Lu Chen hummed a little tune as he returned to Yuan Xiu Palace, where he saw his mother looking down and sewing clothes for him—winter clothes to prepare him for the cold season.
Although the palace concubines and princes had all their food and clothing provided by the Imperial Household Department, in Consort Yuan's eyes, only clothes sewn personally by her own hands could keep her son truly warm.
At this sight, a trace of warmth unconsciously appeared on Lu Chen's face.
Since he had been reborn into this world, from the moment he was born until now,
the woman before him had been the only one who sincerely loved and treated him well.
Although, to Lu Chen—the transmigrator—Consort Yuan could be considered his bargain-bin mother,
her love for him was genuine. Even if Lu Chen's heart had been made of iron, it would have long since been warmed through.
"Chen'er, you're back. Are you hungry? There are some pastries here. Have a few."
When Consort Yuan saw Lu Chen, a doting smile spread across her face as she spoke.
"Mother!"
Lu Chen went to Consort Yuan's side and hugged her arm.
"Mother, tomorrow they'll test my physique, Root Foundation, and comprehension. Chen'er will definitely work hard and let everyone in the palace—and Imperial Father—see me. I'll work even harder at cultivation and become stronger. As long as I'm here in the future, no one will be allowed to look down on you, Mother!"
Lu Chen spoke with heartfelt sincerity.
Hearing this, Consort Yuan froze for a moment. Then, tears filled her eyes as she tightly embraced Lu Chen, a gratified and delighted smile appearing on her face.
"Chen'er, as long as you're safe and well, that's worth more to Mother than anything else!"
Congratulations. You completed the task of making your mother smile from the bottom of her heart.
Congratulations. You obtained the Supreme Sword Body!
At that moment, a voice that only Lu Chen could hear rang out beside his ear once more.
Along with that voice, a terrifying sword intent suddenly erupted from Lu Chen's body.
In that instant, countless treasured swords throughout the imperial palace let out a synchronized, excited hum for one second.
The moment was extremely brief, and it did not attract much attention.
Yet in Central Extreme Palace, Azure Emperor, who had been cultivating, suddenly opened his eyes. Seeing the treasured Azure Emperor Sword beside him—the supreme treasure that had accompanied him through decades of warfare—let out an inexplicable hum, Azure Emperor slightly furrowed his brows.
"How strange. Two anomalies have appeared today. More importantly, I couldn't sense either of them. What exactly has happened in this imperial palace?"
Azure Emperor murmured to himself.
"Shadow One!"
Azure Emperor suddenly spoke.
There had originally been no one behind him, but a deep, hoarse voice suddenly appeared.
"Here!"
"Send several shadows to keep a closer eye on that little girl from the Luo Family and the Eleventh Prince!"
"Yes, Your Majesty!"
The hoarse voice vanished, and Azure Emperor closed his eyes and resumed cultivating.
In the next instant, the phantom of a Nine Heavens Azure Dragon coiled around Azure Emperor and let out a long cry.
At that moment, Azure Emperor seemed like the lord of Heaven and Earth. With every breath he took, the power of Heaven and Earth surged violently.
A power far beyond the Land Immortal Realm also erupted from Azure Emperor's body.
Back in Yuan Xiu Palace, Lu Chen returned to his room and drove the palace maids out. He sensed the power of his Land Immortal Realm and examined the detailed attributes of his Supreme Sword Body.
Supreme Sword Body: The supreme physique of the Sword Dao. Those who possess the Supreme Sword Body face no bottleneck when comprehending Sword Dao divine abilities and can reach the Sword Dao Supreme directly, becoming a peerless Sword Immortal. They can even cause the ten thousand swords of Heaven and Earth to cry out in unison. When facing an enemy's Sword Dao attacks, swords cannot touch the body, and Sword Dao power is automatically weakened by thirty percent!
"Terrifying. Absolutely terrifying!"
Looking at the attributes of the Supreme Sword Body on the translucent panel before him, delight appeared in Lu Chen's eyes.
