Harvest

Chen Guan and Yaoye whispered among themselves, while even more people kept their eyes fixed on the Young Man, sizing him up with different thoughts in mind.

A Da Dou Shi in his teens, and not the kind with an unstable foundation. At the Same Level, killing the Ninth Prince of the Chu Yun Empire would be as easy as slaughtering a chicken.

This boy had the potential to become a Dou Emperor, perhaps even a Dou Zong!

He also showed no mercy when he acted and had a strong mind of his own. Though Yaoye's earlier instructions had been quiet, those above the Dou Wang level could still hear them clearly.

For a Moment, the Important Figures of every faction began to consider how much Chen Guan's appearance would affect them. Each of the ten had at least several hundred schemes in mind.

Yet Chen Guan himself paid no attention to what these people thought. Since he had chosen to step forward today, he had already considered the consequences. It was nothing more than moving from behind the scenes to the forefront.

His wings had gradually filled out. He now had the capital to face challenges head-on.

(Within the Jia Ma Empire.)

Of course, it was also undeniable that the Ninth Prince had truly angered him.

After staying with Yaoye at the ceremony for over half an hour, Yaoye finally gave him a look and rose to leave first.

Chen Guan let out a breath of relief and followed shortly afterward.

Fine, he admitted that he had overestimated how Thick-Skinned he was. Being stared at and examined by all these people made him feel like a monkey in a zoo. This sort of ceremony was truly boring.

He followed Yaoye into the imperial residence. To his surprise, she did not head for the pavilion where they usually liked to talk, but instead went to a small storeroom in the back.

After waiting a moment, Chen Guan caught up with Yaoye at the storeroom entrance.

Yaoye opened the storeroom doors, revealing crate after crate of Yellow Lotus Essence. "My obedient little brother, can you explain something to me? Are you planning to monopolize the Yellow Lotus Essence market?"

A woman's innate secret technique—ear-twisting—was unleashed, terrifyingly powerful. Even a Young Man nearly invincible among those of the Same Level had nowhere to dodge.

Putting on an expression of pain, Chen Guan awkwardly explained, "Yellow Lotus Essence is useless. It was only a smokescreen. What I wanted was Blood Lotus Essence, but that stuff is rather rare. People unfamiliar with it can easily mistake it for Yellow Lotus Essence, so I bought more just in case I could find a bargain."

"Oh, right. Sister, have a few people sort through it later. Cut each piece open once—Blood Lotus Essence is red inside—and see if there are any gains. As for the rest, put it into the national treasury, or toss it to the Mitel Auction House. No point leaving it here to take up space."

Seeing the Young Man grimace in pain, much of Yaoye's anger dissipated. She rolled her eyes, understanding without words.

"Fine, I can accept that explanation. I won't hold your wasteful behavior against you."

At worst, they would lose one or two hundred thousand gold coins. Such a loss was nothing to the royal family; they could afford it.

The two left the storeroom and returned to the pavilion.

Yaoye took out a pot of tea and fiddled with it herself. "Tell me about your experiences this past year."

"Pick and choose what you want to tell me," she added after speaking.

From the color of the Dou Qi Chen Guan had displayed today, it was not difficult for her to guess that he must have encountered some fortuitous opportunity. She was curious, but not so curious that she would dig into every detail and demand that Chen Guan reveal all his secrets.

They were now siblings, family—not jailer and prisoner.

After taking a sip of tea personally poured by the First Princess of the empire to moisten his throat, Chen Guan slowly began recounting his experiences over the past year. In truth, they were not as complicated as Yaoye imagined. The area he had been able to move around in during that year had been nothing more than a Stone Chamber of limited size.

Chen Guan did not hide the fact that he had obtained a fortuitous opportunity. He simply selected a few things that could be revealed for now and told her about them. There was no need to mention the rest yet—for example, that after becoming an eighth-tier puppet master, one could refine puppets at the Dou Venerate Level, and that under uniquely favorable conditions, a puppet master could even refine a Divine Puppet.

Such matters were far too distant for the current Jia Ma Empire. There was no need to bring them up.

There was not even a Dou Zong, yet he was already thinking about the Dou Venerate Level, even the high-level Dou Saint level. Wasn't that trying to run before learning how to walk?

Chen Guan had gained greatly from this opportunity.

There were not many tangible items: one Tier 6 Puppet, Iron Egg; seven Fifth Tier Puppets; and sixteen Fourth Tier Puppets, corresponding respectively to Dou Emperors, Dou Wangs, and Dou Lings.

