In the early parts of the war, the Holytides had seized three prefectures. After the war finished, Seventh Prince had accepted their return as part of the surrender. However, to date, they had not been transferred back to Sea-Sealing County.

It was nothing unusual. Seventh Prince had recaptured the provinces, and Sea-Sealing County was prepared to pay for their return. However, Seventh Prince had not been inclined to negotiate the matter before. What was more, he had army forces garrisoned throughout those prefectures. Because it was a human matter, the Holytides didn’t interfere. Another factor was that those three prefectures had mines that produced a lot of spirit stones, as well as other valuable forging materials. Those things would be instrumental in Sea-Sealing County’s future recovery from the war. As a result, the prefectures couldn’t simply be abandoned.

And now, at long last, Seventh Prince had invited Xu Qing to negotiate their return.

“Marquis Yao hopes you can go, but he didn’t give his approval yet. You need to make the final decision, Fourth Sib. In terms of your personal safety, I wouldn’t worry about it too much. If anything untoward occurs, Seventh Prince will be held responsible. Given his personality, I doubt he would be so foolish as to allow something like that to happen.”

Master Seventh had pointed out all the pros and cons for Xu Qing to consider.

Xu Qing mulled it over. He thought about the arrangements Marquis Yao had already mentioned, including that other county Sea-Sealing was secretly taking over. Because that county wasn’t on the border, it actually didn’t matter very much to Sea-Sealing County. But it had a different significance to Seventh Prince.

I bet Marquis Yao predicted this was going to happen. He really is quite brilliant.

Another thing to consider was that, since the Captain wasn’t back, Xu Qing had some time to spare.

Marquis Yao wanted him to go. Master Seventh was waiting for an answer. And on his travels, he had personally seen how much everyone was working to keep Sea-Sealing County safe. Considering that he was blessed by the greater part of the county’s destiny aura, it was only natural that he shoulder similar responsibilities.

What was more, once the Captain did get back, they would need to leave. After doing some research, Xu Qing had come to find that the Moonrite Region was far, far away from Sea-Sealing County. It was on the other side of the Holytide Region, separated by Yin Sacrifice River. In the days of Ancient Emperor Dark Serenity, it had been human territory. But it had subsequently been lost, and was now controlled by the Nightshades. Of course, the Nightshades had a different name for it.

Spirit Garden.

The word ‘garden’ can have different meanings. It could just mean a place with animals and plants. But metaphorically speaking, it could refer to something like a farm where essence is harvested. That said, the information Xu Qing had access to didn’t go into any detail. Presumably, that was why the Captain had felt the need to go out and gather his own information. In any case, Xu Qing felt like it would be good to accomplish some things before leaving Sea-Sealing County, so he agreed to accept the invitation.

***

A few days later, a fleet left Sea-Sealing County under the command of Palace Lord Li Yunshan. The new deputy palace lords from the Administration Palace and the Justice Palace came along, as did six honor guards from the various palaces. Because the Swordsage Palace took the lead in military matters, 20,000 veteran swordsages were picked to join the force.

Kong Xianglong was among them. After the Lieutenant Governor’s Coup, Kong Xianglong stopped drinking as much. He focused his energy on cultivation, and spent a lot of time working in the Secretariat Division, where he had consolidated a lot of authority. Li Yunshan had taken a liking to him, and was grooming him to eventually take over the Swordsage Palace.

The fleet consisted of over a thousand huge warships that cast shadows on the mountains and rivers below as they flew along.

In the lead was an enormous bronze sword, atop which were Li Yunshan and the other Void Returning experts.

Right behind the bronze sword was Master Seventh’s dreadnaught, which was pitch black and pulsed with a somber and desolate aura that gave birth to screaming winds. Xu Qing currently stood on the dreadnaught’s superstructure, looking out at heaven and earth.

