The maid produced another invitation letter and handed it to Ye Mengling.
Clearly, Zhao Ruoning had considered everything thoroughly, knowing that Ye Qing and his younger sister would likely not be separated.
If they came, they would come together.
She had thus prepared two invitation letters.
With those words, the maid walked away with a graceful demeanor.
Ye Qing could sense a powerful aura emanating from the maid.
Her cultivation level, he guessed, had reached at least the Origin Pill Realm.
And she was still very young!
With such talent, if placed in the capital of the Great Zhou Empire, she would surely be considered a peerless talent!
Yet her status was merely that of a maid by Zhao Ruoning's side.
From this, one could imagine just how monstrous Zhao Ruoning's own talent truly was!
After the maid left, Ye Qing and Ye Mengling continued with their original plan to stroll around the capital.
Ye Qing still carried a large amount of gold coins on him.
They had all been plundered from those deceased powerful figures.
Ye Qing planned to visit a commercial house to see if he could purchase some Sun-Raising Pills.
Back in Jizhou City, trying to buy Sun-Raising Pills was practically impossible.
There was simply no stock.
In the capital of the Great Zhou Empire, however, the situation was different.
There were a total of one hundred and eight cities of various sizes within the Great Zhou Empire.
Jizhou City was merely one of the smaller ones among them.
Naturally, the resources it possessed were extremely limited.
Soon, Ye Qing arrived at the commercial house in the capital.
The people at the capital's commercial house, however, treated Ye Qing with a rather cold attitude.
No matter where one went, the strong were always revered.
And the cultivation aura Ye Qing displayed was indeed a bit weak.
He was currently only at the Ninth Stage of Body Refining.
In the capital, youths at the Yuan Condensation Realm were as numerous as hairs on an ox, nothing special at all.
Upon entering the commercial house, Ye Qing spent sixty million gold coins to purchase two Sun-Raising Pills.
In the capital, there was plenty of stock for Sun-Raising Pills.
However, the price was quite exorbitant!
Had Ye Qing not plundered gold coins from those powerful figures, he truly wouldn't have been able to afford them.
Taking out a Profound-grade top-tier Sun-Raising Pill, Ye Qing immediately had his sister consume it.
Over the past couple of days, his sister's cold constitution ailment had shown signs of relapse.
Moreover, it was growing increasingly severe.
Ye Qing prepared to keep some Sun-Raising Pills on hand for any emergency.
Additionally, Ye Qing purchased a large number of Yellow-grade top-tier Qi-Gathering Spirit Pills!
The effect of the Qi-Gathering Spirit Pills could help martial artists at the Ninth Stage of Body Refining gather primordial energy within their bodies.
And thus break through to the Yuan Condensation Realm!
Ye Qing's cultivation was not far from the Yuan Condensation Realm.
With the help of the Qi-Gathering Spirit Pills, he estimated he could make a rapid breakthrough.
Returning to the inn, Ye Qing sat cross-legged to cultivate.
He refined a massive amount of Qi-Gathering Spirit Pills.
In just a few short hours, over a hundred Qi-Gathering Spirit Pills had been completely absorbed by Ye Qing.
If it were anyone else, their speed in absorbing the medicinal properties of the pills would definitely not have been as fast as his.
Because within Ye Qing's body flowed the six-star Desolate Fire Dragon bloodline.
It provided the True Fire of the Eight Desolates.
When refining medicinal pills, his speed was naturally much faster than anyone else's!
Having refined over a hundred Qi-Gathering Spirit Pills, coupled with Ye Qing's profound foundation, primordial energy finally condensed within his body!
In one fell swoop, he broke through to the Yuan Condensation Realm!
The Yuan Condensation Realm primarily involved the birth of primordial energy within the body.
This primordial energy circulated through the entire body, nourishing the internal organs, limbs, and bones.
Compared to martial artists in the Body Refining Realm, the Yuan Condensation Realm was worlds apart.
Not only was the physical body stronger, but there was also primordial energy within!
Having broken through to the Yuan Condensation Realm in one go, Ye Qing's combat prowess was bound to be even stronger!
He would be able to unleash even more power from the Shura Blood Sword.
...
The sky grew dark.
By evening, Ye Qing brought his sister to the Hall of Heroes.
In the capital stood a magnificently constructed palace.
Its name was the Hall of Heroes.
Wanting to enter the Hall of Heroes was no easy task; it typically required talents and elite youngsters of the younger generation from the Great Zhou Empire.
This time, the number one proud daughter of heaven of the Great Zhou Empire, Zhao Ruoning, was holding a birthday banquet.
She had invited many princes and nobles of the Great Zhou Empire, and even numerous members of the imperial family, to attend the banquet.
In addition, there were many young elites from all over the Great Zhou Empire!
