Long Xiaoyao leaned back in his chair
"General Meng," Long Xiaoyao replied, his voice calm "I was on the brink of death."
He set the cup down with a deliberate clink. Looked at Meng Xiong with a predatory smile.
"If staring into the jaws of hell didn't change me for the better... well, then I should have just died there. Don't you agree?"
The General nodded and laughed boisterously
"Hahaha! You are right Your Highness!" he bowed "Then we shall take our leave."
General Meng Xiong turned on his heel. His second son, who had been standing wimpy by the door, cast one last admirable glance to the Prince before following his father out. The heavy thud of their boots faded down the hallway.
The General's eldest son, had not left. Unlike his younger brother, Meng Hao possessed a scholar's grace and a viper's smile. He stepped forward, reaching into his silk robes to produce a gilded envelope.
"Your Highness," Meng Hao said, his voice smooth. He placed the envelope gently on the desk.
"What is this young master Meng Lin?"
"An invitation to the Lotus Pavilion," Meng Hao replied with a courteous bow.
"My father is a man of war, so he forgets the finer things. But as the host of Myriad Leaf City, we cannot let your arrival go uncelebrated. It is a welcoming banquet in your honor, taking place tonight. The city's young elites will be there. We hope you will grace us with your presence."
Long Xiaoyao looked at the gold-leafed invitation
"The Lotus Pavilion," Long Xiaoyao mused. "I suppose I can make time."
"Excellent. We look forward to it. Your Highness"
Meng Hao bowed once more and backed out of the study, closing the door softly.
As his guests left, Long Xiaoyao's lazy smile instantly vanished, replaced by a look of sharp intensity. He stared at the invitation.
"A welcoming party," he murmered
"The audacity!"
The silence was shattered as Yuan Gui, who had been trembling in the corner like a leaf in a storm, finally found his voice. The old eunuch rushed forward, his face flushed a mixture of purple and pale white.
"Your Highness! That… that barbarian! Did you see? He wore his sword in your presence! And his son..sneering as if he were looking at a street rat, not a Prince!"
Yuan Gui began to pace, his hands wringing together furiously.
"Not a single tonic. Not a single physician. He claims to be heartbroken over your 'accident,' yet he marches in here empty-handed, barks a few excuses, and leaves. It is treason, Your Highness! Pure, unadulterated disrespect!"
Long Xiaoyao turned slowly, looking amused at Yuan Gui
"Disrespect?. Yuan Gui, if it were only disrespect, it would be so much better"
Yuan Gui paused, blinking. "Your Highness?"
"Think, Yuan Gui," Long Xiaoyao said, "Perhaps my mere presence here, however powerless, annoyed him. Now there are only the 7 of us in this courtyard."
Yuan Gui's mouth opened, then closed. A horrific realization began to dawn behind his eyes. "You… surely you don't imply ..He… he wants you dead? But why? You are here! You are far from the throne! You are no threat to anyone!"
"In Myriad Leaf City, there is only one sun in the sky, and its name is Meng,. Their family had held Myriad Leaf City in a chokehold. Their authority was law, and their prestige was undisputed. But now a prince suddenly came."
'But why do I have a feeling that General Men Xiong is hiding something… Something he doesn't want me to find out about'
"What shall we do, Your Highness? We must send a letter to the Capital! We must request the Imperial Guard!"
"A letter?" Long Xiaoyao scoffed. "Meng Xiong controls the roads. He controls the messenger birds. If you write a letter complaining about him, it will end up on his desk before the ink is dry"
Long Xiaoyao stood up, placed his hands behind his back. In deep thought
"Then...What are we gonna do Your Highness?" Yuan Gui asked, his voice cracking.
"There's no need to worry as long as we are inside the city. There are a lot of eyes here. He won't do anything stupid. Not to let him enjoy his arrogance. Let him believe he is the Emperor of this city."
Long Xiaoyao looked towards the closed doors, and for a split second, the air in the room seemed to grow heavy, a faint, suffocating pressure radiating from him that made Yuan Gui catch his breath.
"Humiliation is just a feeling, Yuan Gui. It cannot kill you. Swords kill you. Qi kills you. Pride?" Long Xiaoyao chuckled softly, a dry, humorless sound. "Pride is usually what gets you killed first."
"In the end, it doesn't matter who struck the first blow, or who held the loudest banquet." Long Xiaoyao's lips curled into a sharp, predatory smile that mirrored the General's earlier expression, but with far more chilling patience.
"Remember this, Yuan Gui. The one who laughs last, wins. And when that time comes, I assure you... General Meng will not be laughing at all."
As Yuan Gui stared at Long Xiaoyao, the image of the young, delicate Prince dissolved like smoke in a gale. Instead, he saw King
It was the look of a man who held the world in his palm and was simply deciding when to close his fist.
Yuan Gui felt a cold sweat prickle along his spine. This was not the petulance of a child who lost a toy, it was the patience of a hunter waiting for his prey to fall for the trap
[SYSTEM MISSION TRIGGERED]
[Mission Name: The Fall of the Old Guard]
[Objective: Decrease the Authority and Prestige of the Meng Family in Myriad Leaf City.]