Just imagine it: himself flying on a sword, flicking his little hand, and sending ten thousand swords behind him stabbing toward his enemy, like a peerless Sword Immortal!
Unfortunately, he currently had neither a cultivation technique nor a Sword Dao Martial Skill.
He possessed a mountain of gold, but no way to use it!
Lu Chen lowered his head and sank into thought.
If his guess was correct, after tomorrow's tests of physique, Root Foundation, and comprehension, he would be able to claim one Earth-rank cultivation technique and one Earth-rank Martial Skill.
That was the standard allocation for a prince.
In this fantasy world, as far as Lu Chen knew, the ranks of Martial Skills, cultivation techniques, and divine weapons were, from highest to lowest, Heaven, Earth, Black, and Yellow, followed by the lowest fifth rank—inferior.
An Earth-rank cultivation technique or Martial Skill treasure was already enough to drive countless cultivators into a frenzy of competition and create a river of blood.
At that moment, Lu Chen began looking forward to tomorrow's physique and comprehension test.
However, just then, Lu Chen slightly furrowed his brows and turned his gaze toward the room outside.
As a Land Immortal Realm expert, Lu Chen could sense a King Realm presence outside.
Lu Chen rubbed his temples, feeling a headache coming on.
There was no need to think about it. The King Realm expert in the imperial palace had to be one of Imperial Father's people.
It seemed the commotion he had unintentionally caused when breaking through to the Land Immortal Realm had still aroused Azure Emperor's vigilance.
He simply did not know how long they would observe him.
A short while would be fine.
But if it lasted too long, he would have to find a way to get rid of this fellow.
Meanwhile, at the Second Prince's Prince Xuan's Palace—
Seventh Prince Lu Ren looked pale as he stared at his own blood brother, his biological second brother, Second Prince Lu Xuan.
Lu Xuan wore a purple robe and possessed an elegant bearing. He habitually wore a smile, while an air of refinement and Vast Expanse Qi surrounded him. Simply standing there caused people to instinctively feel goodwill toward him.
The Second Prince was already twenty-one years old and could be considered a peerless prodigy.
At only twenty-one, he had already reached the King Realm and possessed the Vast Expanse Physique. He cultivated Vast Expanse Qi and had even been accepted as a personal disciple by Shu Changqi, the principal of Haoran Academy of the Great Qian Divine Dynasty and an expert of the Heavenly Phenomenon Realm.
Having reached adulthood, Lu Xuan had already been conferred the title of Prince Xuan by Azure Emperor. However, for some indescribable reason, Lu Xuan had not left the imperial palace to establish his own residence. Instead, he had remained in the palace.
However, when Lu Xuan saw his younger brother's pale face and trembling body, the smile on his own face instantly turned gloomy.
"What happened? As a prince, how can you lose your composure like this? What would it look like if someone else saw you?"
"Imperial Brother, you don't know. I encountered Little Eleventh. When I faced him, I felt as if I were facing Imperial Father. I didn't even dare raise my head and look at him!"
Lu Ren's face was pale, and he still trembled with lingering fear.
"What nonsense. Little Eleventh isn't even six years old—a brat who hasn't begun cultivating. How could he frighten you into this state? You've already reached the half-step Grandmaster Realm."
Hearing this, Lu Xuan snorted and looked helplessly at his younger brother.
"Imperial Brother, believe me. I would never lie to you."
Hearing this, Lu Ren spoke hurriedly, his face bitter.
When Lu Xuan saw his younger brother's pale face and serious expression, he fell into thought for a moment before letting out a long breath.
"In another two years, you should be conferred a princely title as well. Work hard at cultivation during these two years and try to leave a good impression before Imperial Father. I'm going to take a look at Little Eleventh now and see whether he really is as you described. Come with me."
Lu Xuan shook his head, then walked out of Prince Xuan's Palace.
"Come with you? I... all right!"
When Lu Ren heard that Lu Xuan wanted him to go meet Lu Chen, fear instinctively appeared on his face. After hesitating for a moment, he gritted his teeth and nodded.
