Ever since accepting the position of King of Equality, Jiang Ke’er always felt a subtle, indescribable connection forming between herself and her surroundings.
Whenever her mind drifted, she had the sense that she could, to some extent, control this land.
So she decided to test it out.
She extended her consciousness, expanding outward along the land, all the way until she touched the border of Yugui Prefecture.
Then, in one breath, she poured even more of her consciousness outward, unfurled her mental domain—
Boom~
With a thunderous rumble, the eerie and chilling Ghost Domain around them instantly vanished without a trace.
Changsun Qingyue and the others were startled, seeing that one moment the area was still filled with palace mountains and the Marshes and Black Forest, and in the next, it had become an ordinary forest, lush and full of greenery.
Jiang Ke’er had gathered up the entire land of Yugui Prefecture into her consciousness.
Yugui Prefecture was a part of Underworld Province, and she thought she might need it in the future.
Besides, she didn’t want the ruins of Yugui Prefecture to be ruined by those cultivators who came exploring… so she decided to put it away.
But it was truly exhausting.
She was suddenly overcome by weakness and darkness threatened her vision.
Thankfully, Mu Guoguo and Changsun Qingyue reacted quickly, one on each side, supporting her in time.
“Are you alright?” The two girls asked, worried.
“I’m fine,” Jiang Ke’er smiled. “I just exhausted a huge amount of soul power all at once. It’s tiring.”
“Even Empress Houtu gets tired?” Changsun Qingyue teased.
“Of course,” Jiang Ke’er said with a laugh. “You might not believe it, but I’ve only been in this form for a month.”
Jiang Ke’er felt a trace of melancholy.
Everything had happened too quickly—responsibility, power… and other things.
She’d been forced to carry so much, even though she always told herself, “It’s fine, Jiang Ke’er, you can definitely do it… Even Qiao Xiaoxian will get beaten down eventually!”
But there were still times when the exhaustion was overwhelming.
“Ugh… I can’t walk anymore.” Jiang Ke’er tried to take a step forward, but almost collapsed to the ground.
“I’ll carry you.” Without a word, Changsun Qingyue, showing her big sisterly aura, lifted Jiang Ke’er onto her back, while Mu Guoguo helped steady her from the side.
To think she was being cared for by the renowned Empress Changsun—Jiang Ke’er felt a little dazed.
But soon, she relaxed and leaned against Changsun Qingyue’s back, letting out a long sigh.
Empress Changsun or not,
This is my big sister!
She’d originally worried that her identity as Houtu would create a distance between herself and the Revival Society members, creating a gap in status… but very soon, Jiang Ke’er realized she’d worried for nothing.
Everyone still joked around, still teased each other—no one kept their distance just because she was Houtu.
It was wonderful.
Meeting all of you—it’s truly wonderful.
But come to think of it… If that Qiao Xiaoxian were here, she’d definitely scoop me up without a word, and probably take the chance to grope me, too.
Hmph, good thing she’s not here.
Thinking of that scene, Jiang Ke’er’s face grew slightly red, with a hint of annoyance.
Hmph, I’ll finish you off one day!
Why do I hate Qiao Xiaoxian so much anyway?
Whatever, there are too many reasons. Just take her out, end of story.
After returning to the Yan Family Compound, Jiang Ke’er began preparing to leave the Realm of Novice Cultivator.
Unlike the freewheeling Qiao Xiaoxian, she had a lot to take care of.
For example, the development and planning for the Underworld Province Remnant Clan, and Yan Liben’s Dao of Painting self-study curriculum.
Jiang Ke’er’s plan was, once the Underworld Province Remnant Clan had accumulated enough knowledge, she’d guide them to the next step—using physics and chemistry to a certain extent to assist with Tool Refinement and alchemy, boosting their productivity.
Although science could never completely replace cultivation, and at most played a minimal supporting role, it should still improve the standard of living for the Remnant Clan.
As for Yan Liben, Jiang Ke’er really wanted to keep him by her side—after all, since she accepted his payment, she had to be responsible… But considering how dangerous things were around her, it was impossible to properly look after Yan Liben.
Right now, she was basically the enemy of the whole realm; she herself might drop dead at any moment, and bringing Yan Liben along would only put him at risk.
So, she could only leave behind a set of self-study steps she’d compiled for him, letting Yan Liben continue on his own for now.
When she had time, she’d send a Projection Avatar in to check on him.
Projection Avatars weren’t difficult, nor did they require high cultivation—every city in the Great Sima Nation had a Projection Pavilion; for one Spirit Stone, you got five minutes, which let you project a cultivation-less avatar into the Realm of Novice Cultivator and establish contact within.
The only thing Jiang Ke’er found hard to decide now was whether to directly enter the Realm of No Regret to continue cultivating, or to stay in the Great Sima Nation for a while.
Staying outside was clearly very dangerous, but some matters could only be dealt with outside the Ancient Scholarly Realm.
If possible, Jiang Ke’er wanted to rent a mountain in the outside world.
She didn’t need to be within the Outer Ring of the Imperial Capital of the Great Sima Nation—just some deserted mountains and wild ridges in the outskirts would do…
In her heart, she dreamed of starting a Sect, with lively disciples who practiced swordplay at dawn, a stern but protective Master, Senior Brothers who bickered just to show off before the Junior Sisters.
On distant peaks, fragrant medicine gardens, flickering fires in the refining furnaces… Everyone riding their swords through the sky by day, gossiping in the dorms at night about which Junior Sister was blooming into beauty.
And she, herself, would be just an ordinary disciple, cultivating dutifully, enjoying her Master’s affection, listening to her Master’s exasperated but fond scoldings… Drunk on a life as carefree and poetic as Peach Blossom Paradise, far removed from the chaos of the martial world.
That was the cultivation world she longed to see.
But this life… it would probably never come true.
“Knock, knock, knock.”
Late at night, Changsun Qingyue suddenly knocked on Jiang Ke’er’s door.
Jiang Ke’er’s heart tightened out of habit—a reflex from constantly being on guard against Qiao Xiaoxian.
But then she remembered that Qiao Xiaoxian had left the Realm of Novice Cultivator long ago, so she relaxed and opened the door.
Outside stood Changsun Qingyue, holding an envelope.
Changsun Qingyue didn’t enter.
She simply handed Jiang Ke’er the envelope and said, “Qing Yi, the world outside is not like the Ancient Scholarly Realm… You can protect yourself in the Realm of Novice Cultivator, but once you’re outside or in the Realm of No Regret, it’s much easier to get hurt.”
Jiang Ke’er accepted the envelope, puzzled.
“I know you’re carrying a lot—too many people want to kill you, and for your age, that’s far too heavy a burden,” Changsun Qingyue sighed, looking at Jiang Ke’er with pity.
“Take this letter to Lingyin Valley. The cultivators there, after reading it, will accept you as a disciple…”
“This…” Jiang Ke’er was stunned. “I can’t accept this!”
Jiang Ke’er knew she was a hot potato—whichever faction took her in could be doomed.
She was fully aware that she was like rootless duckweed; leaving the Realm of Novice Cultivator, it would be difficult to take a single step.
Having a Sect’s protection would make things much easier… But even more so, she didn’t want to bring disaster upon others! Especially those who showed her kindness!
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