Chapter 55: CH-55: I will find out!!

The assessment continued for nearly an hour.

By the time the fifth child stepped forward, Gu Changsheng had already developed a newfound respect for the people responsible for managing recruitment missions.

This was considerably more exhausting than he had expected.

It wasn’t physically exhausting, of course. Compared to fighting a Blood Moon Sect cultivator, examining spiritual roots was practically a vacation.

The problem was the villagers.

Every parent had questions.

Some wanted to know how strong their child could become, others wanted to know whether joining the sect meant they would become immortal immediately, and one particularly enthusiastic father had asked Gu whether his seven-year-old son could eventually become an emperor.

Gu had stared at him for several seconds before politely explaining that cultivation and becoming an emperor were two entirely different career paths.

The father had looked disappointed.

Apparently, he had already planned the ceremony.

Ye Che, meanwhile, was having a considerably easier time.

He had taken responsibility for recording the results while Gu performed the actual assessments, and every few minutes he would glance at his senior brother with an increasingly amused expression.

"Senior Brother, perhaps we should have brought more people."

Gu Changsheng sighed while looking at the line of children still waiting.

"I thought there would be ten or twenty at most."

He looked towards the villagers.

"There are enough children here to form an entire junior division."

Ye Che smiled faintly.

"That’s probably a good thing for the sect."

"Of course it is."

Gu nodded seriously before looking at the next child.

"Unfortunately, it is a terrible thing for my lunch."

Ye Che couldn’t help laughing.

The assessment continued until late afternoon, and by the time they finished, several children had been selected for further testing by the sect.

None of them possessed extraordinarily shocking talent, but a few had spiritual roots good enough to make recruitment worthwhile.

Gu carefully recorded the results before handing the documents to the village chief.

"The sect will send people to conduct the final examination. Until then, make sure the selected children remain healthy and continue living normally."

The village chief bowed repeatedly.

"Thank you, immortal masters! It is an honor for our village."

Gu smiled politely.

"There’s no need to be so formal. We’re merely doing our job."

The moment he finished speaking, the elderly man’s expression brightened.

"Then please allow our village to prepare a meal for the honored immortals before you leave."

Gu’s eyes immediately lit up.

Ye Che noticed the sudden transformation and nearly laughed.

The man who had spent the entire afternoon complaining about his lunch had suddenly become the most hardworking disciple in the sect.

"That would be wonderful."

Gu smiled warmly.

The village chief immediately began arranging the meal.

Ye Che shook his head.

"Senior Brother, I thought you were worried about delaying our return."

Gu calmly replied while following the villagers.

"I’ve reconsidered."

He paused briefly before adding with complete seriousness.

"A cultivator should never allow a perfectly good meal to go to waste."

Ye Che had no counterargument.

The two remained in the village until evening before finally beginning their journey back.

Neither of them noticed that, several hundred kilometers away, another matter concerning the Qian Kingdom was becoming considerably more complicated.

...

The second imperial princess had not given up.

After failing to gain Duke Wei’s support, Qian Yinyin had visited several other influential families, hoping that at least one of them would be willing to take the risk of supporting her claim.

Unfortunately, the result had been remarkably consistent.

They smiled.

They offered polite words.

They praised her intelligence and character.

Then they politely declined.

By the time she left the residence of the third noble family, even Qian Yinyin had begun to feel that the entire capital had collectively decided to practice the art of saying no without actually saying no.

Her carriage moved slowly through the streets while she stared through the window.

The imperial capital remained outwardly peaceful, but the atmosphere had changed.

The emperor’s death had created a vacuum that everyone could feel.

Officials were becoming cautious, noble families were choosing their words carefully, and even ordinary citizens had begun whispering about which prince or princess might inherit the throne.

Qian Yinyin understood the situation better than most.

Her eldest brother possessed the strongest claim.

Her second brother had considerable support among the military and several noble families.

As for herself, she had the weakest position.

She was the second imperial princess, had no powerful faction behind her, and lacked the political influence necessary to compete directly with her brothers.

Yet she still refused to give up.

If she couldn’t obtain the support of the nobles, perhaps she could obtain the support of the cultivation sects.

