Chapter 144 Arriving at the Capital

Everyone present understood this kind of mentality, being martial artists themselves.

The others quietly dispersed, leaving only Lin Ling to seriously seek instruction in martial arts.

Lin Ling's martial arts focused on spear techniques, a field unfamiliar to Fang Yue. However, all paths of martial arts lead to the same destination.

Having reached his current level, while he couldn't physically guide Lin Ling, he could certainly identify problems and flaws in her spear techniques.

Time passed, moment by moment.

Fang Yue occasionally guided Lin Ling, and occasionally gazed at the river ahead.

To Fang Yue's disappointment, the path ahead became unexpectedly calm, with no more anomalies appearing.

Perhaps it was because the aura Fang Yue had unleashed earlier was too intense, or perhaps because they were nearing the capital, entering its jurisdiction. Even the Han River area would be subject to control.

Fang Yue felt the latter was more likely.

After all, this area was near the capital. If the capital's docks weren't safe, it would cause a huge uproar.

Fang Yue traveled on the Han River giant ship and, apart from the time with the demon corpse, which even a Yu-level expert would struggle against, the other anomalies encountered were generally within the range that Yu-level experts could handle.

Unless one ventured deep into the Han River, one might find anomalies that even Yu-level experts couldn't match.

But according to Tuo Lao, such anomalies rarely surfaced to the river's surface, perhaps once every few thousand years. There was no need to pay special attention to them, and they were usually in the depths of the Han River, not near the capital's docks on the river's edge.

The closer they got to the capital's docks, the higher the safety factor. The people of the capital would prioritize dealing with the Han River anomalies, using... experimental Han River small boats, the ones Fang Yue had seen at the Han River docks, imitating the Han River giant ships.

Tuo Lao had a lot of opinions about the Han River small boats, but had to admit that over the years, the capable people of the capital had researched them quite thoroughly.

If the Han River small boats were further developed and became more widespread, Qing Country's next blue ocean might be focused on the Han River!

Qing Country had never been a monolithic entity.

It was just that compared to the surrounding nations, its territory was larger, its strength was greater, and its position was more stable.

But the internal competition was also very serious. If a new blue ocean could be developed and exploited, Qing Country would truly have the opportunity to become a great power, annexing the surrounding nations and accomplishing feats that even the previous royal families had not achieved.

"So, the Seventh Prince's goal is very ambitious."

"No, these are just my thoughts. The Seventh Prince never seems to express his views on these matters."

As they were about to reach the capital, Tian Ruichi rarely stood beside Fang Yue, conversing with him.

The information about the Han River small boats and the Han River itself was what Tian Ruichi had revealed to Fang Yue.

This information, even if someone pried open Tian Ruichi's mouth, wouldn't get him to say a word.

But Fang Yue was different. After all, Fang Yue was his savior, and his strength far surpassed Tian Ruichi's.

Since he couldn't help Fang Yue in terms of strength, he chose another way, revealing some information to Fang Yue.

"Lord Ye, there are some things I can't say explicitly, but please heed my words. In the capital, never provoke the nine princes! Even the most reclusive Seventh Prince must not be provoked. Either keep to yourself and stay far away, or firmly grasp one of them and climb upwards with all your might!"

Hearing Tian Ruichi's words, Fang Yue's eyes narrowed slightly.

Sometimes, it wasn't that he wanted to provoke those princes.

He had no interest in the nine dragons vying for the throne.

But the problem was that the Phoenix Organization might be controlled by one of these princes. If the Phoenix Organization wanted to deal with him, he couldn't just not retaliate, right?

Of course, he wouldn't say these things to Tian Ruichi. He just nodded and said, "I understand. The capital is the territory of the nine princes, their playground. As an outsider, I naturally can't mess around. As for you... as a member of the Seventh Prince's faction, saying these words probably carries a lot of risk, right? If we ever become enemies in the future, based on today's words and our friendship, I'll spare your life."

"..."

Tian Ruichi's expression stiffened slightly. It wasn't that he didn't believe Fang Yue had the strength to kill him, but once he returned to the capital, he would be protected by the Seventh Prince. No matter how strong Fang Yue was, if he stood against the Seventh Prince, he would probably only meet his end.

But seeing Fang Yue's calm and confident demeanor, he opened his mouth, but in the end, only said, "Be careful in everything. If you need to leave the capital, you can come to the Tianshan Sword Sect to find me."

"Aren't you staying by the Seventh Prince's side?"

