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n

n

nThe next day,

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nafter Xiao Ran had taken breakfast in the Celestial Dungeon, he helped a dungeon guard send a demon on its way and received ten taels of silver in return.

n

nAfter settling the matters here, he returned to the Divine Sword Guards headquarters.

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nJust as he entered the courtyard,

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nhe saw Little Zhou practicing his Fleeing Cataglyphis Technique. He flew to Xiao Ran’s side, leaving a few afterimages on the ground and stopped beside him.

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n“Brother Xiao, is my current speed all right?”

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n“Not bad! To be able to master this movement technique to the level of Dominating Refinement in such a short period of time, you’ve been training hard,” Xiao Ran said.

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nLittle Zhou rubbed the back of his head proudly. “As long as I’m fast enough, no one can catch me.”

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nXiao Ran kicked him in irritation.

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nLittle Zhou said, “After we came back last night and our lord had gone to the palace, the people sent to arrest the First Assistant Minister of the Ministry of Defense returned. They reported that all 102 family members were decimated.”

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nHe trailed off, his face a look of pity.

n

n“He died a horrible death. His blood was sucked dry and he became a mummified corpse.”

n

nXiao Ran quietly waited for him to continue.

n

nLittle Zhou continued, “After the investigation, they concluded it’s not an act by external agents. It’s something called the Phantom Blood Venomous Worm. It’s hidden in the human body. When the Venomous Worm breaks out of its cocoon, it will bite back at the person who’s been poisoned with this.”

n

n“Since he chose this path, he has to be responsible for his mistakes,” Xiao Ran said.

n

n“Brother Xiao, have you heard?”

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n“What is it?”

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n“It’s all because of the ‘Celestial Varg Guards’ manual,” Little Zhou said.

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n“The God Enforcement Division and the Forbidden Martial Guards used the fake ‘Celestial Varg Guards’ manual to fool His Majesty in the main hall. His Majesty was furious and severely punished them! The two departments were thoroughly humiliated along with this incident. But our Divine Sword Guards were in the limelight this time. Not only did we solve the tax money case, we also recovered the stolen ‘Celestial Varg Guards’ manual in perfect condition.”

n

n“You’re quite well-informed.” Xiao Ran smiled.

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nLittle Zhou raised his head and said, “Of course! People call me Au Courant. There’s nothing in the capital city that I don’t know.”

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n“If you’re so capable, go and capture the Bookmaker of the Jade Manor who had escaped.” Shen Yiming said as he walked in.

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nWhen he heard his words,

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nLittle Zhou’s expression instantly turned bitter.

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n“My Lord, no way!”

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n“Such attitude!” Shen Yiming glared at him.

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nHe took out two sets of Divine Sword robes, but they were blue. He also handed over two swords radiating sapphire light.

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n“This is?” Little Zhou asked excitedly.

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n“Congratulations on your promotion,” Shen Yiming said with a smile.

n

n“Just this?”

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n“Can’t you learn from Xiao Ran and be more patient until I finish talking?” Shen Yiming asked.

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n“In addition to the promotion, there are also rewards. Since Xiao Ran has contributed the most this time, he will be rewarded with 300,000 taels of silver and a Heaven-rank Low-grade Healing Pill.”

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nSeeing that there was nothing for him, Little Zhou couldn’t help blurting out.

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n“What about me?”

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n“You and I get a hundred thousand taels of silver and a Heaven-rank Low-grade Healing Pill each,” Shen Yiming said.

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nHe handed over the rewards.

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nXiao Ran took it and changed into the blue sword robe. He looked even more impressive than before.

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n“The Heaven-rank Healing Pills are rare. Every one of them is a supreme-grade item and very effective. After you refine them, your skills evolution will definitely increase by a level. You might even break through to the Master Realm,” Shen Yiming said.

n

n“My Lord, now that the case is over, can we rest for a while?” Little Zhou asked eagerly.

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n“It’s more or less over. The rest of the matters, such as tracking down the Phantom Blood Venomous Worm and capturing the Jade Manor Bookmaker who escaped, will be taken care of by others. As for Viceroy Ming, His Majesty has already ordered General Li Chengfeng and the guys from the Forbidden Martial Guards to head out to the Moon Gazing Prefecture,” Shen Yiming said.

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nHe looked at Little Zhou.

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n“You have something planned?”

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nLittle Zhou blushed. “I-I’m going on a blind date.”

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nShen Yiming was stunned and walked around him in close scrutiny. Little Zhou panicked. “What?”

