As Empress Leng Wu Shuang was still basking in the long-awaited joy of her return, the nobles in the grand hall were starting to bubble over with confusion at her tardiness.
“Didn’t the Empress return to the Cold Light Dynasty yesterday? Why hasn’t she appeared to handle state affairs? The sun is high in the sky already…!”
“Right? Is something wrong? The Empress has never been late before…”
“Huh? Haven’t you heard? Yesterday, the Empress issued a top-level bounty for a masked boy.”
“I heard something about that, but it seems like they didn’t catch that masked kid in the end. Instead, I heard the Empress caught some undercover agent from another dynasty in broad daylight.”
“Could it be that the Empress is still interrogating that undercover agent?”
“Who would’ve thought our Empress would come back to the dynasty and take her duties so seriously, personally interrogating spies? Truly a role model for us all!”
…
While the nobles continued to shower praises upon the Empress, she was indeed busy interrogating someone herself.
“Emperor, it seems the curse from that demon lady hasn’t completely worn off. Let me help you out again. What’s a few more days and nights, I’ll make sure to clear that up for you.”
Jiang Xuan: “…….”
“Don’t….. Empress….. no….. Sister Wu Shuang, that ‘curse’ is really gone, I… I only have feelings for you, Sister Wu Shuang…”
“Really? You’re not tricking me, are you?”
“Uh-huh, everything I said is true….”
“I don’t believe you; let me check again….”
Jiang Xuan: “???????”
…
Until outside her chamber, a certain grandmother showed up to knock on the door.
“Little Shuang, you can’t let this first day back as Empress go to waste. It’s almost noon already….”
“Grandma, could you please let them in the grand hall know I’ll be there shortly?”
…
“Emperor, you just rest here, I’ll come back to keep you company soon.”
Hearing that Leng Wu Shuang was finally letting him go, Jiang Xuan quickly nodded, promising to be good and stay put to relax.
Only after Leng Wu Shuang really left did he finally let out a slow sigh of relief.
What a relief! If it weren’t for the fact that his cultivation had improved and his physical constitution fortified, he might not have withstood the torment. He could have ended up facing the most embarrassing d*ath.
Once calmed down, the usually cautious Jiang Xuan straightened his clothes and used some makeup to cover his true identity.
He disguised himself as the same look he had when Leng Wu Shuang found him on the street not long ago.
Then, his thoughts wandered to the system space.
“System, do you have any good stuff to completely hide my cultivation aura? Plus, when I cultivate, the disturbance I create is too ruckus. If I practice in this palace, I’d alarm the entire Imperial City in no time. Is there a solution?”
“Ding! To the host, there are methods in the points shop to conceal your cultivation aura, and you can earn points to purchase them yourself. Additionally, the commotion during your cultivation is because of your rapid absorption of spiritual energy, causing the spiritual energy in the area to deplete quickly. It is recommended that the host refine spiritual energy from spirit stones to train.”
“Huh? But spirit stones contain a lot of impurities. Training with spirit stones would lead to many side effects; even a child knows that. Otherwise, spirit stones wouldn’t be used as currency. Unless it’s a top-grade spirit stone with minimal impurities, I would consider using them, but I only have inferior spirit stones.”
“Ding! Don’t worry, host. The impurities in spirit energy during cultivation are due to the low-level techniques. However, the Taixuan Formula does not have this concern.”
Jiang Xuan: “????????”
“Why didn’t you mention that sooner, System?”
“Ding! It was never brought up; it was assumed the host was already aware.”
Jiang Xuan: “……”
“Wait a minute! I almost forgot to ask, where did this Taixuan Formula come from? I got it from the newbie gift pack, but I heard it was created by myself thousands of years ago? System, are you hiding something from me?”
“Ding! To the host, indeed, the origins of this technique go back a thousand years, but the system does not know the specifics. This technique was produced around the same time as ‘Blade Technique’, ‘Ordinary Punch,’ and ‘Finger Snap.'”
“Really? The stuff from the system doesn’t even know its own origin? How interesting.”
“Ding! To the host, this system is merely a supplemental system…”
“System, looks like you have some deep secrets, but you better not have any funny business.”
After giving the system a fright, Jiang Xuan noticed a technique in the points shop that was perfect for his current needs.
Concealment Technique: Completely hide cultivation aura; undetectable below Martial Emperor (worth 6000 points).
6000 points? Why not just rob a bank?
Just as Jiang Xuan was about to give the system a piece of his mind, he suddenly noticed a tiny line of text beneath this technique.
(Currently at 0.1 discount, only needs 60 points, remaining time: one minute.)
Seeing this, Jiang Xuan spent his remaining 60 points without hesitation.
Then, he stood before the system display.
“System, why didn’t you tell me there were discounted items in the points shop?”
“Ding! To the host, there are no discounted items.”
“Wait? So the thing I bought for 60 points is a fake?”
“Ding! This system never produces fake items. Ding! After the host’s reminder, a flaw in the points shop has been detected.”
“Ding! This system is entering repair mode; system functions are temporarily shut down.”
Jiang Xuan: “????????”
Jiang Xuan initially thought he had pulled a fast one on the system, but after hearing it was going into maintenance mode for a flaw, he felt like he just got swindled big time!
Now he was fully convinced the system must be hiding some huge secrets from him. But with the system going into repair mode, it was like it ran off with his secrets, leaving him in suspense about when it would be fixed.
However, the problem Jiang Xuan had been worried about finally got solved.
Luckily, before the system took off, it still had some conscience. After he successfully bought the Concealment Technique, it automatically reached perfection.
Once he activated the Concealment Technique, his cultivation aura was completely masked, making him appear just like an ordinary person.
After that, Jiang Xuan took out an enormous stash of high-grade spirit stones and promptly began to cultivate using the Taixuan Formula.
Before long, he had splurged all three million high-grade spirit stones, and his cultivation broke through to Earth Martial Level One.
To this, Jiang Xuan internally sighed:
【Training with spirit stones, my meager fortune can’t keep up with the expense. I feel like advancing to the next minor realm requires hundreds of times the spiritual power others need; I wonder if my remaining spirit stones will last me to Sky Martial level.
But training with spirit stones is so nice; it doesn’t create any disturbances, and my cultivation seems to not have changed visibly at all.】
Meanwhile, in the main hall of the Imperial Palace.
Leng Wu Shuang sat in the main seat while below, the nobles were taking turns reporting on the state of the dynasty over the past two months.
At that moment, one of the Female Generals suddenly stepped up.
“Your Majesty, I dare to ask if that undercover agent captured yesterday has been interrogated. What kind of power dares to eye our Cold Light Dynasty so closely?”
Leng Wu Shuang: “???????”
With a completely clueless expression, Leng Wu Shuang replied, “What undercover agent? How come I don’t know anything about this? Have you forgotten to tell me something?”
Everyone: “????????”