Without exaggeration, so long as Yun Shan was excluded, the combat power he could currently command was no weaker than the Misty Cloud Sect's.

If the royal family were added as well, then this time, the advantage was truly on their side.

Besides that, there were also some strange materials. Chen Guan had estimated that once his own level improved, they should be enough to refine a puppet at the Dou Zong level.

There were fourteen pellets of Spirit Nourishing Dust. He had used six, leaving eight remaining.

There was one set of Earth Tier High Grade Wood Attribute cultivation method and Dou Technique. This had been what Teacher Shu Tianhe cultivated in the past, and it was extremely valuable. Unfortunately, it did not match Chen Guan's attribute. He could see it and touch it, yet he simply could not use it. It was truly frustrating.

There were two Earth Tier Low Grade cultivation methods, one Water Attribute and one Fire Attribute.

There were seven Earth Tier Mid-Low Grade Dou Techniques in total, only one of which was Fire Attribute. Chen Guan had not yet found the time to cultivate it.

These were all of his tangible gains. The quantity was small, but their value was extraordinary.

Oh, there was also a jar of contaminated Ice Spirit Cold Spring—the root cause of the Crimson Ice Snake King's mutation back then. He had only learned this after inheriting Teacher Shu Tianhe's experiences and insights.

The Ice Spirit Cold Spring was also a spiritual treasure of no low grade, yet it had been preserved so carelessly that it became contaminated. Only his High-Level Half-Saint teacher could do something so willful.

Beyond the tangible gains, even more valuable were Teacher Shu Tianhe's lifelong experiences and insights in Puppet Refining. Having inherited this treasure, Chen Guan might be able to reach his teacher's heights and touch the threshold of a Tier 9 Puppet Master.

The reason he said might was because of the limitations of materials. Of those materials from Ancient Times, very few could still be found today.

Chen Guan had even discovered an awkward fact: with his current circumstances, the puppets he could refine—or had a chance to refine—were almost all the unorthodox, unconventional puppets his teacher had spoken of. It was rather embarrassing, but the limitations of the environment left Chen Guan with no choice.

Setting aside his teacher's lifelong experiences and insights in Puppet Refining, the most precious things were undoubtedly the Soul Cultivation Method and the refining method for Spirit Nourishing Dust that he had specifically asked about. One had to know that this item's method of refinement had already been lost.

If word got out, countless alchemists would likely go mad over it.

This was undoubtedly an astonishing treasure trove, but how to develop and use it still required discussion. In any case, without the level of a Grade 8 Alchemist, it was impossible to refine Spirit Nourishing Dust.

"A puppet master? That is quite novel. Even puppets themselves are rarely seen nowadays. You only managed to escape after advancing to a Fourth Tier Puppeteer. Doesn't that mean that, given enough time and resources, you alone could create an army at the Dou Ling level?"

Yaoye could not stop herself from crying out. She had been active in the military for years, and no one understood better than her what this meant.

"You could say that. From now on, the initiative in our attitude toward the other great empires is already in our hands. If not for how pressed for time I have been these past few years, unable to waste any of it, I would have wiped out the Chu Yun Empire and let them know that the times have changed."

The Chu Yun Empire truly deserved destruction! Hearing his murderous words, Yaoye felt warmth fill her heart. This little brother of hers had finally grown into someone who could support the family.

What she did not know was that Chen Guan's grudge against the Chu Yun Empire was not solely because of what happened today.

"Enough. I will handle this matter properly. For now, you should focus on cultivation. Your own strength is the most reliable thing. Do not let distractions make you lose sight of what matters."

"Seeing as you have given me such a great surprise, I will not pursue the matter of your disappearance this time. But Yue'er has complained about you quite a lot this past year. You did not send even a scrap of news, and she is angry. She was huffing and puffing at the ceremony just now and did not even acknowledge you. Handle it yourself."

Chen Guan nodded with an awkward laugh. He really had treated the Little Pufferfish poorly.

The main thing was that he had not expected such a thing to happen back then. He had left after leaving a message, then vanished without any news for more than a year. It was inevitable that the Little Girl would feel, I treat you as a friend, but you do not take me seriously at all. If she were not angry, then she would not be Yaoyue.

Still, Chen Guan was not worried. He had anticipated this situation long ago, so he had prepared a solution in advance.

"Don't worry. I prepared a gift for Yue'er that she won't be able to refuse. Of course, Sister Yaoye has one too."

As he spoke, Chen Guan took several items out of the storage ring hanging from his neck.