Chapter 1355: Nine Out of Ten (Monthly Ticket Request at Month Start, Two-in-One)

Scalding tea water evaporated into mist, hazy light and shadow, golden light slanting through the eaves, brushing the threshold, tracing a sharp hot line.

Murky sweat seeped from hair strands, winding down along the temples, itchy and numb.

Everyone stopped their movements, looking at Liang Qu grinning happily; the Tianyu Guards dared not even raise a hand to wipe it away, only lowering their heads one after another, sweating profusely.

Quiet.

Utterly quiet.

Early June, not yet any cicada cries, the entire main hall dead silent.

Five Kings, Su Guishan, Yang Dongxiong, the Lan Prefecture Department Magistrate, six Grand Secretaries, nine high officials, the Chief Steward, two Tianyu Guards — twenty-seven gazes, no more no less, perfectly even, all piercing toward Liang Qu.

The Sage Emperor set down the accounts in hand, lifted the tea cup, rotated his wrist left and right, gently skimmed off the foam, the light clink of porcelain exceptionally distinct.

He took a sip.

"Shi Fan, Luo Feng!"

Hearing their names, the Tianyu Guards instinctively responded, dropping to one knee.

"Your servants are here!"

"Drag the Huai King out!"

"Yes. Ah, this — Your Majesty? Drag — drag the Huai King."

"What are you looking at me for?" The Sage Emperor set down the tea cup and rebuked, "How is it, you two, do you not respect the imperial command?

Or does the Huai King have old ties with you two? Old favors?"

"We dare not!"

"Drag him out!"

"Yes!"

The Tianyu Guards strode out.

Liang Qu stared wide-eyed, watching as the Tianyu Guards were about to move, hands clamping onto his shoulders, he threw back his head and shouted: "Your Majesty, injustice! What wrong have I done, Your Majesty, Your Majesty, Lord Su? Dragon Elephant King? Chong King? Su King?

Chief Steward? Aiya!"

Su Guishan turned his head away, Zhang Longxiang closed his eyes in cultivation.

The Chong King silently drank tea, the Su King and Chief Steward observing the proprieties with eyes on nose, nose on heart.

Whoever Liang Qu called to, that one started "busying" themselves.

"Creak."

Chair legs rubbing against brick and stone, emitting a piercing sound.

Liang Qu reached both hands down, gripping the chair tightly; the Tianyu Guards couldn't budge him, yet dared not disobey the order, so they simply pressed down on the chair back, dragging the chair along with him outward.

Crack!

Liang Qu could only pin his last hope.

"Master, quick, Master! Save me!"

Yang Dongxiong slightly covered his face, also wanting to drag this brat out, but since his disciple had named him, he had to brace himself and step forward to plead: "Your Majesty, this disciple of mine has been perverse since childhood, disposition unprovoked, relying on his peerless talent, he loves to tease others; today he actually teased right in front of Your Majesty, utterly lawless. I dare not beg for mercy, only ask Your Majesty to consider that this disciple is still young in years, be magnanimous, do not be angry, give him a few thousand military staff blows, a small punishment as a great warning."

"A few thousand?" Su Guishan raised his brows in satisfaction, lifted his head and puffed his chest, "Mr. Zhaowu spoils him a bit too much; today he dares tease Your Majesty, tomorrow he'll dare mock Your Majesty. I say, at least a few ten thousand!"

The Su King said: "A few hundred thousand then."

The Chong King pondered: "Even a few hundred thousand have been beaten, might as well round it up, one million."

"Ten thousand." Zhang Longxiang opened his eyes.

The crowd glanced sideways.

Zhang Longxiang raised one index finger: "The Huai King's martial arts are profound, honored as a Martial Saint; ordinary Tianyu Guards beating him until all military staves break would likely be no different from scratching an itch, so the number need not be many but precise, it all depends on who does the beating. I'll do it, ten thousand is enough."

"Dragon Elephant King!" Liang Qu widened his eyes, propping up the chair, "You and I have no grievance no enmity, you want to place me on a dead ground?"

"Good! Not daring to trouble the Dragon Elephant King alone, I hear the Huai King cultivates the Buddhist Golden Body, copper head iron bones; just in case, after the Dragon Elephant King finishes ten thousand, I'll beat another ten thousand." The Su King followed up.

