Chapter 228 - 165: Taking a Concubine for the 9th Time, Jiang Jiang Has a Baby!_1
Time flew by, and in the blink of an eye, three months had passed.
At the top of Chong Xiao Pavilion, Han Li stood tall, overlooking the entire Capital City of the Daqian Empire.
Chong Xiao Pavilion, located in the western part of The Li Manor, was an extremely tall building and the tallest in the Daqian Empire’s Capital City, even slightly higher than the Imperial Palace.
Wherever one was in the Capital City of Daqian, just by looking up, they could see the tower rising into the sky, symbolizing the owner of The Li Manor.
Since his alliance with Chu Zhenxiong over three months ago, the various forces within the Da Qian had stabilized completely. No longer panic-stricken, they believed that two mid-True Martial Realm martial kings were enough to protect the Daqian Empire.
After all, the Daqian Empire only had territories spanning six provinces. Was it worth it to fight desperately against two mid-True Martial Realm kings for the sake of protecting these lands?
The external forces of the Daqian Empire, such as the Yinyang Sect, Kurong Sect, Fengbo Pavilion and Da Jing Dynasty, had all ceased their activities. Even minor border skirmishes came to a halt, as no one wished to provoke the Daqian Empire.
The four major powers were also waiting; they bided their time for the several True Martial Realm warriors who were trapped in the Sacred Dragon Secret Realm to escape before discussing whether to continue targeting the Daqian Empire.
At present, the top combat abilities of the four major powers were relatively depleted. The Da Jing Dynasty, without any significant backing, had only one old ancestor in the True Martial Realm, while the better-connected Yinyang Sect, Kurong Sect, and Fengbo Pavilion fared even worse.
With Divine Yuan Realm Power and two Great Saints behind them, they kept each other in check and followed the rules, not daring to send more powerful fighters to the branches in the Xuan Domain easily.
As a result, Fengbo Pavilion currently had no True Martial Realm forces stationed. The Yinyang Sect and Kurong Sect each had one True Martial Realm martial king left, and Dugu Bing of the Yinyang Sect had suffered heavy injuries not long ago and dropped to the early stages of the True Martial Realm.
In actuality, the four major powers collectively had only three True Martial Realm warriors left – one at mid-stage and two at early-stage – so naturally, they did not dare act rashly and were also worried about the Daqian Empire acting arbitrarily.
Fortunately, the old ancestor of Daqian, Chu Zhenxiong, was close to death and focused on preserving the Da Qian Empire, while the newly arrived Li Feiyu did not concern himself with these matters, taking concubines frequently within the Capital City. It seemed as long as these True Martial Realm warriors did not set foot in the Daqian Empire, Li Feiyu would not intervene.
“Huff~”
Han Li exhaled, licking the corner of his mouth; he had been diligently plowing the fields lately, traveling between two manors every day, engaging in battles with one delicate wife after another.
Han Li couldn’t be bothered with the external forces of the Da Qian; as long as they didn’t bring True Martial Realm forces, that was fine. He adhered to the principle, “Within the Daqian territory, True Martial Realm is prohibited.” Should a True Martial Realm martial artist enter, he would take action.
As for those at the Myriad Phenomena Realm, Hollow Void Stage, and others, Han Li wouldn’t interfere. The Daqian Empire could deal with them on its own; Han Li didn’t have that much spare time.
In the past three months, Han Mansion remained unassuming. Since he last took Fang Yousi and Bi Xinlei, Han Li had temporarily ceased taking in any more concubines.
Part of the reason was that Jiang Baiye was about to give birth. Han Li did not want to take in any concubines at this time and decided to wait until after Jiang Baiye’s child was born.
On the other hand, The Li Manor had seen Han Li take many more concubines, causing tremors of fear throughout the upper and lower ranks of the Da Qian.
Three months earlier, Han Li, under the guise of Li Feiyu, took five concubines in one go, four of whom were princesses. They were all now pregnant, about two to three months along.
Over these three months, Han Li gradually took nine more concubine-taking ceremonies, averaging three per month, with varying numbers each time – starting with one and reaching as high as four at most.
Of these nine concubine-taking ceremonies, two still involved marrying princesses – all daughters of the late Emperor Chu Wuji, the younger ones; the older ones were generally already wedded.
Four of the instances involved taking concubines from various powers within the Capital City, who sought to please the Lord of The Li Manor. Finding they all met his standards, Han Li took them all in.
The remaining three times were from other forces outside the Capital City, with the simple aim of clinging to the coattails of a True Martial Realm powerhouse.
These powers were very considerate, not attempting to deceive the old Han ancestor; the beautiful female cultivators they offered were all of decent quality, mostly with fifth and sixth-grade aptitudes.
Since then, the number of concubines in The Li Manor had grown rapidly, reaching twenty-four, and in terms of quality, they were somewhat superior to those in the Han Mansion, mainly in cultivation and aptitude; in looks and temperament, they were not much different.
The old Han ancestor often marveled that the Capital City of Da Qian was indeed exceptional; it boasted female cultivators of far greater quality than those in Leizhou or Yuanzhou.
Hence, the old Han ancestor silently raised the standards for taking in concubines as Li Feiyu: starting with sixth-grade aptitude, a minimum of eighty-five points in looks, and even then, there were many beautiful female cultivators available.
No wonder they say that a nation’s capital concentrates the essence of the entire country.
Han Li murmured to himself and withdrew his gaze, looking towards The Li Manor. Despite its vastness, it was far from desolate. Numerous maids bustled about, and squads of guards patrolled back and forth, stationed at key locations.
The Li Manor was divided into front, middle, and rear sections. According to Han Li’s planning, the front housed the maids and guards, on each side respectively; the middle was dense with palaces, used mainly for discussions, hosting banquets, etc., and in the future, it would also be where his descendants lived, on both sides of the middle section;
The rear was where Han Li and his delicate wives and beautiful concubines resided, a vast area with good layout and unique scenery, accessible only to the personal maids of his wives and concubines.
During this period, he had acquired two sets of True Martial Realm formations from the hands of the Da Qian Empire, one set at Han Mansion and another at The Li Manor, greatly enhancing the security of both manors.
Powered by Top Quality Spirit Stones as the consumable energy for formations of third grade and above, they could withstand an assault from a True Martial Realm martial king for more than twenty breaths – such a long time was enough for Han Li to rush over and assist.
Although Han Mansion was quietly developing, its foundations had recently exploded exponentially. Most of the treasures obtained from Chu Zhenxiong were left in Han Mansion; only one-fifth of the spirit stones, Spirit Pills, and the like were taken to The Li Manor.