Chapter 449: Half of a Year

Jiang Yi’s plan went well. All the martial artists that reached the Soul Travel Realm were dismissed from the royal palace. Only weak palace maids and eunuchs were left. Among them, he only kept those who were old and had at least served the Su Clan for dozens of years. This minimized the probability of having spies in the royal palace.

When Su Ruoxue just ascended to the throne, everyone in the Summer Rain City was in a state of anxiety. Many officials were bribed by different powerful fractions. These officials tried to plant spies in the royal palace. However, by Jiang Yi’s command, all the palace maids and eunuchs previously recruited by Su Ruoxue were chased out of the palace. The palace was no longer guarded by the royal military soldiers, leaving only one hundred most trustworthy Soul Travel Realm Experts who took turns watching the palace gate.

These one hundred men were only responsible for preventing gangsters and the like from sneaking into the royal palace. As for the security of the royal palace, they had Yazi Beast with them. Even 10,000 Soul Travel Realm Experts would be useless when facing the Yazi Beast.

After Jiang Yi began his seclusion, Su Ruoxue checked everything again and eliminated any suspicious people. There used to be a few thousand people in the royal palace. After a few rounds of sifting, only less than 300 men were left.

Almost all the Su Clansmen were dead. Su Ruoxue was a woman and didn’t need so many concubines. Therefore, there were only a few masters in the palace. It was more than enough for 300 people to serve these masters.

Su Ruoxue no longer went out. Every day, she called in officials and generals in the central hall at the periphery of the royal palace. After attending government affairs, she instantly dispersed the crowd. If anyone dared to break into the palace without permission, they would be executed summarily as ordered by Jiang Yi!

Jiang Xiaonu was in seclusion. Zhan Wushuang was in seclusion. Zhan Liner was also in seclusion. Qian Wanguan had his hands full as he began to handle the Qian Clan’s business. Only one person from the Qian Clan had the right to enter the royal palace. He brought the news from the outside and sent out the instruction of Qian Wanguan.

Zhan Yiming and Qian Gui didn’t choose to come to the Great Xia Kingdom. Qian Wanguan and Zhan Wushuang were already here, leaving one back door open for the future. Big families like them couldn’t possibly put all their eggs in one basket. Of course, with their strength, they must have other plans. It was highly likely that they long had backup plans and began transferring their properties.

The entire continent became calm again, so calm that it became daunting.

Xia Tingwei never revealed himself after. He might be dead or hiding in a place for recuperation. The Divine Martial Kingdom wouldn’t be turbulent with Jiang Bieli around. Surprisingly, the Azure Dragon Empire and Xiao Longwang didn’t say anything about Jiang Yi’s incident, as if it never happened.

However…

It was difficult to blame anyone. After all, Liu Yu was the real culprit. It was normal for Jiang Yi to avenge Zhuge Qingyun in the Monarch City. Liu Yu swaggered through the streets of the Divine Martial Kingdom, but the Divine Martial Kingdom didn’t even take any action and let him enter the Monarch City. Could anyone blame Jiang Yi for it?

The Water Moon Observatory and the Great Zen Monastery were also quiet. According to the convention, they should announce their support for Jiang Yi. However, as Xiao Longwang and the group remained silent, they naturally wouldn’t ask for trouble.

The Demon Empress had always been cultivating in seclusion at the Mt. Thirty Thousand. The little fox didn’t come out as well. No one knew whether the Demon Empress was aware of this incident or just wasn’t bothered.

Everything was restored to the norm. People continued their lives. Martial artists continued their cultivation. Pleasure seekers continued their chase for women and fun. Of course, at people’s leisure time, the topic of discussion always revolved around Jiang Yi. Some were envious; some were jealous; some admired him; some reproached him; some desired no one as their husband before him.

Jiang Yi turned a deaf ear to all. He was in seclusion in a bedroom of the Drifting Snow Palace by himself. Even Su Ruoxue couldn’t go in if he didn’t come out.

