#302 - You just need to kill Xu Ming! Got it? (4000 words)

Princess Residence.

Wu Yanhan was sitting in the courtyard practicing her fist techniques.

However, with every punch Wu Yanhan threw, images of Xu Ming and what happened in the cave that day echoed in her mind.

The more Wu Yanhan tried to restrain herself from thinking about it, the more she couldn't control the urge to dwell on the matter.

Five days had passed since that incident.

In those five days, Wu Yanhan's mind was consumed by that event, whether she was awake or asleep.

Initially, when she thought about it, Wu Yanhan only felt a little shy.

But gradually, as Xu Ming didn't come to see her, Wu Yanhan began to feel a bit angry.

Although it wasn't Xu Ming's fault that such a thing happened at the time,

and although she had said that it would be best if it never happened,

regardless, you still did *that* with me.

Yet, these past few days, you haven't shown any sign of acknowledgment.

At the very least, you should come and see me, right?

Could it be that you really just took what you wanted and then didn't care about anything else?!

Boom!

Wu Yanhan unleashed a punch, and the artificial mountain in front of her was blasted into powder.

The maidservant on the side was very surprised to see this.

It wasn't that she was surprised at how powerful her princess was; her princess's punch could do more than just shatter a fake mountain.

Rather, the maidservant was surprised that the princess hadn't controlled her strength, which was a rare occurrence.

However, the maidservants didn't dare to say anything and quickly cleared away the rubble from the artificial mountain.

"Your Highness."

Just then, Ren walked into the courtyard and approached Wu Yanhan.

"What is it?" Wu Yanhan asked calmly, ceasing her stance.

"Your Highness, the Number One Scholar and Sheng Sheng have come to visit," Ren said.

Hearing the words "Number One Scholar," Wu Yanhan's heart trembled slightly.

Although Wu Yanhan had wanted Xu Ming to come and see her,

when Xu Ming actually came, she found that she was a little afraid to meet him.

"Let them in," Wu Yanhan said, sighing involuntarily.

She even felt a bit ridiculous about the thoughts in her mind just now.

What's done is done, it has nothing to do with him, and I was the one who said to forget about it, it was all my idea.

Since when did I become so coy?

"Yes."

Ren retreated.

"Sister Yanhan~~!"

Before long, Wu Yanhan heard Sheng Sheng's light and cheerful voice.

Sheng Sheng happily ran towards Wu Yanhan, who ruffled Sheng Sheng's hair.

"Practicing your fist techniques?" Xu Ming walked over and said with a smile.

Wu Yanhan brushed a strand of hair beside her cheek: "We're going to the Rootless Secret Realm soon, I don't want to die in there."

Xu Ming smiled: "Don't worry, I won't let you die in there. Well, even if you were to die in there, it would have to be over my dead body."

Wu Yanhan glared at Xu Ming playfully: "You're getting more and more skilled at saying such cheesy things."

Xu Ming: ". . ."

Cheesy?

It should be alright, right?

"Want to spar?" Wu Yanhan said to Xu Ming.

"It's not impossible," Xu Ming nodded.

"Then come on!"

As soon as she spoke, Wu Yanhan punched Xu Ming in the chest, a very fierce punch.

Then, Sheng Sheng, who was on the side, watched as Brother Xu was constantly beaten up by Sister Yanhan, punched in the chest, kicked in the butt, and beaten while she was on top of him. It was simply too horrible to watch.

Later on, Sheng Sheng couldn't bear to watch anymore.

But then again.

Why do I feel like Sister Yanhan is a little angry?

Did Brother Xu do something to hurt Sister Yanhan?

In fact, Xu Ming was also very puzzled.

Xu Ming originally thought they were just exchanging blows, but he didn't expect Yanhan to really hit him.

Xu Ming also realized that Yanhan seemed to be holding a grudge against him.

So Xu Ming originally wanted to resist a little, but in the end, he just lay down and let her vent.

"Hmph! You might as well not walk the path of a martial artist, you've become so useless."

After beating Xu Ming up, Wu Yanhan raised her proud little chin. Although Wu Yanhan also knew that Xu Ming was deliberately letting her win, Xu Ming's "consideration" made the sorrow in Wu Yanhan's heart disappear a lot.

Xu Ming smiled: "That won't do. Martial arts are my foundation, so I can't give them up. By the way, can Your Highness please get off me first?"

Only then did Wu Yanhan notice that she was sitting on Xu Ming in a very undignified posture.

