Xu Qi’an stared blankly, unsure why she was suddenly so angry.

Then, seeming to realize something, he casually deflected while secretly observing her.

“I was exhausted from last night’s exertion, so I came for a bath. Imperial Preceptor, have you had lunch yet?” Xu Qi’an smiled.

At the mention of “exhaustion,” Luo Yuheng’s fair face flushed red, and she glared at him with tender anger:

“I was just looking for you to dine.”

They returned to the warm bedroom, where the maid Qing’ying brought a long table laden with congee, meat buns, pastries, fried dough sticks, and pickled vegetables for breakfast…

Luo Yuheng only had congee, delicately holding her porcelain spoon with elegant fingers as she took small sips.

“This must be ‘anger’ from the Seven Emotions – easily irritated and quick to rage. I’ll need to be careful how I handle this,” Xu Qi’an pondered while observing her.

The Imperial Preceptor was still herself – cold, beautiful, with a red dot between her brows, like an otherworldly immortal.

Last night felt like a dream.

Though Xu Qi’an now knew intimately how alluring her figure was, how soft her skin felt, how perfect her body…

“Seen enough?”

Luo Yuheng raised her eyes to glare at him, a mix of coquettish anger.

We’ve already shared a bed, what’s wrong with looking… Xu Qi’an thought to himself, his gaze drifting to the Imperial Preceptor’s full bosom.

Thunk!

A chopstick flew at lightning speed, embedding itself in the table before him.

“Let’s eat!” He quickly averted his gaze and silently drank his congee.

They finished breakfast without conversation or eye contact. Whenever Xu Qi’an tried to openly or secretly admire the Imperial Preceptor’s beauty and figure, she would grow angry.

Luo Yuheng set down her chopsticks and rose coldly, walking gracefully toward the bedroom.

Her Daoist robes swayed as she moved, highlighting her ethereal elegance.

“Don’t disturb my cultivation unless necessary,” she said coolly.

The bedroom door stood open. Xu Qi’an glanced back and noticed the bedding from last night had been changed.

Behind the screen hung a white embroidered lotus undergarment and a pair of soft white silk pants.

Bang!

Seemingly sensing his gaze, Luo Yuheng slammed the door shut with particular force.

“It feels like this ‘anger’ emotion has made her even more aloof – quick to rage as if I’m just a tool for bedchamber matters…”

“I feel like I’ve become her young aunt, or perhaps an English teacher…”

He methodically grabbed a clean towel, wiped his hands and mouth, then walked to the bedroom door and knocked.

Luo Yuheng ignored him.

Taking the liberty to push open the door, Xu Qi’an’s gaze swept the room, and noticed the silk pants and undergarment had disappeared.

Luo Yuheng sat cross-legged on the bed, saying angrily: “Didn’t I tell you not to disturb me?”

The former Luo Yuheng had been cold and composed, rarely showing emotional fluctuations, which gave Xu Qi’an a sense of her superiority.

Unlike now, where she would flare up at the slightest provocation – though not a pleasant temperament, it made her feel more human and alive.

“The Karmic Fire has subsided. You can consolidate your cultivation later. Shall we take a walk in the garden?”

Xu Qi’an moved to the bedside and took hold of her smooth, delicate hand.

He reasoned that their relationship was more like an arranged marriage – consummation first, then developing feelings.

Fortunately, Luo Yuheng didn’t dislike him and even seemed quite fond of him, though not enough to warrant their intimate relations.

But now that they had become so close, he needed to change his approach and work on deepening their relationship.

After all, I can’t expect Luo Yuheng to pursue me… Xu Qi’an was thinking when he suddenly noticed anger flash in her eyes. His instincts warned him something was wrong, and he attempted to leap away.

But he found his body couldn’t move.

“Imperial Preceptor?” Xu Qi’an hurriedly said: “We can talk this through.”

Luo Yuheng glared at him: “What did I tell you last night? This was merely a transaction. Don’t think that because we joined in dual cultivation you are now my Dao partner and can do as you please.”

“This one was presumptuous.” Xu Qi’an’s apologetic posture was perfect.

Luo Yuheng snorted lightly before letting him go, closing her eyes to meditate: “Leave.”

This angry personality is harder to deal with than the original Imperial Preceptor – quick to rage… If I hadn’t apologized so well just now, I might have been sent flying by her sword…

Hmm, and she’s even more proud and reserved… Xu Qi’an sighed.

He walked out of the bedroom, breathing in the fresh air. As he passed the bedroom window, it suddenly burst open. Luo Yuheng sat cross-legged on the bed and asked coldly:

“Where are you going?”

