Chapter 193: Chapter 167: The Crown Prince Arrives, Old Niu’s Secret Talk

Dao City, a major city closest to Beyond the Mountain.

It gets its name due to its proximity to the Daoist Sect.

Now, several days have passed since the conclusion of the East Continent competition.

Yet every tavern in Dao City is bustling with excitement.

The reason is simple: the legend of Chu Huaixu is beginning to spread throughout the world.

One storyteller after another spins various versions in different taverns.

They blow out of proportion the strength of this overpowered champion of the East Continent!

With their artistic embellishment, no Sword Sect prodigy, no Valley of Carefree demon, could stand as a match against Chu Huaixu.

Because he combines body refining with the concept “No Sword is Better than a Sword,” his story is full of hooks for these storytellers to process in countless creative ways.

They hadn’t come across such good material in many years.

“What a vast realm for the imagination this provides!” One by one, they begin to lavishly pour out their literary flair.

Of course, if the stories were always one-sided overwhelmings, they would lose a bit of their intrigue in the end.

Therefore, the final battle for the championship is described as a back-and-forth fight lasting no less than three hundred rounds!

They won’t consider that the spiritual power in a mere First Realm cultivator can hardly sustain techniques many times over, with outcomes often decided swiftly.

The storytellers are simply indulging in their artistic processing.

Furthermore, Han Shuangjiang might never have dreamed that though she and Chu Huaixu had no particularly special relationship, now more than half of the East Continent knows her as Chu Huaixu’s Dao companion!

There was no choice; there had to be romance!

Moreover, having fought a match in the semifinals, wasn’t this perfect material to passionately exploit, to portray love and war to the fullest?

At this moment, in the same tavern where Chu Huaixu once sat for an afternoon, a young man of noble bearing, clad in luxurious robes, was listening to the storytelling from a private seat.

Beside him sat a veiled maiden, and two middle-aged men stood behind.

The maiden was not paying close attention to the storytelling but was continuously eating fruit.

Due to the veil, it was somewhat inconvenient for her to eat, yet she never stopped for a moment.

The young man sat with a somewhat lazy posture, leaning against the large chair.

With sword-like eyebrows and starry eyes, he already exuded an aura of authority despite his young age, unconcealed in his aristocratic demeanor.

“Quite interesting.” Listening to the eloquent storyteller, his thin lips slightly curved into a faint smile.

One of the middle-aged men behind him said, “Young Master, the storytellers of East Continent are quite theatrical. Even the storytellers of our Western Continent don’t dare to exaggerate like that when speaking of your feats.”

“But what if it’s true?” The young man raised his eyebrows slightly, laughing softly in an indifferent tone.

The other middle-aged man immediately replied, “Your Highness, that’s impossible. No First Realm cultivator of this level exists, let alone two.”

His voice was soft, and his face was impeccably clean, making his eunuch-like demeanor very pronounced.

He mentioned two because today’s storyteller was narrating the contest for the championship.

Listening to the content, even taking down the powers of Chu Huaixu and Xu Ziqing by half, they could still defeat the Young Master.

“Eunuch Li, perhaps, after all, they say that the place where the Daoist Sect resides is called Beyond the Mountain precisely because it signifies ’Beyond the Mountain, there is a Mountain; Beyond the Person, there is a Person.’”

“Maybe someone stronger than me really does exist, it’s not impossible.”

This lavishly dressed young man showed no change in expression.

After speaking, he glanced at the maiden beside him who was still busy eating fruit and suddenly smiled:

“However, a martial tournament is a different matter.”

The two middle-aged men understood his meaning immediately upon hearing the Young Master’s words.

They know just how special the Young Master and his future Crown Prince Consort are.

In a one-on-one martial tournament, no one could possibly surpass him.

Because you might think your opponent is only one.

But in reality, you’re facing two.

The eloquent storyteller paused: “To know what happens next, please listen to the following installment!”

He deliberately stopped at the moment when Chu Huaixu borrowed a sword from Han Shuangjiang.

The Heir of Prince Rui glanced at the storyteller indifferently, then raised his finger, lightly pointing, and simply said two words: “Finish it.”

“Yes.” The middle-aged man standing on the left immediately stepped forward to negotiate and started throwing money.

Even in the Moon Country, His Highness never uses authority to oppress people.

In moments like these, he always uses the most straightforward and brutal method—spending lavish sums of money.

After listening to the entire finale of the East Continent championship combat, he was the first to stand up.

The maiden still peeling fruit noticed and immediately stood up as well.

Her figure was petite, yet her chest was prominently full.

She obediently followed closely behind the young man.

But the fruit she was peeling never once was shared with him.

…

…

The group of four soon arrived at the foot of the Daoist Sect’s mountain.

The taller of the attendants, a Guest Minister of the Prince Rui’s Mansion, was named Qin Bo, a Great Cultivator of the Sixth Realm.

Meanwhile, Eunuch Li, sent from the Imperial Palace, possessed extraordinarily high cultivation, at the Peak of the Seventh Realm.

The two carried the Prince Rui’s Heir and the maiden into the air, arriving at the Daoist Sect’s Mountain Protection Array.

Qin Bo began to knock on the mountain gate, manipulating spiritual power, loudly proclaiming: “I am Qin Bo, accompanying His Highness to visit the mountain.”

The Mountain Protection Array quickly opened a corner, and Elder Nangong, with a gentle temperament, flew over to welcome everyone.

After a few simple pleasantries, she led them to land outside an elegant small courtyard.

