Great Sun Divine Sword, Dao Realm Fourth Heaven

What was there to hesitate over?

How much was the Empress's favor worth?

Ren Xiaoyao looked at the Empress, whose eyes were full of expectation, and immediately said, "Your Majesty, I do not wish to stay by your side. I still prefer the Imperial Observatory, free and unfettered."

Hearing this, the Empress's expression instantly turned icy. She said coldly, "Ren Xiaoyao, do you resent Me? Do you think I should not have stripped you of your marquis title for no reason, without distinguishing black from white?"

When an emperor raged, a million corpses could lie scattered. Even Li Chunfeng was frightened by the Empress at this moment.

Yet Ren Xiaoyao's expression did not change. "Your Majesty, I truly feel that being an ordinary person is quite good. Besides, I was destined to be unable to practice Martial Dao in the first place."

"An ordinary person?"

Hearing this, the Empress shook her head as well. She looked at Ren Xiaoyao with amusement and said, "What if I permit you to practice Martial Dao? Would you be willing to follow Me?"

Ren Xiaoyao had many doubts upon hearing this. Why did the Empress want him to follow her? What was he worth, for her to recruit him so earnestly?

But doubts were doubts. Ren Xiaoyao still shook his head wildly and said with absolute certainty, "I do not wish to practice Martial Dao. I only want to be an ordinary person. If there is another life, I will serve Your Majesty like an ox and horse."

Seeing this, Li Chunfeng cursed Ren Xiaoyao furiously in his heart.

This kid was really putting on quite a performance.

You would not practice Martial Dao?

Kid, you were practically invincible under heaven already!

After hearing Ren Xiaoyao's words, the Empress shook her head as well. Her expression regained its majesty as she said,

"Since that is the case, I will not insist. The decision not to let you practice Martial Dao back then was actually Mine, but it was also to protect you. Even having you come to the Imperial Observatory was for your protection."

The Empress spoke no further. After ordering Ren Xiaoyao to withdraw, she spoke with Li Chunfeng for a while longer. She still wanted Li Chunfeng to serve her, but Li Chunfeng remained equally resolute.

First, he had no interest in power.

Second, Li Chunfeng did not have the confidence for it.

He was not a Heavenly Human. His current reputation had merely been gained by borrowing the fox's might to frighten the tiger. If he entered the palace and became the Imperial Preceptor, the truth would be exposed sooner or later.

Thus, the Empress left in anger. When she departed, her face was so gloomy it seemed water could drip from it.

After the Empress left, Li Chunfeng sought out Ren Xiaoyao again. Li Chunfeng's expression was not pleasant either as he said,

"This time, the two of us have thoroughly slapped the Empress across the face. Given that woman's temperament, I fear she will not let us off easily."

To the Empress, she was the ruler of Great Gan.

The words of the Son of Heaven had always carried the weight of nine tripods.

Looking across the Imperial Court, no one dared say no to her. What she valued most was naturally her own dignity. Having lost face today, she would certainly not let the matter rest.

"When soldiers come, generals block them; when water comes, earth dams it."

Ren Xiaoyao remained quite calm as he said,

"Besides, she thinks you are a Martial Artist of the Heavenly Human Realm. On the surface, she should not dare act against you. Otherwise, she would have dealt with you today."

"What I fear most is that she will strike in the dark!"

Li Chunfeng said worriedly.

"That woman's methods are vicious beyond compare. Though I did not deal with her much before, I have heard enough. From now on, we must be careful and stay on guard."

After Li Chunfeng left, lines of text appeared before Ren Xiaoyao's eyes.

[Congratulations, you have obtained a magic item: Great Sun Divine Sword]

[Great Sun Divine Sword: High-grade magic tool, forged from Great Sun Iron. It is invincible against all things, and when using sword-art Divine Abilities, it grants double combat power.]

Joy appeared on Ren Xiaoyao's face.

After he accepted the inheritance of the Great Sun Divine Sword,

A pitch-black longsword fell into his hand. To the naked eye, the sword appeared utterly ordinary. Its blade had not been sharpened, and it possessed no edge at all, resembling nothing more than a fire poker.

Yet after Ren Xiaoyao peered at it with his Spiritual Sense, he could see the brilliant aura hidden beneath that blackness.

