Chapter 133: with translation of chapter title

「Going to the Jade Prince's manor isn't impossible, but I have a few things to say upfront. 」 Zhou Shuo didn't rush to refute Yang Zheng's words; he had just clashed with Hong Xuanji in the Western Mountains last night, and if he showed even a hint of unwillingness to act while staying in Jade Capital City, it would make many people uneasy.

「Please speak. 」 As the Prince of Great Qian, Yang Zheng isn't without character, but his character only shows toward ordinary people, and Zhou Shuo falls outside that ordinary range.

「My requests are few: just ask the Prince not to bind me with too many restrictions, and for matters of planning and strategy, the Prince need not seek me—this point, Brother Yi can handle it for you. 」 Zhou Shuo looked at Yang Zheng's imposing demeanor, feeling quite pleased inside; who wouldn't want to receive such treatment?

「That's natural; I invited Brother Shuo to my manor hoping to seek his advice from time to time, treating him like a teacher—how could that be restrictive? As for mundane affairs, if Brother Shuo is willing to point me in the right direction, fine; if not, it's no matter. 」 Yang Zheng nodded quickly; toward Zhou Shuo, he sincerely requested, fundamentally admiring his cultivation and insight; as for strategic matters, he might not actually want Zhou Shuo to take charge, at most just seeking his advice.

「Hmm, then so be it. 」 Seeing the veiled provocation in Yang Zheng's words, Zhou Shuo didn't bother to interfere further; whether they argue or not makes no difference—he was merely signaling his stance to the Great Qian royal house, meaning he harbored no great malice, just wanted to stir things up a bit, nothing too harmful.

Without much talk, Zhou Shuo had the beggar's shadow tidy up a bit, then went with Yang Zheng to his prince's manor; of course, before leaving he also spoke briefly with Yao Yue Ting. It must be said that during Zhou Shuo's time in Jade Capital so far, he hasn't yet had a close conversation with her, and this girl's temperament is also very placid; she behaves more steadily than Yao Yue Ru, not placing much weight on feelings—this point is quite similar to Zhou Shuo.

Yao Yue Ting didn't rashly join the Jade Prince's faction; instead she stayed put to observe. After Zhou Shuo exchanged a few words with her, he then followed Yang Zheng to the prince's manor, afterward settling down to point out Yang Zheng's cultivation, helping him enter the Martial Saint realm—this also counted as paying his rent.

Yang Zheng, born into the Great Qian imperial household, had been raised on all kinds of heavenly treasures and earthly riches, lacking no martial arts manuals; his inability to reach the Martial Saint stemmed from a mental blockage. Once Zhou Shuo's few words cleared that obstruction, he quickly entered the union of spirit and flesh, and with the Canglang Huanfeng Palm—a unique martial technique of the Way of Creation he had trained for several years—he smoothly washed his marrow and exchanged his blood, entering the Martial Saint realm.

Having smoothly entered the Martial Saint realm, Yang Zheng naturally felt deep gratitude toward Zhou Shuo: not only did he provide exquisite meals at every sitting, he also produced many rare heavenly treasures and earthly riches to demonstrate his sincerity, hoping to fully win Zhou Shuo over to his side; of course, this also included some probing.

「Brother Shuo, do you know about the Supreme Dao selecting new supporters? 」 Yang Zheng asked Zhou Shuo during breakfast the next day.

「Supporters? You mean the championship contender, right? 」 Zhou Shuo lifted a bundle of fragrant noodles to his mouth; these noodles are the Great Qian royal family's exclusive Dragon Sinew Noodles, made by repeatedly pulling herbs and flour, said to be worth a strand of gold per noodle—never mind the nutrition, the taste is superb.

「Looks like Brother Shuo indeed knows. 」 Hong Yi and Yang Zheng exchanged a glance; today's probe was his idea, because on the way back, after capturing the Mother of No Life from the No Life Dao, he ran into Su Mu and they talked, bringing up some matters.

「I certainly know; didn't I tell you I have some ties with the Supreme Dao? Also, in this overseas affair, Dream God Mechanism selected the championship contender as a supporter and gave him many good things, even sending Earth Origin Divine Pills. 」 Zhou Shuo ate his noodles, glanced at the two companions exchanging looks, gave a soft heh, then continued slurping his Dragon Sinew Noodles.

「Earth Origin Divine Pill, the Supreme Dao's divine medicine—it's said that after taking it, there are no medicinal toxins in the Earth Origin Divine Pill? 」 The Jade Prince's face showed surprise; as a member of the imperial family, he had received extensive education and naturally knew what the Earth Origin Divine Pill was—a pill the Supreme Dao uses to mass-produce Martial Saints.

「Heh, you people! Born in fine clothes and jade food, you generally have a notion of pursuing purity—food, you want the best stomach-nourishing spirit rice and Dragon Sinew Noodles, and also this **……」 Zhou Shuo, seeing the Jade Prince's startled expression, pointed at the white clear liquid in the jade bowl before him and shook his head; this white clear liquid is called **, made of human milk, which the Jade Capital nobility believes nourishes people, so they actually drink human milk—a disgusting aristocratic habit.

「To never tire of refined food, never tire of minced meat—these are the words of sages. 」 Seeing Zhou Shuo's advice, Hong Yi could not help but rebut; pursuing purity in things is not wrong.

「Mere pretense—single-mindedly pursuing purity, clinging to purity, actually makes one's nature gradually delude. To regulate the spleen and stomach, the best method is certainly not eating whatever spirit rice, but eating coarse grain to dispel stomach qi, and fine grain to regulate stomach qi. 」 Zhou Shuo set down his chopsticks, sneering at Hong Yi's sage words.

