The Attack of the Wastrel

What was he angry about?! Gu Lingzhi’s expression instantly hardened as she remained still in Rong Yuan’s embrace. How could he say something like that right after they were in such a tense situation at Sacred Lands? Gu Lingzhi wanted to smack Rong Yuan on the head for that. 

“Do you think……we are forgetting something?” Gu Lingzhi changed the topic to prevent Rong Yuan from doing anything scandalous again. At the same time, a bad feeling creeped up on her. 

“I think…we forgot about Elder Liu.” 

Rong Yuan exclaimed in shock. They had left Sacred Lands in a hurry and had forgotten to bid farewell to Liu Yiyan. 

“We won’t be causing trouble by leaving so suddenly right?” 

Rong Yuan frowned at Gu Lingzhi’s question before he shook his head, “No. With Elder Liu’s cultivation rank, there is nothing the Royal Family of the North Qiu Kingdom can do. However, because of this matter, we might not be able to go to Sacred Lands for a while.” 

It was not a big loss for Gu Lingzhi whether or not she could head to Sacred Lands or not. Ever since she entered the main hall, she had kept a few treasures from the main palace in her Inheritance Space and those were enough to train up a few Martial Artists from the Martial Student rank to the Demigod rank. Unfortunately, it was a pity for Liu Yiyan. He had finally waited till the opening of the main palace to interact with others but was now forced back into solitude. Gu Lingzhi could not help but feel sorry for him. 

Things had unfolded as Gu Lingzhi foresaw. She had learned from the guards who had managed to escape from Sacred Lands that the Royal Family had given an order to prevent anyone from entering Sacred Lands because of Liu Yiyan. Before the Royal Family could suppress Liu Yiyan, they would not open the Sacred Lands to the outside world. 

Granted, the most important fact was that the men who dared to enter Sacred Lands were all citizens of North Qiu Kingdom. With Liu Yiyan taking these men down, there was hardly anyone within Sacred Lands who could live normally anymore. 

This completely dispelled all the suspicions the Royal Family had before and they believed that the culprit who messed up the Sacred Lands from the beginning was Liu Yiyan and not the Black Thorn. Hence, the Royal Family withdrew the kill order for Black Thorn. 

After three days on the road, Gu Lingzhi and her group finally returned to the Royal School on the night of the third day. 

Once Rong Yuan and Gu Lingzhi safely dropped off Tianfeng Jin and the rest of the students at the Royal School, Rong Yuan brought Gu LIngzhi back to the palace. 

Gu Lingzhi and Rong Yuan’s cultivation levels had reached the point of breakthrough after a few days of scheming in the Sacred Lands. They desperately needed a safe place to break through and the palace was the best choice then. 

As such, the eager students who were waiting excitedly for the arrival of the duo at Royal School were sorely disappointed when Gu Lingzhi and Rong Yuan zoomed off on their flying demon beasts right after they touched down. 

Five days later, the first envoy from Liao Kingdom led by Prime Minister Huo Xuan arrived at the Xia Kingdom. 

Mei Ying and his wife also arrived with Huo Xuan. 

Undeniably, Mei Ying and his wife had led the envoy’s quick arrival at Xia Kingdom. 

However, despite their efforts in rushing over so quickly, the first news they got was that Rong Yuan and Gu Lingzhi had closed themselves in cultivation seclusion. 

Hence, Mei Ying and his group could only wait for the two to finish their cultivation seclusion after an apology from the Xia Kingdom’s king. The king had to arrange accommodations for the group at a side hall in the Royal Palace. 

Three days later, Gu Lingzhi and  Rong Yuan finally ended their seclusion. Mei Ying rushed towards them and chastised, “Both of you are finally here. It is inappropriate for you two to call us over to discuss things and then close yourselves in cultivation seclusion.” 

Gu Lingzhi could only smile awkwardly towards Mei Ying. On the other hand, Rong Yuan sighed, “I can’t control the amount of time I take to break through. Who knew that it would take so long?” 

Mei Ying involuntarily gritted his teeth in frustration at Rong Yuan’s insensitive words. 

It was a huge leap for a Martial Artist to breakthrough from a Martial Lord to a Martial Sage. Typically, the longer the duration of breakthrough, the more potential the martial artist had. 

Back when Mei Ying broke through to become a Martial Sage, he had used four days. However, Rong Yuan used a full eight days and this meant that Rong Yuan’s potential was more than twice of Mei Ying’s. 

This was also the reason why Mei Ying approached Rong Yuan and Gu Lingzhi with an accusatory tone. Yet, he had not expected that Rong Yuan would have such a sharp tongue and this annoyed Mei Ying. 

“Elder Mei, is this the Prime Minister from the Liao Kingdom?” Not giving a chance for Mei Ying to nit pick at him, Rong Yuan changed the topic to Huo Xuan. 

Huo Xuan was examining Gu Lingzhi and Rongyuan, who were known to be the couple that exposed the schemes of the North Qiu Kingdom. Before that, he had some doubts about what he heard. However, his doubts were dispelled after meeting the couple. 

