Wealth Is Won in Peril, and So Is the Great Dao

Lianshan Xin wasn't sleepy yet. He believed that anyone who had a dream was remarkable. "Tanhua Qi, is there any shortcut that could let me break through quickly?" Qi Shiyun did not look down on Lianshan Xin for wanting to take a shortcut. "Cultivation knows no high or low shortcuts. As long as you succeed, any path is the Great Dao." Qi Shiyun began by correcting one of Lianshan Xin's notions. Lianshan Xin quietly turned the thought over. "Judge heroes solely by success and failure?" "How else? By flapping your lips?" Lianshan Xin had no rebuttal and could only nod. "This student fully agrees." "Of course there are ways to break through quickly. Our lineage cultivates dragon qi—that is, emperor qi. The closer we are to the core of the imperial court, the faster our cultivation progresses. That is why I chose to join the Nine Heavens. "If we get entangled in a succession struggle or some other massive upheaval sweeping the court and the realm, our breakthrough speed will outstrip everything under heaven. "On the day I advanced to Grandmaster at age twenty, right in front of the Crown Prince, I executed his personal retainer. Trampling all over the Crown Prince's face, Tanhua Qi became a Grandmaster at twenty, shaking all of Shenjing." At this, Qi Shiyun smiled silently, radiating natural dominance. Lianshan Xin savored the implications, his expression turning strangely odd. "So you were already an enemy of the Crown Prince, Tanhua Qi." Qi Shiyun glanced at him and retorted, "If I were to present the Thousand-Year Snow Lotus to the Crown Prince, he would certainly welcome me with open arms and treat me as his trusted confidante. Everything in the past wouldn't even be worth mentioning." Lianshan Xin believed this, assuming the Crown Prince was an intelligent man. For now, he didn't know if the Crown Prince was. But he did know that Qi Shiyun was someone who could not bear obscurity and had no interest in petty victories. This woman wanted to win big—and win completely. "Tanhua Qi, why does it sound to me like our lineage... thrives on chaos?" "Your understanding isn't wrong." "Then how can the imperial family tolerate us forever?" Qi Shiyun smiled. "His Imperial Majesty today was the hidden dragon our lineage chose back then." Lianshan Xin was thoroughly impressed. "Within the imperial family, many wish to pull our Heaven's Chosen lineage up by the roots. Yet there are just as many who—for their own sake, or for their descendants'—hope our Heaven's Chosen lineage endures forever. As long as we exist, they or their scions have a shot at ascending the dragon throne. "Most importantly, our Heaven's Chosen lineage is immensely powerful in its own right. "Of course, I won't lie to you: of the Nine Heavens' nine lineages, ours is the most likely to end in death." Lianshan Xin understood completely. If the Heaven's Chosen lineage didn't have a high mortality rate, that would be truly baffling. "My coming to Jiangzhou this time is partly on official duty, but partly for personal motives. Shenjing is a den of crouching tigers and hidden dragons. There, I count as someone of note, but hardly a titan capable of whipping up raging storm waves. That is why I haven't broken through for an entire year." Lianshan Xin frowned. Did she hear herself? He hadn't broken through in the past eighteen years, and did he complain? She went a single year without breaking through and was already anxious. "So you want to stir up a massive case in Jiangzhou, Tanhua Qi?" Qi Shiyun gave Lianshan Xin a meaningful look, speaking with stark bluntness: "The fall and replacement of the Jiangzhou Prefect will be enough to help you advance to Grandmaster." Lianshan Xin instantly perked up. "I see now that this Jiangzhou Prefect is already walking the path to his doom." Having lived in Jiangzhou for eighteen years, he had plenty to say as a local about the Prefect's reputation. He couldn't be called completely incompetent, but he was certainly corrupt. From Lianshan Xin's personal perspective, he actually considered the Jiangzhou Prefect fairly capable—at least over the past few years, no great turmoil had erupted in Jiangzhou. As for taking a few bribes, taking a few more concubines, or having his children injure people while galloping their horses through the streets... honestly, for an imperial commissioner governing a province, those were trivial details. But that was before. Anyone who blocked his path forward was clearly walking the path to doom. "Of course, priority goes to you first," Lianshan Xin said quickly. One must never snatch benefits from one's superior. Qi Shiyun shook her head. "The Jiangzhou Prefect isn't enough for me." "Ah? Tanhua Qi, forgive my bluntness, but isn't your status lower than the Prefect's?" In the nineteen provinces of Great Yu, every prefect was an imperial commissioner ruling an entire domain, a high official of the standard third rank, yet in local matters wielding real power that many second-rank grandees in Shenjing could never touch. Qi Shiyun was merely the young