Chapter 494: Birth of the Queen

Chapter 494: The Birth of a Queen

Yet the awestruck onlookers could never imagine that the youngest on the Earth List, the gallant swordswoman who had just slain a formidable foe, the image they conjured of her riding into the sunset with sword in hand, was at this very moment limp as silk beneath someone’s onslaught, her eyes misty with desire.

The soft moans she suppressed were utterly soul-stirring.

All was settled, and no one was foolish enough to disturb them. Even without dual cultivation, the young couple could indulge in their passion to the fullest.

They descended the mountain together and returned to the guest courtyard, only to find the Spirit Clan holding a grand ceremony. Not a single maid was present; everyone was at the sacred mountain for the ritual. They exchanged a glance, and a surge of passion ignited in both their hearts. Barely through the door, they were already locked in a fervent kiss. Zhao Changhe kicked the door shut, scooped up the female knight, and leaped onto the bed, tumbling into a tangled heap.

"Sister, your wounds haven't healed. I need to help you dual cultivate..."

"The first round, no dual cultivation. I want you fully..."

"As you command." The red robe slipped off, carelessly tossed at the foot of the bed. Neither noticed the spirit there; the robe draped over her and passed through, landing at the bedpost.

"What kind of people are these!" Blind muttered, rubbing her head, wondering if she had chosen the wrong person.

You just got your hands on the Heavenly Book!

Ask any martial artist in the world: what would they do first after obtaining the Heavenly Book and having some free time?

Who wouldn't study the Heavenly Book?

And you even have a captive at the Imperial Realm. Even if you don't study the Heavenly Book, you should interrogate the captive for ancient knowledge or learn his Undying Blood Demon Body—it clearly complements your Blood Rakshasa Body. Anyone with eyes can see its value!

What are you doing? Planning to use the new page of the Heavenly Book as beauty material to freshen things up?

Blind fumed and sealed herself off.

No wonder the announcements in the Chronicle of Chaos carry some personal bias...

But then again, even without personal bias, the announcements can only go so far. The secrets of the realm and the ancient gods and demons exist outside the Chronicle's reach.

Besides Zhao Changhe, who was reduced to a bystander, Sisi had also launched a sneak attack during the battle where "Shi Wuding fell into the trap and off the cliff." She was a young cultivator at the first level of the Secret Treasury, but her name never appeared, not even on the Hidden Dragon List.

If not for the fact that the death of a figure as important as Shi Wuding couldn't go unnoticed and had to be reported, the entire incident might have been buried in the dust of the secret realm.

Sisi, whose name was unknown to the outside world, was now at the peak of her life.

Earlier, everyone had knelt on the mountaintop to worship the Blood Moon, which was the site of their sacred temple square. With everything settled, Sisi entered the temple surrounded by the crowd. Several elders who had not opposed her trembled as they knelt before the steps, using their bodies as a staircase to the throne.

As she climbed over their backs, Sisi felt the experience was less than pleasant—unsteady, as if she might fall at any moment—but psychologically, it was an unparalleled sensation, the feeling of trampling over all living beings.

The Spirit Clan was far more barbaric than the Xia people. On the surface, they seemed casual and unruly, but in matters of hierarchy, the disparity was extreme. There were even more savage practices, such as the likely live sacrifice of captives, depending on Sisi's whim.

But Sisi wasn't thinking about that. She slowly ascended the steps, gazing at the throne ahead, her mind wandering elsewhere...

As a handmaiden, if he wanted me to do the same...

Hmm...

In a daze, she sat on the throne, and below, the crowd chanted devoutly: "Please, Saintess, be crowned."

Crowned as queen.

But the ancient Spirit Clan didn't use the term "king"; they only called their leader the chieftain. The authority wasn't as absolute as a king's, and the council of elders held more power. The chieftain wasn't hereditary; usually, each tribe elected the most respected person.

But given the current circumstances, it would be easy for Sisi to centralize power and become queen. The clan had no concept of such a system; it was a blank slate for her to reform.

Zhao Changhe's mind hadn't turned to this yet; he was still thinking of supporting a saintess. But Sisi herself understood what this momentum would create. Even if she said nothing, the young and ambitious who had sided with her wouldn't be satisfied with her merely being a saintess.

If you're just a saintess, how can we become elders? Wait for seniority? We risked our necks to rebel with you—what for?

So it was destined that she wouldn't just be a saintess. If Zhao Changhe were present, he would also realize that a queen was about to emerge.

Sisi stared at the crown held out before her by the kneeling crowd, her expression growing more dazed.

