Chapter 2153 - 2146: It’s for Your Own Good

"This brat!" Zhang Menglong wiped off Karon’s drool and snot from his own pants with utter disgust.

"Teacher, how was my move, Mount Lu Rising Dragon Tyrant?" Shadeer said to Zhang Menglong, sounding like she was showing off.

"The power is fierce, you’ve already unleashed almost eighty percent of this move’s might. Once you fully master it, I’ll teach you Mount Lu Hundred Dragons Tyrant and Mount Lu Arrogant Dragon Tyrant."

"Okay!" Shadeer still didn’t really know what grade of Transcendence Technique this Mount Lu Rising Dragon Tyrant was, but no matter how you searched through the entire Royal Family, or even the whole Mansha Kingdom, you wouldn’t find a stronger Transcendence Technique than this.

Just from the names, Mount Lu Hundred Dragons Tyrant and Mount Lu Arrogant Dragon Tyrant were obviously upgraded versions of this move, probably of an even higher grade and with even greater power!

"Finally became a Transcender," Shadeer let out a breath of relief, "Teacher, I’ll go find my father first. Now he really has no reason to marry me off anymore!"

...

Watching Shadeer’s departing back, Zhang Menglong chuckled. "Eh, where are things ever that simple? You saying you don’t want to marry is one thing, your father saying you don’t have to marry is another—but will the nobles of Qinglan Kingdom agree to that?"

"Ah well, since I’ve taken this student, I’ve got to help clean up this mess too!"

Zhang Menglong shook his head, just about to head back and check out the latest S177 matches, when suddenly those Princes and imperial grandsons all went crack-crack-crack as they dropped to their knees in a big patch in front of him.

"What’s going on? Did you drop something on the ground? Is everyone’s nearsightedness really this severe?"

"We beg Master to take us as disciples!" These Princes understood very clearly that this was their closest-ever chance to becoming true powerhouses. If they missed Zhang Menglong, most of them would basically have to live out their lives in mediocrity.

"Uh..." Seeing this many people, Zhang Menglong was a bit embarrassed. Taking on Karon and Shadeer had just been a spur-of-the-moment thing. Taking one or two disciples, that’s the style of a reclusive master; taking on a whole bunch of disciples—how is that any different from him opening a school?

"Princes, I’m not someone who easily takes disciples."

"Side-by-Side King, we’re all able to endure hardship, we all have hearts that yearn for strength."

"Yes, Side-by-Side King, as long as you’re willing to accept us, we will definitely treat you with the same respect as a father in the future."

...

"Well... how about this, I’ll give you a test. If you can meet my requirements, I’ll accept you." In truth, Zhang Menglong didn’t really want to take these disciples. Rarity is value—otherwise people would start thinking he’s some kind of mass-produced cabbage.

"Side-by-Side King, whatever test you set, just say it. We can definitely do it!"

"Good!" Zhang Menglong pulled out a super-large tablet. "I mainly want to test your comprehension of martial arts. I’ll show you a video. If you can learn what’s in it and perform it perfectly, then I’ll take you as disciples. But I’ll only play it once. If you can’t grasp it, that proves your comprehension just isn’t up to par."

"Alright! If we fail to learn it, we will definitely not come pester the Side-by-Side King again!"

Zhang Menglong opened the video, and instantly a sequence of Iron Mountain Roast + Rasengan Shuriken + Crow Takes a Plane came on screen.

"Just because..."

The Princes watched in utter confusion. It sort of looked like a dance, but the Side-by-Side King had said it was a profound martial arts, so it absolutely couldn’t be as simple as they were imagining.

After one playthrough, they began breaking down the movements inside.

"Look, that first move—hip thrust, shoulder slam forward—that’s a way of mobilizing the strength of the whole body. It looks crude, but it contains the most fundamental basics."

"I noticed it too, and those last few moves: you can attack going forward or defend while retreating, and even lure the enemy in deeper."

