Chapter 66
"Okay! You've agreed, then let's settle on that!"
The two walked to the study, where Xiao Minghuang wrote a letter and handed it to Lin Wanqiu.
"I will be going into seclusion for a while. Wanqiu, please go to the palace on my behalf and ask Eunuch Wang to invite some matrons and martial arts instructors."
"Your Highness, rest assured!"
Lin Wanqiu took the letter and responded.
Xiao Minghuang took out another storage bag and handed it to Lin Wanqiu.
"Here are some cultivation resources that can be used as rewards for children who perform exceptionally well. As for the criteria, we discussed them together before, do you remember?"
Lin Wanqiu nodded and said:
"We talked about this more than once on our way back to the capital. I remember it very clearly, so Your Highness can rest assured!"
Xiao Minghuang smiled and said:
"After I went into seclusion, I entrusted all affairs inside and outside the manor to Wanqiu."
I trust you to handle things.
Upon hearing this, Lin Wanqiu said seriously:
"Your Highness, rest assured!"
Inside the training room, Xiao Minghuang sat upright within the formation.
Since her last seclusion, she hasn't had many opportunities, except for the storage bag that the Third Prince of the Jinghai Kingdom offered to her.
But this single storage bag represents an immense opportunity.
After the compensation gifts were distributed to Lin Wanqiu and Ye Ruoshui, and some were left for the children, Xiao Minghuang still had nearly 200,000 spirit stones and over a thousand pills in her possession.
However, these resources are far inferior to ten Spirit Condensation Pills.
Xiao Minghuang knew that as her cultivation level increased, the effects of Low-grade Spirit Stones and yellow-grade pills became weaker and weaker. This was not only because her foundation was solid, but also because her strength was growing too fast.
She has now reached the ninth level of Qi Refining, and is only one step away from reaching the Peak Qi Refining Realm.
With her current cultivation level, it would be extremely difficult for her to break through using only Low-grade Spirit Stones and yellow-grade pills; she would need to rely on higher-grade pills.
And right now, she happens to have a Mysterious-grade Low-rank pill, the Spirit Condensation Pill!
Xiao Minghuang's mind stirred slightly, and ten Spirit Condensation Pill floated out from her sleeve, fluttering in the air like butterflies.
"Ten Spirit Condensation Pill are enough for me to break through to the Peak Qi Refining Realm!"
Xiao Minghuang murmured to herself.
This isn't because the Spirit Condensation Pill is too weak; it's because she needs ten of them to break through even a single minor realm.
Therefore, the Spirit Condensation Pill can only help her reach the Peak Qi Refining Realm.
If one ignores the impurities brought by the pills and only focuses on improving one's cultivation level, it will lead to a mottled spiritual energy in the body, full of impurities. The final result will be like that of the old man in yellow robes from the Golden Elephant Kingdom, who, with his cultivation at the Spring Gushing Peak Realm, was no match for the Qi Refining Realm martial artist like her.
Therefore, the more talented a martial artist is, the more resources they need to cultivate, not because talented martial artists have poor aptitude.
It is precisely because these talented martial artists possess exceptional abilities and can go further that they need to take each step carefully, paying attention to every detail and refining their skills meticulously.
Otherwise, it would be a waste of talent to possess such a high level of skill if one couldn't even defeat a martial artist of a lower level.
After pondering for a while, Xiao Minghuang closed her eyes, collected her thoughts, focused her mind, put the Spirit Condensation Pill into her mouth, and swallowed it.
The moment the pill entered her stomach, it transformed into a cool, refreshing aura that lingered around her, like the spring sunshine illuminating the earth, giving her an infinitely comfortable feeling.
She circulated her spiritual power and began to refine the medicinal properties.
As Xiao Minghuang refined the medicinal power, she gradually felt her strength slowly increasing.
A strong spiritual energy fluctuation emanated from her body, and ripples rippled around her.
Gradually, golden glints appeared on her skin, like twinkling, dazzling stars, shining brightly.
Spiritual Qi continuously gathered around Xiao Minghuang, eventually converging within three feet of her and forming a large sphere that completely enveloped her.
