We Agreed On Experiencing Life, So Why Did You Immortals Become Real? Chapter 625: Wishing to Discuss Certain Benefits With Your Majesty

Having left Lingxin Palace, Xiao Mo sat in his carriage, returning to the imperial study.

Just moments before, Xiao Mo had asked Wangxin what the Buddha looked like, and Wangxin had simply gazed at him in silence, saying nothing at all.

Xiao Mo assumed the other party found the question difficult to answer, hard to put into words, and so did not press the matter further.

After exchanging a few more pleasantries with the master, Xiao Mo left Lingxin Palace.

Still, this Master Wangxin truly did possess profound mastery of the Buddhist teachings, and was, moreover, quite a fine person.

Xiao Mo felt he should visit her more often going forward.

Xiao Mo stepped down from the carriage.

At the door of the imperial study, Xiao Mo saw Wei Xun glancing around anxiously.

The moment Wei Xun saw Xiao Mo, he hurried toward him, saying urgently, “This servant pays respects to Your Majesty."

"What matter has you so worked up this time, you old fellow?" Xiao Mo said with a teasing scold.

"Reporting to Your Majesty, the Vice Dean of the Confucian Academy, Shang Qi, has sent a formal request, wishing to seek an audience with Your Majesty. He is currently waiting at the palace gate." Wei Xun said excitedly, unable to hide the delight in his voice.

Hearing that the Vice Dean of the Confucian Academy, Shang Qi, wished to visit, Xiao Mo, too, felt a jolt of surprise.

Xiao Mo had, of course, heard of the Confucian Academy before.

Throughout the entirety of the Ten Thousand Laws Realm, the Confucian Academy stood as its leading institution.

Rumor had it that the Confucian Academy's dean's cultivation level rivaled that of the Lord of the Four Seas himself, both at the very peak of the Ascension realm, merely a single step from that legendary third realm and within the Ten Thousand Laws Realm, even dynasties far larger than the Zhou Kingdom found it extraordinarily difficult to curry favor with the Confucian Academy.

And yet this small Zhou Kingdom of his had the Confucian Academy coming to seek him out on its own initiative?

There had to be something unusual behind this.

"Has the other party's identity been confirmed?"

Xiao Mo asked Wei Xun.

Xiao Mo suspected that some wandering cultivator might be impersonating them, hoping to extract some benefit through fraud.

Such things happened frequently enough among small kingdoms.

"This..." Wei Xun's expression carried a note of difficulty, unsure how to answer.

"Never mind. Have them shown in." Xiao Mo said.

He felt asking Wei Xun about this was rather pointless anyway.

After all, how could Wei Xun possibly verify the other party's identity?

He was not even a cultivator himself. He wouldn't even know what to make of it if the other party released their spiritual pressure.

Let alone being able to sense their Confucian resonance of the Dao.

"Yes, Your Majesty! This servant will go bring them in at once."

Wei Xun hurried to withdraw.

Beyond the palace, Shang Qi, Luo Yang, and Wang Yue stood waiting at the palace gate.

Before long, Wei Xun hurried over, bowing to the three of them, “Please, all of you, His Majesty requests your presence. Follow this one, please."

Truth be told, after being spoken to that way by His Majesty just now, Wei Xun's heart, too, harbored some doubt, wondering whether these people might indeed be impostors but surely no one would have the nerve to impersonate the Confucian Academy, would they?

"We trouble you to lead the way, Eunuch."

Shang Qi nodded, and the three of them followed Wei Xun into the palace.

Wang Yue walked with her hands folded before her, beside her husband, looking left and right, her eyes blinking, her expression full of astonishment.

Earlier, outside the imperial city, Wang Yue had observed the dynasty's fortune, and had already noticed that the Zhou Kingdom's fortune of mountains and rivers had grown remarkably rich.

Now, having entered the Zhou Kingdom's imperial palace, Wang Yue realized that the Zhou Kingdom's fortune was even more astonishing than she had imagined.

The Zhou Kingdom's fortune of mountains and rivers swirled like a great vortex, and at the very center of this vortex stood the Zhou Kingdom's ruler himself, showing just how vital this ruler was to the entire kingdom.

