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Lu Chen's heart trembled again. Competing True Inheritor Disciple was not a problem; he was already about seventy percent confident. However, not pursuing the Imperial Authority? Wasn't that contrary to his own intentions? If he agreed to Yin Boqing now, he would never be able to fulfill Old Demon Li Shian's dying wish.
He had thought that Yin Boqing was merely mentioning the Human Book casually, but now it was clear that his words meant Lu Chen was not allowed to use the Human Book, which was the same as not pursuing the Imperial Authority.
"I have never thought about becoming an emperor; I only seek the path and pursue self," Lu Chen said slowly.
After a long internal struggle, he carefully crafted this statement, hoping to agree with Yin Boqing while not betraying Li Shian's original intention. The ways of the world were indeed hard to grasp.
"Very well, it's rare for you to have such thoughts. Since that's the case, I won't force you to hand over the Human Book. Competing True Inheritor Disciple is not something trivial; go earn your Merit," Yin Boqing said.
"Yes, Master," Lu Chen replied. He called him Master but did not bow in respect. Strangely enough, he had really become a disciple of Yin Boqing; at this moment, it felt more like a formality arranged by Su Wutong than a genuine apprenticeship.
Lu Chen picked up a broom nearby and turned to leave.
Suddenly, he heard Yin Boqing's voice behind him, "Although I have taken you as my disciple, you must strictly follow my teachings; otherwise, I would rather not have you as a disciple."
Lu Chen paused for a moment. At that instant, he began to doubt whether all his efforts to become Yin Boqing's disciple were worth it. He felt a hint of regret, as if he had thrown himself into the jaws of a tiger.
Su Wutong, oh Su Wutong, what exactly are you planning? Lu Chen silently muttered as he carried the broom down the mountain.
After two hours, he finally swept the entire Elder Immortal Academy and earned five Merit Points. Competing True Inheritor Disciple required twenty Merit Points, so Lu Chen still needed fifteen more and had to do some additional tasks.
Lu Chen went to the Merit Hall to submit his Document and recorded his Merit points into the Merit System. Then he stepped outside into the courtyard of the Merit Hall and saw that a new task had appeared on the large Wooden Plaque—a relatively lucrative external mission that could be exchanged for twelve Merit Points upon completion.
"Eastern Sea Wuzhou, Capture the Flower Thief Luo Gongshu! Capture the flower thief Luo Gongshuai!"
Interesting, Lu Chen became interested. This mission is to go to Eastern Sea Wuzhou to capture the flower thief Luo Gongshu. For him, not only can he earn Merit Points, but more importantly, he can gain practical combat experience.
Since entering the Unity of Man, he has not had any real combat experience. Although the Five Element Sect has a Martial Arts Peak, that is mostly for sparring with disciples within the sect, where one must be cautious of their fellow brothers' lives, making it somewhat restrained and unsatisfying.
However, this flower thief is different; killing him would not be excessive. This mission is definitely a test because the local government only sends out requests for help when absolutely necessary, indicating that this task is challenging. The Five Element Sect has also offered enough tempting Merit Points for the disciples.
Lu Chen took the mission number and went to find the Merit Officer to collect the Document. This time, he was even given an additional five taels of silver for travel expenses.
Lu Chen tucked the Document and silver into his pocket and then returned to the empty mountain to prepare his gear. He brought along the Ten-Thousand Poisons Golden Toad and the Xuan Yin Flying Sword. Additionally, Old Mu's Crazy Serpent Seven Star Classic had reached a certain level of proficiency, so he planned to take Old Mu along for some practical experience while leaving Lian Dashuang to guard the Cave.
After arranging the necessary matters, Lu Chen descended from the empty mountain with Old Mu and walked towards the mountain's exit. Soon, they arrived at the entrance of the Five Element Sect and entered a tavern that Lu Chen had supported.
At this time, several tables were surrounded by guests inside the tavern, all disciples from the Five Element Sect enjoying food and drink.
Brother Lian was responsible for attending to guests and serving drinks, Sister Lian managed the tavern, and Lian Shuang handled accounts while also hiring two cooks, each performing their duties in an orderly manner.
As soon as Lu Chen entered the tavern, Brother Lian and Lian Shuang immediately gathered around him and led him upstairs to a private room.
"Master, I was just about to send you news!"
Lu Chen, Old Mu, Brother Lian, and Lian Shuang all sat down together in the private room as Lian Shuang hurriedly spoke.
"What news do you have?" Lu Chen asked while taking a sip of tea that Brother Lian had handed him.
Lu Chen's purpose in running this restaurant was to gather information.
"That day, I was doing accounts when I faintly heard a conversation from a merchant caravan that had come from the prairie. They mentioned that Prairie King Murzaha had welcomed a daughter three months ago, and at that time, there were sounds of Misty Clouds and Radiance. Prairie King Murzaha was extremely excited, causing countless altars within his territory to celebrate with songs and dances, creating a grand spectacle," Lian Shuang recounted.
Upon hearing this, Lu Chen felt a surge of joy. It seemed that Su Wutong had succeeded; she had been reborn into Prairie King Murzaha's family. The so-called Misty Clouds and Radiance must have been the secret techniques of the Su Family used to evade Fetal Mystery. Lu Chen had witnessed such scenes at Killing Green Mountain, but he hadn't expected that Prairie King would mistakenly take it as an auspicious sign.
