บท 66: Back to the Capital

It has almost been one month since Shen Tianyu and Rong Jian started cultivating along with Xue Lang. After the initial break through, Shen Tianyu advanced through the stages of Meridians Level. Meanwhile, Rong Jian, who had also been close to a breakthrough, advanced near the end of the month. He had finally become a Gold Core Peak Stage. Just one more push and he would be able to step into Nascent Soul Level. It was only then that Shen Tianyu learned of his cultivation level.

Speaking of which, Rong Jian could also be considered a peerless genius, reaching Gold Core Level before he even turned twenty. Th average gifted cultivator might not reach Gold Core Level even if they were in their fifties. Yet, Rong Jian, who has not even had his capping ceremony(1) yet, has achieved such a feat. Old farts would surely be angered to death if they knew. Were their lifetime of struggles for nothing?!

Even so, though, he is only comparable to Shen Tianyu. The girl should has not even had her hair pining ceremony(2) and she was already at Meridians Middle Stage.Not only was she younger, she was also female. In these times, families naturally liked sons more since they can continue the family line, while women are married off. In a more negative light, they are given to someone else and do not necessarily "belong" to the family. So, families do not pay as much attention to a female's cultivation level. In more elite cultivation families, the women's cultivation were certainly higher than their peers of the same age, however, they might not necessarily beat the men in their families in terms of level. Conversely, the same can not be said of the men. There are few and far between females that hold high positions in such family due to their cultivation level being lower in general. Though, there's always one or two of them that were born with extraordinary talents and manage to match up to the boys even though less care was shown to them.

Shen Tianyu could be said to be one such example. If nurtured carefully, no man can beat her. Regrettably, her family did not take care of her and ultimately perished at her hands. Now she has to travel all around to get stronger. Then again, talents and cultivation levels are empty if one does not have the proper experience and sense to handle them in battle.

Shen Tianyu opened her eyes and saw Rong Jian's face right in front of her. With furrowed brows, she asked him: "Why do you always look at me? Am I that good to look at?"

"Of course. I can look at Tian'er for my whole life and not get tired." Rong Jian answered smoothly.

'He seems more like a middle-aged, spoiled despot of an insighnificant noble family rather than a teenage Prince with that attitude.' Shen Tianyu thought to herself. She had just inherited the Soul Flame from her Flame Sea. She had not even used the Greek Fire yet and she had already contracted two flames. She got up off the ground and patted her clothes. Xue Lang raised it's head to look at her while it laid on the ground.

She picked up the Ice Crystal in it's golden light cage and put it in her Wind Shrine via her magic pouch. The Ice Crystal had visibly shrunk but it wasn't to the point that she needed to worry. In only a month, it had only shrunk the size of the tip of her nails, one would not notice it unless they were really looking for the difference. Besides, this way, it would be easier to consume it later since it was weaker.

She turned to Rong Jian. "Let's go back. It's almost time for the Goodwill Tournament and Luo Shue and the others must be worried."

Rong Jian only nodded and followed her to the edge of the cave. Xue Lang also got off from the ground and followed. She tasked the man and beast with helping her dig out all of the Lurensity flowers in the cave before they left. Xue Lang wasn't staying here anymore and she wasn't kind enough to leave such treasure for other people to find and take. After gathering all the Lurensity flowers, the sun had just passed high noon and was starting to set. The three set out of the forest at a run. There was no more need to be cautious like before as the Master of the Forest of Broken Bones was now with them as Shen Tianyu's contract beast.

When they left the Forest of Broken Bones, Shen Tianyu thought about it and had Xue Lang go into her space, as in, the Wind Shrine. That way, it wouldn't attract as much attention. Rong Jian also didn't ask her about the sudden disappearance of Xue Lang.

They reached the Red Light District of Jing City as the sun started to dip below the horizon. The bright red lanterns hanging from tiled roofs of stores in the Flower District was already lit. Many courtesans were already waiting up on the balconies of their respective stores and calling out to customers. As the saying goes 'The early bird gets the worm.'(3)

"Young Master down there, how about coming up for some tea?" A female voice called out.

"That girl besides you looks quite young(4), how about I accompany you?" Another female voice sounded in their direction.

"Young Master, how would you like to try your luck? You could win a fortune!" Amiddle aged man tried to invite Rong Jian to a gambling house.

Rong Jian ignored all of the catcalls and just minded Shen Tianyu or looked straight ahead at the road, as if there weren't people inviting him left and right. Shen Tianyu also ignored the calls as if she didn't hear them. They were just trying to do their job, no need for her to be short-tempered bitch and lash out at them.

They finally arrived at Lavender Palace after wadding through the catcalling courtesans and doormen.