Chapter 120: Chapter 119: Legend of the Strong

In the Royal Garden, as the nobles watched the retreating figures of Ling Xiao and his two stunningly beautiful maids, their gazes were filled with schadenfreude. Had this enfeoffment occurred before the war between humans and the Beast Race, they would have gone mad with envy. But now... they were holding a moment of silence for the Ling Family’s "General’s Son."

Wulan Xiong’s lips trembled, his face a mask of indignation as he spoke to the Crown Prince. "Your Highness, look at him! That brat... he dares to be so insolent! He shows you no respect at all!" Then, filled with anxiety, he added, "Penzes City is just as strategically important as Cameron. For Your Highness to give it away..."

A flicker of disgust crossed the depths of the Crown Prince’s eyes. ’This moron actually managed to become the current Clan Leader of the Wulan Clan? He’s so much worse than his brother in the Western Province.’ He spoke listlessly, "Cameron is currently guarded by my second brother’s grand army. Besides, we just sent a large shipment of Magic Beast Crystal Cores over there. Did you think the magic crystal cannons were just for show? Penzes is his real nest. Cameron is merely a distraction! Now that I’ve given his nest away, hmph, it would be a surprise if he *didn’t* fly into a rage!" 𝑓𝓇𝘦ℯ𝘸𝘦𝑏𝓃𝑜𝘷ℯ𝑙.𝑐𝑜𝓂

Realization dawned on Wulan Xiong, and he gave a fawning smile. "Your Highness is truly brilliant!"

...

「Ling Mansion」

Seated in a guest room, Lady Ling’s hair was swept up in a high chignon, revealing a long, slender neck as white as ivory and completely free of wrinkles. Her skin was as delicate and smooth as an infant’s, and a faint, rosy blush graced her cheeks. The noblewoman gazed into a mirror on the table, her face blooming with a radiant smile. The youthful visage staring back at her, a face in the prime of its life, filled her with such delighted surprise that she wondered if she was dreaming.

Ling Yun’Er had always been a girl as exquisitely beautiful as carved jade. Taking the Vantia Holy Fruit had only served to make her bearing even more noble. The young girl was far more immersed in the joy of her newfound strength to fully appreciate the ecstatic feeling her mother had upon recovering her youth.

So, when Lady Ling grabbed her hand and asked for the third time if this was all a dream, Ling Yun’Er finally couldn’t take it anymore. She pulled her mother out of the inner chambers for a stroll through the estate. At first, nearly every servant in the Ling Mansion failed to recognize the young, beautiful woman. When they learned it was actually their mistress, they were all stunned into silence. ’Could this be the work of a Divine Spirit? Otherwise, how could she have become twenty years younger overnight?’

Seeing the dumbfounded expressions on the servants’ faces, Lady Ling finally accepted that she wasn’t dreaming—it was all real. After reveling in her excitement and joy for some time, she eventually noticed that Ling Xiao wasn’t home and finally remembered to ask about him.

Ling Yun’Er chuckled. "I was starting to think you were going to stare at the mirror all night and forget to ask about Brother."

"You cheeky girl, watch your mouth! Am I really that sort of person?" Lady Ling’s face flushed slightly as she retorted defensively. With her youthful appearance came a much younger mindset. Furthermore, her strength had also advanced from a Tier Three Sword Master to the initial stage of a Tier Two Great Sword Master after breaking through her Shangqiu Acupoint. While not a massive leap, for someone like Lady Ling, whose potential for growth had long since plateaued, it was an immense and wonderful surprise!

"Brother received an invitation from the Imperial Palace, addressed specifically to him. I suppose it’s about that war with the Beastmen in the south a while ago. Brother took part in it, didn’t he? So don’t worry, Mother. It’s just a banquet, and maybe... a boring ball." Though young, Ling Yun’Er was quite sharp. She finished with a light laugh, then excitedly grabbed her sword and ran into the courtyard to practice her family’s heirloom sword skill, Hurricane Break. With her strength as a Fourth-rank Great Sword Master, augmented by a Celestial-tier Sword Skill, she would have few opponents among those of the same rank!

As Ling Xiao strode away with the two maids, Chunlan and Qiuyue walked with their chests puffed out, feeling a sense of pride they had never experienced in all their years. All their time spent caring for their young master had not been in vain; he would rather offend a princess than simply hand them over.

’And what’s more, the Young Master said... he said they were *his*!’

Chunlan and Qiuyue’s faces burned, making them look all the more alluring. A thousand thoughts raced through their minds as their gazes kept stealing glances at Ling Xiao. Qiuyue suddenly spoke in a low voice, "The Young Master offended the princess for our sake. Princess Tianqi is the Crown Prince’s beloved daughter. After being so thoroughly humiliated by the Young Master today, I hope she won’t try to make trouble for him in the future, will she?"

