Chapter 174: Acting with Righteousness

Returning to the mansion arranged by Fei Yushu, Qin Jun and others located Daji and her companions based on their aura. The mansion had many courtyards, and Daji and her companions had already taken over one of them.

Daji and Zhu Yanqing's extraordinary beauty attracted the attention of many cultivators who wished to get close to them, but they were stopped by Li Bai at the courtyard entrance. Some even attempted to force their way in, but Li Bai easily dealt with them.

"How about it, Your Highness, did you accept Fei Yushu's invitation?" Li Bai asked with a smile as he sipped his wine, knowing full well why without needing to ask, as Fei Yushu's intentions were quite obvious.

Qin Jun shrugged and replied, "No, because of the appearance of Zhuque, he had to leave midway."

As he spoke, he sat down at the stone table, and Daji obediently poured tea for him. Zhu Yanqing and Qin Yun sat opposite him. Upon hearing him mention Zhuque, Qin Yun couldn't help but express his surprise, "Zhuque? I was still wondering what kind of mythical beast it was!"

Zhuque was not only well-known in the Chinese Huaxia on Earth, but also in this world.

There were many divine beasts, but the four sacred beasts were the most revered among the people, especially in the southern region.

"Could it be that a kingdom needs a divine beast to upgrade to an empire?" Qin Jun couldn't help but ask, as he had been curious about the relationship between divine beasts and empires all along.

The others were momentarily stunned, and Li Bai was the first to laugh and said, "Exactly, the reason why an empire is prosperous is because of its fortune. With fortune, the spiritual energy within the empire becomes stronger, and there are almost no natural disasters."

Qin Jun widened his eyes, was there really such a thing?

Upon careful consideration, the concentration of spiritual energy within the empire's territory was indeed much higher than that of the kingdom.

"Are you suggesting that fortune is related to divine beasts?" Qin Jun's eyes lit up. Fortune sounded mysterious, but he was from the information explosion era on Earth, so he naturally understood a bit.

Fortune referred to destiny and fate.

However, he still didn't understand the relationship between fortune and divine beasts.

"Divine beasts are named as such because they are born from the fortune of heaven and earth. With divine beasts guarding the empire, the fortune becomes even stronger," Taibai Jinxing explained with a smile, "Your Highness, don't think too much about it. Knowing too much is not beneficial for you at the moment."

Qin Jun pursed his lips, but he made a mental note of the term "fortune."

The conversation then shifted to the upcoming Qianlong Martial Arts Tournament. The day after tomorrow, the tournament would officially begin, and all participants would have to pay their respects at the front of the Imperial Palace. They would then be randomly matched for ten rounds of competition, from which one thousand martial artists would emerge.

There were already a hundred participants from Luoyan City alone, and the cities of the Southern Zhuo Empire had nearly a thousand.

It was equivalent to selecting one thousand out of nearly a hundred thousand people.

Success and fame depended on whether one could break into the top one thousand. Advancing to the top one thousand would bring rewards and the attention of top powers.

The Seven Great Sects naturally couldn't just recruit a few people, so there was hope for those within the top one thousand, and the top one hundred could choose freely.

...

The next morning, after practicing a set of spear techniques, Qin Jun and the others walked out of the mansion to explore the capital. After all, it was their first time in the capital of the empire, and it wasn't easy to come here on a regular basis.

The prosperity of the capital was beyond Qin Jun's expectations, especially when they arrived at the densely populated commercial district. The streets were crowded with people, and the imposing and stylish buildings on both sides of the street made it all seem surreal.

"Rare-grade magical weapons! Selling like hotcakes today!"

"Revival elixirs for just ten second-tier spirit stones!"

"Exotic snake women, capable of making men ascend to heaven!"

"A precious sword seeks a destined owner, the highest bidder wins!"

There were vendors everywhere, and the sight of the snake women made Qin Jun's eyes widen. Their voluptuous figures and snake-like lower bodies could easily tempt any man.

If it weren't for Daji pinching his waist, he probably wouldn't have been able to snap out of it.

"Cough, I'm just looking! I don't deal with second-hand goods," Qin Jun said with a straight face.

In his heart, however, he was considering when to secretly buy a snake woman for some excitement.

"The goods being sold outside are just average. The items inside the buildings are of better quality," Li Bai said, glancing at the snake women that had caught Qin Jun's attention, and added, "There are even higher-quality snake women that some merchants specially raise, ensuring their perfection."

Qin Jun raised an eyebrow and asked, "Are there really higher-quality snake women?"

Daji was at a loss for words, and Zhu Yanqing's mouth twitched. Why was this guy so vulgar?

"Yes, some merchants deliberately raise snake women to ensure their perfection," Li Bai nodded, his face showing a look of infatuation, which also piqued Qin Yun's interest.

"Have you been to the capital before?" Qin Jun looked at him skeptically. Weren't you summoned by me?

It seemed that his master loved to boast, and his disciple was no different.

"Cough, I've heard people talk about it," Li Bai could have brazened it out, but even Taibai Jinxing looked at him with surprise.

"Tsk—" Qin Jun and Qin Yun both rolled their eyes and said in unison.

Li Yuanba grumbled, "What's so great about snake women? You can't eat them anyway."

Qin Jun couldn't be bothered with him. What a silly boy, of course you can eat snake women!

Just then, a commotion broke out under an old tree ahead, and the surrounding commoners and cultivators crowded around. Qin Jun wasn't initially interested, but he caught a glimpse of a figure and couldn't help but walk over.

Of course, Sha Wujing and the others followed him. The group walked forward.

Under the old tree, a big man in a tiger-skin robe was half-kneeling on the ground. His face was covered in stubble, and he held a long knife in his right hand, wiping the blood from the corner of his mouth with his left hand. His face was full of unwillingness and resentment. Behind him, leaning against the old tree, was a wooden board with "Baihu Gate Recruiting Disciples" written in cinnabar.

"Miss, don't mind me, I'd rather die today!" the big man in the tiger-skin robe said in a deep voice.

Standing in front of him was a woman in a green dress, with a veil covering her face. Her bright and beautiful eyes were revealed, with long fluttering eyelashes, unmistakably belonging to Fenghuang You.

Fenghuang You held a long sword in her hand, and the maid beside her did the same.

"Well, little girl, do you also want to intervene with justice?" A young man in white sneered as he looked at Fenghuang You, with four servants standing behind him, all at the first level of the Transcendence Realm, while he himself had reached the second level.

Onlookers, both commoners and cultivators, whispered and pointed. Although some were indignant, no one dared to step forward.

"As one of the top ten scoundrels, Luo Han is really lacking in manners, isn't he?"

"Yeah, what's the problem with a small sect recruiting disciples?"

"Nothing we can do, he's backed by the Divine Sword Hall, so he acts so arrogantly!"

"Poor girl, she shouldn't have intervened."

"Pity, I reckon she's going to be targeted by Luo Han."

Listening to the discussions of the onlookers, the white-clad youth named Luo Han proudly puffed out his chest, relishing the attention.

Fenghuang You frowned slightly and whispered, "Forgive others as you would like to be forgiven. Today, you can bully him, but someone behind him might come looking for you tomorrow."

Someone behind him?

Luo Han seemed to have heard the biggest joke in the world. He spread his arms and sneered, "Who in the imperial capital dares to challenge me? Is it possible that the emperor is backing him?"