Chapter 128: Your Foot Odor Is What’s Big!
After returning to Cheng Manor, several people rested for several hours. By evening, they changed into splendid and heavy ceremonial robes with Cheng Zhaoyang, and then boarded the carriage again, heading towards the Imperial Palace.
Upon arriving at the Minghua Palace where the banquet was held, more cultivators blocked their way.
Cheng Zhaoyang handed over her sword and said to the cultivator, “They are not people from the Third Heaven, so this ritual can be exempted.”
The cultivator frowned and said with unquestionable authority, “General Cheng, it’s not that I’m intentionally making things difficult for you. One cannot carry weapons into the palace. This is a rule left by the Old Ancestor. You wouldn’t want to break it, would you?”
“If something happens, what will His Majesty do? What about Her Majesty the Empress Dowager?”
Cheng Zhaoyang frowned and said, “Then inform the Empress Dowager and tell her I’ve brought four friends.”
Cheng Zhaoyang then turned to Ming Zhaoshuang and the others with an apologetic smile, “It’s my oversight. Please wait for a moment.”
She had stayed at Demon Quelling Pass for five years, and facing the highly regulated Changjing City, she was not accustomed to it, which led to such a serious oversight.
Ming Zhaoshuang readily handed over her previous Yellow Grade Spirit Sword, saying, “Sister Zhaoyang, there’s no need to trouble yourself.”
Fei Changxiu saw this, let out a laugh, and quickly handed over his Mysterious Grade Spirit Sword.
Ming Chenxing and Qin Feilong did the same, both handing over a Mysterious Tier Spirit Artifact.
A Mysterious Tier Spirit Artifact was already a rare treasure in the Lower Cultivation World. The cultivator, without suspicion, let the group enter.
Inside the Minghua Palace, the hall was bustling with noise. Large night-illuminating pearls flickered within, emitting a warm and bright glow.
The gold-inlaid and jade-encrusted platforms were arranged in layers, stretching out endlessly. The further forward one looked, the more extravagant and spacious the arrangements were.
Among the attendees were princes and nobles, descendants of noble families. They slowly sat down in their designated seats, their gazes straight ahead, awaiting the start of the banquet.
Ming Zhaoshuang observed the officials and nobles moving about. She noticed that if they wore official attire related to avian spiritual beasts, their cultivation rarely surpassed the Golden Core Stage. However, if they wore attire related to mammalian beasts, their cultivation was at least at the Golden Core Mid-stage, with a significant number even at the Nascent Soul Stage.
Birds represented civil officials, and beasts represented military officials. It seemed that the Great Sui Dynasty’s class system was indeed very evident.
What puzzled Ming Zhaoshuang the most was the small number of women attending the banquet, and even fewer female officials. Most were young girls adorned in gold and silver, solely focused on their own beauty, and these girls showed almost no fluctuation of spiritual power.
Had they not cultivated at all?
Seeing Ming Zhaoshuang’s gaze linger on the noble daughters, Cheng Zhaoyang smiled and explained, “When the Great Ancestor enfeoffed his ministers, to prevent the noble families from gaining too much power, the direct female descendants of the four great noble families were forbidden from cultivating and were to be sent into the palace.”
In fact, it wasn’t just the four great noble families. Any minister who wished to send their daughter into the palace would not allow her to cultivate, lest it hinder their career advancement.
While it was elegantly put as “sent into the palace,” it was more bluntly put as clipping the wings of those young girls, making them a restraint that their fathers and brothers dared not act recklessly upon.
As Ming Zhaoshuang was pondering this, she saw a figure walking towards Cheng Zhaoyang.
It was Si Yuyan.
He approached Cheng Zhaoyang and the others, saying, “Couldn’t find your seat?”
Cheng Zhaoyang replied, “I couldn’t see my seat behind my father’s.”
Daughters of noble families always sat behind their fathers or elder brothers. Therefore, Cheng Zhaoyang couldn’t see her seat, nor could she see the seats of Ming Zhaoshuang and the others.
Si Yuyan understood and smiled, “Don’t forget, besides being Chancellor Cheng’s daughter, you are also a general of our Great Sui. Your seat is the first among the military generals.”
Cheng Zhaoyang frowned and asked, “Although I have guarded Demon Quelling Pass for five years, my merits are far less than those of the veteran generals. How can I be in the first seat?”
Cheng Zhaoyang dared not be presumptuous.
