Chapter 509
Chapter 509
Soon, Shen Lang was to meet Princess Yinghan.
How should he describe her?
She was a woman who felt utterly unapproachable.
Of course, this was different from the cold and indifferent demeanor of Princess Ningjue.
Shen Lang was an incredibly arrogant man, even proud to a fault.
He believed that, setting aside whether a woman fell in love with him, he could sleep with any woman in the world if he set his mind to it.
Wasn't Qiu Yao'er an extraordinary woman?
Even though she greatly disliked Shen Lang, they had ended up sleeping together.
And wasn't the Divine Maiden Xue Yin also extraordinary?
During his time with her, if Shen Lang had wanted to, he could have slept with her.
In fact, Shen Lang was thinking to himself.
‘There is no woman in this world I cannot sleep with. I am worthy of sleeping with any woman in the world.’
But, confoundingly, the moment he faced Princess Yinghan, Shen Lang felt a pang of inadequacy.
She gave him the faint feeling that no matter how hard he tried, he could never sleep with this woman.
Moreover, Shen Lang couldn't even bring himself to comment on her face and figure.
Ten years ago, she had been called the greatest beauty in the State of Yue, and now, another ten years had passed, making her twenty-seven.
Despite her age, she had become even more beautiful, a woman brimming with a unique temperament.
This was perhaps the most captivating time of her life.
But Shen Lang glanced at her once and immediately looked away.
‘I love my wife. I love my Mulan. I can't let my heart waver by looking at another woman. I will not be unfaithful, not even in my mind.’
This woman was far more beautiful than the Divine Maiden Xue Yin.
She was probably the type of woman...
...who, wherever she stood, would make all the women around her seem like ugly ducklings.
No woman would likely want to stand beside her.
Shen Lang even began to doubt if she was truly of King Ning Yuanxian's bloodline.
More important than her face and figure was the aura she exuded.
An aura born from standing at the pinnacle, training for a long time, and being refined by the civilization of the ancient world.
In particular, something that seemed to have been gained from the civilization of the ancient world made her presence even more immense.
The civilization of this current world developed from fragments of the ancient world's civilization.
The ancient world was mysterious and powerful.
One who studied the ancient world for a long time would naturally grasp powerful secrets and the strength of a higher civilization.
Immersed in it for a long time, one's entire demeanor would change without them even realizing it.
To give a less-than-perfect analogy.
In the late 19th century, the Qing Dynasty was already in its final days, and Chinese civilization had become backward and unenlightened.
At that time, some progressive thinkers looked to the world, leaving the Qing Dynasty to study abroad in the Western powers.
After studying in the West for over a decade and accumulating various knowledge, they returned to China.
When they returned, the Qing Dynasty had already fallen, and China had entered the era of the Beiyang Warlords, yet it remained backward and unenlightened.
The demeanor of these individuals who returned after learning and mastering advanced Western thought would be completely different from before they studied abroad, and those who had remained in China would faintly sense in them an aura that overshadowed the crowd.
That is the spiritual aura bestowed by an advanced civilization.
Returning to the main point.
Shen Lang realized at a glance that Yinghan held numerous secrets—secrets powerful enough to overwhelm this world.
He quickly switched to his X-ray vision mode to examine her bloodline and was so shocked he could have jumped.
‘Her bloodline is extremely close to Big Dummy's? H-How is this possible?’
The King's martial bloodline was not this extraordinary, nor was his former wife, the Queen, born with such a strong bloodline.
So how could Yinghan alone possess such a powerful bloodline?
Not only did she possess a bloodline nearly on par with Big Dummy's, but she had also been training in martial arts under the Left Pavilion Master for a full twenty years.
If so, just how powerful would her martial arts be by now?
It would be a level beyond imagination, yet she seemed to have little interest or concern for the title of Grandmaster.
“Your Royal Father.”
“Xiaohan.”
Just moments ago, the King had been so moved by the news of his daughter's arrival, yet upon actually seeing Princess Yinghan, he felt a bit of unfamiliarity.
Perhaps it was because the woman had changed so much that she was completely different from the young girl in the King's memory.
After exchanging greetings, the father and daughter fell into a brief silence.
“Are you Shen Lang?”
Yinghan looked at Shen Lang and asked bluntly, causing him to be slightly taken aback.
“Yes, I am Shen Lang.”
“I will see you in a moment.”
‘Is she kicking me out just like that?’
Shen Lang nodded, then bowed to the King.
“This servant will take his leave!”
* * *
Ning Yuanxian and Yinghan were strolling slowly up a small mountain within the palace grounds.
“Xiaohan, your father has wronged you.”
Only after some time did King Ning Yuanxian sink into the emotions of a father.
Ning Yuanxian spoke, his voice choked with emotion.
“After Prince Jiang Li fell, I couldn't withstand the pressure from the Great Yan Dynasty, so not only did I harm your mother, but I also caused you to leave my side at such a young age.”
After Jiang Li's fall, Ning Yuanxian was in a very precarious situation.
Of course, Yinghan was in even greater danger at the time. She was only six or seven years old, but she was the daughter-in-law personally chosen by Lord Jiang Li.
If she were implicated with the Jiang Li clan, she would have faced certain death.
To protect Yinghan, the Left Pavilion Master took her in as his direct disciple.
This was because she possessed an exceptionally rare and powerful bloodline.
In truth, Ning Yuanxian still couldn't understand it.
He and his former wife both possessed high-grade martial bloodlines at best, so how had they given birth to a daughter with a bloodline as extraordinary as Yinghan's?
