The Second Prince and the Third Prince, meanwhile, managed other minor affairs within the Great Zhou Country.

Of course, the Emperor was very clever. Even though he let his three sons manage some important duties, he always kept the core of power firmly in his own hands.

Shen Bai stroked his chin. "The Third Prince’s Close Guard came looking for me just to have a look?"

’This man, Ouyang Wu, seems to have an ulterior motive,’ he thought.

Ouyang Wu shook his head. "At least, that’s what the Third Prince said. He will be attending this internal assessment, and he’ll also be one of the evaluators."

Hearing this, Shen Bai said, "No Prince has ever attended in the past. It seems this time is out of the ordinary."

Previous internal assessments were evaluated solely within the Observatory. But this time, they’ve added the Third Prince to the mix.

Shen Bai felt that there was probably more to this.

Of course, Shen Bai couldn’t figure out what that might be.

After all, in the current turbulent environment, every change carried with it endless possibilities.

Ouyang Wu shook his head. "I don’t know either. Now that I’ve seen you, Lord Shen, I must be leaving."

With that, Ouyang Wu gripped his Mo Saber and prepared to leave.

Shen Bai hadn’t expected Ouyang Wu to be so direct.

He stroked his chin, not stopping Ouyang Wu.

But after Ouyang Wu had taken only two steps, he suddenly stopped as if he had remembered something.

"Oh, right. Lord Shen, I’ve heard you’re capable of Overcoming Adversity and Attacking Upward, and that you can fight those in the Meridian Realm while only at the Five Organ Realm."

Ouyang Wu said slowly, "I am also a man of the Jianghu. I wonder if I might ask Lord Shen for a lesson?"

As he spoke, Ouyang Wu gestured to the Mo Saber at his waist, indicating that he only meant to spar.

Shen Bai frowned. "There’s no need."

He still found the whole situation baffling.

The Third Prince’s actions, and now Ouyang Wu’s odd behavior, struck Shen Bai as very strange.

As for sparring, that was completely unnecessary.

’I need to be grinding my Skill Level right now. I don’t have time for this,’ Shen Bai thought.

Hearing this, Ouyang Wu sighed with regret. "In that case, I won’t disturb you any further."

This time, Ouyang Wu really left.

Before long, the alley grew quiet once more.

For Shen Bai, it was just a minor interlude.

Though he had his doubts, the internal assessment was still a ways off, so he didn’t give it much more thought. He returned to his room and continued grinding the Skill Level for his Mystic Heart Spell.

...

Time flowed by, and the night passed in the blink of an eye.

When the first rays of morning sun streamed in, Shen Bai took a sip of tea to soothe his throat. After quickly washing up, he headed out the door with Amber in his arms.

Today, he didn’t go to the Observatory, heading directly for the Yuelai Inn instead.

After all, he had already spoken with Liu Wufeng in detail yesterday, so there was no need to attend Dianmao.

Daoist Chongling was waiting at the entrance of the Yuelai Inn. His eyes lit up slightly when he saw Shen Bai approaching.

"Lord Shen, you’re here."

"Sorry to have kept you waiting, Daoist Chongling. Shall we set off now?"

"Of course, of course. After you, Lord Shen."

The two exchanged no unnecessary pleasantries; they had already traded enough compliments not long before.

Before long, the two had left Fenglin State.

...

As the matter was quite urgent, both Shen Bai and Daoist Chongling used their unique abilities to travel.

Shen Bai used Divine Hundred Miles, becoming a blur of afterimages as he sped through the wilderness.

Daoist Chongling, meanwhile, had applied Talisman Paper to his thighs, and his speed was no slower than Shen Bai’s.

Daoist Chongling was secretly amazed when he saw Shen Bai’s Divine Hundred Miles in action.

In truth, various legends about Shen Bai had long been circulating throughout Fenglin State.

But seeing it with his own eyes, Daoist Chongling could hardly conceal his astonishment.

Some things are just like that; hearing about them and seeing them firsthand are two entirely different experiences.

"Lord Shen, your Body Technique is truly incredible," Daoist Chongling said.

"It is as spectral as a ghost, yet as fast as lightning. It’s exceptionally effective for both movement and evasion."

Even though he was from the Daoist Sect, Daoist Chongling’s cultivation realm was, after all, very high—among the top tier in Fenglin State—so he could discern some of its intricacies.

Shen Bai smiled. "You flatter me, Daoist Master. It’s nothing more than a minor trick."

Daoist Chongling shook his head. "If what you have is a minor trick, Lord Shen, then I’m afraid the so-called ’prodigies’ of Fenglin State would be too ashamed to even stand in your presence."

At this, Daoist Chongling couldn’t help but offer a moment of silent sympathy for those prodigies.

They were all competing with one another, and then suddenly a man like Shen Bai appeared and overshadowed them all.

Most importantly, he suppressed them so completely that they had no chance of ever turning the tables.

If that wasn’t tragic, what was?

Shen Bai didn’t want to dwell on the topic, but with the two of them focused solely on traveling, the journey was becoming a bit quiet.

Just then, Shen Bai suddenly recalled Ouyang Wu’s visit from the previous night.

He had been in a hurry that morning, so he hadn’t had a chance to ask Liu Wufeng about it.

Now that Daoist Chongling was here, Shen Bai figured he might as well ask him.

Even if he couldn’t get a clear answer, it would at least serve as small talk to pass the time on the road.

With this in mind, Shen Bai asked, "Daoist Chongling, do you know anything about the Third Prince? He recently dispatched his Close Guard to visit the various prodigies of the Observatory, and I have no idea what he’s planning."

When he asked this, Daoist Chongling faltered for a moment, then sank into thought.

Shen Bai caught his expression. ’There’s definitely more to this,’ he thought.

He said nothing, simply watching Daoist Chongling and waiting for him to speak.