Deep inside the Polaris Imperial Palace stood a lush garden. At the pavilion in the center, two handsome young men sat drinking tea. One wore black, the other white. Completely different auras radiated from them, yet the atmosphere between them was remarkably harmonious.
If outsiders saw this scene, it would cause an uproar. No one would imagine that Spirit Hall's Saint and the crown prince of the Polaris Empire, the first heirs of two peak powers, would sit together so peacefully.
"So, the ever-busy Saint actually has enough free time to come here and drink tea with me?" the white-clad man teased after setting down his cup. At first listen, it was only banter between friends, but if one listened closely, a trace of complaint could be heard beneath it.
"I had business. Besides, the moment I came back, I came straight to you. What, should I appear beside your bed in the middle of the night the next time I return?"
As Wu Ling's strength increased, the personality he had suppressed also gradually loosened.
In the beginning, he had devoted himself to cultivation for two reasons. First, to change the original plot and survive. Second, to seize control of his own fate. With his current strength, the first goal was nearly accomplished. So long as he kept cultivating, freeing his nature a little was no issue. Moderate relaxation was necessary. If he cultivated purely for the sake of cultivation, then all of his training would lose its meaning.
"Smooth-tongued. It has only been a year since we last met, yet you really have changed." A faint blush rose on Xue Qinghe's face, but he hid it well and continued, "Still, that is a good thing. In the past, aside from when you ate, you almost did not feel human. Drafting plans, executing them without hesitation, breaking common sense again and again... even now, when I remember the way you trained like a madman, I feel a little afraid."
"Nothing in this world remains unchanged forever. Even the heavens change, let alone an insignificant person like me. Sometimes it is not that a person refuses to change. It is only that the right moment has not arrived."
Wu Ling turned his head and was about to continue, but his tone suddenly caught. In the end, he opened his mouth, then changed direction helplessly.
"Speaking of which, everyone here is one of ours. Can't you remove your disguise? I am a man, and saying things like this to another man feels really awkward."
Xue Qinghe laughed and could not resist teasing him.
"I have heard that some nobles and officials grow tired of women and start trying something fresh. It seems you do not have that hobby, Wu Ling."
After speaking, Xue Qinghe's body flashed with light.
While he was wrapped in the glow, he did not see the embarrassed look on Wu Ling's face. As an upstanding youth who had accepted twenty-first-century ideas, Wu Ling's range was actually rather broad.
To Wu Ling, whether someone was a boy, a girl, or a cute androgynous type, as long as they fit his aesthetic, then excluding the matter of producing descendants, gender did not matter much. Of course, he would never tell Xue Qinghe, or rather Aurelia Cross, something like that.
In that brief span, the light vanished. The handsome white-haired man had become a beautiful woman with long golden hair draped behind her.
"Mm. A year apart, and Aurelia really has grown even more beautiful." Wu Ling studied Aurelia's face and sighed in admiration.
"Flatterer." Aurelia's lips curved slightly. Paired with her faintly red cheeks, her noble air revealed a hint of girlish charm, making her no less tempting, but even more so.
That expression made Wu Ling's adrenaline and male hormones surge. But once he remembered that she was still in the middle of the plan, he could only suppress the thought for now.
Wu Ling cleared his throat, then put on a serious face.
"Enough. Let us discuss proper business."
Seeing Wu Ling so serious, Aurelia entered the right state at once. The air around her faintly carried the pressure of a strong woman.
Wu Ling took out a small box and pushed it in front of her.
"What is this?"
Aurelia picked up the box and opened it. Inside were ten neatly arranged test tubes. Each tube contained a pale green liquid.
"The plan is being moved up. This is the medicine I prepared for you. In the future, find a time each month to feed Emperor Noctis one bottle."
A complicated light flickered in Aurelia's eyes as she looked at the ten test tubes. It was not that she could not bear to do it. Rather, after more than ten years of infiltration, she had suddenly been told that the end was coming, and she was not mentally prepared at all. According to the plan she and Lucius Cross had originally made, they should still have waited another seven or eight years before acting.
After a long silence, Aurelia suddenly asked, "Was this Grandfather's order, or the pope's?"
She needed to know who had issued the command before deciding how seriously to treat it, so confirming the source was the first priority. But Wu Ling's next sentence made Aurelia's composure snap.
Because Wu Ling said casually, "This order? I gave it."
Crack.
The luxurious teacup, made of white jade and edged with gold, made a brittle sound. That sound also brought Aurelia back to herself.
"Wait, wait, wait. You mean this order did not come from the Grand Consecrator, and not from the pope, but from you, the Saint? Why?"
Aurelia's aura climbed steadily. Sacred flame even surged from her body. If Wu Ling did not give her a reasonable explanation today, she would fight him first even if she knew she would lose.
In total contrast to Aurelia, Wu Ling seemed completely unconcerned. He silently held his teacup closer to the sacred flame rising from her. A few seconds later, he had a cup of reheated tea.
Only after taking a sip and nodding with satisfaction did he say, "Actually, I do not know how to describe it. If I had to give a reason, it would probably be this: I do not want to play anymore."
After a moment, Aurelia understood. When Wu Ling said he did not want to play anymore, he did not mean he was quitting. He meant he no longer wanted to keep hiding himself. At the same time, Aurelia suddenly thought of something.
"Wait. The huge crater outside Soto City. Don't tell me that was..."
Wu Ling answered her directly.
"That's right. I made it. After beating Tang Hao around for a while, I accidentally got carried away."
Wu Ling, a Spirit King, had just said he played around while beating Tang Hao. If anyone else stood before her, Aurelia might have thrown him out on the spot. But because the person was Wu Ling, she believed him without hesitation.
"...I understand. I will follow your plan."