Chapter 3: The Queen's Cold Affliction
The news of the "Perfect Pill" and the shattered Verification Stone had traveled faster than a galloping stallion. Within hours, the name Tian Mo had shifted from a joke to a mystery that the higher-ups of the Hung Kingdom could no longer ignore. However, Tian Mo himself was unbothered. He sat in his dilapidated classroom, watching Janitor Lu—the former Senior Teacher—clumsily sweep the floor with a face full of resentment.
"Master, someone is approaching," Li Feng whispered, standing guard at the door. His aura was now stable, his eyes sharp with the newfound power of the 3rd Stage Qi Sensing.
The sound of heavy, rhythmic footsteps echoed in the hallway. These weren't the steps of a scholar or a student; they were the disciplined strides of soldiers.
A group of armored guards in crimson capes marched in, led by an elderly man with a silver beard and a gaze that carried the weight of the royal court. He was Grand Chamberlain Wei, the King's most trusted advisor.
"Teacher Tian Mo," Wei said, bowing slightly—a gesture that made Janitor Lu drop his broom in shock. "The Royal Family has heard of your... unique methods. Her Majesty, Queen Zhao Yan, is in grave danger. The Royal Physicians are at their wit's end. We request your presence at the palace."
Tian Mo didn't look up from the scroll he was reading. "I am a teacher, not a wandering doctor. If the Queen wants a diagnosis, she can enroll as a student."
The guards gasped, their hands instinctively moving to their sword hilt. Chamberlain Wei's eyes narrowed. "Teacher, the Queen's life is at stake. This is not a request; it is a matter of national security. Besides," Wei added, his voice dropping to a whisper, "the reward for her recovery includes a Top-Grade Spirit Essence Stone."
Tian Mo's fingers paused. Spirit Essence Stone. The Divine Library required immense energy to synthesize higher-level manuals. Currently, his "poverty" was his biggest bottleneck.
"Li Feng, grab your things," Tian Mo said, standing up. His white robes billowed without a breeze. "We're going to the palace."
The Crimson Palace
The Royal Palace of the Hung Kingdom was a fortress of jade and gold, but today, it felt like a tomb. A chilling cold emanated from the inner chambers, so intense that frost had begun to form on the summer flowers in the courtyard.
As Tian Mo entered the Queen's bedchamber, he saw a dozen physicians huddled in a corner, trembling. In the center of the room, behind a translucent silk curtain, lay a figure. Even from a distance, the aura she projected was one of absolute dominance, but it was currently being suffocated by a layer of blue ice.
This was Queen Zhao Yan, the "Iron Rose" of the South. She was a ruler who had led armies, a woman of peerless beauty and terrifying power.
[DING!]
[Divine Library Initiated. Target: Queen Zhao Yan (Behind Curtain).]
> Subject: Zhao Yan
> Condition: Frigid Heart Syndrome (Advanced Stage).
> Diagnosis Flaw: Royal Physicians believe it is an 'Ice Poison' from an assassin.
> The Truth: It is not poison. It is a 'Cultivation Deviation.' She attempted to master the Nine Suns Sovereign Art without a pure Yang foundation, causing her internal Yin to revolt and freeze her meridians.
> Flaws: 156.
> Solution: A 'Painless Striking' method to shatter the ice blocks in her Heavenly Gate point, followed by a 'Solar Infusion.'
>
Tian Mo walked past the physicians, who were arguing about which heating herb to use.
"If you give her the 'Fire Dragon Root,' she will die within three breaths," Tian Mo said calmly, his voice cutting through their bickering.
"Who are you? How dare you interfere!" the Head Physician barked.
"I am the man who is going to save her," Tian Mo replied. He walked straight to the curtain and pulled it aside.
The physicians gasped. "You cannot touch the Queen! It is a capital offense!"
Tian Mo ignored them. Zhao Yan was breathtakingly beautiful, even with her skin pale as marble and frost on her eyelashes. Her eyes opened—sharp, piercing, and full of a cold, regal fury.
"Leave... or I will... kill you," she rasped, her voice like cracking ice. Even in her weakened state, her Dominating Aura was enough to make a normal cultivator's heart stop.
Tian Mo stood unmoved. He looked into her eyes. "Your Majesty, you are currently a prisoner of your own power. You wanted to rule the sun, but you forgot that your soul is a moon. Now, keep quiet and let me work."
He didn't wait for her response. He raised his hand.
SLAP!
The sound echoed like a gunshot. Tian Mo had just slapped the Queen of the Hung Kingdom across her left shoulder.
"HE STRUCK THE QUEEN!" the physicians screamed. "GUARDS! ARREST HIM!"
"Stay back!" Tian Mo thundered. His aura erupted, the Sovereign Teacher Pressure pinning the guards to the floor. "I am shattering the ice in her Great Meridian. Look!"
