Chapter 281: Earth Meridian Original Vein (Second Update)

The crowd could not fathom Mu Qinghe's thoughts, and one by one, everyone fell silent.

Chu Liuyue, however, remained calm and composed. She sat down as if nothing had happened, allowing various gazes to scrutinize her.

She could roughly guess that Mu Qinghe was remembering things from the past, but she did not know where this sudden anger originated from.

After this meeting, she had discovered that Mu Qinghe's personality seemed to have changed significantly.

In the past, although he was also taciturn, he was not as unpredictable as he was now.

Emperor Jiawen stepped forward to smooth things over.

"Haha, Vice General Mu, you said yesterday that you came this time to select some people to return with you for cultivation. Is that true?"

As soon as these words fell, everyone's attention immediately shifted to Mu Qinghe!

Countless eyes were filled with anticipation and excitement.

To go back with Mu Qinghe?

Wouldn't that mean going to the Heavenly Order Empire!?

This was a monumental opportunity!

Just how powerful was the Heavenly Order Empire? Looking across the entire Yao Chen Kingdom, the only person qualified to go there was Emperor Jiawen himself!

As for everyone else, they shouldn't even dream of it!

They never expected that such an opportunity would actually appear now!

Mu Qinghe had actually come in person to pick people!

"Correct."

Mu Qinghe's two brief words immediately made everyone's hearts leap!

Although Emperor Jiawen had learned of this matter yesterday, mentioning it now still left him feeling extremely excited.

In those old, eyes that were usually calm and undisturbed, there was an irrepressible glow of excitement.

"Almost all of the most outstanding geniuses of the Yao Chen Kingdom are here. Take a look, is there anyone you have taken a liking to?"

Sitting here, besides the princes and princesses, were influential figures from the various great aristocratic families, as well as Elder Sun and others from the Tianlu Academy.

Of course, there were also Fu Yunshan and Cheng Han.

Hearing Mu Qinghe's affirmative answer, the two exchanged a glance, both seeing a hint of restlessness in each other's eyes.

Mu Qinghe was actually here to pick people!

And he was going to take them back to the Heavenly Order Empire!

One truly didn't know what kind of luck the Yao Chen Kingdom had stumbled upon!

However, since they were here, it wasn't impossible for them to get a piece of the action!

After all, there were many outstanding geniuses within their two great academies as well!

If they could be selected, their futures would be limitless!

Mu Qinghe's gaze swept indifferently across the crowd.

Those seen by him unconsciously straightened their backs and held their breath.

"Vice General Mu."

Rong Jin suddenly stood up.

"I wonder if this—may I recommend myself?"

He habitually wanted to say "This Palace," but he suddenly remembered that even his Imperial Father did not dare to refer to himself as "Zhen" in front of Mu Qinghe, so he hurriedly corrected himself.

Emperor Jiawen also did not expect Rong Jin to take the initiative to speak at this moment; he was quite surprised.

But on second thought, Rong Jin was, after all, the one with the most cultivation talent among the princes; it was worth a try.

If even he couldn't make it, then there was no need to mention the others.

As the Crown Prince, he should possess the necessary courage.

Mu Qinghe glanced at him

"A Fourth-Tier Martial Artist?"

Such a powerhouse could discern the level of other cultivators with just a single glance.

Rong Jin nodded somewhat nervously.

"In another month, I should be able to break through to a Fifth-Tier Martial Artist."

Everyone looked at him in surprise.

A Fifth-Tier Martial Artist was not so easy to break through to; many people were stuck at this threshold for their entire lives!

But since Rong Jin dared to say this in public, he must be certain.

Sensing the crowd's reaction, Rong Jin felt a bit smug in his heart.

At the Qingjiao Assembly a few days ago, although he had lost to Heng Jingchuo and had even been poisoned, it wasn't without benefits.

After the residual poison in his body was cleared, he was surprised to find that he seemed to show signs of wanting to break through.

Over the past two days, he had been cultivating diligently, and faintly, he had already touched that invisible barrier.

Therefore, he was certain that in another month, he would definitely be able to break through!

This was actually an unexpected joy; he had originally intended to wait until he truly broke through to speak, but he could not afford to wait now.

As long as he could earn Mu Qinghe's appreciation, then—

"Should? In cultivation, there is no such thing as 'should' or 'should not.' If you have not broken through in a day, you are still a Fourth-Tier Martial Artist."

Mu Qinghe's voice was cold, seemingly unmoved.

Rong Jin froze. He looked up and finally saw the obvious indifference in the depths of Mu Qinghe's eyes.

That was the attitude of a powerhouse toward an ant!

Rong Jin was somewhat stunned.

"I—"

"You should be over twenty years old this year, right?"

Rong Jin nodded hesitantly.

Mu Qinghe gave a light snort.

"Then how do you have the audacity to stand here and talk about 'recommending yourself'? Where—where do you get the qualification?"

Rong Jin never expected that he would be humiliated by Mu Qinghe in front of so many people!

His face instantly flushed red.

Every word from Mu Qinghe made him feel incredibly embarrassed!

He had been exceptionally talented since childhood and had always been praised; this was the first time he had been looked down upon!

Emperor Jiawen's expression was awkward.

Rong Zhen thought for a moment, then suddenly gave a playful smile and said

"Vice General Mu, my Imperial Brother is already the most outstanding. If you don't even take an interest in him, then there might not be anyone here who can catch your eye!"

Her smile was bright and her tone light, seemingly carrying a hint of coquettishness.

Mu Qinghe glanced at her.

Rong Zhen's heart beat like a drum.

She was both nervous and expectant.

"And what kind of thing are you?"

Mu Qinghe spat out a few words coldly.

The smile on Rong Zhen's face instantly froze.

The great hall fell into a deathly silence.

Chu Liuyue lowered her eyes, playing with the empty wine cup in her hand, the corners of her mouth curling slightly.

Mu Qinghe had climbed up from the very bottom, and his character was extremely resilient.

After he became her right-hand man, who knew how many women had tried to throw themselves into his arms?

From the beautiful to the slender, what kind of woman had he not seen?

But until the day she died, at twenty-seven, he had still not married or taken concubines.

Someone like Rong Zhen truly didn't even make the list.

She didn't know where she got the confidence to think that Mu Qinghe would fall for her act.

"I... I..."

Rong Zhen had never been humiliated in public like this; her pink face had already turned deathly pale.

In his heart, Emperor Jiawen was already cursing Rong Zhen profusely!

Truly foolish!

Could she not see that even he did not dare to speak up to help Rong Jin?

And yet she actually dared to speak like that...

She was simply shaming the entire Imperial Family!

"How is this a place for you to speak?!"

He scolded sternly.

Rong Zhen's eyes reddened, and tears fell.

The Empress gave a look, prompting the person behind her to pull Rong Zhen up, allowing her to sit back down.

The atmosphere in the hall grew even more frigid.

Mu Qinghe asked

"Among you, who is a Ground Meridian Original Pulse?"

Ground Meridian Original Pulse!

As soon as these words were uttered, everyone's faces went blank.

How many years did it take for a genius of the Ground Meridian Original Pulse to appear?

If Mu Qinghe hadn't said anything, it would have been fine, but once he spoke, his standards were incredibly high!

If they searched according to this standard, they were afraid not a single person here would be qualified!

"It seems there are none."

Chu Liuyue's heart stirred, and she stood up.

"I am."