Having many children brings many blessings; the struggle for power begins with marriage.

Chapter 128 Breaking Through the Grandmaster Realm, the Northern King's Ambition

The sounds gradually subsided in the courtyard filled with plum blossoms.

Inside the room, a graceful figure lay sprawled on the couch, her delicate body twitching slightly.

Looking at the system notification in front of him and feeling the power surging within his body, Lu Chen couldn't help but smile slightly.

Sure enough, if I wanted to improve my strength, I had to find this vixen who liked to provoke me.

[The host has cultivated feelings with Wang Qingci once, gaining 100 experience points for the Qi Refining Technique, 100 experience points for the Rejuvenating Hand, and 100 experience points for the Dragon and Phoenix Yin-Yang Skill. A critical emotional boost has been received, granting an additional 200 experience points to all cultivation techniques. Congratulations, host, your Qi Refining Technique has broken through to the third level, elevating your realm to the Grandmaster level!]

There are different kinds of Grandmasters. The ultimate Grandmaster is someone who is second only to the Great Grandmaster.

Lu Chen's current skill level is almost on par with that of a Grandmaster.

At this moment, Lu Chen felt that he had inexhaustible strength, and his perception seemed to have become much stronger, most notably his vision and hearing.

He glanced out the window and was surprised to see what was happening outside the courtyard through the crack. He could even hear the maids and servants discussing what to eat for dinner.

Not only did his perception improve, but Lu Chen also felt some gas being released from his skin.

Lu Chen looked down at his palm, where a faint wisp of gas began to gather.

Lu Chen couldn't help but wonder, is this what those grandmasters call solid qi?

Lu Chen then tried to mobilize all the spiritual energy in his body, allowing it to form a protective aura around his body.

Immediately afterwards, white smoke began to emanate from Lu Chen's body, and countless plumes of white smoke gathered together, forming a thin barrier around Lu Chen's body.

At this moment, Wang Qingci, who was still dizzy while lying on the chaise longue, saw this scene and instantly woke up.

Although she wasn't a Grandmaster yet, she could tell at a glance that Lu Chen was emitting the protective aura of a Grandmaster, and that the protective aura on Lu Chen's body seemed to be different from that of ordinary Grandmasters.

At this moment, Lu Chen's aura was even more imposing than that of an ordinary grandmaster, and Wang Qingci's mind went blank for a moment.

The young prince is actually a grandmaster!!!

A sixteen or seventeen-year-old master?

Although she had known for a long time that Lu Chen was very strong, she did not know exactly what level he was at. She had guessed in the past that Lu Chen might be a Grandmaster, but this had never been verified.

Now that we can see the protective aura emanating from Lu Chen, it's basically confirmed that he is a Grandmaster, and his strength is probably close to that of a Great Grandmaster.

This……

Could it be that the rumors about the maids and servants in the Prince's mansion are true?

Is the young prince really a disciple of a celestial being?

Is there a connection to the immortals?

Just as Wang Qingci was lost in thought, Lu Chen withdrew his protective aura, took a deep breath, and then turned to look at Wang Qingci, who was staring at him from the bed.

Lu Chen was still shirtless at this moment. He smiled and said, "Has the vixen recovered?"

Wang Qingci came to her senses and said with a resentful look, "No wonder Your Highness is so fierce, it turns out Your Highness is a grandmaster! If I had known, I would have surrendered sooner."

Lu Chen chuckled and said, "Dare to provoke me? Even if I'm not a grandmaster, I'll make you understand the consequences of provoking me."

Wang Qingci then said, "Your Highness, didn't you say that you would arrange something for me to do after I returned to Yancheng? I would like to know what you would arrange for me to do."

Lu Chen patted Wang Qingci's bottom with his large hand and asked, "What kind of job do you want to do?"

Wang Qingci whimpered and said, "I used to be just an assassin, I only knew how to kill, I didn't know how to do anything else."

Lu Chen said, "How about this, I plan to set up an intelligence agency called Tingyulou, and you will serve as the head of Tingyulou."

Upon hearing this, Wang Qingci asked in confusion, "An intelligence agency? Your Highness, don't you already have an intelligence agency called the Embroidered Uniform Guard?"

Although Wang Qingci didn't know much about the Embroidered Uniform Guard, she frequently visited the Prince's residence, so she already knew that the Prince's residence had a very powerful intelligence agency.

This intelligence agency can even know the movements of the barbarians in advance, which shows how powerful they are.

Since there is already such a powerful intelligence agency, why add another one? Wang Qingci didn't quite understand.

