ATPnovel Chapter 816 - 816 70 Long Life Palace
Chapter 816 - 816 70 Long Life Palace
816: Chapter 70 Long Life Palace 816: Chapter 70 Long Life Palace In the Long Life Palace.Flowers bloomed splendidly outside the window, where the spring still carried a chill.
Jiang Wuqi, the eleventh prince of Daqi, draped in fox fur, was drinking medicine from a jade-green bowl, the liquid a blackish brown color.
An odd and foul smell stirred persistently in the air, nauseating to anyone who sensed it.
Yet his expression was normal, as he swallowed it down slowly, sip by sip.
In front of him lay an open book.
He held the jade bowl and sipped the medicine, his gaze falling on the book.
Using the book to accompany the medicine.
Lei Zhanqian, sitting not far away, had his eyebrows completely furrowed.
He truly could not understand how his cousin could drink such an unpleasant medicine as if it were nothing.
He could even savor it sip by sip…
Just the smell alone made it unbearable to Lei Zhanqian!
“This medicine of yours…” Lei Zhanqian asked, covering his nose, “Could it be hiding some mystery, that makes it taste entirely different from how it smells?”
Only after Jiang Wuqi finished reading the passage in front of him, did he laugh lightly, “If my cousin is so curious, why not have someone brew another bowl for you, how about that?”
“I certainly do not want it!”
Lei Zhanqian quickly refused.
Even if the medicine were extremely valuable, he had no intention of subjecting his palate to such torment.
For a Transcendent Cultivator with aspirations for the pinnacle, there was almost nothing he could not endure, but there was no need to seek out suffering deliberately.
After Jiang Wuqi finished the medicine in the jade bowl slowly, Lei Zhanqian spoke again, “There’s something quite intriguing to discuss.
I sent people to investigate Zhang Linchuan.
Three groups went, and not a single one has returned.”
The typically arrogant and conceited Lei Zhanqian showed no edge in front of Jiang Wuqi, speaking casually like ordinary cousins would, discussing all manners of topics.
Jiang Wuqi wiped his mouth methodically with a square of snow-white silk handkerchief, asking casually, “Zhang Linchuan?”
Lei Zhanqian smiled, “It’s the alias Jiang Wang used in the Floating Land World.”
Jiang Wuqi folded the handkerchief gently and set it aside, his eyes still fixed on his book, “Why are you investigating him?”
“Don’t you think it’s odd?” Lei Zhanqian said, “Jiang Wang is a rootless man from Zhuang Country of the Western Territory.
No one knows how he got acquainted with Zhongxuan Sheng, and then he mixed into the Heavenly Abode Secret Land.
Later, he was brought along to participate in the battle at Qi Yang and finally took root in Daqi.
The issue is, since he is rootless, how is it that none of my three groups of people have come back from digging into his background?”
“So what did you find out?” Jiang Wuqi remained noncommittal.
Seeing that Jiang Wuqi maintained his disinterest, Lei Zhanqian lost some of his enthusiasm, “I only found out there’s a man named Zhang Linchuan in Zhuang Country, who is a Bone Messenger of the Bone Tao.
It’s an obscure cult with no notoriety.”
Jiang Wuqi’s heart stirred.
Unlike Lei Zhanqian, with his level of clearance, he had access to the detailed military intelligence of the battle at Qi Yang.
He had diligently reviewed Daqi’s only war of annihilation in recent years.
He remembered quite clearly that during the battle at Qi Yang, a Bone Demon God had appeared and, after being chopped to pieces by the murderous Zhongxuan Chuliang, had escaped.
The Bone Demon God, Jiang Wang, both appeared in Zhuang Country, both appeared in the Yang Region.
It seemed there was some connection between the two.
But he decided not to share this news with Lei Zhanqian, to avoid his cousin making a fuss and possibly stirring up trouble.
Lei Zhanqian suddenly added, “Do you think it’s possible that Jiang Wang comes from a cult with ulterior motives for coming to Daqi?”
He grew more excited as he spoke, “Maybe he used some evil method to overdraw his potential, which is why he has advanced so quickly!”
Jiang Wuqi silently sighed to himself.
What kind of person was Lei Zhanqian in the past?
From his youth, he was laden with high expectations, seen as the hope for the rise of the Lei Family, a genius that the Lei clan hadn’t seen in a thousand years.
The day the power of Lei Xi’s Divine Skills was revealed, the whole Lei clan erupted in excitement.
“One seal controls heaven and earth, I reign as the lord of thunder.” What an awe-inspiring potential that was?
To execute justice on behalf of heaven and wield the power of thunder and lightning.
He met with some setbacks in the Secret Realm of the Seven Star Tower, but he had also gained what there was to gain.
Ahead of him lay the open road to Tongtian, and he could stride forward with big steps.
