Crimson King Eyes!

New Year's Day, early morning.

Creak.

The door was gently pushed open.

Fang Li quietly slung the trunk onto his back. He glanced back at the sleeping Fang Xuan and Fang Lan, chose not to say goodbye, merely tucked the still-warm sesame cake from the table into his breast, then tiptoed out of the house.

Walking through the low, narrow lanes of Tong'an Alley, he looked up at the sky. The vast heavens seemed to have been carved into a narrow rectangle by this alley, steeped in countless layers of rot and decay.

"Brother has already seen the world that belongs to him. Now, it's time for me to see mine."

Fang Li muttered to himself, a glimmer of resolve rising in his eyes.

He would never forget that night. Still young then, Fang Xuan had put down his books and picked up a firewood cleaver to protect them, standing guard outside like a vicious wolf.

He would never forget the savage scars crisscrossing Fang Xuan's body.

He understood that if not for him and Xiao Lan, the one setting out to take the examinations now would not be him, but Brother Fang Xuan!

"Brother, I'll make it!" Fang Li slowly clenched his fists.

This time, he would leave Fang Xuan's shelter behind, venture into the distance, and see its sights with his own eyes.

He would see mountain after mountain, ridge after ridge, plain after plain!

He would see just how astonishingly gifted those students of the prefectural city truly were, and when thirty thousand scholars gathered in one hall, what rank he could claim among them!

"Brother, Second Brother has left."

The instant the door gently shut.

Fang Xuan and Fang Lan opened their eyes at the same time.

"Let him go." Fang Xuan's expression remained calm as he rose to his feet.

Just as Fang Li had not wished to say farewell, Fang Xuan was not one to put on airs or make parting needlessly sorrowful.

If Fang Li truly passed with high honors and ranked in the first class—

Then Fang Xuan would be happy for him. His little brother would finally have made something of himself.

And if Fang Li returned in failure, that was nothing either.

For as long as Fang Xuan remained, this family would never collapse!

Leaving Tong'an Alley, Fang Xuan strode toward the outskirts of Pingjiang City.

The moment he arrived at the waterside bend where he usually trained, he saw a figure lounging leisurely atop a haystack, a foxtail grass stem between her lips, one leg crossed over the other as she drank mouthful after mouthful of wine.

"Was I too mild-tempered yesterday, and made you think you could be so presumptuous in front of me?"

Fang Xuan looked expressionlessly at the female drunkard and approached step by step.

This woman was full of nonsense, erratic and shameless in her ways.

He did not much like people like her.

"Hey, hey, hey, hold on a moment."

Seeing the hostility in Fang Xuan's eyes, the female drunkard, her face smeared with turmeric powder, flipped down from the haystack. She then pulled a black scripture from her sleeve and held it out to Fang Xuan.

"There, it's for you. Consider it payment for the wine I drank from you. I didn't take advantage of you, so don't go calling me some wine-stealing old hag in the future!"

With that, the female drunkard gave a light snort through her nose, turned and waved at Fang Xuan, then strode away.

Fang Xuan frowned. Looking down at the black scripture, he saw four large characters written in sharp, forceful strokes—

Crimson King Eyes.

"This is...?"

Fang Xuan froze slightly and flipped open the book in suspicion.

Gradually, Fang Xuan's furrowed brow eased, while the gleam in his eyes surged three inches high.

These Crimson King Eyes were neither a cultivation technique nor a martial skill.

They were an art!

A genuine ocular art, one that could be called earth-shaking and heaven-spanning!

"Draw Dragon Qi from a Dragon Vein, nurture majesty within the eyes; once the ocular art opens, all directions shall submit."

Reading the introduction in the scripture, Fang Xuan could not help narrowing his eyes.

This art required one to draw Dragon Qi from a Dragon Vein to nourish both eyes, ultimately forming a terrifying pressure within them.

But Pingjiang City was so far from the emperor's reach—where would it find a Dragon Vein?

"I'll use the Black Talisman to take a look."

