Capital City, five days had passed since the fire at the Yin family.

During these five days, Li Ziye had not left the Li Manor.

In the western wing, amidst the crisscrossing red thread formation, a pig lay inside, exhausted and unable to stand due to the depletion of genuine Qi.

Bai Wangyu silently walked in and dragged the pig out.

A long trail of blood was left on the ground.

“Crack!”

On the stone steps, Li Ziye took out several potent medicines and gnawed on them.

Beside him, Bai Wangyu wiped his sword and asked in a nonchalant tone, “Brother Li, it’s been a few days. Have you made any progress?”

“A little bit,” Li Ziye gritted his teeth and replied.

“Oh, progress, I thought there was no change,” Bai Wangyu said sarcastically.

“…”

Li Ziye was so angry that he wanted to use the radish in his hand to smash the guy in front of him.

Is this something a person should say?

Just because he had high talent, did that mean he could openly mock others?

In five days, he had progressed from thirteen steps to seventeen steps, which was quite significant.

“Old Bai, you will soon have to look at me with new eyes!” Li Ziye took a bite of the potent medicine and said unclearly, “Today, His Majesty has issued an edict to summon the Divine Temple’s envoy. As long as that King Medicine arrives on the Great Shang’s side, I will be able to obtain it. By then, I will open up another meridian, and my cultivation speed will definitely increase.”

“Heh, opening three meridians, quite ambitious!” Bai Wangyu smirked.

“Get lost!”

Li Ziye spat out the word elegantly.

This guy was really annoying!

Little Red Riding Hood was no longer the innocent little angel she was when she first arrived at the Li Manor.

He wondered how things were going in the palace.

Had the King Medicine brought by the Divine Temple been presented to the Great Shang Dynasty?

Li Ziye gnawed on the potent medicine, his mind already flying to the palace, wishing he had wings to fly there right now.

Great Shang Imperial Palace.

Magnificent and towering palaces stood one after another, with a particularly majestic one in the middle. In front of it, a stone staircase made of a thousand layers of white marble led straight to the Hall of Heavenly Worship, exuding an extraordinary aura.

The Great Shang, a millennium-old dynasty, was still thriving despite the changes in the world. Over the past thousand years, no force in the Nine Provinces could compare to the Great Shang, except for the Divine Oracle Temple in the Western Regions.

Unlike the Great Shang, which governed by law, the Divine Oracle Temple was a kingdom of faith, with millions of followers of the God of Light. In terms of influence, it was even more terrifying than the Great Shang.

Over the past thousand years, the Great Shang and the Divine Oracle Temple had also had large-scale wars, with victories and defeats on both sides. However, in the past hundred years, the two sides had gradually moved towards peace, with fewer and fewer large-scale conflicts.

However, both the Great Shang and the Divine Oracle Temple knew that this was just the calm before the storm.

With different beliefs and conflicting fundamental interests, war was only a matter of time.

If the Great Shang Dynasty wanted to expand its territory, the Divine Oracle Temple was its biggest obstacle. Similarly, if the Divine Oracle Temple wanted to spread its faith of light throughout the Nine Provinces, the Great Shang was the biggest roadblock that needed to be eliminated.

Therefore, today, the Divine Temple’s Divine Child had come to the Great Shang, not so much for a visit as to test the waters.

In the Hall of Heavenly Worship, the courtiers of the Great Shang were divided into two sides. The Emperor of Shang sat quietly on the dragon throne, wearing a bright yellow dragon robe, looking to be around forty years old, with a face that exuded an imposing aura even without speaking a word.

In the middle of the hall, the envoys of the Divine Oracle Temple bowed respectfully.

The Divine Oracle Temple and the Great Shang did not have a subordinate relationship, so Yan Xiaoyu and Liu Rongnü, among others, only bowed to the Emperor and did not kneel.

“Great Shang Emperor, on this trip, my Divine Temple has brought three treasures.”