That was why she had visited the Cloud Piercing Sect.

Unfortunately, even the sect had remained cautious.

They had welcomed her politely, listened to her request, and ultimately avoided making any commitment.

It wasn’t exactly a rejection.

But it wasn’t an agreement either.

Which, in politics, was usually just a more elegant way of saying no.

Qian Yinyin leaned against the carriage wall and sighed.

"Perhaps I really did choose the wrong path."

Her maid sitting opposite her hesitated before responding.

"Your Highness, you still have time. The imperial succession hasn’t been decided yet."

Qian Yinyin smiled faintly.

"I know."

She looked outside again.

"That’s precisely why I can’t afford to waste it."

The carriage continued forward.

For now, she had no choice but to return to the capital and reconsider her approach.

Perhaps there was another path she hadn’t noticed yet.

And if there wasn’t, she would simply have to create one.

...

Meanwhile, at another part of the imperial capital, the eldest prince was dealing with an entirely different problem.

Qian Wuchen sat inside a quiet study, several reports spread across the table before him.

His expression was calm, but his eyes remained fixed upon one particular document.

The Blood Moon Sect.

He had spent the past several days investigating the recent attack on the major sects.

At first glance, it appeared to be nothing more than an aggressive operation by the Blood Moon Sect against the Sword Sect.

But the more information he gathered, the less convincing that explanation became.

The timing was wrong.

The emperor had died mysteriously.

Not long afterward, the Blood Moon Sect launched an unusually bold operation against several powerful sects.

The two events might have been unrelated.

But they could also be connected.

Qian Wuchen had learned from experience that coincidences were often just patterns people hadn’t understood yet.

He picked up another report.

"The Blood Moon Sect attacked the Sword Sect, but their movements weren’t consistent with a simple assault."

A trusted aide standing nearby nodded.

"Indeed, Your Highness. Their forces withdrew rather suddenly, and there was no obvious strategic reason for the retreat."

Qian Wuchen’s fingers tapped lightly against the table.

"Exactly."

His gaze became colder.

"If their objective was to weaken the Sword Sect, they should have continued pressing the attack."

He looked through the documents again.

"Instead, they withdrew after suffering losses, without achieving any obvious victory."

The aide remained silent.

Qian Wuchen slowly leaned back.

"That means either we don’t understand their objective, or their objective was never the Sword Sect itself."

The room became quiet.

That possibility was far more disturbing.

If the Blood Moon Sect had attacked the Sword Sect merely to cause chaos, then the matter was serious but understandable.

If the attack had been intended to distract everyone from something else, then the situation was entirely different.

Qian Wuchen’s eyes narrowed.

"Investigate their movements before the attack."

The aide immediately nodded.

"Yes, Your Highness."

"And investigate where their forces went afterward."

"Understood."

Qian Wuchen paused for a moment before adding another order.

"Also investigate the emperor’s final days."

The aide’s expression changed slightly.

"Your Highness, you suspect..."

"I don’t know what I suspect."

Qian Wuchen interrupted calmly.

"That’s the problem."

He looked towards the enormous palace windows.

The setting sun painted the distant roofs of the imperial city in orange light, but the prince felt no warmth from the scenery.

His father was dead.

The throne was about to become the center of a struggle between his siblings.

The noble families were already choosing sides.

And somewhere beyond the kingdom’s borders, the Blood Moon Sect was moving pieces across the board.

Perhaps these events were unrelated.

Perhaps they were connected.

But if they were connected, then the emperor’s death might not have been the beginning of the chaos.

It might have been merely the first visible piece of something much larger.

Qian Wuchen slowly clenched his fist.

"Find out everything."

The aide bowed deeply.

"I will, Your Highness."

After the aide left, the eldest prince remained alone in the study.

His eyes returned to the report concerning the Blood Moon Sect.

There was one particular detail that bothered him more than everything else.

The Blood Moon Sect had chosen to attack powerful sects at precisely the moment when the imperial court was weakest.

That timing was far too convenient.

Qian Wuchen’s expression darkened.

"If you’re involved in my father’s death..."

His fingers tightened around the report.

"...then I will find you."