People in the Qin Dynasty, entertained during the Warring States period

Jingni pondered for a moment and said, "When I was monitoring Guo Kai, I discovered that some people from Luo Wang were in contact with him."

Cao Ze was not surprised at all; instead, he smiled calmly and said, "I knew it."

Most of the generals here are basically from Zhao Jia's faction. If Guo Kai wants to take action against him, he can only find outside help and make his move before arriving at Yaoshan.

And now, there is no more suitable place than Luo Wang, which is notorious among the seven states and even despised by the people of Qin.

Especially given that Yan Ri was very likely eyeing the "Seven Mansions" scroll in his possession, the two of them could almost be said to have hit it off immediately.

Do you know who has been in contact with Guo Kai?

According to his analysis, Luo Wang would not, and did not have the ability to, send too many people into Zhao; they would still have to attack him from within the Zhao army.

Based on what I learned from Jing Ni about the Luo Wang's style, this time it will definitely be the Luo Wang elites personally led by Yan Ri.

"I don't know. Their strength is at least at the first-rate level."

Cao Ze asked, "Does the Luo Wang organization have many top-tier assassins?"

"There are quite a few. I know of at least ten, who are hiding in various countries."

"Including the Six Sword Slaves?"

"Not counting."

"..."

Cao Ze sighed, "Fortunately, grandmasters aren't trained or cultivated."

Based on Jingni's understanding of the Luo Wang's resources, if they were to throw around tons of rare and precious materials, they could produce not only Grandmasters but even Great Grandmasters.

Royal families no longer need to spend their days trying to recruit masters and experts from all walks of life.

Jing Ni nodded slightly, "This is also because Luo Wang has been vigorously cultivating the Six Sword Slaves in succession."

Cao Ze asked, "How does it compare to a Grandmaster?"

The current Six Sword Slaves are almost identical in strength to the later Six Sword Slaves.

The strategy of Luo Wang in training assassins is to squeeze out the most potential in the shortest amount of time and obtain the strongest possible strength. They don't care whether they can go further afterward.

Unless one possesses exceptional talent like Jing Ni Xuan Jian, with the potential to break through to the Grandmaster level.

Don't think the Six Sword Slaves are trash just because Gai Nie and Wei Zhuang, who later combined their strength, almost wiped out the entire Six Sword Slaves.

You know, those were the most outstanding uncles and second uncles.

Otherwise, the Six Sword Slaves, all skilled in killing and possessing top-tier abilities, would be more than capable of taking down most grandmaster-level figures.

If you can't keep up in strength, then use numbers to bully the few—that's the consistent style of Luo Wang.

Jingni shook her head and said, "There's no comparison."

Two top-tier experts can fight a half-step grandmaster, and four top-tier experts are enough to stop a grandmaster.

She originally thought that six top-tier experts would be enough to deal with a Grandmaster.

But ever since she witnessed the all-out battle between Donghuang Taiyi and Lu Goujian, she has come to understand that unless one of the six sword slaves breaks through to the Grandmaster level, killing them all would just be a matter of putting in extra effort in the eyes of a Grandmaster.

No wonder it's rumored that Grandmasters are also known as Half-Step Celestials.

It is possible to harmonize with heaven and earth and achieve the unity of heaven and man.

This is what makes a Grandmaster so terrifying compared to a Master.

Even so, they are still mortals and cannot reach the legendary realm of gods and men.

He can fight against a thousand men single-handedly, and he can bring prosperity to a nation by himself.

After a brief exchange with Jing Ni, Cao Ze left the tent quietly to find Li Wu, who was following not far from the main army.

The next day, the army continued its northward march.

Meanwhile, Li Ji, who works at Feixue Pavilion in Handan, has been experiencing a loss of appetite and even occasional dry heaving in recent days.

I thought my inability to eat was because Cao Ze had left.

It wasn't until she experienced stomach acid and abdominal pain that Li Ji realized something was wrong.

"Sister Yafei, what illness does Liji have?"

Snow Maiden knelt beside Ya Fei, holding a wrung-out cloth in her hand, and asked with some concern.

Li Ji lay on the couch, her lips somewhat pale.

Ya Fei glanced at Li Ji on the couch with a strange expression.

She had some medical knowledge, though not as good as renowned doctors, but for her, minor illnesses and ailments were easily cured with medicine.

"It's... a pregnancy test."

Ya Fei hesitated for a moment, but still spoke up.

Judging from the pulse, it's been two or three months.

Before long, Li Ji's belly grew bigger, and she could no longer hide it.