And this posture reminded Wu Yanhan of the time in the cave.

"Hmph, who wants to ride you all the time? I'm going to take a bath!" Wu Yanhan's cheeks were slightly red as she got up from Xu Ming and walked out of the courtyard.

Watching Wu Yanhan's quickly departing figure, Xu Ming asked the maidservant standing on the side: "Has your princess encountered anything unhappy recently?"

The maidservant's name was "Qiao," and like Ren, she was Wu Yanhan's most trusted maidservant.

Qiao smiled and bent her eyes: "The princess's thoughts are not easy to guess~ But the princess has indeed not been very happy recently."

As she spoke, Qiao added: "It's been like this since the princess returned from the palace with the Imperial Son-in-Law."

Xu Ming: ". . ."

The maidservant named Qiao bowed: "This servant will go and serve the princess. Number One Scholar, please make yourself at home. The princess said that the young master should treat this place as his own home."

After Qiao left, only Xu Ming and Sheng Sheng were left in the courtyard.

Xu Ming was indeed a little confused as to why Yanhan was so angry with him. Could it be because he hadn't come to see her for too long?

"Forget it, after being beaten up by her, her knot seems to have been untied a lot."

Xu Ming shook his head.

He stopped dwelling on the matter.

He sat on a chair and drank tea.

Sheng Sheng sat obediently beside Xu Ming.

"Sheng Sheng must remember, if Sheng Sheng has anything to say in the future, you must tell Brother Xu. You must never be like Sister Yanhan and keep it in your heart. If you keep things in your heart, others won't know what you're thinking. Only by saying it can you solve it, understand?" Xu Ming said to Sheng Sheng.

"Yeah, uh-huh~!" Sheng Sheng nodded heavily, "Understood, Brother Xu~!"

"That's good." Xu Ming ruffled Sheng Sheng's hair, "Come, eat some snacks."

Xu Ming and Sheng Sheng drank tea and ate pastries while waiting for Wu Yanhan. The two of them really treated the Princess Residence as their own home.

Before long, Wu Yanhan returned to the courtyard in a dress.

"Speak, what is it? Why did you suddenly want to come and find me?" Wu Yanhan asked.

When Wu Yanhan asked this question, Xu Ming was also stunned: "Have you forgotten? Today is the selection for the Rootless Secret Realm."

". . ."

After Xu Ming's reminder, Wu Yanhan remembered that today was indeed the selection for the Rootless Secret Realm.

She had been thinking about Xu Ming all these days, and as a result, she had forgotten about it.

"Why didn't you say so earlier!" Wu Yanhan glared at Xu Ming.

". . ." Xu Ming spread his hands helplessly, "But the problem is, you didn't ask. I was wondering why you wanted to take a bath. Wouldn't you get dirty during the competition later anyway?"

"It's none of your business, wait for me!"

Wu Yanhan walked into the room and slammed the door shut with a "bang."

Sheng Sheng tugged at Xu Ming's sleeve: "Brother Xu, why don't you say a little less? Otherwise, Sister Yanhan will beat you up again."

Xu Ming: ". . ."

Sheng Sheng offered advice to her Brother Xu: "Brother Xu can praise Sister Yanhan, Sister Yanhan is easy to coax."

"Really?" Xu Ming asked.

Sheng Sheng nodded like a chick pecking at rice: "Really, really."

Xu Ming thought for a moment and felt that what Sheng Sheng said made sense.

"Let's go."

After Wu Yanhan came out, she changed into a martial artist's outfit, looking capable and heroic. The elegance and poise of wearing a dress earlier had disappeared completely.

"What is it?" Wu Yanhan looked at Xu Ming.

"It's nothing, I just feel that you can switch between two styles at any time. When you wear palace attire, you can't tell that you're a martial artist, and when you wear a martial artist's outfit, you can't tell that you're a princess," Xu Ming said.

Wu Yanhan was stunned for a moment: "Are you praising me?"

"Uh..." Xu Ming didn't know how to answer for a moment, "Isn't my praise obvious enough?"

Wu Yanhan chuckled: "Then let me ask you, which style do you like?"

Xu Ming replied seriously: "I like both styles. When you wear palace attire, you are dignified and elegant, and when you wear a martial artist's outfit, you give people a heroic and valiant feeling."

"If you have the energy to say such nonsense, you might as well think about what to do in the next competition." Wu Yanhan rolled her eyes at Xu Ming and walked straight out.

Xu Ming looked at Shen Sheng: "I feel like it's useless. Your Sister Yanhan still seems quite angry."

