Chapter 677: The World is Stirred

"Yue'er, what do you mean by that?"

Looking at his eldest daughter's grave expression, Chu Han was somewhat confused.

"Sigh!"

Chu Yue sighed.

She did not know how to explain it to Chu Han.

Had she known Yin Qi possessed such ability, she would never have encouraged Nalan Ruoshui to leave, no matter what.

Now that Nalan Ruoshui was gone, on what grounds could the Chu Kingdom keep Yin Qi?

Furthermore, the "smile" Yin Qi wore when he left yesterday still surfaced in her mind from time to time; the more she pondered it, the more it felt like a mockery of her and the Chu Kingdom.

Linking this to Yin Qi's high-profile actions today, it was a stark contrast to his usual low-key demeanor.

"Everyone, everyone, please listen to me for a moment."

Yin Qi's voice was like thunder, causing the entire venue to fall silent. He cupped his hands toward the four directions and said: "Today is His Majesty's sixtieth birthday, so I will keep it brief. There are too many people buying Dharma Treasures; I cannot refine them all."

"Therefore, I have decided to head to Shenfeng Academy after some time to open courses on Artifact Refining."

"Anyone who wishes to learn Artifact Refining may enter Shenfeng Academy to study."

"Besides this, I have also dabbled in Alchemy, Talismans, Puppetry, Array Formation, Beast Taming, and Heavenly Secret; I will also open related courses at Shenfeng Academy in the future."

Boom!

The entire scene erupted.

"Young Master Yin, are you truly going to open courses on Artifact Refining at Shenfeng Academy?"

"Heavens, did I hear that right? Yin Qi is going to open courses on Artifact Refining at Shenfeng Academy? Such secret techniques, he is actually going to teach them publicly—am I dreaming?"

"I have heard of Alchemy and Array Formation, though few on the continent know them. But what are Talismans, Puppetry, and Heavenly Secret? These are unheard-of ultimate skills."

"Shenfeng Academy, good, good! I shall immediately send word to my kingdom, telling the King to dispatch our most outstanding youths to study at Shenfeng Academy."

Envoys from all sides were incredibly excited.

Previously, they had worried that with Yin Qi as a Qishi of the Chu Kingdom, wouldn't the Chu Kingdom leave everyone else in the dust?

Now that they heard Yin Qi was going to Shenfeng Academy, they were immediately relieved. Moreover, Yin Qi would be teaching ultimate skills like Artifact Refining; this was truly a once-in-a-millennium—no, a once-in-ten-thousand-years opportunity.

Compared to the excited envoys of various kingdoms, the Chu Emperor, Chu Yue, and the Chu officials were all struck with terror.

Yin Qi was leaving!

They had originally thought they would have the advantage of proximity, but it seemed they had thought too much.

Chu Han's expression darkened. He looked at Yin Qi, who was surrounded by the crowd, and then at Chu Yue. He had an intuition that she definitely knew the reason why Yin Qi was leaving the Chu Kingdom.

Chu Yue shook her head and whispered: "Father, I will explain later."

Chu Han nodded.

He also knew that this was not the appropriate situation to discuss this matter.

The Chu Emperor's sixtieth birthday had only just begun before it ended, because with the Spirit Sword incident at the forefront, no one had the heart to celebrate the Emperor's birthday; they were all eager to return home immediately to select suitable candidates to send to Shenfeng Academy.

Even the Tianyang Kingdom, which had originally intended to stir up trouble, now had no heart for it.

Although the Tianyang Kingdom was small, the culture of cultivation was prevalent there, and the number of experts in the country was not much less than in the Chu Kingdom, which was why they had the audacity to want to cause trouble at the Chu Emperor's sixtieth birthday banquet.

In the original story, it was Chen Nan who turned the tide and subdued those from the Tianyang Kingdom who were causing trouble.

After the lunch banquet, the birthday feast ended hastily.

Imperial Study.

Chu Han said in a deep voice: "Yue'er, what exactly is going on? Everything was fine, why does Yin Qi want to leave?"

The Empress and Chu Yu also looked at Chu Yue with confusion.

"This matter is three parts my fault; I ignored Yin Qi's personality and intelligence, which led to a counterproductive result..."

Chu Yue sighed and recounted the matter exactly as it happened.

