Chapter 111: Chapter 111: Young National Hero
"It worked?!"
Inside the quiet room, Muu Yunlie’s face was a mask of joy. As he felt the boundless power surging from within him, he erupted with excitement, unleashing a tyrannical, iron-blooded aura that swept through the entire Imperial Palace.
And Qin Ya, who was closest to him, bore the brunt of it.
Yet, he merely furrowed his brow slightly, showing no signs of discomfort.
’Oops, Teacher Qin is still here.’
Muu Yunlie snapped back to his senses and instantly retracted his aura, unaware of the shockwaves his actions had just sent through the Imperial Palace.
"Teacher Qin, are you all right?"
"I’m fine. Try not to be so impulsive in the future."
Muu Yunlie gave Qin Ya a strange look. He was an Extraordinary Strong Person, after all. In his excitement, he had held nothing back, unleashing his full aura. How could Qin Ya, standing so close, feel absolutely nothing?
Any other Martial Artist at the Earth Element Realm would have been flattened on the spot.
And yet Qin Ya, who was only at Spiritual Element Realm Perfection, could withstand his aura?
A thought suddenly surfaced in his mind: ’Is he really just a Spiritual Element Realm Martial Artist? Could he be some old monster in disguise?!’
He shook his head, casting the strange idea aside. His expression turned solemn, and he bowed respectfully to Qin Ya. "Teacher Qin, you saved me from peril and cured my poison. I, Muu Yunlie, will never forget this kindness for as long as I live."
"From this day forward, if there is anything you need, Teacher Qin, as long as it does not harm the Empire’s interests, I will go through hell and high water for you without hesitation."
Hearing this, Qin Ya smiled faintly. "Marshal Muu, you exaggerate."
"No. If the poison hadn’t been cured, my own life would be a small matter. But if the three hundred thousand soldiers of the Red Flame Army were handed over to Xiao Dilong, it would have been disastrous for the Empire and for His Majesty," Muu Yunlie said in a low voice.
Qin Ya replied leisurely, "Do you really think that if something had happened to you, His Majesty would have willingly handed the three hundred thousand soldiers of the Red Flame Army over to Xiao Dilong?"
Upon hearing this, Muu Yunlie’s body jolted. "He would not!"
The three hundred thousand soldiers of the Red Flame Army were too important. If something had happened to Muu Yunlie, Nangong Wen would not have handed them over so easily, especially not to the Lingyun Marquis’s faction. With his cunning, it would have been a simple matter for him to meddle with things.
"Besides, I didn’t save you for matters of the court, nor for the interests of the Empire. I saved you only because of Muu Xue’s request and to repay a debt," Qin Ya said indifferently. To him, courtly struggles and imperial interests were less important than a friend’s request.
"A debt?" Muu Yunlie was puzzled.
"Do you remember the Exquisite Jade you gave me, Marshal Muu?" Qin Ya asked with a faint smile. "If not for the wondrous object within that Exquisite Jade, my cultivation would not have advanced so greatly, let alone been able to refine a Seventh-Grade Elixir to cure your poison."
"So, in a way, you saved yourself. There’s no need to thank me."
Muu Yunlie gazed deeply at Qin Ya upon hearing this. "Xue’er always said that Teacher Qin was a remarkable person. She was certainly right!"
Any ordinary person would have eagerly taken all the credit, yet Qin Ya was pushing it away with words that were undeniably convincing.
"Regardless, it is a fact that you saved my life, Teacher Qin. I will always remember this great kindness," Muu Yunlie said in a low voice, his gaze firm.
Qin Ya just smiled and said no more.
The two returned to the banquet. Nangong Wen, who had been waiting for a long time, stepped down from the throne and asked with a hint of excitement, "My dear subject, how is it?"
"By Your Majesty’s grace, the poison in your humble subject’s body has been... cured!"
"Haha, that’s wonderful news," Nangong Wen laughed heartily.
But the Lingyun Marquis said, unwilling to concede, "Your Majesty, Master Chen is right here. Let him examine Marshal Muu, just in case any residual poison remains. That would be unfortunate."
