Chapter 29: The Ranking of Langya Pavilion
“Sit down and try your mother’s cooking. It should be a lot better than your stew.”
Qin Bei: …
Stew? Is he talking about the dragon spine soup I made?
“You said you killed Shou Ming; what do you think will be the Beast Taming Sect’s reaction?”
As soon as he sat down, Emperor Xia started firing questions.
Qin Bei, already prepared, wasn’t at all surprised that Emperor Xia was aware of this matter.
“What other reactions can there be? It’s just a tussle among the young folks, the older generation doesn’t get involved, and all the blame goes to a dead person. Even if this spreads, no one will think there’s anything wrong.”
“Exactly! A dead person takes the heat; the whole sect can continue lurking. They’ll be more than happy to do that.”
“But I don’t understand; since my father already knows about the Beast Taming Sect, why is he so laissez-faire?”
Although Emperor Xia had mentioned before that sometimes spies were more useful than one’s own people, Qin Bei didn’t have the faintest clue on how to utilize them.
Emperor Xia poured a cup of tea and set it in front of Qin Bei.
“If I were a rogue cultivator and the Beast Taming Sect dared to make a move on you, I could guarantee that the sect would be wiped out from the Cangzhou Continent. But I’m not a rogue, I have the entire Great Xia Dynasty backing me.”
What Emperor Xia said was absolutely true; with his Saint Realm cultivation, he could wipe out the Beast Taming Sect with a flick of his wrist.
In the world of immortal cultivation, it’s commonly acknowledged that offending a Saint Realm emperor is bad, but offending a quasi-Saint rogue cultivator is an absolute no-no.
Because rogues are carefree, they can do whatever they want.
For Emperor Xia, Great Xia is both his foundation and his concern.
“What I’m saying is, the Beast Taming Sect has always been under control. If we expose them, the royal family won’t get any benefits.”
“And the benefits of not exposing them are too great. Take the Minister of Revenue—he’s reported on you the most. It only took him thirty years to climb from a nobody to his current third rank. Do you know why?”
Qin Bei was astonished.
He knew very little about court affairs and didn’t expect there to be such a legendary figure.
This is an immortal cultivation world! Advancing even one rank is extremely difficult! Moreover, court officials aren’t judged by cultivation level but by talent.
So, torise so much in thirty years? That’s incredibly rare.
“Because he alone can bring hundreds of millions of spirit stones to the national treasury every year.”
Now that Emperor Xia pointed it out, Qin Bei finally understood.
“Is the Beast Taming Sect backing him?”
Emperor Xia smiled. It was nice that Qin Bei could make the connection.
“That’s right! The income he generates is largely thanks to the silent support from the Beast Taming Sect. If I were to wipe them out now, that massive income would vanish.”
“But…”
“I know what you’re going to say. Yes, that money is indeed a double-edged sword for Great Xia; it’s not at the point where we can just let the Beast Taming Sect go.”
“But the Beast Taming Sect still has a life-preserving technique—they train monsters for cultivators.”
“Every year, the Beast Taming Sect has to supply 100,000 monster beasts to the court, and those beasts ultimately join the army.”
“One monster, no big deal; a hundred monsters, still nothing. But millions? Tens of millions? That would greatly boost the strength of border soldiers.”
“Don’t be fooled by the peace in Great Xia; there’s no war here. What about outside? Whether it’s the Wu Kingdom, the Holy Demon Dynasty, or the Chaos Domain, wars never stop in those places.”
“If a war breaks out in Great Xia, I’ll definitely be constrained, and the army’s strength will be the key to victory. Now do you see why I’ve let it go?”
At this point, Qin Bei finally grasped the reason.
“A ruler needs to know the significance of ‘interest.’ Acting out on impulse is the privilege of a rogue cultivator.”
“I get it, but I think that water can carry a boat but also capsize it. If we let it slide, outcomes will be terribly unpredictable. Good iron must be forged to be strong; if Great Xia is powerful enough, so strong that no one dares to covet it, the word ‘interest’ can be tossed aside.”
Qin Bei saw this behavior as playing with fire. Looking at the current situation, it was highly likely many in Great Xia were in a similar boat.
Emperor Xia was taken aback, looking at his son like he was a stranger.
“Look at you! You seem quite self-assured.”
“Cultivators, of course, possess enough self-confidence.”
Qin Bei replied, neither servile nor arrogant.
“Hahaha, good! If you’re strong enough to take action against the Beast Taming Sect, I won’t stop you. How about it?”
“It’s a deal!”
“It’s a deal!”
“Alright, the people from the Beast Taming Sect will definitely come tomorrow. Just act like you know nothing; treat it like a competition of opportunities among the youngsters.”
“But what if the Beast Taming Sect gets suspicious?”
“What does it matter if they suspect me or not? Why do you think they’re hanging around in Great Xia? It’s for our monster resources, which the Holy Demon Dynasty can’t offer them. So even if they suspect they’ve been exposed, they’ll still take the risk until I turn against them.”
“Got it. Mutual benefit. I’m curious about what benefits the Holy Demon Dynasty offered to the Beast Taming Sect to make them betray Great Xia.”
“Only the word ‘profit’!”
“Alright, you head back now and remember to admit your mistake in front of the ministers tomorrow.”
Emperor Xia waved Qin Bei off, but not without reminding him about the apology.
Qin Bei: …
So I got called here just to be reminded not to clash with the Beast Taming Sect and to spend my own money on making an apology—nothing good about this.
Being a prince is truly frustrating.
But thinking about how others will be the ones enduring the frustration after he admits his mistakes tomorrow makes him feel much better.
“Then I shall take my leave, father. Please rest well.”
“Go on, go on.”
…
Night falls.
In an ordinary residential building in the capital.
A young man is writing something by candlelight.
Suddenly, there’s a knock at the door.
“Young Pavilion Master.”
“Come in.”
“Young Pavilion Master, the Pavilion Master sent me a letter; the Body Refinement Realm Combat Power List needs updating for tomorrow.”
“Oh? Is there any new information?”
The young man set down his pen. It’s quite rare to change the list a day before it’s out.
“Yes, today, the elders of the Beast Taming Sect, Beast Lion, and Young Sect Leader Shou Ming left the sect together, but only Beast Lion returned. Shou Ming was killed.”
“Prince Bei?” The Young Pavilion Master exclaimed in surprise.
“It’s confirmed; there’s extreme cold power on Shou Ming’s corpse. And since Prince Bei is also in the Monster Beast Mountain Range today, it’s undeniable.”
“Heh, interesting. A prodigy has emerged from Cangzhou.”
“Just modify the list. It’ll be announced tomorrow morning.”
“Yes!”
The young man glanced at Qin Bei, originally fifth on the list, wearing a smile before he incinerated that list to ashes.
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