Si Yuyan raised an eyebrow, “The Empress Dowager herself had the Minister of Rites arrange it, who would dare to object? General Cheng, please take your seat quickly, don’t keep your friends waiting too long.”
Hearing this, Cheng Zhaoyang said no more and walked towards the first seat for military generals.
Ming Zhaoshuang and the other two naturally sat behind her.
It was probably close to the time for the banquet to begin, and everyone had gradually arrived. Chancellor Cheng, Cheng Zhaoyang’s father, sat opposite her, looking at her with evident pride.
Why wouldn’t he be proud? Both the first seat for civil and military officials were occupied by members of the Cheng family.
Cheng Zhaoyang smiled at Chancellor Cheng and turned to Ming Zhaoshuang, saying:
“This is good. There are too many relatives at home, and the seat behind Father might not be enough.”
As Ming Zhaoshuang was about to reply, she saw the pink-clad young girl beside her snort and say:
“What do you mean by ‘this is good’? General Cheng, do you think your merits are greater than my father’s!”
The pink-clad young girl was adorned in gold and silver, appearing noble and extraordinary. With bright eyes and pearly teeth, she spoke to Cheng Zhaoyang without reservation,
“You’ve only guarded Demon Quelling Pass for a few years, but my father has guarded Demon Pacification Pass for over thirty years. Why should you sit above my father!”
Hearing this, the middle-aged man in front of her said, “Jiawu! How can you speak such nonsense!”
That man was below Cheng Zhaoyang, with a stern face and thick, short black eyebrows. He did not look like an easy person to deal with.
Ming Zhaoshuang could not discern his cultivation level, but she guessed it was around Qin Du’s level.
While he spoke kindly, if he didn’t want the woman named Jiawu to spout nonsense, why would he wait for her to finish before stopping her? From this, it seemed that the man was indeed unconvinced.
Cheng Zhaoyang, however, smiled instead of getting angry. She said to the man, “General Qian, please don’t be upset. This general also feels that her seat is not quite appropriate. Perhaps we could exchange seats?”
Qian Qu heard this and quickly said, “General Cheng, please don’t joke. Your seat was personally designated by Her Majesty the Empress Dowager; who would dare object? My daughter is young and ignorant, why bother with her.”
Cheng Zhaoyang let out a cold snort, giving him no face at all, “If I remember correctly, Qian Jiawu is fifteen this year. At that age, this general had already slain no less than a hundred devils.”
Qian Jiawu heard this and angrily retorted, “Cheng Zhaoyang! You are a woman, and instead of disciplining yourself, you are proud of it! You… you! I don’t know what to say about you! You’re disgracing us women!”
Beside Qian Jiawu, someone let out a cold laugh, “There are so many men at Demon Quelling Pass. Who knows what Cheng Zhaoyang was doing there.”
That person bore a strong resemblance to Qian Qu, appearing slightly younger, and was indeed his son, Qian Lai.
Ming Zhaoshuang and the others looked shocked. They could hardly imagine that the disciples cultivated by these so-called noble families would turn out to be such nuisances.
No, is this right?
Cheng Zhaoyang, however, maintained a calm expression and replied indifferently, “Whatever General Qian’s son was doing at Demon Pacification Pass, this general was doing the same at Demon Quelling Pass. We are both generals, so what is there to say? Could it be that General Qian’s son was doing something unsavory behind our backs, which is why he’s asking such questions?”
Qian Lai paused and spat, “Your grandfather went to Demon Pacification Pass to fight the enemy, but did you? As a woman, what were you doing at Demon Quelling Pass, do I need to explain?”
In the Great Sui, male supremacy was the norm. Although there were many female officials and generals, the mainstream focus was on managing the inner court, and they could not ascend to the imperial court.
Ming Zhaoshuang propped her chin and lazily asked, “Little General Cheng, how many enemies did you kill to have such a big mouth?”
Qian Lai: “……”
You have a big mouth! Your whole family has a big mouth!
Qin Zhi’s Extra: This chapter is an additional update, not counted!
I can no longer remember how many times I have seen such a look of pity in my elder brother’s eyes.
I, Qin Zhi, daughter of the Ao Tian Sect Master, possessed exceptional talent from a young age and cultivated diligently, envied by all the disciples.
I formed my Golden Core at thirteen, reached the Golden Core Mid-stage at fifteen, and the Golden Core Late-stage at seventeen. By nineteen, I had achieved Great Perfection in the Late Golden Core Stage, just one step away from the Nascent Soul Stage.
