Heavenly Dao Engine
Chapter 953 - 953 0572 Schemes and Calculations_2

Chapter 953: Chapter 0572: Schemes and Calculations_2 Chapter 953: Chapter 0572: Schemes and Calculations_2 Just as Zhao Ninglu was astonished beyond measure, all the petals on the third layer lit up. Following that, the first petal on the fourth layer began to glow, then the second, the third, the fourth petal—each one lighting up after the other without pause or cessation.

Soon enough, all nine petals on the fourth layer had lit up, and then, the petals on the fifth layer also began to glow.

Zhao Ninglu covered her mouth, disbelievingly watching everything unfold. If someone managed to light up the petals of the fifth layer on the Lotus Platform, they were essentially one in ten thousand within the Imperial Family Secret Territory, extremely rare. Zhao Ninglu’s eyes sparkled as she gazed at Xiang Bo. With the fifth layer’s petals lit up, Xiang Bo now possessed the qualifications to be cultivated attentively by the royal family—a truly remarkable achievement. Suddenly, Zhao Ninglu felt a surge of anticipation; she didn’t know if Xiang Bo had the ability to light up the petals of the sixth layer. If he did, then the Prince would definitely take an interest in him, surely summoning Xiang Bo personally. If that were to happen, as the person who had discovered and recommended Xiang Bo, she would undoubtedly receive praise from the Prince himself. Perhaps the Prince might even impart to her a few secret techniques, bestow upon her several powerful magical instruments, or even advise her on how to advance to the Gold Core Realm, enabling her to become a true Gold Core Realm expert in a short period of time.

The mere thought of such possibilities sent shivers down Zhao Ninglu’s spine, feeling like she was ascending to the zenith of blissful life.

Xiang Bo’s luck was indeed fortuitous. Having taken the Natural Endowments Reversing Pill, its effects were fully showcased. After the ninth petal on the fifth layer of the Lotus Platform lit up, the platform did not cease its display, and to everyone’s astonishment, the petals on the sixth layer also began to emanate light. However, by this time, it seemed to have reached its limit. After the first petal lit up, the second one appeared weak and flickering, finally lighting up only halfway before it stopped. Even so, this outcome shocked everyone present.

Everyone watched in disbelief. He Yingying was particularly dumbfounded, finding it inconceivable. She remembered very clearly what Zhao Ninglu had just mentioned: lighting up the petals on the sixth layer would alert the Prince, leading to a personal summons—a tremendous honor that even she had not had the chance to experience. She could never have imagined such an outcome, remembering how just days ago Xiang Bo had been so clumsy and inadequate in front of her. Back then, in her eyes, Xiang Bo was nothing more than a jester, someone to entertain her. And now, how had he suddenly become the center of everyone’s attention? Was this a joke played by the heavens, or had Xiang Bo been concealing his true capabilities from her? Either way, it wasn’t something she could accept; she felt played, deceived, and quite unhappy.

However, He Yingying quickly realized this was an opportunity. She and Xiang Bo had not had a falling out; he still harbored affection for her. And if she wished, she could still pick up the threads of their relationship, making Xiang Bo into an important ally for the He family—perhaps even incorporating him into their family. Nonetheless, deep down, He Yingying looked down upon Xiang Bo; his background, stature, and appearance all fell short of her expectations.

Future matters could wait, but the present opportunity must be seized.

He Yingying forcefully suppressed the slight displeasure in her heart and walked towards the Lotus Platform with a smile. But before He Yingying could reach it, Zhao Ninglu had already stepped ahead of her, reaching the Lotus Platform first. Without waiting for Xiang Bo to descend, Zhao Ninglu extended her hand, offering him help with a smile, “Give me your hand, and I’ll help you down.”

Xiang Bo didn’t think too much of it but was nonetheless flattered. He did not dare refuse Zhao Ninglu’s overture and quickly took her hand. With Zhao Ninglu’s assistance, he descended from the Lotus Platform, then hastily withdrew his hand and bowed deeply to Zhao Ninglu, saying, “Thank you, Princess.”

Zhao Ninglu said, “You did well, very well, exceedingly excellent, far beyond my expectations. Come, let us go over there and have a chat. I have some things to say to you and some matters to explain.”

Xiang Bo promptly nodded and followed Zhao Ninglu to a private room in the corner of the courtyard. Then, under the envious gaze of all those present, they entered the room, with Zhao Ninglu closing the door behind them, cutting off everyone’s view.

He Yingying, dazed, watched as it all happened, unsure of what she could do at this point. Perhaps all she could do was wait.

Zhao Ninglu just took Xiang Bo away for a heart-to-heart, leaving everyone else aside, their minds a complex mix of envy, jealousy, and resentment, filled with various emotions.

At this moment, a follower brought by Zhao Ninglu stepped forward and announced, “I will oversee the next test. Please line up and proceed with the test in an orderly manner.”

With the instructions from the follower, the testing began in an orderly fashion. The few who had received prior notice from He Yingying, who were originally planning to astound Zhao Ninglu with their capabilities, found themselves at a loss now that Zhao Ninglu was absent; whom could their talents impress now? Nonetheless, they were still hopeful. If even Xiang Bo, who had an extremely low profile at the Imperial College, could light up the sixth layer of the Lotus Platform and earn an audience with the Prince, then so could they. They too could light up the sixth layer, perhaps even the seventh layer. They believed that if they could achieve that, Zhao Ninglu’s followers would definitely report back, and then Zhao Ninglu would surely discard Xiang Bo like a worn-out shoe and favor them instead.

With this thought, these few individuals confidently made their way to the front of the line, ready to be the first to undertake the test. The Lotus Platform was soon prepared, and one of them stepped onto it. As the petals of the Lotus Platform lit up, layer by layer, everyone beneath it shouted loudly, “The first layer has lit up, now the second, look, the third layer is lighting up too.”

The person standing on the Lotus Platform, waving excitedly at the crowd, reveled in their cheers. He was convinced that he could surpass Xiang Bo.

But, while dreams are full, reality is often harsh; as the petals of the fourth layer began to light up, their illumination clearly slowed, and after more than half of the fourth layer had lit up, they stopped and no new ones were lit.

The color drained from the face of the man on the platform as he shouted, “This can’t be right, the Spirit Qi in the spirit stones must have been depleted. Hurry, replace them with new ones at once.”

However, the follower overseeing the test remained indifferent and said, “That’s enough, get down from there. Your talent is what it is, no need to make excuses.”

The man attempted to argue, but the overseeing follower scoffed coldly and stated, “You’d better think carefully about the consequences of causing trouble here. Can you handle them?”

The person on the Lotus Platform paled further, not daring to speak another word, he hastily descended and, covering his face with his sleeve, hunched over and squeezed through the crowd, then sprinted towards the gate of the Quadrangle Courtyard and disappeared from sight in the blink of an eye.

The overseeing follower called out, “Next.”

Another stepped onto the Lotus Platform, proclaiming, “I can do this; I’ve tested it at home, and my talent is exceptional. If it weren’t, how could I have reached the sixth layer of the Foundation Establishment Stage?”

Qi Tian watched the farce from the edge of the crowd. He had already used the Heavenly Dao Engine’s Spirit Qi detection function to test the talents of all present. To be honest, not many were impressive, including Zhao Ninglu, who was presently engaged in conversation with Xiang Bo.