Chapter 212: I actually thought Li Chen was bold enough to let me go too

Just as Li Si was looking for people everywhere, she bumped into a stunningly beautiful young girl of similar age with white hair and white eyebrows.

At first glance, Li Si felt a sense of amazement.

After communicating, Li Si learned that this beautiful girl was named Wang Wang Yueyao, who was very strong and possessed a natural Sage Body.

She was a woman Li Chen had rescued from the Wang family; her mother could be considered Li Chen's woman, but she herself was not yet.

Li Si immediately remarked, "What a small matter, you've already moved into the palace, do you think my brother would let you off? It's just that my brother has been too busy lately to have much time to look after you."

At Li Si's invitation, Wang Wang Yueyao also gladly participated in the training of the Seven Absolute Meridian Array, which made her mother feel very happy. Her daughter could be considered to have integrated into the imperial palace, and it was estimated that becoming a consort was only a matter of time.

Wang Wang Yueyao was a relatively withdrawn person, but Li Si was currently a social butterfly.

When Li Chen came to the Heaven-Evolving Martial Arena, he saw these six stunning beauties practicing the meridian array.

The meridian array was about finding a way to gather everyone's energy through the resonance of meridian gates to create greater power.

One must know that ordinary cultivators could not summon divine beast phantoms directly like Li Chen and Tuoba Zhen, because their energy was insufficient to maintain it.

This was basically a move that only those in the Sage Realm could use individually.

However, a meridian array could achieve this, and it could be considered a trump card for many cultivators.

The May Tian Ce Dynasty's grand army had meridian arrays; when they erupted, it was as if giant heavenly soldiers were descending into the world, invincible!

Seeing Li Chen approach, Li Si said excitedly, "Brother, do you want to try the power of our Seven Absolute Meridian Array?"

Li Chen took a look and replied, "Sure, just come at me."

Saying this, Li Chen walked to the center of the Heaven-Evolving Martial Arena under the watchful eyes of everyone.

The Empress Dowager, Consort Yi, Jiang Jiang Ningyue, Wang Wang Yueyao's mother Luo Luo Qimeng, and others—these dozen or so beautiful matrons were watching from the sidelines. Many had never seen Li Chen make a move; they had only heard that Li Chen was very strong.

Besides them, many palace maids and eunuchs were also watching from the side. They were also curious about what kind of power this Emperor, who was a legendary figure outside, truly possessed.

Wang Wang Yueyao, who had relatively stronger cultivation, stood at the very front. She bowed to Li Chen and said, "Your Majesty, please forgive me."

Li Chen waved his hand to indicate it was fine; he was just playing with his sister for a while, no harm done.

Under Li Chen's signal, the six stunning beauties unleashed the most powerful energy within them.

Because they knew that the man in front of them was the most powerful man in the May Tian Ce Dynasty, there was no need to hold back.

They frantically drove their meridians; Li Chen could even see them glowing.

For a moment, wild winds howled and energy surged!

It blew so hard that nearby people couldn't even open their eyes.

Li Chen scanned them and nodded with satisfaction; it seemed the foundations of these women of his were quite good.

The next second, following the resonance of the meridian array, a majestic female sword immortal phantom appeared above the heads of the six of them.

This made the six of them ecstatic, because the resonance of meridian gates required a certain amount of time to break in; if one was unfamiliar, it was very easy to fail in activating it.

They hadn't expected to succeed on the first try.

The meridian array had another advantage, which was perfectly solving the situation of uneven strength within a team.

Currently, Li Si's cultivation was very low, but she could provide her own innate attributes, such as heavenly thunder and poison, and attach these to the sword immortal phantom, which could significantly increase the sword immortal phantom's combat power and catch the enemy off guard.

Low-level cultivators had to consider many things, and the meridian array was just one of them.

There were also magic treasure strength, attribute restraint, elixir replenishment, the strength of the opponent's meridians, etc. —these were the keys to victory.

