Zhuge Liang's Journey to Dominate the World: Starting from Another World

The group walked through a winding corridor and arrived at an elegantly decorated tea room. The room was filled with the fragrance of incense, and exquisite tea sets were laid out on the table, with a pot of fine tea ready to be brewed.

After the four were seated, the maids gracefully stepped forward, tended the fire in the stove, and served fragrant tea.

Then came another round of mutual flattery, but Duanmu Qing didn't mention a word about why Kongming was invited.

Since he didn't bring it up, Kongming wasn't in a hurry to ask. He calmly took a sip of tea, deciding to remain still and observe the situation.

Finally, Duanmu Qing clapped his hands, and two beautiful women walked out from the inner courtyard.

"This is the Immortal Master Zhuge that I often mention to you. Hurry up and pay your respects!"

Upon hearing this, the two women gracefully approached Kongming, bowed deeply, and spoke in voices as clear and melodious as orioles singing in a valley: "Greetings, Immortal Master Zhuge. We have long admired your name, and it is truly an honor to meet you today."

Kongming smiled slightly, gently gesturing for them to rise with his feather fan. "You two young ladies are truly exceptional. Brother Duanmu is indeed a blessed man. I am so envious!"

Upon seeing this, Duanmu Qing laughed and said, "Brother Zhuge, you misunderstand. I found the two of them to be intelligent, so I took them in and trained them. Now that I have met a refined gentleman like you, I called them out to make my presence known!"

"Oh! I see. I wonder if Brother Duanmu would be willing to part with them? I am also willing to teach and guide them!" Kongming's eyes were fixed on the two women, and he was no longer the gentleman he had been before.

"This...this is probably not appropriate!" Duanmu Qing said with some difficulty.

"I'm willing to offer 100,000 gold coins, what do you think, Brother Duanmu?"

Duanmu Qing narrowed his eyes, secretly wondering why Kongming had such a hobby.

"one million!"

"Two million!"

Seeing that Duanmu Qing did not reply, Kongming noticed that the price had skyrocketed.

Upon hearing this, Li Guangling frowned slightly. When he sent the beautiful concubine to Wolong Manor and was driven away by Kongming, Zhu Ganglie had inadvertently mentioned that the two of them often went to brothels. It seems that this statement was true.

But why do you always act like a pure and innocent person? Is it because you don't want to ruin your image in Mu Ling's eyes?

The more Li Guangling thought about it, the more he realized it made sense. He cursed Zhuge Liang in his heart, thinking how foolish his sister had thought this charlatan was some kind of virtuous gentleman.

“Brother Zhuge, you’re joking. These two men cannot be measured by money,” Duanmu Qing said, taking a sip of tea.

"Brother Duanmu, I truly like these two women, and I hope you will grant my wish."

Duanmu Qing invited Kongming for no apparent reason and knew all about his whereabouts. Kongming would never believe that Duanmu Qing was simply trying to make friends with him.

Later, seeing that he had summoned two women, he decided to play tricks and see what Duanmu Qing was really up to.

“Brother Zhuge, why do you specifically want these two? To be honest, although their combat strength isn't high, they are genuine Golden Core cultivators. Are you sure you can control them? Also, I've been traveling around the world for many years, so it's inevitable that…”

Seeing Duanmu Qing's hesitant expression, Kongming immediately understood that he was raising two Golden Core stage cultivators as furnaces.

This also shows how wealthy Duanmu Qing is. He used resources to create two Golden Core cultivators, which is not something a rogue cultivator should have. However, this also made Kong Ming wonder what Duanmu Qing was up to!

"I see. Please forgive my rudeness, Brother Duanmu." Kongming stood up and cupped his hands in greeting to Duanmu Qing.

“Of course, I invited Brother Zhuge here to make friends sincerely. If there’s anything else you’d like to see, just say the word!” Duanmu Qing waved his hand and said.

"Enough! I hit it off with Brother Duanmu today. How about we become sworn brothers?" Kongming said earnestly.

"This……"

Duanmu Qing was momentarily stunned. Zhuge Kongming's actions were haphazard and disorganized, yet he had managed to put Duanmu Qing on the defensive.

"Hehe... Brother Zhuge is a straightforward person. Another day, another day I will invite some like-minded people to witness this together."

"There's no better time than today. Our sworn brotherhood is our own affair; we don't need any witnesses. Zilong, go find an incense table. I want to burn incense and offer sacrifices to Heaven with my good brother!"

When Kongming said this, not only Duanmu Qing, but even Li Guangling and Zhao Yun were caught off guard.

However, Zhao Yun knew that his prime minister would not do this without reason. Although he did not understand why, he immediately replied, "This subordinate will go and prepare immediately."

Having said that, he moved with lightning speed, disappearing from everyone's sight in the blink of an eye, like a gentle breeze.

Duanmu Qing looked utterly frustrated. He'd seen people take advantage of situations before, but never one so quickly. Of course, he knew Kongming wasn't genuinely interested in becoming sworn brothers with him, but he couldn't fathom Kongming's intentions at all.

A moment later, Zhao Yun carried a bronze cauldron with one hand and gently placed it in the courtyard.

"Haha, Brother Duanmu, everything is ready now, you must not refuse!"

Kongming laughed heartily, got up, and pulled Duanmu Qing out of the tea room. Regardless of their intentions, they would first become sworn brothers.

Duanmu Qing, feeling helpless, reluctantly approached the incense burner. The two exchanged vows and oaths, thus completing the sworn brotherhood ceremony.

"Brother, from this day forward we are sworn brothers. I hope you will give me your guidance!" Kongming said, cupping his hands in a gesture of respect while holding a feather fan.

"Don't worry, my dear brother. I do have some reputation. If you encounter any truly difficult problems, feel free to let me know!"

"With these words from you, elder brother, I am content!" Kongming said gratefully.

"Once I've settled things here, I'd like to accompany you to Jinshan County. What do you think?" Duanmu Qing asked tentatively.

Kongming's eyes narrowed. This was probably Duanmu Qing's purpose. As for the reason behind it, Kongming still couldn't guess.

However, he immediately put on a delighted expression, "I'm so glad that you're coming to my territory, brother..."

After exchanging pleasantries, Kongming rose to take his leave.

Duanmu Qing invited Kongming, seemingly doing nothing, but in fact, he did nothing at all.

This made Li Guangling suspicious. "Master Zhuge, is Duanmu Qing really here to befriend you?"

"This guy is very cunning. We still don't know what his purpose is, but what we can be sure of is that our headquarters is what interests him!" Kongming said, waving his feather fan.

Finally, on the morning of the second day, Li Guangling was summoned by Empress Wu.

According to the laws of the Tang Dynasty, all court officials entered the palace through the Chengtian Gate on the south side.

As Li Guangling traveled, he felt a mix of emotions. The Tang Dynasty court, which he had been away from for so long, felt so familiar yet so strange to him.

"No one is allowed to carry weapons in the imperial palace!"

A guard stopped Kongming and his two companions, demanding that Zhao Yun disarm and remove his armor before they could enter.

"You scoundrel, if you don't get out of my way, don't blame me for being merciless with my spear!" Zhao Yun's eyes widened in anger.

He had no fear because this was the Tang Dynasty imperial palace; in his heart, Kongming's safety was paramount...