Lian Shuang had stumbled upon this news, but in fact, Lu Chen had already instructed him to pay attention to information regarding the prairie. He didn't expect such a coincidence where Lian Shuang actually came across it.
It took three whole months for the news to reach here. Although it was a bit late, a weight finally lifted off Lu Chen's heart, relieving him of worry.
"Is there any news about Prince Fu?" Lu Chen asked.
Princess Zhulan and Tu Youdong had sent Huangfu Qi out of the territory of Qi Kingdom, but since Huangfu Qi hadn't sent anyone back with news, it indicated that something had gone wrong. However, this was merely Lu Chen's speculation.
"I haven't heard anything about that!" Lian Shuang shook his head.
"Good, very good. Well done. From now on, you need to keep an eye out for such news and report to me immediately," Lu Chen felt that running this restaurant was worthwhile; it was yielding results and made him very satisfied.
In any case, he now had news about Su Wutong. As for Huangfu Qi, he might have to go personally to find out more.
"Hehe, does Master have any new knowledge to impart to me this time?" Lian Shuang asked. He was very eager to learn and was completely different in character from Lian Dashuang, which even surprised Lu Chen.
"You ungrateful child, how are you speaking to Master?" Brother Lian immediately became angry and scolded Lian Shuang. In his eyes, Lu Chen was a benefactor who had built their family's wealth with his own hands.
In response, Lu Chen didn't mind at all. He lazily smiled and said, "In my Empty Mountain Cave, there are plenty of books. You can come by and take some whenever you have time."
The Five Element Sect prepared books for its disciples that were filled with positive energy, which were very useful for children's enlightenment education and could help establish correct life values. The Five Element Sect did not allow disciples to pass on Qigong martial arts to their subordinates, but it did not prohibit them from letting their subordinates read the books.
"Thank you, Master!" Lian Shuang giggled.
Lu Chen nodded and discussed with Brother Lian, "The reason I’m leaving the mountain this time is for another matter. Old Mu and I need to go to the East Sea to capture a flower thief. This place is thousands of miles away from the East Sea, and we will need to spend some time there. It will probably take at least a few months before I can return."
"Will it be dangerous?" Brother Lian asked with concern.
Lu Chen waved his hand dismissively, "It's fine. I have made ample preparations. Capturing a flower thief shouldn't be too much of a problem. While I'm away, I’ll trouble Brother Lian to keep an eye on the tavern. I've entrusted the Empty Mountain Cave to Big Shuang; he is skilled in martial arts but is relatively steady in his actions."
"Good, you can rest assured about this matter, it’s on me. I'll go prepare the carriage now," Brother Lian said, patting his chest before heading downstairs.
"From now on, don’t call me benefactor; just call me Chen brother," Lu Chen told Brother Lian.
Brother Lian paused at the staircase for a moment and then called out "Chen brother" before hurriedly going downstairs.
Lian Shuang also scampered down the stairs, bringing the account book for Lu Chen to check. His handwriting was neat, and the accounts were well-organized; every entry was very clear. Lu Chen flipped through it casually, glanced over it briefly, and then returned it to Lian Shuang.
After finishing a cup of tea, Lu Chen went downstairs with Old Mu. A Black-Maned Carriage was already waiting at the entrance of the tavern.
Lu Chen did not linger any longer and climbed into the carriage. With Old Mu driving, the crisp sound of the whip cracked sharply as the hooves of the black-maned horse clattered against the stone pavement as they set off on their journey.
The carriage raced through the fields, covering more than ten miles in just over an incense stick's time, completely leaving the territory of the Five Element Sect and entering the domain of the Great Zhou Dynasty, specifically the Qi Kingdom's Lu Prefecture.
Lu Prefecture consists of seven provinces, all major grain-producing regions. The Qi Kingdom supports 250,000 households, with Lu Prefecture alone accounting for 110,000 households, nearly half of the total in the Qi Kingdom, making it quite affluent.
The Governor of Lu Prefecture is none other than Chen Shihu. At this moment, it is estimated that the Governor is at home handling funeral affairs, sending off the white-haired with the black-haired.
After three hours, Lu Chen and Old Mu drove their carriage across the entire Lu Prefecture and entered deep into the Qi Kingdom. They changed horses in a county town called Youyang, rested for a night, and continued their journey the next day.
Along the way, if they encountered inspections, Lu Chen would present a document bearing the seal of the Five Element Sect's Merit Hall. Upon seeing this document, local officials and soldiers would immediately stamp it with a Golden Seal to grant passage, which proved to be very effective.
In fact, every four or five cities, Lu Chen would proactively show his document to get it stamped with a Golden Seal because each place had different Golden Seals. The route could not deviate too far; otherwise, it would lose its authenticity. The Golden Seal served as the best proof that a disciple had indeed passed through that location.
Originally, Lu Chen planned to take a detour to visit the Prairie King's fief in the Western Four States. However, with news from Su Wutong already received, his initial intention had diminished by half.
Moreover, he deduced that if the Prairie King had truly intercepted Huangfu Qi, there would surely be news about it. Yet Huangfu Qi seemed to have vanished without a trace, indicating that he might not be on the grasslands at all.
Given this situation, Lu Chen abandoned his earlier plan to visit the grasslands and focused on heading toward Donghai to capture the flower thief while also seeking information about Huangfu Qi.
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