Chapter 738: I Love the World

Ji Province, Royal Court.

The vast palace dome towers high, with gold bricks paving the floor, reflecting the flickering candlelight.

Ji Zhu reclines against the black-gold throne, the dark armor setting off skin as white as frost, raven-feather-like long hair cascading down the side of her shoulder.

"Reporting to the Empress, the physical body of Zhao Zhugui is indeed peculiar, yet his bodily structure is no different from an ordinary person's. It is suspected that he contains the power of will within him, yet he possesses not a shred of the strength of the Will Realm."

An old man dressed in white robes kneels on one knee, reporting.

"Without the strength of the Will Realm, yet able to make people sense the existence of the power of will..."

Ji Zhu's face is devastatingly beautiful, yet her voice consistently reveals a trace of an extremely icy aura.

Just as she speaks, the old man kneeling on one knee lowers his head even further.

"This is also what puzzles this humble subject; the specific circumstances require repeated study before they can be determined."

A trace of a smile appears at the corner of Ji Zhu's mouth:

"You are indeed as useless as always; then what is that array on his body?"

The white-robed old man's body trembles slightly:

"That is a God-tier grand array that has never appeared before, coexisting with Zhao Zhugui. I implore the Empress to issue an order for us to execute punishment upon Zhao Zhugui."

A look of indifference appears in Ji Zhu's eyes:

"Execute punishment, force him to display that God-tier array, and then which one of you will go and learn it?

How much time would it take to master a God-tier grand array?

One day, two days, or five years, ten years?!"

A look of impatience appears in her eyes.

Does Ji Province have a God-tier grand array?

It does.

Do the Five Clans have one? Does Great Xia have one?

They all do.

With the human race's ten-thousand-year history of martial arts, how could there not be a few God-tier grand arrays left in the world?

But is what the human race lacks a God-tier grand array?

What the human race lacks is a God-tier Array Master, a giant of arrays capable of using a God-tier grand array.

Chen Province has only two.

One is Chen Qi, the other is Chen He.

Ji Province has only one.

"A bunch of idiots!" Ji Zhu speaks in a cold voice:

"A grand array master is right there; regardless of how special he is, he is a grand array master.

You actually want me to execute punishment on him, just to obtain an array from his body?"

Ji Zhu is almost angered to the point of laughter.

Is this a fucking idea that a human could come up with?

If that God-tier array is a treasure, is Zhao Zhugui not a treasure himself?

This is a rare commodity.

Using torture to extract a confession is undoubtedly killing the goose to get the golden egg.

"Let him eat well and drink well," Ji Zhu says indifferently:

"Give him whatever he wants; women, money, status, wealth—give it all to him."

Ji Zhu cherishes talent.

When one Ji Chuxi showed brilliance, she made Ji Chuxi a war hero for the entire Ji Province, enjoying endless glory.

Even if Chen Yan were to fight his way to Ji Province, she would personally appear to invite Chen Yan to join Ji Province.

But she has no talent to regret.

Absolute geniuses are all monopolized by Great Xia and the other four clans.

Especially Great Xia, which simply has shit-tier luck; first Lu Xunyang, then Chen Yan, making her so envious.

Even if a Ji Chuxi reaches the end, he is only a mid-to-upper Tier 8.

Therefore, from the very beginning, Ji Zhu never harbored any cold hostility toward Zhao Zhugui.

The white-robed old man lowers his head and says:

"Up to this point, that Zhao Zhugui has only one request."

"Oh?" Ji Zhu smiles:

"What request?"

"He..." The old man purses his lips:

"He only wants to leave."

Ji Zhu's expression turns cold:

"Is he from Great Xia?"

"No, we have already checked; Zhao Zhugui's memories are suspected to be gone. His earliest memory is the moment he was captured by the Empress."

Ji Zhu narrows her eyes:

"What is he doing now?"

"Watching bricks," the old man says tremblingly.

"Watching bricks?" Ji Zhu is stunned.

At the same time.

Inside the cage.

A damp, musty smell mixed with the scent of rust permeated the air, and fine beads of water seeped from the gray, dusty walls, winding their way down along the mottled iron bars.

Zhao Zhugui was examining every single crack in the brick and mortar, every single corner, with great relish.

He was extremely earnest.

The cold sound of shackles scraping against the floor did not in the slightest affect his heart, which was set on admiring the bricks and stones.

"In this world, whether it be the resplendent mountains and rivers, or the boundless ocean, even if it is just these filthy bricks and tiles of this prison, they are all infinitely wonderful."

He murmured, wearing a smile.

He did not notice at all that because he had absorbed the fleshly energy of a Source Realm entity, his own strength was growing rapidly.

It was as if becoming stronger was not even worth mentioning compared to admiring the bricks and stones.

"What a pity, what a pity; I want to go out and see, the scenery of the outside world must be even more beautiful."

He sighed aloud; he wanted to walk the world and witness every corner of the human realm.

This seemed to be his innate mission, the meaning of his life.

He did not know why it was like this, but he just liked it this way.

It was also at this moment that a clattering sound rang out.

The cage was opened by someone, and the jailer unlocked the chains on Zhao Zhugui's feet, saying indifferently:

"You are free, Zhao Zhugui."

Zhao Zhugui was delighted:

"Good."

