In the room, Little Bai cradled her face with her hands, her smile sweet.
"I was wondering how Senior Sister suddenly caught that assassin, when she clearly looked troubled before."
"Turns out Mu Mu did it. I don't know how she managed it—even Master could only shake his head helplessly when discussing this matter, saying there were hidden circumstances."
"Hehe, Mu Mu is really amazing."
Truly worthy of the woman I've set my sights on!
Thinking of this, Bai Yuyu couldn't help but stand proudly with hands on her hips, forgetting about breakfast entirely as she preened.
A few days ago, she had also heard about how difficult that assassin was to deal with.
Apparently, the assassin's crime scenes left almost no evidence. The victims were often surrounded by a group of guards, then inexplicably died.
No matter how they searched, they couldn't find any clues.
Even when analyzing motives afterward, the Six Bureaus had no leads. At most, they had a theory that this person was some kind of "agent of justice," killing basically those types who bullied men and oppressed women—not exactly good people.
But that didn't help the investigation much, at most it narrowed down the list of potential stakeout locations.
"Yet someone even the entire Six Bureaus couldn't find any leads on was actually caught by Mu Mu multiple times..." Bai Yuyu laughed cheerfully.
Was the Six Bureaus embarrassed by this?
Bai Yuyu didn't think so.
Inadequacy in ability was inadequacy. They hadn't caught that arrogant assassin—that was a fact. And Mu Qinglan had given the Six Bureaus enough face-saving steps down—
She had Shen Yao bring the person back without making a fuss.
This way, outsiders would think the Six Bureaus had arrested and brought the assassin to justice. They could save face.
'Senior Sister will probably be praised to the heavens, and the task force members probably won't lack for rewards either.'
'At least they'll get a few days off?'
Thinking this, Little Bai suddenly missed her good friend whom she hadn't seen for two days.
'Hmph, next time I see her I must properly question her about this. Such a big matter, and she didn't tell me a word, just knew how to scare me!'
Bai Yuyu grumbled in dissatisfaction.
But seeing Mu Mu so capable, she felt a strange sense of urgency in her heart.
'No, I have to work hard too, or I'll be left too far behind by Mu Mu. Setting a small goal—within this week, master my weapon and activate my destiny trait!'
Little Bai was quite competitive at heart!
And this was exactly the effect Mu Qinglan wanted. Having Shen Yao tell Bai Yuyu about this matter was something she had specifically instructed yesterday.
She knew that although Little Bai appeared carefree and enthusiastically outgoing on the surface, she was actually quite competitive inside.
She already worked quite hard normally.
But Mu Qinglan knew that with enough motivation, she could squeeze out even more potential.
In the original plot, after the Bai family's massacre, Bai Yuyu alone traveled east into Eastern Sea Province, and within just a few years became one of the world's top experts, carving out her own fame.
But with her current situation, she obviously couldn't reach that level of pressure.
So Mu Qinglan needed to push her a bit more.
Moreover, this matter wasn't only related to Bai Yuyu. For Miss Shen, having Mu Qinglan specifically ask her to remind Bai Yuyu about this could also plant a seed of disparity in her heart.
—Look, I'm so good to her.
Are you envious?
○
In Heyang City, there was a fairly large mansion where birds sang and flowers bloomed, with lush foliage, yet few guests came and went.
In one corner of the mansion, a stone pavilion was built by an artificial mountain beside a lake.
Two people sat opposite each other drinking tea.
In the early winter breeze, steam rose. Tea stems floated in the water, their fuzzy surfaces gradually unfurling from curled positions, sinking to the bottom.
Sip—
Mu Qinglan took a sip of tea, looking at the elegantly dressed woman across from her.
The elegantly dressed woman had a calm expression, slightly furrowed brow, looking down at the hairpin placed on the table. The hairpin was pale gold in color, with decorations at the tail that at first glance looked like a coiled openwork divine dragon, extraordinarily majestic.
That was the [Dragon Summoning Hairpin].
