(Thanks to Grum for the gift)
The young man's entourage wanted to stop him but feared offending Wang Wei. So, they stood frozen, indecisive about what to do. Meanwhile, Wang Wei calmly looked at the young man kneeling on the ground.
"You're Fourth Prince, Kang Rong?"
"It is the lowly one."
"Interesting. So, why are you asking me for help? I have nothing to do with your royal family."
Kang Rong gritted his teeth and said: "I want to be Sovereign."
"Your highness," yelled his companions as they looked around to see if anyone heard. And despite not seeing anything, they were worried since these words could be considered treason and lead to their master's death along with all his retainers(them).
Kang Rong ignored and continued. He understood this might be his only chance. And when speaking to someone as powerful as the World's Richest Man, he had to be direct to have an opportunity.
"I know, an Immortal as high and mighty as you might not care about the affairs of the mundane world. But to me, this is everything."
"You're wrong. After all, there is a reason I have so much wealth."
Kang Rong smiled while remaining in his kowtow stance as he understood the meaning behind these words: he had a chance.
"Immortal Reverand, I will give you whatever you desire–as long as you help sit on the throne."
Kang Rong had no choice but to use this extreme method. He had more than 40 brothers and sisters, but only five were eligible to compete for the throne, and he was one of them. Amongst all his five brothers, he was the most qualified.
He was more intelligent and had the best political, economic, diplomatic, and military sense. He cultivated the best retainers to help him in court and even gained the support of many people in the dynasty.
Unfortunately, his father hated him for some reason and did everything to reduce his power or give his brothers the advantage. Kang Rong could not understand why his father hated him so much. At first, he thought because he was the product of a lowly maid. But his 8th brother has a similar background, and his father did not treat him the same.
Recently, his father passed an imperial decree that essentially banished him to the borders, removing him from the competition. After that, Kang Rong thought about rebellion. Unfortunately, his father had absolute power in the Empire. He easily removed Kang Rong's power and prestige, so he knew rebellion would result in his death.
After pondering the situation for many days, Kang Rong concluded there was one person who could give him what he wanted: the World's Richest Man, Wang Wei. Only this man who controlled more than 70% of the world's wealth and an unknown army of martial artists with superhuman strength.
So, without hesitation, he took his most trusted subordinate and traveled day and night to meet his legendary man. Kang Rong instantly knew he had made the correct choice after seeing how young the person was for his age.
"You understand the consequences of making such a deal with me?" Wang Wei asked.
"I do." He understood what might happen to have an immortal by his side; he might turn into a puppet ruler. Nevertheless, he wanted to take the risk.
"Very well. Let's discuss things in the capital."
Wang Wei waved his hand to wrap Kang Rong and his group with his spiritual power and flew to the sky, shocking the group. Kang Rong took a deep breath to ease the fear and excitement he felt from the sensation of flying and the awe he felt for Wang Wei's power. Meanwhile, his entourage almost screamed out of fear. Luckily, Wang Wei blocked their mouths.
The capital was close to his location, so they only flew for a few minutes before arriving at their destination. If Kang Rong had looked closely, he would have detected Wang Wei's face was paler than before.
The short soaring session while carrying three people and himself almost drained his spiritual power. However, it was necessary to show up and instill fear in Kang Rong, ensuring he won't do something stupid after he gets what he wanted and forcing Wang Wei to waste time and eliminate him.
After returning to the capital, Wang Wei asked Kang Rong if he wanted to get the throne using the fast and ruthless way or the slow but more benevolent way. And he chose the latter.
The next day, the king and his four other brothers became ill, and no doctors could do anything. Kang Rong began rapidly taking control of the dynasty's military and political powers. With Wang Wei's Martial Art Legion, he was unstable. However, Wang Wei also used a secret method to prevent internal chaos and confusion.
Then, after taking all the power, Kang Rong blackmailed his father to pass the throne to him rightfully. The king had no choice since his son had the only solution to the poison he was affected by.
Finally, Kang Rong rightfully took over the throne. But he did not immediately kill his father. The antidote to the poison required constant doses to prevent death. However, the same could not be said for his brothers.
