Douluo: Dragon King's Star Devouring Wings

Chapter 714 The Tale of the Sea God's Crown Princess and the Spirit Pagoda
Although the arrival of the Thousand-Year Phoenix Feather was sudden, Yue Hongchen still demonstrated the qualities of a mature cabinet secretary, quickly gathering all the necessary items for an afternoon tea.

Pastries, fish and chips, stargazing pie, milk, and tea are all available.

Hmm, something strange seems to have gotten mixed in...

Qian Gu Huang Yu looked at the already packaged afternoon tea and glanced helplessly at Yue Hong Chen. "Senior Sister, may I ask why you have such a complete selection of things here?"

Yue Hongchen gave an awkward yet polite smile and said, "Food is essential for life; you need to be well-fed to have the strength to work."

"We always keep a variety of dishes on hand, just in case someone gets hungry and it takes too long."

"So this is your reason for increasing the meal allowance for civil servants?" Qian Gu Huang Yu retorted.

Yue Hongchen said, "But in reality, since the catering subsidies came out, office efficiency has indeed improved a lot."

"Forget about that," Qian Gu Huang Yu changed the subject. "What are you planning to do about that civil servant layoff plan? Kong Mingyi even had someone send the proposal to me."

Yue Hongchen said, "What else can we do? Give her more work, use a lot of trivial matters and procedures to exhaust her enthusiasm, and she will naturally stop mentioning this matter."

"How many people are in your own Cabinet Secretary's office? How could they possibly cause such a big fuss for our young prime minister?" Qian Gu Huang Yu Ren couldn't help but ask.

Yue Hongchen said, "I am the Cabinet Secretary. Kong Mingyi also has a Chief Private Secretary, and I also have a Chief Private Secretary, so she is the Chief Private Secretary of the Cabinet Secretary."

"In addition, my direct subordinates include ten deputy cabinet secretaries, eighty-seven assistant secretaries and two hundred and nineteen information gathering secretaries."

"And each of them has their own chief private secretary..."

"Stop, stop, stop," Qian Gu Huang Yu interrupted Yue Hongchen as she began to recite long and difficult sentences. "I really feel that your civil service system needs to be downsized now."

"Although the empire is not short of money now, it shouldn't be spent like this."

“Employment rate, my good Your Majesty,” Yue Hongchen said with a smile. “Besides, we always need some positions to house some semi-retired people.”

Because Soul Masters generally have a longer lifespan than ordinary people, they are particularly adept at recognizing those who are old but still full of energy.

Forcing them to retire directly would be disheartening, but if they continue to occupy their positions, it will inevitably cause dissatisfaction among many of the younger generation.

Therefore, some semi-retirement homes were arranged so that they could continue to contribute to the empire while freeing up some key positions.

"Alright, just keep it to yourself. An overly bloated bureaucratic system is actually not conducive to the implementation of policies," Qian Gu Huang Yu said.

It's been far too long since Qian Gu Huang Yu has personally handled matters related to the bureaucratic system. Basically, as long as she provides the legitimacy, Yue Hong Chen will do a very good job.

Therefore, Qian Gu Huang Yu didn't bother to care. She was only responsible for the general direction, and the rest was left to her subordinates to implement.

"Yes, Your Majesty."

...

The time spent chatting with Yue Hongchen was neither too long nor too short, but it happened to coincide with the moment when Yun Mengyou had just finished strolling through the garden and was still enjoying herself and had not yet become bored.

Although the afternoon tea was all delivered by Qian Gu Huang Yu herself, acting as a delivery girl, from the inner palace, she still wanted to maintain her perfect image in front of her little fangirl.

Of course, Qian Gu Huang Yu couldn't take each item out of her storage ring one by one. Instead, she snapped her fingers, and all sorts of dishes appeared on the small table.

After a day of wondrous adventures, Yun Mengyou was already quite hungry. Initially, considering that the Thousand Ancient Phoenix Feather was still there, Yun Mengyou pretended to be a lady and elegantly savored it.

But when she realized that Qian Gu Huang Yu hadn't actually looked at her at all, she immediately started wolfing down her food.

After Yun Mengyou finished eating, Qian Gu Huang Yu looked at her with a smile and said, "Speaking of which, why do you want to become my disciple?"

"Because you are very strong, even stronger than Dad!" Yun Mengyou perked up immediately upon hearing this and said excitedly.

Qian Gu Huang Yu did not comment on this, but instead asked, "So, you want to become my disciple just to get stronger?"

“That’s right! I want to become stronger than everyone else!” Yun Mengyou said.

"Then what's the reason for becoming stronger? If someone wants to become stronger, there must be something they want to do, right?" Qian Gu Huang Yu patiently persuaded.

