Outside Qingzhou city. The General himself came to see them off.

The Princess of Ji stepped into the ornate carriage and looked back at Jiang Yuanhua with a warm smile. “General, please set your mind at ease. I will do everything in my power to help Qingzhou through its difficulties.”

The General returned the smile. “We’re grateful for the Princess’s efforts.”

A few more pleasantries, and he turned. The warmth left his eyes.

She was someone who didn’t scatter her birds before seeing the rabbit. Did she think Jiang had lived all these years for nothing? The successor he’d spent so long cultivating — he wasn’t going to let someone simply walk off with that.

He recalled certain things he’d heard in the capital. A slight curve came to his mouth.

Qingzhou’s demon crisis was pressing, but that didn’t mean the Princess had any particular composure about it either. Now it was simply a question of who could hold steadier.

He gathered himself and looked toward the back of the carriage. The sharp-featured young man in the black-gleaming armor had the bearing of someone exceptional — the armor only made it more apparent.

This was the person who had turned a Qingqiu student into a single offhand sentence in an official report.

Never mind casualties — based on what the two personal attendant Deputy Commanders had said, they’d never even had a chance to draw their weapons.

“…”

Jiang Yuanhua’s eyes narrowed. Something that had been dissatisfied eased a little.

Small Qingzhou — after Qiulan, to produce yet another young exceptional talent.

If not for the demon crisis pressing down, once both of them had fully come into their own, Qingzhou could expect a thousand years of quiet at minimum.

Pity about the timing.

Still — carrying a bit of trouble for someone like this was a small thing.

And of course — if he could arrange for the court to notice this person early, draw some attention to them, that would be all the better.

“I’ll leave General Shen to escort the Princess back to the capital.”

Jiang Yuanhua stepped forward, voice pitched at exactly the level to reach inside the carriage.

He gave a small bow and walked back into Qingzhou city.

“…”

Shen Yi raised an eyebrow with some puzzlement. Besides the Princess, there was also someone in that carriage who had sent the Junior Demon King fleeing in a panic.

Escorting — did they actually need him for that?

Having heard the words, the Princess of Ji lifted the curtain curiously and looked out.

She had initially shown no particular interest in the young man after seeing the armor marking him as a Demon Suppression General.

However young he was to be guarding a prefecture, and however high his future ceiling might be — it wasn’t necessarily going to exceed Jiang Qiulan’s.

In the Great Qian empire, Mixed Origin Grandmaster and Martial Immortal both occupied the fourth realm — but the way the world treated them was entirely different.

The logic was simple.

A Martial Immortal, however powerful, was immovable — bound to guard one location for centuries, with almost no value as an ally elsewhere.

A Mixed Origin Grandmaster was different.

A practitioner who maintained full capacity anywhere in the world, capable of resolving most problems wherever they arose.

Like herself — she’d offered nothing but a vague, unverified promise, and this provincial Martial Immortal had set aside his pride and shown unmistakable eagerness.

“Does General Shen retain his abilities once he leaves Qingzhou?” The Princess let the question come out sideways.

“He doesn’t cultivate the divine spirit path.” Jiang Qiulan had her eyes closed, voice mild.

A simple sentence. The Princess’s expression brightened further. She didn’t bother dropping the curtain, watching the mounted figure outside.

“Thank you for your trouble, General Shen.”

“Not at all, Princess.”

A small nod. He hadn’t been planning to escort anyone. He was going to the capital to collect his rewards.

If they ran into demons that even Jiang Qiulan couldn’t handle, those demons were going to find out what the Unfettered Wind-Riding Art at Perfection actually looked like.

Apart from the three of them, the demon-hunters had sent one person along to handle the formal credit submission.

Jiang Chengyun rode behind the carriage, glancing at it, glancing at Shen Yi, his eyes moving back and forth as if unable to take it all in.

The excitement in his gaze kept intensifying.

With these two leading Qingzhou’s younger generation — why worry about eventually replacing that old guard?

“General Shen.”

He pulled his horse alongside. “Have you thought about what kind of treasured implement you’d like to request?”

Shen Yi considered for a moment, then looked at the dark blade at his waist. “Ideally a weapon that actually fits my hand.”

