Chapter 272: The Emperor’s Thoughts

　　“Mr. Mo, do check through it.”

　　The yellow-robed man raised his chin and glanced, signaling for Su Zimo to take stock of the materials and spirit stones in the storage bag.

　　A faint smile hung on Su Zimo’s lips as he said nonchalantly, “You sure are generous, fellow Daoist. Most cultivators wouldn’t be able to produce this much materials and spirit stones.”

　　The yellow-robed man’s expression remained unchanged and he did not explain himself either, merely repeating his specifications.

　　After a moment of silence, the yellow-robed man continued, “After this supreme-grade flying sword is forged, we’ll leave it with you, Mr. Mo. Someone will come for it when the time is ripe.”

　　“One year at most. Nothing later will be entertained.”

　　Su Zimo said indifferently.

　　The sect competition was due to start in less than a year. By then, he would definitely have left the capital.

　　The yellow-robed man stood up and bid farewell, leaving with the scholarly man.

　　After leaving Mo Spirit Weapon Workshop, the yellow-robed man finally turned back on the main street and looked in the direction of Mo Spirit Weapon Workshop with lit up eyes of great interest.

　　The yellow-robed man was none other than the Emperor of Great Zhou!

　　The scholarly man behind him was Perfected Lord Ming Ze.

　　“If I hadn’t seen it personally, it would be truly hard to believe that the person who could refine supreme-grade spirit weapons would be such a young junior,” The emperor lamented as he could not conceal the admiration in his eyes.

　　Perfected Lord Ming Ze nodded. “That person’s cultivation is indeed only at late-stage Foundation Establishment and he hasn’t cultivated any cultivation concealment techniques. There was no one else in that residence too.”

　　There were many mysteries surrounding Mo Ling, but what the emperor was most curious about was the assassination attempt of the previous night.

　　Given Mo Ling’s cultivation, he should have died – how did he manage to last for ten breaths of time and even kill a Golden Core instead?

　　Initially, the emperor had two speculations.

　　First, Mo Ling had cultivated some sort of cultivation concealment technique and his actual cultivation was at Golden Core.

　　Second, there was an expert hidden in Mo Spirit Weapon Workshop.

　　On the one hand, their visit today was to check out Mo Ling. On the other hand, they wanted to unravel this mystery.

　　However, after leaving Mo Spirit Weapon Workshop, the two of them were even more puzzled.

　　Neither speculation fit the bill.

　　They made a sudden visit and both of them scanned Mo Spirit Weapon Workshop entirely with their spirit consciousnesses. However, there were no signs of any third party.

　　In other words, they were back to where they had started.

　　Two Foundation Establishment Cultivators and a black dog at Foundation Establishment realm – how did the three of them manage to last ten breaths against the combined assault of two Golden Cores?

　　“Interesting, a mysterious person.”

　　The emperor chuckled and asked, “What else did you discover?”

　　Perfected Lord Ming Ze replied in a low voice, “That black dog is not simple. Even though it was lying far away looking like it was asleep, I could sense that it was watching us!”

　　“Can you tell what spirit demon that is?”

　　“No. It might be a variant spirit demon born from the fusion of two different spirit demon races.”

　　The both of them conversed and arrived at the palace before long.

　　At the entrance of the palace, a black-armored guard quickly walked up and knelt on one knee, saying in a deep voice, “Your Majesty, I’ve already investigated the background of Mo Ling. However, there’s little to be known.”

　　The emperor asked, “Oh? Tell me everything that you found out.”

　　The guard replied, “Two years ago, Mo Ling appeared outside the capital seemingly out of thin air. No one saw how he arrived.”

　　“That’s all?”

　　“That’s all.”

　　The emperor frowned – this was as good as having found out nothing.

　　All of a sudden!

　　A thought flashed through the emperor’s mind as he suddenly asked, “The day that Mo Ling appeared in the capital two years ago! Was that the same day of the dragon’s attack?”

　　“Yes!”

　　The guard nodded. “Not long after Mo Ling appeared, the divine dragon descended. Thereafter, a mysterious expert showed up and pushed back the divine dragon.”

　　When he heard that, Perfected Lord Ming Ze came to a gradual realization as his eyes lit up. “Your Majesty is guessing that Mo Ling is related to that mysterious expert?”

　　“Yes. Mo Ling… might be the disciple of that mysterious expert!”

　　The emperor said in a low voice, “Given the methods of that mysterious expert, even if his disciple is only at Foundation Establishment realm, there’s a high possibility he could hold out ten breaths against the assassination of two Golden Cores.”

　　Perfected Lord Ming Ze nodded. “The mysterious expert appeared suddenly and was definitely not someone of the capital of Great Zhou. In that case, Mo Ling might truly be related to that mysterious expert.”

　　The emperor laughed. “Someone like that is definitely a talent in cultivation, much stronger than any Tom, Dick or Harry. Right, when is Xue’er returning?”

　　“Don’t worry, Your Majesty. The sect competition will start in less than a year. The third princess will definitely return prior to that,” Perfected Lord Ming Ze consoled.

　　Furrowing his brows, the emperor said, “Because of that Su Zimo or whoever, Xue’er has been fighting with me all these years. She hasn’t even bothered to come home at all, really now…”

　　Perfected Lord Ming Ze seemed to have thought of something and asked, “Your Majesty, for you to suddenly mention the third princess, are you thinking of introducing Mo Ling to her and matchmake them to be Dao partners?”

　　“I do have that intention.”

　　The emperor continued, “At least to me, this Mo Ling is worthy of Xue’er and he’s much stronger than that so-called Su Zimo she mentioned previously. Fufu, the son of a general of a vassal state and a trash without a spirit root. Someone like that wishes to join the Ji Family?”

　　“Yes, the two of them are similar in terms of age and cultivation. Furthermore, Mo Ling is a top-notch Weapon Refinement Master, he’s rather fitting,” Perfected Lord Ming Ze nodded.

　　The emperor scoffed coldly, “Xue’er is pure and innocent with a narrow vision, that’s why she was hoodwinked by some scheming people! Once she returns, I’ll have her meet with Mo Ling. Even if they’re not compatible, it’ll open her eyes to what a true genius is really like!”

　　Perfected Lord Ming Ze commented, “Your Majesty is not stingy with praising him. Seems like you truly have high hopes for this person.”

　　“Yes.”

　　The emperor nodded. “You heard my conversation with him earlier too. I wanted to check out his background but he was so vigilant. Not only did he handle it with ease and not let anything slip, he even tried to check out my identity in reverse, fufu.”

　　The emperor laughed. “It’s truly remarkable for someone his age to have that sort of mentality and wisdom.”

　　“That’s right.”

　　Perfected Lord Ming Ze agreed. “That lad is composed, calm as a lake despite containing boisterous thunder within. He’s truly quite a character.”

　　The emperor continued, “Furthermore, that Su Zimo was chosen by Xue’er herself after all. If he could be half of what Mo Ling is, or even one-tenth, I don’t mind letting him be her Dao partner.”

　　“By the way, do you think he saw through our identities?” The emperor asked in a seemingly joking manner.

　　“How is that possible?”

　　Perfected Lord Ming Ze shook his head with a smile. “If he could tell of Your Majesty’s identity through just that brief contact, he wouldn’t be a genius. He would be a demon instead…”