In King of Glory, the "Plunder" keyword has been completely exploited by Ah Li.

Page 128

Upon seeing that the visitor was Haiyue, a woman highly valued by the Empress, the three maids instantly snapped out of their daze. The lead maid spoke in a stammering tone.

"Lord Haiyue..."

"Is it because you have something to report to His Majesty that you have come to the palace so late?"

As the ninety-nine maids who served the Empress closely, they naturally knew Haiyue, the head of the academy, and also knew that she was highly valued by the Empress and was a favorite of hers.

Is His Majesty in the palace?

Haiyue nodded slightly, her expression stern, her pretty face as cold as frost, her demeanor calm and undisturbed, her voice clear and cold.

"His Majesty is cultivating on the third floor of the Jade Pavilion..."

"If Lady Haiyue has anything to report, she can come upstairs directly..."

After receiving the answer, Haiyue didn't say anything more, turned around and headed towards the corner of the stairs, going straight up to the third floor.

...............

Upon arriving on the third floor, Haiyue quickly saw the Empress standing before the railing, dressed in a phoenix robe, exuding elegance and unparalleled beauty.

Wu Zetian had already sensed Haiyue's arrival as soon as she stepped into the Daming Palace and had been waiting for her for a long time.

Generally speaking, unless there is an important matter to report, Haiyue would not enter the palace to disturb her quiet cultivation, let alone in the middle of the night.

"You've come so late at night... Is there something you wish to report to me?"

Hearing the footsteps behind her growing clearer, Wu Zetian turned around and spoke calmly.

"Indeed, I have something to report to His Majesty..."

"This is an extremely important matter!"

Haiyue nodded slightly, her pretty face filled with a serious expression, looking very earnest.

"What's important?"

Seeing Haiyue's expression, Wu Zetian's curiosity was piqued, and she asked with great interest.

"It concerns the momentous matter of whether His Majesty can ascend to immortality and transcend tribulations to become a celestial being..."

"At noon, Jiang Che came to the academy and showed me his talent in alchemy..."

　"May 27th" "He is now a genuine fourth-grade alchemist..."

After a moment's hesitation, Haiyue slowly spoke, recounting to the Empress what had happened at noon.

"and then?"

Wu Zetian frowned slightly, her face calm and composed, and continued to ask.

A fourth-grade alchemist was nothing special, even though a fourth-grade alchemist was already quite remarkable. But it didn't interest Wu Zetian at all, since she herself was a peak eighth-grade alchemist.

"According to Jiang Che, he has only been involved in alchemy for a short month, yet he has already gone from a complete beginner to a fourth-grade alchemist..."

"When Jiang Che was first officially appointed as a true disciple of the academy, I also tested his talent for alchemy. It was mediocre at best, nothing special, and quite disappointing..."

Haiyue continued speaking, observing the Empress's changing expressions.

As she had expected, the Empress's expression changed slightly as soon as she finished speaking, no longer as calm and composed as before.

"One month is enough to go from a beginner to a fourth-grade alchemist..."

"This is far beyond common sense. Is it possible that Jiang Che is deliberately hiding his true abilities?"

"Or are these all just his side of the story?"

Wu Zetian looked suspicious and spoke with great skepticism.

Wu Zetian instinctively disbelieved Haiyue's words, as they were simply too absurd and defied common sense.

Even when she first began studying alchemy, she didn't improve this quickly.

Can a beginner transform into a fourth-grade alchemist in just one month?

Don't be too outrageous!

Even if Jiang Che's talent in alchemy is unparalleled, there's no way he could improve at such a speed, right?

According to her assumption, either Jiang Che had been deliberately hiding his talents and had spent more than a month studying alchemy, or something went wrong when Haiyue was checking Jiang Che's talent in alchemy.

Either all of this is just Jiang Che's side of the story and shouldn't be taken at face value.

"None of them..."

"When I tested Jiang Che's various cultivation talents before, I used that magical spirit stone that His Majesty had given me..."

"The test results at the time showed that Jiang Che's talent in alchemy was extremely mediocre. Logically speaking, he should not have any expertise in alchemy at all. He was born with a deficiency, and even if he studied diligently later, he would never be able to achieve anything..."

"Furthermore, I have already confirmed with Elder Leng Qianshan of the academy that Jiang Che has indeed mastered the fourth-grade alchemy technique. He even refined a fourth-grade Rejuvenation Pill right in front of Elder Leng Qianshan and me. There's no faking it..."

Facing the Empress's suspicious gaze, Haiyue remained extremely calm and composed, gently shaking her head and speaking softly.

Although it seems unbelievable, the facts are right in front of us.

When she first learned of this result, she was no less shocked than Wu Zetian.

After hearing Haiyue's answer, Wu Zetian remained silent, her heart filled with turbulent waves that she could not calm down for a long time, and many thoughts flashed through her mind.

Wu Zetian already believed Haiyue's words to a large extent. She had personally witnessed just how magical that special spirit stone that tested talent and character was.

How could the ancient artifact left to her by her master, the ancient magician Jiang Ziya, possibly malfunction?

In other words, just as she had noticed before, Jiang Che suddenly acquired an extremely terrifying talent in alchemy, which is why he has achieved such skill and raised his alchemy technique to the fourth rank.

As Haiyue had said before, Jiang Che's skill in weapon forging was originally just average, but somehow he is now able to forge spiritual weapons that are at the peak of the Xuan rank, which is terrifying!

Isn't a person's talent for spiritual cultivation completely predetermined from birth?

