All Heavens: From Joy of Life to The Great Feng Night Watchman

Emperor Qing's expression hardened. "I understand. Did Prince Jing and Prince Yong act strangely when you left the palace this time?"

Hong Sixiang remained calm and made no attempt to conceal matters concerning the royal family.

As the two strongest warriors in the Qing Kingdom, they had nothing to fear from eavesdropping.

"Your Majesty, Prince Jing is still planting flowers and grass, and there is nothing unusual about him."

"His Highness Prince Yong acquired a windfall, but was attacked by the Embroidered Uniform Guard last night."

Upon hearing this, Emperor Qing angrily retorted, "Wei Hua, how dare you! What about the Prince Yong's residence?"

Hong Sixiang continued, "Zhao Gao already has the strength of an eighth-rank official, and the eunuchs and palace maids he taught have also cultivated to the sixth rank."

"Zhao Gao blocked Wei Hua, which alerted the guards of the Prince's Palace, and that's how the Embroidered Uniform Guard was repelled. His Highness Prince Yong is unharmed."

"However, His Highness Prince Yong was very angry. He claimed that he would recruit chivalrous people from the martial arts world to protect the palace and that he was determined to learn martial arts."

In fact, Zhao Gao's cultivation level has now reached the peak of the ninth rank, which is comparable to Hong Sixiang's.

Therefore, Zhao Gao had already noticed Hong Sixiang when he arrived near the Prince Yong's residence.

As for Li Chang'an's recruitment of righteous men and his determination to practice martial arts, he told these things to Hong Sixiang.

Li Chang'an wanted to use the Jinyiwei attack to bring his previous clandestine activities into the open.

Emperor Qing said, "Let him confess. He's made calligraphy and paintings so valuable, he's probably attracting a lot of notorious thieves."

In fact, Emperor Qing was also contributing to the high prices that Li Chang'an's calligraphy and paintings sold, as this was a major event that boosted the literary style of Nanqing.

"Have someone keep an eye on the Princess's connection with the Embroidered Uniform Guard and see what Yun Rui is doing."

Hong Sixiang remained expressionless, bowed, and accepted the order, saying, "This old servant obeys the decree."

Shuning Palace.

Hong Zhu and a dozen eunuchs and palace maids, holding some gold and silver, were kneeling in front of Consort Liu.

Because of Li Yunrui's instructions, all the familiar eunuchs and palace maids around Liu Shuyan were to be replaced.

Liu Shuyan sighed, "You've been with me and Chang'an for almost six years, and now Chang'an has even left the palace to establish his own residence."

"You're leaving too. Take these gold and silver with you; there are many places in the palace that need your help."

Hong Zhu comforted her, "Don't worry, Your Highness. When His Highness grows up, we will definitely be able to take you away to enjoy your retirement."

Whether the Imperial Concubine Dowager could leave the palace with the Prince was entirely up to the Emperor.

However, given Emperor Qing's stubborn and suspicious nature, it probably won't be that easy.

Liu Shuyan said, "Alright, you can go now. Make sure you handle things well when you get to other places."

After they left, Hongzhu called several eunuchs into his room.

"Consort Liu and Prince Yong have been so good to us. If you hear any bad news about them, please tell me immediately."

These young eunuchs were not trained by Zhao Gao, but were peripheral personnel developed by Hong Zhu.

They were unaware of Li Chang'an's secret; they were merely acting as informants, as is common in palace intrigue.

It was only a matter of time before Hong Zhu and his group were expelled from Shuning Palace, and it was all within Li Chang'an's expectations.

Otherwise, it would be a waste to keep a talent like Hong Zhu cooped up in Shuning Palace.

At Emperor Qing's behest, the Supervisory Council deliberately spread Li Chang'an's reputation for composing three poems at age five, achieving three unique skills at age ten, and winning three imperial examinations at age twenty.

Coupled with the legendary achievement of earning 560,000 taels of silver at an auction, Li Chang'an firmly established himself in the literary world.

After the attack on Prince Yong's mansion, Li Chang'an openly began to practice martial arts, and Emperor Qing fully supported him.

He also allowed Li Chang'an to choose from the royal collection of martial arts manuals, which Li Chang'an naturally memorized without hesitation.

However, after memorizing them, Li Chang'an discovered that these martial arts techniques were far inferior to those provided by the system.

The martial arts manuals provided by the system are extremely powerful, and can even be used to kill enemies of higher levels.

After that, Li Chang'an would release a piece of his work every month at Sanyong Pavilion.

However, these works either contain paintings without poems or poems without paintings.

Scarcity increases value, and Li Chang'an deliberately controlled the flow of his calligraphy and paintings into the market.