"That jump just now must be some kind of profound movement technique. Do you remember that footwork? Drifting and unpredictable, incredibly deep."

"As expected of martial arts given by the Side-by-Side King, it really is profoundly mysterious!"

The Princes argued excitedly, occasionally acting the moves out, but they just couldn’t catch the essence.

Zhang Menglong took the chance to slip away as fast as he could.

He would never have imagined that one of the Princes actually managed to comprehend the movements in that short video to an unprecedented realm, creating a Cultivation Technique called the Kun-Style Flow, and even made quite a name for himself throughout the Mansha Kingdom and several neighboring kingdoms.

...

Thousands of mountains and rivers away from the Mansha Kingdom stood an ancient land—the Qinglan Kingdom.

Compared to the Mansha Kingdom, the founder of this kingdom was a sixth-order Transcender. The Royal Family controlled the absolute core power of the nation, and talents popped up one after another.

Beneath the Royal Family were twelve Feudal Kings. They were the current King of Qinglan Kingdom’s younger brothers and enjoyed status and authority second only to the royals.

One of these Feudal Kings held the title of Tremor-Mountain King. He was not only a fifth order Transcender, but also a General.

Over his life he had married dozens of wives and had dozens of children. Most of them were already married and established; eight sons were still single, and two daughters had yet to marry.

But lately, his sixty-second son was about to迎来 the major event of his life—marrying a Princess from one of Qinglan Kingdom’s vassal states, the Mansha Kingdom.

Although this Mansha Kingdom was an obscure little country, the Princess was said to be extremely beautiful and had rather impressive insight in alchemy. In terms of status and everything else, she was considered worthy enough for his son, so he was quite satisfied.

After Shadeer came of age, Tremor-Mountain King had visited the Mansha Kingdom, and at the time had confirmed the date with the Emperor of Mansha Kingdom. These very days were exactly the time set for the proposal.

He never expected, however, that the ceremonial escort team he sent would return with their tails between their legs.

They brought back the news that the engagement had been arranged by the late Emperor of Mansha Kingdom, a betrothal in the womb made before birth. The two children had never met each other to this day, and to have decided their future like that didn’t seem very reasonable, so they hoped to postpone the engagement.

This news enraged Tremor-Mountain King on the spot.

He was a man who cared about face. He had already told many people about this, and even invited several other Feudal Kings; everyone was ready to come drink wedding wine.

The Mansha Kingdom was talking about "postponing" the engagement, but once the engagement was truly postponed, that was basically the same as canceling it. He wasn’t an idiot—he obviously knew the Emperor of Mansha Kingdom intended to go back on the deal!

"Father, what’s going on?" Tremor-Mountain King’s son Lambo saw the ceremonial team come back, but the betrothal gifts they had brought were all returned exactly as they were, which made him feel extremely confused.

"They want to delay the engagement."

"What?" Lambo grew anxious at once. He had seen Shadeer’s photos and videos and had long been captivated by her beauty. Now that his future wife might fall through, how could he not be anxious?

"Don’t panic yet. I’m going to ask that Emperor of Mansha Empire what exactly he means." Tremor-Mountain King’s voice was calm. "No matter what, this Princess must be married into our house. If they’re trying to play some tricks, the Tremor-Mountain King’s residence isn’t some place that can be bullied at will!"

"Right, Father, I’m marrying this Princess no matter what!"

Very soon, Tremor-Mountain King established contact with the Emperor of Mansha Kingdom.

He didn’t treat the other party like a head of state at all, and went straight to the point. "What’s the meaning of this from your Mansha Kingdom? The engagement was set long ago—are you trying to go back on your word?"

"No, no, no," the Emperor of Mansha Kingdom hurriedly denied, then sighed. "Tremor-Mountain King, I’m actually doing this for your own good!"

"For our good? Go on, explain."

"Not long ago, I was preparing to arrange a marriage for my little girl. I took the opportunity to find a master to divine a hexagram for her, and the image showed a great calamity!"