After the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, he emerged from the Auditing Department with three ivory tablets in his sleeve: two of the ninth rank and one of the eighth rank.
Sending a message to the Town Guard Department about the demonic practitioners of the Jade Cauldron Sect was worth ninth-rank merit, and assisting the Town Guard Department in exterminating the demonic practitioners of the Jade Cauldron Sect was worth one ninth-rank merit plus one eighth-rank merit.
The Auditing Department's evaluation was very strict; assisting in exterminating the demonic practitioners of the Jade Cauldron Sect only yielded one eighth-rank merit and one ninth-rank merit.
The Town Guard Department's memorial for merit only stated that he should be credited with the primary contribution for exterminating the Jade Cauldron Sect, without detailing the process.
If it had been detailed, a seventh-rank merit could have been hoped for.
This was unavoidable because he had to keep his extrasensory perception a secret and couldn't be too specific.
He held the three ivory tablets in his sleeve and shook his head with regret.
What was regrettable was that it was too difficult to earn merit in the Ministry of Rites' Clan Martial Department; even if merit was earned, it would only be tallied during the year-end merit evaluation.
Statistics were compiled once a year.
Unless special merit was achieved.
Ordinary merit was too slow, and special merit was hard to come by.
If he were in the military, there would be too many opportunities to earn merit, especially during wartime, when there would be countless opportunities.
This was the root of the Great Jing army's bravery, resembling the Qin Dynasty army of his previous life.
However, everything in the world has its advantages and disadvantages; gains are proportional to risks.
Special merit yields great rewards, but the risks are also great; messing it up would result in punishment.
Many officials don't seek special merit, but rather ordinary merit; being honest and dutiful can earn them ordinary merit, at least a ninth-rank merit.
… …
The three ivory tablets were exchanged for two Small Marrow Cleansing Pills and one Marrow Cleansing Pill at the Heavenly Treasure Department.
The Marrow Cleansing Pill was several times more effective than the Small Marrow Cleansing Pill; after taking the Small Marrow Cleansing Pill, one could only take the Marrow Cleansing Pill to cleanse the marrow further.
He used it to refine the Dragon Art, which also had a phenomenon of diminishing efficacy, but it was much slower than taking it directly.
— —
As dusk fell, the lights of Jade Capital City began to illuminate the extravagant and intoxicating scene.
Surrounded by Zou Fang, Guo Chi, and a group of guards, Chu Zhiyuan arrived at Prince Mingxuan's imperial residence.
The lanterns outside the prince's residence were already lit in the twilight.
The guards inside the residence patrolled crisscross, each with high spirits and energy, surpassing even the current guards of the Qing Prince's residence.
As soon as Chu Zhiyuan arrived, the gatekeeper of the prince's residence directly opened the door and invited him in, trotting inside to report.
Just as he rounded the screen wall, Chu Mingxuan hurriedly greeted him, his round face lacking its usual cheerful expression.
Suppressing his doubts, Chu Zhiyuan clasped his fist and said, "Eighteenth Uncle, has Third Brother arrived?"
"He arrived not long ago," Chu Mingxuan said.
Chu Zhiyuan said, "Eighteenth Uncle, you seem preoccupied; has something happened?"
"Alas—!" Chu Mingxuan shook his head and smiled bitterly.
Chu Zhiyuan became even more curious.
Chu Mingxuan looked helpless, "That Third Child seems like a different person."
Chu Zhiyuan said, "What's wrong with Third Brother?"
"He was already arrogant, but now he's even worse, stubborn and unyielding!" Chu Mingxuan shook his head, looking distressed, which seemed particularly comical on his chubby face: "If I had known he would become like this, I wouldn't have invited you all here together. If he says something unpleasant later, don't take it to heart."
Chu Zhiyuan said, "What did Third Brother say?"
Chu Mingxuan said helplessly, "He accused us of being useless, indulging in pleasure, being lazy, and not striving for self-improvement."
Chu Zhiyuan blinked.
Those words were truly harsh.
But it felt strange, as if those words should have been said by someone outside the imperial family.
Chu Mingxuan snorted, "It's as if we should all be practicing martial arts desperately all day long. He said we don't deserve to enjoy ourselves in Jade Capital like this; the soldiers on the border are all practicing desperately, and even then, some of them die from time to time."
Chu Zhiyuan slowly nodded.
He had a general impression: an angry youth.
As they spoke, they arrived outside the main hall, and they could hear scolding from inside the room even from the bottom of the steps: "Look at you two, your swordsmanship is terrible, your fist techniques are mediocre; have you spent the last two years eating, drinking, and having fun?"
"… …"
"You've disgraced the Chu family!"
"… …"
"Haha…" Chu Mingxuan laughed as he lifted the curtain: "Fourth is here!"
Chu Zhiyuan gave Zou Fang a look, rarely allowing Zou Fang and Guo Chi to stay outside the hall together.
Chu Zhiyuan stepped into the room, feeling the rush of heat.
