Endless Winter: My Camp Upgrades Infinitely Chapter 1420 - 455: The Little Sisters Cai Shiqin, Xia Hong in the Book Collection Tower (Part 2)
Previously on Endless Winter: My Camp Upgrades Infinitely...
Along their journey, Xia Hong frequently brought them to the Slave Village for 'educational' tours, an obvious tactic to impress upon them the hardships faced by the lower classes. These excursions, coupled with his pointed questions about their thoughts on the Six-class System, made his intentions strikingly clear. This was not lost on Su Xing'er or even her three brothers, Su Jing.
Despite recognizing Xia Hong's intentions, they offered no resistance. Beyond his considerable generosity towards them, their deep-seated resentment for the Six-class System, which had led to their parents' demise due to their social standing, solidified their compliance.
Such sentiments, however, were necessarily kept hidden for the time being.
As their master had impressed upon them, dismantling a deeply entrenched system that had persisted for centuries was no simple feat. It was an immense challenge for him, let alone for the four siblings.
"The most critical task is to enhance our strength. To even stand a chance at shaking this system, one needs at least a Xianyang Level cultivation as a basic qualification,"
Recalling Xia Hong's words from their travels, Su Xing'er's gaze narrowed slightly. She pushed aside these thoughts for the moment, focusing instead on the remainder of their journey.
Having experienced Qinghua City, she had expected that arriving in Lin Chu County would hold no major surprises. Yet, on June seventh, the day they entered the county, she and her three brothers were profoundly astonished.
The authorities in Lin Chu County appeared to have been fully apprised of their impending arrival.
On the day of their entry, even before they were formally welcomed, their identities were verified at the city gates. Following this, they were cordially escorted by the City Guard Army to the Governor's Mansion. There, Cai Qiuyang's eldest son, the First Prince Cai Yunlan, personally led a delegation of over a hundred individuals from the mansion to greet them.
This level of deference served to further illustrate the immense power wielded by their master, Xia Hong. In that precise moment, Su Xing'er truly grasped the weight of Xia Hong's earlier assertion: "There is no one in Qinghua City who can threaten me."
Much like their arrival in Qinghua City earlier that year, on the night they entered Lin Chu County, Xia Hong received an invitation from the First Prince to a banquet. This time, however, the four siblings were also included among the esteemed guests.
Following the banquet, the Governor's Mansion arranged for their accommodation at a designated guest villa. Subsequently, Xia Hong himself took up residence within the Governor's Mansion alongside them.
Xia Hong would occasionally venture out on unspecified errands. Regardless of his activities, the Governor's Mansion's treatment of the four siblings escalated, with more than thirty maids exclusively assigned to their service and a household staff exceeding one hundred individuals, all of whom possessed cultivation at the Cold Resistance Level.
Most notably, on September twentieth of the previous month, the First Prince dispatched envoys to present the four siblings with a new Golden Registration Book. This astonishing document unilaterally elevated their social status to the highest tier, 'cai,' the first rank.
This elevation explained her current attire, which mirrored that of Cai Shiqin, a Commandery Princess.
If she were still the innocent girl from Evergreen Valley, unaware of the world, this sudden bestowal of 'cai' status offspring might have filled her with incredulous joy.
However, her perspective had shifted. After nearly a year of subtle influence from Master Xia Hong and an understanding of the future role he envisioned for her, Su Xing'er no longer found the allure of this so-called registration book particularly captivating.
She was acutely aware that whether noble or common, the honors bestowed upon the four siblings stemmed entirely from Master Xia Hong's prestige, not their own merits. Their paramount objective now was to hone their strength and diligently assist their master, thereby repaying his profound kindness.
Having resided in the County City for nearly four months, Su Xing'er had remained steadfast in her cultivation. When they departed from Qinghua City on April twentieth, her foundational strength was just over 9-maned; it had now surged to 16-maned. This considerable increase of 7-maned over five months was a testament to her unwavering dedication.
Her sheer diligence even caused Xia Hong some concern, prompting him to gently advise her to moderate her cultivation pace and encouraged her to interact with peers within the Governor's Mansion rather than remaining confined to the guest villa.
Su Xing'er, naturally, adhered to Xia Hong's guidance.
The Little Princess Cai Shiqin, who stood before her, was someone she had only met the previous month.
Their encounter was a matter of coincidence. Su Xing'er had only begun her tutelage on the zither five months prior. Her initial interest in the instrument had stemmed from casual singing during their travels in May.
Feeling utterly bored during their travels one day, Su Xing'er remembered the song Moao that Hu Tiejiang had performed upon their arrival in Qinghua City. Her three older brothers were quiet by nature, and their master, Xia Hong, rarely engaged in idle conversation. This lack of stimulation prompted Su Xing'er to start singing. To her astonishment, Xia Hong's attention was immediately captured. Having been raised in the humble Evergreen Valley, Su Xing'er never envisioned herself connected to an instrument like the zither. When Xia Hong first presented her with the Five-Colored Ancient Zither, she didn't even recognize it as a musical instrument. However, the moment she held it, everything shifted. A pivotal moment arrived when Master Xia Hong provided her with a fundamental understanding of the five essential zither tones: Gong, Shang, Jue, Zhi, and Yu. Displaying an extraordinary aptitude, she grasped these five tones within a single day. What followed was even more remarkable! Despite mastering the method of playing the five tones, she lacked any sheet music and couldn't compose a complete song. This left her with no choice but to experiment randomly, trying to create melodies through exploration. But is the creation of a musical piece truly that straightforward? "I've heard it said that any musical composition, when imbued with the composer's genuine emotions, possesses the power to move listeners. Perhaps you could try this method and see if it yields results," Xia Hong advised.