The Emperor's Domineering Favor, the Evil Consort's Unparalleled Reign

Yi Bicheng couldn't help but chuckle; how could he not know this little girl had a penchant for sleepwalking? Ying Li, however, was in agony. If Nan Chuan hadn't been so ruthless yesterday, she wouldn't have been beaten so badly.

With a sigh, Ying Li sat down opposite Yi Bicheng and ate breakfast. Today's breakfast was much more exquisite than usual: fresh meat buns, jade steamed dumplings, vegetable and diced meat porridge, plus four refreshing side dishes. Ying Li's appetite was whetted, and he ate two bowls of porridge, three buns, and five steamed dumplings before stopping.

Seeing Ying Li eating so heartily, Yi Bicheng smiled, and after a while, he got down to business. It turned out that Yi Bicheng's mother, Madam Yunran's, birthday was approaching, and he had to rush back to Tianfu to celebrate with her, so he couldn't travel with Ying Li for the time being.

Although Ying Li felt regretful, she still happily saw Yi Bicheng off. She touched her body and finally found a very exquisite ring. It was a ring made of moonstone that Ying Li had obtained by chance in Ye Lingcheng. It was natural and simple. Although it was not very precious, it was simple and elegant and had a special meaning.

Yi Bicheng happily accepted the gift, bid farewell to Ying Li, and reminded him to be careful on the road. He said that he would meet up with Ying Li on the fifth day of next month if nothing unexpected happened. Seeing that Ying Li nodded and took it to heart, he then embarked on his journey back to Tianfu.

Ying Li left Xiao Ye's house alone and embarked on the road to Lao Yue Town in Feng'an Kingdom. There were still twenty days until the fifth day of the next month; he wondered what Old Man Yan was up to. After traveling for ten days, he finally arrived at Lao Yue Town. Ying Li patted his now-empty stomach and quickly found an inn to feast.

Lying in the inn, Ying Li stared at Nan Chuan and said with some displeasure, "You went too far. I was almost beaten to death by you yesterday."

Nan Chuan sat at the table with his arms crossed, drinking tea. Hearing Ying Li's complaint, he couldn't help but feel angry. "You still have the nerve to say that? Nan Chuan is clearly a place name. I'm being lenient by not beating you to death. You really deserve to be beaten for trying to fool your brother like that."

"Anyway, I think this name suits you quite well. From now on, I'll call you Nanchuan, hmph." Ying Li said with a sneer, playing with the Xuanjin brocade in his hand. Inside, the wolf was fast asleep, completely unresponsive to Ying Li's teasing. These two guys, one is incredibly arrogant, and the other is a complete idiot. Ying Li couldn't help but feel a headache coming on.

Suddenly remembering something extremely important, Ying Li said earnestly, "Nanchuan, we managed to wake you up this time, but what if you fall into a deep sleep again next time? Why don't I go and find you more Qilin Pearls, just in case?"

Seeing Ying Li's serious expression, Nan Chuan put the matter of the name aside for the time being. He rested his chin on his right hand, held the teacup lid with his left hand, and turned his head with a mischievous smile, saying, "Actually, there's no need to go to such trouble. If the two of us cultivate together, we can solve the problem through a certain method."

Upon hearing this, Ying Li quickly asked, "What method? Why have you never mentioned it before?"

"Haha, what do you think?" Nan Chuan asked with ill intent, his eyes scanning Ying Li up and down. The other party had become increasingly elegant, completely different from when he first left Ye Ling City of Jin'an Kingdom.

Ying Li's expression changed, realizing that the other party was teasing him. He shut his mouth and continued to play with Xuan Jin while lying on the bed, his neck stiff.

"Anyway, nothing serious is happening for now, and I won't just suddenly fall into a coma. So, focus on cultivating your spiritual power during this time. Once you become a mid-level disciple in the Bixia Palace, you'll naturally have access to excellent resources. It's not appropriate for you to know the method for controlling the Bone Ring yet. Once you become stronger, I'll confidently tell you." Nan Chuan put away his mischievous smile, picked up his teacup, took a sip, and wore a calm smile, though the crescent-shaped scar on his forehead became even more prominent.

Ying Li turned to look at Nan Chuan's calm expression, and suddenly a bitter feeling welled up in her eyes. She had to help him remember, help him recall the things of the past. If possible, she hoped to complete the things he hadn't had the chance to do.

“In that case, I’ll go find the Qilin Pearl.” Ying Li smiled slightly, her face showing a simple and innocent look. Nan Chuan shook his head, finished his tea in one gulp, and then said, “Weren’t you going to find Old Man Yan? It’s better to inquire about him early, lest you find him when the time comes.”

Ying Li nodded, lay on the bed for half an hour to rest, and then went downstairs, hoping to get some information out of the waiter.

As soon as he went downstairs, he heard the guests whispering mysteriously. Because of his mind control ability, Ying Li could easily hear what they were talking about.

"Have you heard?! The top ten spirit masters of the Spirit Realm Continent are going to gather in this Old Yue Town in ten days. This is explosive news. Don't leave, brothers. You can't miss this good thing."

"Why would the Ten Great Spirit Masters gather in this small place? Could it be that something terrible has happened on our continent that requires the combined efforts of the Ten Great Spirit Masters to resolve?"

