I became a prince in a martial arts world.

Li Yunxiu looked at Qianqian, but asked Wang Yu instead, "Who is she, and why does she know about 'All Streams Return to Their Source'?"

Wang Yu sighed, "She not only knows about 'All Streams Return to Their Source,' but she also knows my identity."

Li Yunxiu's heart skipped a beat, and then she saw Qianqian take Wang Yu's arm, giggling, "So Brother Yu hasn't told this old woman about me yet? Brother Yu is so good to me!"

Li Yunxiu glared at Wang Yu, who shrugged and said, "The problem is, telling you won't help."

Li Yunxiu retorted, "How do you know it won't work?"

Wang Yu nodded. "She's a member of the Demonic Sect."

Li Yunxiu's heart skipped a beat again. In just a moment, she even figured out why Qianqian wanted to interfere in the affairs of the Prince's mansion.

"You want to usurp my position and start a rebellion!"

"Don't put it so harshly," Qianqian said with a grin. "We're calling this a people's uprising to overthrow the tyrannical Jin dynasty."

Li Yunxiu stared at Qianqian, and Qianqian looked at Li Yunxiu.

Li Yunxiu did not probe Qianqian to see if she had truly confirmed Wang Yu's identity, because whether she succeeded or not, it would not benefit her.

She simply stated, "The Prince of Zhenxi's Mansion will not willingly become a pawn of the Demonic Sect."

"The Prince of Zhenxi's Mansion will not be willing to be a pawn of the imperial court," Qianqian said with a grin.

Both of them knew that revealing Wang Yu's identity would not benefit anyone.

Li Yunxiu certainly didn't want the Zhenxi Prince's Mansion to fall apart, forcing the court to turn its attention back to the Northwest. The Demonic Sect obviously didn't want to lose this force that it could utilize.

"In that case, let's see who has the best skills," Li Yunxiu said calmly.

Qianqian raised an eyebrow and smiled, "Aren't you afraid I'll kill you, sister?"

"You won't." Li Yunxiu shook her head and smiled slightly. "Killing me won't do you any good."

Li Yunxiu wasn't afraid that Qianqian would harm her. Wang Yu had already explained the reasoning behind stopping Zhao Rong and Zhao Siqi, and she didn't believe Qianqian was unaware of it.

If Li Yunxiu is murdered, the emperor will suspect that the Zhenxi Prince's Mansion has rebelled and reveal Wang Yu's true identity. The Zhenxi Prince's Mansion will immediately become an uncontrollable force.

Although it's hard to say who will ultimately benefit, the chaos will certainly cause significant damage to their forces, and might even allow the Black Qiang to take the opportunity to invade the Central Plains and plunder.

Rather than that, it would be better to keep Li Yunxiu, control Wang Yu, slowly infiltrate, and eventually take control of the Zhenxi Prince's Mansion.

Moreover, Wang Yu is clearly an excellent partner. In just six months, he has created three new products: perfume, blast furnace, and glass. These products can generate millions in revenue for the Zhenxi Prince's Mansion within a year.

This is real money, enough for an army of 50,000 to fight a major battle.

"Sister, you truly deserve to be called the top female scholar; you're amazing!" Qianqian praised. "In managing the Prince's mansion, I still have much to learn from you, sister."

Li Yunxiu smiled slightly, "If you want to learn, little sister, I will definitely teach you wholeheartedly."

The two women exchanged a glance and smiled at each other, as if a bolt of lightning had shot through the air.

The next moment, the two women turned around. Li Yunxiu strolled out the door, while Qianqian floated out of the window.

"Hey, wait a minute!" Wang Yu raised his hand. "You guys are done chatting, what about me? You ruined my good time and even destroyed my gift for tonight, what am I going to do tonight?"

Li Yunxiu turned around and closed the door. "Figure it out yourself."

Qianqian closed the window as well, and the laughter gradually faded away. "You can use your hands."

Wang Yu, "..."

"You wait, I'll pin you both down and whip you mercilessly sooner or later!" Wang Yu cursed as he got into bed.

……

The next morning, without Meng Zixiao to spar with, Wang Yu could only practice his basic skills on his own before heading to the glass workshop to see if the craftsmen had made anything new.