If his calligraphy and paintings were everywhere, there would be no reason to cherish them.

Even such paintings and calligraphy were worth over 50,000 taels of silver.

Even so, Li Chang'an's calligraphy and paintings were still sold far and wide in Northern Qi, and were sought after in the literary circles of Northern Qi.

More than a year later, when Li Chang'an was twelve years old, he finally broke through to the seventh rank.

In the world of Joy of Life, those at the seventh or eighth rank are already considered experts.

A 12-year-old seventh-rank master is quite frightening to hear.

Li Chang'an sold magazines and calligraphy and paintings, and accumulated three million taels of silver in a year.

Therefore, his wealth ranking improved again, and his martial prowess ranking finally entered the top 10,000!

[Your wealth ranking has risen to 1820th!]

[Your combat strength ranking has risen to 4500th!]

Furthermore, with his literary and artistic ranking entering the top ten, Li Chang'an's increased influence finally triggered a system settlement.

Your influence in the world of Joy of Life has greatly increased; you are rewarded with 10000 Mortal Points!

Li Chang'an had already decided on the characters he would summon and the items he would exchange for.

In the past two years, the Inner Court has been keeping a close eye on things, and Hong Sixiang has occasionally come by to take a look.

If it weren't for Zhao Gao, a peak ninth-rank official, no one would have even noticed Hong Sixiang's spying.

Now that he has his first pot of gold, Li Chang'an needs someone to make money for him.

He should focus his energy on developing his abilities and practicing martial arts.

This person must have exceptional business acumen, a strong earning capacity, and most importantly, unwavering loyalty to Li Chang'an.

Li Chang'an wanted to use this person to build a business empire and accumulate wealth to support Luo Wang.

Intelligence and wealth are too important for a power to afford even the slightest mistake.

Therefore, Li Chang'an decided to summon one from the shop.

[Consume 5000 Mortal Points to summon Shen Wansan. Shen Wansan will arrive at the host's side as quickly as possible.]

Shen Wansan did not know martial arts, so he consumed a thousand fewer points than Zhao Gao.

Legend has it that Shen Wansan amassed two billion taels of silver in his lifetime, making him incredibly wealthy!

Now, if we summon Shen Wansan and give him two million taels of capital, it should multiply tenfold in seven or eight years.

With the remaining points, Li Chang'an needs to exchange them for martial arts techniques suitable for the Northern Darkness True Qi.

His light-foot skill, "Lingbo Weibu," is almost complete; he needs to learn more offensive martial arts.

It's not impossible to use true qi to hit someone, but it won't unleash the full power of true qi.

The martial arts techniques provided by the system are all adapted from the rules of nuclear radiation, and their power is extremely strong!

[Spend 5000 Mortal Points to exchange for the top-tier martial arts techniques "Tianshan Plum Blossom Hand" and "Tianshan Six Yang Palms"!]

The two sets of martial arts can be combined for exchange. Like the Lingbo Weibu, they are the most suitable martial arts for the Beiming True Qi!

Chapter 26 Sang Wen's Fake Smile! The Initial Development of the Luo Wang!

A dozen days later, at Prince Yong's residence.

A stage was set up in the huge training ground.

This was Li Chang'an's new invention; he would invite a famous courtesan from Kyoto to sing every month.

At this moment, a graceful courtesan opened her mouth slightly and said, "Yi Yin Ju Yao Qin, play the zither and sing for Your Highness."

The "Prince Yong" sitting below the stage nodded blankly.

"Let's get started, there'll be a reward for good work!"

This event was part of Li Chang'an's efforts to cultivate a persona of a playboy and a philanderer, and also a necessity for him to spend money lavishly.

Otherwise, if someone has so much money saved up but doesn't spend it much, it will raise suspicion.

Twenty seventh-rank guards were scattered throughout the mansion, all of whom Li Chang'an had recently "recruited".

Of course, they were all sent from various places by the Nine Fiends of Luo Wang, and their feelings for Li Chang'an were all at their maximum.

The Nine Fiends of Luo Wang were Zhao Gao's prized disciples, and it was entirely within their capabilities to subdue one or two experts.

For example, helping them take revenge, giving them money to cure their family members' sudden illnesses, and even getting death row inmates out of prison.

As long as their feelings for Li Chang'an are at their maximum, and Li Chang'an doesn't mind the past, of course, they cannot break the law after joining the Luo Wang organization.

Today's "Prince Yong" is not Li Chang'an, but Duan Shui, one of the Six Sword Slaves, in disguise.

This was intentional on Li Chang'an's part; he often needed a substitute.

Duan Shui's physique is most similar to his, and he specializes in disguise and voice-changing techniques, making him indistinguishable from the real thing.