Starting My Cultivation With Time Management

As the diplomatic envoy delved deeper into Central State, the surrounding terrain and environment began to change gradually.

Firstly, the Eastern State was crisscrossed with rivers and dotted with wetlands and marshes; in contrast, Central State was mostly plains, with a river density that was exceptionally suitable for cultivation.

Nearing the imperial capital, golden wheat fields stretched across the plains on both sides.

The lowly Horned Clan demons, as they reaped the harvest, casually stuffed grains into their mouths, chewing with a smack, savoring the taste.

Long Long gazed out the window, feeling that these demons and humans seemed to have no difference—without cultivation level, one could not stand out; failing to stand out meant a lack of resources, and without resources, one wouldn’t have cultivation level, forming a vicious cycle.

Only cultivators with great wisdom, great perseverance, and great determination, like himself, could overcome such difficulties and break free from this vicious circle.

"Long Long, look at me~" The fox by his side let out a disgruntled and neglected whine, God knows why she could be so clingy.

You’re a canine! Not a succubus!

Long Long had no choice but to turn around and hold Long Hu in his arms; the little fox buried her head in his chest, rubbed comfortably, and began to nap contentedly.

"Young Master," Shi Yan knocked on the window from outside, "We’re still over twenty li from Myriad Demons City."

Long Long immediately understood and hurriedly patted Long Hu in his arms, reminding her:

"Fox, we’re about to reach the imperial capital, wake up..."

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Long Hu was still groggy, frolicking with him for a while, when suddenly, a clamor came from outside.

Soon after, a voice shouted:

"His Highness Qi Qiao’an, the Crown Prince and Young Leader of the Qilin Clan, has arrived to meet Long Long and Long Hu of the Azure Dragon Clan!"

Long Hu showed an "it’s so troublesome" expression, while Long Long slightly frowned and grabbed Long Hu’s arm.

Not much later, that person outside shouted again: @@novelbin@@

"His Highness Qi Qiao’an, the Crown Prince and Young Leader of the Qilin Clan, has arrived to meet Long Long and Long Hu of the Azure Dragon Clan! Come forth promptly to pay your respects!"

Long Long still refused to go out until Shi Yan came back to the carriage, tapping on the window and saying:

"Young Master, the clan leader has spoken… There’s no helping it, you must meet him."

Long Long was speechless, thinking that he had assumed the clan could shield them from this! In the end, it was still up to them to deal with the situation...

He could only take Long Hu by the hand, lift the door curtain, and step out, bowing as he said:

"Long Long pays his respects to Your Highness."

"Long Hu pays her respects to Your Highness," Long Hu followed.

Then, she frowned unhappily.

Because the burning gaze of the young man in the distance was firmly fixed on her.

——————

As soon as the Dragon Clan’s diplomatic envoy entered Central State, the news had already reached Myriad Demons City.

Upon receiving the message, Qi Weihuan decreed that his eldest son, Qi Qiao’an, go to receive them.

Since the clan leader was heading the Dragon Clan’s delegation, according to protocol, the leader of the Qilin Clan should also come forward to greet them, but Qi Weihuan, as the emperor of the Demon Race, was unwilling to condescend to do so, thus sending the Crown Prince instead.

In terms of etiquette, it was rather slapdash but passable. Although the Dragon Clan was annoyed, they wouldn’t create a fuss over this.

However, Qi Qiao’an clearly misunderstood his father’s intentions... He had long heard of Long Hu’s reputation, after all, she was a scion of the former emperor, and if he could marry her, wouldn’t he naturally possess the legitimacy to the throne?

So when Qi Weihuan asked him to receive the delegation, Qi Qiao’an naturally thought it meant "to get an early look at his future bride."

Now, seeing Long Hu’s voluptuous figure, soft fur, and enchanting, beautiful features, Qi Weihuan’s heart softened—aesthetically speaking, from the Mao Clan’s perspective, Long Hu’s appearance was more fox than dragon, regarded as a very pretty beauty indeed.

However, when his gaze fell upon the hands they were holding, his expression immediately turned to annoyance again.

"Who is this guy? Holding the hand of my fiancée, what is he doing?"

Seeing that his emotions were off, Qin Beiwang quickly changed the subject, saying:

"Your Highness, may I ask what matter has summoned Long Long and his party here? If it’s not urgent, let me first settle the people in the city. After all, they are weary from the journey and need rest..."

