The next day, he woke up on the couch and felt as if only a short time had passed.
It seemed like it was midnight when he went to sleep.
But now, the sunlight filled the window paper, and wisps of fresh air drifted into his nostrils.
Footsteps came from outside.
He raised his voice and said, "Aunt, come in."
He got up and sat cross-legged.
Focusing internally on his dantian, he saw the yin-yang fish lazily rotating, slow and leisurely.
You Lan pushed the door open and said helplessly, "Your Highness, it's getting late, you should go to the Great Bright Peak."
Chu Zhiyuan said, "Let's eat first. It won't be too late to go after we've eaten."
Now that he had found the knack to accelerate his cultivation, he was no longer so impatient.
Having discovered the profoundness of the Great Bright Peak, a day of cultivation there was equivalent to several or even dozens of days for others.
Others couldn't discover this profoundness, and even if they knew, they couldn't achieve it.
Because they didn't have Extrasensory Perception and couldn't observe such a large area.
On the Great Bright Peak, looking at the sun and the mountains with the eyes only showed a part.
They couldn't have the panoramic view that Extrasensory Perception provided, and they couldn't turn it into a visualization.
He stepped into the door, and the scene before him changed to the majestic and grand snow-capped peak.
The sun was already shining brightly, dyeing the eastern side of the snow peak golden.
Chu Zhiyuan saw the two previous Inner Court Guards standing there waiting.
Seeing Chu Zhiyuan appear, the two hurriedly greeted him with cupped fists.
Chu Zhiyuan asked, "How have you two considered it?"
The two hesitated for a moment, and finally showed ashamed expressions. The round-faced youth said embarrassedly, "Please forgive us, Your Highness."
"You guys..." Chu Zhiyuan shook his head, "No wonder you're in such a miserable state."
The two smiled wryly.
Chu Zhiyuan said, "You think that if you don't want to enter my residence, you won't enter?"
The two were stunned.
Chu Zhiyuan snorted, "If I'm not mistaken, Wei Boyuan will stuff you into my residence."
The two men's expressions changed slightly.
"Your Highness, wouldn't that happen?" The round-faced youth hesitated, "If we don't want to, the chief steward won't force us."
"Heh heh... naive!"
Chu Zhiyuan used his Lightness Skill to walk up the mountain.
Strands of qi emerged from the yin-yang fish, circulating in his feet, guiding external force to inject beneath his feet.
An invisible force supported his feet upward and forward, making him feel as if he were riding the wind.
He had already discovered the fundamental difference between Outer Heaven martial arts and Lesser Outer Heaven martial arts.
The essence of Outer Heaven martial arts was borrowing power.
The qi in the body was just a guide, a vanguard, leading external forces to help.
Spending a small amount of money to accomplish great things, doing the work of ten parts of strength with one part of strength.
The two Inner Court Guards followed Chu Zhiyuan with uncertain expressions, watching Chu Zhiyuan arrive at Pure Thought Cliff, sit cross-legged on the warm jade futon, motionless, but with surging qi around him.
They exchanged a glance, their expressions solemn.
As experts at the Perfection of the Transformation of Intent Realm, only one step away from entering the Transformation of Spirit Realm, they could naturally see the changes in Chu Zhiyuan's aura.
Chu Zhiyuan's absorption of spiritual energy was so swift and pure, far exceeding the normal range.
The intensity and purity of his spiritual energy not only surpassed their level at the Qi Transformation Realm, but also far exceeded that of other princes, unprecedented.
The world said that the Ninth Prince was foolish and of low aptitude, but the scene before them shattered this rumor.
On the contrary, the Ninth Prince's aptitude was so strong that it even surpassed any other prince.
Not to mention anything else, just in the cultivation of the Qi Transformation Realm, the Ninth Prince would be extremely fast.
In a short period of time, he would hopefully catch up with the progress of other princes, and might even step into the Transformation of Intent Realm before them.
Yesterday, it might have been a coincidence that they were mistaken.
Today, it was still the same, proving that he was not lucky, but indeed a peerless genius.
Everyone thought that the Ninth Prince, whose aptitude was low and unbearable, was actually a cultivation prodigy.
Chu Zhiyuan closed his eyes and suddenly said, "Don't tell Wei Boyuan about my cultivation situation."
"...Yes."
The two hesitated slightly and then agreed.
Afterward, they felt inexplicably strange.
This matter should not be concealed from Chief Steward Wei, otherwise it would be a dereliction of duty.
But they had agreed anyway.