Niu Yuanshan, in charge of handling internal affairs and miscellaneous matters, had been waiting here for quite some time.

Old Niu’s hands within his sleeves were clenched into fists, with his nails slightly embedded in his flesh.

Upon seeing the descending figures, he immediately released his hands, his face showing no signs of excitement, appearing no different from an ordinary Daoist Steward.

Yet, a deafening voice already echoed in his ears—”Loyalty!”

Niu Yuanshan had been eagerly awaiting their arrival.

Nangong Yue raised her slightly fleshy finger and lightly pointed at Old Niu, saying, “This is our Daoist Steward, Niu Yuanshan. If you have any needs, feel free to ask him.”

“Today, our sect has a banquet prepared to welcome all of you.”

After chatting with them for a little while longer, Nangong Yue then left first.

Seeing this, Niu Yuanshan immediately went up to them.

He behaved just like a regular Daoist Steward, saying nothing more than necessary.

The conversation between the Heir of Prince Rui and him also seemed completely normal.

This brought a sense of disappointment to Old Niu’s heart.

“Could it be that, before the Young Master set off, the organization didn’t tell him about my identity?” he wondered in his heart.

If it were so, he wouldn’t reveal himself anyway.

Niu Yuanshan walked ahead, leading the four into the elegant small courtyard, showing them around.

He was secretly observing this Heir of Prince Rui, finding that he truly lived up to his reputation, possessing a majestic demeanor, noble and elegant, with an aura of royal nobility!

The Young Master glanced at the small courtyard a few times, then nodded casually, commenting, “It’s indeed elegant and tranquil.”

After speaking, he looked at Old Niu and asked, “Steward Niu, I am a bit tired. Could you take me to see the bedroom?”

“Of course, please follow me.” Niu Yuanshan immediately led him inside.

After entering the bedroom, Qin Bo and Eunuch Li remained outside the door, not entering, meanwhile isolating the divine sense probing of others.

As for the veiled young girl, she also did not enter; instead, she curiously took a look around.

The Heir of Prince Rui, after entering the bedroom, sat directly on a wooden stool, and his whole demeanor instantly changed.

Or rather, the look in his eyes towards Niu Yuanshan instantly changed.

No longer was it as gentle as before, but rather, it became the gaze of a superior looking down on a subordinate.

He slightly lowered his eyelids, giving Old Niu a glance.

Just that glance was enough for this Ox to have some speculations in his heart, wanting to kneel down.

Indeed, the Heir of Prince Rui soon spoke, “Mu Bingjiu.”

This was Niu Yuanshan’s name within the organization, or rather, his codename.

People like him took “Gold, Wood, Water, Fire, Earth” as surnames, followed by “A, B, C, D, E,” and finally appended with a number.

As soon as these three characters were spoken, Niu Yuanshan immediately knelt on the ground, performed a great salute, and then a flush of excitement appeared on his face as he said in a deep voice, “Your humble servant, Mu Bingjiu! Greeting the Young Master!”

“Stand up.” he said lightly, without even looking at the kneeling Old Niu.

Niu Yuanshan, with his thick eyebrows and large eyes and a square face, rose respectfully, unable to stop his hands from trembling.

In the blink of an eye, he no longer knew how many years had passed.

Only then did the Heir of Prince Rui look at him and said, “Before I left the Imperial Capital, someone from your organization sent me a secret message, giving me your identity.”

“I didn’t expect you to have been a steward in the Daoist Sect for so many years.”

“Good, very good, you’ve worked hard these years.” He said with a smile.

This simple sentence made Niu Yuanshan’s eyes redden, nearly bringing him to tears.

In the end, all the words turned into: “Your humble servant… it was not hard!”

The Heir of Prince Rui sighed, looked at him with a rather appreciative gaze, then got up, walked over, and gently patted him on the shoulder.

He was slightly taller than Old Niu, looking down at him and said, “You don’t need to say such things; actually, I know your struggles and would rather hear about the difficulties you have faced all these years, hear your grievances.”

“Because I know that people like you, some words have been suppressed in your heart, with no place to express them after all these years, right?”

“So what the Young Master wants to hear is not your ’It was not hard,’ do you understand?”

Old Niu couldn’t hold back now, tears started to fall down his aged face.

“Your humble servant… understands!”

But he still didn’t complain, only saying these four words.

Because for him, all the bitterness in his heart dissipated at that moment.

Thousands of words, in silence.

The Heir of Prince Rui naturally didn’t press the issue further, instead, he gently patted his shoulder again to show comfort, then returned to sit down.

After sitting down, he spoke, “Before I left the Imperial Capital, your organization gave me two files, one of yours and the other of Huo Dingyi.”

“You previously reported back that he has become a registered disciple of Daoist Sect. But this person is also peculiar and has not reported any information back to the organization so far. Could something unexpected have happened?”

Niu Yuanshan immediately started to take the blame on behalf of Chu Huaixu, saying, “Young Master, this is my fault. Since he joined the Daoist Sect, I have been overburdened with work, completely unable to find a safe opportunity to send information back home.”

“As for Huo Dingyi… he’s inconvenient.” Old Niu added.

“Oh? There’s such a thing?” the Young Master smiled, then said, “I can see today that you are quite valued in the Daoist Sect, and I suppose just this East Continent’s grand competition would keep you busy enough. I can understand.”

He then smiled again and asked, “Since Huo Dingyi has become a registered disciple of the Daoist Sect, has he participated in this East Continent’s grand competition?”

…

(ps: Second update, seeking monthly votes.)

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