The ancient Spirit Clan once had a chieftain, but the previous one had been wiped out by the Venerable Duoluo. Since then, no chieftain was appointed; only the elders ruled separately, implying that the forbidden land was the true king.

In the battle that led to the forbidden land's conquest, the previous chieftain gathered a group of the most powerful shamans to cast a forty-nine-day curse on the Venerable Duoluo. It had no effect, and all the great shamans involved died from the backlash.

Among them was Sisi's father.

Sisi's father wasn't the chieftain, and fortunately so. The chieftain's entire lineage had to be exterminated. Sisi, protected by her father's friends and those who respected the hero's descendants, could live a normal life with a certain status, able to voice opinions and be a troublemaker.

It was this bitter lesson that made others revere the "Wrath of the Ancestral God," but Sisi saw it differently. She no longer trusted her clan's shamanic arts and resolved to leave the mountains to study martial arts in Great Xia.

This was the origin, and it all culminated in the crown before her.

She slowly raised it and placed it on her head. The beaded curtain blurred her stunning face, and her voice sounded ethereal even to herself: "Kingship is granted by the gods. Before the Holy Envoy speaks, I remain the Saintess for now... But our clan's system must change. Based on what we saw in the Miao borderlands, the Black Miao seek to establish a king. Their system can serve as a reference. You may draft proposals first, to be reviewed by the Holy Envoy..."

Sisi didn't know if she liked being a queen, but she suddenly wondered if he might like it. What would he do if a queen knelt before him as a handmaiden?

He must be dual cultivating with Sister Yue right now...

Behind the beaded curtain, her eyes grew misty with desire.

The Spirit Clan people kneeling and shouting below would never imagine that on the first day of their queen's coronation, she was already burning with fever on the throne.

No... Sisi felt like she was really burning. Why did it feel so good?

Pain... a pain-transferring Gu?

Sisi was dumbfounded. She had never used it before. Did this Gu transfer more than just pain?

But this was a man's experience. So this is what it's like? It seemed ordinary enough.

"S-Sainttess?" came a hesitant voice from below.

"Oh." Sisi coughed dryly and subtly crossed her legs. "First agenda item... The Great Elder has been burned to death. How should we deal with the other rebels who once sided with the forbidden land and oppressed our people?"

The atmosphere turned instantly grim.

...

The Spirit Clan's ritual, the establishment of the new regime's rules, the handling of the old forces, and plans beyond the secret realm—there were too many matters. From noon until sunset, it wasn't nearly finished. Many items had to be postponed.

But they couldn't skip meals, especially with the Holy Envoy present. You couldn't just leave him to his own devices, even if that was all he wanted...

The Spirit Clan slaughtered cattle and sheep to prepare a grand feast. Only then did Sisi, after a day of hard work, find a perfectly justified reason: "I, the king, must personally invite him."

No one could object. The little enchantress, holding up her long, trailing gown, dashed off with two close maids to the foot-bathing room from the previous night.

This is too much. Why has that feeling persisted since noon? Can they really go at it for hours?

Impossible, right? Is there something wrong with this Gu?

When she reached the guest courtyard, she could still faintly hear sounds that made her blush. Sisi looked up at the stars in disbelief, utterly stunned.

I never thought you were this vigorous before! When I teased you with my foot, didn't you finish quickly?

This long—are you sure Sister Yue won't get dehydrated? No, wait...

You're both still injured! How can you do this?

Sisi knocked on the door in indignation: "Please, Holy Envoy, join the feast."

From inside came Yue Hongling's lazy voice: "Wait outside. Stand as long as I used my foot last night. Don't think I don't know."

Sisi was furious. Are you addicted to making me stand at the door and eavesdrop?

Her eyes darted around, and she said to the maids, "Bring me my jade flute."

The maid quickly handed her a green jade flute.

The Saintess had been talented in many arts in her youth, but she hadn't played a tune or sung in years. Was she finally feeling better?

The flute's melody drifted through the air. Inside, Zhao Changhe paused with a strange expression. He wished he weren't so musically knowledgeable—it would be better if he couldn't recognize this tune.

Sisi likely didn't know the reference; her meaning was genuine, but to Zhao Changhe's ears it sounded different...

The little maids were asking, "Holy Maiden, what tune is this? Did you learn it from the Xia people? Never heard it before..."

"Does it sound nice?"

"Yes, what's its name?"

Inside, Yue Hongling was also gasping as she asked, "What tune is that vixen playing? Why have you stopped moving..."

Not just stopped moving, he nearly went limp.

Inside and outside the room, voices answered in unison: "It's 'Phoenix Seeks Phoenix'."