Li Chen and Tuoba Zhen's level didn't mean they didn't need to consider these. Just like in Sacred Mountain City, if Tuoba Zhen were in his peak phase and Li Chen were weakened due to the terrain, Tuoba Zhen indeed had a slight possibility of being able to contend with Li Chen—of course, this referred to only a slight possibility.

In the Heaven-Evolving Martial Arena, the women saw that the female sword immortal had already condensed, so they continuously began to drive the meridian array to increase the female sword immortal's power.

If Li Chen were at their level, he should be considering how to interrupt the opponent's continued spellcasting at this moment; otherwise, the female sword immortal would become stronger and stronger.

But Li Chen just watched them quietly, waiting for them to finish casting.

Following a light shout from Wang Wang Yueyao, a burst of light erupted from the eyes of the female sword immortal phantom, a sword surrounded by lightning 'manifested' in her hand, and a cape even appeared behind her.

Li Chen really didn't know what that cape was for; it wasted a lot of energy, but in the women's aesthetic, this was just good-looking.

This array also received cheers and praise from many beautiful matrons nearby; it seemed women really liked this kind of thing.

Once everything was ready, the six beauties changed their footwork and rushed over.

And the majestic female sword immortal in the sky also charged over with immense momentum.

The long sword in the female sword immortal's hand whistled, attacking Li Chen with the power of thunder.

The sound of the long sword breaking through the air was earth-shaking, scaring the nearby beautiful matrons out of their wits.

Some beautiful matrons even began to worry about Li Chen's safety, wondering if Wang Wang Yueyao and the others were playing too hard—what if they hurt Li Chen?

Moreover, Li Chen was still standing in place without moving at this moment, not even unleashing any energy.

Just as their thoughts were racing, Li Chen moved. He simply used a flicking gesture, flicking at the long sword of the female sword immortal phantom.

Boom!

A roar erupted at the point of collision; the female sword immortal phantom, along with the treasure sword in her hand, was instantly flicked apart and disappeared without a trace.

Wang Wang Yueyao and the other five beauties were also shaken back by this powerful energy, falling to the ground one by one, looking weak and pitiful.

The beautiful matrons nearby were dumbfounded. Such a fierce move, and Li Chen solved it with a flick of his finger?

They all felt that Li Chen probably didn't even use one percent of his strength.

If Li Chen knew they thought this, he would definitely say: One percent? Are you trying to make me kill them?

Li Chen had dismantled the female sword immortal phantom with his bare hands, not daring to unleash energy for fear of hurting them.

Li Si rubbed her bottom, stood up, and said quite unconvinced, "Brother, our meridian array isn't complete yet; we're missing one person. Find a few more for the harem so I can make it seven, and I'll definitely give you a surprise!"

When everyone heard this, good heavens, Li Si actually attributed this failure to Li Chen having too few women in his harem.

Li Chen also indicated that he would definitely work hard next time he went out, but for now, he still had to solve the problem at hand.

Saying this, Li Chen walked over, picked up Wang Wang Yueyao, who was still sitting on the ground, and walked toward the harem.

Wang Wang Yueyao was now timid to the extreme. Ever since entering the imperial palace, she knew there might be such a day, but this day was too sudden, and Li Chen was doing this in front of so many people.

She whispered, "Your Majesty, what are you doing?"

Li Chen gave a chuckle and said, "I want to see if the hair elsewhere on you is also white."

This sentence made Wang Wang Yueyao so shy that her whole body was trembling.

Wang Wang Yueyao's mother, Luo Luo Qimeng, saw this and followed. She knew how powerful Li Chen was; it was still early in the day, and her daughter definitely couldn't withstand the pressure, so she had to share some of the burden for her daughter.

The three of them left the Heaven-Evolving Martial Arena just like that.

Li Si had intended to continue training; after all, they were only missing one person.

But as time passed, Li Si felt that the people around her were becoming fewer and fewer.

