Chapter 140: Chapter 138: People from the Mysterious Land

"Qin, can you come with me for a moment?" Wuyin bit her lower lip and whispered, a troubled look on her face.

"Oh? What’s wrong?" Qin Li asked with a smile. The girls at the Advanced Academy nearly all came from impressive backgrounds. Take this bewitching-looking girl, Wuyin, for example. Her father was the City Lord of a major city in the Cyan Dragon Kingdom. Unlike the Mo Family, which had average strength, Wuyin’s family was ancient, with an incredibly deep foundation.

Therefore, Qin Li didn’t think anyone would be bored enough to cause trouble for them.

"Aiya, just come with me and you’ll find out!" Wuyin grabbed Qin Li’s hand and ran toward a small grove of trees inside the academy.

Many students watched this scene, dumbfounded. ’Wuyin really is aggressive,’ they thought. ’She actually dared to pursue Qin in public, and... and even dragged him into the grove by the hand! What is she planning to do?’

This discovery left many of the girls who had secret crushes on Qin Li heartbroken. They felt the world had gone bleak. The handsome, dapper, young, rich, and outstandingly powerful Qin, Marquis Qin, had been dragged into the grove by that little demoness, Wuyin...

A bit of gossip quickly spread throughout the academy.

Meanwhile, Qin Li could feel the anxiety coming from Wuyin, so he followed her into the dense woods.

The Spiritual Qi on the Celestial Essence Continent was abundant, so all kinds of plants grew exceptionally lush, releasing a refreshing, heart-soothing fragrance.

This place had also always been the best spot for the Advanced Academy’s students to have romantic rendezvous.

"Qin, the princess is missing!"

As soon as they ran into the woods, before she could even catch her breath, Wuyin dropped a bombshell.

Qin Li was stunned for a moment. He said, "How could she be missing? Doesn’t the princess have several High-Tier Earth Level guards with her? Besides, here in Cyan Dragon City, who would be tired of living and dare to target the princess?"

"It’s not like that!" Wuyin cut Qin Li off, saying anxiously, "Her Highness the Princess ran away! Haven’t you heard about it?"

"Ran away?" Qin Li’s brow furrowed. He looked at Wuyin. "Heard what? Wuyin, this is no laughing matter!"

"Who’s joking with you! The Emperor wants to marry the princess off! She doesn’t want to, so she secretly slipped away! How could you not have heard about something so huge?" Wuyin looked at Qin Li, a little angry. The Little Princess’s affection for Qin was something probably everyone in the entire Advanced Academy knew about.

On Qin Li’s first day at the Advanced Academy, when he was met with the jealousy of a group of teachers, it was the princess who staunchly supported him. Later, during a court assembly, when members of the Crown Prince Faction attacked Qin Li, it was Her Highness the Princess who spoke up for him again. After that, every week Qin Li came to the Advanced Academy, the princess would follow him around all day!

If that wasn’t love, then what was? Wuyin refused to believe Qin Li couldn’t see it. But this damned guy kept pretending he didn’t know, making her so frustrated she could grind her teeth.

Could Qin Li really not see it? Of course not. But Qin Li also had his own difficulties. From a man’s perspective, it seemed the more beauties, the better. But on the other hand, Shangguan Shiyu was still waiting for him quietly on Profound Island. Could he really fool around behind her back? He was already avoiding any emotional topics with the two delicate beauties back home, to say nothing of this noble Little Princess.

Even if the Emperor wanted to marry the princess to Qin Li, he would refuse. It wasn’t that he didn’t like her; it was just that the shadow of another person was already deeply buried in his heart.

"Wuyin, don’t be so quick to condemn me. Just tell me what happened first," Qin Li said slowly with a soft sigh.

"Yesterday afternoon, the Royal Family’s Great Tributor, Elder Chen Yihan, personally brought a group of people to the academy, claiming they were here to tour the grounds. Even the Headmaster, who had been in seclusion and hadn’t been seen for a long time, came out to accompany them. Those people were all incredibly arrogant and conceited. After the tour, one of them said that the geniuses of the secular world were nothing special. The students were furious, and the princess went up to argue with the young man who said it. Unexpectedly, the moment that young man saw the princess, his eyes lit up. After learning Qianqian was a princess, he said just one sentence and then left." Wuyin’s expression was furious as she spoke.

Qin Li truly hadn’t known about this. He had spent all of yesterday cultivating in his estate. He wasn’t a god; he couldn’t possibly know everything. Although Watermelon had already become the Dragon Head of Cyan Dragon City’s underworld forces, he hadn’t been in the position for long and needed to expend enormous effort to secure it. As a result, some less critical news didn’t travel very fast.

Besides, news from the Advanced Academy wasn’t something the underworld forces could completely grasp anyway.

Still, for a group to warrant a personal escort from both Chen Yihan and the reclusive Headmaster he’d never met, their background had to be extraordinary.

"What did he say?" Qin Li asked calmly.

