Chapter 267 : I Have a Junior Sister?
Chapter 267: I Have a Junior Sister?
“Add points!”
Chen Ming did not hesitate and directly added a hundred thousand points.
《God-Smiting Thorn》（Second Layer 1/1,000,000).
The second layer required one million points.
“It seems this secret art truly isn’t easy to cultivate. Each time it ascends a level, the experience required actually increases tenfold.”
“Add more.”
Thus, 《God-Smiting Thorn》became（Third Layer 1/10,000,000).
This time, it required ten million points.
For now, he couldn’t afford to add any more.
He didn’t yet know what kind of power it held.
Suppressing his curiosity, Chen Ming still went out as usual. He couldn’t miss the First Grade prisoners in the Celestial Prison—after all, one more way to gain experience was always good.
“Xiao He, did that phenomenon from the Ninefold Heaven appear again last night?”
When the little maid arrived, he took the chance to ask.
“No.”
“Sigh, seems I wasn’t blessed to see it.”
Chen Ming thought to himself that the old Taoist really was reliable.
He then got on the carriage and left.
……
“You weren’t lucky last night, little brother.”
As soon as Tang Shouzheng saw him, he teased with a smile, “That phenomenon didn’t appear again.”
“Indeed, I waited the whole night for nothing.”
“I heard that Miss Xia has entered the Capital.”
“Mm.”
“Little brother, as someone who has been through this, your elder brother must offer you a word of advice. Don’t let emotions or affection lead you astray and ruin your future—or your life. I believe you’re a smart man, one who knows what must be done.”
You’re lecturing me like this—does your Princess Royal know?
Chen Ming silently complained in his heart. Judging by Tang Shouzheng’s demeanor, it was clear he didn’t know what the Princess Royal was planning. He definitely wasn’t one of her confidants.
Of course, as someone standing on the Emperor’s side, the Princess Royal wouldn’t possibly let others know that she was preparing to undermine His Majesty.
When Tang Shouzheng saw that Chen Ming stayed silent, he continued, “I heard that you once had affection for Fairy Su of the Heaven’s Path Alliance. Now your chance has come. It’s said that Fairy Su has fallen into a tribulation of love, about to descend into the mortal world. If you can win her heart, you might just embrace a beauty in your arms.”
“Is that true?”
Chen Ming was startled—how did even Tang Shouzheng know about this?
How had the news spread so widely?
Could it be that Su Zhining had also returned to the Capital?
……
Su Zhining had indeed returned to the Capital.
After Chen Ming finished this round of experience farming, he pocketed more than five hundred thousand points. Upon returning to the Duke of Jingguo’s Residence and asking Xiao He, he quickly confirmed the rumor.
Ever since Xiao He’s return, he finally had a reliable channel for information. He no longer had to depend on Gu Yuyin for everything—for every time he went to see her, Gu Zhengshan guarded against him like he was a thief.
According to rumors, when a disciple of the Heaven’s Path Alliance fell into a tribulation of love, there were usually three choices.
The first was to enter a deathly seclusion.
The second was to elope and live with the man she loved—but that man had gone missing, likely already dead. (According to rumors.)
The third was to find another man and dual cultivate with him—to fight poison with poison.
When Chen Ming heard this third method, he was utterly dumbfounded. He suspected it was just something cooked up by lecherous gossipers. However, Xiao He said that historically, there really had been disciples who did such a thing.
Now that Su Zhining had returned to the Capital, she must be looking for a way to resolve her tribulation.
Either to enter a death seclusion,
Or to find another man.
Chen Ming felt a headache coming on. Why did everything have to pile up all at once?
First it was Xia Mudan,
then the Night Banquet of the Ghost Festival,
and now Su Zhining’s matter.
Each one more troublesome than the last.
Strength!
To resolve all of these, what it came down to was power.
“All right, you may leave. I need to cultivate.”
After sending Xiao He away, Chen Ming shut the door and entered Qingwei Heaven. Today, he was going to test the might of his newly cultivated “God-Smiting Thorn.”
After two days of effort, the ghosts near his descent point had been mostly cleared. To find more targets, he had to go farther out.
That meant that the ghosts in this Secret Realm weren’t like monsters in a game—they wouldn’t respawn automatically. Once killed, they were gone for good.
Before long, a nearly intact ghost appeared before him. It was still dressed as a guard, its form more solid than the usual ones—likely an elite monster.
“Die!”
As soon as they faced each other, Chen Ming unleashed a “God-Smiting Thorn.” The ghost’s head was pierced through, and its form dispersed into mist.
【You have slain a LV99 ghost, gaining 120,000 experience points.】
The damage dealt by “God-Smiting Thorn” against ghosts was indeed astonishing.
The only problem—it consumed too much energy.
By his estimation, with his current spiritual strength, he could only fire five “God-Smiting Thorns” before his spirit was completely drained.
That meant he could kill five more ghosts per day, gaining an extra five hundred thousand experience points.
Adding it all up, that was two million experience points a day. In less than twenty days, he could easily accumulate forty million points.
And experience points could be directly converted into strength. With that much, even if he still couldn’t reach First Grade, his power would increase tremendously.
……
After finishing his grind that day, Chen Ming felt his head splitting apart, nausea rising in his chest—a clear sign of spiritual overexertion.
Not daring to be careless, he quickly swallowed a pill, lit a stick of calming incense, and slowly recovered.
He had to admit— the recovery ability of a Second Grade martial artist truly was remarkable. By dawn, Chen Ming felt completely restored, full of vigor once more.
