Chapter 137
Luo Fu didn't quite understand this approach and pondered: "Nangong Sui doesn't have anything that could threaten her either. She wouldn't be her opponent. Even though she's now Saint Chang Gen's disciple and has obtained cultivation methods, I don't see anything that needs to be watched out for."
In Luo Fu's view, the only Heavenly Mechanism Arts that Nangong Sui knew were obtained through Mei Liangyu. Even under Saint Chang Gen's guidance, she herself hadn't made much progress.
Her realm also remained at the First Realm. Anyone with a bit of talent, given the same cultivation resources, would have rushed straight to the Fourth or Fifth Realm by now.
In Luo Fu's eyes, Nangong Sui was truly vulnerable, with nothing worth paying attention to or caring about.
"Who knows what women are thinking." Zhang Xiangyan shrugged one shoulder, screwed on the water bottle cap, and looked toward Yu Sui's direction again, discovering she seemed to have glanced this way too.
Did she notice, or was it unintentional?
Zhang Xiangyan's mind thought for a moment, his eyes reflecting Yu Sui walking forward, waving at Li Jin Shuang with her face upturned in a bright smile.
Indeed, as Luo Fu said, this Princess Nangong didn't have anything worth paying attention to.
That night at Ethereal Hall in the Outer City, Nangong Sui used a Ghost Way School Heavenly Mechanism Art: Soul Capture, which barely left an impression. As for everything else, it could all be attributed to the Nangong family's power that uncovered that information, not Nangong Sui's personal abilities.
In Zhang Xiangyan's view, the reason Qingkui was doing this was more because Nangong Sui was too close to Mei Liangyu.
After Mei Liangyu had repeatedly ruined things before, once Qingkui's side learned of it, they already hated Mei Liangyu and wouldn't let pass any chance to have him killed.
Second, they could use this opportunity to test Nangong Sui and see if she was hiding her abilities.
If Nangong Sui really was a waste, then this chess piece could be discarded after being used up.
Third, was the struggle between the two young ladies of the Nangong family. Zhang Xiangyan was too lazy to think about that. Nangong Sui had no chance of winning against Qingkui.
What surprised him was that the Prince actually agreed.
No matter how others fought, Zhang Xiangyan just needed to protect his own interests.
Zhang Xiangyan stretched his neck and said: "The people from outside will arrive tonight. We'll call Nian Qiuyan to come along then."
Luo Fu glanced at him: "Your Love Parasite..."
Zhang Xiangyan looked back coldly, so Luo Fu turned his gaze away and swallowed back his remaining words.
……
Li Jin Shuang was delayed by a match with someone, which made Yu Sui wait outside longer. After finishing, she immediately rushed to the training ground to find Yu Sui.
Yu Sui waved at Li Jin Shuang ahead, and the two walked toward the indoor solo training platform, not competing outside.
Though the indoor training platform had high privacy, the space wasn't large, making it somewhat restrictive and more suitable for one-on-one teaching.
It wasn't conducive to using highly destructive Nine Schools Arts in combat.
When Yu Sui entered, she casually picked up a sword and followed behind Li Jin Shuang, listening to her say: "Gu Qian is still watching the instructors' side. He seems to still harbor suspicions and hasn't found anything useful either."
"We can't fool him for long, but making him waste some effort is fine too." Yu Sui drew her sword from its sheath and took her position in the field with Li Jin Shuang, holding the sword hilt with one hand and looking down at the snow-bright blade. "When you first sensed your Sword Spirit, what was your reaction?"
Li Jin Shuang held her sword with both hands, her expression clear: "The first thing I heard was a voice."
Only then did Yu Sui look up at Li Jin Shuang: "I heard that some Sword Spirits are quite special, like yours, having their own thoughts and able to converse with their master."
Li Jin Shuang said: "This is very rare."
"Are Sword Spirits unique to Military School disciples?" Yu Sui asked. "Even if disciples from other schools learn Military School sword techniques, they can't develop their own Sword Spirit?"
Li Jin Shuang nodded: "Theoretically not. At least I've never heard of it or seen any related records."
After a pause, she added: "For example, your Senior Brother Mei Liangyu. Although he knows Military School sword techniques, even Heavenly Mechanism Arts and Military Formations, he hasn't developed his own Sword Spirit either."
Yu Sui did know this point and blinked after hearing it.
