The royal palace of the Abyssal Ocean Kingdom was as bright as day, being ablaze with candles and luminous pearls.
An intimidating middle-aged man rubbed his eyebrows and stood up after finishing his work.
He was the sovereign Xiao Jin, the best expert and a level-three Mage of the Abyssal Ocean Kingdom!
His power and his own strength made him too intimidating for anyone else to approach.
"Your Majesty…"
The Lead Eunuch approached him.
Xiao Jin looked outside and asked, "Has the rain stopped?"
"Not yet…" said the Lead Eunuch with a smile, "We're in the rainy season. It's not easy to see the sun even if the rain stops!"
"Only with enough rain will the crops flourish and the people prosper. It's a good thing!"
Nodding, Xiao Jin wore the cloak that the eunuch gave him and left the room.
It was pouring outside; the dim sky was occasionally illuminated by lightning.
Standing still for a moment, Xiao Jin turned around and asked, "What about the young princess?"
"Your Majesty, the young princess… is still solving questions!" said the Lead Eunuch with pity.
"She's still solving questions?"
After a brief daze, Xiao Jin shook his head. "She has always suffered from having a weak condition. Why is she working so hard?"
"I tried to persuade her, but you know her personality, Your Majesty…" said the Lead Eunuch with a bitter smile.
"I'll check on her!"
Waving his hand, Xiao Jin strode forward.
The young princess he mentioned was Xiao Yurou, the Ninth Princess of the Abyssal Ocean Kingdom.
Xiao Jin had eight sons first, then he held a national celebration when his wish for a daughter was finally fulfilled. However, a piece of terrible news soon came to him.
His young daughter Xiao Yurou was unlikely to live beyond eighteen due to a congenital weakness!
He had been looking for medications and prescriptions nationwide, hoping to cure his daughter, but none worked.
His daughter's eighteenth birthday would be three days later; she would probably die by then.
Xiao Jin was anxious and regretful, but there was not much he could do.
However, Xiao Yurou had a more tranquil attitude than other people. She was completely unworried as she dedicated herself to solving questions.
Maybe she was more open-minded because she knew her destiny all too well.
To facilitate her care, the Ninth Princess's room was not far from Xiao Jin's study. He was there soon.
The girl was under glowing pearls, quietly sitting next to the window; it seemed as if she were part of a painting. She smiled and frowned while she appeared to be working on complex calculations.
"Father!"
Noticing Xiao Jin, the girl dropped her brush and stood up.
"Why are you still up?"
Xiao Jin sounded a lot gentler due to his pity.
"I'll have a lot of time for sleeping in the future. I don't want to waste my time now…" The girl chuckled.
Xiao Jin sighed, not knowing what to say.
Everybody knew that death was an external sleep, but it was heartbreaking for a seventeen-year-old girl to say that.
"No need to worry, father. I'm already satisfied after having learned a vast amount of interesting knowledge in these eighteen years…"
Seeing his father's gloom, the girl smiled and said, "Although my body can't gather spiritual energy to illuminate the stars, I've read all the books related to Mages' training. I have no regrets!"
After a brief silence, Xiao Jin looked at his ever obedient daughter and said hoarsely, "Do you have any wishes? I'll definitely do my best!"
"Like I said before, I wish to enjoy the great outdoors and go to school like ordinary people do!"
The Ninth Princess looked at her father with hope.
She had lived her entire life like a bird in a cage because of her illness. She wished to fly at least once since death was near.
"It's easy to enjoy the great outdoors. I'll have someone take you there. As for the school, I'll have Zhang Fengyuan place you in the best class tomorrow…" said Xiao Jin.
"Father… If you do that, the trips and the school will be no different than the royal palace, won't they?"
The Ninth Princess raised her eyes and said hopefully, "I don't want anyone to know who I am. I just want to be an ordinary person!"
Xiao Jin hesitated for a moment. He was unhappy but also unwilling to disappoint his daughter, so he nodded and said, "Alright, I'll make arrangements tomorrow. Nobody will know your real identity!"
"Thank you, father!"
The Ninth Princess' eyes glowed.
She had always received the best care since childhood, but what she desired most was to smile, cry and go to school like an ordinary person would.
She wished to experience that before she died.
Xiao Jin nodded and was about to give his daughter a few reminders when a stranger barged in and hurriedly knelt down.
"What is it?" said Xiao Jin angrily. He hated being disturbed when he was with his daughter.
"Your Majesty, a new law has appeared in the Hall of Laws. The eighth stage of body polishing has been created…"
The stranger hurried to inform him of what happened.
"The eighth stage?" Squinting, Xiao Jin realized how important the news was. "It seems that Body Practitioners will thrive…"
Body polishing had often been criticized because it was almost impossible to become a Connate with a stage seven foundation!
With the eighth stage, it might be much easier.
"I'll go there…"
Knowing that many of his soldiers could make great progress because of this, Xiao Jin bid his daughter farewell and went to the Hall of Laws in a hurry.
The soldiers of the kingdom were mostly Body Practitioners. With the appearance of an eighth stage, wouldn't his army become stronger than before?
In such a case, all the kingdoms on that continent would be crazy.
Xiao Jin gave an instruction while on his way, "Give my order. Whoever surpasses stage seven and reaches stage eight will be accoladed and promoted to Great General!"
"Great General?"
The Lead Eunuch narrowed his eyes.
There were only four Great Generals in the kingdom, but whoever reached the eighth stage of body polishing would be the fifth one. The king had certainly attached great importance to the new stage!
"Yes, sir!"
The Lead Eunuch left to pass the order.
…
Crack! Crack!
Shen Zhe had changed significantly after his strength was united.
The guardrail of his bunk was easily twisted with a gentle grasp.
Shen Zhe shivered in excitement.
"My body is strong enough by itself. With the power of the stars inside my body, my combat ability will be even higher!"
Both his body and his mind had been sharpened, making his responses faster.
By his estimation, while he was not as strong as a real Martial Artist like Ms. Bai Yu, he should be no weaker than a Druggist like Mr. Xin Qi!
If he was punished again, he should be able to deal with it easily without worrying about being wounded.
After confirming his strength, Shen Zhe took a breath in relief.
Studies mattered the most in this world. Those with good grades were definitely strong.
He couldn't have made the unimaginable progress without the notebook since he was a bad student. He needed to keep a low profile, in case anyone noticed the anomaly and sliced him as a lab mouse.
"The wounds caused by the lightning have yet to heal. I need to take care of that…"
His internal organs were mostly recovered, but his veins were still burning due to the severe electric shock. The conditions would not improve any time soon.
It would be difficult to illuminate the other five stars if the veins weren't restored.
"Shen Zhe, Shen Zhe…"
Someone knocked the door quickly while he was considering a solution.