The woman picked the steaming jade cup, cupping the warm base with one hand and Find your next favorite novel on NovelHub today! Was this even tea?
If not for the process she had witnessed and the savorous blend swirling into her nostrils, she’d have disqualified Adam. Instead, the cup trembled on its way to her lips, her fingers tightening as curiosity clawed at her. She had to taste this brew and shed light on this curious tea.
With a slow seep, the hot liquid moistened her lips and entered her mouth before she covered it, her eyes wide.
The guardian moved with her muffled scream, yet she raised her palm and waved it urgently to stop it.
Then, she closed her eyes, the tint of sourness, the bitterness, and the comforting sweetness dancing in harmony on her taste buds. She’d give a ten out of ten every day for the taste. But the test was about the tea’s effects on a cultivator.
She swallowed, focusing on her dan tian before she felt something somewhere else. What was this? Her attention shifted to her widening meridians before her fingers tightened around her mouth to muffle a moan. Yet, she failed when they drew the surrounding Qi like a hungry whale and made it rush to her dan tian.
"Ahhhh..." Her hand moved from her blossoming smile to her cheek as she tilted her head in delight.
Meanwhile, Adam raised his palm, his lips twisted in disgust.
’What’s wrong with her? It’s just tea!’
He clicked his tongue and tapped on the table impatiently. "Can you tell me if I passed or not, miss?" He pointed at the guardian’s six blades drawn in his direction. "It’s not that I’m in a hurry, but this guy’s glare is perturbing."
The woman recovered upon hearing his words. She coughed, a bright blush burning her cheeks. "I’m ashamed to admit your tea is the best this palace ever saw. You pass with flying colors!"
The projections erupted into thunderous applauses behind her as she produced a parchment. "This is the first clue. Gather four more to find the emperor’s resting place." She smiled softly, retrieved a dozen stalks of dried herbs from her sleeve, and handed them to him. "This is my personal collection. I’m glad I could give it to such an excellent tea expert."
He nodded, took the items, and waved goodbye as he walked to the door.
However, the woman’s voice echoed. "Please, could you tell me what the strange technique you use is?"
Adam smirked. "Magic and transmutation. I also used Qi to infuse it."
She watched him leave the room with a soft smile that reached her eyes. "As the palace’s sixty-ninth princess, I hope you inherit my father’s blessed land." She took another sip and clutched her chest. "I can feel your honesty and good heart, but also all the sufferings you endured."
Her red robes flapped, her figure and all the projections fading like mirages as her last words echoed. "Thank you for granting my last wish with this magnificent cup of tea."
Meanwhile, Adam scratched his head as his steps echoed on the wooden floor. This woman, he could swear he had felt a flicker of life from her at the end.
’What’s happening? The others are probably mere projections, but she was... an aggregation of thoughts? A lingering desire?’ A deep furrow creased his brows. Something wrong was going on, and he hoped he’d learn more during the second test.
However, a sudden wail cut through his thoughts like a blazing blade. He raised his fist, his narrowing eyes glowing with Qi and mana.
"Help me, senior!" "ARGH!" "No! Sister!"
A disciple wearing the Dark Warrior Gate sect’s robes bolted through a door in front of him, his lacerated back permeating the air with the stench of blood.
Then, the young man saw and dashed at him, tears trailing down his cheeks. "For the sake of our sect leaders’ friendship, please, help me little brother."
Adam clicked his tongue. "No matter what’s after you, don’t draw it to me if we’re really close, you bastard."
With a thunderous slap, he hurled the disciple back inside the room and watched the guardian’s six blades diss him into minced meat.
A voice echoed from the room next, amused yet cold. "You would have shared his fate had you interfered, but he seemed to know you. Don’t you feel ashamed of your betrayal?"
A young man draped in silky azure robes observed him from the doorway, his eyes narrowed and his ruby crown glinting over a sword tattoo.
Adam shrugged. "I don’t know him at all. And you said it yourself: I would have shared his fate. So, wasn’t he trying to use me as a distraction to escape? Just look how old I look."
The man’s tight knuckles loosened slightly, and a pensive frown creased his brows. "That makes sense." He turned to the dead disciples and spat. "What a bastard."
Then, he gazed at Adam and smirked. "Want to take my test? I have a high esteem of you already. You might pass it."
"What is it about? I just brewed tea in the previous room." Adam approached the door but didn’t enter without getting information.
"And you passed it?" The man’s eyes widened before he coughed to hide his shock. "My test is easier: kill three void refinement beasts alone."
Adam rolled his eyes. Since when was killing beasts easier than making tea? Was this dude’s mind alright? Well, at least it’ll take him less time.
Shrugging, he walked inside the room, the wood fading into sturdy slabs. In the center, three wild felines devoured the corpses, blood smearing their stripped hides. The guardian stood by the side, a silent observer ready to kill him if he dared to flee.
"What do you think? I raised them ages ago with all the love and care possible. They’re like family and would never betray me." The man clapped his hands, a bright smile curving his lips.
"They’re nice beasts. I’ll try to kill them without suffering since you like them that much." He summoned his Macuahuitl, the triangular edges glinting with solar and lunar glows.
"Mhh. I’ll appreciate it if you really defeat them. You see, these poor children longed for a last glorious battle." He turned to the felines and whistled. "Let the battle start..." His voice lowered into a sad murmur. "Hopefully, the last."