The streets of Whiteleaf City were bustling with activity. As night fell, thousands of lanterns lit up the streets. Cultivators, mercenaries, and noble families from all over the continent appeared in Whiteleaf Forest. Most of them had come for the Forest of Heavenly Tomes. After all, whoever obtained a Heavenly Tomes might be able to become a Marquis in the Yihe Kingdom or the Empire.
Lin Muyu and Qin Yin entered the city dressed as hunters. After finding an inn to stay in, they bought a new set of clothing. Qin Yin wore a plain dress embroidered with golden flowery patterns. Paired with her natural beauty, she looked like a fairy descending to the mortal world. Together with a robe made of animal hide, she looked like a young lady from a wealthy family. Lin Muyu, on the other hand, wore a green robe and carried a longsword on his back. He disguised himself as a bodyguard and even bought a fake beard to stick to his chin.
When Lin Muyu "grew" a beard, Qin Yin couldn't help but smile at his appearance. Soon after, Lin Muyu prepared a "mole" for Qin Yin. It had to make her look different from the one on the wanted posters. In the end, Qin Yin stuck this mole below her eye. It looked like a tear-shaped mole, but after it was stuck, it made her look even more lovely. As expected, a superb skill like makeup was popular in any plane.
At night, they sat by the window of the inn and ate dinner, tasting the unique flavor of Whiteleaf City's wine.
A waiter served them a pot of fragrant wine and said, "This is our inn's specialty, Hundred Leaves Wine. Please enjoy …"
As he spoke, the waiter looked at Lin Muyu and Qin Yin's swords and couldn't help but ask, "Are the two of you also going to Whiteleaf Forest to find that Forest of Heavenly Tomes?"
"What's wrong?" Qin Yin asked.
The waiter lowered his voice and said, "If the two of you really want to go to the White Leaves Forest, I advise you not to go. A few days ago, I heard that the second son of the Northern Qi Kingdom's capital, Bai Ling City, brought a group of people into the White Leaves Forest and was killed by a mysterious person. Not a single one of the hundreds of people he brought with him survived, including many experts and the Yihe Kingdom's army!"
Lin Muyu pretended to be shocked. "The second son of Northern Qi is dead? When did you get the news? "
"About six or seven days ago, some mercenaries returned from the White Leaves Forest with the body of Northern Qi's second son, Huan. It is said that Northern Qi is furious and has mobilized thousands of men from the capital to enter the White Leaves Forest to avenge the second son."
Qin Yin smiled. "It's getting more and more lively."
The waiter said, "Miss and sir, if you do not insist on entering the White Leaves Forest … I advise you to give up. Right now, the White Leaves Forest is like a pot of hot soup. Most ants that crawl in will be scalded to death. Besides, I heard that there are ancient beasts guarding the treasures in the White Leaves Forest. It's too scary."
Lin Muyu said, "Thank you for your kind intentions. In that case, my lady and I will not enter the White Leaves Forest."
"Okay, then I will go."
"Thank you."
…
Lin Muyu raised her head and glanced at Qin Yin. She could read the amusement in Qin Yin's eyes. The White Leaves Forest was indeed dangerous, but not to that degree.
At that moment, a few noblemen sitting at the table next to them began to chat. One of them, wearing a SAO red brocade robe, smiled and said, "These days, everyone is busy going to the White Leaves Forest. Not many people have paid attention to what's happening in Xiyang City!"
"What's happening?" asked another nobleman in a green brocade robe.
"Isn't that obvious?" The nobleman in the black brocade robe said, "In order to recruit talents, the Marquis of Xiyang, Man Ning, has decided to hold a Heavenly Tome Conference in Xiyang City three days from now. There will be a total of ten thousand competition seats. Anyone who enters will have to register. Within two hours, the person who writes the highest grade of Heavenly Tome Conference will be the champion of the conference. It is said that the champion will receive eight million Jinyin coins on the spot. He will also have the chance to marry the Marquis of Xiyang's youngest daughter, Man Tingfang."
"Man Tingfang?"
The nobleman in the green brocade robe could not hold back and said excitedly, "I heard that Man Tingfang is a rare beauty in Xiyang City. She is eighteen years old, and she is good at music, chess, calligraphy, singing, and dancing. She is also very pretty with a slim waist and plump buttocks. She does not resemble her father at all. She has long been known as one of the four great beauties of Yihe Country. I wonder which family's nobleman has the fortune to marry Miss Man Tingfang."
The nobleman in the red brocade robe raised his paper fan and cupped his fists. "The White Leaves Forest is filled with arrogant mercenaries and cultivators. With our abilities, even if we enter the White Leaves Forest, we will most likely not gain anything. Why don't we use our travel expenses to buy some weapon embryos and low-grade Mysterious Gold Powder to try our luck in Xiyang City? Who knows, we might become the Marquis' son-in-law?"
"Very well, very well. We will listen to Brother Liu. Let's set off for Xiyang City tomorrow morning. What do you think?"
"Alright!"
…
Lin Muyu heard everything from the side and could not help but be tempted. She said with a smile, "Xiao Yin, why don't we hurry to Xiyang City and earn some money? It's eight million Jin Yin coins!"
Qin Yin glared at him and said coquettishly, "Are you really not aiming for Man Tingfang?"
"Why would I?" Lin Muyu held her little hand and said, "He ran away after getting the prize money for first place. With Man Ning's appearance, how good can his daughter be?"