Qian Gu Huang Yu wasn't particularly surprised that Yun Ming's daughter wanted to become his disciple.

Soul Masters all admire strength, and as the undisputed strongest in the world, one naturally receives the respect of Soul Masters.

"Yes, I'm the prettiest too." Miss Qian Gu Huang Yu thought to herself.

Although the strongest disciple in the world may not necessarily be the strongest in the world, the probability of success is higher no matter what, right?

Therefore, what Qian Gu Huang Yu was truly curious about was why Yun Meng You wanted to become his disciple.

Yun Mengyou said, "I don't actually know the specific reason why I've become stronger. It's just that my father is always worried about the academy's weakness. If I become the strongest, then the problem will definitely be solved!"

"And you are recognized as the strongest Soul Master. With your guidance, I think I can definitely become the strongest!"

"Is that so?" Qian Gu Huang Yu looked at Yun Meng You with some surprise. She thought Yun Meng You was a troublemaker, but it turned out she was the type who meant well but did bad things.

Qian Gu Huang Yu understood that Yun Ming's concern about Shrek Academy's insufficient strength was not actually about the present.

Taking the alliance of Shrek Academy and Tang Sect as an example, there is Yun Ming, a peak quasi-god, Guan Yue and Cao Dezhi, two quasi-gods, and Zang Xin, a demigod Limit Douluo.

With these four Limit Douluos in charge, in terms of sheer strength on paper, no one except the Spirit Pagoda can reliably suppress them.

What they were really worried about was the future. They had grown up during the heyday of Shrek Academy and Tang Sect, before Shrek Academy's reputation was ruined.

Now, few young geniuses want to join Shrek Academy. This has inevitably led to a period of generational gap between Shrek Academy and Tang Sect.

Right now, Yun Ming and the others are holding things together, but once they're all dead, Shrek Academy won't even have a single Limit Douluo left.

Then, let alone maintaining their superior status, they will probably soon become just another ordinary person.

Shrek Academy's extraordinary status is not only due to its rich history, but also because each generation has produced Limit Douluo to uphold its prestige.

Therefore, Yun Ming hoped to find more geniuses to support the school, so that Shrek Academy could maintain its status on the continent after his death.

"So what do you want to do after you become the strongest in the world?" Qian Gu Huang Yu asked again.

"I...I don't know either..." Yun Mengyou said with a slightly red face, feeling a little embarrassed. Yun Ming had only complained that Shrek Academy was currently weak due to a lack of promising young talents, and had never told her what to do after she became stronger.

"You should know about the matter between the Spirit Pagoda and Shrek Academy, right?" Qian Gu Huang Yu said calmly. Although Yun Meng You had successfully piqued Qian Gu Huang Yu's interest, that was all. If Yun Meng You's goal in becoming stronger was revenge...

While Qian Gu Huang Yu wouldn't bully a child, she would never raise a tiger to cause trouble by taking her in as a personal disciple.

“Hmm…” Yun Mengyou pondered for a moment and said, “Although I was born in Shrek Academy, I think it is wrong to start a war. Shrek’s miserable state after the war was its own fault.”

"But I hope that in the future I can change the impression of Shrek Academy in people's minds, and stop people from equating Shrek Academy with traitors."

"A wonderful ideal, but it's still lacking," Qian Gu Huang Yu commented.

"So... I'm not qualified?" Yun Mengyou's expression clearly declined, and her golden eyes lost their color, like a lion with Lu Mingfei hidden in its eyes.

"No, quite the opposite, I accept you as my disciple." A smile appeared on Qian Gu Huang Yu's lips.

"Really?" Yun Mengyou's eyes lit up, and she instantly perked up.

Qian Gu Huang Yu smiled calmly, "Of course it's true. I wouldn't lie to a child. I just said your dream is still lacking, but that's just to tell you that your goal doesn't necessarily have to be so humble."

"You can not only change the public's bad impression of Shrek Academy, but you can even make them have a better impression of Shrek Academy."

"In any case, as the only school where a Limit Douluo personally teaches, it still has some merits."

"Yes, teacher!" Yun Mengyou exclaimed excitedly.

“Let’s go,” Qian Gu Huang Yu said, taking Yun Meng You’s small hand. “Your father must be getting impatient.”

Qian Gu Huang Yu could sense that if she didn't go out soon, Gu Yue Na, who was getting impatient, would probably beat Yun Ming to death.

...

The next moment, Qian Gu Huang Yu led Yun Meng You to the outside of the Heavenly Palace.

Now, Yun Ming was kneeling on the ground, drops of blood flowing from the corner of his mouth, and even his magnificent four-character battle armor was damaged.