Also the token National Advisor Ning Shuyu had given Mu Qinglan a few months ago.
"Not all second-ranks can do what Ao Xue does."
Ning Shuyu looked at the hairpin for two seconds, flicked her fingers to send it back, then shook her head slightly and asked whether second-rank warriors could transmit power across distance.
"Most warriors can't, unless their cultivation techniques are special."
Warriors excelled at combat, but correspondingly, their other methods were somewhat lacking.
This was an inherent disadvantage of this profession.
"There aren't many professions that can do this. To be able to teleport short distances like Ao Xue, apart from divine beasts, there are only ghosts and priests."
Ning Shuyu added:
"Ghosts are mostly in the southeastern Ghost Domain, and priests are rare, so if they don't come, we can treat them as nonexistent."
"Can Sister Ning do it?"
Mu Qinglan blinked and asked provocatively.
The two had become familiar now. Using some goading wouldn't make the other feel ill will—at most it was just joking around.
"I'm a magician, indeed not skilled at this. That day I saw Ao Xue set out and knew you two were fine, so I didn't plan to go."
Ning Shuyu's tone was calm, not feeling embarrassed at all.
Mu Qinglan's thoughts stirred: "Go? Sister Ning thought that even if Sister Ao didn't appear, she could still save us?"
"Jiang He is a valued imperial princess, naturally she has many good things on her."
Glancing at Mu Qinglan, Ning Shuyu sipped her tea and continued:
"She wouldn't die. At most she'd be seriously injured. Void Demon Lord was probably gambling—gambling that being in Heyang, her defenses weren't sufficient, he could seize this opportunity to kill her in the cradle. Though she herself probably doesn't even know about these things."
Mu Qinglan nodded, gaining more understanding of the royal family's attitude.
She had wondered at the time—Jiang He was an imperial princess, moreover one with an innate destiny trait and unlimited prospects, yet she didn't have something that could briefly preserve her life against a second-rank?
Though such things were precious, the royal family should have some, right?
Thinking about it now, Jiang He probably didn't even know she had such things on her.
But it didn't matter. Her purpose was achieved. Jiang He not knowing about this was actually best—it would make her more anxious, making her more dependent on herself through the suspension bridge effect.
"Forget it, let's not talk about this. Royal family matters—we common people don't understand anyway."
Ning Shuyu said:
"Let's chat about your spell progress. How's your learning of the spells I gave you before? I selected quite a few eighth-rank spells for you. Have any reached Small Mastery?"
"No."
Mu Qinglan's expression was shy, as if very embarrassed.
"No?"
Ning Shuyu's tone rose several degrees. She remembered she had handed over the materials some time ago. With Mu Qinglan's intelligence, she didn't believe the other couldn't learn them. Was there something that delayed her?
"Really none." Mu Qinglan's expression was sincere.
She really hadn't learned anything from the eighth-rank spells Ning Shuyu had selected for her.
Not that the spells the other selected for her weren't good.
Rather, these spells were too good—so good they perfectly matched Mu Qinglan's current system. In fact, these spells themselves were part of the secret skill [Shadow Mage], meant to build her foundation.
But here was the problem. Since these abilities were prerequisites for [Shadow Mage],
In a situation where Mu Qinglan had already learned [Shadow Mage], did she still need to learn these ordinary spells?
The answer was—
No.
But Ning Shuyu didn't know this yet. Unlike warriors, where someone knowledgeable about human meridians could roughly gauge a person's level by feeling their bones, magician levels couldn't be determined this way.
Unless Mu Qinglan used her full magical power in front of Ning Shuyu, she couldn't see the problem.
So until now, she still treated Mu Qinglan as an eighth-rank magician.
"Are you too busy? Or is there something wrong with those spells? What don't you understand? Or did you learn other spells?" Ning Shuyu asked with concern.
Although just a nominal disciple, she quite liked this junior Mu Qinglan.
And treated her very well.
Mu Qinglan showed a slight "difficulty," saying somewhat embarrassedly: "I have been learning other spells recently and couldn't spare the time. With limited time, I didn't study those."
