Night Talk

The moon was bright, the stars sparse, and the night wind cool. Inside Weiyang Palace, Ning Chen sat on his bed, cultivating the technique from the golden paper.

"Huh, where's my qi?"

Realizing his meridians were empty, Ning Chen was bewildered. He immediately jumped out of bed and rushed straight to Qing Ling's room.

"Sister Qing Ling, are you asleep?"

Reaching Qing Ling's room, Ning Chen saw the light still on. He raised his hand and knocked loudly, shouting.

Inside the room, Qing Ling had just undressed and was about to go to bed. Hearing the knocking from outside, her head throbbed, and she reluctantly went to open the door.

"What is it?"

Qing Ling half-opened the door, her body blocking the entrance, asking irritably.

"Are you going to sleep?"

Seeing Qing Ling in a white nightgown, Ning Chen felt a bit awkward. Should he go in or not? It was quite chilly outside.

I'm a eunuch, who am I afraid of?

As it turned out, Ning Chen was quite thick-skinned. He very naturally pushed the door open further and walked in without hesitation.

"..." Qing Ling was speechless, wondering what Ning Chen's skin was made of.

"Sister Qing Ling, my qi is gone. Do you know what's going on?" Ning Chen sat down at the table, asking his question. I had it yesterday, can something like this just disappear?

Qing Ling's body trembled. She looked at Ning Chen in surprise, then thought for a moment and probably understood what had happened. This kid's Cultivation Technique must have been taught to him by the woman that night. However, what surprised her was that, given his aptitude, it was quite a miracle he could cultivate qi so quickly.

"Cultivating a Cultivation Technique requires perseverance, especially in the early stages, which are extremely important. No one dares to be distracted during the first three months of practice; they cultivate day and night, all to stabilize the qi within their body."

At this point, Qing Ling's tone shifted. "As for you, I never expected you to amount to much anyway, so just practice casually."

"..." Ning Chen felt his heart shatter into dregs. This was a blatant slap in the face, too much bullying!

"I'm going back to sleep, goodbye!" With the conversation ended, Ning Chen was in a terrible mood. He stood up, ready to leave.

"No need to see you out," Qing Ling said casually, sitting down at the table.

Ning Chen paused. After an internal struggle, he sheepishly sat back down, poured a cup of tea, and handed it to Qing Ling, fawning, "Sister Qing Ling, please just tell me about cultivation."

Qing Ling took the tea, took a small sip, and said, "What do you want to hear about?"

"The levels of cultivation, like if it's divided into Golden Core, Nascent Soul, Tribulation Transcending, and such. And can peerless experts really shatter the heavens and pluck stars from the sky with a wave of their hand? And can you achieve immortality after cultivating to a certain level? And..."

Ning Chen's eyes were hazy, lost in infinite reverie. In his previous life, he had always envied the characters in those books. Now that he had finally heard that Cultivation Techniques existed and qi wasn't a lie, could his grand dreams finally come true?

"Huh, Sister Qing Ling, why aren't you saying anything?" After talking for a long time, Ning Chen noticed Qing Ling sitting there silently and asked curiously.

"Are you still half-asleep?" Qing Ling glanced at Ning Chen, asking blandly.

"..." Ning Chen knew he was being looked down upon again.

Qing Ling placed her teacup on the table and said helplessly, "I truly don't know where you hear all this nonsensical stuff. I've never heard of anything you're talking about, and I doubt anyone else has either."

Ning Chen felt dejected and asked, "Then how do you distinguish between an expert and a grand expert?"

"Houtian Realm, and Xiantian Realm," Qing Ling replied.

"Then what realm are you in?" Ning Chen's curiosity piqued again.

Mu Chengxue had said Qing Ling was very strong, and that she was slightly stronger than Qing Ling. Of course, Ning Chen had always thought she was bluffing. Although he hadn't seen Mu Chengxue fight, he had seen Qing Ling fight; even with such severe injuries, she was still incredibly formidable.