Though Chunlan had a cheerful disposition, she was just as perceptive. She sighed, a hint of worry on her face. "You’re right. The Crown Prince’s retaliation came swiftly, didn’t it? To grant the Young Master Penzes City as a fiefdom... you can tell at a glance he’s up to no good! Hmph, anyway, the Young Master hasn’t even come of age yet. If you ask me, Young Master, we should just not go! What can he do to us?"

Qiuyue shook her head. "It’s not that simple. Even though the city was granted to the Young Master as his fief, we’re still required to pay annual taxes to the Empire! If the Young Master doesn’t go, where will he get the money to pay them?"

Chunlan was stunned. She pursed her lips and said, "So you’re saying... what the Young Master received is actually a hot potato? That’s just despicable!"

Ling Xiao just smiled faintly, letting the two girls chatter on about the matter.

’The Beast Race?’ he thought. ’In this world, there is probably no one who understands the habits of beasts better than me. Otherwise, how could I have dared to set foot on the Vantia Great Snow Mountain Range when I had no strength? How else could I have avoided countless powerful Magical Beasts? It’s no exaggeration to say that on my way to the Holy Mountain, a Great Sword Master posed a greater threat to me than a Tier Five Magical Beast!’

Upon returning to the Ling Mansion, Lady Ling, who had been informed of the events, showed a worried expression, as she had a clear grasp of the situation’s true nature.

"Xiao’er," she said, her expression grave, "though you’ve grown stronger, in the grand scheme of this world, you’re still just at the beginning. There are many truly powerful people out there! His Majesty the King seems to have reached the limit of his tolerance for the Crown Prince. But over the years, the Crown Prince has established a powerful faction, so even if His Majesty has recovered, I suspect he will continue to feign illness while secretly purging the Crown Prince’s supporters. Granting you Penzes City today may look like a compromise on the surface, but isn’t it also a way to lull the Crown Prince into a false sense of security and mislead him?" She sighed softly. "The only problem is that our family has been dragged into this vortex. Alas, Xiao’er, since His Majesty the King announced the reward in front of so many people, it’s impossible to change it. We will have to discuss how to handle the Penzes City situation with your father. What do you think?"

Ling Xiao nodded. "I will follow your advice, Mother."

"So you mean the King is feigning weakness, Mother?" Ling Yun’er asked, resting her smooth chin on her hands and looking at her mother with wide, blinking eyes.

Lady Ling nodded gently, casting an appreciative glance at her daughter. A child raised in such an environment naturally had more insight than one from an ordinary family.

"The power struggle between the Crown Prince and the Southern King is nothing new. They have both started to underestimate His Majesty the King’s power. They’ve even... forgotten about the two Sword Sect masters in the Imperial Palace who have lived for several hundred years." Lady Ling let out a soft, cold laugh.

Hearing about Sword Sect masters again, Ling Xiao couldn’t help but ask curiously, "There are two experts at the Sword Sect level in the Imperial Palace, and they’ve lived for several hundred years?"

Lady Ling’s furrowed brow smoothed out as she decided to set the matter aside for the moment. Hearing her son’s question, she chuckled. "That’s what your father told me. Those two Sword Sect masters were already retainers of the Lanyue Empire over three hundred years ago. After all this time, who knows how much their strength has improved."

"Gods, Sword Sect masters can live to be over three hundred years old!" Ling Yun’er had heard that there were two Sword Sect experts in the Imperial City, but she had never heard anything about their age. She never imagined they would be that old!

Chunlan and Qiuyue were also astounded, covering their mouths in shock.

Lady Ling nodded. "Actually, once you cultivate to the level of a Demon Sword Master, like your father, living for over a hundred years is no problem, assuming you don’t suffer any major injuries or illnesses. It’s said that those at the Demon Sword Master level can live for more than one hundred and fifty years, maybe even two hundred! And when you reach the Sword Sect level, you can have a lifespan of four or five hundred years..."

Ling Yun’er said in surprise, "But if that’s the case, shouldn’t the continent be filled with High-level Martial Artists? Why are there not even that many Demon Sword Masters like Father?"

Lady Ling smiled wryly and shook her head. "Those are mostly just legends. Generally, once someone reaches the Demon Sword Master level, they rarely appear in the public eye. On this continent, you have the Sword Guild and many powerful sects and clans. Some are so strong they can rival small kingdoms! Most High-level Martial Artists tend to gather in places like that. The Royal Family and the nobility... don’t actually hold much appeal for most of them!"

It was only today, after all this time since arriving in this world, that Ling Xiao finally felt he had a basic grasp of this world’s Martial Dao. His heart filled with anticipation. ’I originally thought this was just a mundane, secular world. Now it seems there are definitely people with profound cultivation. It’s just that, from where I stand now, I have no way of coming into contact with them!’

Ling Xiao’s mood suddenly improved tremendously. ’As long as I keep getting stronger,’ he thought, ’then one day, I will step into that circle—the circle of true experts!’