After several teleportations, the fleet reached what had once been the western front. At that point, the flying ships stopped for a short time. Everyone looked down at the shattered lands that had not yet been restored to their previous condition. They saw the huge gully that had been carved out by Palace Lord Kong, and they also saw… the spot where he’d fallen in battle.

Everyone bowed their heads and observed a moment of silence.

Xu Qing clasped hand and bowed deeply. Kong Xianglong stood next to him, his face expressionless and his eyes closed. 𝑖𝘦.𝘤𝑜𝘮

Eventually, the ships started moving again. They left the battlefield and continued into Holytide territory.

Kong Xianglong opened his eyes. He didn’t look over his shoulder, but instead, kept his eyes in the direction of the Holytides.

“Xu Qing,” he said calmly, “I’m genuinely interested in seeing what these damned imperial hotshots are all like.”

“I bet they’re all complicated people,” Xu Qing replied quietly.

Ever since Kong Xianglong took oversight of prefectural intelligence reports in the Secretariat Division, he had started dressing differently. He wore a black suit of armor that radiated a somber and desolate aura. His eyes were cold, and his expression was always threatening without being angry.

He looked a lot like Palace Lord Kong.

His cultivation base had improved. Two years ago, he had possessed ten heavenly palaces. Back then, he was the number one chosen in Sea-Sealing County. And he had continued that tradition by adding more heavenly palaces and also converting some of those palaces into nascent souls. Just like Xu Qing, Kong Xianglong had decided to form all of his nascent souls before experiencing ‘heavenfate tribulation’ and acquiring heavenfate. From his aura and fluctuations, it was obvious that he would only need a few more months before he would face his tribulations.

A few days passed.

After entering Holytide territory, things went smoothly. They didn’t encounter any dangerous situations. By making use of teleportation portals, they arrived on the eve of Seventh Prince’s private dinner.

The area where the Ten Entrails Tree had once stood looked a lot different than Xu Qing remembered. Seventh Prince’s imperial army camp stretched out seemingly without end. Xu Qing couldn’t help but look up into the dome of heaven and think back to what had happened there not so long ago. He looked away. Seventh Prince’s subordinates received them and set them up in a garrison in the army camp. Then Xu Qing and Kong Xianglong were invited to attend the banquet in the imperial palace.

Li Yunshan and the others were not included. There were few people in Sea-Sealing County that Seventh Prince cared about. As for Kong Xianglong, he was being invited because of his grandfather.

And thus, not long after they arrived in the army camp, Xu Qing and Kong Xianglong were led by Seventh Prince’s servants into the city-state of Modelrule. Most of the houses in the place were abandoned. The entire city-state had been taken over by the army, and the city now pulsed with an austere aura. There were bloodstains on the ground.

In comparison, the blue palace was quite different. The sound of music, dancing, laughter, and chatting drifted out from inside.

When Xu Qing and Kong Xianglong heard that, they exchanged a glance. Keeping their facial expressions placid, they entered. The banquet was already underway.

The moment they stepped into the banquet hall, the music continued, but there was a lull in the laughter and chatting. Everyone turned to look at them.

At the same time, Xu Qing and Kong Xianglong examined the banquet hall.

Seventh Prince was in the position of honor, smiling at them. Next to him was a pretty young woman with an icy facial expression, who sat alongside Seventh Prince in the position of honor. Clearly, they ranked the same in the social hierarchy.

Seated slightly lower than them on either side of the room were about a dozen other young men and women who all had extraordinary cultivation bases. At the very least, they were in the Nascent Soul level, and there were even a few who pulsed with Spirit Trove fluctuations. All were exceptionally attractive, and most of them wore very fine garments. A few were dressed in more utilitarian outfits, yet their eyes sparkled like starlight, making them seem very unique.

It was hard to tell from their facial expressions what they thought about Xu Qing and Kong Xianglong. Though they might not be considered the most profoundly shrewd people in existence, they had all been raised in the imperial capital, and were definitely above average in that regard.

Seventh Prince waved his hand slightly, and the chatting and laughter resumed.

