flstandardbreds Chapter 138 The Tragic Li Jianyuan, the Number One Prodigy of the Great Yu Dynasty
Chapter 138 The Tragic Li Jianyuan, the Number One Prodigy of the Great Yu Dynasty
"It's just a box of old tea leaves, Father. Why are you making such a fuss?"
Seeing the Prince Rui's excited expression, Li Jianyuan couldn't help but purse his lips.
"Scrap tea leaves?"
Li Long frowned, glared at him, and said in a deep voice, "Do you know that compared to this, 'Jade Bee Tea' is not even worthy of carrying its shoes!"
"How can this be?"
Li Jianyuan looked surprised and doubtful, saying, "Jade Bee Tea is a top-grade spiritual tea, specially supplied to the royal family, and rarely seen in the world. How could it be inferior to..."
Before he could finish speaking, Prince Rui interrupted him coldly.
"Hmph, a first-grade spiritual tea?"
"This 'Purple Jade' is the legendary ninth-grade jade!"
The whole place was dead silent.
Li Jianyuan swallowed hard, his face paling with shock, and exclaimed, "Nine...Nine-grade spiritual tea?!"
His lips trembled, as if he had been greatly shocked, and he was completely dumbfounded.
Compared to the ninth-grade spiritual tea, his proud first-grade spiritual tea is not even worthy of carrying his shoes.
Even Li Nanzhi, who knew part of Li Wudao's strength, was startled at this moment. Her heart pounded and her face turned red.
"Father... is this box of tea that my cousin gave me really Grade Nine Spirit Tea?"
Her emotions were churning, her eyes filled with surprise and curiosity, and her palms were sweating with nervousness.
Li Jianyuan snapped out of his daze, then realized what was happening and quickly said:
"Father, take another look. You must be mistaken. That country bumpkin is a complete good-for-nothing. How could he possibly give away a ninth-grade spiritual tea?"
He would never believe that Li Wudao, a member of a collateral branch of the royal family and a once worthless piece of trash, could have any great future.
Prince Rui stared intently at the purple bamboo leaves in the jade box, and declared firmly, "I cannot be mistaken!"
As he spoke, a look of reminiscence crossed his face, and he said softly, "More than ten years ago, when I was out on a training expedition, I was fortunate enough to witness a grand auction held by the Imperial Treasure Pavilion, which included this Grade Nine Spirit Tea..."
"I still remember the aroma and appearance of this tea very clearly; it is exactly the same as the box of tea in my hand."
Listen.
Li Nanzhi nodded thoughtfully. "So, my cousin wasn't lying to us. Wait a minute..."
Suddenly, her beautiful eyes flashed, as if she remembered something, and she exclaimed, "My cousin once said that this box of tea could buy the entire Prince's mansion. Could it be true?"
"it is true."
Prince Rui sighed softly, his expression complex, and said, "Ninth-grade spiritual tea is priceless and rarely seen in the mortal world. Back then, it easily fetched a sky-high price of four thousand low-grade spirit stones for just one tael of tea at auction..."
"One tael...four thousand spirit stones?!"
Li Nanzhi's mouth gaped slightly as she couldn't help but gasp, exclaiming in shock, "This box of tea my cousin gave me weighs at least two jin! Isn't that worth 80,000 low-grade spirit stones?!"
If converted into gold, it would be worth at least eight million taels!
To put this into perspective, they could easily buy two Prince Rui's mansions!
Upon hearing this, Li Jianyuan froze completely, as if he were made of clay.
His eyes were now devoid of any light. He staggered backward, muttering to himself, "It's not real... this isn't real..."
Such wealth could only be achieved by the four great families in the vast imperial city.
But the guy he always looked down on just casually gave away such a valuable item?
With such a stark contrast, how could he not feel distressed and frantic?
"Wait a minute, if that's the case, then the mouthful of tea I spat out earlier was a waste of over a thousand taels of gold!"
Li Jianyuan muttered to himself, his face turning pale, unable to accept such a blow.
"What?! You unfilial son! You're utterly wasting such a precious talent!"
Beside him, Prince Rui's face turned ashen with rage, and he raised his hand to slap him across the face.
"........."
Li Jianyuan knelt on the ground, covering his swollen cheek, on the verge of tears, and said, "I didn't know it was Grade Nine Spirit Tea..."
Seeing his aggrieved expression, Prince Rui was angry at his lack of assertiveness and said:
"You dare talk back? Go back to your room. You're not allowed to eat tonight. Reflect on your mistakes!"
As soon as he finished speaking, Li Jianyuan trembled, scrambled away, and ran out in a sorry state.
No one paid any attention to his departure, and their expressions remained unchanged.
“How could Wudao give such an expensive gift? No, I have to return it to him.”
Amidst shock and relief, the princess felt mostly worried and anxious.
Immediately, he stepped forward to snatch the tea leaves back from Prince Rui's hands.
"Madam, what are you doing...?"
Li Long was startled, his expression changed instantly, and he looked at her as if she were a wolf, "That kid has already given away the tea leaves, so why would he take them back?"
