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A chilly voice resonated; the man trembled slightly and said with a fist to palm salute:
"Your Highness, to report back..."
The woman glanced at him coldly and said:
"Refer to as Mada Qin."
The man’s forehead broke out in a cold sweat as he corrected himself:
"To report back to Mada, when this was originally in the hands of the subordinate, it indeed was the Ziwei Star Formation surrounded by nurous stars, but...
that bandit confessed that because he saw the other pieces of jade were of extrely fine quality, and the Jade Marrow was dull and lacked luster, he simply knocked the Jade Marrow out, planning to replace it with a better jade stone to sell at a higher price."
The man’s throat felt sowhat parched.
Ordinary daughters of the imperial family, that is, county princesses and the like, were common, while those addressed as duchess princesses were few, and the lady before him was a stunning genius. With ten remarkable accomplishnts to her na, she was bestowed the title of princess by the Forr Emperor, despite being born of a concubine.
Later, the current sovereign further honored her with the title of a duchess, bestowing upon her the na Tianhe Princess.
What matched her martial talents and learning was her fierce temperant and her arrogant, domineering nature, which was known to all under the heavens.
When he was listed on the imperial examination roll that year and rode on a great horse, admiring the flowers of Heavenly Capital in a day, he saw her in a swath of red galloping down the street, whipping the Oiran to death.
That scene was exquisitely beautiful, brilliantly glamorous, and intoxicating.
It was also extrely dangerous and terrifying.
Like a blooming poppy, it was unforgettable in his lifeti; the splendor of that day had long been forgotten, yet the vividness of that scene remained strikingly intense, sending tremors through his mind whenever he recollected it.
But now, he only felt dread and unease.
However, the woman did not rage as he had imagined; instead, she let out a helpless sigh, raised her hand to rub her forehead, as if troubled by so vexing matter, and said:
"Do you know that it is because of this piece of Jade Marrow that I brought Fei’er and Ahxiao to Wangxian County, just to implant the Heavenly Spirit Power into Fei’er before this year’s festival?"
"I... I know..."
"Do you also know that I didn’t want others to know about the Jade Marrow and therefore entrusted you with the information?"
"The subordinate... The subordinate is deeply honored."
The man’s body began to shake uncontrollably.
In the Jianghu, martial artists are widespread, those of the Upper Third Rank are almost no different from immortals, and those who reach the pinnacle can look back at their past from a high pedestal.
In the course of correcting their martial arts, they search through heaven and earth, and upon discovering supernatural elents, if they can absorb them into their bodies, they would be able to glimpse the might of heaven at their weakest, using a mortal’s body to perform deeds of heavenly power.
Spiritual Objects are hard to find, and Jade Marrow is one of them.
From then on, the most esteed martial arts had carved out a new path from the original one; by harnessing the power of Spiritual Objects to familiarize themselves with the might of heaven in advance, although the final breakthroughs still led to the sa destination, indistinguishable in superiority, the added combat strength at the outset made the comprehension of these profound martial arts much more intuitive.
He too had obtained a piece of Jade Marrow, and in his great joy, he had reported upward, but who would have thought the bandits would break in and rob him. The princess had also co to Wangxian County in person, under the guise of visiting relatives with her children.
But although the bandit was caught, why was the Jade Marrow missing?!
Why, oh why was the Jade Marrow missing...
With such twists and turns, this man of beyond forty years almost burst into tears, feeling certain of his impending death when he heard a voice near his ear say:
"Enough... You may leave..."
The man shuddered, hardly believing what he heard, and after a few breaths, he rejoiced inwardly, bowed deeply, and then step by step moved backward, toward the door. Once outside, he heaved a deep sigh of relief, his back drenched in cold sweat, his feet felt light and unsteady, almost as if he were waking from a dream.
Inside the room, the princess furrowed her brows with a sigh, and in a sowhat resentful tone said:
"It seems I have lost again."
"That ndacious, foul Taoist... that rotten bull-nosed..."
Behind the screen erged a woman dressed in armor; although she was past thirty, she still possessed a heroic bearing. Glancing at the princess with a look of frustration on her face, she couldn’t help but laugh softly. The princess turned and glared at her, asking:
"What are you laughing at?"
The female general showed no fear of her and simply responded with a laugh:
"The subordinate was just rembering how awe-inspiring General Tianhe was that day when you triumphantly returned to the capital, daring to kidnap even the illustrious Taoist of the Taoist Sect. Yet now here you are, frowning and pouting like a child."