Reaching the Nascent Soul Stage before the age of twenty was simply terrifying.
It is a pity, however, that I never reached the Nascent Soul Stage in my life.
Just as I was about to break through, the Ao Tian Sect suddenly received a commission. The spiritual beasts around Kun City were ferocious and had already injured dozens of people.
At that time, my parents and elder brother advised me to stay in seclusion at home until the Nascent Soul Stage lightning tribulation descended. They said others would handle the spiritual beasts of Kun City.
However, Shuangyu Mountain had already been managed by others sent by my parents. It was managed every year, and problems arose every year, without end.
It’s truly strange. Ordinary spiritual beasts, while not docile enough to be slaughtered, generally adhered to the principle of “humans and water do not interfere with each other.”
They clearly knew people were hunting at the foot of Shuangyu Mountain, so why did they relentlessly disturb ordinary people without tiring? This did not align with the behavior of spiritual beasts at all.
At that time, I was full of righteous indignation, believing that all injustices in the world should be my concern.
Therefore, I did not heed my parents’ advice. Instead, with a single sword, I entered Shuangyu Mountain alone, wanting to uncover the truth.
As I ventured deeper, I finally understood why—the spiritual beasts of Shuangyu Mountain were ferocious, and the deeper one went, the higher their rank.
This was why the lower-level spiritual beasts chose to venture outwards rather than inwards.
I felt this was illogical, so I held my green bamboo sword and slowly walked towards the center of the forest, wanting to investigate.
However, it was precisely at this moment that I encountered my Nascent Soul lightning tribulation.
Thunder and lightning raged, and thick bolts struck my body. Yet, I was surrounded by wolves.
I had no choice but to resist the heavenly lightning while fending off the spiritual beasts.
I knew that the deeper I went into the center of Shuangyu Mountain, the more powerful the spiritual beasts would become. Therefore, I did not venture further in but ran along the edge of Shuangyu Mountain.
The lightning struck my body, and the spiritual beasts tore at my flesh and blood. For a moment, I was lost, not knowing where to go. All I knew was that after using the last bit of my spiritual power to slay an Earth Rank spiritual beast, I finally lost consciousness.
When I woke up again, I had lost all my spiritual power, my arm was broken, my hair was snow-white, and my lifespan was less than sixty years.
My parents and elder brother were around me, so sad they were almost in tears.
I didn’t know how to feel, and the feelings of that time gradually blurred.
All I knew was that it hurt.
It was like a bird soaring freely had its wings broken, confined to a cage.
Regarding this memory, I only feel it is shrouded in a haze. Something seems wrong, but through the mist, I cannot see the truth clearly.
Forget it. No matter how tragic the truth is, it won’t be as tragic as my current situation.
That’s what I thought, so I didn’t delve deeper.
Later, my parents cultivated to Deity Transformation and went to the Upper Realm. My elder brother alone shouldered the burden of the Ao Tian Sect.
I didn’t want him to be troubled, so I married a mortal.
I didn’t want him to be troubled. That’s what I thought.
Because in my memory, I deeply loved that mortal, we respected each other, and we grew old together.
However, to my knowledge, given my personality, I wouldn’t have fallen in love with anyone.
It’s funny to say, though my body is broken, my heart is exceedingly proud, and I am unwilling to become someone’s wife and live an ordinary life.
Yet, in my memory, I did marry a mortal, and we lived as an ordinary couple for our entire lives, even having A Wei with him.
A Wei is very intelligent, with even greater talent than me. At just eight years old, she was exceptionally accepted into the Beast Sect of the Upper Realm and became a part of the Upper Cultivation World.
See, although her mother’s ascension was cut short, she inherited my will, so it’s not entirely regrettable.
If there is any regret, it is that the mortal I married only lived for thirty years before passing away.
And I still cannot remember his appearance, it’s still like a veil.
However, I imagine that any man chosen by Qin Zhi, if not nation-toppling in his looks, must at least be visually pleasing.
With that thought, I gradually let go and lived out my days peacefully in the Ao Tian Sect.
From time to time, I would tell the young disciples coming and going at the Ao Tian Sect about how brilliant and talented I was in the past, how spirited and ambitious, and how ignorant of the immensity of the world I was.
Finally, I would bring up my Little A Wei, a genius accepted as a disciple by the Beast Sect at the mere age of eight!