"It's useful!" Shen Sheng blinked her eyes and clenched her small fists, "Sister Yanhan is much happier."

"Really?" Xu Ming was stunned for a moment. Why did he feel that this little girl knew more than he did? "By the way, Sheng Sheng, how did you know?"

Sheng Sheng scratched her head: "I don't know, that's just how Sheng Sheng feels."

"Alright."

Xu Ming didn't ask any more questions, maybe this was a child's sixth sense.

Xu Ming led Sheng Sheng by her small hand as they walked out.

The three of them boarded the carriage and headed to the Blood Floating Pagoda's Third Army Camp.

This time, the selection for the Rootless Secret Realm would be held in the Third Army Camp.

According to the regulations of the various dynasties and sects in the Central Plains, the Wu Kingdom, like the other ten major human dynasties, had a total of ten places to participate in the Rootless Secret Realm.

These ten places included not only cultivators from the military but also all the capable and talented individuals and rogue cultivators within the Wu Kingdom.

As long as your cultivation realm reached the Dragon Gate Realm, or your martial artist realm reached the Martial Courage Realm, you were eligible to participate.

However, your cultivation realm could not exceed the Golden Core Realm, and your martial artist realm could not exceed the Golden Body Realm.

Compared to the previous registration requirements for the Rootless Secret Realm, this time it was significantly stricter.

The main reason for this was that this Rootless Secret Realm was the last one, and the laws of heaven and earth had changed. Previously, the Sea Gazing Realm was sufficient to enter, but now it had been raised by one realm.

In fact, similarly, according to the principle of mutual compensation in the laws of the world, if the minimum realm for entering the Rootless Secret Realm was raised by one level, then logically, the maximum realm should also be raised by one level.

However, because the higher the realm, the greater the difference in strength, not to mention that this time the Rootless Secret Realm would not allow the use of life-saving talismans at all. The dynasty and sects were worried that their opponents would act without restraint, so they lowered the realm.

If the difference in realm was too small, then the difference in strength would also be smaller, and the chances of survival would naturally be greater.

When Xu Ming and his group arrived at the Blood Floating Pagoda's Third Army Camp, Xu Ming had expected a sea of people and even doubted whether the Third Army Camp could accommodate all the participants in the selection.

But Xu Ming quickly realized that he had been overthinking things.

Although the number of participants in the selection was indeed not small, it was far from exceeding Xu Ming's expectations.

Xu Ming looked around and roughly estimated that there were only a little over five thousand people in the military camp.

"What's wrong? You look a little puzzled?" Wu Yanhan said to Xu Ming.

Xu Ming shook his head: "It's nothing, it's just that there are fewer people here than I expected. I thought there would be tens of thousands of people."

Wu Yanhan was speechless: "In the world, it's already good if one out of a hundred people can cultivate. And among a hundred people who can cultivate, it's a blessing if one of them can enter the Cave Mansion Realm.

Not to mention that after entering the Cave Mansion Realm, one still has to go through the lightning tribulation to reach the Dragon Gate Realm, which is even rarer.

Our Wu Kingdom's population is already the smallest among the ten major human dynasties. It's already very good to have so many cultivators and martial artists who meet the criteria.

Don't think that because you usually only encounter Golden Core Realm or Nascent Soul Realm cultivators, that everyone's realm is similar to yours.

People like you and me are ultimately in the minority."

"That's indeed the case," Xu Ming nodded.

"Let's go, get the badges."

Wu Yanhan walked straight to the registration area. Xu Ming took Sheng Sheng with him, received the badges, and then they were divided into groups to compete, finally selecting ten people to participate in the Rootless Secret Realm. It was simple and straightforward.

Just as Xu Ming and Wu Yanhan were registering, several pairs of eyes were fixed on Xu Ming.

"Stop looking," the leader reminded.

"That's the current驸马爷 (Imperial Son-in-Law)?" A man licked his lips and retracted his gaze.

Another man with a nose ring licked his lips: "This princess is quite beautiful."

As soon as the nose-ringed man finished speaking, the dagger in the leader's hand had already pierced his shoulder. He whispered in his ear: "I told you, you can't touch the princess! After going to the Rootless Secret Realm, you only need to kill Xu Ming! Do you understand?"

The nose-ringed man forcibly endured the pain, sweat beading on his forehead: "Yes, I understand."

【Ah~ I haven't taken a day off in twenty-three days, and I don't have any days off next month either.】