Those qualified to go were basically people of some small renown within the Great Zhou Empire.
The arrival of Ye Qing and Ye Mengling caused the guards stationed outside the Hall of Heroes to pause in surprise.
This was because Ye Qing and Ye Mengling were completely unfamiliar faces.
Furthermore, the cultivation aura emanating from Ye Qing was very weak.
Ye Mengling was still just an ordinary person, showing nothing out of the ordinary at all.
However, the guards at the Hall of Heroes did not make things difficult for Ye Qing and Ye Mengling.
Because in their hands, they held the invitation letter given by Zhao Ruoning.
As long as one had an invitation letter, one could come and attend the banquet.
It was just that the guards found it very strange: given the strength of Ye Qing and Ye Mengling, how could they have obtained an invitation letter from Zhao Ruoning?
One had to know that among those who came to the banquet, even the occasional unknown figures possessed no weak cultivation.
They might have been hidden talented individuals in the capital whom Zhao Ruoning had discovered and thus invited to the banquet.
Yet Ye Qing, both in terms of fame and cultivation, seemed utterly mediocre in the eyes of the guard.
Ye Qing had accomplished earth-shattering feats in both Jizhou City and Jinyuan City.
Placed in the capital, however, those minor matters were not worth mentioning.
"Two honored guests, please enter!"
Despite their suspicion, the guards still let Ye Qing and Ye Mengling pass.
Inside the Hall of Heroes, many talents of the capital were gathered.
Instantly, a series of astonished gazes were cast over.
The appearance of Ye Qing and Ye Mengling was simply too jarring.
The princes, nobles, and scions of aristocratic families present basically all knew one another.
They frequently frequented various occasions together.
Naturally, they found Ye Qing's appearance strange, as they didn't recognize him at all.
Before long.
From among the crowd, a peerlessly beautiful woman walked over.
She looked like a fairy stepped out of a painting.
Zhao Ruoning maintained her usual attire—a long blue dress that could hardly be called luxurious, appearing somewhat plain instead.
Yet the transcendent aura radiating from her was like a pristine lotus rising from the mud.
Pure, refined, and breathtakingly peerless!
Zhao Ruoning's appearance instantly attracted the gaze of everyone present.
Even some of the women had their eyes fixed on her, filled with amazement.
Zhao Ruoning was not only the number one talent of the Great Zhou Empire, but also its number one beauty!
Her appearance could truly be described as peerless and unmatched!
"Young Master Ye, Miss Ye, you have arrived!"
"Please take the seats of honor!"
Zhao Ruoning smiled sweetly.
She walked over personally to greet Ye Qing.
And she led Ye Qing to a relatively forward seating area.
The talented figures of the Great Zhou Empire present all revealed expressions of envy and jealousy in their eyes.
For Zhao Ruoning to come out and greet someone personally—not even the princes of the Great Zhou Empire were accorded such treatment!
Earlier, the Third Prince of the Great Zhou Empire had arrived, yet Zhao Ruoning had merely sent a personal maid to welcome him.
And even that had left the Third Prince feeling flattered.
In the Great Zhou Empire, Zhao Ruoning held a transcendent status.
It was rumored that Zhao Ruoning's background hailed from an even broader realm.
She was only staying in the Great Zhou Empire temporarily.
In terms of status, the imperial relatives and nobles of the Great Zhou Empire simply could not compare to Zhao Ruoning.
"Young Master Ye, I still have some matters to attend to. I will come keep you company later."
Zhao Ruoning smiled and drifted away.
Ye Qing offered a bitter smile.
Zhao Ruoning was certainly very nice to him.
However, in an occasion like this, Ye Qing felt that Zhao Ruoning was simply making him a target for everyone's hatred!
Chapter 27: Slaying Jiang Ming
Under Zhao Ruoning's arrangements, Ye Qing and Ye Mengling took their seats.
At a table of their own.
On the table were all sorts of delicacies, all cooked using the flesh and blood of precious fierce beasts.
Among them were multi-colored deer meat and ice bear paws.
Ye Mengling's mouth watered, and she began eating on the spot.
Her mouth was covered in oil.
A look of pure bliss on her face.
Back at the Ye Family in Jizhou, Ye Mengling had often gone hungry.
Now that she could enjoy such fine food, her heart was naturally filled with joy.
Ye Qing smiled.
"Little sister, slow down!"
"Brother, this is so good!"
Little stars twinkled in Ye Mengling's eyes.
"You can eat the multi-colored deer meat, but don't eat the ice bear paws; they aren't good for your health."
"And you can try the blazing fierce tiger meat."
As he spoke, Ye Qing picked up a piece of meat and placed it in his sister's bowl.