"what?"

Li Ji gasped softly and opened her eyes wide.

I could hardly believe my ears.

Never before has her little brain worked so fast.

In April, I had my first time with Cao Ze after drinking.

In May, Cao Ze and I returned to Handan from Puyang. While Cao Ze and Jing Ke Kuang Xiu were drunk, I secretly had sex with Cao Ze again.

Twice in total.

It's early August now; if it were April, there should have been a reaction by now.

That was in May, almost three months ago.

Thinking about this, Li Ji felt dizzy and blushed, feeling an excitement like she had been hit by a surprise.

After her initial surprise, the Snow Maiden asked with some curiosity, "Sister Yafei, when did Liji get pregnant? Whose child is it?"

Li Ji, who was just excited, froze with a smile on her pretty face.

They had completely forgotten that the Snow Woman was still there.

Ya Fei knew perfectly well whose child it was, and she was very troubled.

After thinking about it, I realized it wasn't my fault. I'll let Cao Ze worry about it when he gets back.

"How would I know? Li Ji, did you take a fancy to someone in Handan?"

Li Ji stammered, "No...no..."

Ya Fei scoffed, "She's getting shy now."

"Forget it, you're too shy to embarrass yourself. Just focus on your pregnancy and we'll talk about it when you're ready."

Since the Battle of Changping, in which Bai Qi massacred 400,000 able-bodied men, the entire state of Zhao was shrouded in mourning, and orphans and widows were a common sight.

This led to significant changes throughout the Zhao state, and its social atmosphere became more open.

It can be said that the prosperity of the Zhao State's Handan dance hall was inextricably linked to the Battle of Changping twenty years earlier.

Therefore, almost no one cares about situations like Li Ji's premarital pregnancy.

Even if I raise the child alone in the future, it won't attract any gossip.

The Snow Woman wasn't one to pry into other people's privacy, and seeing that Li Ji remained silent, she didn't ask any more questions, but she couldn't help but wonder whose child Li Ji was carrying.

After examining Li Ji's condition, Ya Fei left the room with Xue Nu.

She was just about to instruct her maid to buy some medicine to help with pregnancy when she suddenly turned back to look at Xue Nu, and then lowered her gaze to Xue Nu's belly.

Several days ago, Xue Nu and Cao Ze...

She composed herself and thought, "It can't be that much of a coincidence."

Having spent thousands of days and nights together, how could Xue Nu not see the meaning in Ya Fei's eyes?

She said shyly, "Sister Yafei, I won't get pregnant!"

As if to encourage herself, she gently bit her lip, "If I really get pregnant, I'll have an abortion!"

Ya Fei was speechless. Since Cao Ze left, her beloved Xue'er had changed three times a day.

She gritted her teeth during the day, kept thinking about it before going to sleep, and sighed and lamented after waking up, leaving her speechless.

"Whatever you want."

Yafei decisively ended the conversation, afraid she wouldn't be able to stop nagging.

If you're really pregnant, then we'll talk about it. You can't have an abortion so easily; it's bad for your health.

Cao Ze, far away in the army, was unaware that Li Ji had won the lottery.

He was riding on the snow-covered horse, pondering his next training route.

Once all the meridians in the body are open and the internal circulation of Qi is established, any further improvement requires sensing the universe.

If one can initially sense the heavens and earth and grasp the changes around one's body, then one can become a half-step grandmaster, just like Jing Ni.

If one can go a step further, open the bridge between heaven and earth, establish an external grand circulation, and make the internal energy within one's body resonate and circulate with heaven and earth, then one will become a grandmaster.

If one can align oneself with heaven and earth and comprehend the unity of heaven and man, then becoming a grandmaster is within reach.

Ultimately, whether it's a half-step Grandmaster or a Grandmaster, they are all within the Grandmaster realm.

All of these require a certain sensitivity, perception, and understanding of heaven and earth.

The universe is inherently ethereal and ever-changing, like white clouds. It is no simple matter to try to sense the universe and gain something from it.

Otherwise, the Luo Wang wouldn't be in this situation now, possessing a large number of elite assassins, yet none of them have been able to break through to the Grandmaster realm. At most, they are like Jing Ni, lingering at the half-step Grandmaster realm.

Thinking of Jing Ni, Cao Ze sighed softly.

Jingni had already sensed the power of heaven and earth, and her control over the changes around her was superb.

After a year of self-cultivation, he was able to do as he pleased, allowing the five vital energies in his chest to rise simultaneously.

It can be said that the realm of half-step Grandmaster has been perfected.