The days passed by, turning into weeks, then months. During that time, the Shang Kingdom underwent several massive changes. Two among the biggest changes were what happened with the Ming Province and former Zhou Kingdom.

Thanks to Zé Měilì of the Water-Moon Pavilion, the Shang Kingdom had managed to secure a strong alliance within the Ming Province. The woman was quite cunning. After the other three pavilions were weakened by the war with the Shang Kingdom, she swooped in and demolished each sect one by one, becoming the undisputed most powerful sect. She then further expanded the Water-Moon Pavilion’s influence by subsuming the people within those sects.

A few had resisted.

They were mercilessly cut down.

In exchange for an alliance, the Shang Kingdom had provided the Water-Moon Pavilion with alchemy pills and ingredients. Thanks to their contribution, many of the Water-Moon Pavilion’s original members ascended to the Asura Realm, then a few even went above, breaking through to the Human Limit Realm. Their sect quickly became even more powerful than all of the other three sects combined when they were at the height of their power.

On the other hand, the former Zhou Kingdom had undergone a total reform; it was now being called the Zhou Province. The nation had been annexed by the Shang Kingdom after the war. All of its land and assets had been siezed and were now being used for the benefit of the Shang Kingdom.

Rather than being distraught over the change of regime, the people of the Zhou Province seemed happy. Their life underneath the tyrannical yoke of Emperor Cì Shā had been awful. That was not to say they hadn’t been wary at first. Many of the normal citizens had been terrified that the Shang Kingdom would be just like their previous rulers, but thanks to Hou Jingshu, none of their fears had come to pass. The Shang Kingdom had shared its abundance of foodstuffs with the starving people of the Zhou Province and helped them reclaim what had been stolen from them. The former government’s treasure had been raided and most of the currency had been redistributed to the population.

This did not mean the Shang Kingdom gained nothing. They were not tyrants, but no one did something so selfless out of the goodness of their hearts, especially when they had a nation to look after. A strong Zhou Province meant a stronger Shang Kingdom. By bolstering the Zhou Province’s wealth, they strengthened their ties and ensured the people’s loyalty.

There were also many alchemy ingredients inside of the Zhou Province’s treasury, which the Shang Kingdom had claimed for themselves. All the ingredients were of a much higher quality and tier than anything that could be found in the Shang Kingdom. Sadly, there were very few alchemists who could make use of those ingredients. They had been forced to use their alliance with Water-Moon Pavilion to secure an alchemist who could refine higher tier pills. It had cost them, but it was worth it.

Yu Chenguang was able to break through to the Deva Realm. It was the first time since the Shang Kingdom’s founding that someone had ever reached this height. Emperor Hou Jun had also made a full recovery and, thanks to the alchemy ingredients of the Zhou Province, had been able to break through to the Deva Realm. He was quickly followed by Húndàn Qie and Fengli Cai. If they included Lì Liàng, they now had five people at the Deva Realm, which meant they had the same power has some of the mid-class kingdoms like the Ming Province, Qin Country, and Qing Province.

Of course, this did not include Hua Xue and Loong Chen. If they were included, this country might even be one of the strongest after the Xia Dynasty.

Wu Jian had also grown in power, though his increase was nowhere near as pronounced. He had reached the Sixth Subream of the Human Limit Realm. Everyone else he spoke to, like Yu Chenguang, Fengli Cai, and Lì Liàng, said that his cultivation was really fast. He was only seventeen years old and had reached a height few could dream of. Only the young geniuses who had been fed alchemy pills and trained since birth had reached the same level as him.

Perhaps he was impatient. Wu Jian wanted more power. He couldn’t afford to rest on his laurels when he had no idea when, where, or how his enemy would strike. Nothing had happened after the war. No one had tried anything or come for him, but that made him all the warier. He didn’t think for one second that they had given up.

Yōuměi and Hou Jingshu had also grown much stronger.

The Shang Kingdom’s only princess had reached the Seventh Subrealm of the Human Limit Realm. Her cultivation method allowed her to ascend much more quickly than his. She sparred with him, Yu Chenguang, Hua Xue, Lì Liàng, or Loong Chen every single day. Thanks to her constant battles, she had grown incredible strong and honed her skills to a fine point.

On the other hand, Yōuměi had reached the Fourth Subrealm of the Human Limit Realm, and while that made it seem like she was weaker than everyone else, magical beasts were much stronger at the same subrealm than their human counterparts. She could easily fight on par with Wu Jian and Hou Jingshu. In some ways, she was even stronger than them.

According to Long Chen, the best way for a magical beast like Yōuměi to grow was to either consume natural treasures or eat the monster cores of other magical beasts. He had caught a few himself to help the panther get stronger, but he stopped after a certain point. When Wu Jian asked why he stopped, he had said that it was because Yōuměi shouldn’t rely on handouts. He had only done this to give her a slight boost. The rest was up to her own strength.

Like that, time passed.

***

Wu Jian felt heat pool in his loins as he thrust his hips forward. The loud gasps and moans of the young woman beneath him spurred him on. His fingers were already entwined with hers. He kept her hands above her head, pushing them into the bed. From his position above her, he had a perfect gaze of her eyes and bouncing chest.

Hou Jingshu gazed at him with eyes half-lidded in pleasure. The sensuality of her eyes during the throes of passion were something he loved to see, though he would be lying if he said he didn’t also love staring at her chest as it bounced up and down. He honestly had trouble deciding what to look at.

