In the courtyard.
Tap, tap, tap—
A set of footsteps drew nearer from afar.
Jiang Ning slowly opened his eyes, and his turbulent emotions gradually settled.
The next moment.
The Zhenbei King appeared in his field of vision.
"Greetings, Prince!" Seeing Jiang Ning standing beneath the tree, Zhenbei King Xu Zhen bowed respectfully.
"Is something the matter?" Jiang Ning asked.
"Yes!" Zhenbei King Xu Zhen replied, then said, "A delegation from the Northern Barbarian Royal Court has arrived outside the city. They claim to be delivering tribute under the orders of Princess Ashina."
Tribute.
Jiang Ning sneered inwardly, then nodded. "It seems Ashina is keeping her word. Let them enter the city and send everything to my courtyard."
"Yes, Prince!" Zhenbei King Xu Zhen replied.
Then he turned and left.
Before long, the footsteps faded into the distance.
Jiang Ning withdrew his gaze as well.
A trace of satisfaction flashed through his eyes.
The first batch of resources Ashina had sent had arrived at exactly the right time.
He had only just comprehended the true essence of the Great Secret of the Human Body and learned the direction of the road ahead. He needed vast resources to consolidate his foundation and hasten the process of breaking the Shackles.
This step concerned glimpsing a higher level of heaven and earth.
He had a premonition.
The true qualitative transformation lay in breaking every Shackle of the human body.
And that Martial Saint had most likely accomplished this.
Otherwise, merely breaking a few Shackles could not possibly grant such exaggerated strength.
In terms of foundation, he did not believe the Martial Saint of old had been stronger than him.
After all, the opportunity and fortune he had obtained was the so-called Primordial Source Foundation.
Though he did not know what it was, he