A thought stirred in Fang Xuan's mind. Holding the scripture in his hand, he silently recited:

"Talisman."

In an instant, a drop of ink spread before Fang Xuan's eyes.

Art: Crimson King Eyes (Novice)

Progress: 0/100

Growth Method: Devouring Fear, nurture a dragon within the eyes!

Description: The dragon's pressure fills heaven and earth, naturally becoming king and tyrant!

"The cultivation method displayed on the Black Talisman is much simpler after all—Devouring Fear. What does that mean? Absorbing other people's fear?"

A thoughtful gleam flashed through Fang Xuan's eyes, but he soon stopped dwelling on it.

Forget it. The most important thing for him right now was still raising his cultivation!

As for this eye technique, he could study it carefully later.

"This woman, though..."

He glanced in the direction where the drunken woman had vanished, and a smile could not help curling across his lips.

Well now, this drunken woman... didn't seem quite so detestable after all!

Bang!

With a stomp, Fang Xuan shot into the endlessly surging river like an arrow loosed from the bowstring.

Elsewhere.

"Within the sleeve, the universe is vast; within the jar, the sun and moon stretch long."

The drunken woman carried a wine jug, staggering along a small mountain path.

"Your Highness, stop fooling around. If the Prince finds out you slipped out again to drink, he'll blame me again..."

A helpless sigh rang out.

The next moment.

An elderly man in a black Daoist robe, his features sharp and bright, appeared behind the drunken woman.

"Nonsense! Who's been drinking? I haven't drunk... hic... wine! You can't just... just slander an innocent person!"

Startled, the woman spun around and hurriedly hid the wine jug behind her back.

"Ah!"

The old Daoist gave the woman a helpless look. Too lazy to expose his unreliable Highness, he said, "Your Highness, you've been playing outside for so long. Isn't it time to return?

"And that Crimson King Eyes technique—hurry and give it back to me. The Prince intended it as a gift for young master Lin DaoLin. Young master Lin DaoLin has already agreed to serve as Commander of Yan Province's Divine Dynasty Guard!"

At those words, the woman grew somewhat guilty and did not dare meet the old Daoist's gaze.

The old Daoist's heart skipped a beat. Surely this unreliable Highness of his hadn't lost that eye technique manual?

"Ahem... Master Li, I find that Lin DaoLin is lacking in strategy and wisdom, with a crooked heart. He is not suited for the position of Commander of the Divine Dynasty Guard. I've already given that eye technique manual to someone else," the woman said sternly.

The old Daoist's eyes immediately widened.

What?

Lin DaoLin, third on the Hidden Dragon Rankings, was lacking in strategy and wisdom?

"Then may I ask, Your Highness, who did you give it to? What rank does that person hold on the Hidden Dragon Rankings?" the old Daoist asked earnestly.

"Well... oh, Master Li, don't ask so many questions!

"To be honest, Lin DaoLin has martial prowess but no virtue. He is arrogant and self-willed, absolutely not someone who can shoulder great responsibility!

"The person I've befriended may currently have no name on the Hidden Dragon Rankings, but his talent in martial arts is exceptionally high. From my observations, at most one year from now, he'll rank among the top ten of the Hidden Dragon Rankings!

"Most importantly, from what I've secretly observed, he is loyal and righteous toward his brothers, with a chivalrous heart and courageous gall. If he rises into the skies in the future, he will surely be fit to bear great responsibility." The woman had been grinning through the first half of her speech, but by the latter half, her expression had turned serious and her voice resolute.

As soon as she finished speaking.

The old Daoist wore an expression that said, I believe you about as much as I believe ghosts. After repeatedly seeming to want to speak but holding himself back, he finally gave a bitter smile and sighed.

"Fine, fine. Then, Your Highness, explain it to the Prince yourself."

With that, the old Daoist grabbed the woman by the shoulder. With a light step, they soared into the sky and vanished into the vast sea of clouds.

Today, I drove back to my hometown, but the highway was iced over and traffic was blocked, so the update came late. I'm truly sorry.

This author is going to rush out the second update right away!