"Some special abilities are exclusively unique. Mei Liangyu seems to be an exception, but he can only master common Nine Schools Arts. He can't obtain the more core exclusive special abilities. On the other hand, Gu Qian..." Li Jin Shuang pondered, "He's truly dual-cultivation of School of Names and Legalist School. He can master the exclusive special abilities of both schools simultaneously."
The exclusive special abilities Li Jin Shuang mentioned, most representative were the Military School's Sword Spirit and the Yin-Yang School's Star Sea.
Mei Liangyu could use Military School Military Formations but had no Sword Spirit. He could use Yin-Yang School incantations but had no personal Star Sea to cultivate Yin-Yang Arts.
Ever since discovering the "masterless energy" in the Five Elements Light Cores, Yu Sui had speculated that the reason Senior Brother knew so many schools' Nine Schools Arts was because he converted those Five Elements energies for his own use.
First there was the master, then the arts.
But Yu Sui's Five Elements Light Cores had the arts first, then the master.
The former's Nine Schools Arts would always have limitations due to the master.
The latter had no restrictions. Any art could be materialized through Five Elements energy, and all Nine Schools Arts materialized through Five Elements energy could be mastered by Yu Sui.
Theoretically, this included the Military School's Sword Spirit and the Yin-Yang School's Star Sea.
Yu Sui had privately tested her talent compatibility with the nine schools again, and it was still the same 10% as before.
As long as there was 1% compatibility, after she controlled the masterless energy in the light cores, it would become 100%.
Li Jin Shuang developed her Sword Spirit at the Third Realm. Though Yu Sui's current appearance remained at the First Realm, she didn't just have First Realm strength.
She wanted to test her speculation, starting with the Military School's Sword Spirit.
Seeing Yu Sui ready, Li Jin Shuang finally moved. The long swords in both their hands instantly clashed, striking and separating immediately, clashing multiple times, producing short but continuous sword ringing sounds in the field.
Yu Sui only used the simplest Military School sword techniques, crushing three Five Elements Light Cores and guiding the "masterless energy" within them to materialize as Military School Nine Schools Arts.
Li Jin Shuang pointed her sword tip downward then swept it across, the blade reflecting four ghastly pale skulls.
She chose to fight indoors also to learn to control her Sword Spirit, both its abilities and size.
The complete form could burst the entire space, but under Li Jin Shuang's control, the Sword Spirit shrunk considerably, though it still nearly filled an entire wall. The Sword Spirit hung its head low, staring at Yu Sui moving with Wind-Riding Techniques, precisely throwing sword blades at her position.
Yu Sui didn't use Heavenly Eye, relying entirely on the sword techniques she'd learned.
The sword blades thrown by the Sword Spirit were both fast and accurate, mixed with different frost and flame auras. Even without being hit, one would be injured by the accompanying frost or burned by the flames.
Only when facing Li Jin Shuang's Sword Spirit could Yu Sui feel pressure. Without using Heavenly Eye, under the Sword Spirit's fierce offensive, she quickly fell into a disadvantage and could only dodge around the room.
Li Jin Shuang's coordination with her Sword Spirit became increasingly seamless. One suppressed while the other blocked positions, forcing the enemy into traps they had preset.
In this space that became narrow after the Sword Spirit appeared, Yu Sui was quickly forced into a desperate situation. Invisible and visible sword blades struck her sword with thunderous crashes, making her hands numb from the impact.
It seemed like ten thousand swords were falling from the sky, crashing down in front of and behind Yu Sui, brushing past her clothes and hair. Li Jin Shuang controlled her offensive very well, only suppressing without harming her.
With Yu Sui's back against the wall, while raising her sword to block, she suddenly caught a sound beyond the sword ringing, a thin flowing water sound from deep underwater, like the gurgling bubble sounds about to burst forth from the water.
She was stunned for a moment, and the long sword in her hand was knocked away, falling to the ground with a dull sound.
Li Jin Shuang stopped her offensive, looking somewhat puzzled. She could see that Yu Sui wasn't in the right state at the end.
Yu Sui flexed her five fingers that had held the sword, then after a moment bent down to pick up the fallen sword, the corner of her mouth holding a barely perceptible curve.
"Again." Yu Sui said after picking up the sword.
Li Jin Shuang asked: "Are you still in good condition?"
"Better than before." Yu Sui looked up and glanced at Li Jin Shuang's Sword Spirit, saying: "Have you given it a name?"
"Not yet." Li Jin Shuang's gaze was momentarily unnatural. After pressing her lips together, she said: "I want to ask someone from the School of Names to bestow a name. That would be better."
