“What does Grandfather Emperor think?” Chu Zhiyuan asked with a smile.
The Wangfu servants below once again served tea and snacks.
Huang Cheng chuckled and said, “Young Master Yuan, the Emperor’s intention is to ask your intention, to follow your intention.”
Chu Zhiyuan smiled and said, “Grandfather Emperor can decide directly; I will act according to the imperial decree.”
Huang Cheng smiled like Maitreya Buddha, saying, “The Emperor values the Young Master and truly wants the Young Master to make his own decision, whether to advance it or postpone it.”
Chu Zhiyuan looked at him thoughtfully. Huang Cheng’s smile was full, but one couldn’t discern his true intentions.
Chu Zhiyuan slowly said, “Envoy Huang, then let’s advance it.”
“If it is advanced, the Emperor has a small reward.” Huang Cheng smiled.
Chu Zhiyuan immediately revealed a smile: “What treasure?”
He had indeed bet correctly.
“Two pieces of Dragon Marrow Incense.” Huang Cheng took out a small cold jade box from his sleeve. Opening it, inside were two pieces of Dragon Marrow Incense.
He smiled and closed the cold jade box: “Envoy Huang, if I postpone it, there will be no Dragon Marrow Incense, right?”
“Precisely.”
“Grandfather Emperor is indeed Grandfather Emperor!” Chu Zhiyuan said with a smile.
“Is the Young Master satisfied with this reward?”
“Thank you for relaying my gratitude to Grandfather Emperor.”
“This servant will certainly convey it.”
Chu Zhiyuan sat down and took a light sip of tea: “If I lose this time, will Grandfather Emperor remove me as the Imperial Envoy?”
“…Yes.” Huang Cheng sat down and took a light sip of tea: “The Emperor said that if you lose, then it is the will of Heaven. Let Duke Anguo make the trip as the envoy.”
Chu Zhiyuan raised a sword-like eyebrow.
The replacement chosen for him was truly subtle.
One could only say, worthy of being the Emperor.
Chu Zhiyuan smiled and said, “If I win?”
“If you win, the Emperor said there will be a reward.”
“What reward?”
“Ten pieces of Dragon Marrow Incense.”
Chu Zhiyuan’s eyes lit up.
The effects of Dragon Marrow Incense would diminish as the first level of the Dragon Transformation Art progressed, but no matter how much it diminished, it was still faster than him cultivating the first level of the Dragon Transformation Art through hard work. It could save him several times the time.
Ten pieces of Dragon Marrow Incense would be ten Rank 5 merits. Even if he risked his life, he probably couldn’t earn ten Rank 5 merits in a year. Rank 5 merits weren’t something that could be achieved just through hard work; opportunity was also needed, depending on whether major events occurred.
If the world was peaceful and nothing happened, or if the martial arts sects were well-behaved, or if the heretical sects and demonic people didn’t run in front of him, then it would be difficult to obtain Rank 5 merits. Unless he went to the border.
That was truly dangerous, and he would never easily set foot there.
He couldn’t help but imagine, to what extent could he progress with ten pieces of Dragon Marrow Incense?
Breaking through realms was difficult for Grandmasters, with each step being arduous, but comparatively speaking, the first three Heavens were the easiest, the middle three Heavens were difficult, and the last three Heavens were the most difficult. With Dragon Marrow Incense and the Jade Lock Golden Barrier Art, he could shorten a lot of time.
He was confident that he could enter the third Heaven with twelve pieces of Dragon Marrow Incense, but the fourth Heaven probably wouldn’t be so easy to enter. Thinking of this, his smile became even more radiant: “Good, I’ve set my sights on this reward.”
“Young Master Yuan, do not be careless,” Huang Cheng said, “This Ninth Princess is no ordinary person; she is a heaven-defying genius, not to be underestimated.” Chu Zhiyuan said solemnly, “I will never underestimate my enemy.”
Huang Cheng chuckled and said, “That’s also true. This servant was overthinking it… Then this servant will return to the palace to see the Emperor.” “Envoy, you’ve worked hard.” Chu Zhiyuan clasped his fist and smiled as he saw him off.
Chu Zhiyuan took the two pieces of Dragon Marrow Incense directly to the new residence, cultivating in the new residence to absorb the Dragon Marrow Incense as soon as possible. If he could break through a step and step into the third Heaven, then he would be even more confident.
