BTTH: Death Letter From The Future

Chen Guan and Yao Ye were whispering to each other, while most people's gazes remained fixed on the young man, each with their own thoughts.

A teenage Dou Master, and not the kind with a shaky foundation. Within the same realm, he could kill the Ninth Prince of the Chu Yun Empire as easily as slaughtering a chicken.

This boy had the potential to become a Dou Emperor, or even a Dou Ancestor!

Moreover, he showed no hesitation in his actions, with firm resolve. Although Yao Ye's earlier instructions were subtle, those above the rank of Dou King could still hear them clearly.

For a moment, the 'big figures' from various factions began to ponder. How much impact would Chen Guan's appearance have on them? At least ten people were now thinking with hundreds of different ideas.

As for Chen Guan himself, he didn't care about what these people thought. He had already considered the consequences of stepping forward today—moving from behind the scenes to the forefront, nothing more.

Now, he had grown stronger, with the ability to face challenges head-on.

(Within the Jia Ma Empire, that is.)

Of course, it was undeniable that the Ninth Prince had provoked him.

After spending more than half an hour at the ceremony with Yao Ye, she finally gave him a signal and was the first to stand up and leave the scene.

Chen Guan let out a breath of relief and followed her out.

Alright, he admitted he had overestimated his thick skin. Being scrutinized by so many people, he felt like a monkey in a zoo. This ceremony was really quite boring.

Following Yao Ye into the palace, Chen Guan was a bit surprised when she didn't go to their favorite pavilion for a chat. Instead, they arrived at a small warehouse in the back.

After waiting for a moment, Chen Guan caught up with Yao Ye at the warehouse entrance.

Yao Ye opened the warehouse door, and what greeted their eyes were boxes and boxes of Yellow Lotus Essence.

"My obedient little brother, care to explain? Are you planning to monopolize the Yellow Lotus Essence market?"

The woman's innate skill—Ear Tug Attack—was unleashed, with terrifying power. Even the boy, who was nearly invincible at his level, couldn't escape.

With an awkward expression, Chen Guan explained, "The Yellow Lotus Essence is useless, just a cover. What I really want is Blood Lotus Essence, but that stuff is rare. People unfamiliar with it easily mistake it for Yellow Lotus Essence, so I bought a bunch just in case I get lucky."

"By the way, Sis, later you can have someone cut through each piece. Blood Lotus Essence is red inside. Check to see if we've gotten any, and for the rest, put it in the national treasury or auction it at the Mittel Auction House. No point in keeping it here."

Seeing the boy in pain, Yao Ye's anger subsided somewhat, and she rolled her eyes knowingly.

"Fine, I accept your explanation. I won't hold it against you for wasting money."

At most, they would lose a couple hundred thousand gold coins. Such a loss wouldn't bother the royal family; they could afford it.

Turning away from the warehouse, the two returned to the pavilion.

Yao Ye pulled out a pot of tea and began brewing it herself. "Tell me about your past year."

"Pick and choose what you want to share," she added after a pause.

Judging from the color of the battle aura he displayed today, it wasn't hard for her to guess that there had been some fortuitous events involved. Although she was curious, she wasn't about to pry into all of Chen Guan's secrets.

They were siblings now, family—not prisoner and warden.

After sipping a cup of tea poured personally by the Imperial Princess, Chen Guan began to slowly recount his past year. It wasn't as complicated as Yao Ye imagined. Over the past year, the only place he had been active in was that stone chamber.

Chen Guan didn't hide the fact that he had encountered a fortunate opportunity. He shared what could be told, while other details, such as the fact that after becoming an Eighth-Tier Puppet Master he could create puppets at the Dou Saint level and even, under exceptional circumstances, create divine puppets, were left unsaid for now.

Such things were too distant for the current Jia Ma Empire to even consider. There was no need to mention them yet.

Talking about the Dou Saint level, let alone higher-level Dou Venerates or even Dou Emperor! Such cultivators were as rare as Heavenly Flames for the empire!

This opportunity had yielded great rewards for Chen Guan.

In terms of physical objects, there weren't many, but he had acquired a Sixth-Tier puppet named Iron Egg, seven Fifth-Tier puppets, and sixteen Fourth-Tier puppets, corresponding to the Dou Emperor, Dou King, and Dou Spirit levels, respectively.