[Primary Task: Replace the Meng Family as the Dominant figure of the city.]
[Condition 1: All mortals must look up to you with reverence and awe.]
[Condition 2: All cultivators within the city walls must bow their heads in submission.]
[Description: A true sovereign does not share the sky. The Meng Family has grown arrogant under the shade of the Myriad Leaves. It is time for their canopy to burn so that your shadow may cover the land.]
[Reward in total 20,000 Domination Points. The Host will receive Domination points each time he causes the Meng Family to lose their Authority or Prestige]
Long Xiaoyao smirked. '20,000 points to turn a Great Family into a memory.'
'System, you really know how to motivate me.'
Until this moment, his primary source of Domination Points had been a double-edged sword. To gain points through his loyal servants, the System essentially acted as a parasite, it drained a portion of their own latent authority to fuel his rise.
'I don't have to cannibalize my own people anymore,' Long Xiaoyao thought, a cold light flickering in his eyes.
'Instead of draining my own pond, I can just do it on the Meng family's lake and take everything'
"Enough with that Yuan Gui. Go gather the others. The two young maids, the two junior eunuchs, and Mo Qingqui. Bring them to the courtyard immediately."
Yuan Gui paused for a fraction of a second, likely thinking of the gruelling sessions from the previous day, but he hid his hesitation well.
"What are you spacing out for Yuan Gui? It won't be as difficult as yesterday. You should be thankful to General Meng for it"
Yuan Gui looked confused, but still he followed Long Xiaoyao's order "At once, Your Highness"
Not long after.
Long Xiaoyao walked out of the study and into the bright courtyard.
The group was already assembled. The two maids looked nervous, trembling slightly in their robes. The two junior eunuchs stood rigid, trying to look brave. And then there was Mo Qingqui. She stood a little apart from the rest.
She had already dressed in her pristine palace maid attire, her expression returning to its usual mask of cold, elegant detachment.
Her complexion was pale and her legs were visibly unsteady a lingering testament to their "cultivation" session.
She glared at him, but there was no bite in it. She was too drained.
Long Xiaoyao surveyed them like a general inspecting his troops. Placed his hands on his hips, jiggling slightly.
"Don't give me those long faces!" Long Xiaoyao roared, though his tone was jovial.
With a swift, fluid motion, he undid the sash at his waist and shrugged the heavy outer robe off his shoulders, letting it slide down to his waist before tossing the upper garment aside entirely leaving him half naked.
The courtyard went deadly silent.
His delicate flesh characteristic of a pampered prince just yesterday, was gone. He wasn't bulky like a manual laborer or an ox; instead, he looked like he had been carved from white jade by a master sculptor.
Every muscle group was defined and tight, flowing with a natural grace, his skin glowing with a faint, healthy luster that hinted at the potent energy humming beneath the surface.
The breakthrough to the Qi Refining Realm hadn't just strengthened his internal channels, it had re-knit his very fiber.
A familiar blue box popped up in his vision, hovering right next to his flexing pectoral muscle.
[The Host is blatantly showing off. Narcissism detected]
Long Xiaoyao ignored the System's snark, stretching his arms wide to loosen his shoulders, the movement causing the muscles of his back to ripple visibly.
The reaction from his "audience" was instantaneous.
The two little palace maids, simultaneously covered their mouths with their hands. Their faces flushed a deep, crimson red, rivaling the decorative lanterns in the hallway.
Yet, despite their modesty, neither of them looked away. They peeked through the gaps in their fingers. Their eyes were glued to the defined V-line of his torso with undisguised admiration.
The three eunuchs, Yuan Gui, and the two juniors. Looked as though they had been struck by lightning. Their jaws literally dropped, eyes popping out of their sockets.
Yuan Gui, who had served Long Xiaoyao for years and knew every inch of his previously thin, non-martial body, rubbed his eyes vigorously, suspecting a genjutsu or a hallucination.
"M-Master..." Yuan Gui stammered, his brain failing to compute the transformation.
But it was Mo Qingqui's reaction that was the most complex.
She stood frozen, her soreness momentarily forgotten. Her beautiful eyes traced the lines of his abdomen and the broad sweep of his chest. A strange, possessive warmth bloomed in her chest, a swell of pride. 'I helped forge that,' she thought
But as her spiritual sense brushed against him, the pride turned to sheer shock. She could feel the distinct, rhythmic hum of spiritual energy circulating through him.
'He's entered the Qi Refining Realm as well?'
Her breath hitched. 'How is that possible? He was a mortal just this morning!'
Long Xiaoyao didn't let the silence linger. He walked straight toward Mo Qingqui.
The maids and eunuchs held their breath, watching the hulking, sculpted figure of their master close the distance to the pale, ethereal beauty.
Mo Qingqui stiffened as his shadow fell over her. Up close, the transformation was even more overwhelming
Long Xiaoyao stopped just inches from her, his voice dropping an octave, stripping away the booming command he used for the servants.
"You look at me as if I'm a stranger, Qingqui," he said, his tone unusually gentle, though his eyes danced with amusement
He leaned in slightly, his gaze locking onto hers