“To visit the brothels.” Xu Qi’an said with a sneer.

“What did you say?” Luo Yuheng’s brows furrowed in anger: “Say that again.”

Xu Qi’an laughed mockingly, deliberately provoking her: “Why does the Imperial Preceptor care if I visit brothels? We have no relationship – it’s just a transaction, after all.”

Luo Yuheng’s chest heaved with anger as she waved her hand to close the window.

“So shall I go to the brothels?” Xu Qi’an shouted at the window.

“Get lost!”

…

Xu Qi’an didn’t immediately leave Qing’ying Garden. He had the maids prepare food, clean clothes, and toiletries.

Finding an empty room, he took out the Pagoda of Six Realms and tossed it lightly.

The pagoda expanded until its spire nearly pierced the roof. Xu Qi’an willed himself inside with a thought.

Arriving on the third floor, he saw Mu Nanchi sitting opposite the Pagoda Spirit, hands clasped in meditation like a monk.

What’s this about… Xu Qi’an put down his packages and said: “Nanchi, I brought you some clothes and food.”

Mu Nanchi remained motionless, eyes still closed. The little white fox darted over, sniffing while mumbling:

“No fruit? I want fruit.”

Xu Qi’an swatted it away angrily: “Get lost!”

If it weren’t for this little creature causing trouble, I wouldn’t be facing this difficult situation. The Princess Consort would still be waiting innocently for me at the inn.

The little white fox had been hit again and whimpered:

“I don’t want your food. You’re not nice at all, always bullying us.”

It walked dejectedly back to Mu Nanchi’s side, front paws scrambling to climb onto the table.

It sniffled for a while until Xu Qi’an placed pastries before it.

The little white fox glanced at the pastries and turned its head away with dignity.

“You’re not eating?”

“Hmph!”

“Then I’ll eat it myself… Mmm, so fragrant, soft and sweet, wonderful… And these meat buns, are juicy with perfect texture. Oh my, only one piece left.”

The little white fox’s ears twitched.

“Too bad a certain little fox won’t eat. I’ll have to finish it myself.”

“I’ll eat! I’ll eat!”

The little white fox’s resolve crumbled as it turned back, diving into Xu Qi’an’s arms, saying sweetly: “Want to eat, want to eat.”

Xu Qi’an rubbed its head and fed it breakfast. Seeing Mu Nanchi still cold-faced, he sighed and put down the little fox before leaving.

He had many ways to deal with Mu Nanchi, but with dual cultivation not yet complete, she’d likely just get angry again after being consoled.

Or perhaps she would use this to demand he cut ties with Luo Yuheng after their dual cultivation was complete.

…

By now, the Martial Arts Conference had begun as scheduled in Yong Prefecture, taking place at the Great Southwest Arena.

The conference was open to all martial artists in Yong Prefecture (those without criminal records). The first stage was preliminary selection, open to all registrants.

After preliminaries, the top hundred would be selected.

The second stage would be ranking matches among these hundred-strong warriors.

This ranking system mimicked the Central Plains’ Hundred Warriors Ranking.

The master of Dragon God Fort, Lei Zheng, and the Gong Sun clan head, Gong Sun Xiangyang, were both ranked fighters on the Hundred Warriors list, at positions 71 and 80 respectively.

Xu Qi’an disguised himself as an unremarkable man and mixed into the Great Arena.

This place had originally been army barracks, later abandoned and left derelict for many years. Though decrepit, it was vast in size.

Arriving at the fighting grounds, he saw a sea of people.

Xu Qi’an stood at the edge of the crowd, watching the newly constructed arena from afar. Currently, two young warriors were engaged in a sword match.

Their techniques and methods were utterly ruthless, completely abandoning martial courtesy in their drive for victory.

Though somewhat unsavory, at least there were no emotional manipulation techniques or public opinion sword techniques among such unorthodox approaches.

“Such a crowd… Searching here daily will surely help find the Dragon Qi host…”

He gripped the Earth Book fragment in his palm, his divine sense rippling outward in all directions.

Soon, the surrounding “scenery” reflected clearly in his mind.

To the south, a burly man stared fixedly at the arena while pressing against a woman, his rough hands groping her round bottom.

To the man’s left, a thin fellow palmed a blade, silently cutting open the burly man’s money pouch.

To the north, a youth was also picking pockets.

Passing over these various people and events, Xu Qi’an detected a Dragon Qi host watching the matches from the crowd, arms wrapped around his knees, seemingly quite disdainful of the arena battles.