“Xu Qing. Kong Xianglong.”

Expression somber, Xu Qing clasped hands and bowed. “Well met, Your Majesty Seventh Prince.”

Only the most hot-headed people would reveal their feelings in a situation like this. Obviously, this place was not full of such people. And if people like that were here, there would be a reason for them to act like that.

For example, Kong Xianglong’s face remained expressionless as he bowed, yet refrained from saying a single word.

Seventh Prince didn’t seem to care about Kong Xianglong’s behavior. Looking at Xu Qing with admiration in his eyes, he raised his voice and said, “Ladies and gentlemen, this is Xu Qing of Sea-Sealing County, who you have all heard so much about. He was rewarded personally by my father the emperor. He was given a golden medallion, a yellow robe, admittance to the Imperial University, and grade-one battle credit.”

With that, Seventh Prince started introducing everyone else to Xu Qing.

“Xu Qing, this is Zhou Tianzhi, an elite chosen from the Yearmaster College in the imperial capital. He brims over with talent.

“This is Luo Jinsong, a descendant of Heavenly Marquis Luo Yun.

“Over here is Immortal Fairy Gemspirit from the Creation Mansion, a place that specializes in the research of gods. Our Dawning Sun is largely their handiwork.

“Next is the grandson of Minister Meng, the Minister of War.”

Smiling the entire time, Seventh Prince went on to introduce everyone. Most everyone present was nobility of some sort. They were either from families that had once produced heavenly marquises, or currently had family members in high positions of government. Those who were not like that were famous people from the imperial capital.

“Right here is Huang Kun. Xu Qing, you and Brother Huang have a bit of a connection already. You’re both swordsages. You see, his grandfather is a grand honor guard in the Swordsage Division, one of our dynasty’s Five Greater Celestial Divisions.”

Every person who was introduced nodded and smiled at Xu Qing. He saluted them all courteously.

There was one person who caught Xu Qing’s attention in particular.

“Xu Qing, you’ve definitely never seen this fellow before, but he’s actually from Sea-Sealing County. He’s Zhang Qifan, a chosen from the Supreme Void Demonization Sect. Thirty years ago he traveled to the imperial capital to study, and has come back as part of the princess’ retinue.”

The middle-aged Zhang Qifan stood and clasped hands in Xu Qing’s direction, his expression a mix of wistfulness and admiration.

Finally, Seventh Prince’s expression turned very serious as he stood, clasped hands, and bowed to the cold young woman seated next to him.

“Xu Qing, this is my dear older sister, Princess Anhai.”

Without batting an eyelid, Xu Qing clasped hands and bowed. “Well met, Princess.”

Kong Xianglong also bowed formally in greeting.

Princess Anhai’s expression remained cold. She nodded, but didn’t say anything.

Seeing that, Seventh Prince’s eyes narrowed very slightly, and only for a moment. Smiling, he invited Xu Qing to sit.

Xu Qing nodded. Together with Kong Xianglong, he sat on the right side of the banquet, at a table at the far end near the door.

The singing and dancing resumed, as did the laughter and chatting. Seated across from Xu Qing was Zhang Qifan from the Supreme Void Demonization Sect. Raising his drinking vessel, he offered a toast. His smile seemed sincere and slightly tinged with sorrow. 1

Xu Qing noticed his gesture. Raising his drinking vessel to join in the toast, he took a drink.

“Xu Qing,” a voice said from next to him, “considering it’s our first meeting, I really shouldn’t be this bold, but I can’t help but be curious about… the Grand Emperor’s assessment of the heart. What answer did you give to get that amazing 30,000-meter pillar of light?”

1. Zhang Qifan: Zhang is listed #3 on the top 100 surnames. It’s the same surname as people like Zhang San and Zhang Siyun. Qi means “strange, surprising, wonderful, weird, extraordinary” and Fan means “ordinary, mundane, mortal.” Madam Deathblade says it sounds like the name of someone amazing who stands out from the crowd. ?

.