After taking the Guan Ear Bottle, Li Qingxian and Zhou Chunfeng lingered for a moment before taking their leave of Meng Huaichuan.
Ye Han, looking utterly dejected, left the Dingnan King Mansion.
A short while later, Meng Huaichuan returned to his own mansion in a carriage, accompanied by two attendants.
"Marquis, that Guan Ear Bottle caused such a conflict between those two. It must either hold a great secret or be a Magical Treasure that’s concealing its true nature. Why didn’t you take it back?"
Meng Huaichuan smiled and said, "Years ago, my father sold a Treasure for a pittance to a Fate Master. I asked him the same thing. Guess what he said?"
"What did the Duke say?"
"No matter how good a Treasure is, it’s just an object. For our Dingnan King Mansion, one or two Treasures won’t make much of a difference. But trading a Treasure for a favor is never a loss."
"But what if the other party feels the debt is settled after the purchase? Wouldn’t that be a loss for us?"
"If they remember the favor owed to the Dingnan King Mansion, we gain a friend. If they don’t remember the favor but remember our goodwill, we have one less enemy. And if they repay kindness with malice, then the Dingnan King Mansion learns a person’s true character ahead of time, which is still a good thing. Ultimately, this world belongs to people. Our Dingnan King Mansion can’t even recruit all the talent we want, so what’s the use of hoarding all the world’s greatest Treasures in our mansion?"
"Your insight is profound, Marquis."
"Take this copy of *Holy Words*, handwritten by Mr. Chunfeng. Just by having it in our home, do you know how many Literature Cultivators will ask to make a copy in the coming decades? That’s something those Holy Decree Calligraphy and Paintings could never buy."
"Then by openly turning on each other for the Treasure, didn’t they lose face and put themselves at a disadvantage?"
"Wrong. If they were like me, from a family that has stood for centuries, then it would indeed be inappropriate. But one has lost his father’s protection, and the other is being pushed out of his Marquis Mansion. If they don’t fight, they will only die. The foundation of our Meng Family wasn’t built by the old King Dingnan’s ancestors, but by our earlier forefathers who were like wolves and tigers. For those two, acting like wolves and tigers is the only path to advancement."
"Which one do you favor more?"
Meng Huaichuan gave a faint smile and said, "The one who survives."
Back at the Chunfeng Inn, Li Qingxian took out the yellowed Holy Decree and the Ice Cracked Ear Bottle.
"Yours, or Ye Han’s?" Zhou Chunfeng asked.
"What kind of question is that? It’s in my hands now, so of course it’s mine. What does it have to do with Ye Han?" Li Qingxian said without looking up.
"Are you sure about that?" Zhou Chunfeng said.
Li Qingxian fell silent for a moment, then said slowly, "If Ye Han reaches the peak, will he leave me a path to survive?"
"Sigh..." Zhou Chunfeng let out a long sigh.
"I am a Fate Master," Li Qingxian added.
Zhou Chunfeng nodded.
Li Qingxian gently stroked the old, yellowed Holy Decree. He inspected it meticulously and repeatedly used his Fate Skill, but he couldn’t find anything unusual, so he set it aside for the time being.
Next, he carefully examined the Guan Ear Bottle. He could only tell that its material was peculiar; using various methods, he still couldn’t detect anything out of the ordinary.
Zhou Chunfeng said, "Marquis Nanxiang said that if this item is truly a Treasure, it will surely conceal itself. Just keep it for now. Once its period of concealment is over, it will naturally reveal itself."
"That’s possible," Li Qingxian nodded.
"As for that old, yellowed Holy Decree, the characters on it were not written by Zhu Yongzhi, but by one of his students. Zhu Yongzhi had many disciples, and one of them was the last emperor of the Anx Dynasty."
"You mean Emperor Anhe, the one who was poisoned by a Eunuch?"
Zhou Chunfeng nodded. "I recognize his calligraphy. There’s no mistake."
Li Qingxian held the old, yellowed Holy Decree and examined it closely. "I need to study this carefully."
Zhou Chunfeng took all the Holy Decree Calligraphy and Paintings out of his Qi Fortune Silver Fish Pouch and stacked them in a pile.
"This should be enough for you for a while."
"This should last me four or five years, no problem." Li Qingxian was very satisfied as he stored away the more than three hundred Holy Decree Calligraphy and Paintings.
"I’ll continue to trade for more over the next few days. I’ll give them all to you before the Cyan Cloud Examination," Zhou Chunfeng said.
"Thank you, Uncle Zhou." Li Qingxian was all smiles.