At first, it was her aunt Jiang Jiang Ningyue, her aunt-in-law Xie Xie Minjun, and others who were summoned away by palace maids.

As for where they were going, Li Si knew, so she didn't say anything.

Following that, Chu Chu Ruoyan, Jiang Rong, Ning Ning Xiaoxiao, and other women were also successively summoned away by palace maids.

Finally, Li Si discovered that besides her, only the Empress Dowager and Consort Yi were still there.

The other women had actually all left? Her own brother was just too strong.

He could have at least left a few little sisters to keep me company; I feel quite lonely training by myself.

A more terrifying scene appeared next: a palace maid came again, this time coming to the Empress Dowager's side.

Li Si noticed that the Empress Dowager's body trembled, and her eyes were a bit nervous.

As it turned out, the palace maid said, "Reporting to the Empress Dowager, the day is growing late, and the Imperial Kitchen has carefully prepared a dinner banquet with a dazzling array of delicacies, just waiting for Your Highness to move your carriage to enjoy it."

When the Empress Dowager heard this, it turned out to be just this matter; it gave her a fright.

I actually thought Li Chen was bold enough to let me go too.

The Empress Dowager had been very fond of Li Si lately, so she invited Li Si and Consort Yi to go dine together.

After all, the other women were probably all at Li Chen's place.

Li Chen had just returned from winning a battle, so he definitely had to enjoy himself.

In the past, the harem wasn't large, and there were few tricks.

Now that there were more, things like Russian roulette and blindfolded guessing games were being played with great delight.

This was also Li Chen's ability to make the women in the harem get along harmoniously; after all, they were facing Li Chen's oppression together.

On the other side of the harem, Li Li Xueying was conducting unified training for these hundred-plus women from the north, telling them the rules of the palace and how to satisfy Li Chen.

She hadn't appeared just now because the Empress Dowager was at the Heaven-Evolving Martial Arena, and she really didn't like staying with the Empress Dowager.

It was still broad daylight, and Li Li Xueying felt that if Li Chen wanted to continue at night, he would definitely need to change to a new batch. Then, most of the women in front of her would definitely have to go at that time.

Li Li Xueying had been working hard for Li Chen to be more comfortable, also doing her job as an aunt.

Although she was the Grand Princess, she didn't have many followers like the Empress Dowager and was helpless in the Imperial Capital, so she had to hold tight to Li Chen's thigh.

The Sons of Destiny in the Imperial Capital were also successively preparing to start their own work.

Xu Xu Zifeng had just woken up from his drunkenness and realized it was already noon.

He was just preparing to go to the Ji family to find his mother and aunt when he heard from a servant that someone had come to visit.

This made Xu Xu Zifeng puzzled; he didn't have that many acquaintances in the Imperial Capital.

If one were to talk about enemies, there were quite a few, but he didn't need to hide his light recently, and he hadn't caused any trouble.

"Where are they?" Xu Xu Zifeng yawned.

"They are already in the main hall," the servant replied.

!

Saying this, Xu Xu Zifeng walked lazily to the main hall and discovered that Liu Hao and Prince Prince Anxi Li Ji were already there.

The two of them came up and congratulated Xu Xu Zifeng, leaving him at a loss.

After inquiring, he learned that in this morning's early court session, part of the list for the western expedition had been released; anyway, the important positions had already been arranged.

Xu Xu Zifeng, unsurprisingly, became the Vanguard Commander again, and Liu Hao was still the Deputy Vanguard Commander.

The Vanguard Army was the troop most likely to achieve merit, so the two of them naturally had to come and congratulate Xu Xu Zifeng.

Perhaps others who obtained this position would feel that their ancestral graves were smoking, actually being able to receive the Emperor's care.

When Xu Xu Zifeng obtained this position, he felt: Is Li Chen crazy? Why is he letting me go again?

During the last northern expedition, Xu Xu Zifeng felt he had been pitted miserably by Li Chen, and his resentment toward Li Chen was very deep.

