Before Qiang could answer her, Princess Ming said, "It's understandable that your subordinates are tired after such a long trip, and thus made a misstep in judgement. It was our mistake too for not controlling our subordinates. Since both sides were at fault, let's put this incident behind us then."
Elizabeth nodded gratefully. "That's what I had in mind. Thank you for your understanding, Princess Ming. It's been a long time since we last met, both yourself and Princess Xiuying."
"Yes, it has," Princess Ming smiled self-mockingly. "Shall we continue this discussion inside? It's beginning to snow."
"Very well. Please lead the way."
Princess Ming then nodded and guided everyone into the mansion behind her. This mansion was the former property of the nobility family that governed Liguang until they fled, making it vacant now. The Li Family then fashioned it as the location for their negotiation with the Alzar Kingdom seeing as it was the largest building in Liguang. Although it could not compare to those gorgeous properties under the Li Family, it had enough space to accommodate fifty. It was the best option in Liguang. For the remaining thousand soldiers from the Lotus Division or the Steel Eagle Brigade, they would have to camp near to the mansion. Since two thousand soldiers was too large a number to accommodate anywhere, the Li Family decided to partition Liguang into two zones, one belonging to the Li Family, and the other belonging to the Alzar Kingdom. Anyone caught intruding on the zones would be killed without mercy!
Xiuying was walking next to her sister when she leaned closer to whisper, "Is that really Elizabeth? She changed so much!" At the same time, she was peeking at the girl following behind.
"Yes, it took me by surprise too. Although we read the reports together, the way she conducted herself earlier was nothing like how she would've acted before. It's like she's become a different person," Ming said warily.
To be honest, she preferred the old Elizabeth, who was simple and easy to understand, making it easy for her to predict Elizabeth's thoughts and actions. This gave Ming a certain degree of confidence. However, Elizabeth had grown up now with a surprising level of cunning and shrewdness. She was still far from matching those old political monsters that could maneuver the battlefield like the back of their hand, but Ming could no longer underestimate her. She had to remain cautious until she could properly assess exactly how much Elizabeth had changed and adjust their strategy accordingly. Worse yet, there was the problem of her other growth…
"Her aura… did you sense it?" Ming asked.
Xiuying nodded solemnly. "Her aura grew so strong that it's a bit scary. Just what did she do?"
As a Half-Perception Realm, she might not have the Magic Perception to detect Elizabeth's Peak Gaseous Fog Core Level, but she could detect Elizabeth's abnormally strong aura through her Martial Perception. It was a ridiculous transformation! The last time they met, Elizabeth's aura was weak like a flame in a storm with the slightest breeze potent enough to blow her out. In the unlikely situation that they fought, Xiuying was confident enough to completely suppress and defeat Elizabeth. Like a child fighting an adult, there was no contest at all! That was the power of the Half-Perception Realm! One year later though, Elizabeth took a massive qualitative leap forward in her abilities. Like a blazing inferno, Xiuying could keenly sense how dangerous Elizabeth had become. It was enough to rival her Half-Perception Realm! No… it might even exceed that. Had Elizabeth become a true Perception Realm?
But that's… a ridiculous notion, Xiuying shook her head.
Xiuying was not a proud person but having reached Half-Perception Realm before being twenty years old was an absolutely stunning fact. This meant she was considered a prodigy with a very high chance of reaching Perception Realm in the future! However, making that final step was not easy. It took her father, Emperor Lianghu Tzu, until he was in his early thirties to bridge that gap. Only monsters like Cardinal Hui Wai-Wing, widely known as the strongest Imperial Sentinel in the Xingyuu Empire, managed to do it at the young age of eighteen. Sir Winstin Mormont, the Alzar Kingdom's strongest knight, was also apparently able to become a Perception Realm at eighteen. Sir Sebastian Highguard, the person regarded with the most potential in the Royal Guards, had broken all records at seventeen years of age! Although their breakthrough age could not show the full picture, it was a good indication for a person's potential, and therefore their future accomplishments.
