What official could withstand a test like that?
Almost instantly, murderous intent surged within Lianshan Xin.
Then reason swiftly reined it back in.
No, this was the academy, and He Ruoyu was watching.
Most importantly, how many people knew Zeng Ningbing's true parentage?
That was a very grave question.
Even if he were to slay a princess, it had to be done in secret, not out in broad daylight.
Wait...
Lianshan Xin suddenly remembered Zhang Aniu mentioning that Zeng Ningbing was suspected of being the Second Prince's bosom confidante.
At that thought, Lianshan Xin glanced down at Zeng Ningbing on the ground again, the corners of his mouth twitching into a near-smile.
There was no reason for Zhang Aniu to lie to him.
Unless the Second Prince was sick in the head, he certainly wouldn't dabble in incest.
Therefore, it was practically certain that the Second Prince knew nothing of Zeng Ningbing's background.
And the odds of Zeng Ningbing harboring an incestuous streak were likewise virtually zero.
Very good.
Then she most likely didn't know her own origin either.
It seemed the one he needed to worry about most was that Elder Zeng.
He wondered if she even knew who had slept with her back then.
Probably not.
Qi Shiyun had said that when His Majesty wandered the jianghu, he concealed his true name.
And he certainly had to conceal it.
Otherwise, with His Majesty's habit of leaving a trail of romance wherever he went, a single misstep would have gotten him chopped to bits by jealous axes long before he ever ascended the throne.
If all his deductions were correct...
Lianshan Xin's breathing suddenly quickened.
Then Zeng Ningbing was very likely not the last dragon seed he would encounter.
The Emperor's seed-sowing abilities were truly formidable.
Lianshan Xin hadn't even left Jiangzhou City yet, and he had already run into two of his illegitimate daughters.
It was hard to imagine just how much "cultivation material" remained scattered across the jianghu.
He truly had to give a thumbs-up to His Majesty's "little brother."
That was his ultimate top patron.
Lianshan Xin saw a glorious future stretching before him.
Along this bright, open road, aside from consuming nine familial clans, it was virtually smooth sailing all the way.
"What... what martial art is that?"
He Ruoyu's voice broke Lianshan Xin's train of thought.
He was completely dumbstruck.
As a martial artist in the middle stage of the Qi Condensation realm, He Ruoyu had the confidence to subdue Zeng Ningbing, but he knew he could never knock her out in a single blow.
How had Lianshan Xin done it?
What was more...
"How dare you condense dragon-shaped true qi? Aren't you afraid of death? Or... are you an imperial prince?" He Ruoyu's legs began to tremble again.
Lianshan Xin shot him a puzzled look. "What's wrong with dragon-shaped true qi?"
He Ruoyu looked even more bewildered than Lianshan Xin. "You don't know? Only those of the imperial bloodline can condense dragon-shaped true qi!"
"There's even a rule like that?"
Lianshan Xin genuinely had no idea.
Bailudong Academy didn't officially open until tomorrow.
Before this, Lianshan Xin was merely an ordinary eighteen-year-old lad who had never stepped beyond Jiangzhou City.
Master Dai had only taught up to the Meridian Connectivity realm; anything in the Qi Condensation realm or beyond was outside the curriculum.
Thus, he had never received a formal, systematic martial education, missing out on many basic common-sense lessons.
"You really don't know? In ancient times, the Xia family intermarried with the Dragon Clan. Every direct descendant of the Xia family across the generations inherits the true dragon bloodline. Although true dragons are extinct today, the imperial family's inherited Chenji Sacred Dragon Bloodline Classic can still activate the dormant ancestral dragon bloodline within them. The true qi unleashed in the Qi Condensation realm by the Chenji Sacred Dragon Bloodline Classic takes the form of dragon-shaped true qi."
He Ruoyu had already studied at Bailudong Academy for two years, and his knowledge in this area far surpassed Lianshan Xin's.
"Aside from the imperial bloodline, no one dares to condense dragon-shaped true qi. That is usurpation," He Ruoyu said in a solemn voice.
