The Attack of the Wastrel

Two days later, Gu Rong urged Gu Lingzhi to enter the main palace again on the grounds that the treasures would all be snatched by others as more and more people were entering the Sacred Lands.

Gu Lingzhi hesitated slightly then agreed to his request. She followed Pan En and the others to the Sacred Lands outside of the Yan Capital. Hua Qingcheng heard about the situation and requested Tianfeng Jin to take care of Meng Rou before he went off with them.

This time, Pan En welcomed Hua Qingcheng very courteously instead of treating him like an eyesore as he usually did. Gu Lingzhi was very confused. The Duobao Spiritual Squirrel that was hidden in the scroll pointed out Pan En’s motive through the connection of the contract.

“You are now one of his people. Your underlings become his as well, so naturally, he will have to treat them well. Furthermore, he is someone who has the potential to ascend to become a Demigod in the future. There is no harm in giving him better treatment.”

“Who says I am one of his people? That was just a delaying tactic.” Gu Lingzhi retorted in her mind.

“His Second Highness obviously does not think that way. Just look at that smug smile on his face. He completely views both you and Hua Qingcheng as his people already.”

“Lingzhi, the main palace is right in front of you now. How confident are you in entering it again?” Gu Rong could not hold himself back and inquired when he saw Gu Lingzhi stand quietly at one side. He thought that she was worried about having to enter the main palace again. In his agreement with Pan En, he would receive a tenth of the treasures if Gu Lingzhi could successfully retrieve them.

Although the quantity may seem to be very little, the treasures would be worth the equivalent of a city if it were of the same grade as the treasures she had previously given to Hua Qingcheng and Mei Ying. Furthermore, if Gu Lingzhi had the ability to continuously enter the main palace, he would eventually be able to collect several treasures. How could he be unconcerned about her?

“I’m fine. I was just thinking about how to deal with the Godly Spiritual Being in the main palace later on,” Gu Lingzhi quickly replied and continued forward.

At the side, Pan En overheard the conversation and his eyes flashed. He feigned concern and suggested, “If the seventh level is difficult, then just start from the sixth level. The treasures may be important, but your safety is of utmost importance.”

After all, only Gu Lingzhi and Rong Yuan had been able to reach the seventh level so far. The rest of the people were either stuck in the first level or had perished in the tests for the higher levels. Only a few people had managed to enter the second level. In these circumstances, Gu Lingzhi’s safety was definitely more important than the treasures in the main palace. If something untoward were to happen to Gu Lingzhi, perhaps they would never be able to get the treasures in the main palace.

Although Gu Lingzhi clearly understood the real meaning behind Pan En’s show of concern, she still acted accordingly and revealed a bashful smile. She lowered her head and bit her lip, “Thank you for Your Second Highness’s concern, I will definitely act in accordance to my strength.”

“It is good that you think that way.” Pan En chuckled then looked away to hide the internal struggle in his eyes.

It is in a man’s nature to be lustful, especially when facing a beauty like Gu Lingzhi. If he had met her earlier, he would have quickly found an auspicious time to marry her. However, each time he got this impulsive feeling, her past interactions with Rong Yuan would surface in his mind and calm him down immediately.

Objectively speaking, regardless of appearance or character, Gu Lingzhi far surpassed all the other women. However, such a woman who was perfect in every aspect had been “used” before by someone else. He still had to cater to her without revealing any dissatisfaction at all.

After entering the Sacred Lands, Gu Lingzhi used the ring that could control the Sacred Lands to observe the situation within it. The Sacred Lands were incredibly crowded. After the North Qiu Kingdom’s Royal Family had investigated the outer perimeter of the Sacred Lands, there were almost no restrictions left that could threaten the lives of Martial Artists.

A large group of low-level Martial Artists were gathered there to look for leftover treasures. However, after several days of searching and digging, there were no longer any Spiritual Plants left, much less any treasures.

If it was not for the orchid plants by the roadside having grown to be very large and strong, making it difficult to move, those few trees would probably have all been taken away as well. As the owner of the Sacred Lands, Gu Lingzhi was enraged at this scene. All these treasures that were being taken away were all hers!

Along the way, there were several people who recognised Gu Lingzhi. They stopped what they were doing and curiously followed behind her.

In this one month, the Martial Artists who entered the Sacred Lands had all heard about Gu Lingzhi. She was the fiancée of the Xia Kingdom’s Third Prince, but she could actually pass the harsh tests set by Liu Yiyan and ascend to the top floor of the main palace. Undoubtedly, they were shocked.

Soon after coming out from the seventh floor of the main palace, Gu Lingzhi then very quickly entered the Royal Palace. There were many rumours about that but none of them was as surprising as the scene before them now.

What exactly were they looking at? Gu Lingzhi, the fiancée of the Xia Kingdom’s Third Prince, was not together with Rong Yuan, but was actually travelling side by side with the North Qiu Kingdom’s Second Prince? Furthermore, His Second Highness was being very gentle towards Gu Lingzhi. What exactly did this mean?

“It looks like the rumors are real. This Gu Lingzhi seems to be a woman with no morals. She managed to ensnare His Second Highness after just a few days,” a young woman gritted her teeth and commented.