The room fell silent.
Luo Li experienced a relationship during her university years, but it was unrequited love.
The other person was Su Ruoli, a senior in the same year as her. However, Luo Li never told Su Ruoli about her feelings until Su Ruoli graduated.
Just after Luo Li graduated and started working, she unexpectedly met her again in a rather unusual place.
Are you... Senior Su Ruoli?
90. The three major Lineage have committed numerous evils; they must all be eradicated!
Three days later.
The sphere of light, like yesterday's withered flowers, fell petal by petal, and with a crisp "crack," shattered into tiny specks of light that dissipated.
Xiao Minghuang's figure became visible.
Ten vortexes of energy emanated from her body, constantly pulling at the surrounding Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi. This meant that she had already reached the Peak Qi Refining Realm and was only half a step away from breaking through to the Spring Gushing Realm!
At this moment, her Dantian was filled with a dense mist, and spiritual liquid continuously dripped down, soaking into her muscles, penetrating deep into her bone marrow, and merging into her body, making her physical body more resilient.
She opened her eyes, slowly exhaled a breath of stale air, and a faint smile appeared on her lips.
With a thought, Xiao Minghuang's aura dissipated, and the room returned to calm.
"Call..."
Xiao Minghuang lit up with joy. Now, with her physical strength alone, she could fight against a martial artist at the Spring Gushing Realm. If she went all out, she would even be able to fight against a martial artist at the Spring Gushing Fourth Layer!
A large part of this is due to the fact that she honed her physical body to its extreme during the Body Tempering Realm.
Moreover, deep within her Dantian, a faint light flickered, a sign that a spring of spiritual energy was about to emerge, meaning that she was only half a step away from the Spring Gushing Realm.
"It's not the right time yet, what a pity..."
Xiao Minghuang checked the storage bag and found that although there were quite a few spirit stones inside, there was only one Spirit Condensation Pill left. He immediately looked disappointed.
When breaking through from the Qi Refining Realm Spring Gushing Realm, spirit stones alone are no longer effective. One must rely on high-grade pills as a catalyst to break through a crack in the bottleneck, and only then can one harness the vast Spiritual Qi to follow and forge a path.
However, she wasn't too disappointed and quickly recovered.
"For me, it's just a matter of sooner or later."
Even if she used all twenty Spirit Condensation Pill that the system compensated her with, it would probably be difficult for her to break through to the Spring Gushing Realm.
Xiao Minghuang collected her thoughts, got up, and went out.
She still had the Seventh Elder's alchemy notes on her, which she originally intended to give to Ye Ruoshui. However, she had been delayed for so many days, and now that she had come out of seclusion, it was just the right time to give them to her.
But when they arrived at Ye Ruoshui's residence, they found that she was not home.
Only after asking the servants did they learn that Ye Ruoshui had been leaving early and returning late every day, spending all her time in the Imperial Palace's Enshrinement Courtyard.
Upon hearing this news, Xiao Minghuang couldn't help but smile, thinking to himself, "This girl doesn't care about anything but alchemy. Oh well, there's no rush. She'll definitely come to me first when she gets back, and I can send it then."
Xiao Minghuang muttered to himself, then left Ye Ruoshui's courtyard.
As soon as he stepped outside, he ran into Lin Wanqiu.
Xiao Minghuang looked up and saw a faint red figure.
Lin Wanqiu was still wearing a red dress, her figure graceful, her skin fair, her black hair styled in a simple bun with a green and gold hairpin, her oval face exquisite and beautiful, and her whole being exuding a flamboyant and bright aura.
She spotted Xiao Minghuang from afar and started jogging over.
"Your Highness!"
Lin Wanqiu stopped in front of Xiao Minghuang and said happily:
"Your Highness has broken through again?"
With her cultivation level and eyesight, and given that Xiao Minghuang had no way to hide it, she naturally saw that His Highness's current strength had reached the Peak Qi Refining Realm, and he was only half a step away from entering the Spring Gushing Realm.
