Soon, half a month passed. During this time, with Li Daoyi's help, the Empress finally broke through to the Martial Emperor realm. Of course, she broke through in the Spiritual Time Chamber, which took three years, or three days in the outside world.
On this day, after everyone packed their things, they stood outside the Taoist temple. Zhu Zhu looked at the home she had lived in for ten years and her stubborn grandfather who refused to leave with great reluctance. The little girl's eyes were red.
"Zhuzhu has grown up. She should spread her wings and fly high like an eagle. Grandpa will always be here waiting for you," Lin Xuan said, gently stroking his granddaughter's hair.
"Grandpa, I will come back." Zhu Zhu nodded quickly.
"Father, are you really not leaving with us?" Lin Xiaoxiao asked again.
"No, the mountain people are used to coming here to pray. What will they do if I leave? Besides, I'm used to life here. I'm very comfortable here," the old man said, shaking his head.
"Take this bottle; after all, we've known each other for a while," Li Daoyi said, taking out a porcelain bottle.
"This..." Lin Xuan took it with some doubt.
"This item can help you extend your life by a hundred years," Li Daoyi transmitted his voice.
"Your Excellency..." Lin Xuan was deeply moved, his hands trembling as he held the porcelain bottle.
"Let's depart..."
Hei Yi's voice rang out. The Empress's carriage began to slowly depart, and Zhu Zhu jumped onto her mother's carriage, peeking out the window with her little head, looking at her grandfather with reluctance.
"Huff..." Niu Er took a deep breath and staggered to his feet.
Li Dao waved his hand, and a carriage instantly appeared behind Niu Er, and everyone jumped onto the carriage.
With horse-drawn carriages in front and oxcarts behind, the group took to the air, their destination the capital of Da Gan, Zhuxing City.
"Why did you suddenly decide to go to Zhuxing City?" Inside the oxcart, Dongfang Bubai asked in confusion. The group had agreed to go to the Central Continent, but the day before, Li Daoyi decided to go to the capital first.
“Dongfang, Long’er, the three of us have very similar backgrounds. We all lost our parents at a young age. But Zhuzhu is different. She has a mother. I didn’t consider this before. She is still a child and has only just reunited with her mother. I think we should give them more time to spend together. Besides, this trip to the capital is a good opportunity to reveal Zhuzhu’s background,” Li Daoyi said slowly.
Upon hearing this, the two women nodded, understanding Li Daoyi's actions.
"Slurp..."
"Mengmeng also has family."
Just then, Mengmeng, who was licking a lollipop, suddenly spoke up.
“Little guy, are you talking about us?” Li Daoyi said with a smile.
“Hmm…” Mengmeng tilted her little head and started thinking.
“You are my family, but I feel like I have many more families,” the little girl said.
At this moment, Li Daoyi recalled the voice from before, the person who told him to take good care of Mengmeng. Perhaps that person was Mengmeng's true family.
"You child, you're really strange. Don't you even remember your own family?" Dongfang Bubai couldn't help but laugh.
"Hehe, don't worry, don't worry, I'll remember after I eat a little more!" Mengmeng nonchalantly revealed her foodie face.
Li Daoyi shook his head helplessly. He no longer had the desire to investigate Mengmeng's mysterious background. Anyway, the little guy wouldn't harm him. In fact, sometimes he even felt that Mengmeng might be his biggest advantage.
"System, open the panel," Li Daoyi said casually, somewhat bored.
"Host: Li Daoyi".
Cultivation level: Late Nascent Soul stage. (Cannot be broken through)
"Magic treasures: 72 Green Bamboo Bee Cloud Swords, Ghost Seal (max), Black and White Impermanence Summoning Talisman (max), Lü Dongbin Summoning Talisman (max), Advanced Puppet Xuan Tianzong (max), Advanced Puppet Dan Chenzi (max), Advanced Puppet Crimson Butterfly Spirit (max), Advanced Summoning Talisman Wutian Illusion (can be replenished). World-Destroying Black Lotus (unusable)."
"Cultivation Techniques: Chaos Profound Art (Seventh Heaven), Five Elements Dao Technique (Max), Flying Sword Technique (Late Earth Rank), Sword Control Technique (Late Earth Rank), Cloud Riding (Late Earth Rank), Law of Heaven and Earth (Earth Rank Beginner), Power of Time (A divine power of law that can strip away or grant five hundred years of lifespan; condition for use is that the opponent's cultivation level does not exceed one's own)."
"Disciple: Yang Guo (Foundation Building Level 4), Master-disciple bonus: For every major breakthrough the disciple makes, the master automatically advances by one minor realm."
"Disciple: Lin Zhuzhu (Late Stage of Martial Grandmaster), Disciple Bonus: For every major breakthrough made by the disciple, the master will automatically advance to a minor level."
Pet: Green Ox (Late Nascent Soul Stage)
"Mengmeng: A special existence, origin and strength unknown."
"Xiao Hei, a black jade unicorn, belongs to Mengmeng. Its strength is unknown, and the system does not have the authority to query it."
"Points/Amazing Value: Seven Million".
"Oh, so the power of time can already strip away five hundred years of lifespan? It seems this supernatural ability is related to cultivation level," Li Daoyi thought to himself.
