Chapter 213

Ma Hei had gained quite a few opportunities recently and could be considered to have made some progress.

Coupled with the northern expedition period, having fought to the death with quite a few powerhouses at the peak of the Heavenly Abyss Realm, he had gained a new understanding of the realm.

So he had gone into seclusion yesterday, starting to search for his own path.

Actually, for Ma Hei, the western expedition was not a bad thing; when the time came, he would definitely have to fight to the death with powerhouses of different cultivation styles again, and his insights would definitely be different.

Ma Hei also discovered that by Xu Zifeng's side, even if he encountered various dangers, every time it was a narrow escape from death, but he could always turn danger into safety and gain benefits.

Even if there was danger, as long as the returns were high, Ma Hei was still willing to take risks.

His dream in this life was to break through to the Sage Realm, which was also the dream of countless cultivators at the peak of the Heavenly Abyss Realm.

Thinking of this, Ma Hei went with Xu Zifeng to report to the Ministry of War.

But when passing by the government office, Xu Zifeng suddenly remembered something, so he bought some things nearby and went to the government prison to visit someone.

In the dark prison, the former northern envoy Atade was lying idly on a pile of withered grass.

At this time, two acquaintances walked in.

"Aren't you surprised to see me?" Xu Zifeng teased.

He had thought that if Atade saw him, he would definitely ask why he hadn't come for so long, or about the war situation in the north.

"I already know about the matter; I heard you made great contributions on the northern battlefield, it's just a pity I couldn't have a contest with you."

Atade expressed his regret; during this period, he had heard quite a bit of news from Zhou Ye.

He wouldn't congratulate Xu Zifeng either; after all, Xu Zifeng had fought on his homeland.

"There will be plenty of opportunities, but as for those places you mentioned, I've been to many of them..."

Xu Zifeng personally recounted the process of his northern expedition; when he spoke of going to the Great Snowy Mountain, encountering the Snow Leopard God, and gaining an opportunity.

This made Atade incredibly envious; he hadn't expected that Xu Zifeng, a person of the May Tian Ce Dynasty, could actually gain the recognition of the Snow Leopard God.

Actually, in the eyes of the Snow Leopard God, they were all just another species; the Snow Leopard God only said it belonged to this world and didn't think it belonged to the north or any other place.

It was just that the people of the north regarded it as a totem and symbol.

"You didn't come here just to tell me these things, did you?" Atade muttered while eating the food Xu Zifeng had brought.

"If I don't talk about these, what else can I talk about? In a while, I'm going on the western expedition to the Sassanid Dynasty and won't have that much time to see you," Xu Zifeng said casually.

Atade sighed: "Alas, it is because the May Tian Ce Dynasty has many loyal ministers like you that it is so strong."

Xu Zifeng: "..."

This remark by Atade was actually satirizing the traitorous dog Huyan Lan.

Who knew Xu Zifeng would be somewhat broken.

"Who are you calling a loyal minister! You are the loyal minister, your whole family are loyal ministers!"

In Atade's eyes, Xu Zifeng had indeed made great contributions to the May Tian Ce Dynasty; if he wasn't a loyal minister, what was he?

Xu Zifeng couldn't tell Atade that he had thoughts of rebellion; what if this guy reported him?

He just couldn't betray his own tribe, which didn't mean he couldn't betray a prison mate.

Atade's brother Altai was a prisoner of war, and the nature was different, so he wasn't locked up here, and the two of them couldn't meet for the time being.

Atade said: "If you can, please also send some food to my brother and say that I am fine. I have no benefits to give you, I can only shamelessly entrust you."

His words were somewhat sorrowful; Xu Zifeng said heroically: "It's fine, but you entrusted the right person; I can indeed go see your brother."

Although Xu Zifeng was a slacker on the northern battlefield, he was still a general on the winning side, so he definitely had the qualifications to see prisoners of war.

Anyway, there was nothing to do today; after reporting to the Ministry of War, Xu Zifeng went to see the prison where the prisoners of war were held.

At the Ministry of Justice government office nearby, Xiao Ming's new work also began.

He received the task issued by Pang Jin, which was to track down the princess of the previous dynasty's remnants, as well as the Prince of Jing'an's son, Li Yang.

As long as these two were brought to justice, Xiao Ming could gain quite a bit of merit again.

The May Tian Ce Dynasty had a vast territory, numerous sects, and some reclusive forces hidden in the deep mountains.

Li Yang had fled the Imperial Capital; finding him was no different from looking for a needle in a haystack.

Not to mention that the place where the princess of the previous dynasty's remnants was hiding must also be very deep.

But Pang Jin felt that Xiao Ming was a subordinate who could bring him surprises, so he handed this heavy burden to him.

Anyway, Xiao Ming had nothing to do lately, so he agreed.