"You two, ten thousand each, adds up to only twenty thousand staves, how can that be enough? Let the Southern Frontier and Northern Court see, wouldn't that be a joke on us, that we can't even discipline a Martial Saint? Today, besides Your Majesty, the twenty-seven people present, each one ten thousand, each one ten thousand staves!" The Imperial Clan King settled it with a hammer blow.

The Chong King sighed sadly: "I and the Huai King have charged into the Southern Frontier several times, truly have comrade-in-arms bond; may I beat an extra ten thousand?"

Liang Qu stared with mouth agape.

"Your Majesty, absolutely not." Su Guishan spoke to dissuade.

"Ha, Lord Su!" Liang Qu delighted, "Quickly persuade Your Majesty — —"

"I've heard Lingnan has a specialty, called hand-beaten meatballs; to make them, one person holds two staves, repeatedly beating the meat into paste, kneading into balls, then dropping into boiling water, soaking in nori dried shrimp soup, eating them they're very springy, fragrant and delicious, but the key to making them lies in doing it in one continuous flow, movements fast, cannot beat beat stop stop; letting the various Kings take turns, I fear it won't be pretty. Better that this one person ten thousand staves, all come at once, so as not to lose the essence."

"?"

Shouldn't have let Su Guishan know how to make hand-beaten beef balls back then!

When eating, mouth full of flowing oil.

Ptooey!

"Click."

Chair legs dragged two dark traces on the brick and stone all the way, finally crashing into the threshold.

The Dragon Elephant King and Chong King's true qi covered the area; the Tianyu Guards outside couldn't hear what was said inside, only saw their colleague dragging a chair out, immediately astonished.

What situation?

The Huai King?

What unique monarch-minister game is this?

Just as Shi Fan and Luo Feng squatted down, grabbed the chair edges, about to lift Liang Qu out.

"Enough."

The Tianyu Guards immediately released their grip, standing at both sides.

From the start they entered, the two heard clearly, knew what kind of situation today was; if they took it seriously they'd be unlucky, those two — where could they afford to offend the Huai King.

"What extraordinary talent! Considering your master is a veteran general of the Western Army who has rendered meritorious service, I shall spare you this once!" The Sage Emperor snorted coldly, "Go back!"

"Hey, many thanks, Your Majesty! Many thanks, Your Majesty!"

Liang Qu grabbed the stool, the seat never leaving his buttocks, and carrying it on his back, he took small steps to sit back in his original spot, the very picture of sneakiness.

The tea mist shifted in the air.

The atmosphere fell silent once more.

No one spoke.

This silence was utterly different from the last.

Before, it was shock that left the mind a blank, blank to the point of being unable to speak; this time, amidst the tranquility, infinite thoughts exploded, the blank filled with infinite thoughts, turning from pure white into pitch black.

The Chief Steward whispered instructions one by one, consciously leading away the Heavenly Feather Guards, the Lan Prefecture Department Magistrate, the high officials of the Six Ministries, the Grand Secretaries, and the rest from the main hall.

Tapping the tabletop with his index finger at an unhurried pace, the Sage Emperor spoke: "Say again what you just said."

Liang Qu thought for a moment: "Mainly, the Ma Wang Pill's medicinal potency is too fierce, and I'm a bit special. Current speculation: it's possible a Position Fruit embryo has been nurtured?"

The Sage Emperor was solemn: "How much speculation? What percentage of possibility?"

Liang Qu thought for a moment: "Seventy or eighty percent?"

Su Guishan interjected: "That means one hundred percent."

Liang Qu was baffled: "How did it become one hundred percent? Lord Su isn't a roundworm in my belly, knowing me better than I know myself?"

"You say seventy or eighty percent, that's eighty percent; eighty or ninety is not far from ten, isn't that one hundred percent?"

"How can you reason like that?"

"Wasn't this logic taught by you?"

"

"

"Seventy or eighty percent————"

The Sage Emperor focused his mind.

Everyone present, not a single one was not frightened by this number into holding their breath.

"Has the Prince of Huai already reached a thousandfold Root Sea?" the Prince of Chong asked.

Liang Qu shook his head: "If it were a thousandfold Root Sea, I might not be unable to connect with the Boundless Sea. Right now, there really are some problems. Most likely, after swallowing the Ma Wang Pure Yang Pill, with eight hundred Root Seas, a small sun was nurtured above my Cloud Sea." After the 'small sun' appeared, I could no longer connect with the Boundless Sea; using divine abilities consumes physical strength."