But last time, he had at least participated in the spring hunt and inexplicably gained merit before being selected; why was it this time?

Seeing Xu Xu Zifeng's dazed look, Liu Hao thought he was flattered.

After all, Liu Hao was also envious; he had worked hard to beg for it, only to get a Deputy Vanguard Commander position, while Xu Xu Zifeng lay at home and was a Vanguard Commander. Why?

If they weren't of similar age, Liu Hao would have suspected Xu Xu Zifeng was Li Chen's own son.

Otherwise, how could there be such care?

Since they were going to be colleagues again, Liu Hao came over in advance to say hello, meaning: Buddy, you keep on being reckless, I can do the work of two people by myself.

Li Chen let Prince Prince Anxi Li Ji make preparations and find some people to impart experience to him.

He basically wasn't familiar with these generals of the May Tian Ce Dynasty; some he knew, but these people might not know him.

So Li Ji thought of Liu Hao and Xu Xu Zifeng, whom he had been drinking with last night. They were young generals who had won battles, so coming to learn some experience wouldn't be bad.

It just so happened he bumped into Liu Hao looking for Xu Xu Zifeng, so he followed.

Now that the three of them were all going on the western expedition, Li Ji felt they could exchange ideas while they were at it.

But Xu Xu Zifeng was in a very bad mood now and had no mind to exchange ideas with the two of them. He just thought about hurrying to the Ji family mansion, dealt with them perfunctorily, and didn't even prepare a meal.

The two of them were also sensible people; feeling Xu Xu Zifeng had something on his mind, they didn't stay long.

Leaving the Prince Zhennan Prince's Mansion, Liu Hao still had to go and greet other soldiers who were going on the western expedition together.

After all, the Liu family was a noble family, and he knew quite a few descendants of military families. Learning that Li Ji was also going on the western expedition, he brought him along.

Li Ji was extremely happy and grateful to Liu Hao.

What he lacked now was connections.

Those who wanted to participate in the western expedition definitely had to report to the Ministry of War to confirm whether they could go and what their positions were.

Liu Hao and Li Ji visited some descendants of military families, gathered for a meal with a dozen or so, and then marched majestically to the Ministry of War.

Li Ji was a Prince; as long as he followed what Li Chen said, put down his status, and got along well with these people, these people would still relatively accept him.

After all, Li Ji was personally allowed by Li Chen to go, so these descendants of military families were also thinking that Li Ji might have a good relationship with Li Chen, and if he developed in the future, his upper limit would definitely be high.

Everyone was mixing in the imperial court; knowing one more person meant one more path.

Actually, few people dared to get along well with Xu Xu Zifeng; everyone knew his father was the Prince of Prince Zhennan.

The reason Liu Hao dared to go was just to incite Xu Xu Zifeng to continue being reckless.

Arriving at the Ministry of War, this was Wu Qi's 'territory'.

Liu Hao just intended to greet Wu Qi on the way, but discovered that Wu Qi had actually been promoted to a Vice Director of the Ministry of War, which gave Liu Hao quite a fright.

A Vice Director of the Ministry of War was a mid-level cadre of the Ministry of War, responsible for reviewing the discharge papers, books, qualifications, and assessments of military officers.

That is to say, unless it was someone personally appointed by Li Chen, whether others were qualified to go on the western expedition had to be assessed by Wu Qi and his subordinates.

That Wu Qi had real power in the Ministry of War made Liu Hao and Li Ji feel very surprised.

"You brat, you were promoted secretly; why didn't you tell us so we could set up a banquet for you?"

"That's right, you're really not being a friend; you didn't say that when we were drinking last time."

Hearing Liu Hao and Li Ji's words, the corners of Wu Qi's mouth also rose slightly, unable to be suppressed.

"I also just received the appointment notice this morning. Although we are all acquaintances, I still have to handle things impartially."

Wu Qi was also embarrassed to say that his aunt was an Imperial Consort and his grandfather was in the Sage Realm.

