[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-king-of-all-manifestations":3,"chapter-king-of-all-manifestations-king-of-all-manifestations-chapter-4":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"chinese","King of All Manifestations",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},2287840,4474,"Chapter 4: The Golden Dragon Bank","king-of-all-manifestations-chapter-4",4,"\u003Cp>Within this Great Xia Kingdom, there are various powerful factions and many forces, but among them, two special entities maintain a position of absolute neutrality, and neither the various Prefectures nor even the Great Xia Imperial House would easily provoke them.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The first is the Saint Profound Star Academy, and the second is the Golden Dragon Bank.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>There is no need to say much about the Saint Profound Star Academy; it can be called the ultimate dream of countless young boys and girls in the Great Xia Kingdom. Every year, the young talents who emerge from it are pursued by the Imperial House and all other factions alike.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As for the Golden Dragon Bank, it manages businesses such as the depositing and withdrawing of various items, as well as auctions and currency exchange. Its wealth is so immense that it makes countless factions green with envy, yet no one has ever truly dared to scheme against it. This is because the scale of the Golden Dragon Bank far exceeds the imagination of any faction in the Great Xia Kingdom; the bank within this kingdom is merely one of its branches.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The true Golden Dragon Bank still holds a prestigious reputation in the vast and boundless lands outside the Great Xia Kingdom, and the Golden Dragon Notes issued by the Golden Dragon Bank are famously said to be exchangeable for an equal, massive amount of gold anywhere there are people.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As the prefectural city of Tianshu Prefecture, Nanfeng City naturally has a Golden Dragon Bank, and it is located in the most luxurious area in the center of the city.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>When Li Luo stepped off the carriage and looked at the magnificent building before him, even though it was not his first time seeing it, he could not help but click his tongue in admiration. Just a branch in a prefectural city was this grand; the wealth of the Golden Dragon Bank was truly unimaginable.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Compared to such a behemoth, even the House Luolan seemed somewhat small.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jiang Qing exerted a calm expression, her gaze not lingering as she stepped directly toward the interior of the bank. Seeing this, Li Luo hurriedly followed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After entering the exceptionally grand bank, Jiang Qing took out a golden note and handed it to a maid. The maid carefully inspected it before hurriedly and respectfully ushering the two into a VIP room.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The two waited in the VIP room for a moment before a middle-aged man, dripping with jewelry and wearing gemstone rings of various colors on all ten fingers, walked in with a festive smile.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Hehe, so it is the Young Prefect of House Luolan and Miss Jiang who have graced us with their presence; my bank is truly honored.\" It must be said that those who can work at the Golden Dragon Bank are indeed smooth and tactful. Since the other party recognized Li Luo, he naturally understood his current predicament, yet he showed not the slightest bit of neglect, even placing Li Luo first in the order of address.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"This is President Lu of the Golden Dragon Bank in Tianshu Prefecture.\" Jiang Qing clearly knew the man and introduced him to Li Luo in passing.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"President Lu, take us to retrieve the goods.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After the introduction, Jiang Qing displayed her swift and decisive style of action.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>President Lu smiled and nodded, turning to lead the way. The three of them passed through multiple security checkpoints, eventually seeming to go deep underground.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Under President Lu's guidance, the three finally arrived in a completely enclosed room. The stone walls of the room were dark and smooth, as if they were mirrors.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>President Lu extended his palm and tapped lightly on the smooth stone wall. Immediately, the wall began to crack, and an iron box made of an unknown metal slowly protruded from it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"You two, this is the item left here by the two Prefects back then. To open it, the Young Prefect must come here in person and use his blood as the key.\" President Lu said with a smile before consciously exiting the room.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Luo stared at the safe in front of him, momentarily lost in thought. He did not know what his father and mother had left for him, being so mysterious about it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yet for some reason, he felt in his heart that this thing seemed extremely important to him; it might even change his future.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Thus, he took a deep breath, stepped forward twice, and extended his palm to press against the safe. He immediately felt a sting at his fingertip, as if a drop of blood had been drawn and absorbed into the safe.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Click, click!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The next moment, a mechanical sound came from the seemingly seamless safe. Immediately after, a faint luster appeared on the surface of the box, and then it slowly split open from the middle.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As the safe split open, the sight within finally fell into Li Luo's eyes.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was a pitch-black crystal ball. The crystal ball was extremely smooth, reflecting Li Luo's face, appearing vaguely mysterious.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"This is...\" Li Luo blinked.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Put it away first. Master and Mistress said to wait until your seventeenth birthday to open it.\" Jiang Qing handed over a carrying case.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Luo nodded, carefully taking out the black crystal ball and placing it into the case, then gripping it tightly. At the same time, his eyes seemed a little moist.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"What's wrong?\" Jiang Qing looked over, puzzled.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I have a premonition that I'm about to turn things around. I'm just excited.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Luo shook the carrying case and said solemnly to Jiang Qing, \"Just you wait, I will definitely succeed in breaking off the engagement!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"...