Chapter 983: Chapter 982 Xia Xiaonine_1
A call of "Master" made several people in the room change their expressions simultaneously.
Pan Eunuch’s eyes widened, and after staring at Shi Xiaole intently for a moment, he actually became somewhat dazed.
Her Highness, the Princess, stroked her chin, a myriad of colors flashing through her phoenix eyes, yet she said nothing. Because she knew it was not the time to speak.
Shi Xiaole looked at the imposing and naturally majestic young man before him, not awed by the other’s status, but also stunned by his words.
He carefully observed the other’s facial features and compared them with memories from the past; finally, an almost forgotten old memory surfaced in his mind.
"Master, do you remember?"
The man asked, with a hint of a smile.
"Xia Xiaonine,"
Shi Xiaole softly recited.
It was when he had just started venturing in the Martial World, after attending Bai Yuxue’s Snow Appreciation and Wine Boiling Gathering, that he arrived at Wangyuan City in the Floating River Area and there, he unexpectedly saved a master and servant.
The master was a child of eight or nine years old, and the servant had a sharp voice, named Chang Wei. At the time, Shi Xiaole suspected the latter to be a eunuch. (Chapter one hundred and thirty)
Xia was the surname of the royal family of the Daxia Dynasty. Although he guessed Xia Xiaonine’s identity, Shi Xiaole was not sure and simply thought that the other was an ordinary member of the Daxia royal family.
After all, if Xia Xiaonine were truly important, those pursuing him would hardly be a few martial artists of the Qi Absorption Realm.
But the ways of the world are so wondrous, Shi Xiaole could never imagine that, more than twenty years later, he would meet again that clear-distinguished, stubborn and composed child.
Xia Xiaonine laughed heartily, "Master indeed has a good memory! If not for master’s help back then, I would have died at the hands of rogues. Although I have been busy with state affairs over the years, I have always been paying attention to news of master. The title ’Kirin Young Emperor’ truly resounds like thunder!"
Shi Xiaole looked deeply at the other, saying, "Your Majesty is too kind."
Xia Xiaonine waved his hand and turned towards Her Highness, the Princess, saying, "Sister, I hope to have a good talk with master."
Xia Youying licked her luscious lips and smiled, "This is interesting, the Emperor’s master." Her seductive gaze swept over Shi Xiaole, before she turned and left the room, with Pan Eunuch following behind.
Xia Xiaonine sat in the yellow rosewood chair that Xia Youying had occupied, his imposing expression fading as he bowed, "Master, please accept a bow from Xiaonine."
Shi Xiaole was caught off guard by this gesture and hurriedly demurred.
Objectively speaking, his connection with Xia Xiaonine was somewhat extraordinary. Xiaonine had fled to the Flying Horse Dynasty and was saved by him. And the first New Year’s Eve he spent in this world was also passed with Xia Xiaonine.
Back then, seeing Xia Xiaonine’s love for martial arts, he taught him everything he could, which indeed amounted to a real teacher-student relationship.
Xia Xiaonine gave a bitter smile and suddenly sighed, "Master is still as young as when we first met, but Xiaonine, I have already aged."
He looked around twenty-five or twenty-six, with some white hairs on his head, and in the company of Shi Xiaole who appeared to be but seventeen or eighteen, he indeed seemed older.
"Your Majesty is burdened with the weight of myriad matters, naturally unlike me, free as a cloud or wild crane,"
Shi Xiaole sensed that Xia Xiaonine’s strength was probably around the Xuanqi Realm level, which, compared to his identity, was frankly too low.
Don’t assume that emperors do not practice martial arts. As far as Shi Xiaole knew, the royal families of the three great dynasties all started off with martial prowess, and martial arts could be said to be a compulsory subject for members of the royal family. In fact, in this high-martial world, without extraordinary martial power as a foundation, one simply couldn’t keep the world in line.
Todays Shi Xiaole was far superior to his past self, and he quickly realized that Xia Xiaonine was afflicted with an ailment, which was likely the reason he could not cultivate to a higher realm.
Xia Xiaonine clearly felt the estrangement between them but considered it normal, so he laughed and recounted the events of the past years.
