In front of the Hall of Heavenly Worship, the flames soared into the sky, leaving everyone stunned and speechless.

Li Ziye wiped away a cold sweat quietly, relieved that he didn’t mess up the plan!

“This, this is impossible!”

On the side of the Divine Temple, the envoys shook their heads in disbelief, unable to comprehend what was happening before their eyes.

What exactly had happened, and why did such a massive burst of flames suddenly appear?

“After waiting for so long, I finally achieved my dream after dreaming for so long…”

Li Ziye looked at the shocked expressions of the crowd, feeling extremely relieved and even humming a little tune!

Finally, he had a chance to show off!

Since arriving in the capital city, he had never felt so exhilarated. He had been constantly beaten by Xiaohong, and had been outshone in every aspect. Even when trying to show off or fight a small monster, he had to be on high alert for this guy to come and steal the limelight at a critical moment.

Today, for the first time in history, he successfully stole the limelight in front of everyone!

At this moment, Li Ziye felt like crying.

It was not easy at all!

“What’s going on, what happened? Li Family boy, explain quickly!”

Among the ministers of the Great Shang Dynasty, Lü Siqing was the first to suppress his curiosity and urgently asked the young man in front of him who seemed to be having some kind of fit.

On the dragon throne, the Emperor of Shang also looked curious and awaited an explanation from the young man of the Li Family.

“Well, this bronze furnace is divided into upper and lower layers. In the lower layer, I placed something called lime.”

Li Ziye grinned, “Gentlemen, some of you should have heard of it.”

“Lime?”

On the steps, the various ministers of the Great Shang looked at each other, some confused, some thoughtful.

“The old man has heard of it. Isn’t that something alchemists use to refine pills?”

Lü Siqing, who had lived a long life and seen a lot, spoke up, somewhat puzzled, and continued to ask.

“The old man is right.”

Li Ziye smiled, “This lime is divided into quicklime and slaked lime. When quicklime comes into contact with water, it produces a large amount of heat. As long as cotton, dry grass, and other flammable materials are placed on the upper layer of the bronze furnace, it is enough to start a fire.”

“But that’s not right, the explosion just now clearly wasn’t caused by cotton or dry grass!” Lü Siqing noticed something was wrong and said.

“The old man is indeed observant.”

Li Ziye smiled and glanced at the people from the Divine Temple not far away, “I was worried that the friends from the Divine Temple wouldn’t be able to see clearly if the flames were too small, so I didn’t use cotton or dry grass. Instead, I prepared some rare items invented by alchemists, called gunpowder!”

“Gunpowder?”

The ministers of the Great Shang looked at each other, shaking their heads, having never heard of it.

On the dragon throne, the Emperor of Shang became somewhat interested in the young man’s mention of gunpowder and asked, “Li Family boy, does the Li Family still have this gunpowder? I also want to see what this thing is.”

“Reporting to Your Majesty, it’s already used up.”

Li Ziye immediately shook his head, sincerely saying, “The formula for this gunpowder is complex, and several of the ingredients are extremely rare. Just for the gunpowder just now, the Li Family spent three whole days preparing it. Of course, if Your Majesty wants, I can send someone to try to find these ingredients again after returning today, but it may take a few days. I hope Your Majesty can forgive me.”

After speaking, Li Ziye coldly snorted in his heart. Hmph, this old man is really cunning, trying to trick him into saying something, but he won’t fall for it.

As the son of the plane, how could I not understand your intentions?

“I see, there’s no need then.”

Upon hearing this, the Emperor of Shang frowned slightly. With the financial and material resources of the Li Family, it was impossible to mass-produce this gunpowder.

What a pity!

“To the friends from the Divine Temple, let’s call it even. In fact, the Great Shang has a wide variety of treasures and doesn’t lack the two or three so-called treasures from the Divine Temple. But since you’ve come all this way to offer them, the Great Shang can only reluctantly accept them.”

In the middle of the steps, after dealing with the Emperor of Shang, Li Ziye turned around and looked at the people from the Divine Temple, who looked as if they had eaten flies, and didn’t forget to rub salt in the wound and taunt them a little more.

Since he had already offended the Divine Temple, he wasn’t afraid to offend them a little more thoroughly. At least he felt good for now!

On the side of the Divine Temple, the expressions of the temple envoys were filled with anger, and if it weren’t for the Great Shang Imperial Palace, someone would have probably rushed up by now.

This kid is just too arrogant!

“Li Family boy, you should understand the rules.”

Among the ministers, the old minister Lü Siqing laughed heartily, not knowing whether he was reminding them or provoking the people from the Divine Temple, deliberately raising his voice and saying.

“The old man is teaching a lesson.”

Li Ziye respectfully bowed, grinning, “I’m just a country bumpkin, not well-read, and indeed don’t understand much about etiquette. This time, if it weren’t for the envoys of the Divine Temple initiating this inappropriate gambling game, and the gentlemen being too proud to answer, I, a country bumpkin who doesn’t know many big words, wouldn’t have had the chance to come to the Imperial Palace. I hope Your Majesty and the gentlemen can forgive my rudeness.”

After speaking, Li Ziye bowed to the Emperor and the ministers on both sides, looking genuinely apologetic.

“You!”

On the side of the Divine Temple, an envoy pointed a trembling finger, so angry that he was about to collapse.

“Pfft!”

Finally, with his anger overwhelming him, the envoy’s chest surged, and he spat out a mouthful of blood, staggering and falling down.

In the middle of the steps, Li Ziye was startled to see this.

Spitting out blood from anger?

Was he that powerful? Is this some kind of internal energy!

