Chapter 28: Wouldn’t That Be a Net Loss?

"Why don't you just let me call you Crown Princess?" Wang Dong said coldly, without turning his head back.

As soon as these words were spoken, the blue-haired man in the carriage opened his eyes and looked at him. A dangerous, chilling aura emerged, only to vanish the moment Xue Qinghe glanced his way.

Wang Dong paid no attention to the shift in the carriage’s atmosphere; he was simply feeling reluctant to part with the family member he had chosen for himself.

Seeing that Wang Dong was truly heartbroken, Xue Qinghe put aside his playful demeanor and said softly, "Once you find your answer, you can come back."

Perhaps because it was rare to hear him speak with such gentleness and sincerity, Wang Dong was caught off guard, and even the blue-haired man cast a surprised glance at him.

Xue Qinghe coughed lightly, looking slightly uncomfortable.

Regardless of everything, he had helped resolve his predicament just now, so Wang Dong still thanked him politely: "Thank you. Just drop me off up ahead; you don’t need to provide cover for me anymore."

Xue Qinghe curled his lips into a smile and returned to his usual tone. "No."

Wang Dong was confused. Wasn't he here to help him out of a tight spot? What did he mean, "no"?

Xue Qinghe squinted slightly, gestured toward the blue-haired man, and said with a smile, "Let me formally introduce him to you. This is the Third Elder of the Spirit Hall, titled: Azure Phoenix."

A sense of foreboding rose in Wang Dong’s heart, but he still greeted him politely: "Hello."

Azure Phoenix nodded perfunctorily without saying a word.

Xue Qinghe continued, "During your time in the Far North, he will be responsible for protecting and teaching you."

Wang Dong’s spirit flared! This was premeditated! It was absolutely premeditated! He probably started planning this the day he mentioned that Xue Qinghe’s Swan Spirit was merely of the support type!

He had been careless! He’d boarded a thief’s ship!

Across from him, Xue Qinghe was savoring the sight of Wang Dong’s expression—full of fury but unable to vent it. It was so satisfying!

Azure Phoenix hadn't originally understood why the Young Master had asked his elder brother to arrange such a chore, but judging by the Young Master’s attitude, he seemed to care deeply about this child named Wang Dong.

*Forget it, forget it,* Wang Dong thought. *Free labor; might as well make use of it.* Having settled his mind, he crossed his legs and began to cultivate.

***

Within his mental sea, Wang Dong looked at that 500,000-year-old head spirit bone, his fingers itching. With his current strength, he had no way to absorb it! He couldn't help but grumble: "You said you were giving me a gift! And now I can't even use it."

"Tsk, why are you being so picky?" The voice of the God of Evil appeared. Despite the words, his tone was full of doting affection.

With that, he lifted his finger slightly, and a wisp of black mist flew toward the head spirit bone. Almost instantly, Wang Dong felt that he was no longer repelled by it. He asked, shocked: "What did you do?"

The God of Evil brushed some non-existent dust off his sleeve. "Nothing much. I just added a restriction to that spirit bone. You can absorb it now, and its power will gradually be released as your cultivation improves."

In this light, this master wasn't too bad. Although Wang Dong didn't say anything, the God of Evil saw the glint in his eyes and understood his feelings. *Fine, fine. I can only dote on my own disciple.*

Wang Dong was in no hurry to absorb the spirit bone; it wasn't the right time yet.

After leaving his mental sea, he had expected Xue Qinghe to have left, but he found the man leaning against him, fast asleep. Just as he was about to wake him, he remembered that he must have traveled through the night to get here, so he closed his eyes and continued to cultivate.

Across from him, Azure Phoenix noticed this and felt a bit more respect for Wang Dong. It was rare to see such a diligent child.

It took about three days to travel from Seven Treasure City to the small town in the Far North. At midday, the carriage slowed down. The disciple driving the carriage noticed the three passengers were all cultivating and did not disturb them.

The carriage headed north and finally reached Lanjiang City at dusk; it was named after the city because it sat on the northern bank of the lower reaches of the Tianlan River. The carriage rolled slowly into the city, heading toward the largest hotel.

"Did you hear? That genius child in the academy has already reached the twenty-level bottleneck!"
"Isn't she only eight years old?"
"That’s a top-tier beast spirit! Who knows how many times more talented she is than us!"

The girls' conversation drifted into the carriage, and the three people who had been cultivating opened their eyes at the same time. Xue Qinghe glanced at Azure Phoenix, who vanished from the carriage in the blink of an eye.

Top-tier beast spirits were rare in the entire continent, yet the Spirit Hall had received no news. Either the Tianshui Academy was concealing it, or there was a problem within the Spirit Hall itself.

***

Wang Dong watched this, his expression blank, and said coldly, "What? Spending all your time in Tiandou City, has the management of Spirit Hall become this lax?"

Xue Qinghe raised an eyebrow at this. "I didn't expect you to have such high political sensitivity."

"Er..." Wang Dong remained noncommittal.

"Then what do you think I should do?" Xue Qinghe suddenly became curious and continued to press.

Without a moment's hesitation, Wang Dong answered: "There are many ways to annex a country: controlling the lifeblood of spirit masters, guiding public opinion and the hearts of the people, military suppression, internal disintegration, or installing puppets, to name a few. You sneaking in alone—whether you can succeed is one thing, but you’re also delaying your cultivation. Isn't that a loss that outweighs the gain? Furthermore, must you be the one to act as the undercover agent? Is there no one else in your Spirit Hall you can trust?"

Although these words were spoken in a very relaxed tone, every single word struck home for Xue Qinghe.

Wang Dong paused and added, "I know no one can stop your plans, and I am no exception. I only hope that you can think more of the common people."

These words were spoken with great seriousness, and from Xue Qinghe's perspective, this did not look at all like something a six-year-old child could say.

"So, you know who I am?" Xue Qinghe asked.

Wang Dong rolled his eyes and replied directly, "Is that the main point of what I just said?"

However, this could be considered a tacit admission. At this moment, Wang Dong did not know what kind of impact his casual words had on Xue Qinghe.

Just then, the voice of the disciple driving the carriage came from outside: "My Lords, Young Master, we have arrived at the Lancheng Grand Hotel."

Xue Qinghe exhaled softly. "Let's go. It's been a day of travel; let's have a meal and get some rest."

With that, he picked up Wang Dong and stepped out of the carriage. The disciple saw only the two of them getting off and did not ask questions; instead, he bowed to the side and said, "Everything has been arranged inside the hotel. Please, my lords."

Just as Xue Qinghe was about to step inside, an extremely arrogant voice came from within the hotel:

"Hand the person over to me immediately! If you anger the person above, your entire academy will be buried with me!"