"The Celestial Race!"

Upon hearing this response, Zhao Ji's heart twitched violently.

But his expression remained unchanged, and he asked calmly, "How could such confidential information be discovered by the Grand Historian?"

Cao Gonggong hesitated, but still said, "To be honest, Your Majesty, although our Cao family has declined, we still have some people serving in City Jing. Through them, we managed to enter the new Grand Historian's office in the Zhou royal family and found a book specifically recording the ritual of prayer for blessings, which happened to include this method of prayer for protection."

As he spoke, he handed a copied book to Zhao Ji.

Zhao Ji took the book, but instead of immediately flipping through it, he smiled and said, "You've worked hard, risking so much for the Kingdom of Li."

Cao Gonggong was deeply moved. "Without the protection of the Great Li, our Cao family would have been exterminated long ago. The current Great Li is no different from our motherland to the Cao family. It is only natural for us to take risks for our motherland."

"Very well!"

Zhao Ji seemed to be sighing at the loyalty of the Great Li's faithful servant.

His slightly withered hands rubbed the book for a long time before finally opening it.

Although the Zhou royal family had declined, it was still the cultural center. There was no other place in the world that could match its extensive collection of books.

This book almost recorded all the methods of prayer for blessings in the world.

The most crucial page of the book was marked with a record of the method of prayer for protection, meticulously recorded in a uniform format.

This method of prayer for protection was exclusive to the Celestial Race.

After defeating the myriad of demons in ancient times, the Celestial Race lived separately from the human race.

In order to pass down their lineage in a better quality, they issued a ban on intermarriage with the human race and, for the sake of superior offspring, they developed the method of prayer for protection.

This method of prayer for protection was not particularly mysterious, it simply used the essence and energy of both parents to nurture the fetus, minimizing the consumption of all three.

The effect was extraordinary.

Any fetus that had been prayed for would be extremely healthy, with almost no congenital defects.

The parents would also hardly deplete their vitality.

The only side effect was...

It required about three years of recovery time, and only after three years could they conceive again.

"This..."

Zhao Ji's gaze became somewhat gloomy.

The record also stated that this method of prayer for protection was an internal secret of the Celestial Race, and only the priests and shamans of the Celestial Race in ancient times were qualified to practice it, and it could only be performed by the Celestial Race.

Who performed this, the Bai family or another Celestial Race?

After three years.

Was this a prediction of his own death?

A chill ran down his spine.

Although it was a well-known fact that the Zhao royal family had a short life expectancy, he was still far from the average lifespan of the Zhao royal family.

The only ones who knew for certain that he would not live for another year were the Queen, Zhao Ning, and that brat Ying Wuji.

It was not impossible for someone to deduce his lifespan through observation.

But it seemed that only Cao Gonggong had this opportunity.

To dare to perform this method of prayer for protection, it must be because he was certain that Zhao Ji would not live for more than three years.

...

Three years was enough to easily break his "twin plan."

If three years passed and he was no longer around.

Ying Wuji would still be living peacefully in the Kingdom of Li, the only legitimate heir to the royal family on the surface would be his child with Li Caimei.

If it was a boy, it would be quite difficult to change the position of the Crown Prince.

But...

Zhao Ji chuckled lightly, "Speaking of which, it's not a bad thing! Gonggong, tell me, was this method of prayer for protection performed by the Bai family, or by another Celestial Race?"

"Ah, this..."

Cao Gonggong was somewhat anxious and cautiously said, "Your Majesty! This matter is of great importance, and I, as a eunuch, dare not make any reckless comments."

Zhao Ji waved his hand with a smile, "You are forgiven!"

"Very well!"

Cao Gonggong seemed quite hesitant, but he steadied himself and pointed to the book in his hand, saying, "Your Majesty! This book was compiled by the Zhou royal family, but it has a long history. The first half should have been inherited from the Shang Palace, with some additions and supplements.