Only then did Shi Xiaole learn that Xia Xiaonine’s father was the younger brother of the previous Xia Emperor.
In that generation of the Daxia royal family, the direct bloodline had dwindled, and since the previous Xia Emperor for some reason could not produce heirs, the throne naturally passed on to Xia Xiaonine’s hands.
The assassination attempt on Xia Xiaonine was far from as simple as Shi Xiaole had seen. Nearly ninety-nine percent of the force had been blocked by the previous Xia Emperor and his father, leaving only small fries for Shi Xiaole to conveniently take care of, which could also be considered a fortuitous encounter.
What Shi Xiaole didn’t know was that at the time, when the previous Xia Emperor was critically ill, the Ancestral Temple was aggressively pressing and even staged a coup to usurp power and prop up a puppet emperor.
Fortunately, the previous Xia Emperor made arrangements in advance and secretly handed the imperial jade seal to Xia Xiaonine’s father, which then led to the pursuit by the Ancestral Temple forces.
During those days when he first met Shi Xiaole, Xia Xiaonine was actually not at ease, because in the sack he carried was the imperial jade seal. If Shi Xiaole had any malicious intentions, it would have been an irretrievable disaster.
Fortunately, this warm-hearted elder brother and master had not disappointed him.
Later on, the Witch Heavenly Guard from the Witch Queen’s temple found him, and after presenting the imperial jade seal, the Heavenly Guard, in accordance with the ancestral laws, supported his ascension to the throne, up until today.
"Master, my imperial sister is capricious, I hope you won’t mind, Xiaonine will restrain her,"
Xia Xiaonine said, showing a rare blush, as he knew better than anyone what kind of person Xia Youying was.
Shi Xiaole, being open-minded, saw that Xia Xiaonine was not putting on airs, and curiously asked, "I heard her and Pan Eunuch speaking of the Blood Sacrifice Ceremony earlier; what is that about?"
He could tell, Xia Youying was eager to ’make a move’ on him, obviously because of the Blood Sacrifice Ceremony.
Xia Xiaonine sighed deeply, hesitated for a moment, then slowly revealed the truth.
Unlike the Flying Horse Dynasty, where the imperial line had absolute power, the founding basis of the Daxia Dynasty was a league. Later, the league was divided into the royal family and the Ancestral Temple. Due to the balance of power, the royal family ultimately managed the court, while the Ancestral Temple controlled underground forces.
Needless to say, this method of distribution was fraught with hidden dangers.
Over many generations, the influence of the royal lineage steadily waned, and the composition of the Ancestral Temple became more complex and had more people, gradually possessing stronger powers, and a greater say in matters.
By the time of the previous Xia Emperor, this situation was already quite evident. As for now, Xia Xiaonine herself was facing enemies on all sides, and one could imagine the immense pressure she was under.
And the so-called Grand Blood Sacrifice Ceremony was the most direct contest between the royal family and the Ancestral Temple.
In the deepest part of the Daxia Palace stood a temple dedicated to the Witch Queen, who, according to legend, was a master of unparalleled power and the mentor of the first Xia Emperor and the first leader of the Ancestral Temple.
Before she vanished, the Witch Queen left a prophecy stating that whoever could condense the Witch Ancestor’s blood and illuminate her statue could enter the depths of her temple.
For thousands of years, even the Witch Heavenly Guard who had long resided in the temple didn’t know exactly what secrets were hidden in its depths, and this became the supreme secret that countless members of the royal family and the Ancestral Temple longed to unearth.
"What does this have to do with your sister?"
Shi Xiaole asked.
"Master does not know that entering the depths of the Witch Queen’s temple, although just an honor, would earn recognition from the Witch Heavenly Guard! In recent years, it has been the pressure from the Witch Heavenly Guard that has prevented the Ancestral Temple from acting recklessly. And my sister, who carries one of the top ten Demon Bones, the most Yin Demon Bone, similar to the Witch Queen of the past, will greatly increase the chances of condensing the Witch Ancestor’s blood once she offers up her maidenhood."
Originally, Xia Youying had the greatest chance of condensing the Witch Ancestor’s blood, but unfortunately, like Xia Xiaonine, she too had lost most of her cultivation abilities and couldn’t even get close to the Witch Queen’s statue.
