Upon hearing this, Ling Yun and his group looked expectantly at the nine meat dishes, two vegetable dishes, and one soup on the table.
Lin Zhennan poured fine wine for Ling Yun and his group, and then introduced them:
"Hehe... The Twelve Absolutes of Ziyang are the Ten Fiends of the Primordial Era: Dragon Liver, Phoenix Marrow, Vermilion Bird Wings, Tiger Paws, Nine Netherworld Hound Spine Meat, Kunpeng Belly, Qilin Neck, Bai Ze Hoof, Golden Lion Head, and Xuanwu Armor Soup."
And for plants: stir-fried *Cephalotaxus fortunei*, and stir-fried *Paulownia tomentosa* leaves.
After a pause, Lin Zhennan said with a hint of self-satisfaction:
"In the entire Zhao Kingdom, only my Ziyang Sect can gather the Ten Ancient Ferocious Beasts and two top-tier herb-type lords. Although their bloodlines are somewhat mixed, after being processed by the chefs of my Ziyang Sect, the taste is unique in the Golden Cloud Continent."
Ling Yun and his group were practically drooling from the comments.
Immediately, Yan Ruyu picked up a small piece of dragon liver and stuffed it into the little white fox's mouth.
The next moment!
The little white fox looked utterly delighted.
Wow! This is so delicious!
As she spoke, she tried to jump out of Yan Ruyu's arms and onto the table to eat.
Upon seeing this, everyone immediately picked up their chopsticks.
"Hmm~ Not bad, not bad! As expected of the Twelve Wonders of Ziyang! Truly amazing, especially the White Ze Hoof, it's absolutely incredible!"
A smug look appeared on Lin Zhennan's face as he smiled and said:
"Hehe... I'm glad you all like it!"
...
The next day, Ling Yun and his group bid farewell to Lin Zhennan at the mountain gate.
At this moment, Lin Zhennan said with reluctance:
"Young friend, I wonder when we will meet again? I will be very reluctant to part!"
Over the past two days, Lin Zhennan discovered that Ling Yun and his group were not the kind of people who were incredibly domineering because of their strength; on the contrary, they were very approachable.
All the big shots I've met in the past have always acted like they're the only ones who matter.
But Ling Yun was different. He was very strong but incredibly tolerant, which made Lin Zhennan go from fearing Ling Yun to respecting him.
Ling Yun patted Lin Zhennan on the shoulder and said with a smile:
"Sect Leader Lin, next time we meet, please bring the chef from the Ziyang Sect. Farewell!"
After saying this, Ling Yun and his group rode away.
"Bringing the chef along? Does that mean we'll see each other again soon?"
Lin Zhennan stroked his beard and muttered to himself, when suddenly his eyes lit up with ecstatic joy.
The next moment!
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Nascent Soul Realm! Deity Transformation Realm! Void Refinement Realm!
Lin Zhennan broke through three realms in an instant, becoming a master of the Void Refinement Realm. Excluding those reclusive masters, he is now the strongest person in the Zhao Kingdom.
"Ha ha ha ha……"
Lin Zhennan laughed loudly, his laughter filled with ecstasy. He had made the right bet, and currying favor with Ling Yun was the best thing he had ever done in his life.
He not only became the sect leader of the Ziyang Sect, but also the strongest person in the Zhao Kingdom, and the Ziyang Sect would also be promoted to the number one sect.
Lin Zhennan knew that Ling Yun had helped him break through the realm when he patted his shoulder earlier, and he could also feel his soul sea and meridians being tempered by a surge of energy.
As long as I cultivate normally in the future, the Mahayana stage will be just around the corner.
On the way, A Bao, Ling Yao, and the little white fox kept turning back every few steps, looking at the Ziyang Sect with reluctance.
It wasn't that I was reluctant to part with Lin Zhennan, but rather with the Twelve Wonders of Ziyang.
Ling Yun smiled and ruffled the little white fox and Ling Yao's heads:
"Isn't there still hundreds of thousands of great demon corpses in the storage bag? Those are all pure-blooded great demons. Using the flesh and blood of these great demons to make the Twelve Supreme Techniques of Purple Sun will be even more amazing than what we ate yesterday!"
