Hu Jie Encounters Calamity, Comprehends the Imperial Pole Dao Proving Scripture

"Li Qianhu, that man ahead is Ye Jing."

Sure enough, as soon as he stepped into the inner hall of the Hanlin Academy, an academy official led runners over to interrogate him.

"You're Ye Jing!"

"I am indeed Ye Jing."

Ye Jing's expression remained calm, without a trace of panic.

"Ye Jing, Hu Jie slandered His Majesty, stirred up public sentiment, and plotted rebellion. If you know where Hu Jie is, tell me at once."

"If you dare hide anything, don't blame me if my blade shows no mercy."

The interrogating Li Qianhu drew the saber at his waist. The blade gleamed, radiating waves of chill.

His aura surged as well, trying to pressure Ye Jing with the momentum of the Innate Realm, to intimidate him into submission.

If Ye Jing were still the Qi Refining Fifth Layer rookie he'd been before, he might have been cowed by that presence.

But now, Ye Jing had already reached Innate Perfection. To him, such an aura was nothing more than a mayfly trying to shake a tree.

Still, Ye Jing put on a panicked face and stammered, "I... I report to... Li Qianhu, I truly don't know where Hu Jie is!"

"Yesterday, I spent the whole day compiling historical records in the academy. I had no contact with Hu Jie at all."

Seeing Ye Jing so flustered, Li Qianhu didn't press further.

Before Ye Jing had even arrived at the academy, Li Qianhu had already thoroughly investigated yesterday's events. What Ye Jing just said matched his findings exactly.

Having dodged Li Qianhu's interrogation, Ye Jing returned to his desk, picked up the historical records on the table, but his mind wasn't on them.

From Li Qianhu's words, Hu Jie's actions had surely stirred up a huge disaster. If caught, at the very least, he'd lose his head.

But judging by Li Qianhu's tone, Hu Jie had escaped for now and was safe.

He wondered where Hu Jie was at this moment.

Ye Jing had a good impression of Hu Jie. He was also Ye Jing's only friend in the Hanlin Academy.

The man was upright by nature and remarkably insightful. Some of his views even made Ye Jing, a man from a later era, pause in admiration.

He could only hope Hu Jie would survive this ordeal.

Ye Jing was still just a minor expert at Innate Perfection. He might barely be able to protect himself, but in matters like this, he was utterly powerless.

If he were a God of Heaven and Earth, a figure unseen in Dali for five hundred years, then even if Hu Jie had committed regicide, Ye Jing was confident he could keep him safe.

But there was no helping it. Ye Jing could only silently wish for Hu Jie's safety.

Pushing aside his worry for Hu Jie, Ye Jing quickly picked up the book on his desk and immersed himself entirely in reading.

The book recounted the deeds of the prodigy Wei Donglai.

Wei Donglai's life was fraught with hardship. Though he was a prince of the Great Wei, he was born from a chance encounter between the Wei Emperor and a palace maid after a night of drinking.

In the vast imperial palace, he had never held any presence. From the day he was born, the Wei Emperor never once looked at him.

Not only was he unloved by the Wei Emperor, but as a child, Wei Donglai was also bullied relentlessly by eunuchs and maids.

Yet Wei Donglai possessed astonishing talent. Though neglected, he could learn any technique at a glance. Not only that, he could turn the mundane into the miraculous, displaying power that was truly breathtaking.

Beyond talent, his insight was a once-in-a-millennium rarity. At just seven, he could create his own techniques. By thirteen, he had become a Grandmaster.

At eighteen, during the Great Wei Royal Clan Tournament, Wei Donglai stunned everyone. As a Great Grandmaster, he overpowered all the other Wei princes and easily claimed the top spot.

But a tall tree catches the wind. This victory brought Wei Donglai immense glory and earned him the Wei Emperor's favor, but it also sealed his doom.

Half a year later, the three most competitive candidates for the heir—the First Prince, Second Prince, and Third Prince—joined forces to set up a banquet of treachery. They used Thousand-Year Drunk to intoxicate Wei Donglai.