What a joke! This is a rare ninth-grade spiritual tea, not even the emperors of the great dynasties are qualified to taste it. Why would he give it up so easily?
"When you were shouting for Wudao's life and driving him out of the palace, you didn't act like this. Now you're coveting Wudao's things. Don't you find that ridiculous?"
Wang Wan raised her eyebrows, her words dripping with sarcasm and veiled irony, leaving no room for mercy.
"I........"
Li Long's face turned bright red, and he was speechless for a moment.
Putting aside the facts, what he did was indeed dishonorable and inconsistent with his status as a prince.
"What has my cousin gone through all these years? The change is too drastic, unbelievable..."
Li Nanzhi couldn't help but gasp in astonishment.
Despite being the same age, the other person not only far surpassed her in ability, but also possessed financial resources that were daunting.
For a moment, she felt a deep sense of frustration.
"Zhizhi, do you know where Li Wudao got this box of tea?"
Li Long held the tea leaves tightly to his chest while curiously inquiring about their contents.
"I don't know. I only met my cousin Wudao today, and we haven't even exchanged more than a few words yet."
Li Nanzhi shook her head, pouted slightly, and glared at him reproachfully, "It's all Dad's fault, otherwise my cousin wouldn't have left!"
"I'm only thinking about the safety of the Prince's mansion..."
Prince Rui was about to argue, but when he saw his daughter's increasingly cold expression, he immediately changed his mind and promised:
"Fine, it's all my fault. As compensation, I will find a way to resolve Li Jing's matter."
Upon hearing this, Li Nanzhi snorted lightly, "That's more like it."
Prince Rui's lips curled into a bitter smile, then, as if remembering something, he said with a slightly serious expression:
"Zhizhi, tell me more about your experience at the restaurant today, everything about Li Wudao, don't miss a single detail..."
Although Li Nanzhi found it strange, she still honestly explained it again.
"Zhizhi, you're saying that Li Wudao, all by himself, killed four True Yuan Realm experts with his bare hands in the blink of an eye, and one of them was even in the late stage?!"
After repeatedly confirming, Li Long's usually stern face began to show signs of unease.
In particular, when he heard about Li Wudao's feats of 'catching a knife with bare hands' and 'severing black iron with his fingers', he stood there dumbfounded.
When he first received the news, he naturally assumed that the latter had only killed an ordinary servant of the Marquis of Zhennan's mansion, but he never expected it to be such a master.
Such formidable strength is extremely rare, even among the younger generation in the imperial city.
Is this still the same honest, ordinary boy I remember?
Just as he was processing these emotions, Li Nanzhi dropped another bombshell.
"What?! Li Wudao has reached the Martial Grandmaster realm?! This...!"
Prince Rui was breathing rapidly, his face filled with shock, and he seemed quite incredulous.
After a long while, he finally recovered and couldn't help but sigh:
"Such a young martial arts master, truly remarkable!"
"Looking at the entire Great Yu Dynasty, over the past few hundred years, perhaps only the one from the Shen family could surpass him in talent."
If Li Jianyuan hadn't left, upon hearing these words, he would have been so frightened that his legs would have gone weak, and he would have been thankful that he hadn't fought with Li Wudao.
Otherwise, with his mere Blood Removal Realm cultivation, wouldn't he have been beaten to pieces, scattered here and there?
That one from the Shen family...
Li Nanzhi was slightly taken aback, then her eyes lit up, and she said:
"Father, are you talking about that prodigy known as the number one genius of the Great Yu Dynasty, the one with both thunder and fire spiritual bodies?"
Prince Rui smiled and nodded.
"What does that prodigy from the Shen family look like? I still haven't seen him."
Li Nanzhi couldn't help but ask curiously.
"I have only met him twice so far."
Li Long gently shook his head, then his eyes revealed a deep sense of amazement, and he said:
"It must be said that the genius of the Shen family truly deserves the title. In the Great Yu Dynasty, no, even in the vast Yongning Prefecture, he would be considered a prodigy!"
Looking at her father's highly praising expression, Li Nanzhi couldn't help but question, "That genius from the Shen family doesn't seem to be much older than me, does he really think he's that strong?"
"Absolutely true!"
Li Long nodded solemnly, then, as if remembering something, said awkwardly:
"To my shame, three years ago I had a sparring match with him at the Shen family home, but I never expected that I would lose so badly in just ten moves."
"At that time, the genius of the Shen family was even a small realm lower than my father."
“Three years ago, that prodigy was already so powerful. With his talent and the training he received from the sect, he is probably not far from becoming a Martial King now.”
After saying that, he suddenly recalled Li Wudao's arrogant words before leaving, and his brows furrowed.
The latter was equally impressive, but compared to the genius of the Shen family, he was somewhat lacking.
If Li Wudao is only at this level, he is clearly not enough to contend with the Marquis of Zhennan, let alone the eldest prince, who has many experts under his command.
"Do you have something else to rely on, or are you just arrogant and overconfident?"
Looking at the Grade Nine Spirit Tea before him, Prince Rui felt that he could no longer see through Li Wudao.