Chapter 251

Ye Tinglan froze there.

Aren't your palace intrigue tactics all hidden needles in cotton? What kind of routine is this, being so direct and wanting tea?

But she really couldn't handle this direct ball.

The Sacred Lord had maintained her face for a lifetime; she really couldn't bring herself to serve tea to Shen Tang in a low and submissive manner, even if it was serving tea to her husband's superior in the identity of a family member she had set for herself. She couldn't do it.

After all, their mindsets were different. Shen Tang could really treat her as a Master or State Preceptor to serve tea, but if she really served tea to Shen Tang, the taste of the "other woman" serving tea to the "main wife" would be too strong. Superior, my foot! Who doesn't know what you two are...

Fortunately, Lu Xingzhou was extremely awake. He quickly reached out, picked up a cup of tea on the table, and offered it to Shen Tang, fawningly: "I offer this to the Sect Master."

Shen Tang glanced at him resentfully. You're protecting her already?

Forget it. Since Lu Xingzhou called a halt, Shen Tang didn't pursue it further, so she took the tea and drank it leisurely.

Her beautiful eyes glanced at Ye Tinglan, and Ye Tinglan also lowered her head to drink the tea she had just offered, not daring to stir up any more trouble.

Anuo stroked her round chin. It looked like a draw, but the old woman who needed a man's help had lost miserably. Shen Tang was still a little bit more powerful.

I don't know what kind of ghosts this child is learning; she never seemed to be this focused when learning alchemy.

"As for the Dongjiang Gang..." Shen Tang leisurely opened the topic: "We followed the strategy you left behind when you left—poaching people, applying pressure, and competing for business from various angles. The Dongjiang Gang has already fallen apart and is on its last legs. Plus, Shi Zhong died inexplicably on the way back, and Shi Tielong lost his spirit. He's already prepared to pack up and sell his assets to leave. Oh, by the way, Anuo burned their money tree, which counts as the first merit."

Anuo puffed out her chest.

Lu Xingzhou was torn between laughing and crying.

Shen Tang added: "Actually, when Ji Wenchuan was a guest here before, I was still looking forward to Shi Tielong's final desperate strike. At that time, we had a First Grade powerhouse with a Super Grade bone dragon on the mountain... but Shi Tielong didn't have any of the spirit of a hegemon. It was a waste of my expectations."

Ye Tinglan couldn't help but slander in her heart, where did this insidious thought of yours come from? Is our empire's princess like this?

But listening to it felt inexplicably refreshing... It's over, I've already been led astray by the stinky demonic cultivator.

Lu Xingzhou stroked his chin and said: "Don't take it lightly. Shi Tielong still has the Prince of Jin behind him. However, since we have no flaws here, they don't have a chance to go all-in. If we really have to lure the snake out of the hole, you could go out alone to give them some motivation, and then the Master can lie in wait behind..."

Hiding the world's number one is much fiercer than hiding old Ji, okay...

Ye Tinglan couldn't help but cough twice.

Am I here to do this for you?

But remembering Lu Xingzhou's thoughtful preemptive offering of tea to her just now to save her face, this thought was ultimately hidden in her stomach and not spoken out, just drinking tea with her head down.

Shen Tang looked at Ye Tinglan's expression and couldn't help but laugh: "Forget it. I've been cultivating in seclusion, and if I suddenly go out and wander around, as long as they aren't stupid, they'll know it's fishing. It's meaningless and a waste of the Master's time. I also don't want to rely on the Master for everything. It's not very good for the Master to intervene too much in my affairs."

Ye Tinglan said with a straight face: "You really don't need to? Don't make it seem like you're fighting alone here, facing malice from a higher dimension, and have no one to cherish you."

Shen Tang smiled: "If I can't walk out of this kind of danger myself, what qualifications do I have to stand in a higher place? Many people are watching me, maybe the State Preceptor is watching too. I have to hand in my own answer sheet."

Ye Tinglan: "..."

That was true.

In the past, she let Qingli save this person, not because she wanted to support her. First, she felt that Gu Zhanting's way of doing things was unbearable, and second, it was for observation. She had to have her own answer sheet. She could rely on the man beside her to devise strategies, but she couldn't rely only on the man, and even less could she rely on a rival.

Is that appropriate...

However, Shen Tang having such a clear understanding was ambitious, which made the State Preceptor's impression of her much better. Her heart was truly complicated. Privately, she wanted to beat her up, but publicly, Shen Tang's impression on her so far was much better than the other princes...

Lu Xingzhou also knew Shen Tang's thoughts and hesitated: "Are you going to keep cultivating in seclusion and not go out?"

Shen Tang said: "I'm at the Third Grade upper stage now, aiming for the Second Grade. Outsiders can't imagine my improvement will be so fast. When I reach the Second Grade and go out, if they evaluate me based on my previous combat power, I can make them suffer another big loss."

Lu Xingzhou nodded, somewhat gratified.

Shen Tang was becoming more and more confident. The sense of fragmentation from the early days had long since faded. To ascend to the peak of Great Qian in the future, she needed this kind of spirit. Spirit is cultivated. Now that Shen Tang is ruling Xiazhou, there is no opponent within a thousand miles. The prefects and the Demon Suppression Division are basically cooperating. Calling it an independent kingdom might be an exaggeration, but calling it a frontier official overlooking a thousand miles is perfectly fine.

This can cultivate spirit. At least the princes who have been playing political games in the capital don't have this kind of spirit. In peaceful times, those princes might be fine to take over, but judging from various things seen now, this world won't be peaceful for long.

"Second Grade already, so fast?" Ye Tinglan said: "I've seen your secret realm. The spiritual energy is indeed rich, not inferior to the... any of the strongest spiritual mountains and treasures in the world. But in the end, it lacks trials. Sitting still blindly is not good for cultivation."

Shen Tang laughed: "It's not like we're sitting still blindly. We often organize disciples for trials in the Ten Thousand Mountains at the border with the Tianshuang Kingdom to the west. It's just that these actions are usually group-based, not my personal outings. In the future, if the situation is clearer, I will organize disciples to go to other parts of Great Qian, or even the Monster Domain. The world is so big, how can a practitioner sit trapped in one corner?"

Ye Tinglan finally didn't say anything more and nodded slightly: "Very good."

Lu Xingzhou felt a bit unable to hold back. This Master's "motherly" flavor was always overflowing at all times. It was actually quite difficult to keep this identity from being revealed...