Preparing to Learn New Martial Skills

In Great Wei, according to custom, the Qianqing Palace would erect sky lanterns that burned day and night starting from the Little New Year on the twenty-third day of the twelfth lunar month.

On New Year's Eve, after dark, an even more solemn lantern lighting ceremony would take place.

As the banquet progressed, the sky gradually grew dim.

The New Year's Eve lantern lighting ceremony began.

The Jian'an Emperor led numerous members of the Zhao Clan outside the palace.

At this time, eunuchs lined up neatly in two columns along the steps outside the Qianqing Palace.

Seeing that the time was right and at the Jian'an Emperor's signal, Feng Dabao walked to the front and shouted, "Light the lanterns!"

Court music began to play behind the Qianqing Palace, and the beacon lanterns under the eaves of the palace gates were lit.

Then, the entire Great Wei palace seemed to receive some unified command, and the lights everywhere were lit at almost the exact same moment.

Instantly, the entire Great Wei palace became brilliantly colored like glazed jade, resembling a city that never slept and drawing wave after wave of exclamations from the crowd.

After the conclusion of the lantern lighting ceremony, the court music inside the Qianqing Palace shifted accordingly.

The various imperial concubines, princes, and other Zhao Clan relatives respectfully saw the emperor off, formally bringing the family banquet to an end.

Throughout the entire family banquet, Zhao Hongming focused only on eating with his head down and did not actively participate in any activities.

So much so that in the end, among all the seating arrangements, only the plates at his seat were the cleanest.

The Jian'an Emperor also seemed to have no intention of paying him extra attention, not even mentioning him once.

This made Zhao Hongming, who already lacked a sense of presence, have even less of a presence at this family banquet.

Even though Zhao Hongoguang helped him many times and urged him to take the initiative, he remained entirely unmoved.

His eighth younger brother, who loved to tag along behind him, felt quite dejected over this.

A few days later.

In the backyard of the East Fifth Residence.

Zhao Hongming and Chen Xuerong sat facing each other.

On the stone table between them sat a charcoal stove simmering hot soup.

"Fifth Prince, what is this?"

"Food I made myself, called a YuanYang Hot Pot."

Zhao Hongming said with a casual smile.

After the passing of New Year's Eve, the cold climate of Great Wei had not changed much.

It just so happened that the previous snow was still melting, adding an extra layer of chill to the frigid weather.

At a time like this, eating hot pot to warm the body was an excellent choice.

Chen Xuerong had never seen this style of eating.

Nowadays, soups and sliced meats were all the rage in Great Wei, and this kind of boiled-to-order style of eating was truly her first time trying it.

She imitated Zhao Hongming's example, dipping a piece of beef tripe into the hot soup and swishing it up and down seven or eight times, then dipped it in a bit of sauce before putting it into her mouth.

Chen Xuerong couldn't help evaluating, "This flavor is indeed unique, tender and rich in chewiness."

"Haha, I really like this eating method too, and I never had the chance to try it with a suitable friend. Since you happened to be free today, I dragged you over."

Chen Xuerong cupped her fists and said politely, "Being able to share a meal with Your Highness is also this subject's honor."

"What's so honorable about it? Speaking of which, being able to share a meal with a martial arts talented woman like you is my honor instead." Zhao Hongming smiled and said, "I truly envy you martial artists who can cultivate, soaring through the skies and tunneling through the earth to do what ordinary people cannot."

"Your Highness is joking. Those with the ability to soar through the skies, tunnel through the earth, and overturn seas and shatter mountains are as rare as phoenix feathers and unicorn horns. They already belong to the cream of the crop among people, and not all martial artists are like that. At the very least, I cannot do it."

Zhao Hongming laughed heartily and said, "That's true."

Common people often said: the rich do not study literature, the poor do not practice martial arts.

People in this world who could cultivate the Martial Dao were no more than one or two out of ten, and the remaining eight or nine out of ten were mortals after all, remaining unversed in martial arts due to this or that reason, much like himself.

Among the many martial artists who did cultivate, those in the Meridian Opening Realm accounted for eighty percent, and these people merely possessed physical qualities far superior to ordinary people.

Even if they reached the Aperture Opening Realm afterward, they merely reached the limits of their natural lifespans.

Only upon reaching the Innate Realm could one live thirty years longer, reaching roughly a hundred and twenty years of age.

The subsequent Martial Courage Realm could live for two hundred years, and the Creation Realm for four hundred years. As for higher realms, no one had reached them thus far.

As for the might to move mountains and overturn seas, Zhao Hongming estimated that one would have to reach at least the Martial Courage Realm or above to achieve some of it.

Moreover, through his deeper understanding, he discovered that the Martial Dao in this realm was not truly prosperous.

Top-tier martial artists of the Ninth Grade Martial Courage Realm numbered no more than ten in the entire world, pitifully few.

There was still a very long way to go before true longevity and true immortality.

He sighed with emotion and said, "Books say that scholars use literature to disrupt the law, while swordsmen use martial arts to violate the ban. It is already no small feat for this world to maintain its current order."

"Your Highness possessing such compassionate benevolence is truly the fortune of the common people, and you will surely bring blessings to the land in the future."

"You don't need to flatter This Prince."

As if remembering something, Chen Xuerong suddenly said, "That's right, Your Highness, I heard that Huo Xianshui's leg has been reset and will be able to recover fully in the future."

"That's wonderful." Zhao Hongming didn't show much expression.

"Does Your Highness not think this is a joyous matter?" Chen Xuerong asked in surprise, "If Huo Xianshui's leg can recover, perhaps the Empress will even bestow a marriage upon you, and Your Highness will also have the Huo Family as backing, so you won't have to live quite so bitterly in the future."

"To obtain it is my fortune; to lose it is my fate." Zhao Hongming smiled and said, "I believe that people who wish to rely on marrying a wife to gain backing will often never obtain true backing in the future. Moreover, the eldest miss of the Huo Family probably looks down on This Prince."

Chen Xuerong couldn't help but admire Zhao Hongming's open-minded breadth of mind.

It was hard to imagine that, ignored and unguided in the palace, he could achieve such a state purely through self-realization.

This reminded her uncontrollably of the sage's words: When Heaven is about to place a great responsibility on a person...

"Miss Chen, we're just about done eating. They say having many skills is no burden, why don't you teach This Prince some other martial skills? I'm actually quite talented in this regard."

Through these days of continuous cultivation, Zhao Hongming already had a new understanding of martial arts, becoming completely at ease with them.

Under the continuous optimization of the Eight Desolations Eternal Youth Technique, his talent enhancement had already reached 1.8.

Now, when he wanted to learn a martial skill, he basically wouldn't expend too much effort anymore.

He felt it was time for him to master a few more martial skills, as relying solely on a single saber technique was a bit thin.

Chen Xuerong said, "I wonder what Your Highness wishes to learn this time?"

"This Prince wants to learn a set of fist techniques."

"If Your Highness wishes to learn fist techniques, perhaps the Mountain Shaking Fist is rather suitable for Your Highness."

"What is unique about this fist technique?"

"The Mountain Shaking Fist is just as its name implies. Practiced to the extreme, a single punch can shake the heavens and shatter the earth." Chen Xuerong said while carefully recalling, "This fist technique is divided into a total of eighteen levels, proceeding from the shallow to the deep. The beginning is extremely easy to pick up; even without True Qi, relying solely on the physical strength of the whole body allows one to display fifty or sixty percent of this fist's power."

"It's just that the further one practices toward the back, the harder this technique becomes to train. However, for Your Highness, merely practicing the first half of this fist technique will be quite enough."

New book begs for recommendations, begs for follows to read~