Xiao Minghuang smiled and said:
"That's right, I've already reached the Peak Qi Refining Realm."
Upon hearing this, Lin Wanqiu's face lit up with joy. With His Highness's improved strength, she was even more confident in this competition.
Although, judging from what the Emperor Xia said to His Highness when he visited the Princess Mansion a few days ago, it seems that His Highness has already been internally designated as the Crown Prince, this is actually just a matter of acknowledging his potential.
If Xiao Minghuang fails to win the competition, even the Emperor Xia cannot change the competition rules, and the final outcome will still be to establish the victor as the Crown Prince.
Therefore, Xiao Minghuang's improved strength can be said to have added another important factor to their victory.
Thinking of this, Lin Wanqiu couldn't help but chuckle, seemingly even happier than if her own cultivation had improved.
Seeing Lin Wanqiu smiling so happily, Xiao Minghuang felt her mood improve as well.
At that moment, she suddenly noticed that Lin Wanqiu actually had a pair of small tiger teeth, which looked very cute and playful, making people want to touch them.
You have a beautiful smile.
Xiao Minghuang couldn't help but praise.
Lin Wanqiu blushed and replied softly:
"Thank you for the compliment, Your Highness."
This conversation made both of them a little awkward, their cheeks slightly flushed, though it wasn't very noticeable since they were both standing in the sunlight.
Xiao Minghuang twitched the corner of her mouth, chuckled, and changed the subject:
"How have the children been doing during my seclusion?"
Upon hearing this, Lin Wanqiu hesitated for a moment before replying:
"They are all very obedient and follow the rules, but..."
Lin Wanqiu hesitated, as if she wanted to say something but then stopped.
Xiao Minghuang didn't urge her, but waited quietly. Although she didn't know what Lin Wanqiu was hesitating about, she believed that Lin Wanqiu was someone who could distinguish between what was important and what was not.
After a moment, Lin Wanqiu finally looked into Xiao Minghuang's eyes and slowly spoke:
"As Your Highness knows, Beiyang City originally had Lineage who assisted the City Lord's Mansion in governing the Savage Forest area."
"Later, the Chen family was exterminated for colluding with evil cultivators, leaving only three major Lineage: the Li Family, the Wang Family, and the Liu family."
"Among the children who came to Beijing this time, three are direct descendants of the three families."
Upon hearing this, Xiao Minghuang frowned slightly and asked:
"Did these three young ladies cause any trouble while I was in seclusion? Or are they just clamoring to go home?"
She knew that most scions of aristocratic families were used to being proud and could not tolerate the slightest grievance. If things didn't go their way, they would throw a tantrum and cause trouble.
Lin Wanqiu was now speaking haltingly, which suggested that these three pampered young ladies had caused some trouble that was difficult to handle.
Lin Wanqiu gave a bitter smile and sighed:
"It's much more serious than that. The Li Family girl is still quite honest and didn't do anything out of line. As for the Liu and Wang Families, they've already made contact with the Second Prince's spies in just three days."
"Ah?"
Xiao Minghuang was suddenly startled and said in disbelief:
"Is this really true?"
She remembered that the oldest of the thirty girls was only ten years old, and the youngest was only seven or eight. How could these two girls have such thoughts?
Lin Wanqiu also sighed and explained:
"This is absolutely true. I saw it with my own eyes and heard it with my own ears. The two maids, Liu and Wang, secretly contacted the Second Prince's informant, accepted the informant's spirit stones and pills, and agreed to infiltrate His Highness's side to provide long-term intelligence. They promised to take them as concubines after the Second Prince was made Crown Prince."
There was always a spy for the Second Prince inside the Princess Mansion, but this person was always under Lin Wanqiu's surveillance.
Therefore, Liu Wang Er were immediately exposed as soon as they came into contact with them.
"You can't judge a book by its cover; these two little girls are quite the young heroes."
Xiao Minghuang's lips curled slightly upward, and a hint of a smile appeared in her eyes, whether it was mockery or admiration was unclear.
"Your Highness, these two people have indeed betrayed their own side. How should they be dealt with?"