Ming Dynasty: Gain one supernatural power every day

As soon as Zhu Gaoxi and Liu Shen arrived at the morning market, the lively atmosphere immediately excited Zhu Gaoxi.

He spotted a freshly baked sesame seed cake at a roadside stall, reached into his pocket, but his fingers froze in place; his pocket was empty, not a single copper coin.

The dignified Prince Rui of the Ming Dynasty, on his first incognito visit to the morning market, actually forgot to bring any money. It's okay if he doesn't have mobile payment, otherwise he could just tag Zhu Di and say, "Old Deng, send me money!"

His expression remained unchanged. He leaned closer to Liu Shen's ear and whispered, "Liu Shen, you can move things from a distance, right? Take some silver from my royal treasury, but don't let anyone see."

Liu Shen glanced at him, a faint hint of helplessness in her eyes, but still raised her hand and waved it gently. A glint of light flashed from her sleeve, and Zhu Gaoxi reached into his robes again, his fingertips touching a few pieces of silver and a string of copper coins.

Without batting an eye, he took out a few copper coins, bought two sesame cakes, and handed one to Liu Shen.

As he took the sesame seed cake, a piece of paper suddenly floated down from the sky and landed on his shoulder. He picked it up and saw a line of neatly written words: "For loans, contact Xiaoman. Low interest, fast disbursement." Get lost! Why is this guy everywhere?

With the money in hand, the two strolled along the street with peace of mind. Food stalls lined the morning market, the aroma of food mingling with the smells of cooking.

"Freshly steamed osmanthus cake, piping hot! Would you like a piece, young lady?" An auntie selling cakes by the roadside raised the steamer in her hand to Liu Shen. White steam billowed up, and the fragrance of osmanthus mixed with the aroma of rice wafted straight into her nose.

Liu Shen glanced at Zhu Gaoxi, who smiled and took out a copper coin to hand over. He thought to himself that Liu Shen really loved osmanthus cake. The aunt neatly wrapped two pieces in oil paper, then looked at the two of them again and said with a smile, "The young couple has such a good relationship. The young man is accompanying his wife to the morning market."

Zhu Gaoxi accepted the osmanthus cake without explaining, only smiling. Actually, it was his wife accompanying him on a stroll. Liu Shen lowered her head and took a bite of the cake, it's unclear whether she heard him.

Not far ahead, an old man selling mutton soup was stirring a large iron pot with a long-handled ladle. The soup was milky white, with large pieces of mutton bones tumbling at the bottom, and the aroma wafted across half the street.

As the two approached, the old man called out at the top of his lungs, "Lamb soup! Hot lamb soup! Would you two like a bowl? It'll warm you up all day!"

Zhu Gaoxi leaned over to take a look. The pot was bubbling away, with a thin layer of oil floating on the soup noodles. The smell was so enticing that it was hard to resist. It was clear that there was no evaporated milk.

"Give me a bowl." He sat down on the low stool next to him and waved to Liu Shen.

Liu Shen ladled out a bowl and brought it over. Just as Zhu Gaoxi was about to reach out to take it, Liu Shen scooped up a spoonful and held it to his lips: "Master."

Zhu Gaoxi paused for a moment, then took a sip from her hand and nodded, saying, "This soup is quite good."

Zhu Gaoxi silently swallowed the mutton soup. Suddenly, a scene flashed through his mind of strolling through the morning market with his girlfriend in his previous life. His girlfriend held up a glass of soy milk and offered it to his mouth, while he ate a pancake beside her...

Several diners nearby pretended to drink their soup, but their eyes kept glancing this way. The old man selling mutton soup also had a sly smile on his face, shook his head, and thought to himself, "These young people nowadays!"

A worker, squatting on a long bench drinking mutton soup, put down his bowl, wiped his mouth with his sleeve, and nudged his companion with his elbow: "Did you hear that? That young lady calls her husband 'master.' Tell me, how do young people behave at home these days?"