Although Rong Yuan had a poor attitude towards Mei Ying, he could sense the confidence behind Rong Yuan’s deep and calm eyes. This was a confidence that could only be found from a person’s capabilities. 

For such a man, there was no need for him to take other’s credit for his own. 

Yet, Huo Xuan had mixed feelings for Gu Lingzhi who was standing beside Rong Yuan. If he had not heard wrongly, she was the fiancé for the Third Prince of Xia Kingdom. Ten days ago, she was still a Martial Practitioner, how could she reach the peak of the Martial Teacher rank in a mere few days?

This rate of cultivation seemed almost impossible. 

Despite the shock Huo Xuan had, he smiled towards Rong Yuan and greeted, “Greetings to Your Highness. I am the envoy from Liao Kingdom and I am here to discuss with Xia Kingdom our measures against the North Qiu Kingdom.” 

Rong Yuan’s face twitched slightly and he examined Huo Xuan’s eyes carefully. 

Huo Xuan had chosen his words carefully by showing that he intended to confront North Qiu Kingdom in collaboration with Xia Kingdom instead of obtaining the news from the spies he had there. This simple sentence showed that Liao Kingdom had the desire to ally itself with Xia Kingdom. If the two families allied together, they would not have to pay a price according to the spies in Liao Kingdom. 

“Your King is wise,” Rong Yuan commented after deducing Huo Xuan’s intentions. 

With that, Huo Xuan understood Rong Yuan’s stance. Huo Xuan smiled and continued, “I act based on orders and it is my honour to gain your trust.” 

After much chatter, the two returned to discussing proper matters. 

It had been Rong Yuan who found out and exposed the North Qiu Kingdom’s scheme and hence the King of the Xia Kingdom handed the full responsibility of the matter to Rong Yuan. This showed the full trust the king placed on Rong Yuan and it also showed that Rong Yuan’s status in Xia Kingdom was far more than a normal prince. 

Huo Xuan must also be a powerful and smart man since he was the Prime Minister of Liao Kingdom and this was evidenced by the fact that he instantly understood Xia Kingdom’s stance from Rong Yuan’s reply. He did not question the King of the Xia Kingdom any further, before he launched straight into a heated discussion with Rong Yuan. 

Later, Rong Yuan and Huo Xuan excused themselves to discuss the matter further, leaving Gu Lingzhi with the King of Xia Kingdom. After observing Gu Lingzhi for a while, the King who was Rong Yuan’s father, smiled kindly and waved his hand at Gu Lingzhi. “Come over, child,” he said. 

“Me?” Gu Lingzhi jumped slightly as she pointed to herself, her heart beating with nervousness. 

This was the first time she met Rong Yuan’s father and she could not help being nervous at the sight of her fiance’s father. 

“In this hall, who else can be called a child?” Rong Yuan joked cheekily. He found amusement at Gu Lingzhi’s nervousness. 

Although Rong Yuan was discussing things with Huo Xuan, he was observing Gu Lingzhi at the corner of his eye. Observing her nervousness, Rong Yuan’s eyebrows raised and he called out to the King, “Father, don’t bully Lingzhi.” 

The King had not done anything. 

Being warned by his son, the king’s mouth quavered slightly and he finally felt like his children had forgotten about their parents now that they had a partner.  

How could this be? His son was not even married yet and his heart already belonged to Gu Lingzhi entirely. What more if he were already married? Would his heart still have a place for his father? 

With a sigh, the king shook his head and assured, “Relax, I know that Gu Lingzhi is your sweetheart. Why would I dare to bully her?” 

Rong Han gleefully emphasised his innocence by stressing on the word ‘bully’. This caused Gu Lingzhi’s face to turn red and she glared at Rong Yuan and scolded, “The King did not bully me, don’t spout nonsense, Your Highness.” 

Rong Yuan instantly turned docile at Gu Lingzhi’s scolding and Mei Ying could not help laughing at the exchange. 

Ever since Rong Yuan matured, the king had not disciplined him much and hence he instantly grew fonder of Gu Lingzhi. His eyes turned warmer and his speaking tone grew softer. 

“Come over here, child. My wife told me that Yuan’er found himself a good lady but I had not had the chance to meet you. You’ve finally come out of cultivation seclusion. Let me have a good look at you.” 

Gu Lingzhi became less nervous then and a smile stretched across her face as she walked towards Rong Han and asked, “Your Majesty, did you need something from me?”

“Look at you, child. Can’t I call you whenever I want to?” Rong Han laughed lightly. As he took a closer look at Gu Lingzhi, he grew fonder of her. 

Gu Lingzhi had sharp and distinct features. Although she was not an absolute beauty, she had a warm look that gave off a comforting sense. In addition to her calm demeanour, the king liked her very much. 

As he thought about Gu Lingzhi’s past, Rong Han felt his heart ache for his future daughter-in-law. 

“Good child, the palace will be your home in the future. You don’t have to address me as ‘Your Majesty’ anymore. You can address me as your Father just like Rong Yuan. Once things wind down, you two can get married. Your cultivation ranks are not low either and if you wait any longer, it will be hard for two to have children.”