Chapter 906: 504 Compass and Watch

The Sixth Princess Filia?

Looking at the beautiful young girl before him, dressed in a long gown and smiling warmly, Li Ang couldn’t help but raise an eyebrow, then glanced sideways at the female journalist.

Have you heard of this princess?

Not very clearly… but her hair and eye color match Prince Andre’s—she’s definitely a direct royal lineage member.

Then grab her! We just need a fallback—any royal blood will do!

Within less than 0.1 seconds, having reached mutual understanding through eye contact, Prince Li Ang’s furious expression softened, and he nodded slightly in satisfaction:

“That’s more like it… Let’s go. I’m already eager to see what your celebration is like.”

“Of course.”

Watching Li Ang’s slightly haughty demeanor—very different from the intelligence she’d received—the girl named Filia blinked her emerald eyes, then raised her slender arm and gestured toward the area preparing for the celebration, smiling sweetly:

“Your Highness, this way… Actually, our Corok Kingdom’s celebrations aren’t too different from yours—they’re all meant to commemorate important occasions.”

“But unlike your country, ours doesn’t celebrate founding days or the births of historical figures. We focus more on commemorating key technological breakthroughs.”

“What do you mean by ‘key technologies’?”

“Those groundbreaking studies that changed eras and have been passed down to this day.”

After leading Li Ang into the street district preparing for the celebration, the lively girl pointed to the colorful lanterns hanging at the highest point, her brow tinged with awe:

“For example, this recent celebration honors the discovery of Levitation Crystal. Without mining and utilizing this mineral, there would be no mechanical metropolis of Corok today.”

Levitation Crystal…

Hearing Filia’s words, Li Ang’s brow furrowed slightly as he recalled the bandit siblings—hidden between two orchids, temporarily left at his lodging.

For the Corok Kingdom, Levitation Crystal was indeed an extremely vital substance. Without this strange mineral that drastically reduced weight, this city capable of free movement and reassembly could never have existed.

But for the places that mined Levitation Crystal, its existence was a catastrophic disaster. Countless families in Cheshire—the bandit siblings’ homeland—and other Levitation Crystal mines had been destroyed because of it.

“Prince Li Ang.”

After pausing beneath the colorful lanterns for a moment, the girl with emerald eyes spoke with eager earnestness:

“Actually, you’ve arrived a bit early. The celebration hasn’t started yet—this is just preliminary preparation. The real ‘Levitation Day’ is the day after tomorrow.”

“When that time comes, the festivities will be dozens of times more lively. We’ll even temporarily lift restrictions, allowing several districts above the celebration zone to shift aside and permit Levitation Crystal-powered machines to ascend. If you’re interested, I can accompany you then.”

“I’d appreciate that.”

After giving a half-hearted reply, Li Ang chatted idly with Filia while pressing his horn and glancing at the guards trailing behind them.

These guards’ soul strengths were all normal. A few were slightly more vigorous, but still within ordinary human limits—unlikely to be Cleaners.

As for others in the celebration street, all were equally normal, and most people’s souls seemed… quite happy?

Observing the soul flames around him—both purer and more stable in their flickering than those in the royal capital by two full tiers—Li Ang’s brow relaxed slightly.

Compared to most kingdoms where ordinary people barely escaped poverty, the Corok Kingdom’s material conditions were undeniably rich. With little concern for survival, its people’s souls were far more “stable”—like Princess Filia beside him, appearing carefree and simple…

Hmm… but something felt off…

After studying Filia’s soul flame more closely, seeing its steady, pure glow, Li Ang’s brow furrowed again.

At first glance, it hadn’t seemed strange—but upon closer inspection, Filia’s soul seemed unnaturally “polished.”

Most people’s souls were chaotic. This had nothing to do with morality—it was simply the inability to control one’s thoughts, leading to distraction when unfocused.

Emotions were always turbulent. Even in ecstatic joy, one’s mood might suddenly dip due to trivial things: bad weather, a strand of green onion stuck to a loved one’s tooth.

But Filia’s soul gave the impression of… perfect “pearl-like smoothness.” Happiness was pure happiness, awe was pure awe, delight was pure delight—no extraneous emotion intruded.

If I had to describe it, others’ souls were like a compass in hand: though obeying rules strictly, its needle shifted slightly with the slightest tremor of the holder’s arm.

But Princess Filia’s soul was like an exquisitely calibrated watch—no matter how wildly its wearer danced, sang, or rapped, its hands ticked precisely, second by second, appearing incredibly…

Precise!

The precise quality unique to manufactured objects!

Finally finding the right word to describe this strangeness, Li Ang’s pupils shrank sharply as he stared at her in alarm.

The Water Bearer Director had said the Corok royal family was controlled. Upon hearing that, Li Ang naturally assumed the control meant physical confinement.

But Filia’s soul… could the Water Bearer Director’s “control” mean something else—soul binding or modification?

“Prince Li Ang?”

The emerald-eyed girl was remarkably perceptive—Li Ang’s fleeting lapse had not escaped her notice.

Looking up at him, the lively girl asked, puzzled:

“What’s wrong? Did I do something?”

“Nothing…”

Seeing only pure “surprise” in her soul, with no other emotion mixed in, Li Ang blinked, then smiled:

“I was just thinking about something, got a bit distracted.”

“I see.”

Watching Li Ang, who had been glancing everywhere, clearly failing to recognize her true nature, the girl smiled inwardly with satisfaction, then blinked her big eyes, politely and curiously asking:

“Prince Li Ang, what were you thinking about? Would you mind sharing?”

“Sure.”

Looking at Filia’s soul—its thoughts and emotions meshed like perfectly smooth gears—Li Ang smiled and nodded.

“I was just wondering: if someone punched such a cute girl like you, would you cry for a long time?”

“…”