At first glance, he saw a strong young man glaring at Chu Zhiting and Chu Zichuan, his eyes like an eagle, his face ashen.
Hearing the movement, he shifted his cold gaze from Chu Zhiting and Chu Zichuan, who were cowering in the grand chair, and swept over him, sizing him up, scrutinizing him, as if looking at a criminal.
"Third, look at you!" Chu Mingxuan shook his head helplessly: "When we get together, we're supposed to have fun; if you want to train people, go to the Ming Martial Hall, don't train them here!"
The strong young man had handsome features and a refined temperament, and he said coldly, "I don't want to train people here either, but Eighteenth Uncle, I can't stand to see a speck of dust in my eyes!"
"You…" Chu Mingxuan waved his hand: "Come, come, this is Fourth, you've heard of his reputation, right?"
"I heard about it yesterday as soon as I returned," Chu Zhiyao said indifferently, "A rare genius in our Chu family lineage."
Chu Zhiyuan clasped his fist: "Third Brother overpraises me."
"Whether it's an overpraise or not, we'll only know after we've tried it!" Chu Zhiyao said in a deep voice: "Hearing is believing, seeing is reality; I don't believe what others say, I only believe what I see with my own eyes, take my punch!"
He suddenly stepped forward, his right fist suddenly swelling in size, with a faint aura of purple qi, instantly reaching Chu Zhiyuan's chest.
Chu Zhiyuan recognized it at a glance as the Great Heavenly Thunder Hammer.
The so-called Heavenly Thunder is inherently fierce and domineering, combined with swiftness; when the two natures are combined into one, its power is naturally extraordinary, slightly inferior to the Great Avalanche Sword Art.
Chu Zhiyuan had actually practiced this fist technique, but he didn't use it much usually, as it didn't suit his temperament, and he felt that the Meridian Severing Hand was more useful.
The existence of extrasensory perception made him prefer the Meridian Severing Hand's way of overcoming strength with skill.
He stepped aside and thrust out his palm, barely avoiding the punch, his right palm accurately striking Chu Zhiyao's left shoulder well, causing half of his body to go numb, and his movements to falter.
Then, his second palm struck his right shoulder well, causing the right half of his body to go numb, and his whole body stiffened, unable to avoid the third palm striking his chest.
Chu Zhiyuan took a step back, clasped his fist, and smiled, "Third Brother, you yield."
Chu Zhiyao stared blankly at him, his face quickly turning purple, desperately circulating his energy but unable to dissolve the true qi in the acupoints; only when Chu Zhiyuan struck out another palm did he restore the flow of true qi.
"Huff…" He let out a long breath, his face slowly returning to normal.
Chu Mingxuan chuckled, "How is it, is Fourth living up to his name?"
Chu Zhiting and Chu Zichuan also stared at him excitedly, feeling very relieved.
They had just been scolded by him like grandsons, but they couldn't refute him, which was too frustrating.
Chu Zhiyao snorted and sized up Chu Zhiyuan: "Fourth, what level are you at?"
"Fifth," Chu Zhiyuan said.
Chu Mingxuan and Chu Zhiting and Chu Zichuan turned their heads sharply and glared over.
Chu Zhiyuan said, "The Imperial Grandfather is indeed a genius of heaven; the Jade Lock Golden Gate Art is truly a miraculous art."
Reaching the fifth level of the Innate Realm in less than a month, this speed of advancement was too unbelievable; even a genius like the Emperor Chu Qingquan didn't seem to be this fast.
They also knew that the Jade Lock Golden Gate Art had a miraculous effect on breaking through barriers; Chu Zhiyuan had mastered the Jade Lock Golden Gate Art that no one else had mastered, so they could accept this fact.
Chu Zhiyao frowned: "Is the Jade Lock Golden Gate Art really that magical?"
Chu Zhiyuan said, "If you can also master the Taiqing Yuan Sect's Earth Element Art, the Jade Lock Golden Gate Art will be even more magical than everyone thinks."
"… …Taiqing Yuan Sect," Chu Zhiyao was silent for a moment, then shook his head.
The way he looked at Chu Zhiyuan was somewhat strange.
Not like he was looking at a person, but more like he was looking at a monster.
The Jade Lock Golden Gate Art was almost impossible to master, and the same was true for those ancient sect inheritances; at least he had never heard of anyone mastering these ancient inheritances.
However, if he could master the Jade Lock Golden Gate Art, then mastering the Taiqing Yuan Sect's inheritance wouldn't be so unbelievable.
Chu Zhiyao said, "Fourth, you're so powerful, why don't you go to the military?"
"The military is too dangerous; Father and Mother would both worry," Chu Zhiyuan sighed: "Our Prince's Mansion is too sparsely populated; we can't take that risk."
"… …You are indeed a filial son," Chu Zhiyao snorted and curled his lips.
In his opinion, this was a lack of ambition and a desire to survive.
With such unparalleled talent, he should go to the military to earn merit, thereby intimidating the entire border, enhancing the prestige of the Chu imperial family, and boosting morale.
The border was too harsh and needed to boost morale.
