Chapter 82: Tenth Level
It was early morning, with the first rays of dawn just appearing.
The training grounds of the Bright Martial Hall were bustling with activity.
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Everyone was chattering and discussing the events of the previous night, from the Heavenly Dragon Divine Steed to Chu Zhiyuan's crushing defeat of Cheng Tianfeng. They were all talking excitedly, unable to contain their excitement.
The key was that Cheng Tianfeng had been too arrogant beforehand.
Everyone could see the arrogance in his demeanor, as if he didn't care about the princes and young masters in the Fengtian Hall, nor about the Great Jing Dynasty. Everyone wished they could beat him up themselves.
But his cultivation was high, and at a young age, he had already reached the ninth level of the Innate Realm, so they couldn't beat him.
Chu Zhiyuan was with them in the Bright Martial Hall, and they were close. Seeing Chu Zhiyuan crush and deal with him, they felt a great sense of satisfaction, as if they had done it themselves. "Why isn't Fourth Brother here today?"
"He expended too much energy yesterday, so he probably needs to rest."
"We should hold a banquet to congratulate Fourth Brother!"
"Eighteenth Uncle..."
Chu Mingxuan chuckled and said, "Fourth Brother has gone into seclusion. I ran into his personal eunuch on the way, who came to deliver the message. You won't be able to see him for the next few days."
"Is Fourth Brother injured?"
"He didn't say he was injured, but that he had gained some insights from his exchange with the Great Zhen's young master and wanted to take the opportunity to comprehend them properly, so as not to miss this opportunity," Chu Mingxuan said.
"Perhaps when Fourth Brother comes out of seclusion, he will have advanced another level."
"This progress, tsk tsk, is too amazing!"
At this point, everyone closed their mouths and began to set up the Purple Sun Stance, practicing diligently. Chu Mingxuan also became serious.
He was only one step away from breaking through, but he just couldn't get past it.
Chu Qingfeng stood aside, holding two pages of plain paper in his hand, written by Chu Zhiyuan.
Chu Zhiyuan wrote about two things: one was that he felt the Great Zhen's Grandmaster had murderous intent towards him, so he wanted to avoid him.
The second was about marrying the Great Zhen's princess. He didn't want to marry a daughter of Great Zhen, nor did he want to go to the Great Zhen's capital, as it was too dangerous. He didn't hide his true thoughts from Chu Qingfeng.
Chu Qingfeng frowned and pondered.
Regarding the first matter, it was normal for Chu Zhiyuan to have such concerns.
How could the Great Zhen's Grandmaster not have murderous intent upon seeing such a talented young master from Great Jing? Even if the two countries were to form an alliance, there would still be a hierarchy. Moreover, the world's affairs were constantly changing, uniting and dividing. Just because they were allied now didn't mean they would always be allied.
In the end, they would inevitably fight again, so eliminating a threat was a good idea. But Chu Zhiyuan was overthinking it.
Even if that Grandmaster had murderous intent, he wouldn't act. If the Great Zhen's Grandmaster killed the Great Jing's young master, the Great Jing's Grandmaster would surely retaliate by killing the Great Zhen's young master. If they kept killing each other, there might not be many Grandmasters or young masters left, and the royal family would be cut off. No one would dare to set this precedent, otherwise, the Great Zhen's Emperor would execute him before the Great Jing's Emperor even had to lift a finger, and the world would condemn him.
The second matter was also overthinking it.
Since the Emperor had agreed to the marriage between the Anguo Duke's mansion and the Qing Prince's mansion, it meant that he didn't want Chu Zhiyuan to marry the Great Zhen's princess.
There was no way the Great Zhen's princess would marry as a concubine of the young master, nor would they tear apart the marriage between the Anguo Duke's mansion and the Qing Prince's mansion just to marry the Great Zhen's princess.
The Emperor was incredibly intelligent, thinking three steps ahead. Agreeing to the marriage between the Anguo Duke's mansion and the Qing Prince's mansion was likely to avoid him marrying the Great Zhen's princess and having to go to Great Zhen, avoiding any accidents in Great Zhen. A better option would be to choose an unmarried prince to marry the Great Zhen's little princess.
Choosing a younger prince to marry a younger princess of Great Zhen, letting the little princess come over first, and then getting married when she grew up. This wouldn't delay the alliance between the two countries.
He returned to the West Side Hall, wrote a letter, and sent someone to the Qing Prince's mansion.
The next morning, as the first rays of dawn appeared, Chu Zhiyuan appeared in the Bright Martial Hall.
Everyone surrounded him, sizing him up, excitedly patting him on the shoulder, or asking him about his personal experiences during the fight. Chu Zhiyuan chatted and laughed with everyone.
After Chu Qingfeng appeared, he sized him up a few times and said indifferently, "Tenth Level?"
Chu Zhiyuan smiled and nodded.
He had indeed gained something from his exchange with Cheng Tianfeng.
It wasn't Cheng Tianfeng's martial arts and moves, but rather, fighting with Cheng Tianfeng stimulated him into a state of tension. In this state, the flow of true energy further accelerated.