Gu Yuena, on the other hand, seemed completely unharmed. She had no injuries whatsoever and hadn't even used her battle armor. If it weren't for the slightly dirty hem of her clothes, people might have mistaken her for a tourist.

"Dad, how are you?" Yun Mengyou saw Yun Ming's miserable state at a glance and rushed to his side.

Yun Ming disregarded his own injuries and immediately began to examine Yun Mengyou, fearing that the Thousand Ancient Phoenix Feathers might have left some irreversible damage on her.

"Mengyou, Qian Gu Huang Yu didn't do anything to you, did she?" Yun Ming asked anxiously.

"No, that's not true. My teacher is very kind to me," Yun Mengyou replied.

"Teacher, you called her teacher?" Yun Ming's pupils contracted sharply, and he immediately realized the problem.

“Yes, His Majesty has already accepted me as his disciple,” Yun Mengyou said, a hint of pride flashing in her golden eyes.

Yun Ming fell silent. Of course, he could tell that his daughter was genuinely happy about this.

"What, Yun Ming, does the fact that your daughter has become my disciple make you feel embarrassed?" Qian Gu Huang Yu looked at Yun Ming and said calmly.

Yun Ming gave Qian Gu Huang Yu a complicated look. "I can't be sure if what you said is sincere."

Qian Gu Huang Yu said, "Heh, do you want the problems of the previous generation to fall on the next? Wouldn't it be better to just wipe the slate clean of our hatred?"

A struggle flashed in Yun Ming's eyes. If he could, he would naturally not want to continue being enemies with the Ancient Phoenix Feather and the Spirit Pagoda, but he had no choice at the moment.

However, he never dared to let his guard down around Qian Gu Huang Yu, fearing that these were nothing more than sweet talk.

At this moment, Gu Yuena also walked over, glanced at Yun Ming, and said indifferently, "Don't think too much about it. If we really wanted to do something to you, you wouldn't have waited until now."

Yun Ming fell silent. After the exchange just now, Yun Ming had confirmed that Gu Yuena's strength was definitely above his own, so there were at least three people on Qian Gu Huang Yu's side who could easily defeat him.

If they really wanted to harm Tang Sect and Shrek Academy, they would have been finished long ago.

With this thought in mind, Yun Ming also let go. When the difference in strength is not significant, there will still be thoughts of catching up. But when the difference in strength is so great that the boundaries are no longer visible, the thought of catching up will no longer arise.

Yun Ming first looked at Qian Gu Huang Yu, the person who had once kicked his proudest self from the sky into the dust and then killed his mentor.

Then, Yun Ming looked at Yun Mengyou, the weakness that made it impossible for him to be invincible again.

After a long while, Yun Ming finally sighed, patted Yun Mengyou's head, and said, "Mengyou, do whatever you want to do. Shrek Academy will always be your home."

“Yes!” Yun Mengyou nodded firmly, then walked to Qian Gu Huang Yu’s side.

"Then I will be the one to teach Mengyou this summer vacation," Qian Gu Huang Yu said calmly.

Yun Ming nodded slightly and said, "Thank you."

...

After Yun Ming agreed to Yun Mengyou becoming his disciple, he left, but as he left, there was a hint of relief in his eyes.

In the evening, after settling Yun Mengyou in, Qian Gu Huang Yu went to find Gu Yue Na.

Although it is inevitable that there will be a need to accommodate other people, the Heavenly Palace, as the imperial palace of the Douluo Empire, naturally has guest rooms.

However, Qian Gu Huang Yu and Gu Yue Na, as the master and mistress of the Heavenly Palace, do not actually have their own rooms; they live together.

"Huang'er, have you become addicted to being a teacher lately? You refused when Qian Daoliu wanted you to teach Le Zhengyu before." Gu Yuena naturally sensed Qian Gu Huangyu's arrival and asked casually.

A smile appeared on Qian Gu Huang Yu's lips as she said, "Gu Yue, don't you think Yun Meng You's identity is quite interesting?"

"What? Because she's Yun Ming's daughter?" Gu Yuena asked.

“Exactly so.” Qian Gu Huang Yu laughed. “Don’t you find it interesting that the daughter of the Sea God Pavilion Master of Shrek Academy became the disciple of the Spirit Pagoda Master?”

"In that case, the outside world will probably think that Shrek Academy and the Spirit Pagoda have reconciled, right?" Gu Yuena was no novice in politics, so she naturally understood the intricacies of the matter.

"It's not just that; Shrek Academy has submitted to the Spirit Pagoda," Qian Gu Huang Yu laughed.

(End of this chapter)