Qin Yin could not help but laugh. "Alright then. It's a waste to leave the eight million Jin Yin coins in Xiyang City anyway … But the Marquis of Xiyang is really rich. He was awarded eight million Jin Yin coins just for getting first place in the Heavenly Tome Conference. He is really rich."
"That's why we have to make a trip to Xiyang City. We are robbing the rich to help the poor."
"Is that so?" Qin Yin burst into laughter. Her beautiful eyes were like crescent moons. She said with a smile, "If Man Ning is rich, then who is poor?"
"Me!" Lin Muyu patted her chest and said in a low voice, "Xiao Yin should know that I have asked Ziling and the people from the Department of Weaponry to research the Magic Crystal Cannon. It's too expensive. It's not enough without one or two hundred million Jin Yin coins."
"Yes."
Qin Yin nodded gently. "If I didn't know about this, how could I still be the empress? It's also because of this that I gave you the ten million Jin Yin coins from the Heavenly Tome Pavilion. It's just that … your research on the Magic Crystal Cannon has always been kept a secret. I can't directly give it to you from the Ministry of Revenue. Also … this year's harvest is not too good, and expenses are high. The Ministry of Revenue doesn't have much money left."
Lin Muyu said angrily, "You're still talking. How much money did you spend on the Heavenly Tome Pavilion? If all that money was given to me, I'm afraid the Magic Crystal Cannon would have been completed long ago."
Qin Yin pouted. "Hmph, I didn't know that the Heavenly Tome Pavilion would spend so much money … It's all because Grandfather and His Highness the Seven Seas King urged us. However … the Heavenly Tome Pavilion is in charge of the Heavenly Tome Inscriptions within the empire. It's indispensable, so we must spend this money."
"Yes."
Lin Muyu picked up a piece of wild boar meat and put it into his mouth. He chewed for a while and swallowed it with a frown. This bacon's hardness was really unbearable. He looked up at Qin Yin and said, "Xiao Yin, you've also comprehended a piece of the Heavenly Tome Inscription. If you were given a high-grade tool embryo and mystic gold powder now, how confident are you that you'll be able to form a book?"
"Ah?"
Qin Yin opened her small mouth. Her intelligent eyes were filled with uncertainty. She hummed and said, "The probability of becoming a book is not more than one in a thousand … The probability of becoming a Heavenly Tome is definitely not more than one in a hundred thousand …"
"Damn, Xiao Yin, you're too honest."
"What about Brother Yu? Where's the Heavenly Tome that you comprehended four types of laws … "
"Me!" Lin Muyu's mood swayed. He raised his hand and twirled his beard. He pretended to be profound and said with a smile, "If you give me high-grade mystic gold powder and a top-grade tool embryo, the probability of becoming a book should be about twenty percent. However, the probability of becoming a Heavenly Tome is about the same as yours, about one in a hundred thousand. Heavenly Tome is too profound and difficult to understand, but the probability of becoming an Earthly Tome is at least fifty percent! I wonder if an Earthly Tome can be exchanged for first place in the Heavenly Tome Conference … "
"If it's a mid-grade Earthly Tome or above, then it's very possible."
Qin Yin pursed her lips and smiled. "After all, there are very few people in Yihe Kingdom who can write an Earthly Tome. Huan of Northern Qi is already a well-known figure among the younger generation of scholars. But as you can see, the highest level of Heavenly Tome that Huan of Northern Qi can write is only a low-grade Earthly Tome. If Brother Yu can write a mid-grade Earthly Tome, then this first place is certain to be yours."
"Yes!"
Lin Muyu nodded and smiled. "Hurry and eat. After eating, go to sleep. Have a good night's rest. Tomorrow, we'll head to Xiyang City. Two days should be enough time to reach Xiyang City."
"Okay!"
…
After eating and drinking to her heart's content, Qin Yin went to bed early. Lin Muyu hung the Stars Sword at her waist. Like the guards and guards, she walked along the corridor of the inn to the rooftop. Using the Spirit Pulse Technique, the strongest aura nearby was Qin Yin's domain. However, she was sound asleep at the moment, so the strength of the aura was not obvious.
It was late at night, and there were fewer people on the streets of Whiteleaf City. Only a drunken mercenary and a cultivator were still walking leisurely on the streets, fighting at every turn. Their rough and disturbing roars could be heard in the night sky. "What are you looking at?"
"So what if I'm looking at you!"
Lin Muyu sat on the carved railing and smiled as she watched a few mercenaries fight with clumsy iron swords on the street in the distance. They were very 'careful', and the speed at which they stabbed their swords was shockingly slow, as if they were afraid of hurting their opponents. With one look, one could tell that they were just a bunch of weaklings showing off their strength.
Not long after, a gong sounded, and a group of people dressed in patrolmen's uniforms appeared to maintain law and order. Immediately, a few of the drunk mercenaries were unhappy, and they began to curse that the patrolmen of Yihe Country were useless, that Marquis Manning was an old fool, and that Qin Yi was a hypocritical person who only cared about profit. Lin Muyu was very happy to hear this.
…
Just like that, he sat on the railing and circulated the Qi in his body. He cultivated the Vajra Protection Divine Art and the Dragon Forging Bone Remnant Scroll, and in the blink of an eye, he entered a dreamland. When he woke up, the sun was already rising.
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