None of the princes and young lords were fools; they were all shrewd individuals.
Didn't they know that the Jade Lock Golden Gate Art could attract the Emperor's attention and was a shortcut to gaining imperial favor?
Why did they abandon this shortcut?
Among the princes and young lords, there was no lack of martial arts geniuses, yet none of them took this path, proving that it was an impassable shortcut and had to be abandoned.
However, there was no need to tell this to Bai Ningshuang, who didn't understand martial arts. He would agree for now and read the cultivation method later.
Chu Zhiyuan said solemnly, "Mother, the fact that no one has come to visit is just the current situation. They are all watching and waiting. Now, we must remain calm and steady, and not act rashly."
Bai Ningshuang snorted, "I want to be steady, but I can't stand it."
"Then visit the Imperial Grandmother more often and learn from her."
"...Alright," Bai Ningshuang nodded helplessly, "Your Imperial Grandmother's place is also deserted. It's pitiful. Now that we're released, we can spend more time with her and have someone to talk to."
---
Before dawn, Qing Wang Manor was already bustling with activity.
Listening Wave Courtyard, the residence of the Heir Apparent, was brightly lit as if it were daytime.
In the outer room of the bedroom, a round rosewood table with dragon patterns was set, with eight dishes and four soups radiating tempting luster and aroma under the candlelight.
Chu Zhiyuan stood before the table, extending his arms as two red-clad maids served him with his clothes.
Two other white-clad maids waited on him as he ate.
All four maids were as beautiful as flowers, light and graceful, and could be mistaken for daughters of noble families when seen outside.
The two red-clad maids meticulously arranged his bright yellow martial attire, their slender hands repeatedly adjusting the position of the crane-shaped waist牌 (waist badge).
He wore nothing superfluous, except for this crane-shaped silver waist牌.
Chu Zhiyuan lowered his arms and casually touched the pretty faces of the two red-clad maids, leaving Listening Wave Courtyard amidst their coquettish glances.
Zou Fang, dressed in a blue robe with a white jade whisk inserted in his waist, waited outside with a lantern, and quietly led the way when he came out.
In the brightly lit front hall, Qing Wang, Chu Minghou, sat upright, while Wangfei, Bai Ningshuang, paced back and forth. A delicate and graceful young girl sat at the table.
Chu Minghou was thin and frail, with a refined and ethereal temperament, and said with a smile, "Madam, there is no need to worry. Yuan'er can handle it. Sit down and rest."
Bai Ningshuang stopped and glared at him, "Lord, Yuan'er has no experience dealing with these fellows!"
Yuan'er has stayed in the manor for twenty years and has never seen outsiders. Those young lords and princes, however, are together every day and have long since developed cunning minds. Yuan'er going to the Mingwu Hall is like a lamb entering a pack of wolves. How can one not worry?
"No experience doesn't matter. Yuan'er's wisdom far exceeds ordinary people. He won't suffer."
"Alas..." Bai Ningshuang sighed worriedly, gracefully sitting beside him.
Chu Minghou shook his head with a smile.
Just then, Chu Zhiyuan lifted the curtain and entered, his bright yellow martial attire illuminating the room.
The graceful girl happily stepped forward and took his arm, "Big Brother!"
Chu Zhiyuan smiled, "You're finally willing to leave Wanquing Courtyard."
"Big Brother, you can finally enter the Mingwu Hall!" The girl, Chu Yi, giggled.
She wasn't worried at all, only happy.
In her mind, her big brother was omnipotent and omniscient. The Mingwu Hall was just a bunch of greenhorns, not worth mentioning.
"Yuan'er," Bai Ningshuang stepped forward to tidy his clothes, "When you go there, don't be timid. Don't provoke them, but don't be afraid of them either!"
Chu Zhiyuan agreed with a smile.
His mood was the opposite of theirs, longing and eager.
"That's right, Big Brother, don't be polite with them. Strike when you need to, and beat them all to the ground, crying for their parents!" Chu Yi clapped her hands in agreement.
Chu Zhiyuan laughed, "Little Sister, don't always tend to those flowers and plants. Go out more, see the outside world, and breathe in some life."