Congratulations. You successfully made your mother reveal a trace of a smile. It could be considered a slight compensation for the suffering your mother endured over these decades. However, the culprit behind your mother's banishment to the Cold Palace and the house arrest of you and the others was still the Second Prince, the Seventh Prince, and the mother of the two, Spirit Consort. Therefore, revenge was inevitable!
Task issued: The Seventh Prince, Lu Ren, has now been conferred the title of King of Equal Rank and has reached the Emperor Realm. However, you have already reached the Land Immortal Realm and are absolutely no weaker than him. At this moment, you must beat Lu Ren soundly and collect some interest first!
Task reward: Nine-Colored Spirit Root!
Seeing the words appearing on the Semi-transparent Panel before him, delight flashed across Lu Chen's face.
It was actually the Nine-Colored Spirit Root!
One had to know that the most fundamental factor determining how quickly a cultivator advanced was their spirit root. The higher the level of the spirit root, the faster the cultivation speed!
Spirit roots were also called Root Foundation. They ranged from the lowest One-Colored Spirit Root to the highest Nine-Colored Spirit Root!
Generally speaking, the spirit roots of the masses were usually around three colors.
Those with a Six-Colored Spirit Root could already be considered geniuses. Unless something unexpected happened, they could easily reach the Emperor Realm!
As for the Seven-Colored and Eight-Colored Spirit Roots above that, each one was a peerless prodigy.
They had a chance of reaching the Heavenly Phenomenon Realm, or even the Land Immortal Realm.
According to legend, Azure Emperor possessed the legendary Eight-Colored Spirit Root. His cultivation progressed with twice the results for half the effort.
As for the Nine-Colored Spirit Root, records of it existed throughout the entire Eastern Cang Region, but it seemed that no Supreme Existence had ever possessed one.
Lu Chen was wildly excited.
The legendary Nine-Colored Spirit Root—he was determined to obtain it!
However, just then, Lu Chen's gaze shifted.
He discovered that the King Realm aura outside had already vanished, and immediately understood that this presence could not watch him forever.
In other words, he was just a nobody. He was not worth having Azure Emperor send someone to monitor him constantly.
Lu Chen shook his head helplessly. He looked out the window. It was around six in the afternoon, and the sun was about to set.
The splendid sunset seemed to have dressed the heavens in a gorgeous, multicolored garment.
Lu Chen stepped out of his room. At that moment, his ears twitched, and he discovered two figures walking toward Yuan Xiu Palace from a thousand meters away.
As a Land Immortal Realm expert, Lu Chen's divine sense could cover a radius of ten thousand li. Naturally, he could easily detect the tracks of Lu Xuan and Lu Ren a thousand meters away.
"Second Prince, Lu Xuan. Seventh Prince, Lu Ren!"
Seeing the two of them, Lu Chen narrowed his eyes, and a trace of killing intent emerged from them.
"The Reversal System has issued a task ordering me to beat Lu Ren soundly. I hadn't even thought about going over there yet, and you two came knocking on my door."
Lu Chen snorted coldly, then left Yuan Xiu Palace alone and walked toward the two of them.
There were some things Lu Chen did not want his mother to know. By moving farther away from Yuan Xiu Palace, it would also be more convenient for him to act.
Ahead of Lu Chen, Lu Xuan wore a smiling expression, while the resentful Lu Ren beside him formed a stark contrast.
"Do exactly as I told you later, understand? Remember, hold back. It's fine to injure Lu Chen, but you absolutely must not kill him. Otherwise, you'll bring trouble upon us."
Lu Xuan turned his head and spoke to Lu Ren beside him.
"Imperial Brother, why don't you do it? I don't dare attack that monster."
Lu Ren held a treasured sword and spoke with a mournful expression.
"Useless. You're a half-step Grandmaster, while he's merely a little brat who hasn't begun cultivating. You actually fear him? If you refuse to make a move this time, don't ever call yourself my younger brother again."
Disdain surfaced deep in Lu Xuan's eyes.
Hearing this, Lu Ren fiercely gritted his teeth and tightly gripped the treasured sword in his hand.
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