More than half of the Divine Vein was dug up, and a great number of celestial stones were obtained. There were at least more than a thousand celestial stones which were sufficient for Jiang Yi for a long time. He was halfway in cultivating the essence force inside the third star sphere. He only needed to refine about a hundred of celestial stones before the transformation. After that, his essence force would be comparable to that of a Vajra Realm martial expert’s. He had already realized the mid-grade Dao pattern. When his essence force caught up, he would become a real Vajra Realm martial expert.

Jiang Yi kept refining the celestial stones. When he was hungry, he asked people to send food in. When he was tired, he fell on the ground and slept. When he was bored, he comprehended the sorcery. He had to seize every moment to improve his strength.

He had a strange feeling that the danger would be imminent. That Saint Lady Ji would never give him much time. When his strength grew, his chance of surviving increased correspondingly.

Half of a month later, Grandma Silver Flower came.

She brought Yun Fei with her. Jiang Yi made an exception and went out for a day to welcome Yun Fei. Grandma Silver Flower received the message and warning from Jiang Yi and made some arrangement. She leaked a piece of false information about the arrival of the Zhan Clan’s bridal escort army in a few days and Yun Fei’s upcoming wedding. However, she and Yun Fei left at midnight without alerting anyone. Only Yun Qingtian and Yun Xian knew this.

They traveled 5,000 kilometers beneath the ground along the way. There was no way to track them down. Thus, the journey was rather safe.

Because of the delay of the wedding of Jiang Yi and Su Ruoxue, the two couldn’t have a grand wedding. They only held a simple ceremony, in the presence of Grandma Silver Flower, Jiang Yunhai, and the group.

Su Ruoxue intended to have a casual wedding, but Jiang Yi didn’t agree with her. He thought it was unfair to her. He wanted to wait until his strength improved by leaps and bounds, and he was utterly certain of being able to protect themselves. Then, he would have a grand wedding with Su Ruoxue.

Yun Fei didn’t feel wronged. She understood the seriousness of the matter. She was happy as long as she was with Zhan Wushuang. Qian Wanguan was extremely excited and was about to tease the newly-weds on their wedding night, but he was kicked out by Zhan Wushuang.

On the next day, Jiang Yi began his seclusion again. Grandma Silver Flower returned quietly as well. In addition to a blushing bride in the Drifting Snow Palace, everything remained the same. Zhan Wushuang kept Yun Fei company for a few days before both of them went in seclusion.

Yun Fei received a special wedding gift—the Witch God’s ten sorcery skills along with hundreds of thick books on restrictions. These originally belonged to the Yun Clan, and the Witch God said it was fine to pass them to the descendants of the Yun Clan. Certainly, Jiang Yi wouldn’t hold them back.

Lives had been plain and meaningful. Under Su Ruoxue’s reign, the Great Xia Kingdom became more prosperous every day. It seemed like everything was becoming better and better. Barring accidents—maybe after several years, the Great Xia Kingdom would resume the prosperity of the past.

Unfortunately…

Clearly, someone didn’t want Jiang Yi’s life to be so peaceful and comfortable.

“Saint Lady Ji, all of our men are dismissed by Jiang Yi. The royal palace becomes the forbidden ground. We lost all information about Jiang Yi.”

In the central hall of the Hades Abyss, Elder Zeng—who was one of the two lead Elders of the Martial Arts Hall—sighed with resignation. “Anyone who is related to Jiang Yi has gotten into the royal palace, including Yun Fei. It is already too late when our men tried to kill Jiang Yunhai. Jiang Yi has strengthened his defense and is unassailable. Other than attacking him by storm, we can’t possibly kill him.”

“This boy is so smart.”

The other Elder Lu sighed and said, “How did he get that flame? It looks like inexhaustible?! Besides, the boy is so mysterious. How can he improve his strength so fast? If we wait for another two years, I’m afraid that even the Chief Hall Master won’t be able to defeat him.”

“What’s the hurry?”

Ji Tingyu lowered her brows and sat calmly. She held a cup of tea and gently blew the tea. Her face was undisturbed and tranquil. Her posture was extremely elegant. Having a sip of the sea, she raised her eyes and said softly, “Haste makes waste. Half of a year—only half a year later, I promise that Jiang Yi will die.”