Ling Luoyi had retired for the night, while Shangguan Qing was still wailing.
Shangguan Ye approached, frowning, and asked, "Ting'er, how is Qing'er?"
Shangguan Ting shook her head and said, "I've already given Qing'er medicine, applied medicine to her wounds, and bandaged them, but her wounds haven't healed. I don't know why."
"It's her! It must be her!" Shangguan Qing roared in anger.
Shangguan Ye's frown deepened, and he said displeasedly, "Shangguan Qing, haven't you remembered what I just said?! Don't slander people without reason!"
"Big Brother, why won't you believe me?!"
The audience sighed in disappointment at this question. Although they didn't know why Shangguan Qing's whip had missed Ling Luoyi, they hadn't seen Ling Luoyi retaliate, nor had they seen her use any spiritual power. They could only attribute it to Shangguan Qing's bad luck.
"Shangguan Qing, you've disappointed me too much," Shangguan Ye said, looking at Shangguan Qing with disappointment. "I thought you had realized your mistakes during your previous confinement, but I didn't expect you to have no intention of changing!"
"Big Brother." Seeing Shangguan Ye's darkening face, Shangguan Qing finally felt scared.
"After we leave the secret realm, prepare yourself for a marriage alliance."
"Big Brother!" Shangguan Qing exclaimed incredulously, questioning, "Big Brother, I am your own sister, and you want me to go for a marriage alliance?!"
"Big Brother..." Shangguan Ting and two other men tried to intercede, but Shangguan Ye stopped them.
"You don't need to persuade me. Qing'er's temper and disposition cannot be changed. With so many family elders present, her reputation is surely ruined. No one in Longqing Kingdom will dare to marry her. A marriage alliance is the best arrangement for her. Coincidentally, Hong'an Kingdom is seeking a bride from Longqing Kingdom, and the Emperor is hesitating. You will solve the Emperor's worries and contribute to Longqing Kingdom."
"But Big Brother, Qing'er's face..." Shangguan Ting hesitated.
"I will find a way to heal her face. We can't send a disfigured county princess to Hong'an Kingdom."
The Emperor outside watched everything in the water mirror and heard Shangguan Ye's words.
Shangguan Ye was right. He had been troubled by the marriage alliance request from Hong'an Kingdom. It was difficult to refuse a request for a woman from Longqing Kingdom, and he couldn't offer an ordinary woman. Hong'an Kingdom was a lower-tier kingdom, so a woman of particularly high status was not suitable.
In this case, Shangguan Qing seemed like a good candidate. As a county princess, her status was not exceptionally high, nor was it low. She was more than suitable for a prince of Hong'an Kingdom.
The spectators today were all from Longqing Kingdom, so there was no fear of gossip spreading to Hong'an Kingdom.
Thus, Shangguan Qing was indeed a suitable candidate.
As for that scar...
Thinking of this, the Emperor of Longqing looked at Ling Luoyi's tent in the water mirror. It should not be difficult to resolve.
Within the secret realm, Shangguan Ye and the others ate some dry rations and prepared to rest.
Shangguan Ting and Shangguan Qing went to rest first. As Shangguan Ye was about to return to his tent, his two younger brothers pulled him aside.
"Second Brother, Third Brother, what is it?" Shangguan Ye asked, tidying his clothes.
"Big Brother, tell us honestly, why are you so respectful to a woman from a lower-tier kingdom?" Shangguan Jin asked.
"Yes, Big Brother. I think that woman, although beautiful, has nothing else special about her," Shangguan Lin said.
Looking at his naive younger brothers, Shangguan Ye said helplessly, "How old do you think that woman is?"
"At most sixteen or seventeen."
"She is not from our Longqing Kingdom, so she must be from a vassal state. Those from vassal states who come here are all selected through genius trials. At her age, do you still need to ask who she might be?"
"Big Brother, are you saying she is that supreme alchemist from Tianwu Kingdom, Ling Luoyi!"
"Third Brother, speak softly."