She had only thought of sacrificing Nalan Ruoshui's happiness to maintain stability within the Chu Kingdom, but Yin Qi had seen through her schemes at a glance, which led to his resentment and decision to leave the Chu Kingdom.

After listening, Chu Han did not know what to say, because Chu Yue's starting point was good, and she had not done anything wrong. If it were him, he would have done the same.

If one had to blame someone, it could only be blamed on Yin Qi being too intelligent and seeing through Chu Yue's schemes directly.

Chu Yu frowned and said: "Father, Sister, what should we do now? Are we just going to let Yin Qi leave our Chu Kingdom?"

A fierce look flashed in Chu Han's eyes as he said in a deep voice: "Yin Qi must not leave the Chu Kingdom. The Artifact Refining techniques he possesses, along with his other ultimate skills, are too important to our Chu Kingdom. They could even influence our progress in unifying the continent."

Chu Yue said worriedly: "But Father, this Yin Qi has a significant background."

Chu Han said coldly: "Even if Yin Qi has a significant background, how could our Chu Kingdom lack its own foundation? Furthermore, with the Profound Ancestor here, what does it matter if the Yin Family comes looking?"

Chu Laoguai was a Sixth Tier expert who held the Houyi Bow and did not fear even Immortals.

Although the Houyi Bow could only be used once a year.

It was enough for deterrence.

The worst-case scenario would just be the two sides sitting down for peace talks.

Chu Yue nodded and said: "I think that is possible. However, I once promised Yin Qi that he could come and go as he pleased. If we rashly place Yin Qi under house arrest, I fear it will chill the hearts of the many Qishi in the Qishi Mansion."

Please... support... 6... 9... shu.... ba....!

In my view, it is better to wait until he leaves the borders of the Chu Kingdom before taking action.

Also, the various factions will likely have the same idea; we must be careful in handling them, and we cannot afford to be short-handed."

"I know."

Chu Han nodded solemnly.

……

After the Imperial Palace luncheon, the envoys of various kingdoms sent word back to their countries via magic scrolls.

Very quickly, the world was in an uproar.

"Refining Artifact Technique, this is actually the Refining Artifact Technique; I never expected someone to teach it publicly, and his Refining Artifact Technique is clearly more profound than that of the major Sacred Lands!"

"What exactly is the background of this Yin Qi? Not only does he possess the Refining Artifact Technique, but he also knows Alchemy and Array Formations, which are nearly lost, and even Talismans and Puppetry, these unheard-of unique skills?"

"A great opportunity, a great opportunity indeed! Quickly pass down the order to send the most outstanding people to Shenfeng Academy to study."

"Stupid, how stupid! To actually want to publicly teach various unique skills; these should all belong to us. Someone, send experts to the Ten Thousand Mountains and bring Yin Qi back."

……

Just after returning to Qishi Mansion, Yin Qi received a large number of invitations.

For example, from Hundred Yue Kingdom, Anping, and so on.

They invited Yin Qi to visit their countries, offering all sorts of top-tier treatment, even promising to marry a Princess to him.

In short, it was one sentence: as long as you come, you can Lift any conditions.

Yin Qi was naturally not interested in these invitations; he and Chen Nan entertained the Qishi who came to visit, as they also wanted to build a relationship with Yin Qi, which would surely be useful in the future.

For instance, regarding Refining Artifacts.

Although Yin Qi agreed to teach publicly, for high-grade Spirit Artifacts, Yin Qi would certainly be the only one capable of Refining them in the short term.

Yin Qi welcomed them with a smile, handling everything with ease.

It was not until sunset that Yin Qi finally saw everyone off.

……

The next day.

Early morning.

Qishi Mansion.

Looking at Yin Qi, who had empty hands, Chen Nan asked in confusion: "Brother Yin, where is your luggage?"

He knew that Yin Qi had purchased a large amount of materials for Alchemy and Refining Artifacts, and even had quite a few finished Pills; surely he wouldn't leave them all here to benefit Chu Kingdom?

Even if many things couldn't be taken away and had to be left for Chu Kingdom, you should at least bring your clothes.

Just like him, he had a large bundle tied to his back.

Inside, besides a change of clothes and gold banknotes, there were also some miscellaneous items. (End of this chapter)