「Food exists to meet life's needs, while medicinal pills exist to cure disease and save lives; all things have their purpose, achieving those purposes is the Dao, and the manner in which those purposes are fulfilled is Virtue—thus 'great Virtue bears all things.' The same holds for cultivation: one cannot focus solely on Virtue; accumulating indeed can increase power, but to truly advance, one must also learn to comprehend the Dao. 」

「I've been taught. 」 Hong Yi carefully pondered the words, lowering his head to humbly accept instruction.

「From now on, I will no longer drink this human **, and each month I will set aside some time to eat coarse tea and plain rice, properly cultivating myself. 」 Hearing Zhou Shuo's words, Yang Zheng could not help but secretly ponder; it indeed seemed true that single-mindedly pursuing purity only makes one's nature fade.

「Hmm, as long as the Prince doesn't mind my nagging, that's fine—this talk has wandered off; getting back to it, regarding the Supreme Dao matter, the Jade Prince need not worry: the championship contender won't overturn the heavens, he'll sooner or later come looking for me, and then I'll give him a taste of his own medicine. 」 Zhou Shuo looked at the two—Yang Zheng and his attendant—nodding in satisfaction, yet thinking of the Supreme Dao and the Jade Prince, he couldn't help but smile; that championship contender is nothing but a country bumpkin tycoon.

「Then I'll rely on Brother Shuo—but Brother Shuo, may I dare ask: what exactly is your relationship with the Supreme Dao? 」 Hearing Zhou Shuo's words, Yang Zheng couldn't help but feel secretly pleased, knowing that the championship contender is his half-brother from a different mother; although illegitimate, the other side holds military power and has received the Qian Emperor's recognition, even being granted his surname openly, already posing a latent threat to him.

「I knew you'd ask that, and I'll tell you plainly: my master is an elder of the Supreme Dao; the details between me and her are not convenient to share, and you needn't fear—the Supreme Dao won't come after you; rather, your father and the crown prince ought to worry for themselves. 」 Zhou Shuo looked at the inquiring Yang Zheng, not hiding anything; these matters Hong Yi also knows, but this kid conducts himself quite solidly, not casually spilling his own affairs to him.

「However, the Supreme Dao ultimately supports the championship contender, which could become a future trouble. 」 Yang Zheng felt some worry; the Supreme Dao, famed as the overseer of imperial authority, will sooner or later move against his father and elder brother; though he himself doesn't cultivate Dao arts and thus isn't afraid, the fact that they back the championship contender means that when he and the contender oppose each other, trouble is inevitable.

「What's terrifying about the Supreme Dao: first, the sect leader's power is vast, but even such vast power has limits—otherwise your father wouldn't have stayed on the throne so long; second, most frightening is still that Earth Origin Divine Pill, mass-producing Martial Saint experts—it sounds fearsome, but it's really just that. 」 Zhou Shuo looked at the worried youth and couldn't help but shake his head.

「Right, while I'm eating and drinking at your manor and doing a few things—have you pick some subordinates stuck at a bottleneck who can't break through; although I lack the Supreme Dao's Earth Origin Divine Pill, I can still help your men improve a bit, making a Martial Saint breakthrough no big deal. 」 Zhou Shuo suddenly felt a spark of interest.

「If Brother Shuo is willing to help, that couldn't be better. 」 Hearing Zhou Shuo's words, Yang Zheng couldn't help but feel his spirit shaken anew; Zhou Shuo truly has a knack for teaching people, which he also sees, and he has the idea to seek help, but because of the promise he made earlier, he feels embarrassed to speak up.

「I don't know if Brother Shuo can lend a hand to my younger brother; my younger brother is currently facing blood exchange and finds it somewhat strained. 」 Seeing Zhou Shuo speak, Hong Yi felt a bit embarrassed to say, though most opportunities are still present, the blood exchange stage is not easy to pass.

「Blood exchange isn't actually hard; I'll show you the method. 」 Zhou Shuo looked at the embarrassed youth, waved his hand slightly—while this blood exchange stage is extremely difficult for others, to him it's not a big concern, since the body's blood production lies in the bone marrow system, but fundamentally it's still the five viscera and six bowels; regulating the qi a little makes the blood exchange pass lightly.

「Your Highness. 」 Just as Zhou Shuo agreed to Hong Yi's bottleneck, a servant's reminder came from outside; Zhou Shuo looked toward Yang Zheng, who had sat upright.

「Speak. 」

「The Heavenly Mechanism Escort Group is conveying the Mother of No Life to Jade Capital, and Mr. Gan and his party have also arrived; they are now on their way to the manor. 」

「Hmm, I understand, you may leave. 」 Yang Zheng waved off the servant, then turned his gaze to Zhou Shuo and Hong Yi.

「Brother Shuo, Brother Yi, what do you think we should do next? 」

「Let's make a written deal with the crown prince! At court, the Prince still ought not to turn against the crown prince, lest we leave a bad impression on the officials. 」 Hong Yi was making arrangements; after hearing this, Yang Zheng looked toward Zhou Shuo.

「I won't voice an opinion on this matter, and in the future please don't come to me with such things. 」 Zhou Shuo looked at the Jade Prince gazing at him, spread his hands, and said he really didn't want to take part in such court scheming; if he really wanted to play that game, he might as well directly launch a great uprising, letting the proletariat overturn all the nobles of Jade Capital's scene and every clan under heaven, then press them into the ground and rub them around.

「All right! 」 Yang Zheng watched Zhou Shuo's gesture, couldn't help but twitch the corner of his mouth; he had no idea whether this lord simply didn't want to voice an opinion or couldn't, he only knew that this big shot's personality was very odd, making him inscrutable, yet he indeed possessed genuine ability—an extraordinary person, about whom most people would say exactly that.