"Although I am the Seventh Prince's confidant, I can only see him when he summons me. Usually, I stay in my master's sect, practicing swordsmanship."

Practicing swordsmanship...

More talented than me, and more diligent than me?

Damn it, are these geniuses even leaving a path for ordinary people to survive!

As the two were talking, the outline of the capital's docks could already be faintly seen ahead.

"We're almost there! We're finally arriving at the capital's docks!"

The one who shouted excitedly first was actually Tuo Lao beside them.

His emotions were agitated, and his eyes were even filled with tears.

In the past, Tuo Lao wouldn't have such intense emotional fluctuations.

But this time was different. This time, as long as he delivered the person to the capital's docks, he could successfully enter the Soul-Entrapping Jade Pendant, and from then on, break free from the Han River giant ship!

"That's the capital? The most prosperous and flourishing place in Qing Country!"

Lin Ling stopped her spear practice, looked into the distance, and then quickly retracted her gaze, continuing to practice her spear techniques. Every move she made was with all her strength, diligent and honest, belonging to the type who cultivated through hardship.

If Lin Ling were a player, this hard cultivation would probably yield great rewards, but unfortunately, Lin Ling was a native.

It was very difficult for natives to improve their strength through hard cultivation.

Fang Yue had already understood this when he first entered the game.

The only way for natives to have a chance to catch up with the players was to kill anomalies.

Anomalies were impartial. As long as you killed an anomaly, your strength would increase, whether you were a player or a native.

Fang Yue could feel that after the previous wave of fly anomalies, Lin Ling's strength had improved further, and she was about to reach the next stage of the Congenital Realm. Her strength improvement could be described as rapid.

But it was still not enough!

In the crisis-ridden capital, Fang Yue could hardly protect himself. If Lin Ling encountered danger, she would have to rely on herself. And the strength of the Congenital Realm was really not enough in the capital.

"Brother Ye! Is that the capital?"

"Brother Ye, once we've settled down in an inn, I'll take Jing Yan around to see if we can find a clinic to solve his cursed abnormality."

Seemingly hearing the commotion, Jing Yan and Qing Chen also walked to the bow of the ship.

Cursed abnormality...

Fang Yue looked up at the black halo above his head.

Although he wouldn't turn his eyes black and ooze black blood, which were characteristics of anomalies, when he didn't activate [Abnormal Ring], the Wu Yu Clan's cursed abnormality above his head was still too conspicuous and troublesome.

As someone summoned into the palace by the Emperor's decree, his every move would be watched, making it really inconvenient to act.

If possible, Fang Yue really hoped to keep a low profile.

Everyone gathered together, enjoying the sea breeze, at the bow of the ship, watching the ship gradually approach the capital's docks.

The capital's docks were much more bustling than expected.

Only the area around the docks was firmly controlled by the Azure Guard, while further out were merchants and pedestrians.

Although the Han River giant ship didn't travel back and forth often throughout the year, each time people disembarked from the Han River giant ship, they were either rich or noble, and some were wealthy second-generation heirs, with prominent family backgrounds, but naive and simple, making them the best targets to deceive.

Therefore, the capital's docks gathered a lot of people, a mixed bag of all kinds.

Originally, they were all hoping to make a fortune from the people disembarking from the Han River giant ship, but over time, the gathered merchants formed a commercial street, becoming a scenic spot in the capital.

Even without the arrival of the Han River giant ship, this place was usually crowded and lively.

However, what Fang Yue found strange was that since this was the capital, the standard of living should be higher.

But in reality, the people walking on the road were all dressed plainly, mostly in plain colors.

Therefore, amidst the plain and dim colors, Fang Yue could immediately see the Blue Guards maintaining order among the guards, and the Azure Guards stationed near the docks.

These two groups seemed to keep to themselves, standing far apart and not interacting at all, looking like completely separate groups.

Fang Yue asked Tian Ruichi about his doubts, and only then did he learn that in the capital, in order to distinguish between high and low status, ordinary people were forbidden from wearing too bright colors.

And if someone had a higher status, came from a wealthy family, or was an official with a title, they could wear specific colors or relatively bright colors.

"So many rules? I've never heard of such a thing in other places."

"Well, this is the capital, under the Emperor's feet, so there are naturally more rules. Fortunately, these rules are only enforced in the capital, and there is no intention to forcibly implement them in other places, so other places in Qing Country are relatively free."

Fang Yue understood that rules had to be established. The capital was the place with the strictest rules in Qing Country. Relatively speaking, giving other cities some freedom was already an enlightened policy.

