LIGHTNOVELONLINE Chapter 194
Chapter 194: The Strongest Cultivation Talent, Princess Ling’er?
Qin Bei left.
He believed that after dropping this statement, not many people would dare to hand over their soul pearls to Qin Xiu.
At this moment, Qin Bei began to feel pleased with the image he had built for himself.
The unreasonable bully of the capital!
Compared to Qin Xiu, who appeared friendly on the surface but secretly did sneaky bad deeds, people were far more inclined to offend Qin Xiu instead.
Qin Xiu watched Qin Bei’s departing figure, a hint of sarcasm curling at the corner of his mouth.
Did he really think that just because he could obtain soul pearls in this imperial mausoleum, he could cover the sky with one hand?
“You two, come here.”
Qin Xiu pointed at two individuals not far away. These were Qin Bei’s subordinates who had stayed behind to follow Qin Xiu.
Both of them had been casually picked up by Qin Bei from the last tombstone group.
They were both at the seventh level of the Golden Core realm, and it was impossible to say they didn’t feel pressure facing Qin Xiu.
However, they did know one thing: Qin Xiu wouldn’t dare to openly act against the two of them inside and outside of this imperial mausoleum.
Even now, everyone knew that Qin Bei and Qin Xiu had publicly challenged each other.
But these individuals were not loyal subordinates of Qin Bei; they were merely helping him with a few errands in this imperial mausoleum.
So, with Qin Xiu’s gentle prince image, there was no way he would act against them.
The two were right in their assumptions.
Even if Qin Xiu wanted to drive them away now, he couldn’t do so forcefully.
Thus, Qin Xiu planned to use a softer approach.
He intended to remember these individuals and settle accounts with them after leaving the imperial mausoleum.
“Prince Xiu, we…”
The two felt pressured standing before Qin Xiu.
They wanted to express that following Qin Xiu was not their choice, but they didn’t know how to articulate it.
“No need to say it, no need to say it. This prince knows, coming to this imperial mausoleum is just for opportunities. If he can give you opportunities, it’s normal for you to help him with a few small tasks.”
Qin Xiu spoke to the two with an expression suggesting he understood everything.
Honestly, even though Qin Xiu was aware he was pretending, others didn’t know!
This act of generosity created an immediate stark contrast in everyone’s hearts when compared to Qin Bei’s vengeful actions.
Once this comparison took shape, everyone felt that in the future, it would definitely be better to follow Qin Xiu than Qin Bei.
Moreover, if we talk about wielding power, a magnanimous person like Qin Xiu would definitely be better at it.
If someone like Qin Bei gained power, others would hardly dare to imagine the consequences.
And this was precisely what Qin Xiu desired.
Winning the hearts of the people is also effective in this cultivation world.
Especially since these sentiments came from the geniuses of various major sects.
This would greatly aid him in acquiring more power in the royal family in the future.
Seeing the looks on the faces around him, Qin Xiu realized that his approach was correct.
The image he established in the hearts of these individuals was definitely far superior to that of Qin Bei.
His younger brother was still too young; he only knew how to enjoy himself and didn’t realize that for someone in power, the hearts of the people were far more important.
Without the people’s support, he was ultimately just a casual cultivator.
But Qin Xiu understood this well.
After all, when other princes obtained their royal seals, they immediately recruited guest officials.
They sought out those powerful individuals who could assist them.
Even if all of these required money, they were indispensable.
Only Qin Bei spent a lot of money but had zero guest officials in his mansion.
Up until now, it was still the shadow guards managing security.
How ridiculous, it was simply embarrassing for a prince of Sanyin’s level!
…
The two felt grateful that Qin Xiu understood them.
A magnanimous prince like this truly has charisma.
If it weren’t for Qin Bei offering enough benefits this time, they probably wouldn’t have been bought over.
“Thank you, Prince Xiu, for understanding. Rest assured, we will only follow from a distance and will absolutely not disturb you while you obtain the soul pearls.”
“But the tasks assigned by Prince Bei, we still have to carry out. We hope Prince Xiu can understand.”
The two said respectfully.
Qin Xiu: …
What a thing to say…
You’re following me, and of course, it won’t affect my ability to obtain soul pearls.
But the real problem is, you guys will tell Qin Bei my location!
You won’t stop me from getting the soul pearls because you simply can’t.
And why should I let you two stick around causing disturbances…
This is ridiculous! It’s truly a struggle just to save face!
If it had been Qin Bei here, if anyone dared to follow him, they would have been dealt with directly!
