The starting point is auspicious; the fiancée will not call off the engagement.

The next night, when it was completely dark, colorful lights illuminated the capital city, and people were walking around on the streets, but it was not noisy.

Wanmin Academy.

Fang Zhou, dressed in a blue and gold robe, carried Xiao Yue out of the academy gate.

"Greetings, senior."

A tall woman was already waiting at the door. As soon as she saw Fang Zhou, she smiled and stepped forward.

"This junior, Qingyu, has come to invite you, senior, to the palace to admire the moon."

Seeing that this woman possessed a noble air similar to that of Princess Qingyue in her every move, Fang Zhou knew that she was probably another princess.

"This King of Bluestone seems to value me quite a bit," Fang Zhou smiled inexplicably and nodded to Qing Yu.

"Okay, let's go."

"Please board the carriage, senior. We will arrive at the palace shortly."

Qingyu smiled and bowed slightly, pointing to the carriage beside her, clearly displaying her graceful figure to Fang Zhou.

Fang Zhou didn't even glance at her, and directly carried Xiao Yue into the carriage.

Qingyu maintained her smile and was about to board the carriage to have a chat with Fang Zhou when she saw Fang Zhou looking at her expressionlessly. She paused abruptly, then turned and walked towards the driver.

"Go down, I will drive for you myself."

The attendants made way, and Qingyu pointed at the spirit runes on the carriage, which then slowly began to move.

The princess rode in her palanquin, with soldiers clearing the way. Before long, the palanquin arrived at a city wall. This was the inner city of the capital, where cultivators and mortals were separated.

As soon as the carriage passed through the inner city gate, the air seemed to become more spiritually rich.

"Is it necessary to gather energy and lock in spirit?"

Fang Zhou sat in the car, sighed, and patted Xiao Yue's head.

After a moment, the carriage slowly came to a stop.

"Senior, we have arrived inside the palace."

As Qingyu's voice came, Fang Zhou got up and stepped down from the carriage. He saw a courtyard where many richly dressed cultivators were drinking and chatting, musicians were playing music, and dancers were dancing. It was quite a lively scene.

You've prepared quite a lot.

Fang Zhou glanced around casually, smiled, and paid no attention to the hidden formation in the courtyard. He looked with interest at the middle-aged man walking towards him.

"You must be the distinguished guest from Wanmin Academy who has traveled from afar."

King Qing Shi walked over with a smile on his face, waved for Qing Yu to leave, and led Fang Zhou into the courtyard.

"I am the king of the Qing Shi Dynasty. Fellow Daoist, you may simply call me Qing Shi."

King Qing Shi had a gentle expression and a kind tone, showing no signs of being a king at all. After leading Fang Zhou to sit down at the table next to the main seat, his smile deepened, and he returned to the main seat.

"Qingshi? Is that your name?"

Fang Zhou put Xiaoyue down, leaned back in his chair, and asked rather rudely.

King Qing Shi's expression remained unchanged, and he replied with a smile:

"This is not my real name; it's just that after becoming king, I've only used this name."

"Tsk tsk, you're in a pretty bad situation."

Fang Zhou shook his head. To become a king and still have to change one's name, is this the price of being a king?

Xiao Yue, whom Fang Zhou had placed on the table, touched this and that, sniffed the food on the table, and then returned to Fang Zhou's arms listlessly, clearly uninterested in those things.

At this moment, King Qing Shi was even more certain that Fang Zhou's visit was ill-intentioned; who would chat like that?

Before he could reply, Fang Zhou suddenly sat up straight and looked at him expressionlessly.

"I won't waste time arguing with you about that. I want to know, what is your view of the people within the Qing Shi Dynasty?"

The conversation in the courtyard gradually subsided. Although the musicians and dancers did not stop their movements, the spiritual energy within their bodies began to flow faster.

Fang Zhou didn't care at all, he just looked at the Green Stone King and waited for his answer.