"Go and prepare for the Eighth-Grade Cyan Cloud Examination. Compared to the Seventh-Grade Cyan Cloud Examination, the Eighth-Grade one is purely a contest of strength. It shouldn’t be a problem for you to take the Aoshou title. However, don’t get complacent."
"Yes."
Li Qingxian returned to Room A9 and continued his Cultivation.
In the tenth month in the Divine Capital, the summer heat had completely vanished, replaced by the grim chill of autumn.
The sky had not yet fully brightened, showing only a faint, fish-belly white, but the large courtyard of the Left Wing of the Northern Hall of the Patrol Bureau was already crowded with Night Guards.
When Li Qingxian stepped out of Room A9 and into the courtyard, the Night Guards all started shouting.
"We wish Li Ke a meteoric rise!"
"We wish Li Ke a boundless future!"
"Li Ke will definitely take the Eighth-Grade Aoshou!"
"Let’s call you Li Aoshou in advance!"
The Hall Supervision Army’s Fei Yan, Room Leader Hex Lei, and some other low- and mid-level officials from the Patrol Bureau were all present.
Hex Lei walked over with a smile, joining Fei Yan to see Li Qingxian off.
Li Qingxian asked in confusion, "Where’s Jingg Guan? I haven’t seen him for almost a month. Is the Internal Factory that busy?"
Fei Yan said in surprise, "You don’t know? He received an urgent assignment a while ago and left the very same day he got the orders. I haven’t seen him in a while either."
"An urgent assignment? No wonder he left without saying a word to me. By the way, when is our new Palace Garrison Commander arriving?" Li Qingxian asked.
Fei Yan shook his head.
Hex Lei said, "Don’t worry about other people for now. Once you get to the examination grounds today, get a good rest and go all out tomorrow. Don’t forget the things I told you about the Eighth-Grade Cyan Cloud Examination a few days ago."
"Don’t worry, Brother Hex. I’ve gone over it again and again. I won’t be careless."
Accompanied by a crowd of acquaintances, Li Qingxian walked out a side gate along with some other Night Guards who were also preparing to take the Eighth-Grade or Seventh-Grade Cyan Cloud Examination.
Outside the side gate, over a hundred tall horses, each with a red silk flower on its head, were lined up.
"Qingxian is out?" Songg Baige yelled.
Li Qingxian looked over and saw Songg Baige, Qiu Ye, Wang Buku, Jin Yuan, Luh Gaoming, and others, along with their fellow examinees, guards, and family members, all standing by their respective horses.
Zhou Henn handed the reins of a Ferghana Horse to Li Qingxian and said, "Lord Zhou said he won’t see you off today. He said that after the Seventh-Grade Myriad Phenomena Cyan Cloud Examination ends, you and Songg Baige should return to the city together. He and Lord Songg Yunjing will be waiting outside the city gate to welcome you both. Also, Lord Zhou has prepared a piece of calligraphy to gift to you after you return from the Cyan Cloud Examination."
Li Qingxian took the reins and smiled. "To receive a piece of calligraphy from Uncle Zhou is an honor that spans three lifetimes."
Beside them, Songg Baige swung himself onto his horse and said, "We Seventh-Grades compete the day after tomorrow, and you Eighth-Grades compete tomorrow, so I’ll be able to watch your big competition. If you don’t win the Aoshou, don’t you dare wait for me at the examination grounds. I can’t afford that embarrassment. Just hurry back to the Divine Capital to accept your punishment."
Li Qingxian also mounted his horse and smiled. "No matter what, I’ll be waiting outside the Myriad Phenomena Map. When the time comes, don’t you come back empty-handed with nothing but an ordinary Senior Seventh Grade title. You’ll bring shame to your father."
"Pah! Can my Seventh-Grade exam even be compared to yours? Look at the kind of opponents I’ll be facing! And who will you be up against?"
Li Qingxian shouted, "Friends here for the Eighth-Grade Cyan Cloud Examination, you all heard him! This bastard Songg Baige is looking down on you! If he doesn’t rank near the top in his Seventh-Grade Cyan Cloud Examination the day after tomorrow, let’s all heckle him until his name is infamous!"
"Yeah, we can’t let him off the hook!"
Amid the clamor, everyone mounted their horses.
"Stop trying to get me killed!" Seeing that he had offended so many Eighth-Grade candidates, Songg Baige wilted.
Bidding farewell to Fei Yan, Hex Lei, and the others, the group rode their horses forward at a leisurely pace.
The Eighth-Grade and Seventh-Grade examinees rode in the front, with their guards, family, or attendants following behind.
Zhou Henn and the others from Room A9 followed a short distance behind, watching Li Qingxian, Songg Baige, and the rest chat and laugh.