Just as the Divine King and his followers were astounded by Wang Xiaoqiang's formidable battle prowess, Wang Xiaoqiang had already unleashed the Five Elements Spirit Spring and began absorbing the Gang Qi leaking from the bodies of the five Celestial God-level generals.
This time, he released five hundred billion Five Elements Spirit Springs, which attached themselves to the damaged bodies of the five Celestial God generals, beginning their greedy absorption...
Absorb, absorb, absorb, absorb, absorb, absorb, absorb...
Finally, the five hundred billion Spirit Springs, having absorbed their fill of Gang Qi, emitted a dense cracking sound and then underwent a transformation, splitting into one trillion Five Elements Spirit Springs.
At this moment, the total number of Wang Xiaoqiang's Five Elements Spirit Springs had reached four trillion.
With a thought, one trillion Five Elements Spirit Springs were absorbed into his body, causing the Gang Qi within Wang Xiaoqiang to swell explosively, though only increasing by a small fraction of Gang Force, which wasn't enough to help him upgrade.
The Ninth Stage of Gang Qi is a bottleneck; breaking through isn't easy.
After the Azure Eagle Empire's capital city was conquered, the treasury was entirely cleared out, yielding fourteen chests of Qi-Condensing Pills, which naturally belonged to Wang Xiaoqiang. Wang Xiaoqiang took these fourteen chests of Qi-Condensing Pills and flew into the Divine Pattern War Chariot, beginning absorption cultivation again.
In a moment.
Fourteen chests of Qi-Condensing Pills were exhausted, and Wang Xiaoqiang's cultivation base still hadn't broken through to the Tenth Stage of Gang Qi, remaining stuck at this bottleneck.
He flew out of the Divine Pattern War Chariot with some frustration, a dejected expression on his face,
The Divine King saw this and stepped forward to comfort him: "Little Qiang, don't worry. Do you know how many years I was stuck at the Ninth Stage bottleneck?"
Indeed, for ordinary Celestial Gods, breaking through a bottleneck requires years, whereas Wang Xiaoqiang had only been stuck for half a day. He really shouldn't be so discouraged.
"I was stuck for a full two years," the Divine King recalled nostalgically, "And you, Little Qiang, have only been stuck for two hours, so you don't need to feel discouraged. Moreover, those celestial gods and powerful figures won't attack so soon, you have enough time to cultivate and break through..."
Wang Xiaoqiang nodded.
He wasn't troubled by his slow upgrade speed, but rather the years of smooth upgrading made him feel a certain thrill, and now suddenly being stuck here made him quite upset.
"Come on, let's go have a drink and relax a bit." The Divine King patted Wang Xiaoqiang's shoulder and led him flying toward the Azure Eagle Empire's Imperial Palace, where they finally landed in the Imperial Kitchen.
At this point, the Imperial Kitchen had already been controlled by the Divine King's soldiers, and when they saw the Divine King and Wang Xiaoqiang arrive, the imperial chefs immediately busied themselves preparing food, quickly setting up a large table of delicious royal cuisine for the two to enjoy.
The Divine King was adept at the art of flexing, noticing Wang Xiaoqiang's urgency to break through the bottleneck and upgrade, with his nerves tightly wound and unwilling to relax, which was very detrimental to his Daoist Heart. Therefore, he advocated for relaxation,
When the food and drink were served, the Divine King ordered his subordinates to bring in the songstresses who hadn't escaped the palace to entertain them with song and dance.
"Little Qiang, no matter what you do, you must understand the art of flexing, and avoid hastily pursuing quick success. If you become too greedy, you will experience a deep sense of frustration and disappointment when you fail to achieve your desires, which is detrimental to your Daoist Heart," the Divine King raised his cup, "Come, Little Qiang, let's have a drink. Relax first."
Wang Xiaoqiang picked up his wine cup and drank it all in one gulp. The rich aroma of the wine seemed to contain all the flavors of the world.
After drinking, the music began, and five women, dressed in luxurious clothes, appeared in the hall. Each was exceptionally beautiful, but the lead dancer was extraordinarily gorgeous, with towering black hair and snow-white clothes. Her graceful eyebrows lightly brushed, her lips slightly outlined, her beauty surpassing that of Xi Shi, as stunning as the Immortal Maiden of the Nine Heavens, dancing gracefully and singing gently—
"March willow fluffs dance in the clear wind,
The spring scene: the bright moon over the old country.
Graceful brows bear a thousand grievances,
Jade adornment struggles to carry the pain of a fallen kingdom..."
The plaintive and touching song moved all who heard it, prompting both Wang Xiaoqiang and the Divine King to pause their eating and drinking, losing their appetite entirely.
This song, named "The Pain of a Fallen Kingdom." At this moment, as this woman boldly sang this song, her intentions were evident.
The Divine King was enraged and shouted, "How dare you openly sing 'The Pain of a Fallen Kingdom' here. Guards, take her out and execute her."
With the Divine King's order, two guards immediately stepped forward to take the lead dancer away to be beheaded, but Wang Xiaoqiang intervened, "Hold on."
The Divine King looked surprised, then waved his hand to stop the two guards.
Wang Xiaoqiang watched the stunning lead dancer, moved by admiration. Though she only had Sun God Cultivation, weak in strength, merely a songstress, yet in the face of the invading nation's heroic tyrant, she dared to risk execution by singing "The Pain of a Fallen Kingdom," showcasing her fortitude and courage.
She, though a woman, was not outdone by men. If she had stronger cultivation, she would indeed be a warrior heroine on the battlefield.
Though she annoyed Wang Xiaoqiang, he inwardly praised her unyielding and fiery spirit, considering it unparalleled and rare in the world.
"You may leave," Wang Xiaoqiang gestured to the Divine King's guards, "I'll handle this woman myself."
The two guards retreated immediately.
Wang Xiaoqiang released his Divine Sense, enveloping the lead dancer, asking "What's your name?"
Though enveloped by Wang Xiaoqiang's Divine Sense, the woman remained fearless, upright, declaring "My name is Fan Hongmei."
"Hongmei, hmm, this name suits your nature, the red plum defies the frost—good, very good." Wang Xiaoqiang complimented, "Your spirit is commendable. I won't kill you; from now on, you will follow me..."
Fan Hongmei looked directly at Wang Xiaoqiang, coldly saying, "Even if I follow you, I will not offer any courtesy to you. And if you make me sing, I will still sing 'The Pain of a Fallen Kingdom'..."
Wang Xiaoqiang suddenly laughed, "Hahaha~~~~Wonderful, Fan Hongmei, you're so unique—very good. Well, I'll let you sing right now. You can not only sing 'The Pain of a Fallen Kingdom,' but also 'The Sorrow of a Lost Kingdom' or 'The Grief of a Vanquished Nation.' You can even curse me in song. I won't kill you. Your willpower is strong, but I have ways to deal with you..."
A person of Wang Xiaoqiang's caliber plays with women in a refined realm; he now plays not for beauty or allure, but for style.
Now, ordinary women cannot catch his eye; he wants to play with someone like Fan Hongmei, who has style. Or rather, now he's playing with the pride in Fan Hongmei's spirit.
The Divine King noticed Wang Xiaoqiang's great interest in Fan Hongmei, drank a glass of wine and said, "Well, Little Qiang, I need to go rest for a while. You can slowly deal with this woman. If you can conquer her, I yield to you..."