Where Tian Mo had struck, a cloud of blue steam hissed out of Zhao Yan's skin. The deep blue color in her shoulder began to fade.
SLAP! SLAP! SLAP!
Tian Mo moved with surgical precision, striking points on her back, her arms, and near her heart. To the onlookers, it looked like a brutal assault. To the Divine Library, it was the only way to vibrate the frozen Qi without shattering her veins.
Zhao Yan's eyes went from fury to shock. With every strike, the suffocating cold in her body was replaced by a stinging, revitalizing heat. Her blocked meridians were screaming as they reopened.
"Li Feng, the 'Sun-Fire Needle' I told you to prepare!" Tian Mo commanded.
Li Feng stepped forward, handing over a needle glowing with a faint orange light. Tian Mo didn't use it to pierce her. He held it an inch above her forehead, at the Spirit Gate.
[Divine Library: Infusing Heaven's Path Solar Energy...]
A beam of pure, golden light shot from Tian Mo's fingers, through the needle, and into Zhao Yan's head.
The frost in the room melted instantly. The temperature rose from freezing to a comfortable warmth. Zhao Yan let out a long, shuddering gasp, and a mouthful of black ice-blood was coughed out onto the silk sheets.
She sat up abruptly, her breathing heavy. The color had returned to her cheeks, and her aura—once cold and dying—was now burning with a renewed, golden intensity.
The physicians fell to their knees, speechless. Chamberlain Wei was trembling with joy.
Zhao Yan looked at Tian Mo. She was a woman who had never bowed to any man. She felt the Qi flowing in her body—it was more refined and powerful than ever before. He hadn't just cured her; he had "corrected" her cultivation.
"You..." she began, her voice returning to its commanding tone, though it now held a hint of complex emotion. "You dared to strike me."
"I saved your life," Tian Mo replied, wiping his hands on a silk cloth. "The strikes were necessary to vibrate the ice. If you're offended, you can have me executed. But if you're smart, you'll pay me the Spirit Stone and consider me your teacher."
Zhao Yan stood up, draped in her royal robes, her presence filling the room. She walked toward Tian Mo until they were only inches apart. She was tall, her eyes level with his.
"I am Zhao Yan, Queen of the South. No one 'teaches' me," she said, her voice a low purr of dominance. Suddenly, she knelt—not in a bow of a subject, but in the bow of a disciple. "But a man who can tame the sun in my veins... perhaps you are worthy of my respect."
Chamberlain Wei nearly fainted. The Iron Queen had knelt!
Tian Mo remained unfazed. "The Spirit Stone, Majesty. I have a classroom to upgrade."
The Gentle Princess
As Tian Mo and Li Feng left the palace with a chest containing the Top-Grade Spirit Essence Stone, they were intercepted at the royal gates by a carriage made of white sandalwood.
A young girl stepped out. She looked no older than seventeen, with eyes like clear spring water and a gentle, noble aura that felt like a warm breeze. This was Princess Ling'er, the younger sister of the King, known for her kindness and her "weak" constitution that prevented her from cultivating.
"Teacher Tian Mo," she said, her voice soft and melodious. "I watched from the balcony as you cured my sister. Everyone says I was born with a 'Broken Body,' that I can never touch the Qi of this world."
Tian Mo scanned her.
[Subject: Ling'er. Condition: Innate Saint-Physique (Dormant). Flaw: She doesn't have a broken body; she has a 'Heavenly Vessel' that is too large for the thin Qi of this Kingdom. She is starving for energy, not broken.]
Tian Mo looked at the gentle girl. In the future, she would be a powerhouse that could rival the Gods, but for now, she was just a "gentle lamb" being ignored by the world.
"Master?" Li Feng asked.
Tian Mo looked at the Princess and then at the sky. The Myriad Kingdom Alliance exams were approaching.
"Princess," Tian Mo said, his handsome face softening just a fraction. "If you want to walk, I can show you the path. But be warned—once you start, the world will never look at you as a 'gentle' girl again. They will fear you."
Ling'er smiled, a spark of hidden steel in her eyes. "I would rather be feared and standing, than loved and kneeling, Teacher."
Tian Mo nodded. "Two students, then. Li Feng, prepare a third desk. We have a lot of work to do."
Dual Certification: The 3-Star Path
Back at the academy, Tian Mo looked at the Spirit Essence Stone.
[Divine Library: Consuming Stone... Unlocking 'Physician' and 'Appraiser' Databases...]
He had already mastered Alchemy. Now, by saving the Queen, he had proven his Physician skills. Only one remained for the 3-Star Supreme Teacher rank: The Appraiser.
"Janitor Lu!" Tian Mo shouted.
Lu came running, holding a bucket. "Yes... Master?"
"Go to the Royal Auction House. Tell them that Tian Mo is coming to 'Evaluate' their Forbidden Vault. If they want to know the truth about their 'Trash' treasures, they better clear the hall."