"System, what's going on with Niu Er? How did he become a late-stage Nascent Soul cultivator?" Li Daoyi was a little puzzled, as he hadn't paid much attention to Niu Er before.
"The pet's cultivation level follows the host's. As the host improves, the pet's cultivation level will automatically improve, but the pet will be one major realm lower than the host," the system responded.
"Damn, is there really such a good thing?"
"Heave-ho." Just then, Mengmeng climbed onto Li Daoyi's head. The little guy blinked its big eyes and stared at the system panel, then reached out its little hand to click on the shop section.
"Whoosh..." Li Daoyi hurriedly closed the interface.
"You're so stingy," Mengmeng said, pouting in dissatisfaction.
"Get out of here, you bastard. Don't try to take advantage of me. I'm broke right now," Li Daoyi said helplessly.
Although the Empress and the others contributed some points, it was still pitifully little. A single pill to break through to the Mahayana stage costs ten million points, and he also had to consider Dongfang and Long'er, who would need even more points to break through in the future.
"We have to stir things up," Li Daoyi sighed.
Flying mounts occasionally passed by in the sky, but upon seeing that it was the Empress's chariot, they all stopped and bowed respectfully from a distance. This was the Empress's majesty; no one in Da Gan dared to disrespect her.
"Humans, all races, perhaps we can play it this way." Suddenly, Li Daoyi's eyes lit up, and an evil smile appeared on his face.
Two days later, the group finally arrived at Moroboshi City.
"It's quite big..." Li Daoyi looked out the window and saw a huge city in the distance, with martial artists flying in and out of the city from time to time.
"Waaah..."
Hei Yi, who was at the front, took out a horn and blew it. The loud sound instantly spread all around. Then, many figures flew out from Zhuxing City. There were tens of thousands of people. These people were wearing silver armor and holding long spears. It was clear that they were a well-trained army. These soldiers lined up in the air and made way for each other.
A general clad in golden armor slowly flew over and knelt down in mid-air.
"Welcome back to the capital, Your Majesty!" the golden-armored general shouted.
"Welcome back to the capital, Your Majesty!" Tens of thousands of people shouted in unison.
"No need for formalities," came the Empress's voice from inside the carriage.
Then the dragon-horse carriage flew through the passage in the middle of the crowd, followed closely by the oxcart. The golden-armored general was shocked when he saw the huge oxcart and couldn't help but look at Hei Yi, only to see Hei Yi give him a shushing gesture. The golden-armored general quickly lowered his head.
"As expected of a martial arts world, almost half of the people here are martial artists," Li Daoyi exclaimed.
“There are many powerful auras here.” Dongfang Bubai nodded as well.
“After all, this is the capital city, so there must be many strong people here. You and Long’er are not weak either. Don’t underestimate yourselves. You cultivate both immortality and martial arts, so your strength is definitely enough to challenge those who are above your level,” Li Daoyi said.
“I feel we’ve been advancing too fast lately, and my mindset is a bit unstable. Dao Yi, I need to fight,” Dongfang Bubai said.
"Ha, I almost forgot. You're a notorious killer, hahaha," Li Daoyi teased. This earned him a roll of the eyes from Dongfang Bubai.
"But don't worry, there will be battles for you next," Li Daoyi said.
The carriage entered the palace and landed on Moroboshi Square, where many ministers and representatives of various forces in Moroboshi City were already waiting. It seemed that the Empress had sent the message back before setting off.
"Welcome, Your Majesty!" Hundreds of people knelt down and said.
The empress, who had changed back into her dragon robe, slowly stepped out of the carriage and looked down at the crowd below, her imperial aura spreading outwards.
"boom…"
"Martial Emperor..." Everyone present was startled at the same time. They sensed the imperial aura, the unique power of a Martial Emperor.
An elderly minister with a full head of white hair tremblingly raised his head, his eyes filled with excitement.
"Your Majesty, you...you...you finally..." The old minister was overjoyed.
"Indeed, I encountered an opportunity on this trip, and I have now broken through to the Martial Emperor level," the Empress said slowly.
"That's wonderful, Emperor Wu! His Majesty has broken through to the Martial Emperor realm!"
"As expected of Emperor Wu, after eighteen years, His Majesty has finally achieved his wish."
"Congratulations, Your Majesty! Congratulations, Your Majesty!"
Everyone shouted.
The Empress raised her hand, and everyone fell silent instantly.
Immediately afterwards, the Empress reached out her hand to the carriage, and a small, jade-like hand emerged. The Empress led Zhu Zhu down from the carriage.
Zhu Zhu's appearance initially surprised everyone. However, after seeing her eyes, their expressions changed in various ways. Some were pleasantly surprised, some were puzzled, but most were filled with fear.
“Your Majesty, this child…” The old minister who had spoken earlier stood up and took a few steps forward, then stopped.
"She is the child from back then, my daughter, the one with heterochromia, Lin Zhuzhu. It was just a smokescreen back then; Zhuzhu is not dead," the Empress admitted directly.
Everyone gasped in shock, speechless.
"Issue the decree, proclaim to the world that in five days, I will hold a grand investiture ceremony to include Lin Zhuzhu in the imperial family genealogy, bestow upon her the title of princess, and make her the heir to my great empire." The Empress's voice resounded throughout the capital.
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