"She, she really is..."
"So, you understand now."
Shangguan Jin and Shangguan Lin nodded repeatedly. If it was really her, then it was appropriate for them to be respectful.
Although Longqing Kingdom was a middle-tier kingdom, the highest-ranked alchemist in the country, the president of the Alchemist Guild, was only a fifth-grade alchemist and was already over seventy years old. Ling Luoyi, at only eighteen, was already a fourth-grade alchemist and a first-tier Spirit Scholar. They indeed should treat her with respect.
"Then, does that mean Qing'er offended someone she shouldn't have?!" Shangguan Lin suddenly remembered and exclaimed.
"Second Brother, Third Brother, we need to keep a close eye on Qing'er, or she might bring disaster to the Prince Duan's Estate."
The few of them recalled Ling Luoyi's advice and understood. They returned to their tents to rest, but their minds were full of worries, and they could not sleep soundly.
The next morning, Ling Luoyi tidied up and prepared to follow the small river to find something interesting.
Shangguan Ye happened to come out and saw Ling Luoyi preparing to leave. He was startled and asked, "Miss, are you leaving?"
Ling Luoyi frowned. Since when were they so familiar?
Seeing her displeasure, Shangguan Ye quickly said, "Miss, we are not questioning you. We just wanted to say that if you are also going to hunt magical beasts, why not go with my four siblings and me? It would be good to have some support."
"No need. I'm not going to hunt magical beasts."
Not hunting magical beasts?
Shangguan Ye frowned, thinking she didn't understand the rules. He said, "Miss, if you don't hunt magical beasts, your score won't be very high, and your ranking won't be good."
"What's the use of a good ranking? I'm not planning to enter a sect or academy."
Not entering a sect or academy?
Shangguan Ye was about to ask, but considering her identity, if that guess was true, she indeed didn't need to enter a sect or academy. However...
"Miss, only a handful of disciples from vassal states have achieved good results in previous years, and even fewer in recent years. If this continues, they will only become a foil," Shangguan Ye said, his tone not mocking, but merely stating facts.
Ling Luoyi was about to say it had nothing to do with her, but then she suddenly remembered that Tianwu Kingdom was also a vassal state. She recalled her grandfather telling her that he hoped she would achieve good results, even if she didn't enter a sect or academy.
Thinking of this, Ling Luoyi looked at Shangguan Ye. It seemed he had already guessed her identity, which was why he was saying these things to her.
Ling Luoyi was about to speak when she suddenly felt the ground shake. She reacted quickly and leaped into the air in an instant.
Shangguan Ye also reacted quickly, but his cultivation was not strong; he was only a first-tier Spirit Practitioner. He could only steady himself.
The four people still in the tents felt the tremor and rushed out. Seeing Shangguan Ye, they anxiously asked, "Big Brother, what's happening? Is it an earthquake?"
Shangguan Ye didn't answer, only staring at Ling Luoyi in the air, lost in thought.
The others also followed Shangguan Ye's gaze, and when they saw clearly, they were greatly surprised.
They saw Ling Luoyi standing steadily in mid-air without any support, actually flying!
The water mirror displayed Ling Luoyi's appearance completely. Seeing that Ling Luoyi could fly, the Emperor of Longqing's eyes deepened, and he sighed, "Miss Ling seems to be more than just a first-tier Spirit Scholar."
Longqing Kingdom had countless Spirit Scholar realm experts, and even one or two Spirit Master realm experts, but none of them could fly.
What was the extent of her strength?
Within the secret realm, Shangguan Ye asked Ling Luoyi, "Miss, what exactly happened?"
Ling Luoyi looked at the powerful spiritual energy fluctuations emanating from the mountaintop in the distance, then at the formation maintaining the secret realm. She thought to herself, if this continues, something big will happen!
Seeing that she didn't answer, Shangguan Ye asked again.
Ling Luoyi was annoyed. Seeing the dense herds of beasts running rapidly around them, she said, "It's nothing major, just a beast tide."