His Gangyuan had recovered to about eighty percent, but his divine sense had already fully restored.
He thought to himself, “Perhaps I can enter Qingwei Heaven during the day too, and slay a few more ghosts.”
Since divine sense recovered faster, it was only natural to make use of it.
After a simple wash, Chen Ming ate something and then went out.
……
…………
At the same time, inside the Imperial Study.
His Majesty Jingqian, the current Emperor, sat in a chair, his expression serious as he listened to his minister’s report.
He was thirty-five years old, in his prime, handsome, cultured, and gentle in demeanor, appearing benevolent and kind.
A middle-aged scholar stood before him. “Your Majesty, the granddaughter of Prince Yan has already arrived in the Capital and is currently residing in Prince Yan’s Residence. You may now officially issue the decree to confer her as a consort.”
The Emperor’s brows furrowed slightly as he unconsciously tightened his grip on the imperial brush in his hand.
On the other side, the Princess Royal looked at him and secretly shook her head before speaking, “Royal Brother, it would be improper to establish a consort at this time. It would be better to wait until after the Ghost Festival.”
The middle-aged scholar, wearing the uniform of a Third Grade official—judging by the style, a Scholar of the Longtu Pavilion—said, “Your Majesty, drawing Prince Yan to our side is an urgent matter. Should any change occur, we would lose a precious opportunity.”
The Princess Royal retorted, “Why would there be any change? The request to enter the palace came from Princess Yongming herself. She is already in the Capital, waiting only for the decree to make her a consort. Why rush it at this very moment?”
“The plan to ally with Prince Yan was one Her Highness the Princess Royal supported. Why now does Your Highness obstruct it at every turn?”
“I merely believe the timing is not right.”
“Your Highness—”
“Enough!”
At last, the Emperor could bear it no longer and interrupted their quarrel.
These two—one his most trusted minister, the other his dearest sister—never saw eye to eye. Almost every meeting between them turned into a clash of words.
He had tried many times to reconcile them, to end their feud, but they remained the same as ever.
“Let Us think on this further. That will be all for today.”
“Yes, Royal Brother.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
It was only then that the Emperor noticed another person in the Imperial Study. He spoke gently, “Princess Mingyu, how were things after you went to Jiangzhou?”
Princess Mingyu replied respectfully, “Thanks to Your Majesty’s blessing, all went smoothly for your servant in Jiangzhou.”
The Emperor said, “Good. Since you’ve returned to the Capital, spend some time with the Empress Dowager and Zhaoyu.”
“Yes.” Princess Mingyu then asked with concern, “Your Majesty bears worry upon your face—is it because of that phenomenon from the Ninefold Heaven?”
The Emperor shook his head. “The reappearance of the Ninefold Heaven is not something that concerns Us. What worries Us is the Northern Frontier. The autumn harvest approaches… sigh…”
Seeing that she had touched upon a troubling subject, Princess Mingyu dared not press further and shifted the topic.
After a short while, she took her leave.
Inside the ornate carriage,
Princess Mingyu and the Princess Royal sat together. She finally voiced her doubt. “Elder Sister, why do you always oppose Lord Chen?”
The Princess Royal snorted coldly. “That man is nothing more than a sycophant who panders to my royal brother’s will, always presenting schemes that seek quick success without regard for consequences. They may yield results in the short term, but their harm runs deep. If he ever enters the Cabinet, he will surely become a treacherous minister.”
“He is, after all, His Majesty’s subject. If you act like this, Elder Sister, His Majesty will find himself in a difficult position.”
“My Royal Brother is too sentimental, and thus indecisive. I will make him see that man’s true face.”
Hearing this, Princess Mingyu knew better than to pursue such a dangerous topic and instead changed the subject. “Elder Sister, you are well-informed in the Capital—could you help me inquire about someone?”
“Who?”
“She is called Nie Hongyi, from the Xingyue Sect in Jiangzhou.”
“Nie Hongyi?”
The Princess Royal looked puzzled. “How do you know that name?”
Upon hearing this, Princess Mingyu grew excited. “Elder Sister, you know her?”
“That woman is currently in my Princess Residence. If you come with me, you can meet her.”
That was wonderful news.
……
Before long, the Princess Royal’s Residence was reached.
The Princess Royal ordered someone to summon Nie Hongyi and asked, “Is this the person you were looking for?”
Nie Hongyi looked at the richly dressed Princess Mingyu with confusion and asked, “And this lady is?”
Princess Mingyu asked excitedly, “Are you Nie Hongyi, disciple of the Xingyue Sect?”
“I am.”
“That’s great. Then do you know the whereabouts of your junior sister?”
“Junior sister?”
Nie Hongyi froze for a moment, wondering where she had gotten a junior sister from. “This noble lady must be joking. I have no junior sister.”
Hearing this, Princess Mingyu looked somewhat saddened. “I’m looking for your junior sister, Yuan Ziyi. I know she doesn’t wish to see me, but you don’t have to hide it from me.”
“Yuan Ziyi?”
Nie Hongyi was momentarily stunned. Then, as if recalling something, a strange look flickered in her eyes. “Ah, you mean Ziyi. I nearly forgot about her. Yes, I do have such a junior sister.”
Hope rose in Princess Mingyu’s expression. “Do you know where she is? Can you contact her?”
Nie Hongyi replied, “I truly don’t know her whereabouts, nor how to contact her. But there is someone who might.”
“Who?”
“Gu Xianyu of the Duke of Jingguo’s Residence.”