Ning Shuyu was somewhat displeased: "Can other spells compare to what I selected for you? Let me see."
"You really want to see?"
Mu Qinglan narrowed her eyes.
Ning Shuyu sensed something was off but still didn't discover Mu Qinglan's wicked intentions: "Let me see."
"Originally, I really wanted to learn those spells you specially selected for me, but unexpectedly, an accident happened, and the learning progress for those spells fell behind."
"What accident?"
Mu Qinglan smiled: "Don't worry, I'll demonstrate what I learned right now."
Ning Shuyu snorted lightly in her heart, crossed her arms, and responded coldly.
She wanted to see what spell this little brat could learn.
The spells she selected were comprehensively screened after considering future development, current level, and learning difficulty. Someone else really wouldn't have her second-rank vision to select these.
If she learned something worthless, or something with an undeserved reputation, I'll have to properly teach her a lesson.
"Watch."
Mu Qinglan said, extending a finger and lightly tapping on the stone table.
'Hmm, still shadow-type? At least this little brat isn't too stupid, didn't abandon the fundamentals for superficialities.' Ning Shuyu glanced and commented inwardly.
But what could this prove?
Could it surpass what I selected for her?
Impossible, absolutely impossible.
However, as Mu Qinglan's subsequent actions unfolded, Ning Shuyu's expression changed dramatically.
"Hmm..."
"Hm?"
"HM!!!!!"
Seeing the black shadow on the table swaying rhythmically with Mu Qinglan's finger movements, Ning Shuyu's face flushed slightly, her gaze carrying incomprehension.
Her eyes blazing, she asked: "This is [Shadow Mage]?"
"Yes, I learned this. Sister Ning won't blame me, will you?"
Mu Qinglan looked innocent.
Ning Shuyu held her breath:
"Why didn't you say so earlier?! If you had said this earlier, would I have asked you so much?
Also, [Shadow Mage] is a seventh-rank secret transmission, right? When did you...?"
"I don't know!" Mu Qinglan played the confusion card. Knowing she couldn't explain too much, she simply didn't elaborate further. "About half a month ago, I woke up and had broken through."
Ning Shuyu's eye twitched.
So that was the story. Coming to deceive and ambush her, an old auntie—was this appropriate?
Mu Qinglan looked at her obediently: "Does Sister Ning think it's okay? I feel those spells aren't as good as what I'm learning now. Or should I practice more?"
Ning Shuyu: "I advise you to be kind."
"Wasn't it Sister Ning who said she wanted to assess me?"
"If I didn't ask, you wouldn't even tell me about breaking through to seventh-rank?" Ning Shuyu felt somewhat exasperated. Rebellious disciple! Rebellious disciple!
Mu Qinglan spread her hands: "Wasn't it just that I couldn't find the right opportunity?"
Ning Shuyu sighed, seeing through this bad woman: "You couldn't find an opportunity? Clearly you just wanted to find a chance to shock me. I don't know when you secretly practiced this thing without coming to consult me even once."
"Sister Ning knows it too."
Mu Qinglan smiled happily, obviously very satisfied with the other's expression.
Ning Shuyu truly didn't understand. She knew Mu Qinglan was a genius, but this was only a bit over two months, not even three months.
During this period after entering ninth-rank, more impressive geniuses would just barely touch the edge of eighth-rank, still needing to pass the Human Gate obstacle.
Yet Mu Qinglan was already seventh-rank?
Seventh-rank...
Ning Shuyu sighed. Thinking back to when she reached seventh-rank, how long had it taken? She figured she was also a decent genius—entering eighth-rank in just over two months. But that achievement was still a world apart from the wheelchair-bound girl before her.
People and people really were different!
"If there's anything you don't understand, you can ask me."
"Then thank you, Sister Ning." Mu Qinglan smiled sweetly, knowing she could extract some more experience.
So she asked a few more questions about spell applications—minor issues that couldn't be understood through closed-door contemplation relying solely on the system's power.