"Is it that the Root Sea is insufficient, yet with insufficient Root Sea, a Position Fruit embryo was nurtured, causing the nutrients within to be completely absorbed by the Position Fruit, thereby cracking the Lower Dantian?" Zhang Longxiang guessed.

"Precisely. King Longxiang is sharp; that is exactly my speculation, which is why I suspected it was a Position Fruit." Liang Qu nodded, "Although the Flood Dragon's Qi power is vast and fears not Entering Zhen Xiang, during this period, against ordinary Flood Dragons, I would inevitably suffer a disadvantage. If there is any unexpected battle, I might not be able to exert my due effect. Speaking of this today, your subject also hopes Your Majesty can learn of the situation as soon as possible, so as to consider appropriately when the time comes, lest it affect strategic plans."

Liang Qu cut through the complexity, selected the essentials, and briefly recounted his cultivation journey.

Some things could not be spoken of, such as the Four Seasons' Long Qi, the old turtle's lifeblood, and the Time Worms fusion derived therefrom.

Without the Four Seasons as a guide, the Time Worms fundamentally cannot weave; to speak of Time Worms is unavoidably to speak of Long Qi. But some things can be spoken of, such as the Fertile Soil Yellow Mud Mother, the Spiritual Seed Technique, the Martial Saint's Primordial Yang left with the Immortal's help, and the Dharma Relic sent by the Suspended Temple recently.

Silence.

Long silence.

The logic was completely self-consistent; everyone fully realized that the Prince of Huai indeed had a seventy or eighty percent possibility of having nurtured a Position Fruit embryo!

"Eight hundred Root Seas, nurturing a Position Fruit embryo?"

The Prince of Chong murmured.

Amidst this boundless envy, it almost gave rise to a jealousy in him.

Why?

Because of Liang Qu's twenty-seven Flood Dragons? Because of Liang Qu's meritorious service? Because of Liang Qu's extraordinary combat power?

Fine.

If forced to pick one person, it's quite reasonable.

But————

A Position Fruit!

Position Fruits come in three grades: Small, Medium, Large.

Their modes of birth are none other than two: heaven-born and earth-nurtured, or self-nurtured.

Heaven-born and earth-nurtured are mostly Small Position Fruits, occasionally Medium.

Small and Medium Position Fruits do not enter the Crucible; only Large Position Fruits enter. Thus the heaven-born path requires searching, refining, and advancing — none of it easy.

Self-nurtured, from seed sprouting into a great tree, the great tree bearing the Position Fruit. Self-nurtured, though also not entering the Crucible, has one difference.

Self-nurtured Position Fruits are innately refined, completely controlled, and advancement is simple! Far easier than the heaven-born path! They might even be a Medium Position Fruit the moment they appear, nurturing complete!

Liang Qu's move can be said to have directly obtained the stepping stone to immortality, setting foot on the path to ascension.

The five Kings present, in strength and realm, are all higher than Liang Qu, but on the path of the Dao, they have already fallen behind!

Just what kind of talent and fortune is this?

The several major methods of entering the Crucible, by the Martial Saint stage, inevitably arouse curiosity; they are practically known to all.

That Liang Qu cultivates the Thousand Seas Boundless Method is also known to all.

Unlike ordinary Flood Dragons who, after entering the Martial Saint stage, manage their fiefs and develop slowly, several great battles — not to mention the Qi mechanisms leaked during combat — the merits from those several great battles were all exchanged by Liang Qu for treasures that increase Root Sea.

Great Creation Pills are scarce in number; a single kind perhaps has only one or two portions. Compare the exchange records slightly, combine with recent exchangers, and one can know — it's fundamentally impossible to hide.

The Thousand Seas Boundless Method: a thousandfold Root Sea is merely the basic condition. Afterwards, one must still raise the realm; from the Third Stage onward, raise the realm to further expand the Root Sea, while simultaneously seeking corresponding methods, planting a 'sapling', bringing out rule fragments from within the Root Sea.

Now, the most, most basic condition of a thousandfold has not even been reached, yet relying merely on the number eight hundred, a Position Fruit embryo was nurtured?

"Primordial Yang, is it that important?"

Zhang Longxiang pondered.

Not only the Prince of Chong, the several Flood Dragons in the hall all found this news astonishing, a storm sweeping through their minds.