"The young man said, ’You’re a princess? I’ve taken a liking to you. You’re barely qualified to be my woman. I suppose you can have the status of a concubine. When you get to my home, you’ll know I’m not lying.’" Wuyin said through gritted teeth, "Those people are too arrogant, too detestable!"

Qin Li’s eyes narrowed, his gaze flickering. A single phrase immediately appeared in his mind: Mysterious Land!

"And then?"

"Then, the princess furiously berated him, calling him an arrogant egomaniac and saying she would rather die than marry him!"

Wuyin continued with a sigh, "Actually, when the princess saw Elder Chen Yihan and the Headmaster personally escorting them, she already knew their origins were anything but ordinary. But they completely looked down on the Advanced Academy. The princess couldn’t stand it, so she came out to argue with them a bit, and then this happened. That man completely ignored Princess Qianqian. Faced with the students’ anger, they all remained perfectly composed, as if we were just a bunch of ants in their eyes! It’s so infuriating! I’m furious!"

"So, this morning, the princess didn’t come to the academy?" Qin Li asked again.

"If only that were the case. Even if she were put under house arrest by the Emperor, at least we’d know she was safe." Wuyin said with a desolate expression, "The princess came this morning and spoke with me. She said her father, the Emperor, has already agreed. If he didn’t, the entire Royal Family of the Cyan Dragon Kingdom would be destroyed! She said those people’s backing is too powerful, that even some ancestors of the Cyan Dragon Kingdom’s Royal Family who have stepped into the Mysterious Land can’t afford to provoke them. Then Qianqian said she couldn’t bear to leave me, and even more... couldn’t bear to leave you!"

As Wuyin spoke, she looked up, tears streaming from her eyes. She suddenly knelt on the ground and choked out, "Qin, I’m begging you, for the sake of Qianqian’s deep love for you, please save her! Don’t let those people take her away! That man won’t make Qianqian happy at all. He’s only doing this as revenge because she mocked him! So please, save Qianqian!"

Qin Li’s previously good mood was now heavy and oppressive. He reached out to help Wuyin up and said with some helplessness, "The Cyan Dragon Kingdom’s Royal Family has at least a hundred Celestial Level Martial Artists! The Great Tributor, Elder Chen Yihan, has reached the ninth tier of the Celestial Level, and our academy’s Headmaster is also said to be at the ninth tier of the Celestial Level. Wuyin, if it were possible, do you think they would just stand by and watch the princess be thrown into a pit of fire? If it’s something even they can’t stop, what can I, a mere Earth Level Martial Artist, do?"

"Then what do we do... what do we do..." Wuyin leaned against a tree, her face streaked with tears. She slumped weakly to the ground, muttering, "Qianqian said she would rather die than marry that man. The moment she arrives at his residence, she’ll kill herself... Heavens... Why? Who in the world are those damned people? If they’re so powerful, why do they have to come and toy with us? Wuwuwu..."

"Wuyin, stop crying for a moment. You must know where Qianqian is, right? Take me to her. I need to know what she’s really thinking before I can help her, don’t I?" A fire was also simmering in Qin Li’s chest. It wasn’t because he was particularly fond of the Little Princess, Zhao Qianqian, but because of his rage toward those who bullied the weak.

Qin Li was almost certain that group of people had to be from some Mysterious Land. As for what they were doing in the Cyan Dragon Kingdom, he had no idea, but their status was obvious!

"Qin, you’ve agreed to help Qianqian? That’s wonderful! That’s really, really wonderful!" Wuyin leaped up from the ground, hugged Qin Li’s arm, and exclaimed with excitement.

"Ahem... let go of me first." ’She’s certainly well-developed!’ Qin Li thought to himself.

Wuyin blushed and let go of Qin Li’s arm. Looking around, she whispered, "Qin, those people are all very powerful. I heard that after they left, the Headmaster said something: ’A hundred years in the secular world is not even equal to ten of theirs.’ Sigh, this whole thing is really troublesome!"

"It’s alright. Have faith in me. Let’s go see the princess first."

And so, Wuyin led Qin Li deeper into the academy. The Advanced Academy covered a vast area, far larger than any university Qin Li had seen in his previous life. He had been here many times, but his range of activity had been pathetically small.

Wuyin led Qin Li for a full half-hour, all the way to the deepest part of the academy, which was a vast, lush forest with trees that were several hundred years old!

This place was where the Advanced Academy students went to cultivate and seek enlightenment. Few people ever came here on normal days, so it was always deserted.

Wuyin called out several times before Zhao Qianqian emerged from deep within the thicket. Her delicate, pretty little face was now filled with sorrow and haggardness. Her eyes were red and swollen, a clear sign she had been crying for a long time.

Qin Li released his Divine Sense to check his surroundings. The princess’s guards were actually nearby, just not showing themselves.

"Qin, I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have let Wuyin find you, but... but I didn’t know who else to talk to. I don’t want to go with them, not at all!" As Zhao Qianqian spoke, tears began to stream down her face again.