In the middle of the hall, Yan Xiaoyu, dressed in a moon-white robe, smiled at the Emperor on the dragon throne and said, “The Water-Fire Pearl, produced in the extreme west where yin and yang converge, can resist water and fire;”

“The Bright Armor, forged by the current Temple Master of my Divine Temple, can resist blades and spears when worn;”

“The Snow Lotus Heart, born from the thousand-year-old King Medicine of the Divine Peak in the Western Regions, can revive the dead and turn flesh into bone.”

As he spoke, three Divine Temple knights behind Yan Xiaoyu opened three wooden boxes, in which three treasures lay quietly, attracting the attention of everyone in the hall.

The courtiers standing in the Hall of Heavenly Worship were all high-ranking officials of the Great Shang, with noble status and much higher vision than ordinary people. However, upon seeing the three treasures presented by the Divine Temple, a hint of greed could not help but appear in their eyes.

On the contrary, the Emperor on the dragon throne remained calm and composed, his gaze quietly watching the various reactions below, without any hint of emotion.

He wanted to see what the Divine Oracle Temple was up to!

Presenting treasures? It was just a formality.

In the middle of the hall, after seeing the greed in the eyes of the courtiers, Yan Xiaoyu’s lips curved slightly.

These courtiers of the Great Shang were indeed a bunch of greedy and opportunistic people.

“Great Shang Emperor, my Divine Temple wishes to present these three treasures to the Great Shang Dynasty, but…”

After introducing the treasures, Yan Xiaoyu bowed and his tone suddenly changed, smiling as he said, “As a return gift, my Divine Temple also wants to ask the Emperor for a treasure.”

“What treasure?” the Emperor of Shang asked indifferently from the dragon throne.

“The Ninth Princess of the Great Shang.”Yan Xiaoyu’s face revealed a warm smile like the sun as he said, “I, as the Divine Child of the Hall of Heavenly Worship, request to marry the Ninth Princess on behalf of the Great Shang Majesty. These three treasures will serve as the betrothal gifts from our Divine Temple.”

As soon as he finished speaking, the entire court was shocked. Everyone in the grand hall looked towards Yan Xiaoyu with expressions of astonishment.

The Divine Child of the Hall of Heavenly Worship was asking to marry the Ninth Princess?

“The old man’s intentions are not in the wine.”

In front of the court, several martial kings who had not spoken exchanged glances, their eyes flashing with understanding as they quickly realized the true purpose of the Hall of Heavenly Worship.

Fengyang City!

The Ninth Princess was deeply favored by His Majesty. A year ago, she was granted Fengyang City as her fief. Although the Ninth Princess had never been to Fengyang, in name, Fengyang City was indeed her fief.

Moreover, Fengyang City was located in the western border of Great Shang, close to the frontier, making it a strategically important location.

In theory, when a princess married, her fief would also be given as part of the dowry, along with a husband.

It could be said that from the moment His Majesty granted the fief to the Ninth Princess, there was never any intention for her to marry a foreigner.

This Yan Xiaoyu’s request to marry the Ninth Princess was outrageous!

Sure enough, upon hearing the request from the Divine Child of the Hall of Heavenly Worship, the expression on the Great Shang Emperor’s face immediately furrowed.

“Great Shang Majesty.”

Below, Yan Xiaoyu looked at the reaction of the Great Shang court, his smile not diminishing in the slightest as he continued, “I know that the Ninth Princess is the apple of His Majesty’s eye, so I will not force the marriage. How about this, my Divine Temple will present three questions. If the Great Shang can answer them within three days, the three treasures behind me will be unconditionally offered. If no one in the Great Shang can answer, then His Majesty will agree to my temple’s request for marriage. Of course, these three treasures will still be presented as gifts to the Great Shang court. How about it, Your Majesty, dare you to gamble with me on this?”

“Outrageous!”