Ning Shuyu answered them one by one.
After the questions were done, Ning Shuyu sighed:
"Within the seventh-rank category, there's not much room for you to improve in this [Shadow Mage] secret transmission. What remains is accumulation. Seventh-rank and after—the gap is quite large. Besides spell experience, it's mainly about spiritual power accumulation.
I recommend you settle for a few more months. After all, Earth Gate isn't like Human Gate. Failure comes with penalties—at minimum, weakness in reality for a while. And those who can reach seventh-rank limit to participate in Earth Gate examination are definitely not ordinary."
Mu Qinglan smiled slightly: "I understand."
She indeed didn't plan to attempt Earth Gate in the short term.
On one hand, her experience reserves were somewhat insufficient. Forcibly attempting Earth Gate would reduce her margin for error considerably—not worth it.
On the other hand was strength.
Earth Gate wasn't easy. Losing would cause real-world weakness for a while, affecting her future plans.
More importantly, with her current spell proficiency, even if she won, she might not achieve an excellent rating.
'Better to wait until Ah Qi is around fifth-rank, and I've fully mastered that purple weapon from before, then consider these things. Thinking about Earth Gate now seems truly a bit early.'
Mu Qinglan thought.
○
[Imperial Spirit Hundred Solutions (Blue)]
[Note: A precious book in Imperial Spirit Sect's collection. Only talented disciples within the sect are qualified to borrow it. Reportedly contains multiple spells and insights from predecessors]
When Mu Qinglan sat in the carriage home and opened the book in her hands, she could see these words on the system panel.
This was what Ning Shuyu had retrieved from the treasury for her after learning she was seventh-rank.
"This is a mobile skill book. I remember players holding this thing in the game could unlock a skill upon reaching the corresponding level—a multiple choice type thing."
"Seems quite hard to obtain?"
Mu Qinglan chuckled, thinking it wasn't that hard to get after all.
She casually flipped through two pages. On the book's title page was a note Ning Shuyu had tucked inside:
"This book has been specially treated. Infusing spiritual power into it will automatically identify the holder's level and unlock corresponding permissions."
"I've already given you the most suitable [Shadow Mage] for seventh-rank. For later ones, we'll talk when you're sixth-rank. However, there are rarely secret transmissions as precious as [Shadow Mage] afterward."
"Also, don't spread the spells in the book outside."
Tucking the note back in, Mu Qinglan closed the book.
She had roughly scanned the book's contents. Probably because she was still seventh-rank, the spells she could unlock were ones she'd already learned about before.
Simply put, temporarily useless.
But after sixth-rank, this thing would be very useful to Mu Qinglan.
After all, she couldn't stay near the National Advisor's Mansion forever. If she returned to Western Mountain Province, given Prince Qi's Mansion's library inventory that favored warriors, she really might not quickly find spells suitable for her.
'A debt of gratitude as heavy as a mountain…'
'I remember The Abyss is in the north, seems to be within devil clan territory? But if The Abyss stirs, what it affects won't just be the devil clan.'
'This is also why Imperial Spirit Sect is headed there.'
Mu Qinglan's thoughts churned.
Imperial Spirit Sect's decline in the game's later period was because of this matter. A first-rank true dragon burst forth from The Abyss, appearing mad. Two second-rank members of Imperial Spirit Sect, to stop its destruction, were nearly fatally injured and never again had the power to intimidate a region.
'Although I gave advance warning, they probably don't have any good solutions. At most they have expectations and can make more preparations…'
Thinking this, she had already decided:
Find something that can clear one's mind, and it needs to be effective on first-rank.
'But this isn't urgent. There are still over two years. Search slowly.'
The current priority was still to prepare well and utilize the demon clan and Crown Prince's schemes during the Lantern Festival to reap sufficient benefits.
Mm, develop first.
Early game she could hide behind the scenes, steadily developing. Late game, she'd emerge to control the thunder and lightning.
She could also be a Nasus late-game expert.
And those villain bosses' matters—they were also great assets...