Xiao Ming was a Ministry of Justice official; he had six people under him for the time being, all recruited during this period. In order to recruit more people, he decided to return to Wuchao City, and by the way, resolve his enemies.

Wuchao City was in the west of the May Tian Ce Dynasty, and the west happened to be where the remnants of the previous dynasty were hiding; at that time, he could also stop by to see Lin Yue'e.

The Sage remnant soul in his necklace felt: "Seeing Lin Yue'e is your main purpose, isn't it, kid?"

There was no help for it; Xiao Ming had been rebuffed at the Xinhuo Combat Academy during this period. No matter how high his status rose, Xia Qing didn't look down on him and didn't even give him a chance to be a sycophant.

He also didn't understand why Xia Qing's standards were so high.

He was at least a Ministry of Justice official, a "big official" holding authority; when he went to the Combat Academy, quite a few female teachers had taken the initiative to strike up a conversation with him.

But Xiao Ming was just a bit base; he didn't like those who liked him, but just happened to like the one who didn't like him.

Besides, the appearance of those women really didn't reach the standard he liked.

Xiao Ming didn't understand, and he hadn't noticed any official higher than himself pursuing Xia Qing.

Actually, he didn't know that Xia Qing knew the biggest official, which was why she had no interest in him.

Xiao Ming didn't have many acquaintances in the Imperial Capital, so he prepared to set off for Wuchao City.

He took a few subordinates and left the Ministry of Justice government office, walking toward the west gate of the Imperial Capital.

But not long after walking, he passed by someone not far away, which made him turn his head abruptly.

The other party seemed to have noticed him too and immediately started running.

Xiao Ming's intuition told him that this person definitely had a problem, so he chased after him.

"Stop, don't run!"

Seeing Xiao Ming chase, his subordinates naturally followed suit.

But this person's movement technique was extremely fast, and he lost him at the intersection ahead.

And at this time, Xu Zifeng and Ma Hei, who had come out of the government prison, were strolling over.

Xiao Ming had drunk with Xu Zifeng that night, so they could be considered acquaintances, so he asked: "Brother Xu, did you see someone with extremely fast movement technique run past here just now?"

Xu Zifeng pondered for a moment and said: "Now that you mention it, there really was. Just now I saw a figure pass through that street, and Ma Hei and I were still marveling that this guy's movement technique attainment was extremely high."

Xiao Ming's subordinates chased in the direction Xu Zifeng pointed.

At this time, Xu Zifeng asked casually: "Brother Xiao, did that person commit some crime?"

Xiao Ming replied: "Not for the moment, I just felt he had a problem, so I intended to catch him and ask."

After speaking, Xiao Ming also chased out; he didn't believe he couldn't catch him.

This made Xu Zifeng somewhat unable to hold back; you government officials, are you all so casual when catching people?

The one being chased by Xiao Ming was none other than Tang Shan.

He originally had a criminal record, and now that he was the face-man for the Wang family's remnants, he was even more guilty.

Just now, he had secretly exchanged information with Lin Mo, the opportunity-gainer of the previous dynasty's remnants; who knew that just after coming out and not walking far, he would run into Xiao Ming.

He discovered Xiao Ming was staring at him, so he simply slipped away.

This guy had stolen too many things and had practiced a good movement technique.

Let alone him, now Lin Mo was somewhat afraid when seeing Xiao Ming.

However, Lin Mo had now entered a relatively large project study in the Ministry of Works, which was floating rock; if this thing were utilized well, perhaps a powerful aerial army could be created.

The skilled craftsmen of the Ministry of Works also began to join the research.

But the Son of Destiny was just strong; with Lin Mo's joining, many problems were unexpectedly solved easily, and the construction of the aerial army gradually took shape.

In the Prince of Jing'an's mansion, Chen Xuannan had also completed his breakthrough, and his cultivation had now reached the late stage of the Six Realms Realm.

He had cultivated in the Opening Meridian Realm for ten years, steadily and surely.

It was estimated that after the western expedition, he would be able to reach the Observing Heaven Realm, one step closer to the Sage Realm.

Chen Xuannan looked up at the sky at forty-five degrees; he felt that in this life, he would definitely be able to ascend!

But before that, he had to settle Li Ling; Li Ling couldn't leave him now, and if it weren't for him, Li Ling would likely die on the battlefield of the western expedition.

Then Chen Xuannan would definitely participate in the May Tian Ce Dynasty's western expedition with Xu Zifeng again.

If it weren't for Chen Xuannan cracking the Unmelting Ice and even finding the tunnel of Saint Mountain City, the progress of the northern expedition army wouldn't have been so fast.

If it weren't for Xu Zifeng tricking the Snow Leopard God away, Tuoba Zhen's combat power wouldn't have recovered so quickly, and it wouldn't take long before he created a powerful army.