As soon as Yan Xiaoyu’s words fell, the courtiers in the hall had a sudden change in their expressions. An old courtier stood up and rebuked, “How dare a junior like you speak to His Majesty of Great Shang in such a manner? Hasn’t your Temple Master taught you any manners?”

Upon hearing this, Yan Xiaoyu’s eyes flashed with coldness, but he quickly suppressed it.

“Lü Qing, step back.”

On the dragon throne, the Great Shang Emperor spoke calmly.

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

Below, Lü Siqing respectfully bowed and then retreated once again.

In the grand hall, the other courtiers also had unpleasant expressions. The Divine Child of the Hall of Heavenly Worship was too audacious, daring to be so overbearing in the imperial palace of Great Shang.

Before the courtiers, several martial kings also had slightly solemn expressions, realizing that this matter was not easy to handle.

If His Majesty refused, undoubtedly, the people from the temple would spread the news, saying that the Great Shang court was cowardly and unwilling to accept the challenge. By then, the court’s reputation would be greatly damaged.

However, if His Majesty agreed, the consequences of losing the gamble were equally unimaginable.

Although it was common for the royal family to marry off their daughters, the Ninth Princess was different.

“Great Shang Majesty, what do you think?”

In the middle of the grand hall, Yan Xiaoyu watched as the courtiers and His Majesty remained silent, adding fuel to the fire with a smile that didn’t reach his eyes. “The Great Shang court has always prided itself on being wise and virtuous, and the Imperial Academy of Great Shang is known for its abundance of talent. The Confucian scholars of the Imperial Academy are even hailed as the wisest in the world. Why is it that now, a small gamble has put everyone in such a difficult position?”

“The eloquent junior!”

On both sides, the courtiers of Great Shang heard Yan Xiaoyu’s aggressive words and were almost fuming with anger.

On the dragon throne, the Great Shang Emperor looked down at the people from the temple with a dark expression. After a moment, he spoke, “State your questions!”

As soon as he spoke, all the courtiers were shocked. His Majesty had agreed to the gamble?

In the middle of the grand hall, Yan Xiaoyu smiled. He was afraid that the courtiers of Great Shang would be timid and not dare to agree.

“Your Majesty is indeed straightforward. Listen well, everyone from Great Shang.”

Yan Xiaoyu’s gaze swept over the courtiers and His Majesty, smiling as he said:

“The first question: How can a pearl with a hole be threaded without using hands?”

“The second question: Fifty mother horses that look alike, and fifty newborn foals. How do you distinguish each pair of mother and foal?”

“The third question: How to make fire with water!”

The calm and ordinary voice echoed in the Hall of Heavenly Worship of Great Shang. No one knew when, but all the courtiers of Great Shang had quieted down, their faces showing a solemn expression, unable to speak.

On the dragon throne, the expression of the Great Shang Emperor also changed, his heart sinking.

Trouble!

Li Yuan, midday, the sun was shining brightly.

“Young Master!”

Outside the west wing, a servant boy hurried over and said, “There’s news from the palace.”

Li Ziye stood up at the news and asked with concern, “What is it?”

Would there be any problems with his Divine Healer?

“The temple has presented three difficult questions to the court.”

The servant boy gasped for breath and detailed the news he had received from the palace.

“It’s a good thing my Divine Healer is fine.”

Li Ziye didn’t care at all about the questions. Upon hearing that the temple would present the Divine Healer to the Great Shang court, he breathed a sigh of relief and sat back down.

On the side, Bai Wangyu had discerned the key to the problem and his expression became serious as he asked with concern, “Has anyone been able to answer these three questions?”

“No.”

The servant boy shook his head and said, “No one was able to answer any of them.”

“These fools.”On the steps, Li Ziye took out a stalk of Potent Medicine, crunched a bite, and while chewing, he mumbled unclearly, “These are all giveaway questions. If you can’t even answer these, poor Ninth Princess, it seems you’re destined to be married off to that godforsaken place in the Western Regions.”