I have the best bloodline

The aunt completely ignored Su Yan's explanation. After Su Yan mentioned borrowing money, she put her hands under the little fox's armpits, pulled it in front of her, and kissed it hard several times.

"No need for an IOU, I trust Auntie," Su Yan said, slapping her face with both hands.

"That won't do. Rules are rules. Even though we're bandits, we still follow the rules!" Auntie shook her head, rejecting Su Yan's suggestion, and then, as if recalling an amusing incident, said:

"You have to write an IOU when you borrow money. Even though it's one thing to repay it, otherwise it would be robbery, wouldn't it?"

"Then you'll pay it back, Auntie, right?"

"Others might not be so, but your aunt who's going to marry you can't possibly be shady. Otherwise, how can your aunt hold her head high in front of your mother? It's not good to suddenly be a generation younger than her," your aunt said confidently.

………………

In the following days, apart from going to the Spirit Herb Observatory, having tea with Jiao Nanwu at Luohe Residence, and setting off fireworks in Bingcheng, Su Yan spent most of his time in his dormitory taking pills to cultivate and stabilize his newly reached Golden Core stage cultivation.

The difference between the Golden Core stage and the Foundation Establishment stage is not significant. The only difference is that the Golden Core in the body rotates continuously, automatically absorbing spiritual energy into the body around the clock, and the ability to project spiritual consciousness outwards to materialize and retrieve objects remotely within a small area.

Su Yan's spiritual sense range was only ten meters in radius, but his spiritual power was several times greater than that of a Foundation Establishment cultivator. The mana value of one fox was equivalent to that of seven or eight cultivators of the same period.

Moreover, a third tail has grown out, and Su Yan can now display his three tails upright in the air like a peacock spreading its tail feathers, making the classic intimidating gesture of a nine-tailed fox.

"Something seems off, it's turned black!"

Su Yan, who was originally full of self-satisfaction, unleashed the secret technique to reveal his true form as a nine-tailed fox. In front of the mirror, he jumped around admiring his own figure. However, after looking at it for a while, Su Yan noticed that his tail and four legs seemed to be turning black.

Su Yan tried to wipe it with a towel, but the stains didn't seem to be stuck on, but rather grew on their own.

"Well"

Su Yan thought for a moment and pretended nothing had happened. He used the Rejuvenation Technique again and transformed into a white fox. The melanin on his fur was due to the transformation of his skin color and the awakening of some of the Black Dragon genes.

Su Yan had already seen his own soul form in the spiritual space, so he naturally knew that his future form should be a nine-tailed fox with white clouds and black soil.

Therefore, she wasn't too alarmed by the change in her fur color. After all, she wasn't a purebred You Su Nine-Tailed Fox, so how could she always be pink and tender?

"Is Su Yan awake? We need to get ready to leave. Today is the awards ceremony for the Imperial Martial Arts Competition."

Su Yan used the secret technique of rejuvenation again, and his body shrunk back to his childhood form. Not long after, there was a knock on the door, and Jiao Nanwu called out from outside.

"Oh, oh, here it comes."

After Su Yan stepped outside, he stood up and stretched out his arms so that Jiao Nanwu could hold him as they walked. Otherwise, Su Yan was worried that others might not be paying attention and kick him away.

"Sigh, I've completely held it in."

Jiao Nanwu put one arm around Su Yan and weighed him in front of her with the other, saying, "We're almost back to our original forms. We might really have to wait until next year to get together."

Su Yan: ? ? ?

(End of this chapter)

Chapter 151 The Imperial Martial Arts Demonstration Concludes

Time flies by unnoticed, and the best time for the Merfolk to reproduce and thrive has passed. The fat that Jiao Nanwu had accumulated has been almost completely metabolized in her body, and she couldn't help but feel some worry and anxiety.

Merfolk value a full figure as beauty, and Jiao Nanwu is the most voluptuous among the younger generation. Even some pregnant merfolk women may not be as voluptuous as Jiao Nanwu. However, as the winter breeding season passes, the fat stored in the merfolk's bodies for the winter is almost used up, and their figures return to a light and graceful state, allowing them to devote themselves to work in the coming year.

Seeing that her measurements had shrunk again, Samena Mist couldn't help but feel a sense of inferiority and anxiety.

"I feel like I've become ugly," Jiao Nanwu said somewhat insecurely.

"illusion!"

Su Yan turned around and patted Jiao Nanwu's shoulder with his paw, earnestly expressing his feelings. Jiao Nanwu was still the most beautiful sight on the street, leaving the humans and demons who passed by speechless. No matter how much her size shrank, Sister Nanwu was still invincible.

"Then let's make a date for early winter next year, and we'll make up for this year's then?"

"Uh"

Su Yan's expression stiffened slightly. Although Jiao Nanwu was perfect in every way, she was a little bit dull in personality. Su Yan couldn't imagine Jiao Nanwu's dull face turning red and her face full of coquettishness as she bit her lip.

