141: Chapter 141 The Princess Who Will Become Empress

"Reporting to the President, if you can obtain the talisman bestowed by Lord Qinling, you will surely be able to break through the shackles of innate vitality and blood and become a martial artist!"

Qilianshan looked at the woman and said.

Hearing these words from Qilianshan, the woman smiled faintly after a moment of surprise.

"I didn't expect this deity to have such an ability; it really is reckless."

The woman's smiling expression quickly turned extremely solemn.

"Qilianshan, the emergence of this deity named Lord Qinling will inevitably cause massive changes in the State of Qian."

"Our Demon Slayer Association must stand on the side of this deity."

"Yes, President."

Qilianshan nodded forcefully, understanding the importance of the matter.

After agreeing, Qilianshan thought of something else and spoke to the woman.

"President, although Lord Qinling's strength was able to kill the Five-Turn Evil Tree, judging from the fact that the Evil Domain took many days to unfold before being broken open—"

"—Lord Qinling probably hasn't recovered anywhere near the strength a deity ought to have."

Thinking of the golden figure he saw after the Evil Domain shattered, Qilianshan continued.

"And according to my speculation, a deity's recovery should be tied to incense points."

"If he can possess more incense points, Lord Qinling will be able to recover his peak strength even faster."

"However, Lord Qinling's current situation is not very good. Although I am the Prefect of Zhenhai Prefecture, the magistrates of the various counties below are all a horde of demons under Prefect Yin Wuji."

"Naturally, these demons cannot take orders from me. From a certain perspective, Zhenhai Prefecture is still under the control of Prefect Yin Wuji."

Hearing this, the woman nodded. In fact, she had long known that Qilianshan could not possibly have any control over Zhenhai Prefecture.

At the time, it was merely a delaying tactic to transfer Prefect Yin Wuji away.

Qilianshan continued speaking.

"Now, if Lord Qinling wants to spread his incense points, he can only snatch them from the monsters in the neighboring counties."

"Given Prefect Yin Wuji's vengeful personality, once he learns that there are problems with the incense lands of the demons under his command, he will inevitably return from Anqing Prefecture."

"After all, even the imperial edict couldn't stop Prefect Yin Wuji back then; it was only because of the suddenly appearing evil spirit that Prefect Yin Wuji didn't take action."

Qilianshan looked up at the woman.

"Therefore, only you, President, can help Lord Qinling. Zhenhai Prefecture is subordinate to Jiangnan Circuit."

"If you can arrange for some officials to go to Jiangnan Circuit to suppress Prefect Yin Wuji, only then can Lord Qinling's predicament be completely resolved, allowing him to recover his strength as soon as possible."

Qilianshan's voice fell, and the hall fell silent for a moment.

The woman leaned back in her chair, her hand resting on the armrest, tapping her index finger twice lightly before nodding.

"What you said is correct. I have understood Zhenhai Prefecture's situation and Lord Qinling's predicament."

Before Qilianshan's mouth could form a slight smile, he saw the woman shake her head and say:

"But I cannot do that right now."

Qilianshan opened his mouth, wanting to say something, but swallowed it back down.

Looking at Qilianshan's hesitation, the woman stopped tapping her finger.

"Qilianshan, you know that my father has no sons, only imperial daughters."

"And as the legitimate eldest daughter of the Emperor of Daqian, I have been cultivated as an imperial prince since childhood—reading, horseback riding and archery, state affairs, and the art of war, not a single one was left out."

"I was specially permitted to participate in state affairs. When the ministers discuss matters, I can listen in, submit memorials, and offer advice."

The young woman recounted everything she had experienced, her tone surprisingly calm.

"In all the state affairs I handled over those years—disaster relief, river management, suppressing rebellions, and eradicating bandits—there was never a single mistake."

"The ministers submit to me, and the Emperor recognizes me. In not many years, I shall be—"

"—the female emperor of this State of Qian."