The ice bear paws belonged to the cold attribute; if his sister ate them, her cold constitution ailment might grow even more severe.
"Thank you, brother!"
Ye Mengling said obediently.
Ye Qing grinned.
He silently thought that the banquet prepared by Zhao Ruoning was indeed quite good.
The ingredients used were basically top-tier fierce beast meat.
Such a meal was something that could never be eaten in Jizhou City.
Ordinary restaurants in the capital probably couldn't make it either.
"Look at those two, acting like starving ghosts reborn. Ridiculous, truly ridiculous!"
"Haha, just a couple of country bumpkins who have never seen the world!"
Suddenly, from a table near Ye Qing, a mocking voice rang out.
The speaker was a young master dressed in opulent clothing.
Ye Qing did not recognize him.
However, the other party's gaze seemed filled with quite a bit of hostility toward him.
"Country bumpkins arriving in the capital naturally find everything novel."
"I really don't know what skills this brat has to actually be greeted personally by Miss Zhao!"
A chorus of derisive voices rose up.
His sister was still eating her meat.
Suddenly, she felt the meat in her bowl didn't taste as good anymore.
"Brother, let's go."
Ye Mengling suddenly spoke up, a flush of red appearing on her face.
She felt she was embarrassing her brother.
"Alright, let's go."
Ye Qing nodded.
"Um, brother, I need to use the latrine."
His sister said with a blushing face.
She had eaten a lot of meat all at once without any restraint.
Given her frail body, she probably couldn't handle it and had upset her stomach.
"Are you alright?"
Ye Qing asked with concern.
"I'm fine, brother, wait for me here!"
Ye Mengling smiled.
Seeing that Zhao Ruoning's maid was nearby, she went to ask her for the location of the latrine.
Upon learning where the latrine was, his sister hurried off in a rush.
Ye Qing was speechless.
Then he chuckled softly.
Thinking to himself that his sister still had the mind of a child.
However, Ye Qing liked her just like that.
In Ye Qing's eyes, his sister would always be a child.
"Haha, pathetic, simply pathetic!"
"Never seen the world, and yet a person like this actually has the qualifications to attend the banquet!"
A wave of cold sneers and taunts rang out.
Ye Qing's expression gradually grew cold.
Before long.
His sister walked out.
Head-on, she bumped into a luxuriously dressed young master.
Rushing along all the way, his sister accidentally stepped on that young master's foot.
"Halt!"
The young master spoke, a trace of icy intent flashing in his eyes.
"Vile wench, get over here and wipe the dust off my shoes clean!"
The young master's expression was arrogant.
Ye Mengling froze.
Then, she seemed to feel somewhat embarrassed.
After all, she was the one who was in the wrong first.
She had accidentally stepped on someone else.
"I'm sorry."
Ye Mengling apologized.
Then, she squatted down and used her hand to brush the dust off the other person's shoe.
"I said, I want you to lick it clean!"
The young master suddenly grinned hideously.
He reached out and pressed down toward Ye Mengling's head.
"What are you doing?"
Ye Mengling cried out in alarm.
Her face directly collided with the other person's foot!
"Let me go!"
Ye Mengling cried out.
She had not expected the other party to be so rude and resort to violence at the slightest disagreement.
She admitted that she was the one who had accidentally bumped into someone.
But she had already apologized!
And she had even wiped the dust off the other person's shoes!
Yet the other party was pressing her so aggressively!
"Rip!"
Suddenly, a streak of blood-colored sword light blasted through the void.
The next moment.
The young master's arm was directly severed!
Fresh blood surged out wildly!
"Who... who is it?"
The young master let out a roar, his eyes filled with frantic killing intent.
"Whoosh!"
Quickly, Ye Qing dashed over.
He pulled his sister away.
And shielded his sister behind him.
Ye Qing's gaze was cold and ruthless.
He released a frantic killing intent.
His eyes instantly turned completely blood-red!
"You dare touch my sister!"
As Ye Qing spoke, his entire body's killing aura surged wildly, uncontrollable!
Ever since they were young, Ye Qing couldn't bear to strike his sister even once.
He had always been very gentle toward her.
Yet just now, the person before him had actually forced his sister's head onto his shoe!
At this moment, Ye Qing was completely in a state of furious rage!
Like a fierce beast!
He released an incomparably tyrannical aura!
"Brat, I am a young master of the Jiang Family; you dare sever my arm, do you have a death wish?"
The luxuriously dressed young master grinned hideously, believing that his identity alone would be enough to suppress Ye Qing.
"Die!"
A cold glint flashed in Ye Qing's eyes.
The next moment.
The head of the Jiang Family's young master went flying into the air.
Fresh blood spurted out, staining the ground red!
"Hiss!"
"He... he actually dared to commit murder at Miss Zhao's banquet!"