It could be said that both of them participated passively, but played a very critical role.

In the imperial palace, Li Chen had also just finished an afternoon of fighting.

Refreshed, he came to the Imperial Study and continued to start work.

After working for a while, Li Sining walked in holding a "kitten". "Brother, this cat you raised is too bad, it wanted to steal and eat my Saint Beast egg!"

The kitten's neck was grabbed, looking innocent.

The one caught by Li Sining wasn't any kitten, but the legendary Saint Beast, the Snow Leopard God.

It had now become very small, and Li Chen had personally placed a restriction on it, making it no different from a kitten.

If it weren't for hearing from a palace maid that this kitten was raised by Li Chen, Li Sining would have almost chopped it up.

As a Saint Beast, it might like to devour other Saint Beasts to grow.

The Saint Tiger inside Wu Nanzhi's body had once wanted to eat Li Sining's Saint Beast egg and had been threatened by Li Chen's gaze.

Unexpectedly, the Snow Leopard God also had this idea.

The Snow Leopard God also hadn't expected that after living for so many years, it would actually be carried by a little girl and almost be chopped.

After returning from the north, the Snow Leopard God had been in the palace; Li Chen had thrown it to Lady Youlan to raise, after all, Lady Youlan knew the origin of the Snow Leopard God, and her strength was also very strong.

!

It was estimated that Lady Youlan had put the Snow Leopard God in the palace to rest, heard the palace maid's summons, and came to accompany Li Chen, but the Snow Leopard God had run out by itself.

Because normally, the Snow Leopard God would sleep all the time and didn't need to be locked in a cage at all; perhaps it smelled the food it "wanted to eat" and chose to wake up on its own.

Li Chen didn't care whether the Snow Leopard God was a totem of the north; this kind of thing definitely had to be raised in his own palace to be good.

Lady Youlan knew that the Snow Leopard God would produce "opportunities" and could also obtain some cultivation materials.

She also "applied" to Li Chen for some of the Snow Leopard God's opportunities to be used for the development of the Tianyan Divine Sect.

Lady Youlan had served Li Chen wholeheartedly in the palace for so long; no matter where she was going, she was always on call, so Li Chen naturally permitted it.

As for the remaining opportunities, they were naturally used to reward the meritorious Imperial Guards and eunuchs.

After all, Li Chen also knew what the so-called opportunities were.

Hearing Li Sining say this, Li Chen recounted the origin of the Snow Leopard God.

"Ah? This kitten is actually a Saint Beast? But I don't think it looks like one; it's not as strong as Sister Nanzhi's Saint Tiger."

Li Sining held the Snow Leopard God in front of her and observed it carefully.

She and the Snow Leopard God were now also staring at each other.

Actually, the Snow Leopard God really wanted to scratch Li Sining to let her know its power.

But it was afraid of being beaten to death by Li Chen, so it thought it better to forget it; it really couldn't afford to provoke him.

The Snow Leopard God was also surprised by Li Chen's strength; it hadn't expected that there would still be a cultivator in this world as powerful as its former master.

The Snow Leopard God thought to itself: "You just wait for me; when my master descends to the world, he will definitely deal with you!"

"How is your homework for today?"

"It's already almost done; does Brother want to check it?"

Saying this, Li Sining walked over.

It had to be said that with the improvement of Li Sining's strength, her figure was also becoming increasingly curvaceous.

Li Chen began to check her seriously, not letting go of any detail.

Of course, the check here refers to the meridians.

Strictly speaking, Li Chen could also be considered Li Sining's cultivation guide, and he was still relatively concerned about Li Sining.

Li Sining had also been cultivating for a period of time, and her current cultivation was at the mid-stage of the Condensing Essence Realm.

In the eyes of other women, her speed was very fast, but Li Chen felt it was normal; as long as there were no problems with the foundation, then cultivation wasn't a big deal.

After the physical check ended, Li Chen expressed his praise to his sister.

A joyful smile also appeared on Li Sining's face; in her view, no reward could compare to Li Chen's praise.

Only by obtaining Li Chen's satisfaction did she cultivate very hard; this was her source of motivation.

Li Sining was a simple girl, and precisely because of this, the other women in the palace doted on her so much, deeply afraid that she would be deceived.

Seeing Li Chen still working, Li Sining carried the Snow Leopard God and took her leave.

The Snow Leopard God looked at Li Chen with a pleading expression, as if saying "Save me", "Save me".

But Li Chen didn't care about it at all; "If I save you, who will save me? Will you help me process this pair of memorials?"

What Li Chen was currently looking at were some old cases with grievances, which were also very headache-inducing cases.

Among them, one case caught Li Chen's attention, which was when the Crown Prince was still alive, he eradicated the Xue clan of Yuzhou on the charge of harboring remnants of the previous dynasty; at that time, there was a high official in the Xue clan who served as the Grand Tutor in the imperial court.

