Chapter 25 Prince Zhuang Wang Li
“Cai Hai, are you telling the truth?” Prince Zhuang Wang Li held two jade walnuts in his hand, with a hint of weariness in his expression.
After all, he had traveled day and night from the capital, and for someone like Prince Wang Li who lived a pampered life, fatigue was inevitable.
“My lord, this matter is absolutely true. A few days ago, Xuanli Old Taoist actually imbued power into that stone sword. Every day, he practices swordsmanship in the courtyard, and the sword energy measures about a foot.” Cai Hai hurriedly replied.
Although this Prince Zhuang holds only the title of ‘lord’, he is a powerful prince. As the current emperor’s younger brother and staunch supporter during the succession, even though he doesn’t hold an official position, he is highly respected and trusted by the current emperor.
Cai Hai never expected that the current emperor would send this particular prince here; it was somewhat unexpected.
“A foot of sword energy? Is it possible to go take a look?” Wang Li asked, mustering up some energy.
Wang Li was not one to be arrogant or treat others as insignificant. On the contrary, he was gracious. However, he was also shrewd and calculating; otherwise, how could he survive the political game for so long.
Initially, he wasn’t very interested when his imperial brother asked him to investigate the Carefree Immortal Fuyaozi. After all, this sounded like a trick of the sorcerers. “Naturally, it is possible, but my lord, you have traveled far to come here. I have arranged a banquet for you to rest, why not take a rest and go tomorrow?” Cai Hai suggested tactfully.
Wang Li smiled, “Cai Magistrate is considerate, but it’s unnecessary. While I have lived a pampered life in the capital, I am not without strength. Let’s go take a look.”
He was concerned that Cai Hai might be trying to deceive him. If the magistrate was lying, Wang Li’s early arrival would catch him off guard, proving effective.
As for the magistrate’s honesty, it could be easily resolved later. After all, immortal techniques and longevity were tempting to anyone. “Yes, my lord,” Cai Hai, an experienced official, could sense his intentions and didn’t mind, knowing the information was authentic.
The carriage headed towards the southern part of the city.
“Does this Immortal Fuyaozi also live in the south of the city?” Wang Li asked.
Cai Hai shook his head, “My lord, the Immortal Fuyaozi doesn’t live inside Lingqu but in the outskirts, and -” he explained the specific situation to Wang Li, also mentioning the actions of the Three Great Families of Lingqu and Chen Xiyi’s need for a large amount of materials to refine the Divine Earth Essence.
After hearing this updated information from Cai Hai, Wang Li fell silent. This person had entangled the great families and with such consumption, Lingqu would eventually collapse under the Immortal Fuyaozi’s voracious appetite.
Consuming a significant amount of iron ore, gold, silver, and other materials, it was bound to collapse in the future.
Wang Li glanced deeply at Cai Hai, pondering on the magistrate’s true intentions. As a local governor, this undoubtedly hit at Cai Hai’s interests, yet the magistrate showed no sign of resistance, leaving Wang Li uncertain.
‘Could it be that he really is a divine being?’
“Immortal?”
This matter was not asked, he wanted to see it with his own eyes.
“Lord Wang, we have arrived at the Xuanyuan Sect. Please get off the carriage and come with me to take a look,” Cai Hai noticed Wang Li’s attitude towards him, but he did not say much. Seeing is believing.
The two got off the carriage together and were escorted by a group of guards and soldiers into the Xuanyuan Sect. The other idle people in the sect had already been driven away.
When they arrived, Cai Hai had already given instructions and sent someone to inform the Xuanyuan Sect and Xuanli Old Taoist beforehand.
Therefore, Xuanli Old Taoist had been waiting for a long time. When he saw Cai Hai accompanying Wang Li, he quickly greeted them, “Xuanli of the Xuanyuan Sect greets Prince Zhuang, please come inside.”
“Please rise, there is no need to go inside. Today, I have come to see you practice swordsmanship. On the way here, Magistrate Cai mentioned that your magic sword is sharp and has already produced sword qi, almost reaching the level of nurturing spirituality.” Wang Li’s words were direct, and his high-status aura instantly suppressed the atmosphere.
This made Xuanli Old Taoist somewhat powerless. As a poor elderly person in feudal society, he had a natural fear of these high-ranking officials and nobles. Plus, the other party’s aura and status were overwhelming, making Xuanli Old Taoist lose confidence quickly. After all, Cai Hai and others were more gentle, unlike Wang Li, who came and immediately pressured him.
“Yes, yes, Prince.” With this retreat, Xuanli Old Taoist’s accumulated pride disappeared completely, and he hurriedly responded.
Wang Li was very satisfied with this.
Although this was a show of authority at the first meeting, he had ways to redeem himself if the other party really had the ability.
Xuanli Old Taoist began to practice his swordsmanship, but because of the previous scare, his movements were somewhat unsteady.
But regardless of stability or instability, the stone sword did not care, and with each swing of his long sword, a one-foot-long sword qi was produced, leaving Wang Li somewhat dazzled.
After finishing a set of sword techniques, Xuanli Old Taoist stood awkwardly on the side.
But Wang Li smiled as if basking in the spring breeze, “Xuanli Daoist has excellent swordsmanship. I wonder if Daoist’s one-foot-long sword qi is capable of breaking gold and jade?”
“Naturally, it can, Your Highness. Please watch.” Xuanli Old Taoist, in a panic, randomly selected a stone table in the courtyard.
As the stone sword fell, the stone table did not disintegrate into the spiritual energy mass he had expected, further shocking him.
Seeing this, Wang Li frowned, wondering if he was being deceived. Perhaps the sword qi just now was a trick? However, despite Xuanli Old Taoist’s anxiety, another sword fell, and this time, the entire stone table disintegrated, bursting into white light before dissipating.
This impressed Wang Li greatly.
Setting aside everything else, this move alone was enough to make Wang Li look at him with new eyes.
Regardless of Xuanli Old Taoist’s cultivation level, the immortal Fuyaozi who passed on the technique must have real talent.
Thinking of this, besides being shocked, Wang Li’s heart was burning with enthusiasm.
“Longevity, Immortal Technique!”
“Daoist, you truly deserve the title. You have truly broadened my horizons. I congratulate you in advance on your success in your cultivation.” Wang Li immediately stepped forward, planning more in his mind.
Xuanli Old Taoist was not his target; the immortal Fuyaozi was. Xuanli Old Taoist happened to be useful.
As for the matter of the Lingqu being drained dry?
It can be dealt with later.
My site has received a lot of DMCA notices, lol. From now on, I will update the MTL on https://darkmtl.com/.
The site is fast and lightweight because there are no ads yet. However, the theme is different from Cybor-TL, so take some time to familiarize yourself.
Support me by donating at least $10, and you'll have the right to request any novel from Novelpia (excluding 19+ content) using a newly developed tool.