Chapter 392: Little Kirin
Luo Wusheng had timed it perfectly—he arrived just outside the Royal City gates shortly after they opened.
But before that, he had taken a detour around the outer perimeter of the city.
'I found nothing... Well, that makes sense. If those Netherkins have been hiding this long without being discovered, there's no way I'd just stumble upon some clue from a casual sweep.'
What a pity, he'd thought maybe another Netherkin, like the impatient chicken Netherkin, would show up.
Canceling the teleportation he'd kept at the ready, he stroked his chin thoughtfully.
"That white-haired loli gave me information about the Trinity of Pristine States. When I interpret the intent behind it, there are only a few possible meanings."
"At first, I thought she was trying to tempt me into cultivating the Trinity of Pristine States by telling me the benefits and things to watch out for. But I'm a disciple of the Demon Sect—I'm not familiar with Daoist spells, and I don't have access to the necessary resources. Besides, I don't possess an innate Supreme Dao Body like the Empress, which was born specifically for cultivating Daoist techniques..."
"So that possibility is unlikely... And when I think about it again, there's still one much more likely explanation."
That ancient brat had, in all probability, already found out about the Empress cultivating the Trinity of Pristine States, perhaps she knows even more specific details.
In other words, the real meaning of that information was: She wants me to ensure none of the Empress's three Alter Egos are harmed?
Thinking about how, in the original work, the Empress's Mortal Alter Ego had perished during the Netherkin Uprising.
Luo Wusheng—who now knew her public identity—fell into contemplation.
He had considered trying to prevent the inevitable demise of Miss Kirin.
After all, the Empress's three Alter Egos were now all aligned with his own faction. If he could save one of them, he'd earn major favor with all three of them, with a guaranteed return.
But after thinking it through several times, he found it to be a headache-inducing problem.
In the original story, there had been pathetically little detail about how the Empress's Mortal Alter Ego disappeared—most mentions were about the outcome, with barely a hint of useful information.
Not even the three fundamental questions—Who struck her down, where it happened, and how it was done—were ever answered. How was he supposed to prevent something from happening if he didn't even know those things?
What was he supposed to do—tie Miss Kirin to his hip and guard her 24/7?
He wouldn't mind, but would she be okay with that?
Besides, in Royal City, the Empress was the one who could summon the Human Emperor Sword at will. She was definitely stronger than he was. So why does she need him to protect her Mortal Alter Ego?
No matter how he looked at it, he could only try probing the hidden Netherkins inside the capital first. But in the end, he'd found nothing.
"Sigh... It is what it is. Let's eat first... I'll head back into the city."
.........
Today, the inner city of Royal City felt noticeably different from usual.
The most obvious change was the significantly reduced foot traffic on the streets.
Though it was still early, in the past the vendors along the main street would've been setting up shop by now. But today, not only were there no shops open—he couldn't even sense the presence of ordinary residents.
At this moment, Luo Wusheng had already returned to his own residence.
"Since yesterday, the Immortal Nation has constructed an arena from the Heavenly Plate Stone in an open area in the eastern part of the city, one that can support battles between Foundation Establishment cultivators. Multiple Golden-Ranked member of the Six Gate Bureau are overseeing it."
"From yesterday on, Foundation Establishment cultivators in the capital have been heading there to duel. Most of the people in the city went that way, which is why the streets seem so empty today... Naturally, fewer people came to our Demon Artifact Pavilion as well, but it's no big deal."
Listening to the explanation from his Junior Sister, Luo Wusheng was lost in thought.
He was sitting at a stone table, across from two stunningly beautiful young girls who were a treat just to look at.
Naturally, they were Lu Yuliu and Bai Xiaoyao.
The sword fairy tilted her head slightly, not saying a word. In her tiny hands, she cradled a specially made large cup. A slender straw poked out from the lid, and her cute little mouth was gently pursed around the straw, sipping on the cool juice inside.
During this whole process, the little girl would occasionally sneak glances at the boy sitting across from her. But whenever their eyes met, she would either quickly look away or glare at him fiercely.
On the other side, Bai Xiaoyao had an identical cup in her hand. But instead of drinking from it right away, she simply held it with a light smile on her face while explaining the recent events in the Royal City to her Senior Brother.
