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"Auntie..."

"Mmm, how have you been recently?" Murong Yunji, in a rare display of concern that only an elder could muster, looked at the handsome young master before her.

It was none other than Murong Bingyun, who had previously died a tragic death in Lyuzhou!

"Not bad..." Murong Bingyun smiled and said, "The City God thinks very highly of me. Now, I’m handling the work of a Wen Pan. The academy is also open to me at any time, and the Underworld needs to construct its own Great Rune Array, as well as a group of scholars. Currently, young sorcerers like myself are in short supply in the Underworld, so it’s actually quite timely for me. "

Murong Yunji fell silent for a moment before saying, "The creature that killed you is closely protected by Zi Yue. When I find an opportunity, I’ll kill it to avenge you!"

"Ah?" Murong Bingyun’s face twitched, and he waved his hands repeatedly: "No need, no need, really Auntie, there’s no need..."

"You don’t hate it?"

"At first... of course, I hated it..." Murong Bingyun sighed, "I was so young, and I was certain to be the next head of the Murong Family with a great future ahead. To have died like that, who wouldn’t hold a grudge."

"But, after spending some time here, I suddenly feel that life now isn’t so bad.

There’s nothing to scheme over, nothing to worry about.

Being wholly immersed in scholarly pursuits, this slow-paced yet fulfilling life is something I’ve never experienced before.

Honestly, even if I could go back to the living world now, I might not be able to return to my former state, ha ha. .."

"You..." Murong Yunji chuckled and said, "In the Murong Family, nearly all the outstanding descendants have the character of a money-hungry wolf. How did it happen that we got a little sheep like you?"

"How can you talk about me like that, Auntie?"

"As long as you like it, that’s good. If you enjoy it, then focus on your research. Chen Qing is someone capable of achieving great things, and the Underworld is a place that can change the world. Although the future is unknown, it is a blessing to experience the greatest changes in this world!"

"That’s true..." Murong Bingyun also smiled and said, "By the way, Auntie, are you going to the north this time?"

"Mmm, I have a little matter to take care of."

"It’s to inquire about the situation in the north, right?" Murong Bingyun guessed.

"How did you know?"

"Bei Yu has stayed away for so long without returning, and the Northern Wasteland Families haven’t sent any letters for a while. It must be because something has changed in the north. Those Giant Serpents are extremely dangerous; surely, our master won’t just stand aside and watch."

Murong Yunji looked at her young nephew affectionately.

Without any intelligence reports, he managed to guess quite accurately.

Indeed, he was a rare descendant of the Murong Family.

Unfortunately, there was not a single descendant like him left in the Murong Family right now—only short-sighted fools.

There had indeed been changes in the north!

According to letters from Bei Yu, most of the Northern Wastelands Families have now accepted the overtures of those Giant Serpents, forgetting the terror of them devouring billions of people from the Northern Territory.

And just as Chen Qing had predicted, the Giant Serpents were nurturing them to explore the Arctic Land.

At present... including the Murong Family, most people have gained considerable improvements in strength due to the nourishment of higher-grade demon flesh, along with some Secret Techniques taught by the Giant Serpents.

Many families were already secretly worshipping those Giant Serpents as deities.

She must return there herself to put a stop to the foolish old men.

Of course... gathering intelligence was the most important thing...

"Oh, what about that little girl you’ve been thinking about?" Murong Yunji suddenly asked.

"What thinking about..." The previously warm and smiling Murong Bingyun suddenly became serious: "Auntie, don’t talk nonsense. This could ruin her reputation."

"Oh, still innocent?" Murong Yunji looked at the earnest young man before her, his ears turning uncontrollably red, and suddenly laughed, "Since when did our descendants from the Northern Wasteland care so much about propriety? Apart from that, at the academy, isn’t it common for young men and women to have affections for each other? I’ve seen it myself. .."

"Auntie..."

"You’d better hurry," Murong Yunji said in a lowered voice, "That little girl is becoming quite influential. I heard she’s already received a recommendation for the Secret Court of the Dragon Palace, and she will be personally led by Zi Yue.

The subject of her study, Spatial Runes, is extremely popular right now.

Many families are currently eyeing her."

Murong Bingyun: "....."

The youth’s expression noticeably dimmed for a moment.

He was in contact every day, how could he not know?

The little girl’s weakness was the slow nurturing of spiritual energy, but in the system of divine path cultivation, that was not a problem at all.

As long as the foundation of Technique theory was solid, she could receive more faith power to enhance her external strength.

Shen Xue was already standing out among the younger generation.

It should be noted that for the project Lady Ziyue was leading this time, only ten people were recruited in total, and those chosen were basically the outstanding descendants of the great families.

As for the descendants of the smaller families, today only she remained.