His little sister was lively by nature, but she was a homebody, used to being confined to life in the manor. Even after opening her own courtyard, she never stepped out of the manor, disliking seeing people and preferring to observe flowers and plants, and fiddle with them.
"Too lazy to go out, it's boring and filthy," Chu Yi pouted.
Chu Minghou stroked his three wisps of beard with his left hand and slowly said, "Yuan'er, you are also the Emperor's grandson, no less than them. Act freely!"
"Father, I understand," Chu Zhiyuan nodded.
He respected his father, Chu Minghou, very much.
Although he was frail and unable to practice martial arts, he did not give up after being confined to the manor. He focused on calligraphy and painting, and his attainments were already extremely high, worthy of being a calligraphy master and a painting master.
Bai Ningshuang quickly said, "Yuan'er, don't be polite to the young lords, but you must be respectful to the Thirteenth Imperial Uncle..."
"Mother, I understand. It's getting late, I'm leaving."
...
As Chu Zhiyuan stepped out of the Qing Wang Manor gate, the dawn was just breaking.
Qing Wang Street was shrouded in mist and chill, the lanterns on both sides of the street swaying in the cold wind, their shadows mottled.
Groups of five black-robed guards shuttled through the swaying shadows, their aura grim.
Guo Chi and eight Innate experts escorted him to the Nangong Gate, a hundred meters away.
Nangong Gate was the first gate of the Imperial Palace.
A group of officials in scarlet robes and official hats formed two lines, each ten meters long, one with bird patches and the other with beast patches.
Twelve Imperial Guards, with serious expressions, checked everyone's waist牌 impartially.
Chu Zhiyuan did not queue up at the back, but went directly to the front of the two lines, entering the palace gate unimpeded with his crane-shaped waist牌 and Zou Fang.
Guo Chi and the eight guards could not enter and had to stay outside the palace gate.
Entering the Nangong Gate, the scene before him was an open square, where a crowd of scarlet-robed and official-hatted court officials were already waiting to attend court, a dark and silent mass.
Dressed in bright yellow, close-fitting attire, Chu Zhiyuan was instantly recognizable as a member of the royal family, prompting officials to step aside and watch him.
Chu Zhiyuan, with a look of indifference, walked inside, ignoring everyone around him.
His mind replayed the images of the two trackers.
Their ability to conceal their presence and dim their aura indicated a very high level of stealth, yet it had still eluded Guo Chi and Zou Fang.
He wondered if Feng Xi, lurking in the shadows, could detect them and uncover their origins.
As the chief steward of the Prince's estate, Feng Xi cultivated the top-tier secret art of the palace eunuchs, a silent and swift technique like a ghostly shadow, placing him in the Grandmaster realm.
The Southern Palace gate guards included two Grandmasters.
Above their heads, three feet above, were illusory images.
One was a crane, two feet long, standing on one leg in the void, its neck bent, head hidden beneath its wing.
The other was a white tiger, three feet long, lying prone in the void, also resting.
The Grandmaster realm had nine levels, Guo Chi and Zou Fang were both at the third level, while Feng Xi was at the fifth.
Only his extrasensory perception could see these illusory images above their heads, and he had deduced a pattern: one foot of the illusory image represented one level of the Grandmaster realm.
He passed through the plaza, then through a palace gate, and after walking another hundred meters, he passed through another palace gate, each gate guarded by Grandmasters.
Finally, he arrived at a spacious training ground.
He waved his hand at Zou Fang.
Zou Fang bowed respectfully, "Your Highness, this servant will wait outside."
"Mm."
Zou Fang exited the palace gate and waited outside.
… …
At the north end of the training ground stood a magnificent hall, its plaque bearing the three golden characters "Mingwu Hall," shimmering faintly in the morning light.
Together with the side halls on the east and west, the three great halls resembled three giant beasts coiled in the morning light, exuding an inexplicable sense of oppression.
The ground of the training field was made of a dark green soil, soft and resilient underfoot, similar to the plastic track of his previous life.