Anyway, I am also working very hard!

Since he had the position, Wu Qi also prioritized handling the procedures for Liu Hao, Li Ji, and the descendants of military families brought by Liu Hao.

These guys had already agreed on where to drink tonight.

Which descendant of a military family wouldn't want to curry favor with an official of the Ministry of War?

Don't look at the officials of the Ministry of War as just working in the court and not going out to fight.

But the problem is, they are in charge of the distribution of materials and the transfer of personnel; their power is huge.

After finishing the procedures, Wu Qi casually said, "Didn't Xu Xu Zifeng come?"

Because on the list, Xu Xu Zifeng was personally selected by Li Chen; he just needed to come over, no need for very troublesome assessments.

Moreover, if Xu Xu Zifeng didn't come, the people of the Ministry of War would have to go find him and confirm with him the reason for not coming.

Grand General Guo Guo Po Yun was in a hurry to go on the western expedition, to the point where it couldn't be delayed.

Actually, he wanted to go after the early court session, but the soldiers hadn't been gathered yet.

"Oh, he has something else to do; he'll probably be here in a while," Liu Hao also said casually.

At the same time, Xu Xu Zifeng had already arrived at the Ji family mansion.

The people of the Ji family were also very polite when they saw Xu Xu Zifeng; no matter what, he could be considered a young master of the Ji family.

Unlike the desolate situation in the past, many people of the Ji family had now returned to develop, especially after Li Chen's great victory in the north; the more people came, the more there were.

As a professional fence-sitter, one couldn't just tie oneself to one tree.

The Princess of Prince Zhennan and Ji Ji Lianyu were of course at the Ji family at this hour, but Xu Xu Zifeng felt that the two of them seemed to have poor sleep, but he didn't know why he felt his mother's and aunt's complexions were becoming more and more rosy.

Now was not the time to consider this. When his mother and aunt came over, Xu Xu Zifeng hurriedly said, "It's bad, Li Chen inexplicably made me a Vanguard Commander again. I feel there is a trick in it; why don't we hurry and leave the Imperial Capital!"

Hearing him say this, the Princess of Prince Zhennan and Ji Ji Lianyu looked at each other, smiles appearing on their faces.

The Princess of Prince Zhennan: "Good son, if His Majesty lets you go, then go. The May Tian Ce Dynasty's army is mighty; you just need to mix up some military merit. I believe my son has this ability."

Ji Ji Lianyu: "This is an opportunity others would beg for. You don't know that your mother went to beg the Empress Dowager to win this opportunity for you."

She almost blurted out 'how hard your mother worked last night', but finally changed the subject and gave the credit for the good deed to the Empress Dowager.

Seeing Xu Xu Zifeng didn't understand, the Princess of Prince Zhennan and Ji Ji Lianyu kept persuading him: We can't go back to the south now; if you achieve more military merit here, your mother and aunt will be safer.

As long as the Princess of Prince Zhennan didn't intend to go back, Xu Xu Zifeng indeed had no way.

He could only think that his old man should have no problem dealing with the Third Prince Li Yu.

Under the persuasion of the two women, Xu Xu Zifeng, this Son of Destiny, had to continue to participate in the western expedition.

Since he had to go, he definitely had to bring his good helper Ma Hei.

Ma Hei had accompanied him to prison and been to the snow mountains.

The relationship between the two could be said to be very close.

Ma Hei had been very busy yesterday; today, just after finishing, he heard Xu Xu Zifeng say that the two of them were going to participate in the western expedition to conquer the Sassanid Dynasty.

Ma Hei couldn't understand this for a moment. He thought: The Holy Master called me over, wasn't it to help you and your father, the Prince of Prince Zhennan, rebel? Why have we been helping the May Tian Ce Dynasty fight wars?

If you father and son don't rebel soon, I'm afraid Ma Hei will have a share of the merit in the May Tian Ce Dynasty's eternal hegemony!

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 213 =====