This also drew more attention to that girl, and it was said that even the disciples of the Chen Family had taken the initiative to contact Shen Xue. The Shen Family was more than willing for Shen Xue to marry into the Chen Family.

That small family was shortsighted and always believed that the best outcome for Shen Xue was to exchange her for a top-tier clan’s technique.

On the contrary, even though I was highly valued by Lord Wei Gongcheng and involved in the Dragon Palace project, in the end, I am a lower-class spirit. Who would want their daughter to marry a lower-class spirit?

"Look at your pathetic state!" Murong Yunji gave the other party a scornful look. "A girl from a minor clan has narrow-minded relatives, that’s one thing, but if she herself lacks vision as well, then she doesn’t deserve you. Just go ahead and propose, if she’s unwilling, it’s her loss. What are you afraid of?"

"Auntie..." the youth said speechlessly, "She’s already betrothed..."

"The unworthy mortal scion from the Bai Family?" Murong Yunji stroked her chin thoughtfully. "That girl... now favored by various prestigious families, really still intends to honor the engagement?"

It must be known that the girl’s engagement with the Bai Family was only a verbal agreement that hadn’t even reached the stage of presenting the betrothal gifts.

"Auntie... ’One who does not honor their word cannot stand tall’... If she were someone who forgets righteousness at the sight of profit, your nephew wouldn’t be so enamored with her."

Murong Yunji: "....."

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Meanwhile, Shen Xue was also feeling quite troubled lately, because it wasn’t just the members of the Jiangnan Delegation who came back with her master Chen Qing, but also some unexpected people...

Yes, it was her own Shen Family people!

The decision was made by Elder Shen, who had a bad feeling when he learned that the sacrifices at the ghost temples in Capital City were young boys and girls.

It must be said that the old man did have some foresight in serious matters.

When the Shen Family was experimenting with Gu Insects on strangers, he decisively broke away from the Shen Family and established his own line.

Now, upon the appearance of ghost temples in Capital City, he did not hesitate to abandon all of his long-established businesses, ignoring the persuasion of other family members, and forcibly relocated to Jiangnan.

There were quite a few dissenters at the time, after all, the family had operated in Capital City for so many years, and such extensive business interests were not easily abandoned.

The old patriarch said only one thing, "Those who wish to stay may stay. Those who are willing to stay, all the family’s assets in Capital City are yours to keep."

With these words, hardly anyone was willing to take him up on the offer...

After all these years, everyone was not foolish, what was the patriarch’s vision like? All the businesses over the years had been vetted by the patriarch, without ever making a mistake. Such a reliable anchoring force had now decided to discard all his assets without a second thought.

What sort of strictures could have led to this, and how could anyone with a bit of sense fail to realize this?

After two more days of discussion, except for a few who were extremely reluctant to split their houses, the rest, including Shen Xue’s father and the direct descendants of the second, third, and fourth branches, were willing to move to Jiangnan.

The few branches that were shortsighted, the old patriarch didn’t persuade them, instead he kept his word, handing over all the property, converting a considerable sum of silver into high-quality jadeite, and then hurriedly brought his family to Jiangnan.

After moving, the members of the Shen Family didn’t have the audacity to seek support from Shen Yuan, the most successful eldest son of the Shen Family...

So they could only turn to this girl!

Shen Xue, with some difficulty, used her hard-earned savings to settle for a fortress in a central area of Jiangnan, where the family barely managed to settle down.

After living in Jiangnan for two days, almost everyone in the Shen Family was grateful for Elder Shen’s foresight. Moving to Jiangnan was definitely the wisest decision the old patriarch had made.

Not to mention anything else, just the abundant spiritual energy here was comparable to the spirit fields of the great families. No wonder those few stinking brats from before, despite failing their exams, never wished to return...

But now, the situation of the Shen Family was somewhat awkward if they wanted to gain a foothold in Jiangnan...

Their money wasn’t worth much here, and due to Jiangnan’s heavy demand, the price of jadeite kept rising. They hadn’t managed to buy much despite investing all their family’s resources; in short, they were penniless!

At this time, Shen Xue and Shen Ye, who had established themselves early in the Shen Family, became very important.

They had also inquired that Shen Yuan, as one of the first batch of sorcerers from Jiangnan Academy, was now the Academic Commissioner of Lyuzhou, and a project manager for the Array Department of the Dragon Palace’s Secret Court.

His status was such that many local major families in Jiangnan would curry favor with him.

But unfortunately, after falling out with Shen Yuan in the past, now that the whole family had moved over, several days had passed without any sign of Shen Yuan coming to see them.

It seemed somewhat difficult to gain leverage over Shen Yuan now, so naturally, all the senior relatives set their sights on Shen Xue...