Thinking of this, Su Yan felt as if he had done something that would anger both heaven and man, and a surge of guilt and shame welled up inside him.

Jiao Nanwu looked so innocent and naive that Su Yan couldn't muster any desire to reproduce with her.

Of course, that's what Su Yan was thinking, but seeing Jiao Nanwu's aggrieved expression, Su Yan still gritted her teeth with a guilty look on her face and said, "Okay! I promise! Next early winter, whatever you say goes, Sister Nanwu!"

"Pfft."

Sitting in the brothel lobby, auntie fiddling with a blowgun in her hand, overheard Su Yan and Nan Wu's conversation and couldn't help but chuckle, shaking her head speechlessly.

"Are you two ready? The Imperial Martial Arts Competition and Awards Ceremony is about to begin."

Good morning!

Sitting to her aunt's right, Qin Yuanfeng Mei'er greeted Su Yan with a big smile, but her aunt picked up the blowgun and tapped Mei'er on the forehead. Qin Yuanfeng Mei'er immediately sat up straight with a well-behaved expression, looked down at the table and continued to reflect on her thoughts and actions.

The blowgun that my aunt was playing with was the one that was taken from Mei'er's chest.

"let's go!"

After picking up Su Yan and Jiao Nanwu, Auntie turned back to look at Mei'er before leaving. She raised her hand, put the blowgun in front of her mouth, and blew a breath. The silver needles inside the blowgun turned into streams of light and directly pierced Mei'er's side thigh, dissolving and disappearing.

"woo"

Mei'er trembled all over, staring in shock at the silver needles stuck in her body, and let out a soft moan.

"Oh, it was an aphrodisiac? That's alright then."

Auntie slammed the brothel gate shut, then, with a strange look on her face, led Su Yan and Jiao Nanwu away to the top floor of Luohe Residence to take the Divine Tree Elevator up to the Imperial City.

The three of them arrived rather late; all the participants in the Imperial Martial Arts Competition had already gathered on the arena.

Seeing this, Su Yan told his aunt, then jumped out of Jiao Nanwu's arms and onto the field, walking towards the group of black iron token holders. Along the way, he couldn't help but tease the nameless royal family member sitting in a wheelchair:

"My friends, they're all using the same model now!"

Zhou You, who used the alias "Royal Family Nameless," had previously fought to the death with Jin Lin, the peerless warrior of Falling Star City. He was severely injured by Jin Lin and had been living in the Imperial Medical Bureau ever since. When he appeared today, he was in the same wheelchair as Wen Juntong, whom we saw before, and his whole body was covered in bandages.

"That golden scale was really fierce; it almost knocked me out of my wits."

Seeing Su Yan walking towards her, Zhou You, who was wearing a veil, couldn't help but shake her head with a wry smile and said, "It's only because the old men gave me extra money and made a settlement that I was able to fight that monster to the end."

After fighting Jin Lin to the death, the stubborn old royal family member gave Zhou You an extra 4,000 jin of spirit stones. From beginning to end, Zhou You earned a total of 8,000 jin of spirit stones, which was enough to cover his travel expenses for the next few years.

But he was genuinely injured, and he fought on the ring until he lost consciousness before the fight ended.

"Sigh, it's all because of poverty!" Zhou You sighed deeply. If he weren't short of money, he wouldn't bother with the invitations from those old fogies. He would just sit in the audience with his legs crossed and watch them fight to the death.

"OK OK."

Just as Su Yan and Zhou You were chatting, Grand Tutor Jin walked down from the platform on the tree branch, raised his hand and clapped his hands, saying, "Fellow Daoists holding Black Iron Tokens, please line up neatly and listen carefully. I am now going to announce the winner of the Black Iron Group."

"In this year's Imperial Martial Arts Competition, fourteen contestants from the Black Iron Group have emerged victorious. The wisdom, strength, luck, and willpower you displayed on the stage have earned my appreciation. I can now give you a chance to rise to the top in one step, whether it's power, wealth, or a miraculous method to become an immortal, as long as you dare to come."

Grand Tutor Jin said with a smile, "Now, I will announce the list of winners. I will give you three days to think about whether you want to participate in the spring outing I organized."

"Please welcome the following: the anonymous member of the royal family, Princess Luanming, Su Yan the fox demon from the Southern Prefecture, Feng Shiqi of the Feng Clan, Cao Fei of the Imperial Law Manor, and the anonymous member."

Grand Tutor Jin personally selected fourteen people from the fifty to step forward and distributed a piece of animal skin paper from his sleeve to each of them to register for the academy's spring outing.

"Submit it to the Ministry of Personnel within three days. If all goes well, everyone should gather at the academy today, a week from now."

