297: Ye Qingyu and her four friends!

Imperial City!

A solemn and stately residence was located in the most secluded part of the city.

Golden lions gazed at the moon in front of the gate, a three-zhang red lacquered bronze door, and a huge gilded plaque stood above the entrance, majestic and imposing!

Marquis of Zhenxi Residence!

The four characters shone with golden light, grand and powerful, exuding a Killing Intent from battles on the battlefield!

The Great Qi Marquis of Zhenxi, a military marquis for three generations, with each generation serving as a great general guarding the borders. In the Great Qi Dynasty, whenever the Marquis of Zhenxi Residence was mentioned, everyone praised it!

The current Marquis of Zhenxi, Ye Kuangyun, was over ninety years old, yet he still guarded the borders for Great Qi, deeply trusted by the reigning Empress!

When Li Tongshen arrived here, he looked up at the Marquis of Zhenxi Residence's gate, which was filled with Killing Intent, and a hint of surprise appeared in his eyes.

"What a sharp Sword Qi. This Marquis of Zhenxi truly lives up to his reputation as a military marquis of this generation, a strong practitioner who has emerged from mountains of corpses and seas of blood."

"Just this single Sword Qi indicates he has already entered the Divine Profound Realm!"

Among the Human Dynasty, Cultivators who could enter the Divine Profound Realm were already very strong!

The Soul Palace Realm was within reach but also out of reach, as those at that level were Cultivators who focused solely on Cultivation and paid no mind to worldly affairs!

Aptitude, Cultivation resources, time, opportunity, and Cultivation Technique—none could be lacking!

Missing even one made it difficult to reach the Soul Palace Realm. For a military marquis to possess such strength, in Li Tongshen's view, was already exceptionally rare!

At least, he was no weaker than him!

"This is an important area of the Marquis Residence; idlers are not permitted to approach!"

In front of the gate, four armored soldiers guarding the Marquis Residence's entrance watched Li Tongshen with sharp eyes, raising their long spears to block him before the residence's stone steps, preventing him from advancing further.

Even commoners in the Imperial City would not voluntarily approach when passing by, as they all knew that the residences of these high officials and famous generals could not be approached casually.

Li Tongshen was visiting for the first time and naturally didn't know this. Although he was a master of the Divine Profound Realm, he didn't put on airs. The person he was to meet today was extraordinary, and he dared not be presumptuous.

"Please, both of you, convey a message. Tell them Li Tongshen, acting on Minister of Justice Shen's orders, has come to visit Young Miss Ye Qingyu!"

Outsiders only knew Ye Qingyu as a Centurion of the Demon and Monster Division, and few knew her true identity as the Young Miss of this illustrious Marquis of Zhenxi Residence!

Upon hearing this, the two soldiers' expressions changed!

Minister of Justice Shen?

In the Great Qi Dynasty, there was only one Minister of Justice Shen, and that was Shen Tianxing, who achieved legendary status in a single battle in the Nanyuan Domain!

Everyone inside and outside the Imperial Dynasty knew this!

How could the soldiers of the Marquis of Zhenxi Residence not know their manners?

"Please wait a moment; I will immediately go see Young Miss!"

One soldier took the token Li Tongshen brought and turned to run into the residence.

News from Minister of Justice Shen had arrived; Young Miss would surely be delighted!

...Inside the Marquis Residence, in a grand hall.

Ye Qingyu was sitting in the main hall, meeting with three exquisitely beautiful and extraordinary women.

Ye Qingyu was still dressed in a dashing, close-fitting outfit, her high ponytail tied up, revealing her slender neck and fair skin, like suet white jade.

Across from her, among the three women, two young women looked almost identical: one was cold and aloof, like a winter plum in the snow, while the other was shy and gentle, with a hint of delicacy.

The most distinctive was the third, with an exquisite face and an alluring figure, a massive ancient sword resting beside her, larger than her entire body!

This person was none other than Shi Linglong, who had returned to Dianxing Academy after leaving with Shen Tianxing!

Feng Wuliang and Ji Tiange, far away in the Inner Sea, had not informed her of Shen Tianxing's whereabouts, fearing she would run off. But now they had no idea that although Shi Linglong hadn't gone to the Sea of Buried Demons, she had come to the Great Qi Dynasty!

"Young Miss Linglong, in the past few months since your return, your Cultivation has progressed so quickly; you're almost at the Soul Palace Realm."

Ye Qingyu looked at Shi Linglong, showing a look of envy.

For Shen Tianxing, she had Cultivated almost selflessly in these past few months, participating in various trials, battlefields, Secret Realms, and forbidden lands. As long as Great Qi had such places, she mobilized the power of her Family and the Demon and Monster Division, trying every possible way to participate!

Even so, she had only just entered the Carefree Realm!

An eighteen-year-old in the Carefree Realm—this was already very impressive!

Shi Linglong shook her head and said, "This is nothing. After all, at Dianxing Academy, the resources I obtained are not available here. It's your progress that is truly fast."

"Seeing that all of you are already in the Carefree Realm, if that bad guy Shen Tianxing knew, he would definitely be very happy, right?"

There was no inherent comparability between them; this was not Shi Linglong being self-deprecating.

One's background represented one's future; this was absolutely not just talk!

"It's a pity Big Brother Shen doesn't know when he'll return. I haven't seen him in so long."

Xu Muyan looked unhappy.

Her Divine Soul injury was almost healed. Firstly, Shen Tianxing's Divine Soul Cultivation Technique was very good, and secondly, she also received help from the Empress. Otherwise, her Divine Soul injury could not have recovered so much in just a few months.

What was most commendable was that, leveraging this Divine Soul injury, she could be considered to have broken through and then established herself, with her Cultivation greatly improving in just a few months!

Like Xu Muqing, she had already entered the Carefree Realm!

The difference was that her Divine Soul Realm entered the Carefree Realm, while Xu Muqing entered the Carefree Realm through the Dao of the Sword!

"Young Miss Linglong, after you returned... did you, search for Big Brother Shen?"

Xu Muqing had lived an almost inhumane life these past few months, just like Ye Qingyu. Through some arrangements by her Sect and the Empress, she experienced many life-and-death situations, and it was also in these life-and-death struggles that her Cultivation greatly advanced!

However, for her, this was not the most important thing. She Cultivated so diligently only to be able to stand behind Shen Tianxing when he returned in the future, closely follow his footsteps, and not be left too far behind.

They were all called Prodigies, but Xu Muqing and the others knew that Shen Tianxing's progress was too fast; he could advance several levels in just a few days. If they didn't work hard, they simply couldn't keep up with his pace.

What did being a Prodigy matter?

She just wanted to silently follow by Shen Tianxing's side and accompany him on his journey.

Speaking of Shen Tianxing, Ye Qingyu and Xu Muyan also turned their gaze to Shi Linglong.

They had no way of knowing Shen Tianxing's whereabouts; only Shi Linglong might have that possibility.

"Sigh, I'm almost dying of anger!"

"My two Senior Brothers went to the Sea of Buried Demons to look for his whereabouts, and it's been several months now, with no news at all!"

"I even wanted to know if he had returned here, so I secretly ran back, hiding it from my grandfather."

Shi Linglong was a bit deflated. She had no idea that Feng Wuliang and Ji Tiange had intentionally hidden it from her; otherwise, she might not have returned to Great Qi, but gone to the Sea of Buried Demons instead!

Alas... The women sighed softly, not knowing what to do.

"Young Miss, someone outside requests an audience, saying they were sent by Minister of Justice Shen to pay a visit!"