They discovered for the first time that this thing everyone originally possessed could be so profoundly mysterious.

Yin-Yang Spirit Seed?

It was certain Liang Qu had concealed many things, but even without concealment, wanting to walk this path, the Pure Yang requirement alone blocked the way; among all those present, not a single one had this thing, and even whether a grandson had it was uncertain.

Why do people cultivate? For longevity? And what is longevity for?

Longevity is merely an extremely empty direction; it is a reliance, a support to reach for other things; the essence of life's driving force was already determined at the very moment life was born.

Beyond Pure Yang, the condition of a thousandfold third realm could not be met — they were all above the third realm.

The third realm did have a clear method to achieve it: with great determination, self-severance would do; but whether the severance was accurate was another matter, and after severing, one could almost no longer cultivate, reaching the end for a lifetime.

Moreover, Liang Qu seemed to have a way to resolve the Pure Yang matter; after all, judging by his meaning, the immortal helped solidify and grow the extraordinary spirit seed into a sapling, not return it anew. The fear was that Liang Qu's method of anew return was likewise an unfathomably deep pit, including those unsaid details.

Don't finish self-severing, go through untold hardships to fully restore Pure Yang, peel back those straw-mat-covered places and look — one huge hole after another, pitch-black, bottomless.

Oh, and there was the Root Sea, eight hundred Root Seas, also not something ordinary people could reach. An ordinary third realm, what ability did they have to leap between major forces? Let alone now, Southern Frontier, Northern Court, all hollowed out, including Great Shun itself —

Item by item, matter by matter, the more they thought, the heavier the pressure in their hearts.

Slowly, even a dread born of immense pressure arose; merely pondering it nearly made them lose their mental composure.

High Mountain.

An insurmountable High Mountain.

Every path to immortality is difficult to replicate; it can only be learned from, not copied wholesale!

The Thousand Seas are boundless; Liang Qu only borrows their momentum, his sinews and bones formed separately.

"Liang Qing truly — giving Us a surprise."

Liang Qu knelt on one knee: "Without Your Majesty, there would be no subject of today; the Fisherman to date, a mere fourteen years; the River Earl to date, a mere twelve years; the Xingyi Earl to date, a mere ten years!"

Prince Chong pondered: "Speaking like this, because it was nurtured prematurely before reaching a thousandfold, to solve the Boundless Sea problem —"

Zhang Longxiang said: "Normal cultivation, growing to the thousandfold Root Sea number, perhaps it can recover, and it is also extremely possible that is the day the Position Fruit truly forms; looking across the world, even if realms differ, it still belongs to the first rank."

The Martial Saints in the hall all felt their hearts jump.

The most excited, none more so than Yang Dongxiong, in a trance, in a trance, in a trance again.

His own disciple — just what step could he reach?

"Cannot be too optimistic; a Martial Saint's Root Sea drying up, how rare; delaying too long, whether there will be other effects, remains unknown." Prince Su splashed a basin of cold water.

"What meaning?" Liang Qu blanked for a moment.

Zhang Longxiang suddenly realized something: "A prototype is ultimately a prototype, not a formed Position Fruit; young means weak; right now you merely have the tree seed, yet lack the 'soil' and 'water' to nurture the tree seed, even lacking to the point of draining the Root Sea, affecting cultivation. No problem for a short while, but what about the long run?"

A tree without water, without soil —

Liang Qu woke with a start: "Wither and die?"

"I am merely reminding the Huai King, lest he rejoice too early and overlook details." Prince Su continued, "Moreover, whether the Root Sea drying up will affect normal cultivation speed and treasure medicine absorption is likewise unknown."

"Liang Qing still has quite a few treasure medicines waiting to be refined, right?"

"Yes." Liang Qu turned his head, "Not few treasure medicines, refined successively; originally this subject had confidence, before the Great Hunt Assembly, to reach the thousandfold number; now with Prince Su saying this, somewhat uncertain —"

Sheng Ci closed his eyes.

Liang Qu did not know what the Sage Emperor was thinking; no one knew what the Sage Emperor was thinking.

A long while.

The Sage Countenance opened its eyes: "Have the Pill Workshop first refine pills and prepare according to precedent; after the Southern Immortal, I will ask and invite people on your behalf, to see if the remaining treasure medicines can be refined into combined pills, completing the merit in one effort."