Hearing Lin Qian’s inquiry, one of the senior maids quickly stood forward, answering the question with her head lowered, “Sir Lu, Miss Tang and Sir Zhuge are still busy with it at the back.”
Hearing the report, Lin Qian nodded, “Show me the way.”
As he spoke, the maids cleared the path in front of him. The Senior Maid curtsied and turned to lead the way into the inner section of the courtyard.
Not long later, Lin Qian reached the Inner Courtyard under the Senior Maid’s lead.
Within the inner courtyard, in a tightly shut hall, three figures quickly emerged, greeting the Emperor with cupped fists.
“Zhuge Ming greets His Majesty.”
One of them was Zhuge Ming, the man in charge of the Tiangong Ministry and the Prime Minister of the Huaxia Empire. The other two were a man and a woman.
The men wore the welder’s unique leather jacket. However, from the quality of the leather, it appeared more refined. On it, a much more extensive array of tools were carried.
This man was middle-aged. On his face, two small whiskers topped his thin lips, accentuating his shrewd appearance.
Next to him was a woman. She was elegant and sophisticated, clad in a gorgeous damask floral dress, holding her in a dignified posture. As he was saluting Lin Qian, she stretched out her hands, showing off her long and slender fingers.
“Lu Gong greets your Majesty!”
“Tang Zhi greets your Majesty!”
In front of him was Master Welder, Lu Gong, and the expert seamstress Tang Zhi. The entire Pyrotechnics Ministry was their duo’s charge.
“I suppose Your Majesty came here to check on the progress of the gift to the Empress.” After he stood up, Zhuge Ming quickly stood forward and smiled.
Lin Qian simply nodded and walked towards the seating hall, “How’s the progress? We don’t have many days left till the day itself.”
As he entered the hall, Lin Qian was dumbfounded. The entire room was pitch black except for a beautiful sparkle in the middle.
Lu Gong, who followed him closely behind immediately rushed to light the candles. As the warm candle glow lit up the room, Lin Qian found an answer to his puzzlement. All of the windows were nailed shut, blocking off all of the sun rays from entering.
“Your Majesty, previously, we were still testing out our prototype. Then, we could only activate it with gentle Soul Energy, bringing only slight results. So, we could only observe it in pitch darkness.” By his side, Tang Zhi offered a detailed explanation.
Seeing the gift in the centre of the hall, Lin Qian nodded with satisfaction, “Not bad, Xin’er would be very happy if she got this gift.”
“It is what we should do to be able to fulfil His Majesty’s request. We also must make the Empress happy.” Lu Gong bowed respectfully as he said.
“Say, what reward do you want?” Lin Qian asked with a smile, staring at the gift for Ye Xin at the centre of the hall.
“Your Majesty, in this matter, this minister only had a small part to play. Instead, Lu Gong and Tang Zhi have great achievements. Your Majesty, please do reward them more.” Hearing Lin Qian’s offer, Zhuge Ming quickly gave his appraisal.
Qi Lin nodded silently, and turned to Lu Gong and Tang Zhi, “My two beloved Ministers, what reward do you want? There is no need to hold back.”
Long and Tang Zhi saluted hurriedly, pushing away the credit. They humbly claimed that the merit was little, unbefitting of any rewards.
Hearing their excuses, Lin Qian smiled and shook his head, “Alright, how about this. Rewards are too common. WIth your statuses, any form of wealth is unneeded. You shall get seven days of rest. In these seven days, you don’t need to do anything, just rest. This is also for everyone that works with you.”
Hearing the enormous unconventional gift, Lu Gong and Tang Zhi broke into a bright, wide smile. Immediately, they ecstatically knelt down, bowing and thanking Lin Qian profusely.
When the Huaxia Empire first appeared in this world, many aspects of the environment had changed to fit the new situation, just like the production of Soul Energy and the birth of Martial Souls.
Naturally, that called for new equipment and armour and further upgrades and adaptations. What’s more, Lin Qian had even sent back a whole library of writings and records, boosting the Tiangong Ministry’s Research and developments. With their breakthrough, a massive workload descended upon the Pyrotechnics Ministry.
The galaxy’s worth of chores and work had driven the Pyrotechnics Ministry to work all day and night, squeezing every drop of energy out of the workers.
Yet, they dared not rest without the permission from the Emperor. Even without the rest, they toiled on without a single word of complaint.
To them, the gift of a 7 days break was like mana from Heaven.