Twelve young men in bright yellow, close-fitting attire stood motionless in the morning light, striking peculiar poses, which he immediately recognized as practitioners of the Lesser Ziyang Art.
Hearing footsteps, the twelve turned their heads to look.
He could clearly sense the emotions of the group: curiosity.
He sensed it twice more, confirming that the emotions of the group were indeed curiosity.
He found it strange.
He had expected to be greeted with indifference, even disdain, or even sarcasm, but instead, there was no malice, only curiosity.
Could the children of the imperial family be so inherently kind?
That was impossible.
Their friendliness towards him must be due to the influence of their respective parents, indicating that his father had a good reputation among the princes.
Thinking about it, it made sense. Because he couldn't practice martial arts, he was gentle, open-minded, and valued loyalty and righteousness. Which of his brothers wouldn't like him?
He approached the thin, short old man at the edge of the field, clasped his fist in salute, "Junior Chu Zhiyuan greets Thirteenth Grand Uncle."
The hairs on the back of his neck stood on end, warning him to stay away.
The old man before him had the complexion of a child despite his white hair, his figure thin and short, as if he could be blown away with a single punch.
As he expanded his extrasensory perception, his vision suddenly blurred.
In a daze, he seemed to be standing on the peak of a mountain in the midst of vast mountain ranges.
Beneath layers of dark clouds, the towering peaks were divided, with a wide, long river winding into the distance between them.
At the end of the river, a rising sun had just begun to ascend, bursting forth with rays of golden light, but it was half-obscured by layers of dark clouds.
The golden rays of the half-risen sun reflected off the dark clouds, turning them purple, turning the great river into a golden dragon, and turning the surrounding peaks into golden mountains.
He snapped back to reality, retracted his extrasensory perception, and immediately returned to normal.
It was as if everything had been an illusion.
Before him was still the thin, short old man, who could be blown away by a gust of wind.
This was a Grand Greatmaster!
The aura of the first layer of the Innate realm, the Grandmaster had external manifestations of their mental techniques, but what was this Grand Greatmaster?
"Chu Zhiyuan, the son of the third, Minghou?"
The thin, short old man's eyes showed no signs of age, his eyes were bright and shining.
"Indeed, nephew," Chu Zhiyuan said, his face pale, desperately suppressing the slight trembling of his body, and forcing a smile: "My father asked me to bring his greetings to Thirteenth Grand Uncle."
"Where is Minghou?"
"Father said that he didn't want to cause trouble for others, nor did he want to cause trouble for the estate. It would be better for him to stay in the estate and not come out, so everyone would be happy."
"… … That child — —"
Chu Qingfeng was silent for a moment, then shook his head and sighed.
Immediately, he reached out and grabbed Chu Zhiyuan's wrist, and a faint stream of energy instantly swept through the meridians in his body.
Chu Zhiyuan was unable to react and was already grabbed and unable to move.
Chu Qingfeng released his wrist and nodded in satisfaction, "Not bad… Not bad!"
The princes and princes became even more curious, eager to come closer.
As the teacher of these princes and princes, Chu Qingfeng had always been strict, often reprimanding them, often being sarcastic, and rarely saying good things.
Was this a case of love me, love my dog?
A round-faced, burly young man raised his voice and asked, "Thirteenth Uncle, what realm is Fourth Brother in?"
Chu Zhiyuan was ranked fourth among the imperial princes of this generation.
"Practice your skills!… The day after tomorrow is already complete, much stronger than you Eighteenth Uncle!"
The round-faced, burly young man grinned, "It's nothing to have completed the day after tomorrow, Ninth and Tenth Brothers have also completed the day after tomorrow."
"Eighteenth, you are an uncle, but your cultivation is not as good as your nephew's, how dare you speak," Chu Qingfeng glanced at him: "Shut your mouth!"
The Eighteenth Prince, Chu Mingxuan, snorted sullenly, closed his mouth and stopped talking, simply closing his eyes as if he were concentrating on practicing his skills.
Otherwise, even more unpleasant words would follow.
"Come over and talk."
"Yes."
The two left the training ground and came to the main hall.