Qi Qiao’an responded absentmindedly, only to notice Long Hu catching his gaze. She slightly furrowed her delicate brows and quietly hid behind Long Long.

This made the prince even more resentful. Although he wanted to lash out on the spot, seeing that the Dragon Clan members opposite him were numerous and powerful, he had to forcefully suppress his anger and responded perfunctorily to Qin Beiwang:

"I’m not sure what Father Emperor’s intentions are. Since you wish to enter the city and get settled, then come with me."

Qin Beiwang observed his unhappy expression, which left little room for doubt about what had happened—other than coveting Long Hu for her beauty and seeing Long Long as a rival in love, what else could it be?

What’s worse, this great prince was the kind that wasn’t very intelligent, well-known throughout the imperial capital for his recklessness and infamous for treating the lives of demonic beasts with disdain.

If he really acted rashly and worsened the strife between the Qilin and Azure Dragon Clans to an extreme, then the aftermath would not be easy to deal with!

Seeing that Qi Qiao’an was already leading the way with a gloomy face, Qin Beiwang quickly summoned a guard and whispered a few instructions. The guard immediately carried out the order and left.

Before long, Long Long and Long Hu, back in their carriage, suddenly heard someone say:

"Long Long, Long Hu? Are you available right now? May this old man come in?"

It was the voice of the Great Elder, Qin Chaocang... Long Long immediately reacted, hastily signaling Long Hu to sit properly beside him while saying aloud:

"Of course, Great Elder, please come in."

"Good," Qin Chaocang said and then lifted the carriage curtain to enter.

Qin Chaocang, the Great Elder of the Azure Dragon Clan, was also of the Immortal Realm, though of a rank slightly below the Ancestral Azure Dragon.

The advancement in the ranks of the Demon Clan was different from that of the Human Clan, relying too heavily on the potential of their bloodline rank. The Great Elder became the second most powerful in the clan because his bloodline rank was high; his power was less than that of the Ancestral Azure Dragon because the rank of his bloodline wasn’t high enough...

Of course, even so, within the whole Eastern Emperor Realm, there were, at most, only a handful of adversaries who could challenge the Great Elder.

Therefore, as Qin Chaocang entered the carriage, Long Long also secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

Although Long Hu seemed not to have thought much of it, Long Long, having noticed Qi Qiao’an’s enraged gaze like that of a bull, immediately prepared for battle upon returning to the carriage. He instructed the Kunlun Mirror to scan at least twelve times per second, so as to prevent someone from suddenly breaking into the carriage and snatching away my fox with lightning speed.

Luckily, the clan leader over there had also been alert, noticing that something was off with Qi Qiao’an’s emotions and had immediately sent the Great Elder to guard them... Well done, Qin Beiwang!

The envoy procession slowly stretched out on the road, heading toward the Eastern Emperor Realm’s political center, the imperial city with the highest population.

The imperial city has many names, with the most common unofficial ones naturally being "imperial city" and "Myriad Demons City." As it is situated on an island sandwiched between two major rivers at the center of a lake, it is also known as Lake-Center City.

In the city’s center stands a tall tower, reaching up to thirteen hundred zhang, known as "Divine Dragon Tower." It is said that in the old days, Ying Long His Majesty liked to reveal his true body, coiling atop the Divine Dragon Tower, surveying the kingdom he ruled, hence the city was also known as "Tower City," "Divine Dragon City"... Of course, the latter name had already been abandoned.

As the central tower stands thirteen hundred zhang tall, the surrounding city walls are also two hundred zhang high, with Sky-Banishing Formations drawn on them. No cultivator can fly near the city walls or within the city; they can only pass through the city gates.

The Feathered Clan of South State detests the massive walls of the imperial city since flight is an essential part of their safety.

Therefore, South State and Central State have never been on good terms from generation to generation, same under Jiaolong’s rule as under Qilin’s succession.

Long Long lifted half of the carriage curtain and, together with Long Hu, looked toward the great wall.

As the caravan drew closer to the imperial city, the walls grew even more imposing, eventually towering up like mountains, rigid and stern, startling the little fox so much that she whispered to Long Long:

"Long Long, this city looks like a prison... I don’t want to live in a place like this."

With just a single sentence, Long Long cut off Long Hu’s complaints:

"Hu, this city... was built by your father!"