The fundamental reason Bi Qiao could not stand Tang Manqing and targeted her at every turn was her resentment that Tang Manqing had been conferred the prestigious title of Cloud-Nobility by the Immortal Dynasty.
In the past, before Tang Manqing received the dynasty's conferral and was merely the Yanluo Princess-Royal, Bi Qiao had publicly declared that the so-called Yanluo Princess-Royal wasn't even qualified to tie the shoes of someone with her status as a Noble Scion of the Immortal Dynasty.
Yet, to her utter astonishment, a few years later, Tang Manqing was conferred the title of Cloud-Nobility by the Immortal Dynasty for her meritorious service in guarding the Yanyue Ruins.
What shocked her even more was that Tang Manqing actually refused to accept the conferral from the Immortal Dynasty.
How could Bi Qiao's heart accept this, after she had previously flaunted her own status as a Noble Scion? This had left her perpetually resentful.
However,
resentful as she might be,
it was an indisputable fact.
All she could do was stew in her resentment.
This matter was a stone weighing on her heart, forever preventing her from speaking with her head held high in front of Tang Manqing.
"Hmph!
We'll see. When the Temple Fair arrives, it will be the day you three kneel before this young lady."
Having been shamed by Lin Xiang'er's mention of Tang Manqing refusing the Cloud-Nobility title, Bi Qiao could no longer maintain her haughty demeanor. She left these words and departed with Xiao Zibai.
"What a truly detestable woman."
Watching Bi Qiao's retreating figure, Lin Xiang'er's mood seemed affected as well, saying unhappily, "If I get the chance, I'm definitely going to give that little bitch another good beating!"
Lin Xiang'er wasn't the only one whose mood was soured. Tang Manqing, whose spirits had been quite good earlier, now felt rather foul, adding, "If we're going to beat her, let's beat her half to death!"
Even Liu Yue nodded and said, "Why bother with that? Might as well just beat her to death outright!"
"Are you two alright?"
Lin Xiang'er's voice came.
Tang Manqing and Liu Yue both shook their heads, indicating they were fine. "What's there to be alright or not alright about? The feud between us and her isn't a matter of a day or two."
"I'm not talking about that."
Lin Xiang'er said worriedly, "Judging by what Bi Qiao meant just now, it seems the Immortal Dynasty this time..." Though Lin Xiang'er didn't finish her sentence, Tang Manqing and Liu Yue both understood what she meant.
To be honest,
when it came to the predicament currently facing the Yanluo Royal Family and the Crimson-Letter Sect, it would be false to say Tang Manqing and Liu Yue weren't worried. But all they could do was worry. They had been running around for this matter these past days, doing everything they could and even things they shouldn't.
Now, Tang Manqing could only wait for news from her uncle, Emperor Yunqi.
And Liu Yue could only wait for news from her grand-master, Lord Blackhearted Buddha.
Beyond that, the two of them could do nothing. After all, the Immortal Dynasty dominated this world.
They could only resign themselves to fate.
If the Immortal Dynasty truly intended to wipe them out completely when the time came, they would have no choice but to fight desperately.
Thinking of this matter gave Tang Manqing a headache. "If the heavens decree rain, if a mother wants to remarry, one can only submit to fate. We were in a good mood today, let's not talk about this. Xiang'er, isn't it almost time for your performance?"
Lin Xiang'er looked up at the moon in the night sky. "Should be soon."
"Then let's go. It's been a long time since I've heard you play a tune."
The three had just stepped out of the Tranquil Grove when they discovered considerable chaos outside. Many people were clamoring to go watch some commotion, as if a fight had broken out at the entrance to the pleasure garden.
Liu Yue frowned. "Another fight in the pleasure garden?"
"This is Yun Chuan Pleasure Garden. Isn't it normal for fights to happen here?"
Yun Chuan Pleasure Garden didn't have many messy rules. Coupled with the mixed crowd here, predominantly young people, fights and brawls occurred frequently and were impossible to fully prohibit. From the chatter, it seemed the person starting the fight was Lu Tianze, a Noble Scion from the Yanluo Immortal Residence.
