Chapter 25: A Fruitful Harvest

Chen Guan and Yao Ye were whispering to one another, but the gazes of everyone else in the hall were fixed on the young man, their minds racing with different thoughts.

A Da Dou Shi in his teens—and not some fledgling with a shaky foundation. He had beheaded the Ninth Prince of the Izumo Empire as easily as butchering a chicken. This boy had the potential to become a Dou Huang, perhaps even a Dou Zong. He was ruthless, decisive, and clearly acted with a will of his own. Though Yao Ye's instructions had been quiet, anyone at the level of a Dou Wang had heard them clearly.

For a moment, the "big shots" from every major power began to calculate what Chen Guan's sudden appearance would mean for them. Ten people had a hundred different thoughts.

Chen Guan, however, couldn't care less what they were thinking. From the moment he stepped forward today, he had already considered the consequences. It simply meant moving from the shadows to the stage. He was more mature now, and he possessed the capital to face the challenges ahead.

At least, within the borders of the Jia Ma Empire.

Of course, being provoked by the Ninth Prince was an undeniable factor.

After another half hour at the ceremony, Yao Ye finally gave him a subtle wink and departed first. Chen Guan breathed a sigh of relief and followed.

He had to admit he had overestimated his own shamelessness. Being stared at and sized up by all those people made him feel like a monkey in a zoo. These kinds of ceremonies were truly tedious.

He followed Yao Ye into the palace, surprised when she bypassed their favorite pavilion and instead led him to a small warehouse in the back. By the time he caught up, she was already pushing the door open.

Inside, box after box of Coptis Root essence was stacked to the ceiling.

"My good, obedient little brother," Yao Ye said, her voice dangerously sweet as her hand shot out. "Can you explain to me if you're planning to monopolize the Coptis Root market?"

The woman's innate secret skill—the Ear Tug—was a terrifying technique, so powerful that even a young man who had faced down Dou Ling puppets had no defense against it.

Feigning agony, Chen Guan awkwardly explained, "The Coptis Root is useless; it's just a cover. What I really want is Blood Lotus Essence. It's rare, and people who aren't familiar with it can easily mistake it for Coptis Root, so I had to purchase a large amount just in case I got lucky."

"By the way, Sister, you can have a few people sort through it later. Just slice each one open with a knife. The Blood Lotus Essence is red on the inside. See if we got anything. The rest can be added to the national treasury or thrown into the Mitel Auction House. No point in letting it take up space."

Seeing the pained look on his face, Yao Ye's anger dissipated. She rolled her eyes, understanding everything. "Fine," she said, releasing him. "I can accept that explanation. I won't trouble you about your wasteful behavior."

At most, the loss was a hundred or two hundred thousand gold coins. The royal family could afford it.

Leaving the warehouse, the two returned to the pavilion. Yao Ye prepared a pot of tea herself. "Tell me about the past year," she said, her tone softening. "You can choose what to share."

From the Dou Qi he had displayed today, she had already guessed he'd had some kind of fortuitous encounter. While she was curious, she wouldn't force him to reveal all his secrets. They were brother and sister now, a family, not a jailer and a prisoner.

After sipping the tea poured by the First Princess herself, Chen Guan slowly recounted his experiences. It wasn't as complicated as Yao Ye imagined; for the past year, his entire world had been confined to that small stone chamber. He didn't hide the matter of his inheritance, simply picking out the parts he could share for now. There was no need to mention everything, like the fact that an Eighth-Rank Puppet Master could refine a Dou Zun-level puppet or that, under unique conditions, one could even create a Divine Puppet. Such things were too distant for the current Jia Ma Empire. He wasn't even a Dou Zong yet; dreaming of the Dou Sheng realm was like trying to run before learning to walk.

Chen Guan's harvest had been immense.

