"Su Qing, Su Qing, you can’t be this pathetic."

"It’s just women..."

Su Qing slapped his cheeks. He’d almost lost control last night.

’What if she’s a Demoness?’

So, after some thought, Su Qing decided not to go.

After all, this was a world of Immortal Cultivation.

His Synthesizer could even create divine items.

’It was a little scary.’

Since there was Immortal Cultivation, the Demon Dao surely existed too. Su Qing shuddered just thinking about those soul-stealing, bone-melting Demonesses.

’I should try to stay inside as much as possible.’

’I’ll master the Divine Concealment Technique and Geng Metal Sword first, then we’ll see.’

’The Divine Concealment Technique has to at least reach the second level, Divine Concealment.’

Su Qing was only a few days away from achieving it.

After regaining his focus, Su Qing quietly continued his Cultivation in his room.

He had plenty of time.

Su Qing still scheduled seven hours of practice a day for the two Techniques.

「Two days later.」

Because Su Qing was constantly in Cultivation, he was able to train for almost twenty hours a day.

The rest of the time was spent recovering his physical and mental energy.

In a way, this recovery period was also a form of slacking off.

[Divine Concealment Technique +1, Divine Concealment (242/100,000)]

Because of his sudden change of plans, Su Qing had grinded his Divine Concealment Technique all the way to the Divine Concealment level.

Su Qing didn’t look in the mirror often. If he had, he would have noticed that after reaching the Divine Concealment level, the kaleidoscopic colors in his pupils had faded significantly.

His aura was also no longer as striking.

’This Divine Concealment Technique is clearly much harder than Geng Metal Sword.’

Su Qing grumbled to himself. The experience needed for the Divine Concealment Technique had suddenly jumped to one hundred thousand.

There was no way he could grind out that much Skill Level in a short amount of time.

In the past two days, his Geng Metal Sword had only increased by 30 Skill Level.

After all, once he reached the Divine Concealment level, Su Qing had reverted to his previous training schedule.

Su Qing cultivated for a while longer.

Then, someone came and knocked on the door of his residence.

After the Demon Fiend announced the visitor, Su Qing recalled it.

He opened the door to his house.

"Yinyin? What are you doing here?"

Su Qing asked, puzzled. He wondered if Xu Ningying needed him for something.

"Young Master Su, my lady sent me to find you. She wishes to ask if you’d be willing to participate in this year’s New Year’s festival and accompany her to the celebration at the Imperial Palace."

This "Danri" was, by tradition, the local New Year’s celebration.

It also marked the beginning of a new year.

The twelve animals of the zodiac were still a popular tradition in this world.

’Go to the Imperial Palace?’

Su Qing thought for a moment. "When is it?"

"The festival is tomorrow."

"Oh... alright. What time is the celebration tomorrow?"

"Early in the morning~ My lady also needs to head to the Imperial Palace at dawn."

Su Qing nodded. "Alright, alright. I’ll go and check it out."

"In that case, Young Master Su, please come to the estate a bit early tomorrow. You’ll need to be dressed appropriately."

"..."

’Appropriately?’

Su Qing nodded with a sense of resignation.

’Are my current clothes not appropriate enough?’

After another day of Cultivation,

Su Qing headed to Xu Ningying’s residence before dawn.

The whole estate was brilliantly illuminated.

As soon as he entered, a maidservant led him to where Xu Ningying was.

He saw that Xu Ningying was not in her usual attire. She was dressed in formal robes, her rouge applied perfectly, and her fair, delicate face held a rosy blush.

Her hair was arranged in an elaborate style Su Qing didn’t recognize. He was struck by its sheer volume; coiled up, it looked both elegant and grand.

"Su Qing, you’re here?"

Xu Ningying offered a slight smile, her charm blooming naturally. Watching her, Su Qing felt his heart skip a beat.

"I’m here."

"Take him to another room. Xiaoli, have some people help Young Master Su get dressed. Pick out something festive for him to wear."

"Yes. Young Master Su, please come with me."

Xiaoli lowered her head and spoke softly to Su Qing.

Su Qing nodded. "Alright, I’ll go. I’ve never been to the Imperial Palace before."

’Good thing I don’t have to wear rouge.’