However, this method of prayer for protection is quite recent, probably after the unification of the world by the Zhou Emperor.

The Zhou royal family regards themselves as the Son of Heaven, and this 'heaven' may not refer to the heavens and earth.

If the Zhou royal family really had any connection with the Celestial Race, that's where the record of the method of prayer for protection came from.

Moreover, the Bai family's inherited martial arts follow a vigorous path. Although there are many Celestial secrets, it doesn't seem to be the style of the priests and shamans."

Zhao Ji nodded thoughtfully, "Are you suggesting that it has no relation to the Bai family?"

"I dare not speculate recklessly, I only wish to inform Your Majesty of my thoughts!"

Cao Gonggong humbly nodded, but then changed the subject, "However... according to the Cao family members, there was no mention of the Celestial Race in the Zhou royal family, but instead, they encountered several individuals who seemed to be from the Bai family."

Zhao Ji asked, "Why 'seemed to be'?"Cao Gonggong hurriedly said, "More than a year ago, the Bai family was defeated in Qian Kingdom, and almost the entire clan was detained. These people once found Zhou Tianzi and tried to persuade him to intervene and let Qian Kingdom spare the Bai family, but Zhou Tianzi did not agree."

"I see!"

Zhao Ji nodded slightly, his expression showing neither joy nor sorrow, but he looked at Cao Gonggong with a smile that was not a smile. "You just need to report the truth. It's just a matter of the royal family's early or late birth. Why do you look so worried?"

Cao Gonggong was stunned for a moment, and then suddenly seemed to relax a lot, and quickly blamed himself, "I am just a eunuch, and my vision and thoughts are inevitably narrow. I am worried that Your Majesty and the Prince will have a rift because of this. But seeing Your Majesty being so magnanimous, it seems that I have been overthinking."

Zhao Ji smiled faintly, "When people get old, they still have to relax a little. What's the point of overthinking? You, take care of yourself and spend a few more years with me!"

Cao Gonggong quickly said, "Thank you for your teachings, Your Majesty!"

Zhao Ji waved his hand, "You may go and rest!"

Find the original at " pa𝑤read.com ".

...

"Yes!"

He watched Cao Gonggong leave.

The smile on Zhao Ji's face slowly faded, and his slightly turbid eyes showed neither joy nor sorrow.

He just sat quietly.

After a long time, the voice of a eunuch sounded outside the door.

"Your Majesty, Duke Julu requests an audience!"

"Hmm?"

Zhao Ji raised his eyebrows slightly. The Zhao family had one marquis and two dukes.

During the last palace coup, the Marquis of Changping and another duke had come forward, and now these two had been completely replaced by the young people favored by Zhao Ji.

Only Duke Julu remained...

Duke Julu had always been very close to the royal family, so he did not participate in the last coup. But at the same time, he was a very conservative member of the family, fiercely protective of the family's interests.

In recent court meetings, he had repeatedly proposed to fully occupy the new territory and completely control the military power in the hands of the Zhao family.

In fact, the majority of the military power had always been in the hands of the Zhao family, but the training of new soldiers and reserves were led by generals of other surnames. The city defenses near Xindu were also not in the hands of the Zhao family, in order to prevent the military from becoming a backyard for the Zhao family and to avoid cultivating another nobleman like the Marquis of Changping.

So Zhao Ji had not agreed.

Today, Duke Julu had come, presumably for this matter.

After thinking for a moment, Zhao Ji said calmly, "Let him in!"

"Yes!"

A moment later, the middle-aged Duke Julu walked in with a vigorous and confident stride.

He was about forty or fifty years old, at the peak of his personal combat power. Although he had not yet comprehended the breakthrough to the divine realm, he was still a rare fierce general in the realm of martial arts.

But this fierce general had been feeling insecure recently, often dreaming of commanding his subordinates.

Upon seeing Zhao Ji, he immediately bowed respectfully and said, "Your Majesty, Duke Julu pays his respects!"

