh, no, Your Excellency!” Renzhen Cuo had been a servant for a long time, so it was hard for her to voice her opinion. “These gifts are strange. Even though the Jin is the greatest dynasty and the Crown Prince rules over the greatest dynasty, it does not make sense for him to have so much money. All of this added up could amount to half of the Jin dynasty’s annual earnings. He may have been rich, but he should be penniless after sending all these gifts!”
“Makes sense!” Zhou Bao listened and felt the same.
The Jin might have been the biggest dynasty of the Central Mainland Region, but their financial status was not in great shape. Their annual earnings were about 80 million taels of silver. The gifts that Zhou Bao received were in no way less than 40 million taels of silver. What was the Crown Prince doing by sending so much money over?
Zhou Bao had another unanswered question. Being a prince, the Crown Prince should have known that even 400 million taels were not of any use to Zhou Bao, let alone 40 million. Zhou Bao’s combat capability was at the Level of True Immortality, what did he need money for?
Furthermore, what bothered Zhou Bao the most was that the gifts were all earthly things—things that were not useful for his practice. Common people treasured things like silver, gold, pearls, and jewels as much as they treasured their lives. But to those who practiced martial arts, those things were as useless as feces.
“Hehe, among so many jewels, there is not a single Spiritual Stone! All these medicinal herbs may be beneficial to common people, but they are not useful to those who practice martial arts. This Crown Prince is indeed thoughtful!”
Zhou Bao laughed coldly, Renzhen Cuo could not guess the reason behind the Crown Prince’s effort, but Zhou Bao was able to understand what all of it was about after reading the letter that accompanied the gifts.
“He is indeed one with no ambition but knows how to face reality. These items may be useless to me, but they will be handy for building in the Wuyang Region. Now that it is entering its beginning stage of construction, we have to pour in lots of money to complete it. Since this money is now knocking on my door, I’ll receive it with open arms!” Zhou Bao had decided on the plan as he nodded at Renzhen Cuo.
“Not bad, you do have a point. His reasons are already stated clearly in the letter. Hence, there is no need to worry too much about his gifts. Jiang Xiao, Wang Cheng, and Renzhen Cuo… the three of you are in charge of taking stock of the gifts and storing them away. What is meant to be used will be used, and what is meant to be spent will be spent. There is no such thing as wasteful. Money is meant to be spent, understand?!”
“Yes, Your Excellency, I understand!” the three of them chorused together. Zhu Ba was the only one who looked at Zhou Ba with eyes that spoke a different message.
“What are you looking at? Haven’t you gotten enough from me these past two years?” After taking a glance of Zhu Ba from head to toe, Zhou Bao said, “Look at you, you cultivated until Level Seven and then stopped there. After so long, there is not even a slight improvement! I will give you three more years, and if you are not able to hit Level Eight by then, you can forget about the Pure Yang Celestial Device!”
“Huh? Three more years?!” Zhu Ba held up three fingers in shock and looked at Zhou Bao with a face full of doubt. “Your Excellency, I’m not like you. How can I jump from Level Seven to Level Eight in just three years?!”
“That is your business. We should always expect more of ourselves. If we don’t try, then how will we ever know?” Zhou Bao laughed and said, “Also, regarding territory, that’s about it. We don’t have much use for you here. Go to the south and stay at the Anyuan Store. Our Anyuan Store has a very stable status and ally, but it would still look quite pitiful without an expert. You should go!” After saying that, Zhou Bao waved his hand and a ball of golden light landed in Zhu Ba’s hands. “This Knotted Golden Net has Pure Yang and is viewed as a Pure Yang Celestial Device. I’ll lend it to you first, you can also use it to refine yourself. However, by the end of three years, if you’ve yet to reach Level Eight, I’ll take it back, even if you have refined it to become a Natal Celestial Device!”
“Thank you, Your Excellency!”
Surprises that come after disappointments are often more heart-warming. Zhu Ba did not give it a second thought as he hurriedly held on to the ray of golden light and bowed to Zhou Bao with light shimmering in his eyes. “Do not worry Your Excellency. Zhu Ba will not disappoint you at all!”
Then, the other three became jealous. Although the earthly gifts were good, they could not compare to a Pure Yang Celestial Device.
“Good. Now get going!” Zhou Bao waved his hand and beckoned the four of them to leave.
After those four had left, Zhou Ba reread the letter again carefully. After reading it, he grinned and turned the letter into ashes.
“This Crown Prince is really something. However, to be pulled into a fight with the throne of the Jin dynasty is too much to handle. I would prefer to stay out of this mess for the time being. I don’t even know what the Crown Prince is thinking, and whether or not Li VII knows about this. If he is aware of what’s happening, it would still be fine, but if he does not and eventually finds out on his own, who knows what he would do!”
The Crown Prince had a very simple idea. It was pragmatic and called for a stagnant state.
In the letter, he expressed his stance. He was not interested in the Human Emperor’s position at all, he only wanted to peacefully rule as an emperor of the mortal world and continue the history of the Jin dynasty. He would not practice the so-called Way of the Emperor, nor strive to become some great emperor. In other words, he was a man with no ambition. His motive behind the earthly gifts was to express his desire to side with Zhou Bao. He had no longing to be involved in the world of martial arts. 40 million taels of silver was his entire fortune. By bringing them to Zhou Bao, he had already shown his sincerity clearly.