Taking everything into account, Xiuying could not believe that Elizabeth had reached the Perception Realm standard. It simply defied common sense! She had trained since very young, with excellent tutelage from some of the empire's greatest masters and her own father, a Perception Realm. The number of resources she had were truly enviable. Although she could not dedicate herself fully to the art of the sabre, since she had to still maintain her image of an Imperial Princess, it was not a hobby either. It still took most of her youth to climb up to Fundamental Realm Master and luck to touch upon the gates of Half-Perception Realm. She used an extraordinary amount of effort! Conversely, Elizabeth had barely started her journey one year ago. Either her aura was a trick, or Elizabeth must really be a monster above monsters!
"Is she really at the Perception Realm standard?" Xiuying murmured moodily.
Meanwhile, Ming felt even more perplexed after this discovery. She did not understand Elizabeth at all. From all their interactions together, Ming could confidently say that Elizabeth had zero prior training. Ascending through the ranks was not an easy process. It could not be achieved through eating or breathing because it required a conscious and consistent effort to maintain and excel in. Since Elizabeth was born and raised as a farmer girl, with no attachments or support from the Alzar Kingdom until the disaster of New Havens, she should be the very definition of starting from scratch. That would mean she was the weakest, a Fundamental Realm Novice, and without awakening her Core, she did not even qualify as Low Gaseous Fog. That should be her baseline. However… Ming recalled the terrifying scene during the battle with the emperor where Elizabeth managed to reverse all odds and kill Emperor Lianghu with an earth-shattering attack!
Ming had some understanding of Arcania, specifically the division between Core Levels. At the Gaseous Fog Core Level, World Energy would swirl around the Arcanist in a translucent rainbow-colored wispy fog. At the Condensed Drop Core Level, World Energy would manifest in a rain-like phenomenon with droplets scattered around the Arcanist. And according to the theories, at the Blue Depth Core Level, World Energy would become a true wall of liquid energy as if birthing an ocean! Those were the iconic distinctions between Core Levels that no one could falsify. During the final battle, Elizabeth erupted with a monstrous, terrifying, almost heaven-defying aura that threatened to tear down the firmament itself. The whole battlefield was frozen in horror, including those apex fighters standing at Perception Realm Master. When the attack finally came, even Cardinal Shaolong died without a corpse. To call it peerless was an underestimate because it was beyond comparison! It went beyond reason! Ming came with a grim conclusion… that the attack must have been a Blue Depth Core Level attack!
To summarize, the Elizabeth from one year ago should have been 'below' Low Gaseous Fog. She did not awaken her Core, so she had no potential for magic. Her spellcasting ability should be zero. However, in the battle with Emperor Lianghu, Elizabeth managed to transcend all logic and unleash a Blue Depth Core Level attack as someone with a slumbering Core. To put that into perspective, it was like a baby could defeat an entire division of professional, fully armed soldiers by themselves. If Ming knew about Ranks, the analogy would be a Rank 1 Mortal transcending ranks to unleash a Rank 3 King's attack… It was absolutely nonsense! She was willing to accept being wrong, since the situation was dire and her memory could not be considered evidence, but the present situation was truly baffling. Elizabeth's aura grew to the Half-Condensed Drop Core Level! From a slumbering Core to Blue Depth Core to Half-Condensed Drop Core in one year… Ming grew uncomfortable facing Elizabeth. What was she?
At the same time, Elizabeth glanced at the two princesses with an inward frown. Although she had no idea what they were discussing, she had an inkling from the hostility they were releasing. Elizabeth wanted to sigh because this much was expected. Although she wanted to call them her friends, that was a stretch, a very big one at that. Their interactions were too few and scattered, and with the events at the time, no one had the leisure to sit around and chat. They were more collaborators or accomplices, allies forced by the circumstances, than friends. Still, Elizabeth felt sympathetic for their situation, which was largely why she wanted to resolve the Second Great Kingdom War at all costs. They were people that just like her wanted peace. They were two sides of the same coin! If anything, she wanted to leverage their relationship as a bridging point to end the war, but that seemed unlikely right now with their wariness. It might even worsen the situation should she decide to act. It was best to remain ignorant and proceed as usual.