Zhao Ji smiled warmly, "Brother, there's no need for such formality. The court meeting has ended, so why have you returned?"

Duke Julu took a deep breath, "Your Majesty! I have heard that the new territory is about to recruit the second batch of new soldiers. My family are all skilled soldiers, and we are all idle at home despite having the skills to kill. I humbly request Your Majesty's permission to go to the new territory to train the new soldiers and fulfill my patriotic intentions."

Zhao Ji smiled and waved his hand, "Brother, you are one of the few fierce generals in the world. It would be a waste to just train new soldiers."

Duke Julu felt a little impatient. Was this another rejection?

"Your Majesty..."

"However..."

Zhao Ji's tone changed, "Xinli City has been basically completed. This city is the top priority of the entire new territory, and its defenses must not be taken lightly. It needs to be guarded by elite soldiers. Most of the newly trained soldiers are also near Xinli City, so there must be a place for them. This hot potato, I wonder if you are willing to take it on!"

Duke Julu was overjoyed, "Thank you, Your Majesty!"

...

Near Xinli City.

Not far from the palace, a new building had been erected, which was said to be the future residence of the Prince. It looked quite large, but the construction progress was not as fast as in other places, and it might take more than a year to complete.

The expansion of the palace was also proceeding at a leisurely pace.

The progress was surprisingly slow.

Because the early focus of the construction in Xinli City had been on public infrastructure, the priority of the residences of the powerful and influential was very low.

This left many families who had moved in early feeling disappointed.

...

One reason was that the living environment was not very good.

The other reason was... they didn't know when the capital would be moved.

But the matter of moving the capital was not something they could worry about.

The big shots who could decide on moving the capital were peacefully fishing in the Prince's Mansion.

"Oh!"

Ying Wuji, wrapped in a padded coat, ran to the old man by the pond. "Are you going fishing again, old man?"

The new territory of the Great Li was in the north of the Central Plains, and spring had already arrived in the Central Plains. However, the rivers and ponds here were still covered with ice.

But the old man's enthusiasm for fishing had not diminished at all. He came out to fish every day, without fail, when the sun was at its brightest and warmest in the afternoon.

Zhao Ji took off his cotton hat and looked at Ying Wuji with disdain, "It's been so long, and you still haven't learned anything. If you were someone else's son-in-law, the fishing hole would have been dug by now!"

As he spoke, he directly cast the fishing rod down.

The fish hook landed on the ice, slid far away, and then lay quietly, obviously not piercing through.

Ying Wuji grinned, "Alright! I'll help you dig the hole."

With that, he climbed over the railing and landed steadily on the ice.

He seemed quite nimble.Just hearing the faint "crack" sound, his movements became more cautious, carefully walking towards the inside, and then holding the fish hook to its natural hanging position.

Under the ice, there were faint shadows of fish swimming.

Since the first time he was despised by Zhao Ji, he filled the pond with the best quality river mud, and then bought many fish seedlings. The diversity of species in the entire pond was quite good, and even set up a formation to pump air into the bottom of the pond to prevent the stagnant water from becoming more and more oxygen-deficient.

The tip of the sword melted from the palm and stabbed towards the ice.

But unexpectedly, this stab directly shattered the ice.

The whole person fell down with a crash.

"Ah, damn it!"

Ying Wuji's face changed drastically, hurriedly threw the fish hook down, and then stepped on the water surface with force, flying back to the shore.

Although he reacted quickly and didn't fall into the pond.

But his boots were still filled with ice water, making him shiver.

Zhao Ji gave him a disdainful look, "You have no control at all. How long has it been since you went to the Lingwu Divine Realm?"

Ying Wuji steamed the ice water with his true energy while grinning, "It's been a while! I've been teaching at the academy recently and have gained some insights, so I've been busy writing teaching materials."

Zhao Ji marveled, "I didn't expect you to be really suited to be a man of letters."

As an external incarnation in the New Li, he naturally knew every move of this kid.