Truly, a wise sovereign had emerged, and had transformed the entire dynasty as a result.

"The current Zhou Kingdom is truly a hidden dragon lurking in the depths, its national fortune rising steadily. Truly remarkable." Shang Qi stroked his beard, reflecting.

Wei Xun bowed slightly, smiling, his tone carrying a note of pride, “Our own emperor is a ruler who has truly restored our dynasty, and throughout this entire world, undoubtedly a rare and wise sovereign. I believe that, under His Majesty's leadership, the Zhou Kingdom will only grow stronger."

"Indeed it will." Shang Qi nodded but just as Shang Qi continued walking forward.

Suddenly, all three of them felt their hearts tremble violently.

They stopped in their tracks simultaneously, looking toward a particular direction within the palace.

Within their field of vision, they saw only a pair of golden, slit-pupiled eyes, gazing at them quietly.

"Is something the matter?" Wei Xun turned around, looking at the three of them with puzzlement, uncertain why they had suddenly stopped walking.

"Nothing." Shang Qi withdrew his gaze, continuing to follow Wei Xun forward.

"Husband..." Wang Yue tugged at her husband's sleeve, a note of worry in her expression.

"It's fine." Luo Yang smiled. "We're not members of the Confucian Academy anymore anyway. Even if that junior sister of mine is angry, it wouldn't fall on us."

"What husband says is quite reasonable." Wang Yue smiled gently.

Whoever was truly caught in a difficult position now, it was surely the Confucian Academy.

What quarrel could she possibly have with the Lord of the Four Seas?

Before long, the group passed through palace after palace within the front hall, arriving before the door of the imperial study.

"Your Majesty, Master Shang, Master Luo, and Miss Wang have arrived." Wei Xun reported, standing outside the imperial study.

"Quickly, invite the three of them in."

Xiao Mo's voice, carrying both delight and excitement, drifted out from within the room.

The three of them pushed open the door, walking into the imperial study, bowing, “We pay respects to Your Majesty."

"Please, all of you, there's no need for such formality." Xiao Mo had already risen from his couch, hurrying forward, helping each of them to their feet immediately.

The moment Shang Qi saw Xiao Mo's face, he could not help but feel a certain guilt stirring within him.

Shang Qi recalled, thousands of years ago, when Xiao Mo had studied at White Deer Academy, recalled how Xiao Mo had attained sagehood in the Confucian tradition, writing and establishing his own teachings.

Recalled how Xiao Mo had held the front lines steady during the second great war between humans and demons, defending the Ten Thousand Li Great Wall and yet, in the end, unexpectedly, things had ended the way they had.

"Even this old fellow feels his face flush with shame now."

Shang Qi could not help but sigh inwardly.

He wondered what those other old souls, still living throughout the Ten Thousand Laws Realm, might feel upon seeing Xiao Mo again.

Shang Qi even found himself thinking of his own daughter.

He knew that his daughter had, all this while, harbored deep feelings for this junior fellow disciple of hers.

Even now, his daughter remained unmarried, without even a cultivation partner, precisely because she had never let go of Xiao Mo.

He had no idea what expression Jiuli might wear, upon seeing Xiao Mo again but what use would that be, anyway?

That Lord of the Four Seas guarded him so closely, Jiuli would have no chance at all, likely struggling even to become a secondary wife.

"No! My own daughter, how could she possibly become someone's secondary wife?!"

Shang Qi felt that, once he left the Zhou Kingdom, he needed to make a trip to White Deer Academy, to properly counsel his daughter.

"Please, everyone, do sit." Xiao Mo said with a smile, then turned to the maid beside him, “Bring seats for our honored guests."

"My thanks to Your Majesty."

Shang Qi and the other two bowed once more, taking their seats in turn.

"I wonder what business brings the Confucian Academy to seek me out? That it would prompt Master Shang himself to come in person?" Xiao Mo seated himself back on the couch, asking with puzzlement.

"It's like this."

Shang Qi smiled, appearing quite genial.

"We of the Confucian Academy wish to discuss certain benefits with Your Majesty."