He walked through the cramped passageway and finally stepped out of the prison.

Looking at the bright sun and the towering city walls, the smile on Zhao Zhugui's face grew increasingly intense.

He walked out of the prison and into the countryside.

At the same time.

Above the void, a figure stood quietly; one person was monitoring Zhao Zhugui.

Zhao Zhugui was a rare commodity, so the Mistress of Ji naturally could not let him go easily.

But the Mistress of Ji wanted to know what kind of sacred being this Zhao Zhugui really was, and whether he was a spy for the Great Xia.

And he needed to report the situation regarding Zhao Zhugui to the Mistress of Ji at fixed intervals.

Soon.

The Mistress of Ji received the first video report from the monitor.

Inside the screen.

Zhao Zhugui was burning paper money in the direction of the ocean, his expression complex as he spoke.

"I do not know you, yet you died while saving me."

"I am grateful and sorrowful, but the person who killed you has monstrous power; I cannot avenge you."

Zhao Zhugui bowed deeply, and after waiting for the paper money to finish burning, he set off again.

The Mistress of Ji frowned.

A mysterious powerhouse possessing a God-level Array would actually care about the death of a lowly woman.

She continued to flip through the video reports sent back by her subordinate.

She fell silent.

That Zhao Zhugui was actually truly traveling and sightseeing.

He would drool at the freshly steamed buns at a shop, and would also express heartfelt admiration for a clear lake.

He walked through the countryside with a smile; even a willow leaf that was greener than the others would cause him to pause for a long time to gaze at it.

He would sigh with deep emotion when he saw the dilapidated walls left behind by war.

But when he saw the wildflowers blooming by the roadside, he would smile knowingly.

The Mistress of Ji watched in silence.

If it were normal times, she would truly think he was sick.

If this isn't being sick, then what is?

But this Zhao Zhugui was a bit too special.

Possessing a God-level Array, and even being able to absorb the life force of others to strengthen himself—such methods made even the Mistress of Ji feel immense emotion.

Yet this Zhao Zhugui did not care in the slightest.

He was just admiring the world.

"Is he deliberately putting on a show for me to see?" The Mistress of Ji narrowed her eyes.

What exactly did the appearance of this Zhao Zhugui signify?

"Power of Will, Power of Will..."

The Mistress of Ji paced with her hands behind her back, her eyes slightly narrowed, thinking of something.

The Master of Chen had long ago concluded that the Lord of Will was an existence on the side of the Great Xia.

But the Lord of Will had once said that he would descend into the human realm.

Was there a connection between Zhao Zhugui and the descent of the Lord of Will?

Could it be that walking the world and admiring the scenery of heaven and earth was also a necessity for the descent of the Lord of Will?

The Mistress of Ji shook her head.

If that were the case, then the methods of the Lord of Will were far too profound and mysterious.

Because she could not understand them.

"Continue the surveillance; I want to see what he is planning to do."

The Sovereign of Ji issued the order.

Soon, the figure of the Sovereign of Ji flickered, and when she appeared again, she was standing in the void.

Beneath her feet was a massive military camp.

"Reporting to the Empress, everything is safe and sound."

A female general wearing golden armor appeared and bowed to the Sovereign of Ji.

"That Chen Yan is likely already dead; how could he possibly launch a surprise attack on Ji Province?" The female general sneered.

"Chen Qi is nothing but a charlatan, and his methods involving rules are not very sophisticated either."

The female general named Ji Yanqing clearly did not believe in Chen Qi's prophecy.

The Sovereign of Ji smiled faintly and said:

"An extremely powerful Eighth-Rank has fallen, and the attention of the Great Xia and the Four Clans is all on the Forbidden Land of Ancient Gods.

It is good for my Ji Province to temporarily withdraw from the Tie Province battlefield to recuperate, regardless of whether Chen Yan will actually come or not.

That side of the Forbidden Land of Ancient Gods will surely trigger a great war between the two sides, and both the Great Xia and the Four Clans will suffer heavy losses; this is my golden opportunity."

Ji Yanqing's expression changed slightly, and then she also revealed a smile.

The armies of the Five Clans have already headed to the Forbidden Land of Ancient Gods.

But Ji Province did not send anyone there, all because of a prophecy from Chen Qi.

Looking at it this way, Ji Province has actually profited.

"My Ji Province has been fighting for years and is already exhausted; this period of time is perfect for us to properly recuperate."

Ji Yanqing smiled.

She fundamentally did not believe that Chen Yan could slaughter hundreds of thousands of troops in her Ji Province.

Even if Chen Yan really came, not to mention the Sovereign of Ji, she herself would instantly sever Chen Yan's head.

Ji Province currently has seven Eighth-Rank Marshals, and they are all coveting this military merit.

They even hope that Chen Yan will come.

The Sovereign of Ji nodded slightly, looked at Ji Yanqing, and said:

"By the way, why did you not go to bring back your daughter, San Jin, earlier?"

Previously, when Ji Province launched a surprise attack on Qin Province, Ji Yanqing was among the attacking forces, and San Jin happened to be in Xiaoyang City of Qin Province.

"San Jin..." Ji Yanqing sneered.

"She is merely a wicked spawn I gave birth to in order to complete a mission."

The Sovereign of Ji nodded silently, then left.

…………