In contrast, Student Mu Chengxue's combat record was a bit miserable: she went out twice, and he saved her once, and the other time she fainted and he still saved her.

Thinking of this, Ning Chen became even more eager, staring intently at Qing Ling, waiting for her answer.

Qing Ling felt uncomfortable under his gaze but honestly replied, "Houtian Realm peak."

"That's not so great," Ning Chen said, greatly disappointed. He had thought Qing Ling would at least be a Xiantian Realm expert. But then again, Mu Chengxue might be a grand expert in the Xiantian Realm. Yet, even if she was Xiantian, she still couldn't make it in the palace and kept getting injured. It seemed that no matter how high one's martial arts, they still feared a kitchen knife. The palace had many people and many knives; no one could withstand that.

Seeing Ning Chen's disappointed expression, Qing Ling asked irritably, "Do you know how many Xiantian Realm experts there are in this world?"

"How many?" Ning Chen asked indifferently.

Qing Ling calmly extended five fingers.

"That few?" This time, it was Ning Chen's turn to be surprised. He had thought Xiantian Realm experts were as common as dogs and Houtian Realm practitioners were everywhere.

"Do you think the Xiantian Realm is so easy to reach?" After a pause, Qing Ling continued, "There are countless people in this world stuck between the Houtian and Xiantian Realms, but only those five have succeeded."

"Where are they all?" Ning Chen asked curiously.

"The Eternal Night Divine Cult has two, Great Xia and the Ancient Mongol Royal Court each have one, and the last one is in Du'e Temple in the southwest."

"Great Xia only has one!" Ning Chen was a bit disappointed. The Eternal Night Divine Cult had two, and even Du'e Temple, which was in some unknown corner, had one. It was truly annoying that the mighty Great Xia only had one Xiantian Realm expert.

Qing Ling then introduced the five Xiantian Realm experts to Ning Chen one by one. These five supreme martial artists of the world were the two Hall Masters of the Eternal Night Divine Cult, the abbot of Du'e Temple, the dean of Tiancang Academy in Great Xia, and the Golden Staff National Master of the Northern Mongol Royal Court.

Ning Chen listened with extreme envy, his eyes shining. What magnificent titles! Supreme martial artists of the world—it sounded so dashing.

Based on what Qing Ling said, Mu Chengxue's cultivation had not yet reached the Xiantian Realm, but she should be close.

"You've only been cultivating for a short time, don't be lazy. If you don't understand anything, you can always ask me," Qing Ling gently reminded him. After weighing her options, she came to the same conclusion as Mu Chengxue: only guide Ning Chen in the cultivation of his Cultivation Technique, without teaching him any moves.

Ning Chen, of course, didn't know what Qing Ling was thinking. He was happy to have found a good teacher, his small face smiling like a flower: "Thank you, Sister Qing Ling."

Having received a satisfactory answer, Ning Chen returned contentedly, determined to cultivate the Cultivation Technique on the golden paper well. Even if he couldn't become invincible, he could at least strengthen his body, and then... he still needed to find a chance to escape.

It must be said, Ning Chen's ambitions truly weren't grand. Of course, the main reason was that his enemies were too powerful. Grandson had him completely cornered, forcing him to temporarily set aside his lofty aspirations and focus entirely on finding a way to escape first.

Chairman Mao once said that all reactionaries are paper tigers. Unfortunately, Grandson was no paper tiger; she was a tigress.

Seeing Ning Chen leave, a hint of worry finally appeared on Qing Ling's delicate face.

It wasn't hard to deduce that the woman Ning Chen had taken away that night was the assassin who had twice infiltrated the palace. To speak disrespectfully, she didn't care at all whether the Xia Emperor lived or died. The only person she cared about was Grandson, and perhaps, grudgingly, that boy who had just left.

But how long could this matter be kept secret? And why would that woman teach Ning Chen a Cultivation Technique?