Physical Gains:

One Rank 6 Puppet (Iron Egg)

Seven Rank 5 Puppets

Sixteen Rank 4 Puppets

These puppets corresponded to the ranks of Dou Huang, Dou Wang, and Dou Ling, respectively. It was no exaggeration to say that, not counting the Misty Cloud Sect's own Sect Master, Yun Shan, the combat power he could now mobilize was not far inferior to the sect's. If the royal family was included... well, the advantage was truly his.

In addition, he had a collection of rare materials, which he estimated would be enough to refine a Dou Zong-level puppet once his own rank improved. He also had a contaminated vial of Ice Spirit Cold Spring—the source of the Red-Ice Snake King's mutation. He'd only learned its true name after inheriting his master's memories. It was a high-grade spiritual item, but it had been preserved so carelessly that it had become polluted. Only a master as powerful and willful as he could have been so negligent.

Spiritual Gains:

Eight grains of Spirit Nourishment Dust remained from the fourteen he had started with.

One high-level Earth-rank wood-attribute Dou Skill. This was his master's own technique, incredibly valuable but useless to Chen Guan due to his mismatched attribute. He could see it, touch it, but never use it. It was incredibly frustrating.

Two low-level Earth-rank techniques, with water and fire attributes.

Seven other low-to-mid-level Earth-rank Dou Skills, only one of which was fire-attribute. He hadn't had time to practice it yet.

This was the sum of his physical harvest. The number of items was small, but their value was immeasurable.

More valuable than any object, however, was Shu Tianhe's lifetime of experience in puppet refining. By inheriting this treasure, Chen Guan had a chance to one day reach his master's level and approach the threshold of a Ninth-Rank Puppet Master. He only said "chance" because of the limitation of materials. Many of the ingredients from ancient times were now impossible to find. He had even discovered, to his embarrassment, that with his current resources, the only puppets he could reliably refine were the "unorthodox" ones his master had scorned. But given his circumstances, he had no choice.

Beyond the art of Puppetry itself, the most precious things were the soul cultivation method and the formula for refining Spirit Nourishment Dust—a recipe that had been lost to the ages. If news of that got out, countless alchemists would go mad. It was an astonishing treasure, but how to develop and utilize it was a question for another day. Without the strength of a Rank 8 Alchemist, it was impossible to refine anyway.

"A Puppet Master..." Yao Ye murmured, her eyes wide with astonishment. "That's a novel concept. Even puppets themselves are rare these days. And you could only escape after becoming a Fourth-Rank Puppet Master... Doesn't that mean, given enough time and resources, you could create an entire army of Dou Lings by yourself?"

Having been active in the military for years, no one understood the implications of that better than she did.

"It means that in our future dealings with the other empires, the initiative is ours," Chen Guan said, a murderous glint in his eyes. "If I wasn't so busy these days, I'd have already destroyed the Izumo Empire just to let them know that times have changed."

Listening to his ruthless words, a warmth spread through Yao Ye's heart. Her little brother was finally providing for the family.

What she didn't know was that Chen Guan's hatred for the Izumo Empire went far beyond what had happened today.

"Alright," she said, her tone firm but gentle. "I'll handle this matter. You should focus on your cultivation. Your own strength is what's most reliable. Don't lose sight of the big picture."

"And since you've given me such a big surprise, I'll forgive your disappearance this time. But Yue'er has been complaining about you all year. You didn't send a single message. She's very angry. She was even sulking during the ceremony and ignored you. You can deal with that yourself."

Chen Guan smiled and nodded. He knew he hadn't been very kind to the little pufferfish. He hadn't expected to be gone so long. He'd left a message and then vanished for over a year. It was only natural for the little girl to feel like he didn't value their friendship. If she wasn't angry, she wouldn't be Yaoyue. But he wasn't worried. He had anticipated this and prepared a countermeasure.

"Don't worry," he said with a confident grin. "I've prepared a gift for Yue'er that she won't be able to refuse. And of course, Sister Yao Ye, you get one too."

As he spoke, Chen Guan reached into the ring around his neck and took out several items.

***

(End of Chapter)

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