Made It in Time

"Twelve days! I'll definitely wake up in twelve days!"

"I've been waiting for you... Someone's coming, let me see!"

Zhang Xuezhou didn't do anything that required him to be on time. He had roughly finished up many things, and then he just lay in bed waiting to return to the real world.

Zhang Xuezhou even prepared himself to muster his energy and spirit, ready to once again fully experience everything about the Extraterrestrial Heavenly Demon during the time travel.

He chatted with Divine Lord Zhenyuan for a while, the matter mainly involving Zhang Xuezhou's waking hours, how Divine Lord Zhenyuan interacted with Li Shaojun, and whether he could get what he wanted.

These matters are not too troublesome. Divine Lord Zhenyuan can replace Zhang Xuezhou in sensing the Empress Dowager, allowing Li Shaojun to move freely.

Rong Tianding was able to find out the locations of the high-ranking officials and when their banquets would be held, so that Li Shaojun could arrange the itinerary.

Through this process, Li Shaojun was able to attend various banquets as usual and gain some benefits from them.

During the twelve days Zhang Xuezhou returned to the real world, Li Shaojun was able to attend twelve banquets. If each household provided some usable items, they could gather enough to cover the costs, thus preventing Divine Lord Zhenyuan from starting out penniless.

If we borrow some more from Daojun to fill the gap, the matter will be settled.

Zhang Xuezhou explained some relevant precautions and then indicated that he really didn't have much time left.

Divine Lord Zhenyuan could only agree to many things. He nodded repeatedly, then suddenly felt a thought and stood up.

Zhang Xuezhou became a court official, a position that allowed him to set the standards for court etiquette. This power was extremely important to some people, and many tried to persuade Zhang Xuezhou to do certain things.

Some lobbyists are reasonable, while others are unreasonable.

A reasonable person can let the other party visit, letting the words go in one ear and out the other, and that's the end of it.

Unreasonable lobbyists like to flaunt their connections, money, power, and strength; these lobbyists often use threats to persuade and negotiate.

The former can end peacefully, while the latter can only be resolved by fighting each other.

For example, Jin Chang was slapped on the sleeve, and then he stayed quiet all night without making a sound. The Empress Dowager was also slapped on the sleeve and then quietly ran back to Anle Palace.

Divine Lord Zhenyuan quite liked this way of solving problems. He was about to go out and fan himself with his sleeve when he heard a rhythmic knocking sound, which clearly reached his ears.

"Is Lord Dongfang here? I am Wei Qing, the Wei Qing who drove your carriage last time!"

Wei Qing's knocking was very rhythmic.

Excluding the fact that arriving at 9 PM is too late, the other party's behavior was extremely polite.

"Why do these people always come to our door in the middle of the night? Don't they ever sleep?" Divine Lord Zhenyuan complained.

"They probably still wanted to sleep, but they were woken up and had no choice but to work!"

Zhang Xuezhou was already lying in bed when he heard Wei Qing's voice, and he knew who had come to his door.

"I am no longer a scholar-in-waiting at the Golden Horse Gate, so what reason is there for not being sent to assess me?"

Zhang Xuezhou also found it difficult to understand why the new emperor had come to his door.

As a Grand Master of the Palace, he had already relinquished his position as a Scholar-in-Waiting at the Golden Horse Gate, and was no longer required to undergo monthly assessments, nor did the new emperor need to visit him.

Zhang Xuezhou felt he had done what the Grand Master of the Palace had done.

When he relinquished his position as Grand Master of the Palace, he was left with only the honorary title of Attendant Censor.

Zhang Xuezhou didn't expect to get rich through his salary, and he didn't want to work. He just wanted to follow the new emperor and benefit from his good fortune.

"Could it be good news?"

Setting aside the possibility of an on-site assessment, Zhang Xuezhou couldn't understand the new emperor's reason for visiting him, which led him to consider the potential benefits of their aligned intentions and abundant good fortune.

"Perhaps before the reform of my rites as Grand Master of the Palace even began, someone filed a complaint against Anle Palace, thus removing me from my position. His Majesty came specifically to inform me of my dismissal, but it seems unnecessary to make a formal visit for such matters; he didn't even come to inform me of my appointment as Grand Master of the Palace... Never mind, although His Majesty's timing is poor, as long as there are benefits, then it's a good time!"

Zhang Xuezhou pondered for a few seconds, then exclaimed, "Coming!"

Just as he was about to pick up a lantern and open the gate, Divine Lord Zhenyuan reached out and grabbed at the gate.

Even though they were still dozens of meters apart, the gate seemed to have been pulled open; the bolt was pulled open, and the gate was ripped open, revealing Wei Qing's figure, who was still holding up his right hand and knocking on the door.

"Good evening!"

Wei Qing raised his right hand, as if to knock on a door that didn't exist. He stretched his hand forward, then turned it into a greeting.

"Impressive!"

Li Guang, sitting in the carriage, gasped.

The method of opening and closing doors from a distance is not unusual, but judging from the way Zhang Xuezhou and the people around him just left, it was obviously a casual touch after leaving the house, and this method did not rely on any pulling of silk threads, nor did it have any mechanism.

Li Guang narrowed his eyes slightly. He felt that he had vaguely seen this method before, but the other party's method seemed to be far beyond that, making it difficult for him to discern.

This earned him a shout of praise, but Li Guang's initial eagerness quickly subsided after the new emperor glared at him.

"I have no arrows, I won't shoot!"

Li Guang muttered something, his eyes fixed on Divine Lord Zhenyuan, completely ignoring Zhang Xuezhou.

There aren't many top-tier cultivators, and it's even rarer for them to fight each other. It's very uncommon for top-tier cultivators to engage in back-and-forth battles.

The battles among great cultivators are not the back-and-forth exchanges that ordinary people imagine. Usually, when they make their move, it means that someone will likely die and be eliminated.

Under these circumstances, it became difficult for great cultivators to exchange and verify their knowledge with each other.

Li Guang had never fought or killed many True Self Realm cultivators in his life. His greatest achievement in such battles was shooting a head at Nine Spirits Primal Sage, causing the opponent to retreat.

Apart from that, Li Guang rarely clashed with cultivators at the True Self Realm.

Upon seeing a cultivator at the True Self Realm, Li Guang was indeed very excited.

Leaving aside the matter of engaging in a fierce battle, even exchanging ideas or verifying a move or two would be a great thing for Li Guang.

"He's very capable and talented, but did you really see him for who he is...?"

"Don't speak!"

Li Guang muttered something under his breath, while the new emperor's heart skipped a beat and he breathed a sigh of relief.

The new emperor had seen Li Guang display such a warlike attitude before, when Li Guang was facing the Empress Dowager.

However, the Empress Dowager at the time used her power to intimidate Li Guang could even fire an arrow, the Empress Dowager seized his Heaven-Shaking Arrow.

And now, the same excitement has surged within Li Guang once again.

This also made it clear to the new emperor who the great cultivator in the Zhang residence really was.

He looked at that strange face that had grown a beard and long gray hair even in his childhood, and his heart skipped a beat.

Upon seeing Zhang Xuezhou standing in front and the great cultivator behind, the new emperor breathed a sigh of relief.

The way Zhang Xuezhou and the Grand Cultivator positioned themselves was easily explained; it meant that Zhang Xuezhou was still in charge here, rather than the Grand Cultivator making all the decisions.

Especially since Zhang Xuezhou wasn't asleep at the moment, he still managed to arrive in time despite his hurried arrival.