Except for disciplining the Bai family, most of the time was spent at the academy.

Although the content of the lectures was not as systematic as the Confucian, Mohist, Legalist, and Military schools, he could always come up with some valuable words of wisdom from time to time.

This academy's libationer.

Is quite competent.

Starting to write teaching materials now, it may be because of teaching too much, that he has gained some insights.

Zhao Ji looked at his son-in-law, "Speaking of which, you are also considered a master of miscellaneous studies. When you break through the realm of a warrior, you will probably be able to take in disciples and call yourself a master."

Ying Wuji shook his head with a smile, "What Confucianism and miscellaneous studies? I think the so-called Hundred Schools of Thought don't need to be distinguished so clearly. Take the essence and discard the dross, all for the use of the king, this is the right path.

...

I also want to call myself a master, but what I write is just a bit of plagiarism, and then I revise it again and again.

The few masters in the academy are very dissatisfied with me, saying that I have ruined their classics of the Hundred Schools of Thought."

Zhao Ji asked, "So, what do you plan to do?"

Ying Wuji grinned, "Just cover your ears and ignore it, right? After all, Li Kingdom is our territory, and the master of the academy is my father-in-law. Who am I afraid of?"

Zhao Ji shook his head with a smile, this kid really played the thick-skinned act to the fullest.

The father-in-law and son-in-law did not continue the conversation.

They just sat side by side.

Waiting for the fish to bite.

But it seemed that luck was not on their side today, and they waited for a long time without any fish biting.

After a while.

Zhao Ji was a little dissatisfied, "The batch of fish seedlings you bought before are not good, they don't even actively bite the hook."

Ying Wuji casually replied, "Maybe they are too timid and were scared by you."

Zhao Ji: "..."

He thought about it, and he had indeed been a bit stern recently.

In the past, this kid would accompany him to fish for a while every day at noon.

As a result, because of the issue of having a child, he scolded him too much, and later he only came once every two or three days.

"By the way, Wuji!"

Zhao Ji raised his eyelids and pointed to the box under Ying Wuji's butt, "You carry a big box to the Prince's Mansion every day, what's inside?"

Ying Wuji grinned, "Didn't I tell you? The family property for taking care of my wife and children is too small in the Prince's Mansion, so I moved some over to balance it out."

Tsk!

Zhao Ji wanted to kick this kid's butt, rubbed his forehead, and asked again, "Is there explosives inside?"

He was very clear that Ying Wuji and Wu Dan were working on something called explosives.

The first use was the fireworks on the New Year's Eve two years ago.

But those fireworks were only good to look at and were worthless.

But later, with improvements, the power of these explosives has gradually increased to a considerable level. At least under the coverage of firepower, even the elite of high-grade spirit embryos would suffer a considerable blow.

In Ying Wuji's words, making firecrackers for children to play with in the future, this way, they can accumulate military merits from a young age by killing a few enemy soldiers.

When the explosives are produced in large quantities.

It is also a good gift.

"Explosives..."

Ying Wuji grinned, "Explosives shouldn't be placed under my own bed! But rest assured, this thing is more explosive than explosives."

Zhao Ji pondered, "Do I have to wait until I have the intention to kill you to see it?"

Ying Wuji was silent for a moment, "Yes!"

The atmosphere quieted down for a while.

Zhao Ji smiled and shook his head, "It's just you, doing everything so cautiously, how can I have the intention to kill you? When the time comes, I'll order Ning'er to dismantle it, and I'll take a look before I die, what good things you've prepared for me, kid."

Ying Wuji's eyes felt a little sour from hearing this, "Don't think like that! Sigh! Speaking of which, I, as a son-in-law, am really not doing a good job. If I tell you directly..."

"Don't!"

Zhao Ji smiled, "If I, who has been used by Ying Yue, can't just let it go, you shouldn't think too much about it, so I don't have any wild thoughts.

...