However, after the battle with Jiang Wang, his dominance over the world had been broken, and he had not yet recovered…
One can tell from the fact that he’s still looking for excuses.
He simply cannot accept that defeat.
He watched helplessly as a rising talent he once manipulated quickly surpassed him, defeating him with ease in the full view of thousands.
For someone as extremely arrogant as he was, this was a devastating blow.
But this couldn’t be openly discussed; they had to wait for Lei Zhanqian to come to terms with it himself.
Recklessly tearing open his scars could cause him to never recover.
“How could the Zhong Xuan Family possibly be tainted by an evil cult?
And how could Zhongxuan Sheng be a fool?” Jiang Wuqi shook his head, “If Jiang Wang truly came from an evil cult, there would be no need to wait for your investigation.
Would the Marquis of Ding Yuan or the Marquis of Bowang go easy on him?”
The logic was straightforward, and Lei Zhanqian would naturally understand.
“That’s true,” he sighed.
After some thought, Jiang Wuqi shifted his gaze from the book, and said profoundly, “In the pursuit of cultivation, some lead while others follow, some are fast while others slow.
Temporary progress means nothing; in the end, it’s about who stands tallest.
Your ‘Nine Heavens Thunder Tract,’ is sublime and unfathomable.
When cultivated to the end, ‘using the thunder as a symbol for the heavens, with the Thunder Technique embodying all techniques.’ What grandeur?
A person who reposes in the Nine Heavens need only glance at the mundane world occasionally—why trouble oneself with momentary wins and losses?”
Lei Zhanqian fell silent for a while, clearly not inclined to continue this topic, and changed the subject, “About the Elder of the Sea Tower, you didn’t suppress him when you had the chance, and instead you protected him.
He harbors ill intentions; he nearly assimilated my Thunder Seal by leveraging my fame.”
The incident of Jiang Wang countering Hai Zongming had actually divided opinions within Qi Country.
Some people thought it unnecessary to fall out with the Sea Tower over a single Jiang Wang, although such voices were very faint.
The great Qi Country didn’t need to bow to the Sea Tower, nor could it not protect its own talents.
But at that time, Jiang Wuqi had openly supported Jiang Wang, believing that Jiang Wang’s killing of Hai Zongming was entirely justifiable and did not disrupt Qi Country’s arrangements in the Near Sea.
Jiang Wuqi knew that his support made no critical difference; the consensus throughout the Qi court was that there was no issue.
Lei Zhanqian knew this as well, but the fact that he brought it up was simply due to a festering resentment, seeking any pretext.
Understanding all of this, Jiang Wuqi still responded seriously, “He is the Qi Tianjiao.
Of course, I must protect him.”
Lei Zhanqian sneered, “But he’s not a person of Qi.”
Jiang Wuqi closed the book, his expression turning serious, “That’s something you must never say again.
He lives under Qi’s roof, receives Qi’s salary, holds Qi’s office, is loyal to Qi’s affairs, and fights for Qi.
How is he not a person of Qi?”
He was clearly a bit angry, “Being born in Qi Territory does not define one as a person of Qi.
Our grand realm is vast and the Six Harmonies are wide; it begins with the sunrise and ends with the sunset.
If one’s heart turns to Qi, they are a person of Qi.
If the ancestors of Qi were as short-sighted as you, cousin, Qi would still be a fishing village by the sea!”
Lei Zhanqian’s grievances, complaints, and judgments about anyone were of no consequence to Jiang Wuqi.
He could dismiss them as mere speculation.
This was the natural closeness between relatives.
However, if he spoke out of line or did anything to destabilize the state of Qi, then Jiang Wuqi would by no means tolerate it.
This was the dignity he had to uphold as a member of the Qi Royal Family.
No matter how arrogant Lei Zhanqian was, he knew what mattered most.
He was not only a cousin but also a subject.
Seeing that Jiang Wuqi was indeed angry, he quickly conceded, “I won’t mention it again.”
But then he added, “Ever since Jiang Wang returned to Linzi, he has visited both Jiang Wuji and Jiang Wuyou but has never sought an audience with you.
No matter how justly you treat him, he won’t side with you.
He might even become a stumbling block for you in the future!”
Jiang Wuqi cleared his throat gently, laid his hand on the book, and stood up, “He doesn’t need to side with me.”
He tightened his fox fur robe, seemingly uncomfortable with the chill of spring.
Walking slowly towards the warmer area outside the hall, he simply said, “If he sides with Qi, he sides with me.”
Lei Zhanqian remained seated, watching Jiang Wuqi’s slender figure beneath the fox fur, feeling an overwhelming self-confidence and conviction emanating from him.
His steps were leisurely, but with each one, it was as if he was treading upon his own kingdom.
He thought, the future of Qi Country would definitely belong to this man, and there was no second choice.