For the sake of the people’s hearts! I’ll endure this!
Qin Xiu reminded himself inwardly.
“Actually, I called you here to point out that Qin Bei is not a good leader, and following him will yield poor results.”
Qin Xiu kindly advised.
Anyone with even a bit of wit could understand what Qin Xiu meant. At least those around watching the excitement clearly understood he was trying to poach talent.
Letting the two in front of him turn against Qin Bei and join his side.
Such things were quite common, after all.
Everyone knew well that these two were merely engaged in a temporary benefit relationship with Qin Bei.
They couldn’t even be considered proper subordinates, and thus, loyalty was a foreign concept.
However, what Qin Xiu and everyone else hadn’t anticipated was that the two in front of him acted as if they hadn’t understood at all and simply responded: “Prince Xiu is right! We’re just doing a few small tasks for him in this imperial mausoleum, a temporary mutually beneficial arrangement. Once we leave the mausoleum, we won’t continue doing tasks for Prince Bei.”
Hearing this, Qin Xiu was taken aback.
What do you mean?
Did you not understand what I just said?
“Damn it! Are you two playing dumb? I think you both need some punishment! One good smack for each of you should about do it!”
Before Qin Xiu could voice his thoughts, Gu Chuan, who had been nearby, couldn’t hold back anymore.
Clearly, they were just pretending to be foolish to obfuscate the matter.
Seeing Gu Chuan about to make a move, both of them retreated several steps in fear.
“Hey~ Let’s keep it civil. No need to think about bullying others all the time. I, Qin Xiu, am not Qin Bei. I won’t use my authority to oppress others nor casually strike at my own people.”
Qin Xiu stepped in after blocking Gu Chuan, delivering this message.
Clearly, these words resonated well with the crowd around.
A prince who holds power and influence, yet is willing to reason with others—everyone feels this is a person worth following.
At least when compared to Qin Bei, people would certainly choose Qin Xiu.
“What I mean is, while you’re working under Qin Bei, the benefits you receive are quite limited. Even if he can give you soul pearls, what then? I can give you this opportunity as well! So why follow someone as cold-hearted and vengeful as Qin Bei? If you inadvertently offend him, it’s hard to find a way out.”
Qin Xiu watched for any changes in their expressions.
But it was obvious that the two weren’t simpletons.
“In that case, you don’t need to betray Qin Bei, just sell the soul pearls you have on hand to me. I’ll buy them at 200,000 spirit stones each! You can continue to follow me, and I’ll cooperate and pretend that you still lack soul pearls. How does that sound?”
Qin Xiu looked at the two and patiently negotiated.
To be honest, this was already exceptionally polite.
However, those two in front of him weren’t naive either.
They knew full well that if they went through with this, it would be akin to betraying Qin Bei.
And they both understood the repercussions of offending Qin Bei.
Maybe while they were in the imperial mausoleum, Qin Bei wouldn’t do anything against them.
But once they left the mausoleum, what then?
Wouldn’t they just be waiting for Qin Bei’s storm of revenge?
Besides, the benefit Qin Bei had provided was taking them into the inner circle.
That kind of opportunity was something Qin Xiu clearly couldn’t offer.
Thus, the two pretended to hesitate, furrowing their brows as they said, “Sorry, it’s not that we’re not giving face to Prince Xiu, but we brothers also have our own principles. While we are working for Prince Bei, we can only do as he says. However, after this time, we will no longer work for Prince Bei. We will definitely join you, Prince Xiu, a wise leader.”
Qin Xiu felt a flare of anger.
These two were saying nice things on the surface.
And now they want to ally with me, a wise leader?
Once they leave the imperial mausoleum, these people would simply return to their respective sects. Even if they wanted to bring them over, getting to their sects would be what Qin Xiu had to focus on. These little cultivators at the Golden Core realm weren’t worth his attention.
But regardless of how frustrated he felt internally, Qin Xiu couldn’t let that show for the sake of his image.
He could only pat the shoulders of the two and say, “I advise you to think this through carefully, don’t pick the wrong side. The consequences could be quite severe.”
That last statement served as a veiled threat to them.
Nonetheless, the two said nothing, merely leaving silently and trailing from a distance.
What a joke! You can certainly pull off the small tricks, but should you betray Qin Bei, that guy wouldn’t think twice about taking action! He dares to kill his own relatives; what more can’t he do?
So the two decisively rejected the proposal to betray Qin Bei.
The onlookers also understood their logic.
If it were to be them in the same position, they would choose to offend Qin Xiu rather than Qin Bei.