But before he could leave the mansion, Zi Ling stopped him and pulled him to the back hall to find Li Yunxiu.

"What is it?"

"Can't I contact you if there's nothing wrong?"

"When have you ever contacted me when you had nothing to do?"

"I didn't before, so why can't I contact you whenever I have free time now?"

Wang Yu looked at Li Yunxiu with surprise, "When did you start talking nonsense?"

Li Yunxiu rolled her eyes at Wang Yu. "I don't have time to waste with you. I called you over to ask you about Qianqian."

"Didn't we finish talking about it yesterday?" Wang Yu asked.

"What was that yesterday? That's all!" Li Yunxiu said, dissatisfied. "Which branch of the Demonic Sect does Qianqian come from? What spies does she have in the Prince's Mansion? To what extent has the Demonic Sect spread throughout the three northwestern prefectures?"

Li Yunxiu looked at Wang Yu, "Why should I ask her these things? Of course I have to ask you!"

Wang Yu shrugged. "You ask me what use it is? I have no idea."

Li Yunxiu's voice became two decibels higher, "You don't know? You don't even know which branch of the Demonic Sect Qianqian belongs to?"

Wang Yu nodded. "I don't know."

Li Yunxiu nearly collapsed; she was almost driven mad by Wang Yu. "You're with Qianqian all the time. You didn't even know her surname before, and now that she's figured out her identity, you don't even know which branch of the Demonic Sect she comes from?"

Wang Yu raised his hand, "I know she cultivates the 'Mysterious Woman Scripture,' while her fellow disciple cultivates the 'Plain Woman Scripture.' One requires having feelings but no desires, while the other requires having desires but no feelings."

Li Yunxiu's eyes twitched. "The 'girly' faction!"

Wang Yu exclaimed, "You know?"

"I should have thought of it sooner. The Demonic Sect's branch, the Maidens' Sect, is full of female disciples, each one charming and beautiful, looking like fairies, but they are all involved in witchcraft."

The so-called "Mysterious Maiden Scripture" and "Plain Maiden Scripture" are called "The Great Demoness's Mind-Capturing Technique" and "The Young Maiden's Soul-Snatching Secret Technique" by the martial arts world. They are either meant to ruin one's future or to take one's life.

They either toy with the feelings of young heroes, then discard them, leaving them devastated; or they directly exploit their yang energy, treating martial arts masters like medicinal herbs, draining them dry and grinding them into dregs.

Li Yunxiu stared at Wang Yu. "She's got her eye on you now. Are you in love?"

Then she saw Wang Yu stroking his chin, deep in thought, "If we could combine the two techniques, taking their advantages, and then modify it into a dual cultivation of Yin and Yang, wouldn't that be the best of both worlds, allowing us to enjoy the ultimate bliss?"

Li Yunxiu was speechless. He rolled his eyes at Wang Yu and said, "Although the Demonic Sect does inhuman things, it has produced many masters. Throughout the ages, there have been martial arts masters and even grandmasters."

The Maidens Sect is the pinnacle of this; they can think of things you can't, yet this has remained true for centuries, demonstrating that this demonic art is fundamentally unchangeable.

Wang Yu chuckled but didn't say anything.

Just because others can't do it doesn't mean he can't, because he's cheating!

Actually, he had already considered this question when Qianqian first mentioned the "Mysterious Woman Classic" and the "Plain Woman Classic" to him. However, he would only bring it up after he and Qianqian had established a closer relationship. Otherwise, if he rashly asked her for the secret manuals of their sect, he was afraid that she would slap him to death.

"However, Qianqian is from the witch lineage, which is better than the girl lineage. At least her life is not in danger, and as long as you don't get involved, she can't do anything to you."

Li Yunxiu said quietly, "Just be careful she doesn't introduce one of your sisters into the household."

Wang Yu couldn't help but grin, remembering Qianqian's warning not to go to brothels to buy prostitutes. It felt like even the members of the "Girls' Faction" regarded them as a monstrous threat.

As for?

Then he heard Li Yunxiu ask, "If that's the case, then you don't know what spies she has in the Prince's mansion, or the people the Maiden Sect has planted in the Northwest?"

