"Hahaha, you can shout your lungs out, it's useless."
Just like that, Zhou Hong carried Yang Guifei to a rockery nearby. Coincidentally, there was a hole at the bottom of the rockery.
The events that followed are not described in detail, lasting for about an hour.
"Zhou Hong, it's over," an hour later, Yang Guifei said with a bitter smile.
"What? Are you afraid of death?" Zhou Hong smiled.
"I'm not afraid of death, I'm afraid of implicating countless innocent people, like your nine generations of relatives, and my nine generations of relatives. At least tens of thousands of people will die," Yang Guifei said, crying.
"Hahaha, I'll take you somewhere," Zhou Hong, seeing Yang Guifei so worried, thought of a way to relieve her concerns.
"Where to?"
"The Emperor's sleeping chambers."
"Are you crazy? You still dare to go to the Emperor's sleeping chambers?" Yang Guifei was stunned.
"It's okay if you don't want to go, have him come over." Zhou Hong immediately summoned the Emperor in his mind, ordering him to come over immediately.
At this moment, in the Emperor's sleeping chambers, the Emperor was receiving a report from a captain of the guard, which was about Zhou Hong carrying Yang Guifei to the rockery in the garden.
The Emperor frowned. Although he felt displeased, he did not dare to act.
"Your Majesty? Shall we apprehend that person? He has the Purple Cloud Token you bestowed, so we dare not act on our own," the captain of the guard quickly said.
"You may withdraw. This matter is to be immediately sealed and no one is to know about it."
"Yes."
Just then, Zhou Hong's voice echoed in the Emperor's mind.
"Emperor, can you hear me? Come here immediately, I have something to discuss." Zhou Hong called out in the Emperor's mind.
Hearing Zhou Hong's summons, the Emperor did not dare to delay and immediately arrived at Zhou Hong's location.
"Greetings, Master." The Emperor bowed slightly to Zhou Hong as he approached. At this moment, the Emperor did not know that Yang Guifei was watching from not far away, and he thought no one else was present.
"You're welcome, rise." Zhou Hong chuckled. The reason he summoned the Emperor was to let Yang Guifei see, in front of her, how the Emperor addressed him.
Indeed, from not far away, Yang Guifei was stunned to see the Emperor call Zhou Hong Master.
"Stop looking, come over," Zhou Hong beckoned.
"Ah!" The Emperor saw Yang Guifei not far away and was shocked. He thought no one was nearby, and with his strength, he had not sensed Yang Guifei's presence.
"Master, Yang Guifei, she... when was she there? How did I not find her?" the Emperor asked, appearing somewhat frustrated that he, the supreme ruler, had to call someone else Master in front of a concubine.
"Of course, I hid her. It's normal that you couldn't find her."
"Oh, oh."
"Yang Guifei and I were just playing a little game inside the stone cave of the rockery. She was very afraid of implicating her nine generations of relatives, so I called you over. Now, tell her, will there be an implication of the nine generations of relatives?" Zhou Hong commanded.
The Emperor felt a bit broken inside, being summoned specifically for such a matter.
"Hurry up."
"Yes." Although the Emperor was inwardly annoyed, he had no choice but to comply. Zhou Hong only needed to raise his voice slightly, and it would feel like his skull was about to split open.
"Yang Guifei, do not worry, there will be no implication of the nine generations of relatives," the Emperor turned to Yang Guifei and said.
"Greetings, Your Majesty." Yang Guifei's face turned pale with fright, and she quickly tried to kneel.
"Enough, no need to bow," Zhou Hong stopped Yang Guifei.
"Emperor, you are not needed here anymore, you may return," Zhou Hong waved his hand at the Emperor.
"Yes."
The Emperor then leaped into the sky and in an instant returned to his sleeping chambers.
"Zhou Hong, why did the Emperor call you Master?" Yang Guifei asked Zhou Hong hurriedly.
"Don't ask so many questions. Just remember, your nine generations of relatives will not be implicated."
"This...!"
"Alright, I'm leaving too."
Zhou Hong said no more. He had initially considered staying at Yang Guifei's room for the night, but then he thought better of it, deciding to give the Emperor some face.
After Zhou Hong left the imperial palace, he returned to his own home. Sudan Novel Network.
Time slowly passed.
In a blink of an eye.
Another month and a half passed.
There were less than half a month remaining until the enrollment assessment of the Taigu Academy.
Zhou Hong's realm remained at the late stage of Fusion, with no desire for a breakthrough.
If there was no opportunity for a breakthrough, even if Zhou Hong consumed more spiritual medicine, it would be futile and a waste.
It seemed that cultivation was indeed fair. Whether one was poor or rich, opportunities did not entirely lean towards the wealthy.
"Golden Crow Elder Brother, in another half a month, the Taigu Academy assessment will begin. My goal is to break through to the next realm, the Heartbeat Realm, before the assessment. However, I feel nothing at all right now," Zhou Hong said to the Dark Golden Crow in his mind.
"Heartbeat, heartbeat. For you to break through again in such a short time, you must have something that makes your heart beat faster. You currently have nothing that stirs your heart, so it is naturally difficult to find an opportunity for a breakthrough in a short period. Think about it now, is there anything that truly excites you? Perhaps when you obtain that thing, your opportunity will appear."
Zhou Hong thought for a moment and finally shook his head. He really couldn't think of anything that currently made him excited.
"I wonder how others find the opportunity for a breakthrough when they reach this stage."
"Everyone has desires. As long as there is desire, there will be an opportunity for a breakthrough. Pills, magic artifacts, beautiful women, and so on."
"But I don't lack these things anymore," Zhou Hong sighed inwardly. Having acquired the sub-world, no magic artifact could move him. As for spiritual medicine, he had not even started using the spoils from the ten great beasts of the Sunset Mountain Range and did not lack them for now. And beautiful women were even less of a concern.
"Then there's nothing we can do. You can only wait until this opportunity appears. You broke through too quickly before, so it's very difficult to find an opportunity for a breakthrough in such a short time now."
"Alright," Zhou Hong gave a wry smile. Having too many trump cards might not be a good thing. Lacking nothing naturally led to no desires. Cultivation was indeed incredibly difficult; to break through from one realm to the next required immense effort.
Thus, he waited and waited. Soon, another half a month passed, and the Taigu Academy assessment was finally about to begin.
And Zhou Hong was still at the late stage of Fusion.
Helpless, Zhou Hong had no choice but to set off for Taigu Academy to participate in the assessment.
Although he was currently at the late stage of Fusion, entering Taigu Academy was a certainty. It was just a pity that he would not achieve an excellent ranking, perhaps only between 500th and 1000th place.
However, there was no alternative. He could only enter Taigu Academy first and then find a way to break through to the Heartbeat Realm.