The Empress’s Gigolo

“You have said your piece! Let’s talk about something that interests me!” Ren Baqian wiggled on the uncomfortable couch. The back of the couch was too far away to support his back.

He should get someone to make a chair and carry it along wherever he goes.

“Your Highness, please go ahead!”

“In this world, how many sword masters are there now?”

Sword masters seldom fought with others, were hard to identify, and were usually wandering in deserted places. As for the number of sword masters in this world, besides them, most people had no idea at all.

Ren Baqian suspected that even these sword masters didn’t know.

“Slightly more than 100!” Qing Lian said uncertainly.

Then, she added, “Between 120 and 150 people.”

“How did you arrive at this number? How many have you met?” Ren Baqian asked eagerly.

“In fact, there’s an organization where all the members are sword slaves. There are also ordinary people and ordinary practitioners within this group who serve the members. This number is based on the figure of 110 members, which someone once mentioned in the organization.

By adding some who haven’t been found yet and some who are new sword masters, there should be no more than 150 and no less than 120. It’s hard to deduce the numbers as there will sometimes be ten in one year and none for a few years. There is no pattern or maybe the period is too short to find a pattern.

We may be able to find a pattern if the period is stretched to thousands of years or longer.

As for those I have met, there have been eight,” Qing Lian replied after thinking carefully.

Ren Baqian immediately thought of the organization that Ning Caichen had mentioned.

“What’s the name of that organization? How do you contact them? What’s the main function of the organization? Did they look for you? How did they identify you?” Ren Baqian thought for a while and asked these questions in succession.

“The organization is known as Shadow Dream, and it was said that the spirit sword of every leader was a Shadow Dream! In fact, Shadow Dream has existed for a long time and was inherited from the most glorious period of the swordsmen a thousand years ago. Its main function is to facilitate the exchange of materials between sword masters and to broadcast tasks. Those who can complete these tasks are rewarded with the materials they need or are given the location of such materials.”

Ren Baqian was surprised to hear this as Ning Caichen had mentioned that the organization was rather new, but Qing Lian said that it had existed for a very long time, maybe a thousand years.

The latter should be more credible.

Ning Caichen could have just got in touch with the organization and might have limited knowledge.

However, wasn’t it generally normal to tell potential members the history of the organization when trying to persuade them to join?

This point was rather strange.

Was it possible that there were two organizations?

With 100 plus sword masters, what was the rationale behind having two organizations?

“The way to confirm a sword master has something to do with the Shadow Dream sword.”

“Is there only one sword master organization?” Ren Baqian asked.

“Since you ask this question, you must have encountered other sword masters. Is it the one called Ning Caichen?

Originally, there was only one organization, but there was a difference in beliefs. One group adhered to the concept that they have always been outside this world, while the other group believed they should regain the glory days of the past or at least not live without recognition in the wild and far away from this prosperous world.

More influence should be acquired, and others should be made to gather resources for them.

These two viewpoints have existed for a long time, and four years ago, they finally split due to some issues. One of them is still called Shadow Dream, whereas the other organization is called Hidden Dream,” Qing Lian explained.

At this point, Ren Baqian finally understood. Ning Caichen was one of the few sword masters who hadn’t previously joined. She came into contact with Hidden Dream and not Shadow Dream. According to the timing, she was found by Hidden Dream after coming to Dayao.

“Didn’t members of Hidden Dream want to isolate themselves from this world? How many people do both sides have?” Ren Baqian assessed that the latter should be easier to deal with.

The former could also be approached. This group of people had actually divided into two portions. One portion had their desire entrenched in their hearts, and these people were unstable factors.

The other portion wanted to get ordinary people to help them find materials and could rope in these people on their own.

As long as they could fulfill his own wish, what was wrong with meeting their requirements?

Subsequently, Ren Baqian learned about some matters from Qing Lian.

Shadow Dream had the most members; about 80 people. Seven or eight of them were Spirit Wheels, and the rest were equivalent to Earth Wheel level.

Among these people, only a few craved power. Even most of the Spirit Wheel experts only wished to find materials more quickly with the help of ordinary people. They were also reluctant to leave the prosperous world.

After all, sword masters were also human, and most of them wanted to join the prosperous world. It was really hard to bear the loneliness of searching for materials in the wilderness.

However, in order to control ordinary people or martial artists, they had to acquire authority.

Hidden Dream only had about 20 plus members, and five or six of them were Spirit Wheel level sword masters.

“How do they communicate with each other?”

“Is Your Highness very interested in them? They are actually a bunch of pitiful people!” When it came to the second part of the sentence, Qing Lian sounded ironic as she was also laughing at herself because she was one of them.

“Indeed! I have an idea that needs verification. Among those sword masters that you have met, are any of them gifted with special talents? For example, is there anyone like you?”

“Is Your Highness seeking their talent?” Qing Lian smiled and relaxed. After all, she and they were the same type of people.

“In that case, what’s your proposal for them?” she asked.

“If they are what I expect, I can work with them. They can work for me in exchange for materials. They will not need to be far away from this prosperous world, wandering in the wilderness every day. I can mobilize people to search for the things they want. There are unlimited treasures in the Sixty Thousand Mountains, and only the aboriginals can obtain them.”

“What does Your Highness want them to do?” Qing Lian displayed some interest.

“Maybe they can do some research about how this world works, just like you did in the academy. Maybe they can become teachers and be responsible for teaching students. It depends on how far they can go. This is a good opportunity for them. If they search for materials in remote areas or do some tasks, they will inevitably face dangers. If they use their spirit sword, they will shorten their lifespan. Over here, they do not need to worry at all!” Ren Baqian said.

Qing Lian became even more interested.

The royal family of Great Xia was attracted to the prowess of the sword masters, but didn’t dare to use them because of the rules. Even if they bent the rules and employed a few of them privately, it was because of their fighting ability.

Since sword masters looked like ordinary people, people wouldn’t be on guard and the success rate would be very high if they were used for assassination.

However, this was a problem since sword masters would shorten their lifespan after a fight.

Moreover, Ren Baqian wasn’t seeking their fighting ability, but their talent for learning, which she found novel.

If what Ren Baqian said was true, it would truly be an opportunity for many sword masters.

“I hope you can help me contact some sword masters. You can contact them using your own resources or set up tasks through those organizations. I want to test if they are what I think they are!” Ren Baqian said.

He continued, “This test will take a few months at most, and there is no danger. If they do not pass the test, I can send ten winged cavalry warriors to escort them for half a year in the Sixty Thousand Mountains while searching for the materials they need. Anything they find will belong to them.

If they pass the test, they can stay in Lan City, and I will let them choose some materials as a reward. The quantity of the material will depend on the value of the material. I will make sure they are satisfied.”

“I will go back and try to contact them! Is fighting ability a requirement?” Qing Lian asked.

“No!” Ren Baqian answered.

“Got it! I will inform Your Highness as soon as possible. If there is any problem, it would be that they don’t consider Lan City to be a prosperous city!”

“Very soon, Lan City will be more prosperous than any of the cities they have seen before!” Ren Baqian smiled.

“I believe what Your Highness has said!”