Lianshan Xin: "..."
He was truly suffering from his lack of education.
He had actually committed a taboo.
Next time he released his true qi externally, he would have to change its shape.
"Moreover, even if ordinary martial artists wanted to condense dragon-shaped true qi, they wouldn't know how. They've never seen a dragon. Only direct imperial descendants can activate their bloodline and learn the true dragon's form. What you just condensed... was it a dragon? Have you seen a dragon?"
He Ruoyu suddenly grew hesitant.
Because he himself had never seen one.
He merely felt that the dragon-shaped true qi Lianshan Xin had just condensed closely matched the description he had learned from books:
Antlers like a deer, head like a camel, eyes like a rabbit, neck like a snake, belly like a mirage clam, scales like a fish, talons like an eagle, paws like a tiger, ears like an ox.
Yet whether it truly was a dragon, he couldn't say for sure.
Lianshan Xin said solemnly, "Of course I've seen a dragon."
He Ruoyu was instantly filled with awe.
"You actually believe that? How did you ever pass the entrance exam for Bailudong Academy?"
Lianshan Xin looked at him with mock reverence. "Could it be that you were recommended as well?"
If that were really the case, he would have to give serious thought to whether He Ruoyu was a Demon Cult fiend.
He Ruoyu: "..."
He had indeed been frightened silly.
His brain had simply ceased functioning.
The shock Lianshan Xin had given him was just too great.
"You really aren't a prince?" He Ruoyu asked, still feeling lingering fear.
Lianshan Xin thought to himself, There certainly is royal blood right in front of you. Unfortunately, it's not the one standing, but the one lying on the ground.
"Then why are you so strong? An eighteen-year-old in the Qi Condensation realm? When did such a prodigy appear in Jiangzhou City? How could I not have known?" He Ruoyu muttered.
Lianshan Xin thought to himself, I only appeared today. Yesterday I was still in the Body Tempering realm. Today I'm already at half-step True Intent. If I kill Zeng Ningbing, I can drop the 'half-step' entirely. It might even fill more than half the 'experience points' needed to advance from the True Intent realm to Grandmaster.
"Could you be a prodigy secretly nurtured by the Nine Heavens?"
He Ruoyu seemed to have found a plausible explanation for himself.
Naturally, Lianshan Xin couldn't be bothered to engage him.
He was still pondering how to handle Zeng Ningbing.
If it were merely the current conflict between him and Zeng Ningbing, giving her a beating would likely go ignored by both the Golden Scale Alliance and Elder Zeng, given the customs of Great Yu.
The matter would blow over just like that.
But Lianshan Xin couldn't let it blow over.
This wild princess was of immense use to him.
Therefore, this wild princess had to be tied to the Demon Cult somehow.
Then again, why did His Majesty's daughters love colluding with the Demon Cult so much?
Even Lianshan Xin found it bizarre.
"Speaking of which, my master, 'Purple Lightning Sword' Master Lin Xiangwen, is also a bosom friend of Tanhua Qi. Since you are from the Nine Heavens, Junior Brother, do you know Tanhua Qi?"
He Ruoyu forced himself back into the conversation, catching Lianshan Xin's attention.
"Your teacher is Lin Xiangwen?"
Lianshan Xin's tone turned odd.
He Ruoyu, however, failed to catch the nuance.
He only gathered that Lianshan Xin indeed knew his master, and his spirits instantly lifted. "Yes, I am his closed-door disciple. For my master's sake, how about we let today's matter drop?"
Lianshan Xin smiled.
This truly was the Calabash Brothers saving Grandpa—delivering themselves one by one.
Originally, though Lianshan Xin found a simp like He Ruoyu annoying, he hadn't planned on exterminating him.
Yet He Ruoyu had first tied himself to Zeng Ningbing, and now dragged in Lin Xiangwen.
This was practically tattooing the words "Demon Cult Undercover" across his forehead.
He couldn't bend the law for personal favoritism, after all.
Chapter 56