She was a student of the North Qiu Kingdom’s First School, and also an ardent fan of Pan En. As the next Emperor of North Qiu Kingdom, his popularity and prestige in North Qiu Kingdom was incomparable to Rong Yuan’s popularity even in the Xia Kingdom. He was the dream lover of all the young girls in the North QIu Kingdom. Furthermore, Pan En was different from Rong Yuan who had always avoided girls. There were countless beautiful women by Pan En’s side. This fuelled the motivation and hope for all the other young girls.

It did not matter if they were just one of the many girls. Which Emperor did not keep a harem of concubines? The important thing was to marry into the Royal Palace and enjoy a luxurious life.

Yet, now, Gu Lingzhi, who was infamous in the school, was being treated so warmly by Pan En. Even though Tianfeng Yi had proved Gu Lingzhi’s innocence earlier, after this scene, her reputation had gone back into the gutters again.

“Don’t worry, His Second Highness is not such a shallow person. He must be pretending to win her affection because of her ability. Once Gu Lingzhi loses her usefulness, His Second Highness will definitely forget about her,” another young girl sneered as she looked at Gu Lingzhi enviously.

They were native beauties of North Qiu Kingdom but they were unable to win Pan En’s favour. Gu Lingzhi was undeserving of Pan En’s warmth and biased treatment.

After witnessing this scene, several girls headed to the main palace out of jealousy.

If all they needed to do was to perform outstandingly and be useful to His Second Highness to win his favour, then they could do it too!

Hence, with this impulsive mentality, the number of people who decided to take the tests in the main palace today increased substantially. Liu Yiyan even felt a little regretful. Why were there so many beautiful and talented young women who could not keep a clear mind and wanted to come here to die in vain?

After a few minutes, two fearless young girls challenged the seventh floor. However, in just three seconds, they were defeated and perished. Pity, what a pity indeed.

Liu Yiyan shook his head then looked towards Gu Lingzhi. He could not understand what she was trying to do. It had only been a few days, but she had already changed her mind about Rong Yuan? If he remembered correctly, this person should be a descendant of Pan Luo. Could it be that… Gu Lingzhi was coerced by him?

His eyes flickered for a moment as he looked at Pan En with a frosty gaze. In that instant, Pan En shivered.

“Your Highness, are you feeling cold? Shall I give you an additional coat?” Gu Linglong who had been quietly following along immediately asked with a frown. In her hand she held a few pieces of clothing made from the hide of a fifth-order demon beast.

“That would be good,” Pan En accepted Gu Linglong’s goodwill. He wore the cloak and immediately felt much better. The chill that he had felt on his body earlier had also reduced substantially.

“Lingzhi, do you want to rest for a while before going in again? Or...?”

“I will just enter now. I have rested enough during this period of time.” Gu Lingzhi replied. She left some instructions for Hua Qingcheng, then entered the main palace.

To other people, she looked like she was just standing at the entrance of the main palace, taking the test like the rest of the people with her spirit having been pulled into Liu Yiyan’s space-dimension realm. However, Liu Yiyan had immediately teleported her to the seventh floor. Her body that had remained at the entrance of the main palace was merely an illusion summoned by Liu Yiyan.

On the other hand, Rong Yuan, who should have been held back from entering the Sacred Lands by Ding Rou using all sorts of trickery and means, entered the Sacred Lands with an unfamiliar appearance. Immediately after he entered the Sacred Lands, Rong Yuan activated the communication stone to contact Gu Lingzhi. In less than two breaths of time, his surroundings rippled as he disappeared not far away from the entrance. This aroused the suspicion of the people nearby as they took a detour for fear of disappearing like Rong Yuan if they were to go too close to the area.

However, Rong Yuan had actually been teleported to the seventh floor of the main palace by Gu Lingzhi.

Upon seeing the person that he had been missing day and night, Rong Yuan immediately revealed a huge smile and pounced towards Gu Lingzhi.

“Hold on, return to your original appearance first,” Gu Lingzhi ordered right before Rong Yuan was about to hug her. Her face was full of disgust as she held one hand out in front of her to block him.

“Lingzhi, don’t you like me anymore?” Rong Yuan pouted and was very dissatisfied with Gu Lingzhi’s reaction. Under the effects of the Yirong Pill, his face had taken on an extremely ordinary appearance.

“It’s not that I don’t like it, but with this appearance, it gives me a wrong feeling as though I stole someone’s man.”

Rong Yuan was speechless. He could not refute such a reason at all.

Rong Yuan channelled his spiritual power and cancelled the effects of the Yirong Pill. Only then, did Gu Lingzhi finally smile and nod her head, and went into Rong Yuan’s embrace.

“What about Ding Rou? How could she bear to let you leave?”

“Her?” Rong Yuan had a weird expression on his face, “She should probably be rejoicing right now.”

“Huh?” Gu Lingzhi blinked. What exactly was Rong Yuan up to?

“Su Nian used the Myriad Changing Pill that you gave me, to change into my appearance. He is probably rolling around in bed with her at the moment.”