Chu Zhiyuan said, "If there are no accidents, you will be transferred to my residence."
It was estimated that when Wei Boyuan transferred them over, he had already planned to let them enter his own prince's residence.
Chu Zhiyuan continued, "Being my guard is indeed very troublesome. In the future, we will go to the Phoenix Dynasty, and we may encounter assassinations."
The two men's expressions were grave.
Chu Zhiyuan said, "Because it is a hard task, Wei Boyuan will definitely send people who have offended him, or people he doesn't like, to do it. You can count who in the Inner Court Guards has offended him, who he doesn't like, and you can guess the candidates for the guards in my residence."
The two men's expressions grew even more unsightly.
After Chu Zhiyuan's analysis, they gradually believed his judgment.
Chu Zhiyuan said, "Of course, in addition to these people, there will also be one or two of his spies. You keep your eyes open and help me find these spies without making a sound."
The two remained silent.
Chu Zhiyuan stopped talking and focused on cultivation.
— —
The sun was setting, completely down, and dusk enveloped the Great Bright Peak.
Chu Zhiyuan got up and left Pure Thought Cliff.
The two Inner Court Guards followed him from ten feet away, floating along.
Chu Zhiyuan walked halfway, almost to the foot of the mountain, when he suddenly turned his head to look.
Three purple figures arrived close in the blink of an eye, still the Fourth Prince and his party of three.
Chu Zhiyuan showed a strange smile and cupped his fists, "Fourth Brother, what a coincidence."
The Fourth Prince nodded, "It is quite a coincidence."
He didn't stop and was about to pass by Chu Zhiyuan.
Chu Zhiyuan stepped aside.
The Fourth Prince glanced at him in surprise and continued forward, not expecting that Chu Zhiyuan would do this.
In the past, he would only stand firmly in place, blocking the road, forcing himself to take the initiative to go around.
The Sixth Prince narrowed his eyes slightly and followed the Fourth Prince silently.
When the Twelfth Prince's chubby body passed by Chu Zhiyuan, he suddenly moved sideways, trying to knock Chu Zhiyuan away.
Chu Zhiyuan had been observing the three people, observing their subtle movements and changes in expression in detail.
He had anticipated the Twelfth Prince's small actions.
He moved sideways, dodging just right.
The Twelfth Prince's bump hit nothing, staggering.
Chu Zhiyuan shook his head, "Twelfth Brother, you are getting more and more useless."
The Twelfth Prince steadied himself and glared at him dissatisfied, "Ninth Brother, what are you saying?!"
Chu Zhiyuan said, "If you want to teach me a lesson, just do it openly, why bother with these small tricks!"
He turned his head to look at the Fourth Prince, who had stopped, "If you have something to say, do it openly, say it openly, don't just engage in some petty tricks that can't be put on the table, say some insidious words, and embarrass us princes!"
The Fourth Prince's expression darkened slightly.
Back then, when Chu Liezhao went crazy and hit someone, he suffered a loss because he didn't expect Chu Liezhao to be standing behind him, hearing his words and suddenly erupting.
Criticizing Consort Yun behind her back was indeed inappropriate.
He was not in the right, so the emperor lightly punished Chu Liezhao.
Whenever he thought about it, he felt ashamed, and he often reminded himself to be careful in his words and actions, and not to speak carelessly.
Chu Zhiyuan said, "How about this, Twelfth Brother, don't you want to teach me a lesson? I'll give you a chance! Ten days later, in the evening, let's have a sparring match, dare you?"
"You really dare to spar?" The Twelfth Prince snorted, "Then why wait ten days?"
Chu Zhiyuan said, "My cultivation is too low now, I am not your opponent."
"Ten days later, I will be your opponent? Ninth Brother, you have such a big tone!"
"It's worth a try," Chu Zhiyuan said.
"Good!" The Twelfth Prince nodded vigorously, "Ninth Brother, don't regret it, don't cry when the time comes!"
Chu Zhiyuan smiled disdainfully, "Just you?"
He shook his head and looked at the Fourth Prince, "Fourth Brother, do you want to have a sparring match too?"
"No need," the Fourth Prince said indifferently, "Let's go."
He turned and continued forward.
The Sixth Prince took a deep look at Chu Zhiyuan, and the Twelfth Prince snorted at Chu Zhiyuan twice.
Chu Zhiyuan snorted back disdainfully, stepped through the door, and returned to his own courtyard.
In just half a day, the news that he would be sparring with the Twelfth Prince in ten days spread throughout the imperial city.