In all honesty, excluding the potential threat of Yunshan, the current forces Chen Guan could command were no weaker than those of the Yunlan Sect.

If you counted the royal family, the advantage was clearly in his favor this time.

In addition, he had gathered some strange and rare materials. Chen Guan estimated that when his skills improved, they would be enough to create a Dou Saint-level puppet.

He still had eight particles of Spirit-Bearing left after using six of the original fourteen.

He also possessed a high-level Earth-class wood-element battle skill set, once cultivated by Master Shu Tianhe, with immense value. Unfortunately, it didn't match Chen Guan's own attributes, so although he could see and touch it, he couldn't use it, which was frustrating.

There were two lower-level Earth-class cultivation techniques—one for water, one for fire.

There were also seven mid- to lower-level Earth-class battle skills, only one of which was fire-elemental. Chen Guan hadn't had time to practice it yet.

That was the extent of his physical gains, small in quantity but immense in value.

Oh, and there was also a jar of contaminated Ice Spirit Cold Spring, the source of the mutated Red Ice Serpent King from before.

He had only discovered this after inheriting his teacher's knowledge.

The Ice Spirit Cold Spring was a high-tier spiritual substance, yet it had been stored so carelessly that it became contaminated. Only his half-Saint teacher would be capable of such recklessness.

Aside from material gains, the most precious rewards were the puppet-making experiences and insights from his teacher, Shu Tianhe. Inheriting this treasure trove, Chen Guan might one day reach his teacher's level and touch the threshold of a Ninth-Tier Puppet Master.

The reason for the "might" was the limitation of materials. Many of the resources from ancient times were now exceedingly scarce.

Chen Guan had even realized something awkward: with his current resources, almost all the puppets he could make or had the chance to make were the unconventional and obscure types his teacher mentioned. It was a bit embarrassing, but given the limitations of his environment, there wasn't much he could do.

Aside from his teacher's lifetime of puppet-making knowledge, the most valuable inheritance was the method of soul cultivation and the secret technique for refining Spirit-Bearing, which had long been lost to history.

If word got out, countless alchemists would go mad for it.

This was undoubtedly a priceless treasure, but how to develop and utilize it was still a matter for future discussion. Without the skills of an eighth-grade alchemist, it was impossible to refine Spirit-Bearing.

"A puppet master, huh? That's quite unique. Nowadays, puppets are rarely seen. You advanced to a Fourth-Tier Puppet Master and managed to escape, which means that given enough time and resources, you could create a Dou Spirit-level army all by yourself!"

Yao Ye couldn't help but exclaim. Having spent years in the military, no one understood better than she did what this meant.

"You could say that. From now on, we hold the initiative in dealing with the other great empires. If I weren't so pressed for time these past few years, I'd have wiped out the Chu Yun Empire already, just to show them the times have changed."

The Chu Yun Empire was indeed courting destruction!

Hearing his bloodthirsty words, Yao Ye felt a warmth in her heart. This younger brother had truly become a protector of the family.

What she didn't know was that Chen Guan's grudge against the Chu Yun Empire went far beyond today's incident.

"Alright, I'll handle the rest. For now, focus on your cultivation. Your own strength is the most reliable. Don't let distractions cause you to lose sight of your goals."

"In light of the big surprise you've given me, I won't hold your disappearance against you this time. But Yue'er has been complaining about you all year. She's upset that you didn't leave any news for her. At the ceremony earlier, she was so angry she wouldn't even look at you. Handle it yourself."

Chen Guan grinned sheepishly. He admitted he hadn't treated Yue'er well.

He hadn't expected things to go the way they did. He left a quick message when he departed, and then no word for over a year. It was natural for the girl to feel hurt, thinking, "I see you as a friend, but you don't seem to care about me." If she wasn't mad, it wouldn't be Yue'er.

But Chen Guan wasn't too worried; he had anticipated this situation and prepared a solution.

"Don't worry, I've prepared a gift for Yue'er that she won't be able to refuse. And of course, one for you as well, Yao Ye."

As he spoke, Chen Guan pulled out a few items from the storage ring he wore around his neck.

(End of Chapter