I, Uchiha Hikaru, have joined the chat group.

Chapter 176 Lan's Request

Uchiha Hikaru stayed in this small town for a few days.

While studying the Imperial Arms he had acquired, he waited for the wealthy gentry to send him money.

Speaking of which...

Imperial Arms are very particular about "compatibility". Only those whose compatibility is compatible can use them smoothly; otherwise, not only will they fail to unleash the power of the Imperial Arms, but they will also put a great burden on their bodies.

After some experimentation, Uchiha Hikaru confirmed that he had good compatibility with "Shangri-La" and "Moonlight Dance".

The air blades unleashed by "Moonlight Dance" were several times more powerful than those wielded by Yan Xin, both in terms of length and destructive force. It seems this thing wasn't as bad as she had imagined; it was mainly because its previous owner was too incompetent.

"Quickly Throwing a Tangle" has decent compatibility, but Uchiha Hikaru thinks it's not very useful and plans to give it away to anyone as a toy later.

As for the "earth shaking"...

Uchiha Hikaru's first impression of this Imperial Arm was actually quite good.

However, she figured she probably didn't have the potential to debut as an idol. This microphone-shaped Teigu couldn't unleash its full power in her hands. After forcibly trying it out a few times, she ended up with a sore throat. Fortunately, her recovery ability quickly healed her.

"Perhaps... we could give this to Bulma to try?"

—Cosmia, the original owner of "Earth Shakes," was a witch songstress dressed as a bunny girl, and Bulma has also dressed as a bunny girl a few times and seems to enjoy singing. Perhaps this thing is more compatible with her.

By the way...

Kosmia has started following Uchiha Hikaru around these past few days, acting as her loyal dog.

Compared to the other members of "Wild Hounds," this songstress's crimes were the least serious, falling into the category of those who could be killed or spared. Uchiha Hikaru happened to have some questions to ask her, so he held back a little and did not kill her directly like Shira and the others.

"Kosmia, come here."

Uchiha Hikaru beckoned with his finger.

Kosmia, who was standing not far away, immediately lowered her head and approached obediently like a pet dog, looking at her respectfully: "Lady Guang, I'm here. What are your orders?"

Have you ever been to Beijing?

"The capital city?"

Kosmia paused for a moment, then cautiously replied, "I went there once a few years ago before I met Sheila, so I'm quite familiar with the place... If you'd like to go there, I can show you the way."

"Hmm... Come with me over there in a few days and help me find a place."

"……good."

The address that Uchiha Hikaru was looking for was the one that Sheila had mentioned.

She had seen a few images of that place in Sheila's memories, but the exact route was a bit blurry, and there weren't any obvious landmarks around. Having someone familiar with the capital city to help should make finding it much faster.

"By the way, is there one more person in your 'Wild Hound' group?"

Uchiha Hikaru suddenly asked a question.

"Yes, there is also an alchemist named Dortya. Her alchemy can transform humans into dangerous species. She has conducted many human experiments in the past, and her own body has also been modified in this way... In addition, her Imperial Arm is a tooth-shaped 'Blood Collector' that can be installed in the mouth to enhance strength and self-heal by consuming human blood."

Dortya is the most cautious of us all; she probably slipped away last night after seeing you make your move.

Kosmia completely betrayed her former teammates.

"Understood."

Uchiha Hikaru nodded, not paying any attention.

In the original work, Dortya was also quite cunning, being the last of Sheila's group to die. Perhaps she's currently sneaking back to the capital, intending to inform Ernest of Sheila's predicament.

But it doesn't matter.

Anyway, she was bound to confront that old man sooner or later. In her mind, Ernest was already half dead, and even the young emperor's "Supreme Imperial Arms" couldn't keep him.

……

"Lord Guang, these are the valuables we found in the homes of those wealthy families."

Inside the Prefect's residence.

Ran and the female governor arrived at the courtyard where Uchiha Hikaru was temporarily staying. Ran pointed to the dozen or so boxes in front of her and said to her.

"...So many?"

Uchiha Hikaru was slightly taken aback.

She had initially thought that this was just a small town, and it didn't seem very prosperous, so the wealth she could plunder would be limited.

Can……

How could they possibly gather ten chests of gold and silver?

This number is roughly equivalent to the wealth of Ox-King from the Dragon Ball world.

If even the wealthy gentry of such a small central town are so rich, how rich must the nobles in the capital, especially Minister Ernest himself, be?

On the other side, Lan's expression was equally complicated.

As a teacher, his life experience is actually quite simple; he has spent half of his life so far in school, with students and colleagues. Although he has occasionally heard rumors about nobles and gentry, he has always felt that those things are far removed from his own life.

Until that tragedy occurred.

It dragged him from heaven to hell, and his peaceful life was completely shattered.

then……

The appearance and destruction of Sheila's group, as well as what he saw and heard during the "confiscation" process, all gave his worldview, which he had formed over the past twenty years, an unprecedented shock.

For the first time in his life, he began to crave power rather than knowledge.

Moral preaching is meaningless when dealing with these despicable individuals; only absolute power can change them.

Just like...

Just like the girl in front of me.

"...Hikari-sama."

Lan swallowed hard, a little nervously asking, "Excuse my intrusion... but could you please guide me on how to obtain power as great as yours?"

"Um?"

Uchiha Hikaru raised an eyebrow slightly: "Why are you suddenly asking about this?"

"...I just feel that many things in this world are not as simple as I used to think."

"It takes more than a decade to educate a child to become successful, but only a day to destroy them. Those aristocrats who act arrogantly never understand or care about the suffering of the common people. They only exploit and enslave the people without restraint, and even take pleasure in human lives... This is so unfair."

"I don't want what I went through to happen to anyone else. So..."

"Please teach me."

Lan bowed deeply, her words sincere.

"..."

Uchiha Hikaru remained silent.

She had a fairly good impression of Lan, after all, he was one of the few people in the Empire who still had a conscience, and he had worked hard to help her confiscate property and do the accounting during this time, so he should be rewarded.

She thought about it seriously: "It's impossible to have power like mine. But... I can indeed teach you something."

Have you ever heard of "qi"?

(End of this chapter)