When Lin Wan'er heard Xiao Feng's words, she felt both joy and embarrassment.
She was overjoyed because her lung disease could finally be cured, but she was also deeply shy at the thought that this treatment method would need to be repeated three or four more times.
"Miss Lin, let's schedule the next treatment for three days from now. I'll personally visit your residence to treat you then. While I'm there, I might as well take a look at your elder brother and see if I can cure his intellectual disability."
While treating Lin Wan'er earlier, Xiao Feng had chatted with her to distract her and prevent her from fainting out of embarrassment.
"Then I'll trouble Brother Xiao for your help."
Knowing that Xiao Feng possessed extraordinary medical skills, Lin Wan'er earnestly hoped he could cure Lin Dabao. At this point, she could no longer afford to dwell on her shyness.
Perfect!
Looking at Lin Wan'er's charming and bashful demeanor, Xiao Feng knew that this female lead from the original story could no longer escape his grasp.
All he needed now was two or three more massage therapy sessions, and he could claim her for himself.
---
Early the next morning...
Emperor Qing issued an imperial decree in front of all the civil and military officials, its contents so shocking that it sent tremors throughout the entire capital.
The decree stated that Xiao Feng had performed a great service by saving the emperor's life. As a reward, Emperor Qing enfeoffed him as the Carefree King, bestowing upon him not only a vast array of treasures but also privileges such as exemption from bowing before the emperor and the right to carry a blade into the palace.
Though no merit surpassed saving the emperor, the rewards Emperor Qing bestowed upon Xiao Feng this time were excessively lavish.
After all, Xiao Feng was the first non-imperial clansman to be enfeoffed as a prince since Emperor Qing's ascension to the throne!
Because of this, many secretly speculated that Xiao Feng was likely Emperor Qing's illegitimate son, raised in secret and deeply favored by him. The emperor had merely used the excuse of Xiao Feng's "meritorious service" to legitimize his enfeoffment.
After the court session ended, the officials began using their connections to investigate Xiao Feng's background, only to find that he seemed to have appeared out of thin air.
This only reinforced their belief that Xiao Feng was Emperor Qing's secret son.
If not for the emperor's intervention, who else could have completely erased Xiao Feng's past?
Xiao Feng paid no heed to the rumors swirling outside, continuing to act as he pleased.
Every night, he openly visited Liujing River, reserved the flower boat of Zuixianju, and slept with Si Lili in his arms.
Soon, everyone knew that the capital's most famous courtesan, Si Lili, had become the Carefree King's exclusive possession.
Though this further boosted Si Lili's fame, no one dared to risk offending the Carefree King by pursuing her.
As a Northern Qi spy, Si Lili couldn't help but probe Xiao Feng about his true relationship with Emperor Qing while serving him, trying to confirm whether he was indeed the emperor's illegitimate son.
Seeing her relentless questioning, Xiao Feng decided to turn the tables and give her a taste of her own medicine, making her personally experience what it felt like to be thoroughly "interrogated."
It wasn't until midnight, when an exhausted Si Lili finally fell asleep, that Xiao Feng entered the God's Lobby.
Apart from the dazzling [God'sLobby], the previously empty space now contained dozens of additional doors.
When Xiao Feng opened one of them, he found himself on a planet teeming with countless monsters, many of which were stored in cultivation pools.
Ever since the [God's Lobby] unlocked the Simulation Space ability, Xiao Feng had created dozens of such spaces within the God's Lobby, each modified into a different research facility.
For example, the planet he was currently on was dedicated to the study and creation of monsters.
Though everything in the Simulation Space was illusory, the research data derived from it was real.
The latest breakthrough by his shadow clones was the successful creation of a nuclear-powered monster similar to Godzilla.
Though Joy of Life was set in what appeared to be an ancient era, it was actually a post-nuclear-war future world.
The "internal energy" cultivated by martial artists was, in fact, energy derived from nuclear radiation.
The reason Grandmasters far surpassed Ninth-Rank warriors was that they had mastered abilities akin to nuclear fusion.
When Xiao Feng had secretly scanned Emperor Qing's body data during their meeting at Qing Temple, he discovered that some of the emperor's organs had mutated into energy-storing variants capable of housing vast amounts of nuclear power—similar to Godzilla's atomic furnace organs.
By combining Emperor Qing's body data with their research, the shadow clones had genetically modified the cloned Kaiju, equipping them with atomic furnace organs akin to Godzilla's.
Since the destructive power of a nuclear bomb was proportional to its yield, the sheer size of the Kaiju meant their combat potential far exceeded that of even Grandmasters.
"Release!"
With a low command from Xiao Feng, the dozens of shadow clones researching the nuclear monsters instantly dissipated into puffs of white smoke.
Their memories flooded into Xiao Feng's mind, which he swiftly organized before summoning a new batch of shadow clones to continue the research.
After leaving the monster research simulation room, Xiao Feng visited other simulation spaces, repeating the process to absorb the latest research findings.
---
The next morning...
Jingjun Prince's Residence, Capital
With both Southern Qing and Northern Qi under the protection of Grandmasters, neither side could gain an advantage over the other, leaving Qing with no wars to fight in recent years.
Under Emperor Qing's deliberate guidance, the martial culture that had once defined Qing gradually gave way to a growing emphasis on scholarly pursuits.
Where the ruler leads, the people follow!
Among the noble families, while the eldest son inherited the family estate, the other sons were, at best, allocated some modest livelihood businesses upon adulthood.
Most of these idle scions turned to the imperial examinations—studying, interpreting texts, reciting poetry, and composing verses.
Now, the most popular event in the capital was no longer martial duels but poetry gatherings, exclusive to scholars.
The two most renowned gatherings were those hosted by Jingjun Prince's Residence and the Crown Prince's Residence.
Held monthly without fail, these gatherings attracted countless impoverished scholars and low-born poets, all desperate to make a name for themselves through their verses and secure a path to advancement.
As the recently infamous Carefree King, Xiao Feng naturally received invitations to both poetry gatherings.
In the original story, Fan Xian had risen to fame as the Poetry Immortal of Qing after reciting Du Fu's "Ascending the Heights" at Jingjun Prince's poetry gathering.
(End of Chapter)