Mountain and River Festival

Chapter 366 The Heaven-Opening Technique and the Birth of a Dragon Son
Tragically, Lu Xingzhou practiced his skills diligently all night.

When she was shopping with Long Qinghuang in Tianshuang Kingdom, she said, "You can't break my defenses."

Back then, I was only a fourth-grade player, so it wasn't too strange that I couldn't break through the Super-grade Tyrannosaurus Rex. Besides, who the hell wanted to break through my defenses back then? I didn't even take it to heart.

Now that I'm actually trying to break through her defenses, I realize I can't.

Forget about breaking down, I can't even resist a simple hug when someone's aroused. I wonder how much psychological trauma that would cause me.

All the poise I'd cultivated over the past few days almost crumbled under that one hug. Luckily, I have a strong mentality, otherwise I don't know how I would have faced anyone.

Early the next morning, Ah Nuo took a plate of pastries and slipped into the Palace of Rebellion.

Lu Xingzhou opened his eyes: "She went to court?"

"Hmm." Ah Nuo smiled: "Do you want her to continue 'indulging in male beauty' and let the entire court criticize you?"

Lu Xingzhou: “…”

“But she really did want to come. She paced back and forth for a long time before deciding to go to court.” Anuo said with a smile, “Because she had to discuss with the court officials the matter you raised yesterday. The matter was quite important, so she had to reluctantly give up the little beauty.”

"Oh my, you little chatterbox, teasing your master now." Lu Xingzhou casually grabbed a piece of cake and stuffed it into his mouth, asking indistinctly, "How's your learning going?"

Ah Nuo rested her chin on her hand: "Master, are you concerned about how well I'm learning, or whether I can teach you?"

Lu Xingzhou nearly choked on his cake, and angrily retorted, "Of course Master cares about your cultivation. How could I possibly need to learn from you, to rebel against the Heavenly Gang!"

Ah Nuo continued to rest her chin on her hand, looking at him with innocent and pure eyes.

Lu Xingzhou couldn't stand that kind of look from that black-hearted Nuomi; it was even harder to bear than a look of contempt: "Don't use the way you act in front of them on me. Do you think I don't know what kind of person you are?"

"Yes, I wanted to say that too. Thank you, Master, for saying it for me."

Lu Xingzhou: “…”

I can only bear it when I teach my rice to turn into this kind of black glutinous rice.

Ah Nuo chuckled, "You really don't want me to teach you? Sister Long never said it couldn't be shared, those who know, know."

Lu Xingzhou tilted his head: "No."

"Then... Master, please have mercy and help correct me?"

Lu Xingzhou nodded slightly: "Then I will reluctantly help you take a look... Bring me the cultivation technique."

The master and apprentice exchanged a glance, Lu Xingzhou looking righteous and awe-inspiring. A Nuo's cheek twitched, and she took out a small booklet and handed it over.

I feel I still need to learn more from my master, at least in terms of how thick-skinned I am; I'm not cut out to be a good student.

Lu Xingzhou opened the booklet and pondered for a while, then frowned slightly.

This is a body-strengthening method, which is far superior to the "Mountain-Opening Skill" that Anuo used to practice. It is clearly extremely advanced.

But there seems to be a problem; it doesn't feel very compatible with humans.

If he forced himself to practice, he wondered if he would end up with the same demonic aura as Xu Bingkun... Well, theoretically not. Long Qinghuang must have deliberately chosen this method, and its level was far beyond what Xu Bingkun had practiced; it wasn't that bad. But Lu Xingzhou felt that he would still likely end up with a demonic aura.

It will be very difficult for them to live in human society at that time.

Was Long Qinghuang doing this on purpose... forcing herself not to go back in this way?
Lu Xingzhou thought about it and still wanted to believe in Long Qinghuang's pride and magnanimity. He thought she wouldn't deliberately play tricks on this and be looked down upon for no reason.

That's very likely how it is by nature. Changing the racial characteristics of a cultivation technique is not something that Long Qinghuang's Myriad Manifestations strength can accomplish. The higher the level of the cultivation technique, the less it can be changed. If you want to learn it, you have to accept this. It's not something Long Qinghuang did intentionally.

So, the "official business" he was undertaking as an envoy was rather superficial... Even such a high-level demon cultivation body-tempering method has this drawback; slightly lower-level methods are even more likely to end up like Xu Bingkun's, resulting in a chaotic mess. This is basically meaningless for supplementing human body-tempering methods. Gu Zhanting, with his knowledge, should have known this, yet he still sent an envoy to exchange...

In other words, the demon race doesn't really need alchemists, which is why Gu Zhanting is so generous.

An exchange between two countries that has no practical effect... will only bring joy to the people for the cessation of hostilities and peace.

Furthermore, he himself was an envoy who had come to deliver male sexual favors from beginning to end; the official exchanges between the two countries were merely for show.

Lu Xingzhou was both amused and exasperated at the thought. No wonder Long Qinghuang hadn't inquired about his alchemy skills these past two days. He wondered who Chen Yu was being kept as a pill slave for, since there were humans in the Demon Realm, and he guessed it was for the humans there.

So, should I learn this stuff or not...?

Of course I'll learn; hesitating for even a second would be disrespectful to my younger brother.

As long as there are no real negative effects, whether demonic energy can survive in human society is not important at all. There are treasures to cover it up, and there are great scholars to debate the classics.

Try to circulate your energy according to the method. Under internal vision, you can almost see the process of muscle remodeling. When you flex your arm, your skin becomes as hard as iron.

This is somewhat different from the tendon-strengthening and bone-forging practices of human martial arts practitioners, as it focuses more on the physical body, muscles, qi, and blood, making it more untamed.