\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jiang Qing could not be bothered to pay him any mind and turned directly to walk out of the underground vault. She knew that Li Luo's emotions were a bit agitated right now, so he wouldn't be comfortable without being a little cheeky.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The two exited the vault and once again saw President Lu waiting there, but this time, a young girl was standing prettily beside him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The girl was dressed in green, her figure slender and her appearance extremely beautiful. Her dark hair hung like a waterfall down to her willow-thin waist. Her eyes were bright and deep, and her skin was the most eye-catching feature—a snowy, crystalline quality, as if she truly had skin of ice and bones of jade.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Furthermore, her hands wore thin, silk-like gloves, yet even with the gloves covering them, one could still sense the slenderness and elegance of her jade fingers. Surely, if she were to remove the gloves, that pair of jade hands would certainly make one covet them and linger in their gaze.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In terms of looks and temperament, the girl before them was clearly a cut above the previously seen Ti Faqing.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>However, when Li Luo saw her, his expression became imperceptibly unnatural for a moment before he quickly returned to normal.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Hehe, this is my little niece, Lu Qinger. She is currently studying at Nanfeng Academy and is quite an admirer of Miss Jiang, so she insisted on tagging along to meet you. I hope Miss Jiang will not take offense.\" President Lu bowed to Jiang Qing, his face full of smiles.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Greetings, Senior Sister Jiang.\" Lu Qinger gave a graceful bow to Jiang Qing.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jiang Qing sized up Lu Qinger and nodded slightly, saying, \"Since you are also studying at Nanfeng Academy, you and Li Luo should be acquaintances, right?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lu Qinger glanced at Li Luo beside her, gave a faint smile, and nodded slightly. With deep eyes, she said, \"Li Luo once gave me pointers on resonance arts, and I have always been grateful to him. It's just that for the past two years, he seems to have been unwilling to see me.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Upon hearing this, Li Luo immediately put on an awkward smile and hurriedly laughed it off, saying, \"No, no, don't talk nonsense. We are just in different halls, so it's rare to run into each other.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In his heart, however, he felt a sense of helplessness. The Lu Qinger before him had a reputation in Nanfeng Academy that was a whole grade higher than that of the \"Golden Flower\" Ti Faqing. This was because she was not only beautiful but also the new star of Nanfeng Academy; even in the talent-filled First Hall, she was undeniably the top student.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Back when Li Luo was still in the First Hall, before many students had opened their resonance palaces, his insight and talent in resonance arts had undoubtedly made him the pride of the First Hall. Thus, many students would come to ask him for guidance, including the Lu Qinger before him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The relationship between the two was actually quite good at the time.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was only later, after those changes occurred and Li Luo was kicked out of the First Hall to the Second Hall, that their relationship became much more awkward.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Of course, the main reason was that Li Luo had been avoiding Lu Qinger. It wasn't that he disliked her, but it was truly awkward to meet; after all, he used to be the top student of the First Hall, and now, Lu Qinger had taken his place...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Luo was also a spirited youth, and to avoid such awkward situations, he generally avoided Lu Qinger while at the academy.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He just hadn't expected to run into her here today.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Regarding Li Luo's somewhat perfunctory words, Lu Qinger was noncommittal, but she did not say much else, instead turning her gaze to Jiang Qing and smiling softly as she began to converse with her.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Finally, they saw Jiang Qing and Li Luo off to the main entrance of the bank.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Hehe, Miss Jiang, I hear that House Luolan will be quite lively in the next two days.\" As they parted, President Lu said with a smile, his words carrying a hidden meaning.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jiang Qing's expression was calm as she said, \"President Lu is truly well-informed.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Sigh, what a pity.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>President Lu sighed, then said, \"If there is any need for cooperation in the future, you two may come to me at any time. My Golden Dragon Bank believes in harmony bringing wealth.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Luo, standing to the side, was somewhat puzzled but did not ask any questions, simply following Jiang Qing onto the carriage and departing quickly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>President Lu rubbed his greasy, chubby face and glanced at Lu Qinger beside him, noticing her clear, watery eyes gazing in the direction the carriage had left.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Ahem.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>President Lu suddenly coughed and said, \"I say, girl, you... you don't have feelings for that Li Luo, do you?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lu Qinger rolled her eyes at President Lu and said in a soft voice, \"I just feel sorry for Li Luo. Besides, he did indeed give me pointers on my resonance arts back then. Regarding Li Luo, I only have some appreciation from the past. If it weren't for his empty resonance, he would be my greatest competitor at Nanfeng Academy.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>President Lu patted his chest and let out a long sigh of relief, saying, \"That's good, that's good. Qinger, that person is already betrothed; it's best not to concern yourself with him. With your qualifications, what young genius in this Great Xia isn't a match for you?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lu Qinger shook her head, ignoring her second uncle's muttering, and turned to walk away with a fragrant breeze, leaving President Lu behind, scratching his head and smiling foolishly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>(End of chapter)\u003C\u002Fp>",1922,"2026-06-20T03:27:18.369Z",1,"Gemini 3.1 Flash Lite","b41866335c8a6356dbe8a08629a6d8bcbcd59f785ea00f20eee2e46231713ba0","king-of-all-manifestations-chapter-5","king-of-all-manifestations-chapter-3",999,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fking-of-all-manifestations-cover.jpg"]