"As you wish!" Nangong Wen’s smile vanished, his expression turning cold.
Master Chen’s face paled, but he walked over as if accepting his fate. Before examining Muu Yunlie, he first gave Qin Ya a deep bow. This was the respect and admiration an Alchemist held for an Alchemy Master, and it had nothing to do with anything else.
Qin Ya gave a faint smile and a nod in return.
He could tell that Master Chen’s respect was genuine. He, in turn, treated him purely as a fellow practitioner of the Alchemy Dao. As for the political factions they currently represented, all of that seemed insignificant in the face of the Alchemy Dao itself.
Master Chen walked up to Muu Yunlie and began his examination.
After a moment, he sighed and said, "Master Qin’s skill in the Alchemy Dao is a mountain I can only look up to in awe. Not only is the poison in Marshal Muu’s body completely gone, but his True Essence is robust. There’s no sign he was ever poisoned at all."
The moment he spoke, the crowd erupted in an uproar. The Lingyun Marquis’s face turned deathly pale.
The Left Minister and Xiao Dilong exchanged a look and tacitly distanced themselves from the Lingyun Marquis. As the saying goes, when the tree falls, the monkeys scatter. They could see that the Marquis had no chance of a comeback and naturally wanted to draw a clear line between themselves and him.
Seeing the people who had just been on his side now shying away as if he were a plague god, the Lingyun Marquis felt a wave of exhaustion wash over him, all fight gone from his heart. He gave a wretched smile and said, "Congratulations, Marshal Muu."
Then he turned to Nangong Wen. "Your Majesty, your subject is feeling unwell and cannot hold his liquor. Please permit your subject to take his leave and return to his estate to rest."
"Granted," Nangong Wen said indifferently.
"Thank you, Your Majesty."
Watching the Lingyun Marquis stumble away, the crowd couldn’t help but sigh at the turn of events. Then, their gazes fell upon the composed face of Qin Ya, and a sense of awe rose within them. They knew this entire reversal was because of the young man before them.
’This young man must never be provoked,’ they all thought.
At that moment, Nangong Wen suddenly spoke up. "While everyone is here, We have a decree to announce. Eunuch Gao..."
"Yes, Your Majesty," a eunuch with a slicked-back, powdered face replied in a shrill voice.
The crowd looked at each other, wondering what His Majesty was planning.
Eunuch Gao stood on the steps and took out the imperial edict. Below, everyone knelt, except for Qin Ya, who remained standing alone. This shocked the crowd, but Nangong Wen, seeing this, wasn’t angered. He chuckled and said, "Teacher Qin, We grant you the privilege of forgoing the rite of kneeling from this day forward."
’What immense favor!’ the crowd thought in astonishment.
At this time, Eunuch Gao began to read: "By Imperial Decree: Qin Ya, a High-Level Teacher of Mingxin Academy, is of prodigious talent and rare genius. Today, he has cured Marshal Muu of a strange poison, rendering a great service to the Empire and relieving Us of a great worry.
We are moved to feel that such a great talent will surely be a pillar of the state in the future. Therefore, We hereby bestow upon Qin Ya the title of Young National Hero, award him one estate, numerous maids, silks, and jewels, one hundred thousand Gold Coins, and a status equal to that of a First-Grade Duke. So decreed!!"
Once the decree was read, the crowd’s shock could not be quelled for a long time!
A Young National Hero! A status equal to a First-Grade Duke!
What did that even mean? What an immense honor!
What was a National Hero? It referred to the most talented individual in the nation, a person respected by both the Empire and the Monarch. Such a status was comparable to that of a Duke.
This title might not come with much direct authority, but its symbolic meaning was extraordinary. For it had another implication: from this day forward, this person was under the Emperor’s personal protection.
In other words, to be an enemy of Qin Ya was to be an enemy of Nangong Wen!
A National Hero... the Empire had not seen one for decades.
And today, a Young National Hero was born!