Grand Tutor Jin turned and left with a look of pleasure on his face, without glancing back at the winner of the Black Iron Group.

Although they won the imperial martial arts competition, they only gained an opportunity. If they wanted to receive Grand Tutor Jin's guidance, what they had shown in the imperial martial arts competition was not enough!

Grand Tutor Jin still needs to conduct another round of screening, weeding out those who are useless to him, and finally bringing all the promising talents under his command.

He didn't want to waste resources cultivating ungrateful wretches; the resources of the Xia Yu Dynasty would only be directed towards the pillars of the nation.

"quiet!"

After Grand Tutor Jin finished speaking, the Vice Minister of Rites, with a serious expression, walked to the edge of the platform. A staircase meandered out from the arena and led all the way to the edge of the platform.

"We now invite His Majesty the Emperor Wusheng to deliver a speech and present awards to mark the conclusion of this imperial martial arts competition."

After the Vice Minister of Rites loudly reminded them, both the cultivators on the arena and those in the audience consciously rose from their seats and bowed to Emperor Wusheng, who was slowly rising from his throne on the high platform.

"Gentlemen."

The instant the Emperor Wusheng uttered his indifferent voice, a simultaneous translation device activated, producing a plain language translation:

"The ancestral worship ceremony is over. The so-called Xia Yu ancestral worship is about remembering the bitter past and appreciating the sweet present, and it's also about showing our ancestors the fighting prowess of the younger generation in our branch. I'm not interested in your performance; I just want to see if you can find any future high-level fighters for our branch."

"I'm too lazy to say anything else. The top ten in points, come forward to receive your reward. The rest of the ninety, go to the Ministry of Revenue for a consolation prize."

Emperor Wusheng spoke in classical Chinese with a detached expression, while the cultivators inside the imperial city were all speechless.

The translator of Emperor Wusheng was truly remarkable; his plain language was concise and to the point, even explaining why Emperor Wusheng was sitting in the imperial city watching the battle.

I wonder which of the contestants will be lucky enough to be chosen by His Majesty the Unborn Emperor to become his future top-tier bodyguard.

(End of this chapter)

Chapter 152 Fox Tasting Event (Third Update, Bonus Chapter for Monthly Tickets)

As fireworks lit up the four ice cities, the Imperial Martial Arts Competition came to a temporary end. Emperor Wusheng raised his hand and opened a spatial tunnel leading to the national treasury, allowing the top ten participants in the Imperial Martial Arts Competition to enter and choose a treasure.

"Send the cultivators directly to the national treasury?"

Upon seeing Emperor Wusheng's actions, Su Yan couldn't help but gasp and ask, "Isn't Your Majesty Emperor Wusheng afraid that those cultivators might take something incredible?"

No, it won't.

Zhou You, standing beside him, shook his head and explained, "The national treasury contains spirit stones and offerings. To put it bluntly, it's a vault that doesn't include His Majesty the Emperor of No Life's collection or the ancestral treasures of the royal family. Truly unique and rare divine artifacts will not appear in the national treasury."

The national treasury is filled with countless treasures. Every year, officials from various regions and major forces under the Xia Dynasty pay tribute, and the number of treasures in the national treasury increases by hundreds each year. Even the reward for the imperial martial arts exercise only amounts to ten treasures.

“Xia Yu wouldn’t do a losing business.” Zhou You didn’t give a long explanation of the national treasury’s value, but just said sourly, “Your Majesty has made a huge profit.”

The imperial martial arts demonstrations boosted the main city's economy, generating revenue from taxes, a substantial amount from betting odds and commissions, further income from ticket sales, and a significant profit from the consumption of supplies during the viewing period.

How could a mere ten carefully selected treasures from the national treasury possibly compare to hundreds of millions of spirit stones in revenue? The entire Xia Yu court is making a killing!

"If there's nothing else, I'll take my leave. I need to go back to the Imperial Medical Bureau later to change my dressing. I was struck by the Golden Scale Lightning earlier and my whole body was charred. The lightning still makes my body a little numb."

Zhou You sighed helplessly. A maid from the royal family stepped forward, pushing his wheelchair, preparing to take him back to the Imperial Medical Bureau to recuperate. Before leaving, Zhou You didn't forget to say to Su Yan:

"I'll find you for drinks again when I have time. Remember to fill out that piece of animal skin paper and submit it to the Ministry of Personnel as soon as possible; it's a rare opportunity."

Although Grand Tutor Jin usually keeps a low profile, his main responsibility is to cultivate the crown prince. Whether it is the current Emperor Wusheng or the former crown prince and the Third Prince, they all studied in the Grand Tutor's mansion. It is simply a pipe dream for ordinary people to receive the Grand Tutor's guidance.

With the experience of serving as a teacher under the Grand Tutor, as long as one intends to reside in the territory of Xia Yu for a long time in the future, it will be an amazing resume that can dazzle all cultivators.