On the side, Zhuge Ming simply shook his head in absolute awe of Lin Qian’s brilliant manoeuvre. What a sly Emperor he had.
“Anyway, I don’t need so many troops now, and it’s not wartime. You don’t have to work so hard.” Lin Qian asked Zhuge Ming to step forward and instructed him, “Work-rest cycle, understand?”
“This Minister understands!” Zhuge Ming came forward, bowing and saluting.
“After finishing, just notify me.” After speaking, Lin Qian flickered and disappeared. Within the blink of an eye, he had left the Huaxia Empire.
After Lin Qian left, Zhuge Ming looked at Lu Gong and Tang Zhi with a smile, and said, “You didn’t dare to mention it, but your Majesty seemed to have noticed it and raised it personally. Now he even offered to let you rest for seven days, HAHA.”
“The Emperor’s kindness and care are immense, I’m pretty much overwhelmed.” Lu Gong was flattered but also flustered by the unforeseen gift and kindness from Lin Qian, as he spoke, his voice shook from the sincere gratitude in his heart.
“Indeed, this is fantastic news. I’ve to inform my group of ladies immediately.” a huge smile blossomed on Tang Zhi’s face, turning and heading out without delay.
Looking as the flustered and hurried demeanour on the lady, Zhuge Ming smiled and shook his head, “HAHA, Miss Tang is really anxious. Such a good thing happened, and she isn’t offering me a drink?”
“Of course, of course! Come to my mansion!” Lu Gong immediately grabbed Zhuge Ming’s sleeve. In a ball of white light, the duo disappeared from the spot.
When Lin Qian returned to his own bedroom, the moon had long risen.
Crossing his knees, he sat on his bed and closed his eyes. As he entered the cultivation state, he circulated his Soul Energy per the Regal Emperor Mantra. Within his dantian, the vast Soul Energy Nebula had disappeared. Instead, his Soul Energy was now like a thick and dense Mist, shrouding his dantian.
Initially, his Soul Energy was sparse, almost like thin dust swirling together, spiralling like a star nebula.
After he broke into Nirvana Stage, the density of Lin Qian’s Soul Energy was day and night apart from the past. His now thick and dense Soul Energy winded together, lingering within his Dantian like a dense fog.
Within the Soul Energy fog, two sharp glows pierced through. One of them was a Crimson Gold Lightning, the other a Light Blue Frost. They were the Tempestuous Night Blade and the Sky Piercing Blade.
After Lin Qian entered the state of cultivation, his mind calmed down. Soon, there was only one thought in his mind, to become stronger.
On the second day, the Arena was booming with excitement. Many Inner Sect disciples had gathered.
They were all walking towards the ninth Arena. Their purpose was obvious to spectate the battle between Lin Qian and Ding Zhirong.
“Say, who d you think will win the match between Ding Zhirong and Lin Qian this time?”
“Gosh, that’s hard to say. This Lin Qian is an oddball. But Ding Zhirong is probably better.”
“Why do you say so?”
“Even Zhao Haiming has said that he is not as good as Ding Zhirong.”
“That’s impossible! Zhao Haiming is the no1 within the Inner Sect. Just how strong is Ding Zhirong?”
“Ding Zhirong is here!”
An excitement scream pierced through the cacophony of gossips and chatters as a figure flashed over the walls of the Arena, landing steadily onto the platform.
The young chap turned and swept across the spectators. His hair neatly maintained, ending just above his ears. His sharp eyebrows highlighted the glistening eyes. He would have been a handsome lad if not for the multiple battle scars, cutting across his face like numerous centipedes,, capturing everyone’s attention, sending a cold, sharp shiver down their spines. This man was Ding Zhirong.
As he stood on the platform, dressed in a black robe, he was calm and collected. Patiently, he shut his eyes, standing still and waited.
“The Young Emperor Lin Qian is here!” Suddenly, another Inner Sect Disciple yelled. Within the crowd, a pathway broke open. From within, Lin Qian walked out at the front, with Lei Qian and the Rushing Thunder GUild following tightly behind.
As Lin Qian confidently walked up the stage, Lei Qian and his Guild stayed at the edge and watched on nervously.
When Lin Qian stood in front of Ding Zhirong, the latter suddenly opened his eyes. His gaze stared at Lin Qian, almost burning him with the intense gaze.
Sometime later, Ding Zhirong finally spoke. However, no one expected the sky shatteringly surprising words.
“You’re better than me. Cancel the challenge.”