Chapter 127: First Glimpse Of Great Sui Dynasty
In the First Heavenly Layer, within the Ao Tian Sect.
A man in refined green robes, with a gentle and effeminate appearance, sat in the main seat of the Ao Tian Sect, playing with a folding fan in his hand, and said with a frown:
“Seven days have passed, has Sect Master Qin not yet made up his mind?”
Qin Du stood to the side, his face pale, stuttering for a long time, and was unable to utter a single word.
Mei Liangxing, growing impatient, said, “Have you thought it through? Now that the other sects in the Upper Cultivation World haven’t discovered it yet, our Beast Sect can overlook the loss of those seven Heaven Rank Spiritual Beasts, but Qin A’wei, we must take her with us.”
Qin Du frowned, as if mustering his courage, and said neither subserviently nor arrogantly, “Your Beast Sect, with its mountain waters, people, and beast taming, goes against the Heaven and Earth Covenant, so how do you have the face to…”
Mei Liangxing chuckled lightly, and the folding fan in his hand flew out diagonally, leaving a bloody gash on Qin Du’s face.
He stood up, “It’s because my cultivation is high, and because the Upper Realm has strong power. Do you understand, Sect Master Qin?”
Mei Liangxing was already at the Mid-stage Mahayana cultivation!
Qin Du said, “Can you grant me a little more time? By then, this Sect Master will surely give you a satisfactory explanation.”
Mei Liangxing turned his head, his gloomy gaze locking onto Qin Du:
“You want to wait for a reply from that person in the Sword Sect, don’t you? Let me tell you, it was the Sword Sect that tacitly agreed to our Beast Sect doing this. Otherwise, do you think that in such a vast Upper Cultivation World, how could our Beast Sect have received the news first.”
“Our Beast Sect only wants Qin A’wei, and no one who comes will be useful!”
The space fell silent.
Qin Du no longer had any strength or reason to protect A’wei.
If only A’wei were just an ordinary girl born to Qin Zhi.
But she happened to be a Spiritually Connected Sacred Body, she happened to have formed a contract with seventeen Heaven Rank Spiritual Beasts, and she happened to be born in the Ao Tian Sect, the useless Ao Tian Sect!
Even if the Beast Sect let A’wei go, others would not.
Seeing his expression seem to waver slightly, Mei Liangxing twirled the folding fan in his hand and said,
“Sect Master Qin, if A’wei returns with us now, I can guarantee that within a hundred years, she will be our Beast Sect’s little princess, enjoying the best resources of the Upper Cultivation World, and becoming a genius that the entire cultivation world will tremble at.”
“Moreover, I will also take her as a Personal Disciple, and only one.”
He made a ‘one’ gesture with his finger in front of Qin Du, then retracted it, and started laughing.
“But if you are unwilling to hand her over, then even if we have to kill A’wei, we will take all seventeen Heaven Rank Spiritual Beasts with us. Even if we have to raze the entire Ao Tian Sect to the ground, we will still take the remaining seven Heaven Rank Spiritual Beasts with us.”
“And you should be well aware of whose backing the Lingxiao Sect had when they dared to fight you. If you agree, I am willing to take action and kill those few Mid-stage Deity Transformation cultivators at Qingyun Tower as A’wei’s welcoming gift.”
“Sect Master Qin, you are a smart person, you know what to choose.”
He knew, of course, Qin Du clenched his fists, the veins on the back of his hands bulging.
“Okay.”
Finally, he replied.
Unlike the First Heavenly Layer, the Third Heavenly Layer, being adjacent to the Devil Realm and having sparse spiritual energy, formed a centralized, unified feudal dynasty – Great Sui – for better military defense, economic development, and resource integration.
Great Sui had existed for over three thousand years and had already established a complete administrative system, centered around imperial power, operating around the four great clans: Qian, Cheng, Si, and Jin.
Among them, the Cheng family of Cheng Zhaoyang was the most powerful, with nearly every Empress of Great Sui being from the Cheng family.
In Cheng Zhaoyang’s generation, although no woman had entered the palace as Empress, the Empress Dowager of Great Sui, Cheng Yanyue, had been ruling from behind the curtain for over thirty years, having deposed two young emperors, wielding immense power, wearing imperial robes and a jade crown, effectively becoming the de facto ruler of Great Sui.