They then arranged for Wei Donglai to be caught in a compromising situation with a palace consort and rushed to accuse him before the Wei Emperor.

When the Wei Emperor saw this, he flew into a rage. He not only crippled Wei Donglai's cultivation but also imprisoned him in the imperial mausoleum, condemning him to spend the rest of his life there.

But Wei Donglai was blessed with great fortune. In the Great Wei Imperial Mausoleum, he discovered the Marrow Washing Scripture left behind by a eunuch of the former dynasty.

Through the Marrow Washing Scripture, Wei Donglai quickly rebuilt his meridians and returned to the path of cultivation.

Seasons passed. Sixty years went by in the Great Wei. Within the mausoleum, aside from his daily chores, Wei Donglai spent all his time cultivating.

After sixty years of bitter training, Wei Donglai had reached the Peak of Humanity, a supreme figure whose techniques were perfected. At last, he broke free from the mausoleum.

During those sixty years of arduous cultivation, Wei Donglai had long uncovered the full truth of what happened back then. As soon as he left the mausoleum, he went to settle accounts with the three princes.

Sixty years had brought earth-shaking changes to the Great Wei. The current Wei Emperor's Lifespan had run out, and the new Wei Emperor was the former First Prince.

The Second Prince and Third Prince had become powerful princes with real authority, surrounded by experts. Great Grandmasters served at their beck and call, and even figures at the Peak of Humanity ran errands for them.

Wei Donglai showed no fear. Clad in white robes, he stepped through the void and struck straight at the mansions of the Second and Third Princes.

Whether they were renowned Great Grandmasters or Martial Saints of Humanity at the Peak of Humanity, no one could withstand a single palm from Wei Donglai.

He came in white robes and left in white robes, without a single drop of blood on him.

After eliminating the Second and Third Princes, Wei Donglai didn't stop. He tore through the void and charged toward the Great Wei imperial palace.

The Great Wei dynasty was a thousand years older than Dali, with unfathomable reserves. Though it had declined in recent years, five hundred years ago, it was unquestionably the foremost dynasty of the Canglan Domain.

Within the Great Wei Imperial Family alone, there were no fewer than twenty individuals at the Peak of Humanity. The hidden reserves they had accumulated over the years were beyond counting.

But Wei Donglai still stepped into the Great Wei imperial palace alone, clad in white robes.

No one knew what earth-shattering battle had taken place within those palace walls that day.

All that was known was that from that day onward, Great Wei changed hands, and Wei Donglai became its master.

After taking the throne, Great Wei reached its golden age under Wei Donglai's rule—not only dominating the Canglan Domain but also standing as a formidable force across the Eastern Continent.

As Emperor Wei, his cultivation grew increasingly unfathomable. Before he was even a hundred years old, he had already touched the bottleneck of the Heaven and Earth God Realm.

But at that time, spiritual energy was in decline, and the shackles of heaven simply did not permit the existence of a Heaven and Earth God.

Yet Wei Donglai defied the heavens, gathering martial arts from across the world in search of a path to transcend the Dao.

Twenty years later, he synthesized the world's martial knowledge and created the Imperial Pole Dao Proving Scripture. With it, he shattered the heavenly shackles, and ultimately set sail overseas to pursue the Great Dao.

Truly, Wei Donglai was the most brilliant figure Great Wei had seen in thousands of years—able to break the heavenly shackles in the Age of Dharma's End, defy the heavens to prove the Dao, and ascend to the Heaven and Earth God Realm.

His sheer genius surpassed even the first Emperor Li Long Zhan and the Pill King Yao Xingchen.

[You have witnessed Wei Donglai's life. Your focus was intense, activating Heaven-Defying Comprehension.]

[With Heaven-Defying Comprehension, you have comprehended the Imperial Pole Dao Proving Scripture.]

Hearing the system prompt, Ye Jing immediately closed his eyes and began to deeply contemplate the mysteries of the Imperial Pole Dao Proving Scripture.