Could there be some secret technique in this world that can compensate for a cultivator's innate deficiencies and directly maximize a cultivator's talent in certain aspects?

In that instant, a sense of bewilderment flashed through Wu Zetian's mind. For the first time since she had achieved success in her cultivation and ascended the throne, she felt confused and lost.

If her knowledgeable master, the ancient demonic cultivator Jiang Ziya, were still alive, he might be able to unravel a series of mysteries in her heart…

Thinking of Jiang Ziya, Wu Zetian's expression became slightly complicated. She put aside the various chaotic thoughts in her mind, composed herself, and hesitated before speaking.

"So... what is the purpose of your coming to tell me?"

"Does he want me to put more effort into training him?"

This was the only explanation Wu Zetian could think of. Haiyue came to tell her these things late at night, and Wu Zetian couldn't think of any other reason besides asking her to increase her efforts in cultivating Jiang Che.

It must be said that Haiyue's judgment was indeed sharp. Jiang Che was indeed a fine piece of jade, a promising talent. His growth rate was even faster than she had expected, and he could always reveal some terrifying talents from time to time, bringing surprises to people.

Such a prodigy, if nurtured with all our might, will likely mature quickly and become a capable individual, which would be a great asset to her in the future.

"Yes and no..."

"What I mean is... Jiang Che's talent for alchemy is so terrifying that he might be able to successfully refine a ninth-grade pill that has been lost for thousands of years, or even a legendary immortal pill!"

"If Jiang Che can really do that one day in the future, wouldn't His Majesty be able to ascend to heaven and become an immortal without relying on great fortune?"

Haiyue shook her head, her expression more solemn than ever before, her face full of gravity.

"A ninth-grade elixir, a celestial pill?"

After listening to Haiyue's explanation, Wu Zetian seemed to be deep in thought, her expression unreadable.

To be honest, Haiyue's words did indeed move her and rekindled a glimmer of hope in her heart.

If given a choice, Wu Zetian certainly wouldn't want to rely on gathering the vast fortune of all living beings to achieve the realm of true immortality.

While doing so would also allow one to reach the realm of True Immortal, it would be subject to many limitations, and there would be a risk of falling in realm if one's luck were to run out.

Relying on external aids to achieve the realm of true immortality is ultimately less reliable than breaking through one's own limitations.

In this era, the laws of Heaven are incomplete, and Heaven is bound by constraints. There is a lack of a special substance that can enable cultivators to become immortals. No matter how outstanding or unparalleled you are, you simply cannot break free from the constraints and shackles of Heaven.

Therefore, Wu Zetian had always focused on the path of achieving immortality through destiny.

If Jiang Che is able to refine the legendary elixir in the future, she can indeed bypass the shackles of the incomplete Heavenly Laws and ascend to immortality by relying on the elixir's immense power, without needing to gather the vast fortune of all living beings.

But can Jiang Che really do that?

Wu Zetian did not believe it.

Regardless of whether elixirs truly exist, even if they did, gathering all the rare and precious herbs and rare materials needed to refine them would require countless human and material resources, and there's no guarantee of success.

After all, elixirs have always existed only in legends. The highest grade elixir currently treasured on the continent is only grade eight, and grade nine elixirs are extremely rare, let alone the legendary elixirs.

However, Wu Zetian had to admit that Haiyue's words did make some sense.

In just one month, Jiang Che transformed from a beginner into a true fourth-grade alchemist. Even she was ashamed of her alchemy talent, as they were far inferior.

It took her three years to go from learning alchemy to finally breaking through to the fourth-grade alchemy realm.

If Jiang Che's talent in alchemy is truly that terrifying, he could very well become a ninth-grade alchemist who has disappeared from the continent for thousands of years.

As Haiyue said, it's even possible to go further and refine the legendary elixir!

Upon realizing this, Wu Zetian couldn't help but feel her heart surge with emotion. Her calm and composed state of mind vanished, replaced by turmoil and rapid breathing, as if she had rediscovered the passionate feeling she had when facing the road to heaven in her youth.

Even if there is only a sliver of hope, for the sake of her obsession and longing, for the sake of reaching the realm of true immortals, she is willing to give it her all!

Many thoughts flashed through her mind, but Wu Zetian made up her mind in an instant. Her emotions calmed down, and she spoke in a cold and beautiful voice.

"In that case, I will summon him to the palace tomorrow. I want to personally test his talent in alchemy..."

"Let's see if it's as miraculous as you say..."

Having immersed herself in alchemy for a century and risen to the rank of eighth-grade alchemist, Wu Zetian's understanding and insights into alchemy were undoubtedly among the top tier on the continent.

To test whether Jiang Che has the potential to break through to the ninth-grade alchemist level, or even refine the legendary elixir, a test tomorrow will tell; it's not a difficult task for her at all.

"You must remember to be gentle then..."

"Don't frighten my precious apprentice!"

Haiyue smiled gently, speaking with a playful tone and a teasing expression.

After the business was over, Haiyue became less reserved in front of Wu Zetian, and even stopped using the honorific "Your Majesty".

During the three years that Haiyue spent with the Empress, she treated Wu Zetian as an equal and a good friend in private. Only in public would she refer to herself as a subordinate to Wu Zetian, giving her enough face.

As a deity descended from the moon, the goddess of the moon, and a being who once graced the pinnacle of the vast land of Shenzhou, Haiyue was fully qualified to be treated as an equal to the Empress.

Upon hearing Wu Zetian's request to personally test Jiang Che's talent in alchemy, Haiyue readily agreed. She knew full well how terrifying this woman was and just how extraordinary her skills in alchemy truly were.