CHAPTER 59: CHAPTER 58 PUPPET ROYAL FAMILY

Seeing Yun Sheng bid farewell to Donghuang Lingling and the others as they left, Yun Canghai’s gaze became slightly heavy.

"Sheng’er, you are also six years old now, and in another two years, you should enroll in the Magic Academy," the words of Donghuang Lingling served as a reminder to Yun Canghai. Yun Sheng cannot always stay by his side; she must systematically learn magic.

When Yun Canghai first planned to take Yun Sheng away from Banana Leaf Village, his only intention was to send her back to the Yun Family to learn Medical Skill.

But now that Yun Sheng has acquired the rare Five-colored Magic Soul and has also obtained her first type of mutated Fire Magic, it would be too much of a waste to have such talent only learn medicine.

"Father, what is a Magic Academy? If I must enter a Magic Academy, why not go to the one in the Eastern Capital that Lingling mentioned?" Through Donghuang Lingling, Yun Sheng opened up a new world, a world that she had never come in contact with while in Banana Leaf Village.

It was through Yun Canghai’s explanations that Yun Sheng came to understand what a Magic Academy was.

On the Wuji Continent, children who could sense Magic Elements could choose to enter a domestic Beginner Magic Academy at the age of six, after completing their Magic Enlightenment at the Magic Temple.

Of course, the children also have the option to join the local Magic Temple and enter its direct magic training system.

At the Magic Academy, Magic Apprentices are systematically taught various magic knowledge, and depending on the level, the continent’s Magic Academies are divided into Beginner, Intermediate, and High-level Magic Academies.

Beginner Magic Academies recruit Magic Apprentices, Intermediate Magic Academies only admit students at the Magician level or above, and as for High-level Magic Academies, also known as the Mainland Magic Elite Camp, only Magicians recommended by various Magic Academies and local Magic Temples are eligible to enroll.

"There is a specialized Magic Academy in Yujing, as for the Magic Academy in the Eastern Capital... Sheng’er, you are very sensible. There are some things that father thinks it would be better to tell you earlier. Donghuang Lingling’s identity is not simple. You can be friends now, but if you join the Magic Academy in the future and become a member of the Great Zhou Mage army, your relationship with her might very well become antagonistic," said Yun Canghai, who had some inkling of Donghuang Lingling’s background.

The people coming from the Eastern Capital had several experts as protection, and despite Donghuang’er being young, she exuded an aura of nobility, which meant she must be someone from the palace.

"I already know that, Lingling told me her elder brother is the Emperor of the Eastern Capital," Yun Sheng was not surprised, as she came from the modern era; in her view, status and identity are not important.

What matters is that she and Donghuang Lingling are each other’s first friends.

"Indeed, she is from the Donghuang Royal Family. Sheng’er, do you still remember, the talks we had about the major powers on the Wuji Continent?" Yun Canghai lifted his daughter onto his lap, speaking like a true loving father, and began to recount the historic episodes of the Wuji Continent.

"The Five Great Powers are Hou Qin, Penglai, Xianju, Great Zhou, and Tang Yuan," Yun Sheng had a photographic memory, and while she didn’t have much exposure to the history of the continent in Banana Leaf Village, she still learned some of it from her talks with Yun Canghai along the way.

It was from Yun Canghai’s stories that Yun Sheng learned that a thousand years ago, the Five Great Powers were once united.

They were all part of the Donghuang Dynasty. At that time, the Donghuang Dynasty was so powerful that it had no equal on the Wuji Continent.

However, since the passing of Donghuang Lieming, the greatest Emperor in the history of the continent a thousand years ago, the Donghuang Dynasty began to decline gradually. Eventually, over nine hundred years ago, it splintered with the Five Great Powers leading the division.

Within the Donghuang Dynasty, the most powerful forces are Mages, Martial Artists, and a Summoner, who divided and carved out territories for themselves, forming the new structure of the continent today.

"Since the strength of the Five Great Countries is similar, they secretly agreed to preserve the existence of the Donghuang Dynasty, making them puppets confined to the Eastern Capital. What’s more, for hundreds of years, the direct bloodline of the Royal Family has been subject to assassinations and poisonings. The previous Emperor of the Donghuang Dynasty only lived to be thirty-five and passed away prematurely. Even worse, the rulers of various countries also restricted the direct descendants of the Donghuang Royal Family from learning Magic and Combat Skills. This is also the reason why Huang Lingling, despite being a distinguished Princess, only dares to bring a few average-strength guards and maidservants secretly to the inconspicuous Yuewu Mountain Range in search of a Demon Beast Soul Stone," Yun Canghai did not want to restrict Yun Sheng’s circle of friends.

Donghuang Lingling is still young, and she retains the pride of the Royal Family, but she does not know that imperial power will become the heaviest shackle upon her in the future.

She doesn’t even know that it is impossible to learn truly powerful Magic at the Magic Academy in the Eastern Capital.

Yun Canghai also knew that as a subject of Great Zhou, if Yun Sheng were to return to the Yun Family, there might come a day when she would stand on the opposite side of Donghuang Lingling.

Yun Sheng lowered her head, thinking seriously: "Father, even so, she is still my friend. I will never stand against my friends!"

Yun Canghai looked at his daughter’s determined eyes, as if he saw his wife in her.

"Silly child, you’ll understand when you grow up a bit more. You’re tired these days. We are a bit more comfortable now, so I will go to the city to rent a carriage and head to Yujing City," Yun Canghai rented a carriage in the city, and instead of hiring a coachman, he decided to drive himself.

The carriage ride was much more comfortable than riding a horse. Yun Sheng took out the Moon Crow Fruit and Dead Butterfly Vine she had collected from the Yuewu Mountain, and began to concoct Meditation Water.

Before Yun Sheng learned to use Magic, she did not know the importance of Meditation Water, but now that she had learned the Fire Flame Strike, she realized that her Magic Power was not sufficient.

"With my current physical strength, using a Fire Flame Strike once almost completely depletes my Magic Power. Recovering in a state of natural meditation is too slow, no wonder Meditation Water is needed," Yun Sheng started to refine the Meditation Water.

The concoction of Meditation Water relies on the refining of Magic Flame.

Yun Sheng took out a Moon Crow Fruit and squeezed it in her hand.

The shell of the Moon Crow Fruit is hard, much like a pinecone, and can only be melted by flame.

The juice encased in the hard shell can be used to concoct Meditation Water. Yun Sheng mobilized her Fire Element Magic Power.

After fusing a soul stone, her Magic Manipulation Ability became even sharper, as the searing Fire Element enveloped the fruit.

After the hard shell melted, it revealed a clump of white pulp inside. Yun Sheng also processed the Dead Butterfly Vine by the book.

Yun Sheng found that using Fire Element to process herbs preserved the medicinal properties better, and a bottle of Meditation Water was successfully concocted.

The father and daughter traveled together, getting closer and closer to Yujing, yet the unknown road ahead concealed a looming crisis waiting for them. Little did they know the transformation this crisis would bring about for Yun Sheng.