“A fragmentary Dragon Qi host…”

Xu Qi’an didn’t act rashly, as he couldn’t determine if this person was a wild host or bait.

In Yong Prefecture, if they weren’t one of the Nine Dragon Qi hosts, he would rather let them go than take risks.

His divine sense ripples penetrated through the spectators toward the barracks, and before long, another Dragon Qi host appeared within his sensing range.

This was a two-courtyard compound, extremely dilapidated, appearing unmaintained for many years.

A group sat in the outer hall, with the Dragon Qi host among them.

“Another fragmentary Dragon Qi host. Even at a grand event like the Martial Arts Conference, even though Yong Prefecture has multiple Dragon Qi hosts, having two appear here simultaneously is not a normal probability…”

“Among these two Dragon Qi hosts, one must be bait, perhaps even both… Hm? Gong Sun Xiangyang?!”

Xu Qi’an spotted Gong Sun Xiangyang among the group.

In the outer hall, Gong Sun Xiangyang sat in a large chair, Gong Sun clan disciples behind him.

Seated as his equal was a young man with gentle features and a warm smile that put people at ease.

Behind this young man, from left to right, stood:

A stern-faced youth carrying a gun; a beautiful young woman; a disheveled old Daoist in tattered robes; a South Border man with blue eyes in colorful robes; a coquettish woman with an enchanting face; a muscular man with an imposing bearing.

And finally, a middle-aged man carrying a sword – this was the Dragon Qi host. His face was expressionless, though his eyes held a resigned look.

Who are these people… Xu Qi’an’s gaze lingered briefly on the young woman.

Not yet twenty, her figure already showed mature feminine grace. Her eyes were large and round with thick lashes, and she had the pointed chin characteristic of young women.

Like Xu Lingyan, she was an extremely beautiful young woman, though Xu Lingyan was more the girl-next-door type, soft and delicate, at least on the surface.

This young woman, however, had cold, serious features, already showing signs of becoming a strong female character. In a few years, she would likely be similar to Princess Huai Qing.

Next, he examined the other beautiful woman. This woman was alluring but not vulgar, enchanting but refined, with a unique bearing.

“I don’t think I’ve met her before, but her bearing seems familiar like I’ve seen it somewhere…”  Xu Qi’an mused to himself. Just then, he heard Gong Sun Xiangyang say politely:

“How should I address you, noble warriors?”

Lei Zheng was a martial arts fanatic who disliked administrative matters, so Gong Sun Xiangyang was hosting the Martial Arts Conference. He had just finished giving his opening speech when this group invited him here.

These people were extremely formidable. Even at Gong Sun Xiangyang’s peak Fifth Rank cultivation, he could only roughly gauge the depths of the gun-carrying youth and the disheveled old Daoist.

The others were completely unfathomable.

Gong Sun Xiangyang had a bold conjecture – most of these people were Fourth Rank masters.

But this guess was too shocking. In the martial world, Fourth Rank warriors were overlords of their regions. Only in places like the capital, where masters gathered like clouds, would they appear in groups.

In the Great Zhou’s thirteen prefectures, with populations of millions or tens of millions each, only a handful of Fourth Rank masters would emerge.

“Ji Xuan.”

The seated young man with the gentle bearing smiled.

“Master Ji!”

Gong Sun Xiangyang bowed repeatedly.

Ji Xuan… Xu Qi’an frowned slightly, the surname Ji making him extremely wary.

The young man who called himself Ji Xuan smiled: “We are from Qing Prefecture. Hearing that Yong Prefecture was holding a Martial Arts Conference, we came to observe and broaden our horizons.”

After a pause, he took out a portrait from his robes, placed it on the table, and said:

“Clan Head Gong Sun is a prominent figure in Yong Prefecture. I would like to request your help.”

Without waiting for Gong Sun Xiangyang’s agreement, he continued: “Please help me find the person in this portrait. There will be ample reward.”

Gong Sun Xiangyang naturally wouldn’t refuse. He took the portrait with both hands, examined it carefully, and smiled:

“Of course, of course. Once I have news, I’ll certainly send someone to inform you all.”

It was just finding someone – a small matter, no need to offend these people over it.

Ji Xuan nodded with satisfaction, then added: “There’s one more small matter.”

Gong Sun Xiangyang assumed a listening posture.

“Please help keep an eye out for someone. We have no portrait of him, but his name is Xu Qian.”

Ji Xuan took a sip of tea.

Xu Qian… Gong Sun Xiangyang’s heart suddenly trembled.