In the past, even Prince Jiang Li had been very fond of Yinghan upon seeing her, saying that this girl was a match for his own yet-unborn child.
At that time, Jiang Li had said this not only because of Yinghan's appearance and temperament, but also because of her bloodline.
Ning Yuanxian stopped for a moment, looked at his daughter, and said.
“Xiaohan, have you been well recently?”
Princess Yinghan nodded and replied.
“Father, I have been well.”
“I hear you've been following the Left Pavilion Master every day, excavating ancient ruins overseas?”
Princess Yinghan nodded.
“That is correct.”
Ning Yuanxian smiled and asked.
“Have you had any great success?”
“If we're talking about the last ten years as a whole, then of course, the success has been great. But if we're looking at it day by day or month by month, each harvest is often despairing. There are many times when we excavate arduously for months with no results.”
Ning Yuanxian thought for a moment, then spoke.
“Xiaohan, you're already twenty-seven this year, aren't you? If not for the upheaval, you would have already been an empress, raising children and looking after the world with love.”
Yinghan smiled brightly at his words.
“Father, if Prince Jiang Li had achieved a great victory and unified the entire Eastern world, given the level of cultivation he had reached, living to be a hundred would have been no problem for him. So I would still only be a Crown Princess at this point.”
After exchanging these few words, the feeling of being father and daughter returned to them.
Yinghan had become more beautiful, mysterious, and powerful, but she still had a lovely personality.
She wasn't pretentious like other royals, nor was she self-willed like Ningyan.
Ning Yuanxian shook his head at her words.
“I knew Prince Jiang Li well. If he had unified the world, he probably would have found being an emperor a bother and would have gone off exploring the world, excavating the secrets of ancient civilizations. His son would surely have ascended the throne early.”
Yinghan was surprised, then nodded.
“That does sound like him. But, Father, do you still miss Prince Jiang Li so much?”
Ning Yuanxian nodded.
“I had many conversations with Lord Jiang Li. He never intended to unify the world just to rule over it. He intended to liberate the entire world and elevate the civilization of all peoples to a higher level. He had little desire to seize and rule the territories of other nations.”
Princess Yinghan fell silent, and Ning Yuanxian changed the subject.
“Xiaohan, you're not young anymore. Have you considered marriage? What about someone like Zhu Hongxue!”
“Xiaoxue is fine. He's probably the most outstanding man in this world. It's just that we are too familiar with each other.”
“There is something I must tell you, although you dislike him greatly. The Crown Prince of the Kingdom of Dagan, Ying Wuming, came to me and formally proposed, asking to take you as his wife.”
Ning Yuanxian had expected Yinghan to frown and show her displeasure upon hearing Ying Wuming's name, but she didn't react that way at all.
“He is a very complicated and dangerous person.”
Ning Yuanxian was startled.
‘For the words 'complicated and dangerous' to come from Yinghan's mouth, Ying Wuming must be no simple man.’
“Ying Wuming is not only the Crown Prince of the Kingdom of Dagan, but he is also treated like a young lord on Mount Fudao. So he is a difficult person to get close to. By the way, Father, are you planning to marry Xiao Yan to the heir of Prince Yan?”
Ning Yuanxian nodded.
“A moment ago, did you get a good look at Shen Lang?”
Princess Yinghan nodded.
“I did.”
“What did you think of him?”
“He is very charming, one of the most handsome men you could find in the world.”
“That scoundrel had an affair with Ningyan. He doesn't seem to think much of it, but Ningyan has grown very fond of him, and it seems her feelings have taken deep root.”
“Originally, Yunmeng Ze could have persuaded Prince Yan quite smoothly, but Noble Consort Ying stopped it!”
Ning Yuanxian was startled.
‘So that was the reason?’
Truly, not a single rumor about that matter had spread.
Noble Consort Ying was a favored consort of the Great Yan Emperor, the daughter of King Ying Guang of the Kingdom of Dagan, and Ying Wuming's older sister.
“Do you also wish to marry Ningyan off, Father?”
Ning Yuanxian nodded, and Princess Yinghan nodded in return, saying.
“I understand. Then leave that matter to me!”
She spoke with such absolute confidence that it seemed not even Noble Consort Ying could stand in the way of her will.
Ning Yuanxian asked affectionately.
“Xiaohan, you've come all this way. Can't you stay for a while?”
“Your Royal Father, I still have too many duties and missions to attend to. After I handle this personal matter, I must leave immediately to continue excavating the ancient ruins.”
Ning Yuanxian was disappointed.
“Then how long can you stay this time?”
Princess Yinghan thought for a moment, then answered warmly.
“Probably two days!”
“Must you leave so soon?”
“Unfortunately, yes. Your Royal Father, you do not know how important our mission is. This time, we are excavating an ancient underground palace that will be immense in scale. However, we have not yet even found the proper entrance. We cannot use physical force for fear of damaging the precious ruins of the ancient civilization.”
“An underground palace from the ancient era?”
“Yes. My master believed that the Ends of the Earth Sea Pavilion alone could not excavate it, so he has summoned numerous assistants. If nothing unexpected happens, we will be the first to discover the most perfectly preserved ruins of the ancient civilization. Once it is fully excavated, it will surely advance the world's civilization greatly.”
Ning Yuanxian narrowed his eyes slightly.
‘Weren't all the things Lord Jiang Li did back then also for the sake of advancing this world's civilization?’
Afterward, Princess Yinghan went to see Queen Zhu and Consort Bian, among others.