The Yanluo Immortal Residence housed many Noble Scions of the Immortal Dynasty, reportedly numbering in the hundreds.
These Noble Scions were all second-generation immortals, each with a more powerful background and identity than the last. With the terrifying existence of the Great Sun Radiance Dharmic Form backing them, they ran rampant throughout Yanluo Kingdom, and no one dared provoke them.
If one were to ask, among the hundreds of Noble Scions in Yanluo Immortal Residence, who had the highest cultivation or the strongest power, perhaps no one knew.
But if one were to ask which Noble Scion in Yanluo Immortal Residence was the most arrogant and domineering,
any cultivator who mingled in Yanluo Kingdom knew that, in terms of arrogance, insolence, and running amok, Lu Tianze topped the list within Yanluo Immortal Residence.
In the past, although Lu Tianze was insolent and overbearing relying on his Great Sun Radiance Dharmic Form, he wasn't to the point of running completely amok. After all, the Four Great Families and Seven Great Sects of Yanluo Kingdom also produced talented geniuses aplenty. For instance, in front of the famously renowned Eighteen Young Masters of Yanluo, Lu Tianze was still somewhat wary.
However,
nine years ago, the Heavenly Mandate descended, and the Great Natural Order bloomed with extraordinary splendor.
There were both major and minor Heavenly Mandates, major and minor Imperial Edicts, and various Fortunes that responded to destiny.
Yet,
whether major or minor Heavenly Mandates, or major or minor Imperial Edicts, they were, after all, heaven-defying Fortunes. Not everyone could obtain them. At the very least, for ordinary people, these things were truly distant, incredibly distant. Forget obtaining them, many hadn't even seen them.
Despite this, many people benefited immensely.
Some achieved breakthroughs in cultivation, others saw their Fortunes blossom.
Lu Tianze was one of them.
His cultivation achieved a breakthrough, leaping directly to become an Earth Immortal. Simultaneously, his Fortune blossomed for a second time.
His Fortune was a Color Spirit Fortune. Previously, it possessed over one hundred and sixty layers.
This number, among the many Fortune prodigies within Yanluo Kingdom's borders, wasn't considered high, but it wasn't low either. It was the type that fell short compared to the best but surpassed the average.
Since ancient times, innate Fortunes emphasized awakening, while acquired Fortunes emphasized growth.
Innate Fortunes were inherent from birth. If not awakened, they were no different from an ordinary person's. Once awakened, it was like encountering wind and clouds and transforming into a dragon, with limitless future prospects.
Treasure Bodies were a type of innate Fortune. In this world, those possessing innate Treasure Bodies were not few, but neither were they many. However, those capable of awakening them were exceedingly rare. This depended on one's own Fortune. Some were born able to awaken, some could awaken after a single sleep, some could awaken after guidance from a master, and many others, despite exhausting their entire lives and trying every method, failed to awaken their own Treasure Bodies.
The Great Natural Order's Color Spirit was not an innate Fortune, but an acquired one.
Acquired Fortunes emphasized growth.
But how easy was it to achieve growth in one's Fortune?
Take the Great Natural Order's Color Spirit: every nine layers was a hurdle, every eighteen layers was a hurdle, the eighty-first layer was a chasm, the one hundred and eightieth layer was another chasm. The further one went, the more difficult it became.
For an ordinary person to obtain a Color Spirit Fortune was already not easy.
To break through the chasm of the eighty-first layer was difficult beyond measure.
And those who broke through the one hundred and eightieth layer were even rarer.
Some said the growth of a Color Spirit Fortune was a hundred times more difficult than cultivating to become an immortal.
And indeed, that was the truth.
Especially in the Modern Era, as long as one wasn't foolish, stupid, or greedy, and diligently cultivated, one could eventually attain the Dao and become an immortal.
But the Great Natural Order's Color Spirit was different. This thing wasn't something you could break through just by working hard. It required comprehension, required opportunity, and required insight into the Great Natural Order. Only by gaining deeper insight into the Great Natural Order could one's own Color Spirit Fortune gradually grow.