Just so happens that the Ancestral Temple somehow learned of Xia Youying’s constitution and recently kept making offers and threats to the royal family, insisting that Xia Youying marries into their lines.
The royal family was about to buckle under the pressure.
Shi Xiaole nodded and said, "So, your sister hopes to find a man to marry ahead of time, to shatter the Ancestral Temple’s fantasy."
His expression remained calm, but his thoughts were quite troubled. According to Xia Xiaonine’s words, once he had any relationship with Xia Youying, he would definitely become a thorn in the side of the Ancestral Temple, to be removed swiftly.
Wasn’t this blindly stirring up trouble? Shi Xiaole wasn’t afraid of enemies, but he didn’t want to provoke them for no reason, especially an opponent he couldn’t beat.
Xia Xiaonine evidently understood this point too and apologized, "Master, rest assured, I will surely persuade my sister against it, so that you won’t be put in a difficult position."
Afterward, they chatted for a while longer, and seeing that there weren’t many topics left, Xia Xiaonine instructed Shi Xiaole to take good care of his injuries, said she would visit him again in a couple of days, and then took her leave.
That night, Xia Youying did not request Shi Xiaole to serve her in her sleep, and she didn’t appear in the following days, perhaps because Xia Xiaonine’s persuasion had an effect.
Shi Xiaole was naturally pleased to see this outcome. He did not waste any time, but instead diligently practiced his cultivation in his room, and under the operation of the life-and-death martial path, his injuries were completely healed within a mere five days.
Shi Xiaole wanted to ask about how he was rescued and about the whereabouts of the Purple Wood Sword Emperor, but couldn’t find Pan Eunuch or Xia Youying, so he had no choice but to continue his cultivation.
Every day, in the mornings, Shi Xiaole would concentrate on forming Vigorous Air Vortexes, and in the afternoons, he would comprehend the Body-Breaking Invisible Sword Qi, the Saintly Spirit Sword Technique, and the Sacred Heart Technique.
Perhaps because of the mastery of the Heart Sword, his understanding of the two sword techniques deepened, and problems that had previously baffled him were solved during these days, feeling immensely gratifying.
The Sacred Heart Technique, which related mainly to mental cultivation, was also Shi Xiaole’s strength, and he made no small progress.
Shi Xiaole had a feeling that if he were to break through to the Void Origin Realm now, his cultivation of the three top-tier martial arts would flow smoothly, and he would reach an extremely high level in a short period of time.
Time flew by swiftly.
One month later.
Shi Xiaole’s Vigorous Air Vortex had increased from one hundred ninety-two to two hundred twenty-one. Due to the refinement of the vortex theory, the pace of increase was not as rapid as before, but the improvement in strength was far greater than before.
"The difference between the pseudo-Earthly Realm and the Earthly Realm is tremendous. I’m probably not there yet, but I’m very close."
Food should be eaten one bite at a time, and Shi Xiaole had no dreams of reaching the skies in one step. To achieve such progress in one month, if word got out, it would surely knock plenty of people over in shock.
While cultivating, Shi Xiaole occasionally thought about leaving his room, only to find the entire space was sealed by an advanced Array System of the high Void Origin Realm level.
It would be easy for Shi Xiaole to break through, but it would inevitably attract the experts of the princess’s mansion, so he chose to stay inside.
"Your Highness, His Majesty has been on the throne for over a decade, and his position has never been very stable. Surely you don’t want him to fall from grace, perhaps to his death, right?"
While the sound from his room couldn’t pass out, the sound from outside could still be heard inside. That day, Shi Xiaole clearly heard the conversation of two people.
"Are you threatening me?"
On one side of the corridor outside the room, Xia Youying’s eyes were cold as she stared at the young man opposite her.
"Not at all, just a friendly reminder, really. My elder brother is exceedingly talented and would be a perfect match for Your Highness. For the friendship between the royal family and the Ancestral Temple, I hope Your Highness won’t be stubborn."
Amidst laughter, the young man stepped away, leaving Xia Youying standing there with a smile on her face, but her demeanor was ice-cold.
Shi Xiaole had heard similar conversations many times over these days.