master of the Heaven's Chosen lineage; in Lianshan Xin's estimation, she couldn't yet compare to the Prefect of Jiangzhou. If someone was to go toe-to-toe with the Jiangzhou Prefect, Heavenly Sword should be the one to step forward. "In terms of rank, naturally so. However, when I broke through to Grandmaster, I trampled on the Crown Prince's face. If I want to break through this time, a prefect won't suffice." Lianshan Xin: "...Is there anyone in Jiangzhou with a higher status than the Prefect?" "Naturally there are, though you aren't yet in a position to encounter them. Thousand Faces is a titan ranking among the Demon Cult's top five. Mount Kuang is rumored to house immortals and has produced godlike figures such as the Celestial Master. Even the Bailudong Academy of today carries a thousand-year heritage and profound foundations. "What I care about is not just the Jiangzhou Prefect, but the entirety of Jiangzhou's officialdom and the Jiangzhou jianghu. "Moreover, those with deeper fortunes provide greater benefits to our cultivation; it isn't determined solely by official rank. Once you advance to Grandmaster, you will naturally sense it. "In short, your first task is to investigate the Demon Cult fiends lurking within Bailudong Academy. Thousand Faces has remained undercover for decades, plotting painstakingly. His influence is bound to be deeply intertwined with every facet of Jiangzhou. "Lianshan Xin, do you know what that means?" Lianshan Xin said in a grave voice, "Heads will roll." "Their rolling heads will pave your stairway to the azure clouds. You asked me if there is a shortcut—this is the answer. The speed of cultivation in our lineage depends entirely on your nerve and methods. Wealth is won in peril, and so is the Great Dao." Lianshan Xin looked closely at Qi Shiyun, realizing he had still underestimated her. Beneath the slender branches bearing ripe fruit of this breathtaking beauty lay the soul of an utter lunatic. This Dragon Supporting lineage sounded in every respect like the shadowy conspirators stirring up chaos under heaven. But in a dog-eat-dog world, it seemed things had always been this way. Other factions were likely no different at their core. If you endure hardship, all you get is more hardship to endure. Only by devouring others can you rise above them all. Since he had arrived here, he might as well make peace with it. When in Rome, do as the Romans do. "This student has been enlightened." "Actually, besides that, there is one method that truly deserves to be called a shortcut." "What method?" "In your case: marry a princess." "Ah?" "The imperial family of Great Yu carries the millennium-long dynastic fortune of Great Yu. In particular, the flesh and blood of His Majesty are all born with supreme destinies. If you marry a princess, you will gain the right to directly share the dynasty's fortune. But those who wish to marry a princess are countless, and you don't even know any princesses. Furthermore, if you marry a princess, whenever you wish to share a bed with her in the future, you must first obtain the permission of the princess's estate manager. Could you stomach such a thing?" Lianshan Xin nodded vigorously. "I can stomach it! Tanhua Qi, can you introduce a princess to me?" "All those princesses consider me their enemy, and you want me to introduce one?" "Consider you their enemy? Why?" "Despite their exalted status as princesses, none of them shines as brightly as an abandoned daughter of a military family like me. Princesses are only human; how could they not feel jealous?" "..." "Still, you don't have absolutely zero chance. Our coming to Jiangzhou this time comes with a secret mission. When His Majesty traveled incognito in his younger years, he met a female confidante here in Jiangzhou. His Majesty claims he confirmed through special channels that she conceived his royal seed back then. Lord Heavenly Divination personally cast a hexagram, revealing that the princess is right here in Jiangzhou." Lianshan Xin's eyes lit up. "Is there any other information?" "Lord Heavenly Divination only deduced that the princess was born with an internal charm physique." Lianshan Xin's heart sank. He seemed to have just offended someone with an internal charm physique. Had he known, he would have given her a chance to pursue him. After pondering for a moment, he plucked up his courage and asked a question that startled even Qi Shiyun: "Tanhua Qi, what if... one were to kill the princess?" Qi Shiyun: "...Lianshan Xin, and here I thought I already held a high opinion of you." This fellow truly was a natural-born Dragon Supporter. Lianshan Xin said solemnly, "As you said, wealth is won in peril, and so is the Great Dao." "Marrying a princess can virtually guarantee you reach Grandmaster without hindrance. Slaying a princess... could help you break through rapidly into the True Intent realm, comprehending the most slaughter-oriented and most taboo martial intent of our lineage, the Dragon Slaying True Intent. And after that, having your entire clan exterminated to the ninth generation!"