Without even looking up, his companion muttered, "Mind your own business, drink your soup." While saying he wouldn't interfere, his eyes couldn't help but glance at Liu Shen, secretly thinking: This young man is amazing! Let's start the class, I want to learn too.

After finishing their mutton soup, the two strolled around for a while. Zhu Gaoxi pulled Liu Shen into a secluded alley. After looking around to make sure no one was watching, he had Liu Shen conceal their figures and summoned Xiao Jin to rise into the sky.

The small somersault cloud beneath his feet shone white in the morning light. Zhu Gaoxi stepped on the cloud and suddenly remembered something.

He hadn't dared to expand the somersault cloud too much before. It wasn't that he was afraid of anything, but mainly because thick clouds would block the sunlight, and the people below would inexplicably experience cloudy days.

If a palace were built in the clouds, it would be even more troublesome; it can't stay hovering over Yingtianfu forever. Moreover, every time it's summoned, it blots out the sun, like the end of the world, which has a really bad influence.

With Liu Shen by my side now, this problem has been easily solved.

"Willow God, could you set up a barrier to hide this cloud? Like, a barrier where people below can't see what's up there."

Willow God nodded slightly, raised her hand and waved it lightly. A transparent light shield silently unfolded, enveloping the entire cloud area. Looking up from below, all that could be seen was blue sky and white clouds, nothing at all.

Sunlight streamed through the barrier onto the clouds, its brightness undiminished, yet the buildings and figures on the clouds were completely concealed by the barrier—a mere illusion. If Zhu Gaoxi were to use his spiritual power to probe, he would still be able to detect them, since Liu Shen's strength was limited by the Rat Talisman and could not surpass Zhu Gaoxi's.

Zhu Gaoxi nodded in satisfaction, then released his mental energy, expanding the Somersault Cloud in one go. The cloud surface spread out larger and larger, from a few feet wide to tens of feet, then to hundreds of feet, and finally came to a steady stop on an area roughly the size of two football fields.

"This is the kind of grandeur a disciple of the Dao Ancestor should have. I, Prince Rui, have a mansion on earth, and I should have one in the heavens as well." Zhu Gaoxi clapped his hands and began to plan his aerial mansion in the clouds. Divine craftsmanship flowed in his palms. He first circled the foundation along the edge of the clouds, and then began to build upwards.

Unlike the double-eaved hip roof style of the Prince Rui's Mansion on the ground, this is in the sky, where there is no need to follow the Ministry of Works' construction rules. He used his divine craftsmanship to create an exquisite and delicate fairy abode in the clouds.

The divine craftsmen created all the things of the mortal world, but in his hands they created something extraordinary.

The main hall is not large, with upturned eaves and windows on all four sides. In front of the hall is a small square, with a spirit stone lamp on each side. These spirit stone lamps have been blessed by the Willow God and can absorb sunlight on their own, automatically emitting a soft light at night, just like solar-powered lamps.

Behind the palace, a small garden was set aside. The Willow Goddess gently stroked the ground, and several plants sprouted from the cloud-like soil, their petals glistening with dew. In a corner of the garden, a wisteria trellis was erected, its tendrils climbing the trellis at a visible speed.

The most wonderful thing was the viewing platform in front of the palace. The ground was paved with a single piece of transparent jade, making it feel like standing suspended in mid-air on a cloud, with wisps of clouds drifting by and the streets and alleys of Yingtian Prefecture in the distance beneath your feet. Zhu Gaoxi stood on the viewing platform, glanced down, and nodded in satisfaction.

In a short while, the aerial mansion began to take shape.

Zhu Gaoxi leaned against the railing of the viewing platform, turning his head to look at the Willow Goddess.

Although Liu Shen is not as strong as him, her methods are far superior to the few skills he has obtained through daily check-ins.

Although he has a sign-in system that allows him to unlock new supernatural abilities every day, who would complain about having too many skills?

"Willow Goddess, could you teach me a few of the supernatural powers and spells you know?" He walked up to Willow Goddess and asked earnestly.