"Don't overthink it. It's because the Ten Great Spirit Masters made a promise ten years ago that they would pass on all their cenotaphs to their disciples. The day of the disciple competition is the fifth day of next month, which is ten years from now. A competition between disciples of masters is such a good thing that we can't miss. So, if you ask me, let's spread the word, find more people, and place bets on the disciple competition. We can always make a profit!"

"Brother Liu is so thoughtful! Let's finish this meal and get on with it right away!"

"..."

Ying Li listened, seemingly lost in thought, and couldn't help but feel wronged. He'd only been an apprentice for a few days, and his master was so nonchalant—how could he compare to those who had studied spiritual texts for ten years?!

"Girl, don't worry, even if you're not the best, you won't be at the bottom. Didn't they say that Ma Yin, the disciple of the Yun family's spiritual master Cui, can't beat you? When the time comes, the two of you can keep each other company, so it won't be too embarrassing!" Nan Chuan said gloatingly from the Bone Ring.

Ying Li's face darkened further. "But Old Man Cui said he'll have his eldest apprentice fight me next time."

"Fine, you might as well just stay at the bottom. If you lose, blame it on Old Man Yan. Anyway, all those spirit masters know that your master is a good-for-nothing, so it's no surprise that his disciple lost." Nan Chuan continued to add fuel to the fire and criticize her.

"Phew!" Ying Li took a deep breath, suppressing the urge to beat Nan Chuan to a pulp, walked out of the inn and onto the old Yue Town, looking at the scenery around him.

"Woo!" Suddenly, a series of mournful cries came from the Xuanjin. Ying Li's expression changed again. He released the hunting wolf from the Xuanjin. The hunting wolf was now the size of an ordinary wolf cub. After seeing Ying Li, it lay down at Ying Li's feet with its tail drooping, looking listless.

Ying Li was beginning to have doubts when she looked at the wolf hunter's lower abdomen and almost fainted!

Her lower abdomen was sunken, as if she hadn't eaten for ten or eight years! But just ten or eight days ago, the wolf had clearly eaten more than three thousand two hundred of her rare spiritual herbs, causing her excruciating pain.

"How can you eat so much?! How am I going to be able to support you in the future?!" Ying Li squatted down, poked the wolf's forehead with her hand, her eyes filled with helplessness.

He had intended to wander around the inn, but it seemed things weren't going well. He'd better find something to eat for the wolf first. This creature was a Ghost Realm Spirit Guide, feeding on spiritual energy. He didn't have any spiritual herbs, so he couldn't let the wolf eat him. Thinking this, Ying Li shook his head, picked up the wolf, held it in his arms, and headed back towards the inn. He'd return to his lodgings first and then make further plans.

Just as Ying Li turned around, a commotion suddenly broke out on the street. The sound of horses' hooves clattered rapidly, and a cacophony of shouts began to spread towards Ying Li from not far away. A woman dressed in a blue dress was seen carrying a small black-spotted dog in her arms, running towards her frantically.

Ying Li was about to make way for her when she stumbled and fell, and as Ying Li moved aside, the two of them collided heavily.

Ying Li, wincing in pain, sat on the cold ground, unable to get up for a while. The woman, who had been knocked flat on her face, was groaning in pain. Finally turning around, she saw Ying Li's red forehead and said, "Little sister, I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to. Please get up..."

"There it is! Go after it!"

Just as the woman was pulling Ying Li to her feet, a loud shout came from not far away. The woman's face twitched, and panic filled her eyes. She pulled Ying Li up with force, then ran away with the black dog in her arms.

"Little sister, I'm sorry, I have to go now!" With that, the woman turned and disappeared into the middle of the street without looking back.

Before Ying Li could even see the other person's face, a cyan figure flashed before her eyes and quickly disappeared.

Rubbing his forehead, which was swollen and red from the impact, Ying Li picked up the little wolf, stood up, dusted himself off, and was about to leave and return to the inn when he was surrounded by a group of burly men on spirited horses.

The leader, a man with completely white hair and beard and a face full of anger, saw Ying Li and, without saying a word, drew his riding whip from his waist and pointed it at Ying Li's face, saying, "You little bitch, where do you think you're going?!"

Ying Li stood there, stunned, staring at the group of people with a blank expression on her face.

"Are you calling me, sir? I don't know you!" Ying Li said, looking at the burly man speechlessly.

Seeing Ying Li's attempt to deny it, the man flicked his whip in mid-air. A loud crack startled the onlookers. Pointing at Ying Li, he said in a sarcastic tone, "Blue robes, long hair, black dog in your arms, slightly red eyes, you little slut, where do you think you're going?!"

Ying Li's expression changed. He remembered that the woman he had just met was dressed in blue, so could they have mistaken him for someone else? But... was this brute an idiot? He couldn't even tell the difference between a wolf and a dog; he must be out of his mind.

Ying Li looked at him defiantly, about to snap, "Woof! Woof!"

Two barks made Ying Li stiffen. She looked incredulously at the small black dog in her arms, its eyes sparkling. The dog's bright red tongue was carefully licking her chin. Ying Li's lips twitched as she stared in the direction the woman had run off in, as if she understood something.

Hey, hey, big sister, come back...