Even if Qin Xiu’s strength exceeded that of Qin Bei by a level, they couldn’t afford to cross him.
No choice, Qin Bei’s infamous reputation was just that strong.
…
“Your Highness, how about I find an opportunity to take them out?”
Gu Chuan, who was following Qin Xiu, suggested with a gesture across his throat.
“No need; these two are just spies. Even if we killed them, Qin Bei would find out immediately and send in replacements. It wouldn’t serve any purpose but to earn ourselves a bad reputation. Not worth it.”
Qin Xiu was very protective of his own reputation.
He may do all kinds of misdeeds in the shadows, but he must appear as a humble and generous prince on the surface.
Only by doing this could he garner more support from people.
“So we just let them follow us? What about the soul pearls we’re lacking? We can’t really afford to buy them at a high price from Qin Bei, right?”
Gu Chuan frowned and inquired.
“Don’t worry about that. I’ve already made plans. Just follow my lead without worry.”
Qin Xiu smiled.
Thinking that his other arrangements were about to be set into motion.
…
On the other side.
Qin Bei took Mu Zhaoxue and Ji Zhuyue to other tombstone groups overnight.
The remaining larger tombstone groups had all be investigated by Qin Bei.
In just one night, Qin Bei managed to acquire 30,000 sixth-level soul pearls.
Had it not been for his interruptions caused by seeking out Qin Xiu twice, he could have obtained at least an additional 10,000 soul pearls.
But Qin Bei just wouldn’t allow it!
He wanted to interfere with Qin Xiu’s soul pearl acquisitions.
He would not let Qin Xiu secure enough soul pearls before the inner region was unveiled.
After all, there weren’t many large tombstone groups left.
Even if some smaller tombstone groups remained untouched, Qin Bei couldn’t be bothered.
Because the system’s krypton gold points had been nearly depleted.
At noon the next day.
There was only one afternoon and one night left before the inner region of the imperial mausoleum opened.
Qin Bei glanced at the fewer than one thousand krypton gold points remaining in the system and finally halted his acquisition of soul pearls.
He took Mu Zhaoxue and Ji Zhuyue to the central area of the outer circle.
There stood the only entrance to the inner region.
Many cultivators unable to access the inner region congregated there, merely hoping to get a glimpse inside when the inner region opened, and that would suffice for them.
Upon arriving there, the first person Qin Bei spotted was a familiar face.
Qin Chen!
Princess Ling’er was at his side.
Seeing these two, Qin Bei couldn’t help but think of the imperial concubine.
Demon cultivators.
Before him, one was resolute and steadfast in his path, while the other was naive and bubbly.
Just by appearances, who could know that half of their bloodline originated from the cruel and bloodthirsty demon cultivators?
And judging by Princess Ling’er’s mischievous demeanor, it was clear she had no idea of her lineage.
Qin Chen happened to look over here, nodding to greet Qin Bei upon seeing him.
“Tsk tsk~ I didn’t expect that after entering the imperial mausoleum, thinking you would turn out to be the dark horse, only to find out Qin Bei is truly dark! It’s quite perverse!”
Princess Ling’er spotted Qin Bei as well.
Upon learning that he was the soul pearl merchant, her shock was palpable.
“Actually, before I got the news, I had already guessed it would be him. He displayed his abilities at the Demon Suppression Tower; I just didn’t expect him to hold back on that occasion.”
Qin Chen murmured as he gazed at Qin Bei’s retreating figure.
“Sigh~ Right now he’s stealing the spotlight, surrounded by two beautiful women. How’s that? Are you envious?”
Princess Ling’er teased.
“I’m not interested in showing off, and even less so in beauties. All I want is to surpass him!”
Qin Chen declared determinedly, staring at Qin Bei’s figure.
“Surpass what? Forget it. How will you surpass him? Just go get some rest.”
Princess Ling’er patted Qin Chen’s shoulder, exasperated.
However, Qin Chen didn’t heed Princess Linger’s words.
What he couldn’t wrap his head around was why his sister, blessed with the highest cultivation talent, wouldn’t use it.
He had repeatedly urged his sister not to squander her potential.
But the reply was always the same: “As a princess of the Great Xia, with my father around and such a remarkable younger brother, why would I need exceptionally high cultivation? If it weren’t for keeping up appearances, I wouldn’t even bother to practice.”
Each time Princess Ling’er said this, she said it with a smile.
But for some reason, Qin Chen always felt there was something amiss in her words.
But despite the years passing, he never received an answer.
…
P.S.: A pit has been dug…