The first thing Kang Rong did after taking the throne was given Wang Wei the title of National Teacher before creating temples for him. There was a main temple in the capital, with countless scattered over the dynasty.
Wang Wei stood inside his temple, looking at the sky.
'This world's Spiritual Qi and law are so low that I cannot even condense Qi Luck.'
He could see a bunch of scattered invisible golden motes flying from different parts of the dynasty into the temple.
'Even if I gather this entire world's luck, I could only increase my lifespan by 200 years.' He shook his head before walking into a room where he saw myriad floating white and red energy orbs.
'I can still gather Incense, but the quality is so low. Not to mention all the impurities.'
Wang Wei took the incense to refine it. He removed the impurities and used the remaining to accelerate the Spirit Refining. Meanwhile, under his orders, Kang Rong began positively changing the Great Lu Dynasty.
Wang Wei gave him a book containing detailed things he needed to achieve to bring a golden age of prosperity to the dynasty; he even funneled much of his wealth to help.
The only thing Wang Wei asked in return was for his name to be revered in the dynasty and for people to worship him. And Kang Rong did a great job turning him into the revere Immortal Guardian of the Dynasty. He did not hesitate to give him most of the credit for the social changes that happened in the Empire. There is even a holiday to worship the Immortal Guardian.
Today, Wang Wei opened his temple for the first time since Kang Rong's enthronement. He never left or met with anyone. If he wanted to communicate with others–including Kang Rong–he would use his Divine Sense.
He opened the gate, and two people walked in: an older man and a younger man. The older man looked at Wang Wei with complication in his eyes before kneeling on the ground, with his head directly on the ground, shocking the younger man.
However, he also berated the younger man, forcing him to kneel, and after a moment of hesitation, the latter followed.
"It's been 40 years since we last met."
"Yes, Immortal Reverend, and you have not changed a single bit since then."
"The same cannot be said for you. You're now a dying old man."
"It doesn't matter," replied Kong Rang. "I'm satisfied with my life."
"So, you're here for your son. Are you here asking me to support him on the throne or asking for immortality for him?"
"I knew I could not hide it from your divine eyes. I"m here for both."
"People who sit on the throne cannot pursue longevity. Their greed and power are a recipe for disaster, and I don't want to create more trouble for myself," Wang Wei replied calmly. "If you want, I can teach one of your children a part of my inheritance, but it cannot be the one on the throne."
These words surprised Kang Rong as he was prepared for rejection and the possibility of facing the Immortal's wrath.
"As you wish. Sir."
Wang Wei nodded his head before looking at Kang Rong's son. "It's time for the dynasty to conquer this world. Follow your father's example, and you will be forever remembered as a wise Sovereign in the annals of history."
The young Sovereign immediately became excited, ignoring the disappointment he had previously felt. Although he could not live forever, he was happy to pursue eternal glory.
Kang Rong left with his son to prepare for the expansion. He was too old but could still provide some wisdom when needed. He also did not forget to bring another one of his sons to the temple.
Wang Wei looked at the 13th prince before him and said: "I will tell you directly. Cultivating immortality is boring, long, and requires hard work and dedication. But even then, you might fail. Do you still want to walk this path?"
"Yes, Sir Guardian."
"Alright. I'll pass the Essence Refining Technique to you. If you can cultivate it to a certain level, you can live up to 120 years old."
"Only 120? Can't I be immortal like you?"
"No."
"Why?"
"Immortal cultivation requires too many resources. The more people who are walking this path, the less left for me."
If it were not for the fact the Essence Refining Technique only required food to cultivate, he would never pass it to someone else. So, regarding the Qi Refining that required some Spiritual Qi, no one in this world will know this method beside him.
"Oh," replied the young prince.
"Don't be disappointed. The chances are you will give up cultivating after facing the difficulties."
Wang Wei's guess was correct. Three years after this conversation, after Kang Rong's death, the young prince gave up cultivating. He hated the constant practice, the constant eating and defecating. Without his father forcing him, he gave up.