Some people on Xuangu Continent had an unwavering superstition about names bestowed by the School of Names, believing they would definitely have better meanings than names they gave themselves.
They would bring auspicious, happy, peaceful, and joyful meanings.
Yu Sui didn't expect Li Jin Shuang to also deeply believe in names bestowed by the School of Names. She couldn't help but laugh: "It's yours, why let others name it? The School of Names won't necessarily choose better than you."
Li Jin Shuang was somewhat hesitant.
Yu Sui practiced with her until evening but never again sensed the strange water flow sound from before. She had originally planned to try the Military Formation: Asura Hell again but received a message from Blackbeard informing her that people from the Prince's manor had come tonight.
When Yu Sui saw the message, her expression froze. After repeatedly confirming, she asked him: "Who from the Prince's manor?"
Blackbeard was also a bit anxious on his end, replying: "They only said they brought the Prince's orders and want the Princess to come to the Outer City tonight. They didn't say who came."
What orders did Nangong Ming have that required people from the Prince's manor to personally deliver?
Li Jin Shuang, walking on the road, saw Yu Sui's strange expression and stopped to ask: "What's wrong?"
"People from the Prince's manor came to Taiyi. I need to go to the Outer City." Yu Sui said.
Li Jin Shuang asked her: "Want to go together?"
Yu Sui shook her head and put away her speculation: "It probably isn't anything serious."
She returned to her dormitory to bathe and change clothes, then set off for the Outer City.
Blackbeard's side had also suddenly received the news. He suspected the people had already arrived at Taiyi but hadn't shown themselves yet because they needed to meet other people first.
Could it be Young Master Gu?
Or Third Young Master?
Blackbeard guessed in his heart and told Yu Sui all this information.
When Yu Sui left Taiyi Academy, she saw Gu Qian returning to the dormitory. He looked somewhat tired and gloomy around his eyes, still immersed in the matter of losing the Floating Pagoda fragments.
Nangong Ming's side probably didn't know about this news yet.
So the people from the Prince's manor weren't here about the fragments but because of Xuankui and the Lan Poison?
Yu Sui unconsciously frowned. But neither of these things was openly related to her, unless... Thinking of a certain possibility, her eyelid twitched, and she had an ominous premonition.
The sky darkened quickly. Perhaps because of the recent Lan Poison incident, everyone was being extra careful, and there were much fewer people around the academy gates.
Yu Sui had just exited the academy gates when she saw Zhang Xiangyan and Luo Fu standing on the road. Both looked directly at her, making it impossible for Yu Sui to pretend she hadn't seen them.
Zhang Xiangyan leisurely stepped forward to block Yu Sui's path. Meeting her slightly puzzled gaze, he curved his lips in a smile: "Princess Nangong, since we're going the same way, why don't I give you a ride?"
He spoke the four words "Princess Nangong" with infinite playfulness.
Yu Sui stood in front of the carriage, puzzled: "Why would we be going the same way? Do you know where I'm going?"
From Zhang Xiangyan's words, she understood that the people from the Prince's manor and Nangong Ming's orders were related to Xuankui.
Nangong Ming wanted her to know of Xuankui's existence.
Hearing the young girl's crisp questioning, Zhang Xiangyan appeared very composed, even making an inviting gesture for Yu Sui to get in the carriage: "To Xide Tavern in the Outer City, naturally we're going the same way."
He caught the bright wariness in the young girl's eyes but wasn't annoyed, continuing to smile.
Yu Sui took out her Wind-Listening Ruler: "I can't beat you, but I have to tell my Senior Brother. If he finds out..."
The silent Luo Fu easily snatched the Wind-Listening Ruler from her hands. Yu Sui was both angry and anxious: "Give it back!"
Zhang Xiangyan lightly tapped the carriage door with his finger, looking at Yu Sui with amusement: "Princess, it doesn't matter that you have a good relationship with Mei Liangyu, but if tonight's events let Mei Liangyu know, it won't be easy to explain to the Prince."
The last sentence carried obvious threatening intent. When Yu Sui heard him mention Nangong Ming, she finally widened her eyes slightly and became cautious.
Seeing her being sensible, Zhang Xiangyan politely invited again: "Princess, please get in the carriage."
Yu Sui glared somewhat angrily at Luo Fu who had taken her Wind-Listening Ruler, half aggrieved and half furious as she bent down to enter the carriage.