The Great Sun Divine Sword was a magic item, so only by infusing it with spiritual power could its true might erupt. If a Martial Artist obtained the Great Sun Divine Sword, it was in truth little different from obtaining a fire poker; they could not bring out even the slightest bit of its use.

Following the guidance in his mind, Ren Xiaoyao branded his Spiritual Sense into the Great Sun Divine Sword. This way, Ren Xiaoyao could manipulate the Great Sun Divine Sword with his Spiritual Sense anytime and anywhere.

Since the Great Sun Divine Sword was the first magic item Ren Xiaoyao had obtained, he could not put it down. Only after playing with it for quite some time did he casually place it in a corner and continue absorbing spiritual energy to cultivate immortality.

Spring passed and summer came, and another three months went by.

The Imperial Observatory had been quite peaceful during this time. The Empress's retaliation that Li Chunfeng had anticipated had not arrived even now, which instead left Li Chunfeng uneasy. He always felt that this was the calm before the storm.

Ren Xiaoyao did not care about any of this. He cultivated wholeheartedly, wanting to break through to the Dao Realm Fourth Heaven as soon as possible. Finally, on a stormy summer night, the power he had accumulated reached its limit, and he began his breakthrough. The power within him underwent another qualitative transformation. After entering the Dao Realm Fourth Heaven, Ren Xiaoyao discovered that he had lost all points of reference.

The power within his body was simply too vast.

The strongest person Ren Xiaoyao had encountered before was Dugu Jian, yet he felt that although he had only just entered the Dao Realm Fourth Heaven, he was roughly equivalent to two or three hundred Dugu Jians. Moreover, his own strength was still increasing madly, as though it had no end.

Yet after this breakthrough, Ren Xiaoyao also discovered something. The power within his body seemed intentionally or unintentionally to stir the power within the lightning, carrying a tendency for Heavenly Thunder to strike him.

"According to the guidance, once one cultivates immortality to a certain level, one must contend with Heaven. Therefore, every breakthrough brings a Lightning Tribulation. Could it be that I am not far from this level already?"

Ren Xiaoyao thought to himself.

As for cultivating immortality, apart from the guidance in his mind, Ren Xiaoyao had been exploring everything himself. However, he possessed the Heaven-Defying Comprehension talent, so his cultivation speed far surpassed what the guidance in his mind described.

According to the guidance, cultivating from a mortal to the Dao Realm Fourth Heaven required at least a hundred years, and every breakthrough between realms came with an incomparably difficult threshold.

Yet Ren Xiaoyao had cultivated immortality for only a year before entering the Dao Realm Fourth Heaven. Each time, once he absorbed sufficient power, he broke through, with no threshold or obstacle whatsoever.

And this was the benefit brought by Heaven-Defying Comprehension.

Ren Xiaoyao summoned his Attribute Panel once more.

Name: Ren Xiaoyao

Lifespan: 17/500

Race: Mortals

Talent: Heaven-Defying Comprehension

Cultivation: Dao Realm Fourth Heaven

Technique: Pure Yang Heaven Breaking Gang Sword, Chaos God-Demon Body Refining Technique, Sword Drawing Sky Severing Technique

Spell: Nothingness

Magic Item: Great Sun Divine Sword

Looking at his attributes, Ren Xiaoyao was in quite a good mood. After breaking through to the Dao Realm Fourth Heaven, his maximum lifespan had become five hundred years, soaring by a huge margin.

Wonderful.

Simply wonderful.

After entering the Dao Realm Fourth Heaven, Ren Xiaoyao's Spiritual Sense had also increased enormously. Every movement within a one-kilometer radius could no longer escape his Spiritual Sense.

Ren Xiaoyao knew clearly that he no longer needed to fear any opponent. Even when facing anyone at all, he possessed the strength for self-preservation.

Ren Xiaoyao was also somewhat curious. If he used Martial Dao as a reference, what realm of Martial Dao was his current self equivalent to?

Yet although he had grown stronger, Ren Xiaoyao still had no intention of acting high-profile.

After all, a careful sailor could sail for ten thousand years. He could not guarantee that this world contained no Martial Artist capable of battling him, nor was he certain whether there were other Cultivators besides himself.

Keeping a low profile while cultivating could never go wrong.

