"Mother, you summoned me."
Inside the Hall of General Affairs on the Soaring Dragon Archipelago, Xu Miaoyin, her long hair tied in a high ponytail and dressed in a fitted cyan outfit, bowed to Zhuang Yuechan seated above before casually finding a seat and sitting down.
"Just returned from the Desolate Sea?"
"Mhm. It seemed some sea demon tribe was migrating and rammed into a merchant ship. I led people to scatter them. The strongest among them was only second-tier, and the merchant ship's defensive power was sufficient, so we did not suffer many losses."
Zhuang Yuechan poured her a cup of hot tea and said, "Such a trivial matter could have been handled by others. Your primary task now is to enter seclusion and break through to the Purple Palace Stage."
"I came back this time to prepare for seclusion, but I happened upon it. I couldn't just stand by and do nothing, could I? Father said I must set an example." Xu Miaoyin hugged Zhuang Yuechan's arm and spoke affectionately.
"That is true, but the East Sea is not Great Qi. Precisely because your identity is special, you must be even more vigilant. You cannot give others an opportunity to exploit you. At the very least, you need to break through to the Purple Palace Stage before you have the strength for self-preservation. Jing Xiao is the same age as you, and he has already entered seclusion. You should hurry as well."
"Mother, you had someone summon me here for more than just this, didn't you?" Xu Miaoyin looked up at Zhuang Yuechan, her glasslike eyes seeming to gleam.
"You are the clever one." Zhuang Yuechan extended a finger as tender as a scallion shoot and lightly poked her smooth forehead before revealing the purpose of this summons.