However, upon hearing Bai Xiaoyao's explanation, Luo Wusheng couldn't help but shoot a rather strange look at his little Yuli.
'Didn't she say nothing was happening in the Royal City? This doesn't count as something?'
'Alright, alright, my bad. After all those years of being a shut-in on Frosty Snow Peak, I was probably expecting too much if I thought she could get timely and accurate intel...'
Looking at the girl still putting on that cute little tsundere act, Luo Wusheng felt equal parts exasperated and amused.
Because of a certain immortal spirit's sudden interference, he'd missed the best opportunity to coax this girl earlier. Fortunately, he'd managed to make up for it on the way back to the city—though she still wasn't completely pacified.
Right now, whenever she looked at him, her mind was probably still filled with that whole "Dao Companion" comment.
That said, when he arrived at the gate earlier, the Sword Fairy had still come out to greet him—albeit very reluctantly. Then, also reluctantly, she sat at the table, and then reluctantly drank the beverage he gave her… before requesting a refill.
"Foundation Establishment dueling grounds, huh..."
Luo Wusheng withdrew from his thoughts, rubbing his chin as he murmured to himself.
"Mhm. They said it's meant to serve as a prelude to the upcoming Human Immortal List. There are Nascent Soul realm cultivators present to oversee things, so there's no need to worry about accidents. The Immortal Nation even prepared pills, and some Golden Core realm seniors are there to offer guidance to lower-ranked cultivators," Bai Xiaoyao explained.
"Still, this kind of event is a first. In past years, there was never this sort of fanfare before the Human Immortal List..."
Although she said this, her beautiful eyes remained calm as she watched her recently returned Senior Brother.
Her instincts told her that her Senior Brother definitely knew something.
And sure enough, Luo Wusheng had pieced things together.
"...I see."
The Immortal Nation was deliberately drawing people to the eastern part of the city to make it easier to clean up the remaining Nether Formation elsewhere… no wonder, after entering the city, he'd sensed the presence of high-level cultivators gathering in the other three directions.
Choosing the eastern district for the arena wasn't random, either.
After all, the first signs of the Nether Formations had been discovered due to the incident at the Wandering Immortal Inn in the eastern district. Naturally, the formations in that area were the first to be eliminated. That made it the safest and most suitable place to draw everyone's attention.
Now that he had guessed the truth, Luo Wusheng's expression remained unchanged, and he smoothly shifted the topic elsewhere.
.........
After checking in with the two girls about his return and catching up on what had changed while he was away for a day, Luo Wusheng exchanged a meaningful look with his Junior Sister—indicating a visit to her room later—and then headed off to the Demon Artifact Pavilion.
On the way, he received a few more messages from the Sword Fairy. That tsundere attitude of hers clearly didn't hold up in written communication.
Once everything was taken care of, Luo Wusheng took the first shipment of goods from the Demon Artifact Pavilion for trade with the Immortal Nation and arrived at the Six Gate Bureau headquarters.
"Speaking of which, there's supposedly a Golden-Ranked member overseeing things in the east district… it shouldn't be that much of a coincidence that Little Kirin—"
His muttering was cut off abruptly.
Someone stepped out of the void and appeared directly in front of him.
"'Little'...?"
A familiar cool voice spoke, then paused briefly:
"...Are you here to see me?"
Miss Kirin's eyes, hidden behind her mask, were utterly emotionless as she gazed at the young man before her.
More than a day had passed since the incident regarding the memory synchronization, and she had expertly concealed any signs of discomfort it may have caused.
Well, that is, as long as no one noticed that her gaze occasionally wavered and shifted toward the young man's lower bodypart…
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Note: Link to the character Illustration:
https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1lkIcPnCxeyuyZA4Kkb621dPC05UvWjhD[1]
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Tn: I updated the story daily, but if you want to see more chapter of this story ahead of time, please go to my Patreon.
Latest Chapter: Chapter 532: What On Earth Is Master Talking About?[2]
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[1] https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1lkIcPnCxeyuyZA4Kkb621dPC05UvWjhD
[2] https://www.patreon.com/posts/chapter-532-what-156146549
[3] https://www.patreon.com/posts/chapter-532-what-156146549