55: Qingling

"Who exactly is the person behind this?" Shangguan Yuexi mumbled, her brow slightly furrowed with confusion.

At this moment, she constantly felt that someone was following them, as if... protecting her and her son!

But why?

Shangguan Yuexi was utterly baffled, yet she never once considered Nangong Yu to be the reason.

Or rather, no one would believe that a newborn baby had the ability to command a Peak Spirit Venerable Realm expert!

"No matter who you are, don't even think about harming my Yuer, or I won't let you off!"

Shangguan Yuexi murmured softly, seemingly speaking to herself, yet also to the person in the shadows.

Unfortunately, no one responded to her from beginning to end!

Shangguan Yuexi shook her head slightly, sat cross-legged beside Nangong Yu, and intended to Cultivate for a moment.

But perhaps because her mind was disturbed by those questions, she couldn't Cultivate normally.

She opened her beautiful eyes, shook her head helplessly, took off her outer robe, and lay down beside Nangong Yu.

She held Nangong Yu in her arms, her eyes slightly closed, but her delicate brows remained tightly furrowed.

Nangong Yu slightly raised his eyes. Seeing his mother's delicate brows tightly furrowed, he felt helpless.

He hadn't been asleep just now and had naturally heard his mother's murmuring, but he didn't rashly expose himself.

Although he believed his mother wouldn't harm him and would even keep his secret, this was the Cultivator world. Strange Arts and Wicked Techniques existed, and the more people who knew about his affairs, the more disadvantageous it would be for him.

Before he had enough strength to protect himself, he couldn't even tell his mother. After all, the more he said, the faster he would be exposed!

Nangong Yu closed his eyes, still appearing to be fast asleep.

He performed an internal inspection and found that all thirty-six grotto-heavens in his body were now completely filled with spiritual power, which brought a slight joy to his heart.

He pondered for a moment, then used a special connection to send a message to Ying Mei: "Ying Mei, let my mother sleep soundly and silently, but don't hurt her!"

"Master, Ying Mei understands!"

As Ying Mei's voice fell silent, Nangong Yu could feel his mother, Shangguan Yuexi's, breathing gradually calming down until it became smooth shortly after.

Clearly, his mother had fallen asleep.

Seeing this, Nangong Yu didn't open his eyes and continued lying in Shangguan Yuexi's arms.

However, a grotto-heaven pill suddenly appeared in his hand and was accurately tossed into his mouth.

Soon, that mysterious and divine power reappeared, and under the guidance of the Grand Void Origin Returning Art, it intertwined with his spiritual power, initiating a Breakthrough.

Before long, Nangong Yu slightly opened his eyes, which held a trace of joy and a trace of surprise and doubt!

The joy was because he had already opened the thirty-seventh grotto-heaven and stepped into the Extreme Grotto Heaven Realm, which seemed not to exist on the Xuanling Continent.

The surprise and doubt arose because, with his spiritual power intensity and the spiritual power of thirty-six grotto-heavens, he had barely managed to open the thirty-seventh grotto-heaven, showing how difficult it was to enter the Extreme Grotto Heaven Realm.

Moreover, the internal space of this thirty-seventh grotto-heaven was very small, only about one-third the size of the previously opened grotto-heavens. It was as if... as if the subsequent seventy-two grotto-heavens were merely Subsidiary Grotto-Heavens!

Furthermore, he had a feeling that opening the remaining seventy-one grotto-heavens would be very easy.

This feeling came inexplicably, yet it was genuinely present!

"Never mind, I'll sleep first and worry about it later."

Nangong Yu shook his head slightly, leaned into his mother's arms, and fell into a deep sleep... The next day, early morning.

As soon as Nangong Yu woke up, he saw his mother sitting by the bed, looking at him with a smile.

"Yuer, hurry up and get up. The tutor you asked for has arrived. Starting today, you'll be learning how to read and write with her!"

Hearing this, Nangong Yu was slightly startled but nodded nonetheless and reached out his hands.

Seeing this, Shangguan Yuexi smiled dotingly, scooped him out of the covers, and dressed him!

A moment later, Shangguan Yuexi helped Nangong Yu wash up, brought him a Body-Tempering Medicated Meal to eat, and then took him to the pavilion.

At this time, a young woman with delicate features and a refined appearance had been waiting there for a long time.

The young woman's long hair reached her waist, and she wore a simple, plain dress, yet it failed to conceal her graceful figure. In fact, the plain dress, being slightly snug, highlighted her proud, exquisite curves.

Seeing Shangguan Yuexi and Nangong Yu arrive, the young woman quickly knelt down and bowed respectfully.

"Servant Girl Qing Ling pays respects to Imperial Consort Mother, and pays respects to the Prince of Zhenbei!"

"No need for formalities, stand up!"

Shangguan Yuexi waved her hand, sat down on the stone stool, and then said to Nangong Yu: "Yuer, your Imperial Uncle knew you wanted to learn to read, so he specially selected Qing Ling from this year's Female Officials and sent her over."

"Don't look down on her just because she has no Spiritual Root and is only fifteen years old. She is proficient in Zither, Chess, Calligraphy, and Painting, and she was the champion of the annual Female Official selection just two days ago!"

Hearing this, Nangong Yu was slightly surprised. "Not a Cultivator? Does the Clear Serenity Empire use ordinary people as Female Officials too?"

"Of course. In fact, many officials within the Empire are ordinary people without Spiritual Roots. They don't need to Cultivate, and they dedicate themselves fully to their work."

"Because of this, for those with outstanding political achievements or excellent management abilities, the Empire will even dispatch Cultivators to protect them!"

Shangguan Yuexi smiled slightly. "Qing Ling has excellent knowledge; she is more than qualified to be your introductory tutor."

Hearing this, Nangong Yu nodded slightly and couldn't help but glance at Qing Ling.

Immediately, he broke free from Shangguan Yuexi's embrace, jumped to the ground, and slightly bowed toward Qing Ling. "Student Nangong Yu greets Tutor. I will trouble Tutor in the future."

Seeing this, Qing Ling's expression instantly changed. She quickly knelt down and said in fear, "Little Prince, please don't shame this Servant Girl. It is this Servant Girl's great fortune to be able to tutor the Little Prince. How dare I accept this bow?"

Seeing her reaction, Nangong Yu turned to look at Shangguan Yuexi in confusion. "Mother, if a tutor teaches me, shouldn't I bow?"

Shangguan Yuexi slightly shook her head and smiled. "Yuer, you are the Prince of Zhenbei. She is just an ordinary person and doesn't hold an official position. How could she dare accept a bow from you?"

"Furthermore, even if she one day becomes a civil official or a powerful minister, as an ordinary person, she still wouldn't dare accept a bow from you!"

Hearing this, Nangong Yu nodded as if understanding, then looked at Tutor Qing Ling and said, "Alright, Tutor Qing Ling, please get up. I won't bow to you in the future, and you shouldn't kneel to me constantly either."

Qing Ling kowtowed in thanks: "Thank you for the Little Prince's consideration, but kneeling when seeing the Little Prince is a courtesy this Servant Girl must follow. I dare not be disrespectful!"

"This..."

Nangong Yu was speechless. Were ordinary people in the Cultivator world this humble?

He looked up at Shangguan Yuexi, only to see her watching him with a faint smile, lost in thought.