While Fang Yue was communicating with Tian Ruichi, obtaining more useful information, the others were craning their necks and pointing at the capital's docks, looking excited and emotional, eager to disembark immediately.

Those special envoy guards were even more excited. They had followed the special envoy Lord all the way to the remote Chu Nuan City, experiencing wind and rain along the way, and only now had they finally returned to the capital, completing their mission of escorting them.

While everyone had different emotions about arriving at the capital's docks, the Han River giant ship finally slowly docked.

"Finally, finally!!"

"Tian Ruichi, now is the time for you to fulfill your promise!"

As soon as the Han River giant ship docked, Tuo Lao immediately shouted excitedly.

His voice was loud, and he didn't even care that there were Azure Guard members standing on the docks.

The Azure Guard members naturally recognized the Han River giant ship, but they hadn't received any notice from above, and hadn't heard that a Han River giant ship would be bringing people to dock today.

"People outside the plan..."

Hai Dongye, a white-clad Azure Guard member, stared at the docked Han River giant ship, surrounded it with his men, and waited for the people on the ship to disembark before conducting a routine inquiry.

But after waiting for a long time, no one on the ship came down.

On the Han River giant ship.

Fang Yue looked at Tian Ruichi. Now was indeed the time to fulfill their original agreement.

However, now they were at the capital's docks, in the capital's territory. If Tian Ruichi wanted to break his promise, he could do so.

After all, once they left the Han River, this Han River giant ship was nothing, and Tuo Lao naturally lost his bargaining chip.

So, what would Tian Ruichi do?

Fang Yue had already taught Tian Ruichi how to use the Soul-Entrapping Jade Pendant, so if Tian Ruichi wanted to...

Just as Fang Yue thought of this, Tian Ruichi had already opened the wooden box, took out the Soul-Entrapping Jade Pendant, and aimed it at Tuo Lao.

"Alright, according to our agreement, I will take you into the Soul-Entrapping Jade Pendant, and from now on, help you break free from the Han River giant ship. But Tuo Lao, you should also understand that even if the Soul-Entrapping Jade Pendant is successful, it will only strip your soul from the Han River giant ship and put it into the Soul-Entrapping Jade Pendant, which is still equivalent to losing your freedom."

"It's different! I've heard that the Soul-Entrapping Jade Pendant has the opportunity to find a suitable body and put the soul back into the body, completing the soul transfer. It's a celestial-grade strange object! As long as I reside in the Soul-Entrapping Jade Pendant, I will eventually have the opportunity to find a chance to resurrect! But in the Han River giant ship, I can only passively wait for decay and elimination."

Tuo Lao's lifespan was longer than Fang Yue and the others had imagined, so he had thought about many things.

Entering the Soul-Entrapping Jade Pendant was not a spur-of-the-moment idea, but a well-considered decision.

"Now, right here, let me enter the Soul-Entrapping Jade Pendant!"

"Alright!"

Tian Ruichi burned his Yang lifespan, and the Soul-Entrapping Jade Pendant began to exert its power, slowly stripping Tuo Lao's soul from the helm, turning it into semi-transparent strands and injecting it into the Soul-Entrapping Jade Pendant.

"Ahhhhhh!!"

Tuo Lao's shrill screams made Fang Yue frown slightly, vaguely feeling that something was not right.

When Tian Ruichi took it out earlier, he felt that this Soul-Entrapping Jade Pendant had a different feeling from the one he had encountered.

He couldn't say exactly what it was, but it was very abnormal.

Now, with Tuo Lao's reaction, his frown deepened.

But he didn't stop Tian Ruichi's actions, because the process of the Soul-Entrapping Jade Pendant absorbing the soul was a complete process. If it was interrupted halfway, Tian Ruichi would inevitably suffer a backlash.

The others on the ship covered their mouths, watching this scene in shock.

Although the process of the Soul-Entrapping Jade Pendant absorbing Tuo Lao seemed a bit strange and terrifying, the process was not slow.

In just a moment, Tuo Lao's voice completely disappeared.

The face that had originally appeared on the helm also disappeared completely, turning into an ordinary ship.

"Is it over?" Qing Chen asked with a disappointed expression.

"It's over." Tian Ruichi said, panting, nodding.

"Then now Tuo Lao is in..."

Before Qing Chen could finish speaking, Tian Ruichi shook his head slightly with a grim expression.

"No, I didn't feel any of Tuo Lao's aura. This Soul-Entrapping Jade Pendant still gives me an empty feeling."