This blade taken from the ape demon — beyond being durable and sharp, it had no particular special qualities. It was starting to feel somewhat inadequate.

Jiang Chengyun made a mental note, then said with slight envy:

“Among the nine provinces, Qingzhou is only middle-tier. Even the Baiyu Monastery’s equipment-crafting is considered a secondary skill. The treasured implements awarded by the court almost all come from the Lizhou Vessel School — that’s the wealthiest province in the empire, and its foremost sect for implement-crafting.”

“The implements we use to guard the twelve prefectures would be considered mid-grade quality there. They say their finest works — what they call their school-protecting supreme treasures — are things that even Mixed Origin Grandmasters can only admire.”

Shen Yi nodded thoughtfully.

He was finally starting to have some sense of what the Great Qian empire actually looked like.

He thought of the jade sword still sitting in his silver bell. He had no idea what quality of implement that was.

“…”

From inside the carriage, Jiang Qiulan slowly opened her eyes, glanced briefly at the dark blade at the young man’s waist, and looked away again.

From Qingzhou to the capital was an enormous distance. With ordinary demon-horses, it would have taken at least three months.

But the eight horned demon-horses pulling the carriage were clearly not ordinary — clouds and mist curled at their hooves as they ran, fast and smooth, cutting the travel time down considerably.

Even the carefully selected Division horses struggled to keep pace.

The Princess generously directed two of the horned horses their way. “General Shen has worked hard and done much. The Prince of Ji has the greatest admiration for men of your caliber. Please don’t stand on ceremony.”

Jiang Chengyun shook his head in quiet appreciation.

That kind of ordinary social courtesy — in front of genuine exceptional talent, even that had to yield a little ground.

He was benefiting by proximity — somehow he’d ended up on one of the royal household’s fine horses as well.

Nineteen days.

A towering city several times the size of Qingzhou appeared before them, carrying an ancient, heavy quality that pressed faintly on the chest.

The gate was rigorously guarded. The qi rising from it was something you could feel without any technique at all.

This was the Great Qian empire’s capital. Governing all nine provinces.

The ornate carriage moved slowly into the city. The eight white horned horses announced their owner’s identity — the gate guards received them with solemn ceremony, watching until the carriage disappeared at the far end of the long street.

The vast Ji royal estate occupied the western part of the city.

Carved beams and painted rafters made its grandeur evident from a distance. Jade tiles and high walls added a layer of extravagant weight.

Dozens of attendants had come out from the estate to clear the street in advance, then stood in two lines along both sides in formal reception.

“Qiulan — why not stay at the estate? Keep me company for a while.”

The Princess’s warm smile hadn’t changed.

“Thank you for the kindness, Princess. I’m with the Division — the War Temple suits me.” A slight shake of the head.

Throughout the journey, her manner had been calm and pleasant, impossible to fault — but equally impossible to call warm.

The original initiative had come from Qingzhou’s side, but the Princess showed no concern for any of these small details.

Beneath this young woman’s remarkable cultivation talent was a quality of appearance that made anyone near her feel inadequate by comparison. With both together, nothing else amounted to a problem.

The Princess kept the smile. “At least meet the Ji prince Jinjiang first. If you’re going to give him guidance on his cultivation, you ought to see whether there’s anything to work with. Wouldn’t you agree?”

“…”

A brief silence from Jiang Qiulan. Then she stepped toward the estate entrance.

From behind the carriage, Jiang Chengyun grabbed Shen Yi’s arm with enough force to nearly crack his own teeth, forcing out a low whisper.

“General Shen — where are you going—”

The man wouldn’t budge no matter how hard he pulled.

“To collect my rewards.” Shen Yi stopped mid-turn, frowning slightly. He had no idea what the General’s arrangement with the royal household was about — it was nothing to do with him either way. Was he supposed to stand around making empty conversation?

“I’m begging you, just wait a little longer—” Jiang Chengyun gritted his teeth.

Who showed up at a royal estate’s front gate and walked away without a word? That was practically slapping the Princess of Ji in the face.

From silver-bell demon-hunter in Yongan City to Demon Suppression General in Linjiang Prefecture.

The rank had climbed at extraordinary speed. The personality hadn’t shifted by a single degree.

(End of Chapter)