“Wu… Wu Jian… haaah… aaah… k-kiss me…”

He maintained his thrust as he lowered his head to claim her full, lush lips. They were so soft. He could spend hours just nibbling on her succulent lips, though it was even more fun to slip his tongue inside of her mouth and play with her.

Hou Jingshu had had Wu Jian all to herself ever since Zhou Lihua left to apprentice under Yun Chi, and she had taken advantage of that fact. They had sex at night, then again in the morning. Wu Jian couldn’t complain. He enjoyed the act just as much.

Wu Jian removed his lips from Hou Jingshu’s. She moaned in complaint, but it changed to delight when he kissed his way down her face, until he reached her neck. He soon began nibbling on her collar bone. However, it wasn’t long before the strong scent of sweat made him direct his attention to her armpits. Her hands were still being held above her head, so he had direct access. As he gazed at her smooth skin, he remembered hearing some of the men in the Shang Kingdom army talk about the things they did with women.

“W-Wu Jian…? What are you do--?!”

Hou Jingshu’s entire body jerked as he began licking her armpit. She tasted strongly of sweat. She squirmed underneath him.

“H-hey! Th-that’s ticklish… stop! D-don’t! Hey! I! Said! Stop!”

Realizing she didn’t like it, he stopped, and instead, switched to lavishing attention on her chest, which she did enjoy. Her chest was pretty sensitive. She shook her hands out of his and buried her fingers in his hair. Hou Jingshu pulled him deeper into her bosoms. He groaned against her chest as he felt something inside of him snap like an overdrawn string when it’s pulled too tight.

His release was met with Hou Jingshu’s own. The two spent a great deal of time lying in bed together. Wu Jian rolled off the woman and turned on his side so they could share soft, sweet kisses.

“Mmmm. This is nice,” Hou Jingshu murmured. She snuggled against his chest. “I like having you all to myself.”

“Yeah. And I’m glad Yōuměi stopped coming in here when we’re, uh, busy,” said Wu Jian.

Hou Jingshu giggled. She’s quite the curious cat.” She paused. “Do you want to go for another round?”

“I think I’ve got one more round in me,” Wu Jian said with a grin.

He was just about to mount the woman again when the door to their room exploded and a man walked in. His cerulean hair was very different from a normal human’s and descended from his head like a main of spikes. Antler like horns parted his hair and curved behind him. The muscles of his chest were visible through the parting of his hanfu, which looked simple and was made of a bright blue fabric that looked like scales, glistening as the light hit. His pale skin, sharp face, and silver eyes gave him a refined, regal appearance, though it was all ruined by his smirk.

“Time to get up, brats! This ain’t the time for no hanky panky! Get your asses out of bed!”

“Dammit, Loong Chen! Learn to knock before you blow the door open!” Wu Jian snapped as Hou Jingshu hid herself under the covers.

Loong Chen snorted. “Knocking is for losers, and this dragon is no loser. Now, get up! We’ve got shit to do. The emperor has requested to see you.”

“We’ll get up when you get out!”

Loong Chen was not under any obligation to the kingdom, but he promised to protect it until Emperor Hou Jun had recovered. He didn’t do much more than laze around. However, he did occasionally decide to get off his lazy butt and help when he felt like it. Right now, the dragon’s eyes were lit up with excitement. Something must have happened.

Loong Chen left, so Wu Jian and Hou Jingshu cleaned off and got dressed. Yōuměi was waiting in the dining room with Loong Chen when they entered. She quickly hurried over to them, but stopped and turned her nose away.

“Master, Big Sis… you two smell weird.”

They both blushed.

After eating a quick breakfast, the group made their way to the Dragon’s Royal Reception. It was the hall in which the emperor met with his subjects. The room was divided into two. One side was elevated and that was where the emperor sat to show his station above them. Several people were already there, including Hou Chao, Hua Xue, Mei Xilan, Fengli Cai, Yu Chenguang, and Lì Liàng.

He hadn’t seen either Mei Xilan or Hua Xue in a few months. The elder did not look any different. Her beauty remained the same as always, and her calm demeanor made Wu Jian wonder what he could do to cause a crack in her facade. She was the head elder of the Ice Phoenix Sect and a woman whom he had become fairly well acquainted with thanks to the aid she had lent them.

Mei Xilan did not look much different now than she had before. Her hair was a little longer had become a pure light blue bordering on white. Only the tips contained the hue of pure ice. Her eyes were the color of ice. Even her pupils contained a silvery sheen. Like always, she wore a veil to cover her face, just like Hua Xue. Only her eyes were visible, though he already knew that, were either of them to remove their veil, it would reveal soft-looking lips the color of a frozen lake.

Loong Chen went over to a corner of the room and began lounging, obviously no longer interested in paying attention. Wu Jian and Hou Jingshu knelt alongside the others. Yōuměi also sort of knelt, but it looked like she was just sitting on her haunches.

“Father, you called for us?” asked Hou Jingshu.

“I did,” her father confirmed. “Since everyone is now here, I can get to the point of why I called you.” He paused, then gestured to Yu Chenguang, who summoned a scroll and presented it to the emperor. “I received this missive from the Xia Dynasty. They have given us the date for the International Power Ranking Tournament and invitations to attend. We have two invitations, which means two people can enter, but we have three highly competitant cultivators. We need to decide which among you three will go to represent the Shang Kingdom.”