Subconsciously, Li Ziye looked at Yan Xiaoyu, who was in front of the temple envoys.

Should he try his best to make this guy spit out blood too?

In front of the temple envoys, Yan Xiaoyu sensed the gaze of the young man in front of him and saw the constant flickering of killing intent in his eyes.

Very good, this kid had truly angered him. For so many years, this was the first time he had wanted to kill someone so badly!

Behind Li Ziye, Bai Wangyu felt the killing intent from Yan Xiaoyu, took a step forward, and his expression turned cold, directly expressing his attitude.

If you want to move him, you have to get through me first!Li Ziye, upon seeing the situation, was deeply moved. Little Red Riding Hood was truly the best to him. Just moments ago, he had almost chickened out.

With Little Red Riding Hood’s support, Li Ziye straightened his back once more, fearlessly staring down Yan Xiaoyu with a provocative glint in his eyes.

Come at me if you dare!

“Crack! Crack!”

Yan Xiaoyu’s hands clenched the ground, making cracking sounds, while the Divine Hidden Technique in his chest thundered, almost unable to hold back.

On the Dragon Throne, the Emperor of Great Shang watched the scene below, sitting quietly without any intention of intervening.

If this Divine Child of the Hall of Heavenly Worship dared to make a move in front of the Hall, he wouldn’t mind keeping this person here permanently.

Breaking the arm of that scholar would surely cause him great pain.

In front of the Hall of Heavenly Worship, the atmosphere grew increasingly tense, everyone holding their breath, watching the unfolding events.

“Let’s go!”

After a long while, Yan Xiaoyu forcefully suppressed the anger in his heart, bowed to the Emperor of Great Shang on the Hall, and then led the envoys of the Divine Temple away.

Seeing this, the ministers on both sides of the stone steps breathed a sigh of relief.

Truth be told, they too feared that the Divine Child would act impulsively, for causing a disturbance in the Emperor’s presence was a responsibility none could bear.

However, a hint of regret flashed in the Emperor’s eyes on the stone steps. What a pity!

It seemed that Yan Xiaoyu was not the reckless type.

In front of the Basalt Gate, Yan Xiaoyu led the envoys of the Divine Temple past, while on both sides, Slovenly Zhang and Qin E’nuo stood quietly—one reeking of alcohol with a silly grin, the other peerlessly elegant with a transcendent aura. These two different individuals exerted the same, almost suffocating, pressure on the people of the Divine Temple.

Mortal Sword Immortals, daring to draw their swords against the heavens, fearless—that is the essence of a Sword Immortal.

They dared to say that had there been a confrontation in front of the Hall of Heavenly Worship, these two Sword Immortals would have surely cut them all down.

Under the watchful eyes of the two Sword Immortals, the people of the Hall of Heavenly Worship hurriedly left the palace. The attention of the Great Shang ministers returned to the young man in the center.

At this moment, the faces of the ministers all bore amiable smiles.

Today, this youngster had indeed made them proud!

“Li Ziye, today, you have made a great contribution to our Great Shang. What reward would you like?” the Emperor asked, smiling down at the young man below.

“Your Majesty, I would like the Water-Fire Pearl,” Li Ziye said respectfully and directly.

His words left both the Emperor and the ministers of the Great Shang Dynasty stunned.

Was he really being so direct?

In the past, even if a minister had made a great contribution, he would typically offer some pretext, claiming that serving the court was his duty and that he required no reward.

For a direct descendant of the Li Family to openly ask for a reward was indeed unprecedented.

The Emperor, recovering from his surprise, asked with curiosity, “Why the Water-Fire Pearl?”

“Because it’s the most valuable,” Li Ziye replied straightforwardly. “Your Majesty knows, the Li Family is a family of merchants. I may not understand much else, but I do know what’s valuable.”

“Vulgar, unbearably vulgar, haha!” laughed Minister Lv Siqing. “Young Master Li, you are the most vulgar person I have ever met!”

“Esteemed Minister, I am indeed just a commoner,” Li Ziye replied with a bow and a smile.

Hearing this, the Emperor smiled gently. He had been hesitating over what reward to give to this scion of the Li Family, for the young man’s contribution was not insignificant.

A mere reward of gold and silver would surely be criticized by the world as petty and unappreciative of true talent.

Granting an official title would give the Li Family the opportunity to leap from a merchant family to a noble lineage, which was the last thing he wanted to see.

Now that the young master of the Li Family had taken the initiative to ask for the Water-Fire Pearl as a reward, it had indeed alleviated a major concern in his heart.

“Granted!”

With no hesitation, the Emperor decreed, “Furthermore, as the direct descendant of the Li Family has made a significant contribution to the country, and his talent and character can be regarded as a model for the citizens of Great Shang, I bestow upon him the title of National Scholar.”

At this declaration, all the ministers were taken aback.

National Scholar!

This was no small reward. Although it carried no rank or real power, it was the dream of many scholars to strive for in their lifetime.

Although the young man had made a significant contribution, his age was still quite young.

To be granted the title of National Scholar seemed somewhat abrupt.

Could it be that the Emperor wanted to take this opportunity to make a statement to all the talented individuals in the world, that as long as one is willing to serve the court and possesses outstanding abilities, the court will employ and reward them without reservation?

“National Scholar?”

Below the stone steps, Li Ziye was not concerned with what the Emperor and the ministers thought. Instead, he covertly made eye contact with Little Red Riding Hood, inquiring, “Is it valuable?”

Not valuable!

Bai Wangyu decisively returned a look, meaning that this title was as common as dirt in the Imperial Academy.