Lu Chen said, "I do have an intelligence agency, but it needs to be officially recognized soon. People will soon know that I have the Embroidered Uniform Guard under my command, and I also need a private intelligence agency."

As time goes by, the Embroidered Uniform Guard will inevitably be exposed to the world. People may not know where the Embroidered Uniform Guard's spies are, but they will certainly know about the Embroidered Uniform Guard as an organization.

Of course, Lu Chen's decision to create another intelligence agency was not solely due to the fact that the Embroidered Uniform Guard would be exposed to the world; he had deeper considerations.

Lu Chen continued, "From now on, Tingyulou will conduct business in various countries as merchants and collect intelligence."

Upon hearing Lu Chen's words, Wang Qingci seemed to understand what he meant, and then said, "Alright then, I will be the first owner of Tingyu Tower."

At this moment, Lu Chen turned his head and glanced at Wang Qingci's graceful figure, then said with a smile, "Lord Wang, I've prepared such a grand gift for you, shouldn't you thank me?"

Wang Qingci, her eyes filled with affection, said softly, "Your Highness, didn't I already thank you just now?"

Lu Chen leaned down, looking down at her, and said with a smile, "That's not enough."

Lu Chen is now at the Grandmaster level. Because he just broke through, he has some excess energy in his body that he doesn't know where to release. He needs to release his excess power.

Seeing Lu Chen's blatant gaze, Wang Qingci quickly raised her slender hand and pressed it against Lu Chen's broad chest, her expression slightly flustered. "Your Highness, I've reached my limit. Please go find your wives and concubines."

Wang Qingci was afraid of Lu Chen. Although Lu Chen seemed to have a very special treatment method that could instantly heal some of her minor injuries, she didn't want to experience that feeling of her body not belonging to her own too much.

She feared that later she would only have certain things on her mind and completely succumb to becoming a female slave who only knew how to pursue pleasure.

Lu Chen ignored Wang Qingci's words. He removed her hand, placed it on her head, and leaned down to whisper in her ear, "I hold grudges. You insulted me as a prince earlier, and the punishment you received just now was definitely not enough. As my slave, I need to make you understand that your master cannot be insulted."

Wang Qingci blushed and stared into Lu Chen's eyes, about to say something, "Your Highness...this humble servant...mmm..."

……

That night, Lu Chen returned to Mu Zixuan's room and slept with her in his arms all night.

Lu Chen spent the entire day with his wives and concubines.

The next morning.

Lu Chen got up early in the morning and had just finished dressing with Mu Zixuan's help when a maid came to him.

"Your Highness, someone is looking for you!"

Upon hearing this, Lu Chen immediately said, "Tell him to wait for me in the study."

"Yes, Your Highness."

The maid then withdrew.

After the maid left, Mu Zixuan said gently, "Your Highness, I have already had breakfast prepared and it will be brought in shortly. Why don't you have breakfast first before you go over?"

Lu Chen raised his hand and gently stroked Mu Zixuan's cheek, then hugged her and kissed her.

A blush immediately appeared on Mu Zixuan's face. She didn't understand why Lu Chen always liked to kiss her without doing *that* kind of thing.

In Mu Zixuan's view, men and women only kiss when they are having marital relations, but Lu Chen is different. Lu Chen seems to think that this is a very common thing.

However, Mu Zixuan didn't feel there was anything wrong with it, because this was Lu Chen's way of expressing his love. Lu Chen kissing her proved that he liked her.

"My dear consort, I'll skip breakfast. I'll go see what important business the Imperial Guards have with me."

Wang Qingci said, "Your Majesty, I understand. Shall I have the servants deliver breakfast to Your Highness's study later?"

Lu Chen said, "Okay."

As soon as he finished speaking, Lu Chen released Mu Zixuan and turned to leave the room.

As soon as Lu Chen entered the study in the outer courtyard, he found that not only Qin Yushan, but also Mu Changtian were in the study.

Upon seeing Lu Chen enter, the two immediately bowed and said, "Greetings, Your Highness!"

Lu Chen nodded and said, "Yes, what's up?"

Qin Yushan replied, "Your Highness, the barbarian general Xiao Pengtian has awakened!"

Upon hearing this, Lu Chen narrowed his eyes.

Xiao Pengtian was still of great use to Lu Chen, so Lu Chen did not intend to kill him.

At this moment, Mu Changtian said, "Your Highness, as far as I know, Xiao Pengtian holds a very high position in the royal court of the Tianlang King tribe. His strength and status are second only to the Tianlang King. If those barbarian captives find out that he is still alive, it may cause trouble. I think it would be better to kill him directly."

