Chapter Fourteen: Your Highness, Everyone Is Already Waiting Outside!

The Su family was ranked fifth among the top ten most powerful clans in the Azure Heaven Realm. Ever since the solitary divination masters perished one after another, such talents could only be found within the great powers. Within the Azure Heaven Realm, there were only two families renowned for their skill in divination—one being the Meng family, which had produced an Immortal Lord, and the other was none other than the Su family.

To be born and raised at the very pinnacle of such a force, to command endless resources and be the center of attention from birth—and yet, despite this, to never grow arrogant or restless, never to reveal even the slightest edge of ambition. For over twenty years, he had remained in his own residence, feigning frailty while actually enjoying robust health. What depth of mind must such a man possess? What kind of unyielding spirit? The matters he set his sights on could never be insignificant!

Moreover, over the years, those who opposed his elder brother always met with inexplicable misfortune and died mysteriously. Su Huaqin believed least in coincidences! Yet, there were still so many blind fools in the world who failed to see just how terrifying his elder brother was and still pranced about heedlessly! He himself would never dare provoke his brother.

Deep within Su Huaqin, there was a fear he dared not voice—if the cause of his brother’s mother’s death was not as simple as it seemed, then...

The next morning

Aboard the Great-Bellied Ark

Zhang Ning was rather reluctant to get out of bed. He gazed up at the ceiling in boredom, then glanced at the various furnishings, finding them all quite uninteresting.

Back on his original world, Zhang Ning had taken an interest in history and spent some time studying it. After arriving in this other realm, he had hoped to see some masterful craftsmanship akin to that of ancient Chinese artisans—such marvels of ingenuity and technique. He was familiar with basic joinery like dovetails from his life on Azure Blue Star, but had never experienced the highest levels of craftsmanship. Yet, even after coming here, for reasons unknown, he still hadn’t encountered such wonders.

He had a suspicion: perhaps his own status was simply too high. He was no prince in a mortal dynasty; he was one of the future pillars of a supreme sacred power! He even noticed several large furnishings in his quarters flickering with spiritual light—these were no ordinary objects, but at least spirit treasures. As for their specific grade, he could not yet tell.

Now Zhang Ning understood that artifact refinement had many tiers. Mundane weapons, such as common steel swords, weren’t even worth mentioning. Even the lowest disciples of the Grand Freedom Heavenly Demon Sect used spiritual treasures and spiritual tools. According to his understanding, above these were magical treasures, magical implements, divine weapons, and peerless divine weapons—anything higher was the stuff of legends, hidden by the great sacred powers and only glimpsed by the most exalted. Ordinary people would never see such things.

Zhang Ning rolled from one end of his bed to the other and back again, feeling a slight weariness at last. He finally resigned himself—it was time to get up, whether he wanted to or not.

With the help of his maids, Zhang Ning washed and dressed. Yes, he had finally summoned all of his maids! There seemed to be over thirty in total, though not all appeared at once. Usually only a few would serve him each day, as if careful not to intrude upon his presence. Today, for some reason, they had all assembled. Their names were quite poetic—Platycodon, Daylily, Willow-Yellow, Lilac, Amber, Begonia, Rosy-Cheek... As he enjoyed the ministrations of this colorful array, Zhang Ning pondered his plans for the day and reviewed the recent events, casually opening his system interface for a glance.

In just a few days, his “Attention Value” had soared to three hundred thousand! Had he relied on steady progress, who knew how long it would have taken. Now he truly understood what it meant to belong to a sacred power. Mere descriptions paled in comparison to the impact of these numbers. Following his principle of low-key development, he devoted all the points to repairing the “Library.”

Zhang Ning was in no rush to restore the streaming function, though it remained fifty percent damaged—he still didn’t know why. He tapped it experimentally, but nothing happened, prompting a few silent curses before he gave up on it for now.

At the same moment

Grand Freedom Heavenly Demon Sect

The place of seclusion of the Demon Lord

Chu Hanyu lay quietly on his bed when, without warning, his fingertip suddenly gleamed with light!

Aboard the Great-Bellied Ark

Zhang Ning got out of bed, looked down at his elaborate robes with some confusion, and asked, “Why am I wearing such complicated clothes today? I still have to practice.”

The maids exchanged glances. The leading one, Platycodon, stepped forward gracefully and said, “If Your Highness does not wish to wear traditional attire today, this maid can change it for you.”

Zhang Ning waved her off, curiously feeling the fabric. “Never mind, I’m already dressed.”

Stepping out of the room, he was greeted by Yu Zhong, who looked up at him with loyal candor. “Your Highness, everyone is already waiting outside!”

West Prosperity City

Su Family Residence

Su Ye was overseeing the servants as they packed up bundles and pouches, his person already festooned with countless storage rings and bags, preparing to depart. When informed that the seventeenth young master had come to call, he could only sigh and have everyone pause, summoning Su Huaqin inside.

Though Su Huaqin was surprised by his elder brother’s rare intention to leave the house, he dared not ask a single unnecessary question. He bowed and respectfully served tea. Su Ye only felt a headache coming on. He knew well that Su Huaqin harbored endless misunderstandings about him.

When Su Ye had discovered he possessed the “Leakless Body,” he had been plunged into despair. This was an exceedingly rare constitution, causing spiritual energy to leak out faster than it could be absorbed. In the Azure Heaven Realm, such cases had appeared before, requiring an overwhelming influx of resources—one had to receive more resources than the body could leak in order to undergo repeated tempering.

Yet even the illustrious Su family, one of the most renowned clans in the Azure Heaven Realm, could not provide him with the necessary resources—not even the sacred lands could meet such demands. The dream of “pay-to-win” cultivation was just that—a dream.

His father, owing to his mother’s memory, loved him dearly and spared no effort, yet still could not gather enough resources. How could Su Ye bear to let his father take a desperate path? He persuaded his father against it and then spent the ensuing years content to seclude himself in his small courtyard, enjoying a peaceful, reclusive life.

Even so, his status inevitably attracted trouble, no matter how low-key he tried to be. Fortunately, his father had a close friend who was an elder of the Grand Freedom Heavenly Demon Sect—an elder of great seniority, who had watched the Demon Lord of Myriad Forms grow up and still kept some of the Demon Lord’s mischievous early works: the Misfortune Talismans.

These talismans were extraordinary. Even though they were crafted in the Demon Lord’s youth, they still possessed astonishing power and unfathomable effects that ordinary people could not even imagine. Anyone afflicted by such a talisman would suffer inexplicable, unpredictable misfortune, and those with special constitutions might even end up causing their own demise.

Thus, after several individuals of varying status met misfortune and perished, no one in the family dared trouble him further. They assumed he had complained to his father, who had then dealt with matters secretly. Later, though, Su Ye heard some outlandish yet oddly plausible rumors—so much so that even he almost believed them himself.