A'Nuo stared expectantly at her master, hoping he would consult her if he encountered anything he didn't understand. However, Lu Xingzhou remained completely silent, his muscles already bulging. A'Nuo lowered her head dejectedly. Sure enough, her master was too much of a genius. This advanced cultivation method would shatter the Dao heart of an ordinary person, because they wouldn't understand it. Her master, on the other hand, didn't present a single problem, as if she were being given an introductory cultivation manual.

Of course, what one can try to practice in this short period of time is only the introductory stage of this body-strengthening method. It is unlikely that one can learn it on one's own without guidance if one continues to go deeper.

But they have Long Qinghuang.

This favor was perfectly justified, because Lu Xingzhou had offered up the issue of the dragon race's reproduction in exchange. However, it must be acknowledged that it was still a favor, since Long Qinghuang could have easily given him a worthless cultivation manual, but she didn't.

It seems like both sides are showing each other their best side.

"This..." Lu Xingzhou finished his experiment, paused his cultivation, closed the booklet, looked at the cover, and asked, "What's the name of this method?"

Ah Nuo put her hands on her hips and said, "Sister Long said that my previous technique, 'Mountain Opening Skill,' was too petty, so this one is called 'Heaven Opening Technique.'"

Lu Xingzhou: “…”

Why does this feel like you're trying to soothe a child?
…………

"Establish the Court of State Ceremonial?" Upon hearing Long Yan's suggestion, Long Qinghuang roughly knew what the old prime minister was thinking, and said with a half-smile, "Then who will be the Minister of the Court of State Ceremonial?"

Long Yan said, "We can find humans or the fox clan; they are good at dealing with outsiders."

Long Qinghuang said leisurely, "How about I recommend someone?"

Long Yan was taken aback: "Your Majesty already has a plan in mind?"

"Of course, it's already inappropriate that we don't even have a diplomatic department when the mission arrives. I considered this matter on my way back. Since the Prime Minister has also brought it up, what do you think about appointing Lu Xingzhou as the Minister of the Court of State Ceremonies?"

Long Yanlong was dumbfounded: "Lu Xingzhou? This isn't harem interference in politics... uh..."

It does not seem.

So far, Lu Xingzhou is neither an empress nor a concubine; he is an envoy of the Great Qian Dynasty.

On the contrary, everyone has said that it would be more acceptable to give Lu Xingzhou a high-ranking official position and generous salary.

But the position of Minister of the Court of State Ceremonies seems... Lu Xingzhou's current identity is still that of an envoy of the Great Qian Dynasty, and now he's here as Minister of the Court of State Ceremonies to liaise with other envoys? Me, liaising with myself?
The expressions of all the civil and military officials became very strange.

How should the historian record this? Lu Xingzhou, the Minister of the Court of State Ceremonial, and Lu Xingzhou, the envoy of the Great Qian Dynasty, exchanged views on several issues concerning the diplomatic relations between the two countries and reached a consensus.
Are you trying to make Yang Huan hang himself?

“Um…” Long Yan wiped away his cold sweat and still said, “If His Majesty insists on using him, then let’s change his position. This is too much…”

Long Qinghuang said, "Several of you ministers have told me that we can offer Lu Xingzhou a high-ranking official position and a noble title, so that he will know that a good minister can choose his master. We can discuss which official position is suitable later. I would like to offer Lu Xingzhou the title of viscount first. You all can discuss it first and make sure the title sounds good."

Viscount, not baron. Long Qinghuang doesn't want to be like Gu Zhanting. She wants a higher title than Gu Zhanting, that's what poaching is all about.

The court officials were overjoyed to hear this. It wasn't a prince, but only a viscount! What else was there to say? They quickly gave it to him, lest His Majesty change his mind.

As for titles, the system in the Demon Realm is different from that in the Great Qian Dynasty. In the Great Qian Dynasty, titles were basically conferred based on place names, while in the Demon Realm, good fortune was all that mattered. As a result, a group of big shots were arguing endlessly about which title sounded better.

Long Qinghuang watched them argue with a smile, her mind wandering elsewhere.

It's actually quite difficult to make the title of Viscount sound good. Among scholars, this suffix might sound like a title of saint, and among Taoists, it sounds like a Taoist name no matter how you pronounce it. Therefore, in the Great Qian Dynasty, they usually use "Viscount of [County Name]" to distinguish them. The big shots had been arguing for a long time without coming up with anything nice, and Long Qinghuang was getting a little impatient when she heard someone say, "Isn't Lu Xingzhou from Danxia Mountain? According to the custom of the Great Qian Dynasty, just call him Danxia Zi, and that will be fine."

Long Qinghuang thought to herself that this was actually not bad, when she heard someone object: "Doesn't this sound like a Taoist title?"

"Then add the word 'county' to it."

"But that county isn't called Danxia."

The person who made the suggestion got annoyed: "This won't work, that won't work, are you only happy if we make sure you have a dragon son?"

silence.

Long Qinghuang's smile stretched all the way to her ears: "Okay."

The demons: "?"

Before the demons could react, Long Qinghuang casually changed the subject: "Speaking of giving birth to a dragon son, it reminded me of some things... I'd like to discuss them with the dragon clan. All other officials may leave the court now. The dragon clan members, please come to my study to discuss matters."

The demons' objections to having a dragon son stuck in their throats, and they had no choice but to leave the court.

As Long Yan and the other dragons watched Long Qinghuang leisurely leave the hall, they exchanged glances and suddenly realized what Long Qinghuang wanted to discuss.

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

P.S.: It's the third update again, I'm completely exhausted.

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(End of this chapter)