He used his extrasensory perception to find this state, allowing himself to enter this state to break through the Jade Tower, easily breaking through the ninth layer of the Jade Tower and entering the tenth level. With twenty apertures opened, his difficulty in breaking through realms was greatly reduced, and his speed of advancement was three times faster.
"Tenth Level!"
The surrounding people listened and were filled with envy, and somewhat helpless.
Chu Mingxuan lowered his head and sighed.
Chu Zhiyuan glanced at him with a smile.
"That's for other people; can you be the same!" Chu Mingxuan said resentfully, "I shouldn't have heard this; it's ruining my Dao heart!"
Chu Zhiyuan laughed, "Eighteenth Uncle, if you ask me, you still haven't hardened your heart. If you harden your heart and go into seclusion, you'll break through directly."
"Alright, I'll go into seclusion when I get back!" Chu Mingxuan gritted his teeth and finally made up his mind.
Chu Qingfeng smiled and didn't stop him.
Chu Mingxuan was indeed only lacking this bit of ruthlessness. Once he became ruthless, he could break through the third barrier and step into the Innate Realm.
Seeing that they were all about to come over to talk, Chu Qingfeng waved his hand: "Everyone go practice; this time in the morning is the most precious!"
"Yes..."
"Yes!"
Everyone agreed and returned to their original positions, standing in the Purple Sun Stance and beginning to practice the Little Purple Sun Formula.
Chu Zhiyuan also stood in the Purple Sun Stance and practiced the Great Purple Sun Formula.
He understood that the inheritances of the three great sects were all infinitely profound, but his foundation was the Great Purple Sun Formula, not the others. When the sun had fully risen, he asked Chu Qingfeng for advice on choosing a fifth-grade reward when he went to the Ministry of Rites to report for duty.
Chu Qingfeng advised him to choose the Myriad Enlightenment Pill.
Most people would choose the Myriad Enlightenment Pill if they had fifth-grade merit before becoming a Grandmaster, as it could save too much time.
To enter the Great Grandmaster Realm, one had to enter the Grandmaster Realm as early as possible, practice to the Grandmaster Realm's perfection as early as possible, and leave enough time to temper and comprehend.
Sixty years old was the final time limit for a Grandmaster, and eighty years old was the final time limit for a Great Grandmaster.
If one couldn't become a Great Grandmaster by the age of eighty, there was no hope for life.
When he entered the Ministry of Rites, he clearly felt something was different.
The officials who came and went greeted him more enthusiastically, three times more enthusiastic and three times more respectful than usual. Chu Zhiyuan knew that the palace banquet competition had already spread.
Sure enough, cultivation was deeply rooted in people's hearts, and people respected martial arts the most.
They were originally respectful, but compared to now, it seemed like there was a bit more perfunctoriness, not as sincere and obedient as it was now. Although he was calm, he couldn't help but feel a little tipsy at this moment.
This feeling of being respected from the bottom of one's heart was wonderful.
When he entered his room, he found that Gao Lingfeng was already waiting there. When he saw him, he hurried to greet him: "Sir!"
Chu Zhiyuan waved his hand, signaling that there was no need for formalities: "If there's nothing important, I need to go to the Heavenly Treasure Office. Anything not urgent can wait until tomorrow."
He couldn't wait to go to the Heavenly Treasure Office to see what things could be exchanged for with fifth-grade merit, and then go back to the Bright Martial Hall to search the West Side Hall to see if he could find any records of the Heart-Questioning Saber. He was quite busy today.
Fortunately, he had Chu Yi's help.
Chu Yi would go to the Anguo Duke's mansion today to inform Xiao Ruoling not to leave the city recently, to guard against Cheng Tianfeng causing trouble. "Sir, a major event!" Gao Lingfeng's expression was solemn.
Chu Zhiyuan stretched out his hand, signaling him to sit down and talk.
Gao Lingfeng couldn't wait to say, "That Elder of the True One Sect is dead!"
"...The Elder who stole from the Flying Blossom Sword Sect?" Chu Zhiyuan raised an eyebrow.
"Yes." Gao Lingfeng said slowly with a gloomy face, "He died peacefully, but his heart was shattered and he died. He was a Grandmaster!"
"...If he was a Grandmaster, then are we suspecting a Great Grandmaster was responsible?" Chu Zhiyuan's expression turned slightly serious, and he said slowly, "Song Feiqiong, the Great Grandmaster?"
Gao Lingfeng said, "The True One Sect certainly suspects this!"
He broke into the Flying Blossom Sword Sect, stole the Earth Dragon Pearl, and then retreated safely. The Town Guarding Office didn't do anything to him and just let him go. How could Grandmaster Song swallow this anger?
Chu Zhiyuan nodded thoughtfully: "There's no way to investigate Grandmaster Song. Is the True One Sect causing trouble?"
Gao Lingfeng said solemnly: "An Elder is waiting outside, wanting to see the Vice Minister."
Chu Zhiyuan leaned back, resting on the back of the grand master's chair, and scratched his sword-like eyebrows with his little fingers.
This matter was veryζ£ζ.
There was no way to investigate Song Feiqiong.
Song Feiqiong was either in the Great Grandmaster's mansion or in the inner palace. The Town Guarding Office couldn't even enter, let alone see Song Feiqiong. How could they investigate?