Now I just want to enjoy my old age without being affected by those messy things.Unless there is hope of seeing my grandson before I die, nothing can affect my mood.

So, young man...」

Ying Wuji's face turned bitter. "I've been trying! I increasingly feel that the ritual is the work of the Bai family's henchmen, but I can't find any evidence."

Zhao Ji nodded. "In the next period of time, you should spend more time with the Bai family and try to keep this force completely under your control."

"I'll do my best!"

Ying Wuji nodded solemnly. He increasingly felt that the Bai family was wild and not easy to control.

Now, whether it's the Ying or the Chen faction, they both tend to control their own power.

He did exactly that. The first batch of five hundred Bai apprentices had already achieved a level of cultivation of four-grade spiritual embryos, reaching the peak of ordinary people's abilities, and their influence in the military would spread sooner or later.

So now, the entire Bai family openly supports him.

And he was very sure that he was the most prestigious person in the Bai family.

But there was still one, or maybe a group of people, who were doing something behind his back.

And they were hiding it quite well.

It was causing him a lot of headaches.

Zhao Ji patted his back with a smile. "Do your best! In any case, you need to develop the Bai family to the fullest during this time. After I die, you need to establish yourself in another country. You can't do without your own power."

"Yes!"

"Go!"

"Alright! You continue fishing."

The father-in-law and son-in-law exchanged a few words of concern, and Ying Wuji left.

Zhao Ji still had a smile on his face, but his eyes were somewhat hollow as he looked at the icy surface.

To this day.

He still trusted Ying Wuji very much.

But as he had said to Zhao Ning before.

Trust or distrust was never the issue.

The premise was to hold the royal road.

But now... he couldn't even see the inheritance securely in the hands of the Zhao family in his lifetime.

Life!

It really couldn't be smooth sailing all the time.

Zhao Ji looked in the direction of the southern City Jing and then in the direction of the western Kingdom Qian, his white eyes somewhat dim.

He didn't know who had made this move.

But it had really struck a chord with him.

Outside the prince's mansion.

Ying Wuji's smile was also hard to maintain.

In fact, he had considered this situation before.

After all, in this world, even the gender of a child couldn't be controlled.

He was also thinking, what if Zhao Ning's first child was a daughter.

But that would be easy to solve.

Because if a child could be born, it at least represented an attitude.

But now there was no sign of a child.

Was this a clear signal to seize the inheritance?

Ji Tong had previously said that he would eventually not be able to stay in Kingdom Li, and Old Biedeng also said that someone in the Bai family would teach him how to behave.

I'm afraid this is the move!

I have to say.

It's quite tricky.

This move strikes at the heart, and it's no longer a question of whether trust is broken or not.

To be honest, Ying Wuji was also at a loss for a solution.

Because there were old hands in the Bai family.

This time they could roast him over the fire.

Next time, they could do the same.

...

He could trust himself.

But he couldn't trust the Bai family.

This ritual was too strange. Not to mention that he would have to leave Kingdom Li in the future.

Even if he didn't leave Kingdom Li, if he focused on having children at home, but couldn't have any, wouldn't that be a disaster?

Headache!

He just hoped that Tang Tang would give birth to a girl this time.

That would ease the situation a bit.

But it would only be a temporary relief!

Ying Wuji didn't know if he had enough tricks up his sleeve to solve this problem.

"Sigh..."

He let out a long breath.

He just wanted to go home and get a good night's sleep.

But he didn't expect that when he returned to the prince's mansion, he would see someone else with a troubled expression.

Ying Wuji was a little surprised. "Hey? Miss, you didn't go to the mountains today. It's really rare. Could it be that even the Miss is starting to be lazy and idle, showing off her noble demeanor?"

To be honest.

The entire prince's mansion was working hard.

During the day, they were never at home. Even Bai Zhi had become a private assistant to the academy's wine priest, organizing materials at the academy during the day, and occasionally enjoying the company of the wine priest in the office.