Mu Changtian's idea was not wrong. Xiao Pengtian was Xiao Hongbo's top general. Although Xiao Hongbo and Xiao Pengtian had always had conflicts, they were relatively harmonious on the surface.

Xiao Pengtian was considered quite prestigious among the barbarian soldiers. If he were to escape and return to the barbarian royal court, he could very well become the next Sirius King.

Moreover, this would give those barbarian prisoners some other ideas. If the barbarian prisoners were to unite, many of them might riot and escape from the Northern County.

The best solution would be to kill Xiao Pengtian directly, causing the Tianlang King tribe to completely lose its leader and be unable to unite as one again.

Lu Chen did not immediately heed Mu Changtian's advice. He turned to Qin Yushan and asked, "Commander Qin, do you think it's better to kill him or keep him alive?"

Qin Yushan replied, "Your Highness, according to my understanding, the highest-ranking person in the barbarian royal court is not the Sirius King, nor Xiao Pengtian, but the Sirius King's Queen."

"If we can't capture the Queen of the Sky Wolf King, even if we kill Xiao Pengtian, the Sky Wolf King's tribe will still be able to recover quickly."

"My thoughts differ from General Mu's. I believe that keeping Xiao Pengtian alive will further divide the Tianlang King tribe. Ideally, we should acknowledge Xiao Pengtian as the next Tianlang King."

After hearing Qin Yushan's words, Lu Chen fell into deep thought.

Both of them are correct; they are just thinking about the issue from different perspectives.

If Xiao Pengtian is kept alive and treated as the Sirius King, the barbarians of the Sirius King's tribe will definitely not acknowledge him.

Furthermore, they would consider Xiao Pengtian a traitor who had betrayed the Tianlang King tribe, which would cause a division between the barbarians who supported Xiao Pengtian and those who supported the Queen within the Tianlang King tribe.

It is indeed possible that the Sirius King tribe will be further divided.

but……

Whether or not the Sirius King tribe is divided is not important to Lu Chen; what he wants is more than just the Sirius King tribe.

At this moment, Lu Chen's gaze fell on the map in the study.

He then said, "General Mu, are you aware that among the gifts bestowed upon me by the imperial court was an order to expand the territory?"

Upon hearing this, Mu Changtian was momentarily stunned. Of course, he wasn't surprised because Lu Chen didn't address him as father-in-law. This was a business discussion, so there was nothing wrong with Lu Chen calling him General Mu.

Mu Changtian was stunned because of the Expansion Order.

Although the imperial court had already sent someone to deliver the imperial edict to Beijun, Mu Changtian did not know what the imperial court was rewarding Lu Chen with. The reason why Lu Chen was able to know in advance was because of the carrier pigeon of the Embroidered Uniform Guard.

Lu Chen only needed a few days to know what was happening in the capital, so he knew very well that among the gifts bestowed upon him by the capital was a territorial expansion order.

After regaining his senses, Mu Changtian seemed to understand what Lu Chen was trying to do, and he immediately asked, "Your Highness, you're not planning to incorporate the entire Northern Lands into the Northern Prefecture, are you?"

Although Mu Changtian was surprised that the court would bestow the order to expand the territory upon Lu Chen as a reward, what surprised him even more was Lu Chen's intentions.

The entire area of ​​the North is unknown. If Lu Chen were to set his sights on the entire North, he would need an unknown number of soldiers to defend the land.

Lu Chen smiled faintly, then went to the desk and spread out the map drawn by the Imperial Guards.

Looking at the map, Lu Chen continued, "The Northern Lands are larger than the entire Great Xia Dynasty; the Northern Prefecture cannot contain the entire Northern Lands."

"What I want to do is to designate the northern lands as my fiefdom and then establish separate prefectures and counties."

Upon hearing this, Mu Changtian and Qin Yushan were stunned once again.

The North has always been the territory of nomadic peoples. If you want to conquer the entire North, you need to completely drive out the nomadic peoples or defeat them all.

But the northern lands are too vast. Even if we could find their location, they could still escape. What would we use to defend ourselves?

Are we going to build the Great Wall in the north?

The northern lands are so vast that it would take forever to build a Great Wall. The manpower and resources required would be unimaginable. Even if the Northern King had 100,000 barbarian slave soldiers, it would be difficult for them to build a Great Wall that would encircle the entire northern lands within their lifetimes.

(End of this chapter)