Over the following period, Ren Xiaoyao continued consolidating his realm.

Several days later, Liu Ruyan came to the Imperial Observatory again and quietly sought out Ren Xiaoyao once more.

"Young Master, it has only been a few months, yet you have become more handsome again."

When Liu Ruyan saw Ren Xiaoyao, astonishment appeared in her eyes. In her memories, Ren Xiaoyao had always been naturally handsome, but now he seemed to possess an even more fatal charm that made Liu Ruyan unable to take her eyes off him.

Ren Xiaoyao knew what was happening. As his cultivation grew stronger, the charm radiating from him became increasingly dazzling. This charm could not be concealed unless Ren Xiaoyao cultivated to the level of returning to simplicity and truth, where he could hide his radiance.

Ren Xiaoyao avoided Liu Ruyan's fiery gaze. Liu Ruyan chuckled, then licked her lips before stating her purpose.

"Ren Xiaoyao, have you considered leaving the Imperial Observatory and entering the Demonic Sect with me? Now, my father, the Devil Master, has reached the Heavenly Human Realm and achieved absolute control over the Demonic Sect. If you enter the Demonic Sect, I can have you take my father as your master!"

The Devil Master had reached the Heavenly Human Realm as well?

Curiosity appeared on Ren Xiaoyao's face.

After all, this Devil Master had once been Li Chunfeng's Senior Brother, an Undercover Agent dispatched by the Imperial Court to the Demonic Cult. Step by step, he had risen to become the Co-lord of the Demonic Sect. He truly was a legendary figure.

Now that the Devil Master had reached the Heavenly Human Realm, it was even more extraordinary. Across all of Great Gan, there were countless Martial Artists, but True Persons could be counted on one's fingers, let alone those in the Heavenly Human Realm.

"What do you think?"

Liu Ruyan smiled as she said,

"I mentioned you to my father. He said that he had been quite close with your mother, Luo Mengshen, in the past. You are the Son of an Old Friend. As long as you go to the Demonic Sect, he is willing to accept you as his disciple!"

"That will not be necessary."

Ren Xiaoyao shook his head and rejected Liu Ruyan. Liu Ruyan was not angered. Instead, she gave Ren Xiaoyao a large number of Aperture Condensing Pills.

In truth, Aperture Condensing Pills had very limited use for Ren Xiaoyao now. But since they represented Liu Ruyan's goodwill, Ren Xiaoyao accepted the pills.

Then, with the smile of an aunt watching a romance unfold, Liu Ruyan looked at Ren Xiaoyao again and asked, "Ren Xiaoyao, do you know that your Imperial Observatory's Senior Sister Bai Su has gotten together with the new leader of the Seven Kill Demonic Cult?"

"Senior Sister Bai Su has gotten together with the Demonic Cult Leader?"

Ren Xiaoyao was quite surprised to hear this. He had previously guessed that the man Bai Su had met outside and fallen for should be someone from the Demonic Cult, but he had truly not expected him to be the leader of the Seven Kill Demonic Cult.

Liu Ruyan continued,

"The Seven Kill Demonic Cult's former leader was eliminated by my father for betraying the Demonic Sect. The new leader my father supported is Yao Luochen, the former young valley master of Medicine King Valley. He is also a renowned figure. It is not strange that Senior Sister Bai Su would take a liking to him."

"However, the two of them are destined to find no happiness. One is an official of Great Gan, and the other is the Demonic Cult Leader. The two sides are naturally destined to be like water and fire!"

"At present, only a very small number of Demonic Sect higher-ups know this news, but there are no secrets in this world. This news will soon reach the ears of the Empress of Great Gan."

"I heard that the Empress previously wanted to invite Li Chunfeng to become the Imperial Preceptor of Great Gan, but he refused. Now Bai Su is also a disciple of the Imperial Observatory. Do you think that when the time comes, the Empress of Great Gan will use this as a pretext and settle old and new scores together?"

Then Liu Ruyan stared at Ren Xiaoyao and said,

"Ren Xiaoyao, the Imperial Observatory is certain to face a great disaster next. If an ordinary person like you gets swept into it, there will be no good outcome. Are you still sure you will not leave the Imperial Observatory and go to the Demonic Sect with me?"