Mu Qinglan thought about this, laughed, leaned back in her chair with eyes closed to rest, letting the carriage carry her, passing through the green brick streets, gradually moving farther away.
○
Clop, clop.
Hoofbeats hurried past.
Atop Azure Moon Tower, the Crown Prince watched the galloping carriage on the street, his expression grave.
"How do you plan to deal with this matter?"
In the Six Bureaus' announcement, although they never explicitly said they would start cracking down on the demon clan, anyone with eyes could see they had such an intention.
And at this critical juncture, it was even more crucial.
"Reduce activity range, stay as hidden as possible. Besides that, what else can we do?" Lou Guanyue replied silently.
When this topic came up, her expression was quite unpleasant, because in her view, this matter was completely an undeserved calamity.
How could she possibly do such a thing?
Yet she knew she was wronged, but others didn't. In the eyes of Heyang's officialdom, who didn't know the demon clan was plotting a major event, the demon clan undercover's suspicion was truly huge.
—Showing us their muscles!
"...That matter?"
The Crown Prince hesitated.
He didn't care what losses the demons suffered. For him, he only cared about one thing—whether the previously agreed-upon demon clan scheme could still be successfully completed.
"It definitely can't go as smoothly as before. I plan to abandon the eastern and western district arrangements and focus on the Imperial City."
Lou Guanyue frowned, helpless at heart.
Originally, the demon clan's plan was to coordinate attacks on three areas. The eastern and western districts were places with many civilians, densely populated with low defensive forces. Once launched, the damage would be enormous.
Enough to throw Heyang into chaos.
But now, they could probably only abandon these two plans and focus on the Imperial City attack.
The demon clan's goal was to make the human race actively declare war on them, because the demon clan was currently in a quite strong period, but they were internally divided into many species. Among the Five Great Upper Clans, there were also those who disagreed with actively starting war.
But if humans declared war on them, then those two families, even if they didn't want to fight, would have to fight.
The Fox Clan wanted to fight. After contacting several upper clans, they sent her out.
Intending to make a big move with the entire clan's power.
So even abandoning the civilian district targets, Lou Guanyue had to ensure the schemes against the royal family wouldn't have problems.
"Eastern and western districts? Without those two arrangements, Heyang won't fall into chaos." The Crown Prince frowned.
Lou Guanyue's heart stirred:
"Your Highness, you can also understand our recent situation. How about I give you the plans, you modify them yourself and implement them personally?"
"This..."
The Crown Prince's expression wasn't good. He came to find her as a supervisor, not wanting to personally enter the field!
But he had no way to refute this, because given the demon clan's current situation—
They probably really couldn't handle this matter.
"I'll send an advisor this afternoon. You can coordinate with him. But you also need to put in some effort. I lost Skyreach Tower, and relying on my family alone won't be enough." The Crown Prince rubbed his temples.
"Of course, we won't disappoint you."
Lou Guanyue nodded.
The Crown Prince asked again: "What about the Imperial City arrangements? They won't have problems, will they?"
"Rest assured about that."
Lou Guanyue reassured him. She felt the Crown Prince was perhaps too nervous. Although that inexplicable slander had quite an impact on them, how could demons always be unlucky?
Moreover, she still had the Saintess Token!
Sealing Demon Saint Qingge's full-power strike—enough to cause some chaos.
"Good, good."
After discussing this matter, both tacitly skipped over the topic.
Because neither was in a good mood.
Lou Guanyue was in a bad mood because their demon clan had inexplicably been saddled with a huge black pot. Normally she wouldn't care, but during this time period, she really didn't want to attract human attention.
Now things were great.
Not only were the arrangements damaged, but inquiries from the demon clan were probably coming too.
The Crown Prince was in a bad mood because thinking about how even small matters like arrangements required demon clan help made him miss the days when Skyreach Tower still existed, and he couldn't help feeling sorrowful.
'This arrangement absolutely, absolutely cannot go wrong!'
After returning to his mansion, he solemnly instructed his subordinates.