No one knew Ning Chen's situation better than she did. In terms of natural talent alone, he was definitely the type you'd find a dime a dozen on the street, and even then, he'd be at the back of the pack. To call his talent ordinary would be an understatement.

Yet, this boy, who just over ten days ago was pestering her to learn martial arts and knew nothing about the martial way, had somehow, miraculously, cultivated true qi without any guidance. It was truly unbelievable.

In this world, martial artists aren't like cabbages you can grab by the handful. It's like reading; countless people have read books, but how many can truly be called scholars?

Simply put, with Ning Chen's talent, even with a good teacher, it would take three to five months to cultivate true qi. If he was figuring it out on his own, then it truly depended on fate...

A bold hypothesis flashed through Qing Ling's mind, but she immediately shook her head. It shouldn't be a Heavenly Tome, as Heavenly Tomes had been extinct for a thousand years, and each one required at least the Xiantian Realm to cultivate.

Unable to figure it out no matter how she thought about it, Qing Ling could only temporarily suppress the questions in her heart. She decided that when she had time, she would examine Ning Chen's meridians. As long as it wasn't a Cultivation Technique that harmed the body, she would let him be.

Ning Chen didn't know what Qing Ling was thinking, otherwise he would have been scared out of his wits. The reason he dared to let the shopkeeper take his pulse at Ci'an Pharmacy a few days ago was because the shopkeeper already knew he was a new eunuch in the palace, and it hadn't been long since his castration, so it was normal for his pulse not to have major changes.

But Qing Ling was different. Having cultivated the martial way to the peak of the Houtian Realm, her perception of internal meridians far surpassed that of ordinary people. With just a little attention, she could easily determine that he was a "watered-down" eunuch without official palace certification.

This night was destined to be extraordinary, but no matter how extraordinary, it still passed.

After dawn, Qing Ling accompanied Grandson to the Heavenly Edict Hall. Today was the deadline given by the Zhenji Kingdom's envoy, and the officials of Great Xia had been waiting in the hall since early morning.

The Three Grand Ministers sat silently at the head of the officials, as calm as water, detached and aloof as usual, not participating in any court affairs.

Compared to the Three Grand Ministers' serenity, the expressions of the other officials were a bit too grave. Some elderly officials had dark circles under their eyes and bloodshot eyes, clearly suffering from lack of sleep.

The ministers of Great Xia might not be virtuous or talented, but they were rarely disloyal.

This vast empire, this invincible dynasty, was built with the painstaking efforts of over twenty generations of rulers, ministers, and soldiers. Every inch of land was stained with the blood of generations, and they would never allow any force to encroach upon it, not even by a fraction.

The strength of Great Xia was by no means accidental. After all, wise rulers didn't appear in every generation, nor did virtuous ministers. But it was precisely this loyalty that made Great Xia invincible and proud for a thousand years.

The Xia Emperor and Grandson arrived, summoning the Zhenji Kingdom's envoy for an audience. The Emperor and Empress appearing together represented respect for the foreign envoy. Great Xia was proud, but pride was not arrogance; Great Xia never lacked the proper etiquette.

The Zhenji Kingdom's envoy ascended the hall, accompanied by four companions. Their clothes were ornate and strange, their heads held high, noses practically pointing to the sky.

A large space was cleared in the hall. The officials stood on either side, while Grandson sat below the Xia Emperor, with Qing Ling standing behind her, looking at the Zhenji Kingdom's envoy as if he were an idiot.

"Xia Emperor, have you solved my problem?" the Zhenji Kingdom's envoy asked, full of confidence.

"The envoy will know shortly. Someone, prepare a banquet," the Xia Emperor said calmly.

At the same time, Qing Ling frowned slightly, then leaned down and whispered in Grandson's ear, "Your Highness, something is off. This Zhenji Kingdom envoy and his companions are all martial artists."

Grandson's eyes narrowed. Her astute mind immediately understood what was happening.

"Go fetch Ning Chen."

"Yes."

Qing Ling quietly withdrew, then swiftly headed towards Weiyang Palace...

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