Wang Yu shook his head. "I don't know."

Li Yunxiu waved her hand, "Then you can go."

Wang Yu: ? ? ?

……

"Master!"

Inside the Hongyan Pavilion, a white figure gracefully entered, and Qianqian immediately bowed in greeting.

Entering a mansion in broad daylight without anyone noticing—that's the power of a martial arts master!

"Have you found anything?" Zhuang Muyu stood on the second floor of Hongyan Pavilion, but her gaze was fixed on the western sky.

Qianqian looked at her master. Although she had been with her master for seventeen years, Zhuang Muyu's appearance had never changed. She was still fair-skinned and graceful.

"No," Qianqian replied. "Zhao Zheng did not hand over 'All Streams Return to Their Source' to Zhao Yu. Neither he nor Zhao Rong knew that Zhao Zheng had also stolen the secret manual passed down by the Twin Stars of Su Hai."

Zhuang Muyu frowned slightly. "The 'Return of All Streams' is the culmination of the Star Elder's life's work, a secret technique that integrates and merges elements from the same source. Logically, it should be the key to the 'Reflection of Flowing Fire' in fusing metal and fire. Why didn't Zhao Zheng pass it on to Zhao Yu? Could it be that he has already advanced the 'Reflection of Flowing Fire' to the Grandmaster level?"

Qianqian shook her head. "There shouldn't be. I've seen the cultivation technique that Zhao Zheng hid in the main house. The eighth level is still incomplete, mostly just speculation. There's no trace of 'All Streams Return to the Source'."

Zhuang Muyu pondered for a moment, "That's strange. What's the reaction from the Twin Stars of Su Hai?"

Qianqian replied, "A few days ago, the disciple of Su Hai Shuang Xing sneaked into the Prince's mansion, trying to capture Zhao Yu and force him to reveal the whereabouts of the secret manual, but he was discovered by Li Yunxiu and killed by his disciple."

Zhuang Muyu turned to look at Qianqian, "You've been exposed?"

Qianqian sidled up with a grin, "Zhao Yu isn't willing to be a pawn in the court's hands. Cooperating with us would benefit him too. If things succeed, he'd be the new emperor. What's there to be unwilling about?"

Zhuang Muyu smiled slightly, "Not bad, you're quite clever and know your place, not as arrogant as the rumors suggest."

Qianqian nodded. "He is quite capable, and he has created quite a few new things."

As she spoke, Qianqian took out several bottles of perfume from a drawer next to her and handed them to Zhuang Muyu, saying, "These are orchid and plum blossom perfumes, especially suitable for Master!"

"You've put your heart into this." Zhuang Muyu took the bottle, uncorked it, smelled it, and then asked Qianqian, "How does he want to cooperate? Is he willing to use the people I teach in the three northwestern prefectures?"

Qianqian paused, then repeated what Wang Yu had told her: "He can't easily fall out with Li Yunxiu right now, but he's willing to let our people into the Three Prefectures and even the military. However, in order not to shake his foundation, our people can't be mediocre."

"That makes some sense." Zhuang Muyu thought for a moment. "I didn't expect him to be not only not arrogant, but also quite capable."

At this point, Zhuang Muyu's eyes lit up, and she suddenly looked at Qianqian with bright eyes, "You've taken a liking to him? You want him to help you with your cultivation?"

Qianqian giggled and retorted, "Is it not allowed?"

"Yes, of course." Zhuang Muyu nodded, but emphasized, "But remember, you can be moved by emotions but not lose your virginity. Only in the end can you forget emotions and attain enlightenment. Otherwise, don't even think about becoming a Grandmaster, let alone a Grandmaster. You are a rare genius that my Xuan Su Sect has only seen once in a hundred years. Don't lose your virginity and trap yourself."

"I understand, Master, don't worry," Qianqian assured him, patting her chest.

Next, Zhuang Muyu arranged for Qianqian to continue exploring "All Streams Return to Their Source," and said that she would arrange for some capable members of the Demonic Cult to enter the Northwest Three Prefectures to serve in the army. Then she drifted away again.

Qianqian watched her master leave and breathed a slight sigh of relief. Throughout the entire process, she had not revealed Wang Yu's identity.