Wang Liyao was both amused and helpless.

It’s often said that as people age, they become more childlike and more capricious. But saying such things about giving someone a hard time to her, Your Majesty, is indeed somewhat... mischievous...

"Liyao, you must be inwardly mocking me," Emperor Longchang said with a smile, "You have such an ethereal presence and speak so straightforwardly, without any detours, yet in the end, you’re just as mundane. I’ve been Emperor for over three thousand years, and historians record everything. Now that I’m still alive, no one dares to speak up."

"When I’m dead, the empire will see a new generation replace the old. By then, if people praise me, I can’t crawl out of my coffin to live a few more years. If they scold me, I can’t crawl out to bash them. Do you think this pretense has any meaning?"

Wang Liyao was at a loss for words.

Your Majesty, you’re making too much sense, I find myself speechless.

Before coming here, she wondered what kind of person the Emperor would be, but no matter how many possibilities she considered, she never expected this...

However, while the Emperor could speak this way about himself, Wang Liyao could not just casually agree.

After a few empty compliments, she presented the gifts she had prepared long ago: "Your Majesty, these are a few trinkets designed by my father for you to enjoy."

Then, Wang Liyao took out a pile of things from the storage ring, including meticulously crafted lure rods, a large telescope over two meters tall, a small telescope, a set of lighting systems powered by arrays, and various other odds and ends.

At first, Emperor Longchang thought the Wang Family, like other noble families, was merely offering him rare and exotic treasures to win his favor, with little interest. But instead, he found himself facing a pile of bizarre items.

After Wang Liyao explained each item, he was indeed most interested in the lure rod, the large telescope, and the small telescope.

At the level of the Great Emperor, his eyesight and hearing were already far beyond that of mortals. If he wanted, he could stand high above and see clearly dozens of miles away.

But no matter how great his eyesight was, it couldn’t compare to treasures equivalent to a basic astronomical telescope. The distance it could see was beyond measurable in miles, and at night, it could even magnify the starry sky countless times.

He also showed great interest in the half-meter-long small telescope, and even took it outside his study to fly around looking east and west.

A moment later, he returned to Zhuozheng Pavilion, seeming a bit moody, sighing and groaning with the monocular telescope in hand.

"Doesn’t Your Majesty like this gift? Earlier, you seemed to be having a good time with it," Old Yao cautiously asked.

Seeing this, even Wang Liyao felt a bit of nervousness.

"It’s not that... sigh~" Emperor Longchang let out a long sigh, reminiscing, "Three thousand five hundred years ago, when I was a young lad, I happened upon Consort Fu, the consort of my fifth Imperial Uncle, and couldn’t help but feel infatuated, unable to sleep all night."

"???"

Wang Liyao cocked her head slightly. So the Emperor had romantic escapades in his youth too, but unfortunately, it was with the Consort of the Imperial Uncle; it must have been a mere infatuation.

"After months of emotional struggle, unable to bear the longing, I decided to drag Brother Huang along to secretly watch Consort Fu bathe~~" Emperor Longchang recounted with remorse, "It was because we got too close that we got discovered, resulting in us getting beaten half to death. Had there been this... Liyao, what’s this thing called again?"

"==b..." A cold sweat trickled down Wang Liyao’s forehead as she reluctantly replied, "Monocular telescope."

"Right, right, the monocular telescope. Had there been such a wondrous object back then, Brother Huang and I would not have suffered such a miserable fate!" Emperor Longchang said indignantly.

This Zhuozheng Pavilion was becoming a bit uncomfortable.

Wang Liyao felt uneasy, as if the chair under her was getting hot.

Isn’t it said that when His Majesty meets a Great Celestial Pride, it lasts the time of one incense stick? It’s almost been an hour now...

Facing such an Emperor, Wang Liyao felt so much pressure. Having heard all this dark history from His Majesty, would she be silenced?

...

Ultimately, Wang Liyao left Zhuozheng Pavilion safely, even receiving a large bounty of treasures and resources as a reward from the Great Emperor.

After this, news of the Great Celestial Pride’s initial fight quickly spread from the capital to all parts of the country like dandelions in the wind.

The reputation of Liyao the Great Celestial Pride also spread nationwide, becoming a hot topic, shining as bright as the sun.

Rumor has it that after a brief rest for a year, Liyao the Great Celestial Pride would head to the Saint Land to initiate a battle among the Celestial Prodigies under the age of 151.

This would undoubtedly be different from the battle in the capital. The Celestial Pride of the Saint Land have always been proud, and many who are in seclusion would certainly emerge upon hearing the news.

And with a year to prepare, her strength might increase yet again.

Everyone was eagerly anticipating whether Liyao the Great Celestial Pride could follow through on her boast, "First kick the Capital City Celestial Pride, then sweep the Nine Sacred Veins of the Saint Land," and this time, the attention was far greater than that of the capital.

Rumor has it that when Wang Liyao left Upper Capital, she secretly sparred once with Shangguan Yunque from the Gui Long Shangguan Family.

The result of the sparring wasn’t disclosed to the public, but it was heard that after Shangguan Yunque returned, he went into seclusion, saying that he gained some insights that needed to be verified in isolation.