At night, they would unfailingly teach students to practice in their dreams with Ying Wuji.

Whenever they had time to rest, they would definitely take the opportunity to go back to bed and catch up on sleep.

Not to mention Mi Xingli.

Mi Xingli saw Ying Wuji come back and immediately stood up, a hint of worry in her eyes.

She took a step forward, hugged Ying Wuji's arm, and gently shook it.

"Brother Wuji~"

"..."

Feeling the sensation of his right arm being surrounded, Ying Wuji couldn't help but twitch his mouth. "Speak up, what do you need from me this time?"

Mi Xingli's face was slightly pale, and she smiled helplessly. "To be precise, I'm asking for the Bai family. Can you speak for me in the Bai family?"

"Nonsense!"

Ying Wuji pointed to his nose. "I am the head of the Bai family. Do you think my words carry weight? Speak up, what's the matter?"

Mi Xingli took a deep breath. "The Bai family is the descendants of the heavenly race, and they have lived peacefully in the foreign domain for thousands of years. They must be very familiar with the demon race, right?"

Ying Wuji's brow furrowed. "What do you mean? Is that big demon making a move again?"

"It's not making a move again!"Mi Xingli's smile was bitter, "There has always been activity. When the three families of Qu Jingzhao obtained the Zhuanxu Seal and the surrounding three cities, they vowed to eradicate all demon calamities. Initially, the effect was quite remarkable, but later... the greater demons made their move."

Ying Wuji frowned, "Did they suddenly take action?"

Mi Xingli nodded, "Yes!"

Ying Wuji pondered for a moment. According to what Mi Xingli had said earlier, the greater demons had never shown themselves.

But now, they had suddenly appeared.

It was as if... the Zhou royal family had granted higher access to the demon nests.

He asked again, "What's the situation now?"

Mi Xingli's voice was cold and firm, "The methods of those greater demons are more bizarre than the next. Although the surrounding three cities haven't suffered too many casualties, they've been infiltrated like a sieve. If this continues, it's only a matter of time before they figure out the outer defenses of the Zhuanxu Seal. I'm afraid that the demon nests will directly assault the cities then."

...

Ying Wuji felt a bit of a toothache, "Isn't there any way to counter them?"

Mi Xingli nodded, "There is!"

Ying Wuji asked, "What?"

Mi Xingli clung tighter to his arm, "You!"

Ying Wuji: "..."

Hiss...

They were already so desperate that they had to seek help from the Bai family.

Just how formidable were these greater demons?

Ying Wuji was already feeling overwhelmed and quickly withdrew his arm that was almost embedded in her body, "Stop the nonsense, come with me to the Bai family."

With that, he went back to the room and dragged Bai Zhi out of the bed.

Regardless of whether she was awake or not, he threw a coat on her and strode towards the outside of the mansion.

Mi Xingli didn't dare to delay and quickly followed.

Upon arrival...

There weren't many people in the main hall of the Bai family.

Most of the younger members were out working.

Apart from a few on rotation, only the great elder was lying on a recliner, feigning sleep.

Seeing Ying Wuji coming over.

The great elder couldn't help but reveal a hint of a smile, "Wuji, you're here!"

The Bai family's process of taking in disciples had gone very smoothly.

During this time, his attitude towards Ying Wuji had greatly improved.

Ying Wuji nodded to him as a greeting, then instructed the others, "Gather all the members of the Bai family back here, even those who are busy with work!"

"Yes!"

The crowd responded and prepared to rush out.

Bai Nong curiously asked, "Why the sudden assembly?"

Ying Wuji said gravely, "To help people!"

"To help people?"

Bai Nong subconsciously looked towards Mi Xingli, "That's right! The demon calamity in the Kingdom Chu is severe; they indeed need help."

Ying Wuji's gaze sharpened as he added, "Besides helping people, there's something else!"

Bai Nong asked, "What else?"

Ying Wuji looked at him quietly and uttered two words, "To kill!"