King Qing Shi chuckled softly, and the sounds of conversation in the courtyard began to flow again.

"The people within the dynasty are naturally my subjects. Has anyone acted recklessly and displeased Your Excellency?"

King Qing Shi frowned, his voice turning deep.

"If that's the case, I will thoroughly investigate the dynasty afterward, and I'm sure it will satisfy you."

"But from what I see, the mortals and low-level cultivators under the rule of the Qing Shi Dynasty are not living very well."

Fang Zhou knew he wouldn't get the answer he wanted from such a question, so he omitted his name and briefly recounted what he had seen and heard in Lonely Stone City and the capital. Then, he looked at King Qing Shi again, his tone turning cold.

"You say the people are your subjects, so this is how your subjects live?"

Upon hearing Fang Zhou's question, King Qing Shi relaxed, and a look of worry appeared on his face.

"Your Excellency is unaware that in the Qing Shi Dynasty, it has always been the case that cultivators manage cultivators and mortals manage mortals. Although cultivators have the right to manage mortals, they still need to cultivate and rarely interfere in the affairs of mortals."

The worry on Qing Shi Wang's face seemed genuine, and his eyes were full of sincerity as he looked at Fang Zhou.

"The dynasty provides the mortals with the necessary supplies and then lets them distribute them themselves. I never expected such a mistake to occur. Rest assured, Your Excellency, I have instructed the Minister of Civil Affairs to recruit talent from the academies, and this management oversight will surely be resolved."

"As for the matter of students studying magic, I issued an edict yesterday abolishing that regulation. From now on, all students of the academy, regardless of rank, may study magic. Are you satisfied?"

Hearing Qing Shi Wang's seemingly perfect answer, Fang Zhou gently shook his head.

"Then why did you poison the cultivator, thus cutting off their path to enlightenment?"

Fang Zhou looked at the now expressionless Qing Shi Wang and calmly stated the truth.

"You just want to maintain the authority of the Azure Stone Dynasty and eliminate all threats. The Spirit Observer investigates all children with cultivation talent within the Azure Stone Dynasty and regularly checks the cultivation levels of the dynasty's cultivators. You're afraid that a cultivation genius might emerge and threaten the rule of the Azure Stone Dynasty, aren't you?"

"So you poisoned those cultivators who had the potential to break through to the Profound Core stage but were out of control, thus severing their path to cultivation. As for mortals, they were merely tools to produce children with cultivation talent. And low-level cultivators, presumably, were used to collect cultivation resources, which is why you prevented them from learning magic."

"After all, they've learned magic, but it's of no use except for sowing the seeds of chaos for the Qing Shi Dynasty, am I right?"

King Qing Shi was silent for a while, then suddenly laughed, while the other party glared angrily at him.

"That's right, indeed, but what wrong have I done?"

"What king would relinquish his power? I have given them protection and opportunities to cultivate themselves. Isn't that enough? Do you expect me to stand by and watch those unruly people rebel and ride roughshod over me before you are satisfied?"

King Qing Shi stood up, walked away from Fang Zhou, and his voice calmed down.

"I have fulfilled all your requests. If you are satisfied, you may still enjoy the full moon with me. If you are not satisfied, please leave the Qing Shi Dynasty."

At this moment, all sounds in the courtyard disappeared, and everyone stood up straight, staring at the handsome young man who was holding the cat calmly.

The night sky was cloudless, and the full moon hung in the night, casting its silvery moonlight evenly upon the earth.

Fang Zhou put Xiao Yue down, slowly stood up, and looked at the Qing Shi King who had already walked away.

(This book has been put on hold. Although the author still wants to write, he has to contend with reality and it is difficult to keep updating. I feel somewhat sorry for the readers who have been reading this far.)

I'll see if I have time to update during the holidays. As long as people are reading, I'll try my best to update. Please don't send any gifts; I feel unworthy of them.

Hopefully, everyone can find better books to read, since this one is actually quite poorly written.