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n“From what I’ve heard, the last time you were matched with a malicious spirit, what is it this time? Is it trustworthy?”

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n“Who’s so gossipy! Spreading rumors behind my back.” Little Zhou was furious.

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nShen Yiming patted his shoulder and said, with a well-meaning look, “I wish you good luck this time.”

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nAfter he left,

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nLittle Zhou pouted. “Brother Xiao, you think so too?”

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n“Be more confident. You have to believe in your father.” Xiao Ran smiled and left.

n

n“Brother Xiao, where are you going?”

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n“Don’t ask.” Xiao Ran didn’t even turn around.

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n“I have a blind date tomorrow. Why don’t you accompany me again?”

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nXiao Ran could not be bothered with him.

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nAfter leaving the Divine Sword Guards compound,

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nhe took out the Heaven-rank Low-grade Healing Pill and swallowed it. There was a gush of warm current as the medicinal power was absorbed. It increased his Martial Arts Evolution by 20 years.

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nAfter reciting softly for a while,

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nhe presented a Level 1 Master Realm demeanor and headed for the marketplace.

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nIn the Hall of Annunciation,

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nall the court officials had arrived, as well as the various princes.

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nApart from them, there were also people from the Yin Incubation Institute.

n

nDuring this period of time, Yama’s plan to devour the Immense Righteous Energy of the Four Great Institutes was foiled due to their own incompetence.

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nCoupled with the loss of several Great Scholars, there were also several numinous treasures that were damaged.

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nThe Imperial Court had been delaying granting them an audience because of the case of the missing ‘Celestial Varg Guards’ manual.

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nAfter learning that the ‘Celestial Varg Guards’ case had been solved last night, they could no longer sit still.

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nAt dawn, Zhao Jishan found the missive bearer and asked him to submit his request.

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nThus, it led to this scene.

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n“I heard that you’ve lost a few people recently?” Emperor Sheng Wen said with a meaningful look.

n

nZhao Jishan already had a countermeasure. “I’ve made His Majesty worry. They were unlucky and encountered a wolf demon who killed them when they went out.”

n

n“Oh…” Emperor Sheng Wen looked intrigued by this revelation.

n

n“Apart from exchanging knowledge with the Four Great Institutes of your esteemed country, I also came here on the orders of our Emperor Hui Wen to offer a marriage alliance to His Majesty and establish a bond between the two countries linked by marriage. If the marriage is successful, we will establish a hundred years of goodwill and there will be no more war.” Zhao Jishan explained his intentions.

n

nEmperor Sheng Wen tapped his index finger on the Imperial Dragon throne, his expression appearing more and more amused.

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nZhao Jishan took out three Numinous Treasures that contained Immense Righteous Energy. He had won them from Scholastic Incubation Institute. Then, he solemnly took out two scrolls and got someone to spread them out.

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nUsing a secret technique, he slapped Immense Righteous Energy onto the scrolls.

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nGolden light flickered, revealing the contents: ‘Iron Blood Dragon Horse’, ‘Heavenly Secrets Interlinked Crossbow’.

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nGasp!

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nThe officials gasped at the sight and stared at him in disbelief.

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nThese two items were the national lethal weapons of the Great Zhou Kingdom.

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nThe Great Xia army had suffered huge losses due to them and tried all means to obtain them.

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nWith their help, the strength of the army would triple.

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nZhao Jishan continued, “I heard that the Elder Princess is as beautiful as a fairy, blessed with both talent and looks. If she marries our crown prince, it will definitely be the stuff of fairy tales.”

n

n…

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nAt Fragrant Books Store,

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n“This is it,” Xiao Ran said.

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nWhen he entered the lobby, it was quite deserted. The shopkeeper was sitting at the counter, dozing with his chin in one hand.

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nHearing footsteps, he looked up. “Feel free to look around. Call me when you’re done.”

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n“Do you take calligraphy scrolls?” Xiao Ran asked.

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n“We sure do! But you have to have good calligraphy.”

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nXiao Ran took out the scrolls written by the Eldest Princess and placed all 23 pieces on the counter.

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nThe shopkeeper’s eyes lit up. The paper was an expensive “fragrant peace paper” and it came with a pleasant aroma. No one could buy it unless they were from noble class.

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nHe unfurled the script. It was one of a kind, ingenious, and had the style of a master. The more he looked at it, the more satisfied he became.

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nWhen he finished going through all of them,

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nthe shopkeeper said, “One thousand taels each. That’s twenty-three thousand.”

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