They simply washed his hair, tied it up, and fitted him with a formal headpiece.

It made Su Qing look much more dashing.

"Young Master Su, please choose your formal robes."

Faced with more than a dozen sets of formal robes, Su Qing was struck with indecision.

"Then... I’ll take the one with red. It’s a bit more festive."

"Yes."

Su Qing became a living mannequin, holding his arms out and letting the maids drape the heavy robes over him.

Once he was dressed, Su Qing looked in the mirror. Not bad at all.

’Handsome.’

’I’m handsome, too.’

The outfit was a complete set, from head to toe.

It was a perfect match.

Most importantly, it was winter attire.

It only took Su Qing half an hour to get ready, but Xu Ningying still needed quite a bit more time.

The sky was still dark.

Finally, Xu Ningying was also ready.

She wore a red robe embroidered with numerous patterns, making her look incredibly dignified.

"You look very handsome, Su Qing." Xu Ningying’s eyes lit up when she saw him dressed up.

"You too, Xu Ningying."

"Alright, let’s get into the carriages."

"We need to be there for the New Year’s assembly at dawn."

Su Qing nodded. 𝓯𝓻𝒆𝙚𝒘𝓮𝙗𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝒍.𝙘𝓸𝙢

Because of their cumbersome formal robes,

Su Qing and Xu Ningying each took a separate carriage to the Imperial Palace.

The ride was smooth, and after about ten minutes,

"Young Master Su, we have arrived,"

the carriage driver said softly.

"Alright, I’m coming out."

The heavy robes felt like shackles, but they were certainly warm.

After Su Qing emerged from his carriage, Xu Ningying emerged from hers.

By the time they stepped out of the carriages, the sky had already begun to lighten.

Xu Ningying led the way, with Su Qing walking beside her.

"Carriages generally aren’t allowed to travel within the Imperial Palace."

"Follow me, and try not to talk much along the way."

Su Qing nodded with a soft "Mm."

Along the way, Xu Ningying presented a Token at every checkpoint, granting them unimpeded passage.

Many officials they passed nodded to Xu Ningying as a sign of respect.

They were particularly surprised to see Su Qing at her side, and their gazes toward him held an even deeper level of respect.

Su Qing pretended not to notice.

It was as if they all recognized him.

One or two would have been understandable, but when so many officials reacted the same way, Su Qing was at a loss.

"What’s going on? Why are they all looking at me with such reverence?"

Su Qing took advantage of a moment when no one was nearby to whisper to Xu Ningying.

"You really don’t know how famous you are?"

"You’re capable of Immortal Cultivation and you eliminated a Great Demon Fiend. How could they not be in awe of you?"

"After you arrived in Shangjing, there’s no way these people wouldn’t have investigated you—unless you were a complete nobody."

Hearing this, Su Qing could only stare in stunned silence for a moment before letting out a resigned laugh.

"I guess it’s impossible to keep things hidden."

Su Qing followed Xu Ningying through a series of winding paths until they arrived at an enormous plaza.

It was immense, and all the snow had been completely cleared away.

There were also quite a few people there.

Several hundred, perhaps even a thousand, people were gathered there.

When Xu Ningying presented her Token, a eunuch led them toward the front of the plaza.

"My Lady of the Demon-Extermination Bureau, this is the designated area for the Bureau."

Xu Ningying nodded slightly. "You may go about your duties."

"Well, if it isn’t little Ningying? All dressed up and looking so beautiful."

A woman approached and, without a word, hugged Xu Ningying from behind. She too was in formal attire, but her face was utterly bewitching.

She had alluring, almond-shaped eyes that seemed to pull at one’s heartstrings with every glance.

She was also wearing a floral red formal gown, though she was bundled up snugly against the cold.

"Sister Xiaoling, you’re here already?"

"It’s been so long. I thought you weren’t returning to Shangjing this year."

The beauty known as Sister Xiaoling then noticed Su Qing standing to the side.

A gleam appeared in her eyes. After all, with his looks, Su Qing ranked among the most handsome of Shangjing’s elites.

"Aren’t you going to introduce me to the handsome young man at your side? This sister likes what she sees."

"Sister Xiaoling, this is my Guardian."

"Su Qing. ’Su’ as in Liu Su, and ’Qing’ as in green grass."

...