As expected, more than seventy percent of the cultivators at this Dao Foundation Grand Ceremony chose to cultivate the Moon Dance Dao Embryo. Countless cultivators came solely for that golden pellet, chasing that slender wisp of hope.
No matter how bitterly the mentors tried to dissuade them, the vast majority refused to turn back, obsessively setting their sights on the Moon Dance Dao Embryo. Yet the Moon Dance Dao Embryo was only slightly below an ordinary Mortal Tier Dao Foundation, and its threshold was extraordinarily high compared to other templates; this alone barred the vast majority of cultivators.
In the past, when people failed at higher-tier templates, they would settle for easier ones. This time was different: missing out on the Moon Dance Dao Embryo was tantamount to missing out on a dharma idol.
Wei Yuan had no idea where such a notion had even come from. A five-percent chance could be called a glimmer of hope, but one in ten thousand could also be called a glimmer of hope; the gulf between those two glimmers was vast.
In the end, despite the mentors' earnest and heartfelt pleadings, only a small fraction of people chose alternative templates. Most of those who failed chose to put in another year of effort and return next year to fight the same uphill battle.
Consequently, the overall success rate of this Dao Foundation Grand Ceremony was noticeably lower than the last. Even so, when the base was large enough, miracles were bound to occur; more than forty people actually formed a Moon Dance Dao Embryo of Earth Tier or above. According to the projected success rate, many years down the road, Qingming would gain over twenty water dharma idols.
Following this assembly, the Solitary Sword Immortal of Heaven and Earth became renowned far and wide, completely overshadowing Wei Yuan.
Where there was joy, there was bound to be disappointment.
As the grand ceremony concluded and the crowds began to disperse, Xiaoyu stood before the window, motionless for a long time. The warm colors of the setting sun painted him in soft amber hues, casting light into the deep, lake-clear depths of his eyes—warm, lonely, and crestfallen.
At this moment, Xiaoyu finally understood what it meant to be yesterday's news.
Star Lord Shaoyang appeared beside Xiaoyu, watching the departing cultivators as well. "What, downcast already?"
Xiaoyu let out a soft sigh. "I already felt guilty, and I can't beat her in a fight anyway. This karmic luck shouldn't have belonged to me in the first place; I was being greedy."
Star Lord Shaoyang countered, "Now that you know the benefits of karmic luck, how could you possibly yield it with open hands?"
Xiaoyu was somewhat surprised. "If not yield, are we supposed to contest it again? Contest it with what? You can't beat her either."
Star Lord Shaoyang's voice rose sharply. "That's because she has a physical form in this realm, whereas I'm merely a dharma idol! And why is this dharma idol so weak to begin with? This Star Lord's Dao power is as vast as an ocean—why did so little of it descend?!"
Xiaoyu had not expected to draw fire upon himself, and left with no response to Star Lord Shaoyang's berating, he could only remain silent.
Star Lord Shaoyang's expression hardened with resolve. "Even if it is Elder Sister Taiyin, putting this lord beneath her won't be that easy!"
Star Lord Shaoyang extended a hand. Above his palm hovered a bright yellow, reddish-tinged jewel, spinning slowly and brimming with boundless vitality.
This jewel looked seventy percent similar to the Ten Thousand Splendors Golden Pellet, except one was Taiyin and the other was Shaoyang.
"What is this?" Xiaoyu asked.
"This is a dharma idol derived by this Star Lord, taking the Great Dao truth of Shaoyang's 'the initial stirring of Yang, endless renewal and growth.' It can be named: All Life Burgeons!"
Xiaoyu was startled. It seemed Star Lord Shaoyang had truly made up his mind to bring out his real capabilities and contest karmic luck with Taiyin head-on. But... could they really win?
Before Xiaoyu could ask, Star Lord Shaoyang continued, "The threshold for this Yang Pellet dharma idol will certainly be lower than that of the Ten Thousand Splendors Golden Pellet, but this lord's design for the Dao foundation stage is not yet perfected. During this time, you will go live inside the Smoke and Fire of the Mortal World. We will work together and find a way to complete the prerequisite Dao foundation. We don't have much time; mid-March to early April will be the optimal window to launch 'All Life Burgeons.'"
Hearing this, Xiaoyu immediately felt the press of time. No longer having any leisure for melancholy, he plunged straight into the Smoke and Fire of the Mortal World.
***
In the second month of the third year of Hongjing, the brief war between Qingming and the State of Zhao came to an end.
King of Zhao Li Shenji issued an edict to all under heaven, announcing a total victory: Qingming had withdrawn from Zhao's borders, compensated for damages, and ceded three counties as a token punishment.
At the same time, in view of Qingming's meritorious defense against the alien tribes and its heavy casualties, the King of Zhao took these achievements into account and specially granted Qingming caravans free passage through Zhao's territory to facilitate mutual trade. Seven border trade ports were established, with a pledge never to close them, as a token of gratitude for their service against the alien tribes.
As for where the three counties were located, the edict did not specify, but there was indeed a formal ceremony where Wei Yuan handed over three counties. If anyone with intentions used divination to look into it, they would arrive at the exact outcome described in the edict.
With a master of heavenly divination like Ji Liuli present, deceiving divination was child's play. Wei Yuan had first seized three counties in Yuyang Commandery, completed the full protocol of military occupation, and then ceded them back to the State of Zhao. What the heavenly divination revealed was indeed Qingming ceding three counties.
If someone refused to give up and divined even further back, the divination would easily land upon Wei Yuan himself. At that point, even a Scenery Command cultivator would easily meet an unexplained demise.