Unfortunately, after using two pieces of Dragon Marrow Incense, his meridians became extremely resilient, but he still couldn’t break through the second Copper Tower. The easiest to break through was the top floor.
The sturdiness of the second Heaven’s Copper Tower was indeed different. The impact of the twelve Dragon Binding Cords, continuous impact, still couldn’t break it open.
Under the second Heaven’s realm, the Gang Qi was purer, and the pressure on the meridians was greater. Originally, he could only withstand eight Dragon Binding Cords, but now, after using two pieces of Dragon Marrow Incense, he could already withstand twelve Dragon Binding Cords. But twelve Dragon Binding Cords clearly felt insufficient.
It was already impossible to further enhance the resilience of his meridians in a short time. He sighed helplessly.
He could only rely on hard work and grind it down, alternately using the first level of the Dragon Transformation Art and the Meridian Cleansing Art, plus the assistance of the Imperial Heaven Houtu Sutra. The progress wasn’t slow.
This early morning, amidst the morning light, he was standing in the Purple Sun Stance, cultivating the Purple Sun True Scripture, absorbing the scattered purple light in the void.
Strands of purple light fell into his body, merging into the Gang Qi of the Purple Sun True Scripture, making the Gang Qi purer and warmer.
This trace of warmth warmed his heart, obviously having a special profundity, being the foundation of a Grandmaster.
Just as he was entering a perfect state, feeling intoxicated, a clear cry suddenly rang out, shattering the long sky.
Chu Zhiyuan’s expression slightly changed as he raised his head to look.
His extrasensory perception allowed him to quickly track the direction from which the sound came.
Who had broken through in their cultivation?
A Grandmaster's breakthrough didn’t seem to have such a great momentum, while a breakthrough to Great Grandmaster had far greater momentum.
He vaguely felt uneasy, as if it was related to him.
Immediately, his expression slightly changed.
Could it be that Li Hongzhao had broken through?
Looking at the direction of the sound, it was indeed coming from the Sifang Inn.
It really might be Li Hongzhao who had broken through!
“Young Master, it is indeed the Great Meng’s Ninth Princess Li Hongzhao. She has just broken through to the third Heaven of the Grandmaster realm.”
“Does the third Heaven have such momentum?”
“It is said that Li Hongzhao cultivates the Phoenix Sword Sect’s highest secret art, the Phoenix Cry Nine Heavens Art, which has been lost for hundreds of years, and the momentum of cultivation breakthrough is particularly great.”
“Phoenix Cry Nine Heavens Art…” Chu Zhiyuan frowned and pondered.
He quickly searched in his mind, but couldn’t find it.
Neither the Tongtian Pavilion nor the Mingwu Hall had records of this Phoenix Cry Nine Heavens Art, or perhaps he hadn’t read it yet.
After all, most of his time recently had been spent on cultivation, greatly reducing the time for reading.
It seemed that after things slowed down for a while, he had to calm down and read carefully, striving to go through all the books in the Tongtian Pavilion and Mingwu Hall and store them in his mind.
Zou Fang quietly stood in front of him, her expression calm.
But in her heart, she was extremely worried.
An opponent breaking through right before a battle was immense pressure for anyone.
Moreover, only now did they know that Li Hongzhao was practicing the Phoenix Sword Sect’s supreme secret art, and one that had been lost for hundreds of years.
Facing such an opponent, even if they were in the same realm, one might not necessarily win.
What’s more, she had suddenly advanced to a higher Heaven.
The Young Master’s second Heaven was now suppressed!
Although he was nervous and worried, his face remained as calm as ever, as if it were just an insignificant piece of news.
Chu Zhiyuan smiled and said, “Zou Fang, are you afraid?”
Zou Fang smiled and said, “The Great Meng’s Ninth Princess Li Hongzhao is strong, but the Young Master is not bad either. Moreover, this is just a martial arts competition, not a life-and-death battle. With the Young Master’s heaven-defying talent, even if you lose this time, you will surely win next time!”
“You’re good at comforting people,” Chu Zhiyuan looked towards the direction of the Sifang Inn and slowly said, “It seems I’m going to lose this time.”
Zou Fang said, “Who in the world never loses? Young Master, do not dwell on it.” Chu Zhiyuan slowly said, “No matter what, I have to fight before I know!”