"That's Jiang Ming, the young master of the Jiang Family, and the absolute favorite son of the Jiang Family Patriarch. To actually..."
Inside the Hall of Heroes, an uproar erupted.
Everyone was dumbfounded.
Daring to kill someone here was undoubtedly showing no regard for Zhao Ruoning's face.
And the one killed was even a young master of the Jiang Family.
This undoubtedly completely offended the Jiang Family to the death.
"Whoosh!"
The moment Jiang Ming perished, a figure suddenly flashed over rapidly.
It was an old man in gray robes.
Seeing Jiang Ming's headless corpse, his gaze turned icy cold.
"Brat, you dare kill the young master of my Jiang Family—do you know the consequences?"
The gray-robed old man grinned hideously, his entire body's killing aura dense and thick.
"You dare touch my sister, killing him ten thousand times wouldn't be enough to atone for it!" Ye Qing said in a deep voice.
"Such an arrogant junior, today, this old man will surely cut you down!"
In a fit of raging fury, the gray-robed old man lunged forward to kill.
He was an elder of the Jiang Family and also Jiang Ming's guardian.
With Jiang Ming dead, it would be hard for him to shirk responsibility.
Because he truly hadn't expected that anyone would dare resort to violence at Zhao Ruoning's banquet!
And actually commit murder!
The gray-robed old man's action had only been a fraction too slow.
He had watched as Jiang Ming's head flew off, completely unable to save him.
Just as the gray-robed old man intended to strike and kill Ye Qing to avenge Jiang Ming, a powerful aura suddenly burst forth.
Zhao Ruoning slowly walked over.
Without even needing to make a move, just releasing her momentum was enough to be astonishing.
The gray-robed old man's expression changed.
"Elder Jiang, he is my friend! I ask you to show mercy!"
Zhao Ruoning spoke up.
A trace of coldness flashed in her beautiful eyes.
Chapter 28: Zhao Ruoning's Protection
Zhao Ruoning had witnessed the scene just now with her own eyes.
The fault in this matter lay with Jiang Ming!
Not Ye Mengling.
Ye Mengling had bumped into someone while rushing anxiously.
In fact, anyone with discerning eyes could see.
With Jiang Ming's strength, he could have completely avoided it.
Yet he had chosen not to avoid it.
Afterward, he had even humiliated Ye Mengling!
Ye Mengling was merely an ordinary person with no cultivation whatsoever!
For Jiang Ming to act in such a manner was utterly beneath him.
To think he was a young master of a major family.
As the youngest son of the Jiang Family Patriarch, he had been dotingly spoiled on a daily basis.
He was nothing more than an arrogant scoundrel.
"Miss Zhao, he killed our young master; shouldn't he pay with his life?"
A cold glint bloomed across the gray-robed old man's face.
He released a sharp killing aura.
"I said, he is my friend!"
"The fault in this matter lies with Jiang Ming!"
Zhao Ruoning said in a deep voice.
She held utter contempt for Jiang Ming's behavior.
Furthermore, Ye Qing had been invited by her.
She could not allow people from the Jiang Family to run amok on her turf.
If this matter had been caused by Ye Qing actively bullying others, Zhao Ruoning would not have interfered.
However, it was clearly Jiang Ming who had started the trouble first!
As a powerful martial artist, bullying a weak young girl was something to be held in utter contempt!
"That being the case, Miss Zhao, are you determined to meddle in this affair?"
The Jiang Family elder grinned hideously.
He knew Zhao Ruoning's talent was formidable.
However, his cultivation had reached the Origin Pill Realm; after all, he was an expert of the older generation.
If they truly fought, he believed he had a certain degree of confidence.
It was just that, unless absolutely necessary, the Jiang Family elder actually didn't want to offend Zhao Ruoning.
The Jiang Family could not afford to provoke Zhao Ruoning's terrifying background.
"You should leave. I said it before: Ye Qing is my friend, and your Jiang Family cannot touch him!"
Zhao Ruoning said firmly.
"Miss Zhao, there's no need for this!"
Suddenly, Ye Qing spoke up.
"I can handle my own matters!"
Ye Qing said in a deep voice.
In his heart, he was grateful for Zhao Ruoning's kind intentions.
However, a real man stood tall!
A person must bear the consequences of his own actions!
"I simply couldn't stand Jiang Ming's attitude, so I killed him. If your Jiang Family wants revenge, you are welcome to come at any time!"
Ye Qing said in a deep voice, a fiercely violent and baleful aura erupting from his body.
"Brat, you are courting death yourself!"
The Jiang Family elder was overjoyed.
With Jiang Ming dead, if he couldn't kill Ye Qing, he wouldn't even be able to face the Jiang Family Patriarch upon his return!