The official position of Grand Tutor could be said to be very high, at the same level as the Prime Minister Zhao Wenyuan.

But the Grand Tutor only had a high official position, but no real power.

Don't look at the official positions of the Ministers of the Six Ministries as not being high in the court, but they were all real power factions, especially someone like Pang Jin, whom many officials of higher rank than him dared not provoke.

The main duty of the Grand Tutor was to teach the Crown Prince, ensuring that the future monarch possessed the necessary qualities and abilities.

Then, he could also teach other imperial princes and princesses, allowing members of the royal family to have certain virtues and talents.

Li Chen was an imperial prince, so he naturally knew this Grand Tutor; he still remembered that the Grand Tutor's name was Xue Dan, and he was very talented.

Even for an imperial prince like Li Chen who was relatively "naughty", Xue Dan taught very seriously.

It was just that later, Xue Dan was investigated by the Crown Prince, imprisoned for several years, and exiled to Lingdong.

The so-called exile was being assigned to barren places to do some work like opening mountains and farming, but it wasn't limited to these, it also depended on the place of exile.

Li Chen still remembered that at that time, Xue Dan kept praising the Crown Prince's talent; why would the Crown Prince investigate his own mentor? This was somewhat puzzling, but there were not many records in the files.

It was just said that someone in the Xue family harbored remnants of the previous dynasty, the evidence was conclusive, and Xue Dan was implicated.

Now that Li Chen had become the Emperor, there were friends of Xue Dan in the court who wanted to help their old friend overturn the case, so the memorial was submitted.

Lingnan was in the south, actually just near the holy land of witchcraft; because there was a war in the south at this time, Li Chen couldn't solve it for the time being.

He just thought about waiting for Lin Yue'e to return and letting her investigate.

The memorial was also just one side of the story; the specific situation would be discussed after the investigation.

Mentioning Lin Yue'e, Li Chen also hadn't seen her for a while.

She was the person Li Chen cared about most besides Li Sining.

After all, Lin Yue'e was a very loyal minister; which emperor wouldn't like that?

Placing the memorial in the unprocessed area, Li Chen continued to start checking other memorials.

When he was almost done processing, a burst of hurried footsteps appeared at the door.

Three mature and beautiful women walked in.

Li Chen was very familiar with the leading figure; she was still wearing a set of black silk phoenix dress, with a black belt inlaid with gold thread around her waist, perfectly reflecting her slender and beautiful body, with a protruding chest and a curved bottom.

She was none other than the Elder of the Purple Cloud Immortal Mansion, Shi Yingying, and also one of Li Chen's official imperial consorts.

A trace of urgency flashed in her eyes, but after seeing Li Chen, she had a feeling of peace of mind again.

It seemed that no matter what difficulties there were in the world, they were not issues here at Li Chen's place.

"This concubine pays respects to Your Majesty." Shi Yingying's voice was still as pleasant as ever.

Li Chen mostly knew the purpose of her coming here.

But Li Chen now frowned and asked: "No need for formalities, you seem to be injured? Tell me what happened."

Seeing his own woman injured, Li Chen's words were dignified without being angry.

That kind of powerful pressure made the two women behind Shi Yingying somewhat surprised.

But Shi Yingying's heart was full of joy; after all, Li Chen was concerned about her!

"Your Majesty, don't be angry, actually it's no big deal..."

Shi Yingying came to Li Chen's side and said softly; the two of them were very close, which made the other two women who came somewhat surprised.

Because Shi Yingying was embarrassed to say that both she and the Mansion Master were Li Chen's imperial consorts, she thought about waiting for the right time to say it, to avoid too much gossip, so she concealed it, and the other women of the Purple Cloud Immortal Mansion didn't know.

Now it definitely couldn't be concealed, and she didn't intend to continue concealing it.

According to her account, Li Chen sent someone to inform Pei Wanyu that someone in the Tianwu Dynasty had raised an army to rebel.

At that time, Pei Wanyu was studying at the Purple Cloud Immortal Mansion; after learning this news, she was surprised and furious and immediately wanted to go back to preside over the overall situation.

She was the future Empress of the Tianwu Dynasty, and her mother Tang Mengyou was the Empress of the Tianwu Dynasty, who was also once a disciple of the Purple Cloud Immortal Mansion.

This news was soon known by the Mansion Master of the Purple Cloud Immortal Mansion, Mu Qingrou.

Mu Qingrou felt that Pei Wanyu might not be able to return to the Tianwu Dynasty alone, and perhaps she hadn't seen Tang Mengyou for a long time, so she personally led a team to escort Pei Wanyu to go together.

In any case, the two of them were both Li Chen's women and from the same sect, so naturally, they had to take care of each other.

(End of chapter)