"Now that I think about it, I’m not sure who really won that famous Jianghu tale of three victories and three defeats, you or that celebrated Taoist?"
"Was it really you who kidnapped him, or... did you allow yourself to be taken away?"
The princess arched her brows and said, "Still with the smart mouth!"
"Below the Flying Phoenix Tower that year, I clearly won three rounds!"
The female general laughed lightly before asking, "You two have a bet to see who can procure the Jade Marrow spiritual object for Young Master Qin Fei to awaken his spiritual might and cultivate peerless techniques. It seems this ti we can only look to the Prince Consort..."
Princess Tianhe sighed upon hearing this. Even though she was already a mother, her brows still held the sa stunning beauty as in her youth. She said helplessly,
"What else can I do?"
"It was a matter well within grasp, yet it still ended in failure."
"But even if we didn’t find it, I’ve ordered that the wretched Taoist must not know I ca to Tianhe County for the Jade Marrow."
The female general looked at her master, who was caught in minor troubles and lacked the domineering spirit she had in the past, and said,
"Who knows what kind of Heavenly Spirit that Jade Marrow is, and what kind of spiritual charm it possesses. Perhaps it’s not even suitable for the young master."
"That... is indeed possible."
Suddenly, there was a knock at the door. The female general stopped speaking and nodded slightly before hiding to one side. The wooden door opened and a young man in white with light features pushed the door open, bowed, and said,
"Mother..."
"Fei’er, co, let mother have a look. What’s the matter? Why did you co over suddenly..."
The young man obediently approached and said,
"There’s the End of Year Festival at the Cloud Observatory in a few days, and I wish to request an additional invitation."
Princess Tianhe’s smile was indulgent as she said,
"There’s no problem with what Fei’er wants. Is it for soone special?"
The young man nodded and said,
"I’ve t a young man with great determination... and excellent martial skills."
"His na is Wang Anfeng."
In Great Liang Village, Wang Anfeng slowly opened his eyes, looking bewildered. Instead of the usual wooden hut, he blinked in confusion. Suddenly, a whiff of alcohol sprayed out next to him. Wang Anfeng turned his head and saw a familiar elder swigging from a liquor gourd, and he asked uncertainly,
"Uncle Li?"
The sound that ca out was unusually hoarse. The elder was taken aback for a mont, glanced at him, breathed a sigh of relief, and then tapped the young man’s forehead with the liquor gourd, saying irritably,
"You little rascal!"
"How co you stumble upon every single trouble?"
The young man paused and asked, "What trouble?"
The elder sprayed another mouthful of alcohol at him. His exasperation seed to itch at his teeth, and he kept tapping the young man’s forehead with the gourd, exclaiming,
"Spiritual objects, spiritual objects!"
"Those things are so precious, even I didn’t have one back in my day, and they’re not easy to co by now either. How did you bumble into having one? Huh?! And it has an undying spiritual charm, just like the newly erged ones..."
"Spiritual object? Spiritual charm?"
Wang Anfeng clutched his forehead, growing more confused. The elder’s irritation made his teeth itch as he said,
"Such objects are mostly related to the Five Elents."
"Strictly speaking, they’re not of much use in cultivation; they just make fighting a bit fiercer."
"Stretch out your five fingers and concentrate your power in the palm of your hand to see if there’s any reaction. Damn it, Wang, if you’re watching from above, make sure it’s not the wood elent... If his Inner Strength characteristic has been changed, he can only beco a wandering doctor..."
Although the young man didn’t understand, he knew Uncle Li would never harm him. He nodded slightly, stretched out his right hand, and concentrated with a solemn expression. As he channeled his Inner Strength, the elder took a gulp of wine with an anxious heart.
Wang Anfeng took a deep breath, the Inner Strength gathering between his fingers. Yet nothing appeared. He gritted his teeth and shouted clearly, and suddenly, with his Inner Strength focused, there was a flash of thunderous lightning that lit up the night sky and the wooden hut, as well as Uncle Li’s suddenly contracting pupils.
The elder’s wine gourd instantly shattered.
The next mont, he was stunned, then incredulous, and then he burst out laughing.
Thunder, the pride of heaven!
"Wang, if you’re watching from heaven!"
"You’ve sched against others your whole life, but finally, you’ve done sothing good, hahaha, thunder, thunder!"
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