She looked at Qilianshan, and there was a light in those eyes.

It was not ambition, nor was it desire.

It was the certainty of someone who had walked a very long way and knew what was waiting for her ahead.

"Only at that time can I rely on the might of the female emperor to fulfill my vision and complete the grand plan of the Demon Slayer Association."

"Before that, everything else must make way for that matter."

"Even if the object is a deity."

She looked at Qilianshan and said.

"Therefore, I cannot take such major actions right now; that would attract the ministers' skepticism and prove quite disadvantageous for me."

Qilianshan looked at the woman before him.

Only then did he suddenly react.

That's right.

The woman before him was not only the president of the Demon Slayer Association, but also the only imperial daughter in the Daqian Dynasty to participate in state affairs in the body of a woman.

And she was the imperial daughter whom all the commoners of the capital believed would ultimately become a generation of female emperors—

Princess Li Zhaofeng.

"I understand, President."

Qilianshan nodded.

"Mm. Qilianshan, there is still one more matter I need you to do. Don't go to Zhenhai Prefecture for now; anyway, you can't accomplish anything there."

Princess Li Zhaofeng began to give instructions to Qilianshan.

...

Guanhai County, the divine temple.

Lin Duwu knelt on the futon, his forehead touching the cold stone bricks.

Three sticks of incense were inserted into the censer, and wisps of blue smoke drifted out of the hall.

His movements were not skillful, and his posture for offering incense was something he had just learned on the spot by following the nearby commoners.

The way his fingers pinched the incense was wrong, and when kowtowing, his waist did not bend low enough.

But he was very earnest, earnest as if completing a sacred ritual.

[incense points +3]

Qin Ling overlooked Lin Duwu from within the shrine, and seeing these 3 incense points, he raised an eyebrow.

This meant that Lin Duwu had sufficient piety, even though he had just come to kill him a moment ago.

However, with Qin Mo as a precedent, he wasn't all that surprised by this.

As for Lin Duwu's mention of serving by his side, he didn't care about it.

In fact, the reason he integrated Divine Technique: Exorcism into Divine Technique: Summoning Lightning was simply because of Pei Se's words.

On the street outside the divine temple, the commoners had not yet dispersed.

They crowded at the alley entrances, beneath the roots of walls, and beside the stone steps, standing on tiptoe, stretching their necks, and peering into the temple gates.

They watched Lin Duwu kneeling on the futon, kowtowing heavily many times.

Clearly just a moment ago, this martial artist of unknown origin had been roaring with arrogance, even daring to throw punches at the statue of Lord Qinling.

As a result, after being carried outside the city by Lord Qinling and struck by summoned lightning for a while, he had changed directly into a completely different person.

The sound of discussion surged from all corners like a tide, becoming denser and louder.

"You gotta admit, people change way too fast these days, right? Throwing punches one second, kowtowing the next."

"Did you guys hear what he said to Lord Qinling on the city wall earlier? Didn't he say he was going to serve by Lord Qinling's side?"

"Of course I heard it!"

Standing at the back of the crowd, leaning against the wall, Tie Lanshi took a deep breath as he looked at Lin Duwu's figure inside the divine temple and said:

"That fellow is a Fifth-Turn Martial Artist."

Tie Lanshi knew that his judgment could not be wrong.

Pei Se was a Fourth-Turn Martial Artist, and judging from the previous clash between Lin Duwu and Pei Se, the two were clearly opponents of different realms.

Then, Lin Duwu's realm was practically self-evident.

Hearing these words from Tie Lanshi, the crowd exploded into an uproar.

Fifth-Turn—that was a martial artist they had never seen before!

Such a person had just been picked up by one hand by Lord Qinling, dragged outside the city, and then struck flat onto the ground by several summoned bolts of lightning.

Now he had climbed back up from the ground, walked into the temple, knelt before the divine statue, and kowtowed heavily.

Saying he wanted to constantly accompany Lord Qinling's side and make pious offerings...