Taiyi Dao Fruit

"Tsks, tsks, tsks."

In the Imperial City Vermilion Bird Tower, the Princess sat in the main seat, occasionally glancing to her left at Tianxuan and then at Jiang Li, who sat below Tianxuan, clicking her tongue audibly.

"Do you respect your teacher and cherish the Way, all out of filial piety?"

She looked towards Jiang Li.

"Mocking my palace for the old bull eating tender grass for twenty-seven years and seven months, and yet you've ended up doing the same."

She then glanced at Tianxuan with a teasing tone.

Ever since Feng Manlou had played matchmaker for these two, the Princess had waited day and night, finally seeing this day come.

Originally, she thought these two hadn't crossed that line, given how Tianxuan had remained chaste for so many years, but now it seemed she had misjudged Tianxuan after all. They had gone all the way, and here she thought it was just an affair of the heart, stopping at propriety.

Facing the Princess's light mockery, Jiang Li was calm, detached, as if all this had nothing to do with him. At this point, all one had to do was stay quiet and watch the two women rip each other apart.

So, Jiang Li quietly enjoyed the spectacle.

And Tianxuan maintained her composure.

At this moment, she wore no veil, revealing her stunning beauty, her face tender and moisturized, less icy than before. Clothed in a dark blue luxurious dress, she seemed like a blooming begonia.

"You remember quite clearly," said Tianxuan slowly, "you must have been waiting a long time for this day."

Far from being angry or pretending to be calm, it was as if the Princess's mockery and jest were like a mild spring breeze, hardly worth mentioning.

This response actually annoyed the mocking Princess, giving her a feeling of punching cotton – a suffocating frustration, almost enough to make her spit blood.

I'm mocking you, why are you so unaffected?

"Don't you want to know how I could be so sure about you and your disciple?"

In her urgency, the Princess's words shifted, bluntly stating "you and your disciple."

"A red thread, you say? I am aware," said Tianxuan calmly. "I once personally severed that thread, never expecting I would end up with this rebellious disciple in the end."

The Princess felt a surge of frustration and suffocation.

Without thinking, she blurted out, "You're not angry?"

"Angry about what? Upset about your scheme? Or that you mock me for the old bull eating tender grass?" said Tianxuan with a light air. "You are mistaken; not only am I not upset by your actions, but I am also grateful. If it weren't for you, I wouldn't have found someone to be with for life."

"I don't believe it!" The Princess's face showed disbelief.

For years, this frustration needed venting; Tianxuan's tender grass was much fresher than Feng Manlou's, and there was also the disciple factor. In comparison, the Princess felt overwhelmingly advantaged and was desperate to vent her years of bitterness.

And this was the result?

Shouldn't you be furious, face flushed in anger, perhaps even come to blows?

Yet, the reality was stark. Tianxuan showed no signs of annoyance; she even thanked the Princess.

"Heh."

Tianxuan let out a light laugh, finally showing some expression—an amused look. She watched the Princess with interest and said, "You think I'd be afraid of being talked about for the old bull eating tender grass? If it were not for Jiang Li and Qing Yue being in love, do you think I wouldn't steal him away? If Qing Yue weren't my disciple and raised by my own hands, she wouldn't even get to taste soup by now."

"I keep this relationship under wraps, not because of the teacher-student relationship, but simply because Jiang Li is to marry Qing Yue."

In other words, if Jiang Li were to marry someone other than Gongsun Qingyue, Tianxuan would have made that person herself.

Once she had set her mind on someone, she would find a way to have them, not recoiling for fear of reputation or such trivialities.

As a woman, Tianxuan's temperament in some respects was more domineering than any man's.

Hearing this, the Princess couldn't help but grit her teeth. She realized that not only had her plan not succeeded, but she had genuinely helped Tianxuan.

Realizing this, the Princess sighed lightly, saying, "No wonder my father once thought that the Gongsun family might surpass the Royal Family in your hands."

After years of conflict, the Princess finally realized that in terms of boldness and spirit, she was quite outmatched by Tianxuan. All these years, her losses were not unjust.

"Alas, I was defeated by Gongsun Qi back then, and the Gongsun family never did surpass the Royal Family," Tianxuan also sighed.

She should have succeeded the position of Sect Leader but was intercepted by Gongsun Qi. Tianxuan's reason for acquiring the Dao Fruit externally was not only to achieve unrestricted Third Grade Combat Power but also to guard against Heavenly Monarch Gongsun Qi while deliberately hiding her strength.

The competition within the Gongsun family between the Heavenly Monarch and Tianxuan led the family to stagnate, unable to even keep up with the Royal Family, much less surpass it.

'Wait a moment!'

The Princess suddenly thought of something.

—Over the years, most of the time their conflicts had been evenly matched; could it be that Tianxuan had been letting her win?

Tianxuan had always intentionally hidden her skills, to guard against the Heavenly Monarch, so could it be possible that one way she concealed her skill was by deliberately making her clashes with the Princess appear even, thus leading the Heavenly Monarch to believe she was on the same level as the Princess.

Princess: "..."

The Princess suddenly realized, she might have become a unit of measurement.

A fierce glare appeared on her exquisite face, her eyebrows sharply raised, her expression intense.

Seeing this, Tianxuan revealed a stunning smile, stood up gracefully, and said, "In a couple of days, I must confront the Yin Law Department. At that time, Ling Guang, you'll need to stabilize the court situation. Remember, disciple, let's go."