For Wei Yuan, having seven trade ports scattered across the entire northwestern border of Zhao was equivalent to having the gates flung wide open. Beyond Yuyang Commandery, the King of Zhao added two more commanderies for cultivating red-stemmed cotton as compensation for Wei Yuan.
At the King of Zhao's request, Wei Yuan led his army to sweep through the three commanderies, rounded up all the wealthy households and landlords, transported them secretly to Qingming for detention, and scattered specially treated sand across the soil of all three commanderies.
Once all of this was completed, the King of Zhao dispatched his army to reclaim the three commanderies. By that time, the landlords and wealthy magnates had vanished without a trace, the government yamens and county offices had all been put to the torch by Wei Yuan, and every land deed and official registry had burned to ashes. Thus, the lands of the three commanderies became ownerless property, which the King of Zhao happily pocketed, thereby barely plugging the fiscal hole created by his reckless printing of currency.
***
Zhao Palace, the Royal Study.
The King of Zhao sat behind his desk, his face grim and silent, offering no hint of what he was thinking.
The Crown Prince knelt on the floor, prostrating himself motionless. "I beg Royal Father to retract your decree!"
The King of Zhao remained silent for a long time, and the Crown Prince did not raise his head.
After an extended standoff, the King of Zhao finally spoke. "If I do not agree, you will refuse to stand up, is that it?"
The Crown Prince repeated, "I beg Royal Father to retract your decree!"
The King of Zhao picked up a stack of battle reports resting separately to the side, weighed them in his hand, and suddenly hurled them viciously against the Crown Prince's head and body! Immediately afterward, he seized the brushes, ink, and inkstone from the desk, hurling whatever his hand touched straight at the Crown Prince!
The Crown Prince kept silent, holding his ground unmoving, clearly resolved to resist to the bitter end.
Seeing this, the King of Zhao grew even more furious. "How can you call yourself the Crown Prince when your head is so full of water?! Ask me to retract my decree? What right do I have to retract it? I tolerated your antics in ordinary times, but this time it was fifty thousand elite cavalry—fifty thousand! Fifty thousand! Sacrificed for nothing, just like that! How many forces of fifty thousand elite cavalry does our Great Zhao have? And you still have the nerve to ask me to retract my decree?!"
The Crown Prince's body trembled slightly, but he finally spoke. "Yet how can our royal house's dignity be trampled underfoot so freely? To make Little Sister do such a thing—once word leaks out, how will future generations judge us?"
The King of Zhao sank back into his chair, closed his eyes, and let out a self-mocking laugh. "Dignity? I must now rely on Wei Yuan's cooperation just to preserve a shred of Great Zhao's face—what dignity is there left to speak of?"
The King of Zhao drew a deep breath, his imperial majesty returning. "Withdraw. Since you dared to force my hand today, you should have anticipated the consequences. Move out of the Eastern Palace tomorrow and take up residence in Lanqing Palace."
The Crown Prince shuddered, but said nothing more. He merely knocked his head to the floor in a kowtow, rose, and walked toward the exit. Upon reaching the study door, he suddenly looked back and said, "Sixth Sister and I were born of the same mother. Therefore, I have no regrets."
The King of Zhao sighed and said slowly, "If I had not taken this throne, that maternal uncle of yours who backs you wouldn't have lasted three strikes against me! So, over all these years, I have been full of regrets."
If the King of Zhao were not the king, then naturally the Crown Prince would not be the crown prince. Pale as ash, the Crown Prince silently retreated.
***
In Qingming, Wei Yuan was in his study handling the follow-up affairs regarding the peace treaty with the State of Zhao, when he suddenly looked up and saw the young cultivator standing before him once again.
Wei Yuan gave a bitter smile. This immortal's methods were truly unfathomable; he traversed anywhere under heaven as if strolling through empty fields. Even hiding in Qingming, Wei Yuan could not escape him.
Rallying his spirits, Wei Yuan stepped out from behind the desk, bowed, and said, "Greetings, Senior. May I ask what instructions you have for me this time?"
The young cultivator pulled a young woman out from behind him and said, "Our last meeting was brief, and I worried you didn't get a clear look. So this time, I've brought her so you can look a while longer."
This time, the young woman was no longer in tight-fitting combat gear and masked, but plainly made up in white robes. Yet she herself was even more lustrously fair than her attire. Though wrapped in plain white garments, her luminescent skin made the white silk look dim by comparison. Biting her crimson lower lip, the maiden clenched her small, soft fists tightly.
Her mutton-fat jade neck and shoulders were lowered in a clearly docile curve, yet her eyes blazed as though fueled by a raging wildfire, like a little wildcat baring its fangs in the snow. Staring at Wei Yuan, her soft, tender, puffed-up cheeks were inexplicably flushed; yet the moment Wei Yuan looked at her, her gaze darted away in a hurry, as if meeting his eyes even once was an unbearable loss. This girl, three parts proud and seven parts defiant, was none other than the Sixth Princess of Great Zhao, the Crown Prince's full-blooded younger sister, Li Ningyi.
The young cultivator said, "You've received all your benefits; now it's time to do your work. Starting today, she will remain at your side. You are responsible for teaching her the art of governance, military strategy and tactics, and statecraft, as well as instructing her in cultivation. Everything you know—no matter what it is—you must teach her, and keep teaching until she has mastered it!
"After that, I give you three choices, and you may pick any one: first, marry her and father a few children with her; second, help her cultivate to Scenery Command; or third, raise her to become Great Zhao's Empress Regnant."
Wei Yuan pondered for a moment, then asked the girl, "Do you want to become the Empress Regnant?"
Furious, the girl lashed out with her claws at his face.
Chapter 985