And Cheng Zhaoyang was the eldest legitimate daughter of the Cheng family, who joined the army at fifteen and broke through to Nascent Soul at seventeen, a pride of the Cheng family.
When Cheng Zhaoyang returned to the Cheng family, it was impossible for her to travel by sword control like them, reaching Changjing in just two to three days. Instead, she took dozens of spiritual horses to pull a carriage and leisurely took more than half a month to get back.
Fei Changxiu grumbled, “Why all this useless ostentation, such a waste of time.”
Cheng Zhaoyang smiled, “There’s no choice, Great Sui emphasizes governance by ritual, there are quite a few formalities.”
Ming Zhaoshuang didn’t mind, as she could still cultivate in the carriage.
Along the way, the snow grew heavier, from a few scattered flakes to covering everything in sight.
“This official, Si Yuyan, by imperial decree from Her Majesty the Empress Dowager, has come to respectfully welcome Marquis Changping.”
As a voice, neither hurried nor slow, rang out, Ming Zhaoshuang alighted from the carriage and looked up, a slender and handsome face appearing before her.
Si Yuyan was dressed in a white crane and crimson official robe, with a silver crown and jade belt, his expression indifferent, only the corners of his eyes slanted upwards, giving one a slight chill.
At this moment, he slightly bowed towards Cheng Zhaoyang, his expression unreadable.
The officials behind him, big and small, all bent their waists with his words, their voices like thunder:
“We officials are here to respectfully welcome Marquis Changping!”
Cheng Zhaoyang helped Si Yuyan up and asked, “Why are you here? Isn’t the Ministry of Justice busy enough?”
Si Yuyan said, “Her Majesty the Empress Dowager is wise and benevolent, and the affairs of the Ministry of Justice have become increasingly leisurely in recent years. I thought it was idle, and I happened to come to see you.”
Cheng Zhaoyang put her arm around his shoulder and said to him, “Do you think I don’t know that the Ministry of Justice is the busiest among the six ministries? You specifically requested this task from my Aunt.”
Si Yuyan hesitated to speak, and then Cheng Zhaoyang introduced him:
“These are the new friends I’ve made, Fei Changxiu, Ming Chenxing, Qin Feilong, and my favorite Junior Sister Zhaoshuang. They will be entering the palace with me.”
Si Yuyan lowered his eyebrows, bowed, and smiled, “Greetings to all of you.”
Ming Zhaoshuang didn’t recall this character from the original work, but seeing that he was on good terms with Cheng Zhaoyang, she also learned to bow, saying, “Greetings, Lord Si.”
Cheng Zhaoyang saw this and laughed, “Junior Sister Zhaoshuang, you’re wrong, that’s a man’s bow.”
Ming Zhaoshuang asked curiously, “Aren’t they all just bows? Why are they divided into male and female.”
Cheng Zhaoyang shook her head and said, “Great Sui has many rules, especially for women. But Junior Sister Zhaoshuang, you are a guest, you don’t need to learn these things, lest it trouble you.”
She didn’t demonstrate the difference between a man’s bow and a woman’s bow to Ming Zhaoshuang, only waved her hand, and the civil and military officials in front of her all stood up.
Just as Ming Zhaoshuang was thinking that Great Sui seemed somewhat similar to ancient Hua Country, she heard Cheng Zhaoyang say, “I will take you back to Cheng Manor to rest first. Tonight I have to attend a welcoming banquet. Please forgive any impoliteness.”
Ming Zhaoshuang asked, “Can I go with Sister Zhaoyang?”
Honestly, she had never attended an ancient banquet and was very curious.
Cheng Zhaoyang said, “If you want to, then it’s certainly no problem.”
Cheng Zhaoyang thought that no matter what happened at the banquet, the Cheng family could handle it, so she didn’t refuse but turned to look at the three people beside Ming Zhaoshuang.
“May I ask how Brothers Fei, Ming, and Qin feel about it.”
Fei Changxiu raised an eyebrow, “General Cheng, you know I love excitement the most. Back at Demon Quelling Pass, I’d even participate in the cricket fights among the soldiers, let alone this welcoming banquet.”
Ming Chenxing was about to speak, but Fei Changxiu had already said, “Don’t even mention Ming Chenxing. Have you ever seen him more than half a meter away from Junior Sister?”
Cheng Zhaoyang’s gaze fell on Qin Feilong, who nodded and said,
“It would be impolite to refuse.”
