"If only the Spirit Tribe were still around," Ye Fei bemoaned.

If the Spirit Tribe did not disappear, their precious knowledge would still be available. Not only would the average cultivation level of Martial Artists increase, but so would their longevity.

The lifespan of Martial Artists was tied closely with their cultivation level. A Martial Student's lifespan was not much different from an ordinary person, averaging at most a hundred years. The key difference was that compared to a normal person, the Martial Student's physical body would be stronger and also more resistant to disease.

Once the Martial Artist reached the Martial Pract.i.tioner level, their lifespan would double to two hundred years, and then at the Martial Teacher level, it would be four hundred years. Each increase in rank would be a one-fold increase in longevity. Once a person became a True G.o.d, they would almost have a lifespan of ten thousand years, essentially becoming an immortal.

"If the Spirit Tribe were still around, I will definitely bring my cultivation level to at least the DemiG.o.d level, even if I have to rely on precious medicines to do so!" Ye Fei thought. Unfortunately, this would only remain an empty dream.

While she was refining her pills, Gu Lingzhi could actually hear every single thing that the rest were saying. Because of her unique position, Gu Lingzhi had been trying to keep a low profile and did not dare investigate much into the Spirit Tribe. It was quite a surprise to hear a comprehensive introduction about the Spirit Tribe all of a sudden.

And as for the pill that could enable one to develop one more Spiritual Root? Well, that could be her excuse when she revealed all five Spiritual Roots in the future. Even if the inheritances of the Spirit Tribe were considered lost, that didn't mean no one would be able to find anything, did it?

This sudden revelation took a load off Gu Lingzhi's mind, and she felt a lot more relaxed while refining her pill. This made her pill refining "performance" become smoother and mesmerizing, entrancing the three guys who stood watching at the entrance. Before Gu Lingzhi knew it, the sky had turned dark.

Aside from Rong Yuan and Yuan Zheng who were still waiting, the other people had left when the sun had set. As she walked out of the pill refining room, Gu Lingzhi saw Rong Yuan sitting in the living room as though it were the most natural thing to do. Seeing this, she decided that she had to pay a visit to the Administration Office and request for a review of teacher privileges. For example, like how male students were prohibited from being in female residences after sunset, male teachers ought to be similarly prohibited.

"You're done?" Rong Yuan asked, propping himself upright. "Let's go then."

The casual way Rong Yuan had said this made Gu Lingzhi suddenly have the impression that that was how a married couple would speak to each other after many years. Shaking that crazy thought out of her mind, she saw Beicheng Haoyue to the door.

By now, Gu Lingzhi was exhausted, and after seeing Beicheng Haoyue off, she did not want to do anything except sit down and relax. Hearing the Third Prince's invitation, she struggled to recall what she had agreed to do. "Where are we going?" she eventually asked.

"Obviously we're going to the Royal Palace," Rong Yuan replied mischievously, reaching to grab her hand. "If you're too tired, I can carry you. It's not good to keep our elders waiting for too long."

Faced with Rong Yuan's shamelessness, Gu Lingzhi could no longer use the excuse that she was tired to escape from the situation. After unsuccessfully trying to pull her hand out of his grasp, she could only accept the situation and helplessly follow him towards the palace.

Fortunately for her, they did not have to walk like this all the way to the palace. Once they reached the entrance of the Royal School, they got into a carriage that had long been waiting for them. Two hours later, they arrived at Consort Rong's palace.

As Rong Yuan introduced her to his mother, Gu Lingzhi observed Concubine Rong in surprise. If not for a few faint lines of wisdom and age beneath her eyes, she could scarcely believe that this woman who looked twenty-something was actually closer to seventy years old.

"Greetings to Consort Rong," Gu Lingzhi curtsied, after being shaken out of her daze by Rong Yuan's casual laughter. She could definitely see why the emperor favoured Consort Rong so much. There were so many women who came and went in the palace, but only a scarce few like Consort Rong could remain in favour for such a long time.

"Don't stand on ceremony. Since you're someone that Rong Yuan likes, I've taken a liking to you too. As long as he loves you, I will treat you as if you were my daughter."

Consort Rong's straightforwardness was fresh to Gu Lingzhi, but she could only sigh secretly. On one hand, this straightforwardness was better than all the scheming that she was used to. However…

"Consort Rong, Your Highness, I think there's been some kind of misunderstanding. A matter as big as the Third Prince's marriage needs to be considered carefully, and I don't think I'm suitable for the Third Prince."

"There's no need to consider, I think you're perfect," Rong Yuan interjected. Nonetheless, Consort Rong had gleaned the meaning from Gu Lingzhi's words and her body language and she could tell that Lingzhi was not too keen on this arrangement. This piqued her interest.

There were not many girls who could reject her son. It seems like the Third Prince's fondness for Gu Lingzhi was not that simple after all.

Seeing the amused look on his mother's face, Rong Yuan rubbed his nose. Coughing lightly, he attempted to divert the topic, "Lingzhi has just spent the whole afternoon refining pills before rus.h.i.+ng over and hasn't had dinner. I'm thinking, why don't we have dinner first?"

Knowing that Rong Yuan and Gu Lingzhi were coming, Consort Rong had prepared some dishes, which she now bade the servants to serve. With a light-hearted expression still on her face, she reached over and pulled Gu Lingzhi along with her to the dinner table.

"I've long since heard Rong Yuan mention you but I've only got the chance to meet you now. You don't have to be so reserved, just treat this place like your home. It's a pity that Rong Yuan's father is in seclusion, otherwise, he'd definitely be here as well."

"Consort Rong, Your Highness, you're too kind," Gu Lingzhi could only stammer, not used to such situations. Secretly, she was thankful that the Emperor was in seclusion, otherwise, she did not know how she might handle herself in front of two of the greatest people in the Xia Kingdom without embarra.s.sing herself or offending them.

In truth, she had already embarra.s.sed herself with her stiff reply earlier. Consort Rong laughed softly, remarking, "Oh, you're a shy one. You'll have to learn from that girl from the Tianfeng family. For someone who is going to be the Third Prince's consort, you mustn't stammer."

Gu Lingzhi froze, hearing Tianfeng Wei being mentioned all of a sudden. Seeing this, Rong Yuan frowned and commented, "Mother! What did you have to bring her up for?"

"Alright, alright, we won't talk about her," Consort Rong teased.

As they bantered, the three of them arrived at the dining table overflowing with delicacies. Consort Rong sat herself down in the main seat, and as Gu Lingzhi was moving to the lower seat, Rong Yuan caught hold of her hand and dragged her to the seat adjacent to Consort Rong's.

"Don't worry, my mother won't eat you. As long as I like you, she'll like you too."

Rong Yuan said this with absolute confidence, and he looked at Consort Rong with much love and grat.i.tude.

Consort Rong had only one son despite many years of being by the Emperor's side. Naturally, she was extremely doting on him. In addition to his stunning talent, this made it such that as long as he wanted it, she could do her best to satisfy him. This was also evident from the previous incident in which he annulled the engagement with Tianfeng Wei.