After hearing this, Abao and the others were even less willing to leave.
Abao unfolded the map, pointed ahead, and said:
"The next city is the imperial city, which is a major city under the imperial city. The next city after the imperial city is Zhao Ancheng, the capital of the Zhao Kingdom and also the largest city in the Zhao Kingdom."
"That's all?" Ling Yun laughed. "No famous delicacies?"
Abao scratched his head and said:
"Yes! Braised lion's head meatballs. But after eating the Twelve Delicacies of Ziyang, I've lost interest in other dishes."
As if she had thought of something, Xiao Yanran said:
"Oh, by the way, there is a Xuan-testing Pillar in Qihuang City, which is specially used to test the talent of martial artists. It is the best Xuan-testing Pillar in Zhao Kingdom. Almost every genius in Zhao Kingdom will come to Qihuang City to test their talent."
This piqued everyone's interest, and they wanted to test just how talented they were.
Immediately, the group spurred their horses and charged towards the imperial city.
As they passed through some villages and towns along the way, Lingyun and his group noticed that every household was dressed in mourning clothes.
Abao asked a woman dressed in mourning clothes curiously.
"Grandma, I see funerals being held at every house along the way. Are so many people dying?"
"I'm your grandpa!" The man said irritably, taking off his hat. Everyone could see that he was indeed not an old woman, but an old man.
"Ahem~ Sorry!" Abao said awkwardly.
The old man didn't take it to heart and continued explaining:
"Sigh~ A month ago, the soldiers went to every town and arrested all the children under the age of seven."
My poor grandson~
All the villagers understood that the children who were taken away were likely in grave danger.
Upon hearing this, Ling Yun's face darkened; it was definitely a conspiracy. He then asked:
Did the officers and soldiers say why they were taking the children away?
The old man shook his head and said with a wry smile:
"When asked, the officers said it was the Emperor's decree, and that if we asked any more questions, we would be beaten."
After speaking, the old man looked at Ling Yao in Xiao Yanran's arms and reminded her:
"Hide the little girl well, otherwise the soldiers will definitely arrest her if they see her."
Ah Bao took out a bag of silver and placed it in the old man's hand.
"Don't be sad, old man. Maybe things aren't as bad as you think."
...
On the way, everyone looked at Ling Yun.
"Brother, why is His Majesty arresting children?"
Ling Yun shook his head and said:
"I don't know! We'll talk about it when we get to Zhao Ancheng!"
Two days later, Ling Yun and his group arrived at the Imperial City.
"Hey~ Look over there, there's a three-year-old girl, grab her!"
"Wait! Look at their fine clothes and distinguished bearing; they must be high-ranking officials and nobles. If we seize their daughters, the consequences will be severe!"
"But we've already arrested all the ordinary people, and His Majesty is demanding 100 million children!"
"Don't panic, we haven't even started capturing Houling City, Zhongling City, Yuanling City, and other southern areas yet."
"..."
Upon seeing Ling Yao, the soldiers guarding the city began to whisper among themselves.
But he couldn't escape Ling Yun's sharp ears, and couldn't help but feel angry. Ordinary people are always the most miserable.
After entering the imperial city, Xiao Yanran said with a smile:
"The divination pillar is in the city center square. Why don't we go and try it out first?"
The group nodded slightly and then arrived at the mine in the city center.
They saw a measuring pillar that was at least ten zhang tall.
The area is divided into nine regions from bottom to top: red, orange, yellow, green, cyan, blue, purple, black, and white.
Each region represents a unique talent.
At this moment, the area around the Xuanzhu (a testing pillar) was filled with layers upon layers of Zhao Kingdom warriors, all of whom had come to test their talents.
Xiao Yanran pointed to the divination pillar and said:
"Red represents the highest level that can be reached, orange represents the Foundation Establishment stage, yellow represents the Golden Core stage, and green represents the Nascent Soul stage."
Cyan represents the Divine Transformation stage, blue the Void Refinement stage, purple the Body Integration stage, and black the Great Ascension stage.
White represents... I don't know either!
She paused, then continued:
"The best time that Zhao's genius ever appeared was when he turned blue."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
