Consort Jing

Before long, Eunuch Fei hurried back and led the two of them into the palace.

Consort Jing was seated in a chair. She wore splendid robes and carried herself with an air of graceful nobility. Behind her stood two breathtakingly beautiful maids.

"Greetings, Consort Jing."

Leng Ruyi and Ye Kang cupped their hands in unison.

Warriors did not kneel to imperial authority. A cupped-hand salute was the highest courtesy they could offer.

Consort Jing nodded and smiled warmly.

"You must be Ye Kang. I heard you helped Prefect Zhou recover the Luminous Pearl and caught the thief. You did very well."

"You're too kind, Your Highness. It was simply my duty."

Ye Kang was neither servile nor arrogant, modest yet composed.

Consort Jing said no more and simply gave the maid behind her a glance.

The maid immediately brought out a document and handed it to Leng Ruyi.

"Lord Leng, I've obtained His Majesty's approval. Lord Ye has rendered great service and is highly skilled, so he deserves a reward. Effective immediately, he is granted one hundred taels of gold and promoted to Warden of the Death Prison and Candidate Tongzhi Lang, a seventh-rank post."

"Many thanks for His Majesty's grace!"

Ye Kang's heart leapt with excitement at her words.

He really had been promoted this time. He was no longer a mere clerk in the Imperial City Department.

Before, he had been little more than a commandant. Now he had been appointed a seventh-rank Candidate Tongzhi Lang. From now on, he could call himself "this official" with full legitimacy.

Consort Jing added, "Lord Ye, you're still young in service, so there's no need to rush into further promotion. But I have an assignment for you. If you're willing to take it, I'll see that the word 'Candidate' is removed from your title."

Ye Kang's heart stirred.

Here it came.

Every promotion came at a price. There was no such thing as kindness without reason.

What came next was the important part.

"I'm listening, Your Highness. If it's within my power, I'll brave fire and water to see it done."

"There's no need to make it sound so grave. The matter itself is small. Before the New Year, my daughter—the Ninth Princess of Great Jin—returned to Mengzhou to pay respects at her maternal grandfather's grave. But recently, my spies reported signs of Rebel Faction activity in Mengzhou. I fear she may be in danger, so I've already dispatched Imperial Guards to escort her."

Ye Kang was at a loss. "Your Highness, what would you have me do?"

"To be frank, I'm still not at ease. I need another trustworthy expert to protect the Ninth Princess in secret. Lord Ye, you're dependable, so you're the only one for this task."

Ye Kang thought Consort Jing was worrying a little too much, but since she had put it this way, refusing would be impolite.

So he replied, "I'd be honored to ease Your Highness's worries."

"Excellent! Lord Leng, you were right about him. Take Lord Ye to the Garrison Armory later. He may choose any martial art he wishes, without restriction."

"Understood."

Lord Leng nodded. Then the two of them took their leave and, with Eunuch Fei leading the way, walked out of the palace.

Only then did Lord Leng say, "Well done. I can see Lord Ye's strength has improved again."

"Lord Leng's eyes are sharp. Nothing gets past you."

Ye Kang answered with a cheeky grin, then discreetly let out a trace of his aura.

Leng Ruyi's eyes widened in astonishment.

"Unbelievable. In just a few days, you've reached the Half-step Innate Realm."

"It's all thanks to my Master's good teaching." Ye Kang didn't deny it. He could just pin everything on that nonexistent Master of his.

That only strengthened Leng Ruyi's suspicions.

Ye Kang's Master had to be one of those old monsters in the imperial city.

Those men hadn't shown themselves in decades. Why had one of them suddenly trained such an outrageously talented disciple? What were they plotting?

Leng Ruyi couldn't figure it out, but she was at least certain of one thing.

Ye Kang had powerful connections—and they were very powerful indeed.

Before long, the two arrived at the Imperial City Guard Armory.

With Leng Ruyi leading the way, Ye Kang passed through without hindrance and soon reached the place where the martial arts manuals were kept.

"This is the Myriad Books Tower. It has ten floors and houses all kinds of martial arts. The top floor holds the superior arts."

"Then shall we go to the top floor?"

"No. We're going underground."

Leng Ruyi reached out and pressed a mechanism. An entrance to an underground passage appeared.

The two of them went inside, and Leng Ruyi continued, "Since you've already reached the Half-step Innate Realm, superior martial arts won't be of much use to you."

Leng Ruyi didn't say it outright.

In her eyes, Ye Kang had such a formidable Master that he could get his hands on any superior martial art he wanted.

Offering him ordinary martial arts would be a bit of a con, so she had to show him something truly valuable.

Ye Kang had no idea Leng Ruyi had imagined all this. He ventured, "Could these martial arts be even more superior than the ones above?"

"Of course. The first underground level houses thirteen Innate Martial Arts. Some are the secret techniques of major sects, while others are lost arts. Lord Ye may choose any one of them."

The torchlight flared, revealing a bookshelf ahead.

A circle of manuals sat on it, each with a detailed description.

They were all Innate Martial Arts!

What a treasure trove!

Ye Kang thought of his Hundred Flowers Sword Finger, his heart surging with excitement.

He hurried over and inspected the manuals one by one.

"Thirteen Deadly Spears. The first spear, White Dragon... I've never practiced spear techniques. Forget it."

"The Bone-Shattering Soul-Weeping Record. A legacy martial art of the Previous Dynasty's Demonic Path White Bone Evil Heaven Cult. The name sounds downright sinister. It doesn't fit my righteous image."

"The Violet Cloud Sword Canon..."

"The Imperial Heaven-Reaching Skill..."

Ye Kang had looked through all the manuals and gotten a general sense of them.

Unfortunately, they were sealed inside crystal cases, so he couldn't open them to take a closer look.

If he could open them, the system could record them all. Now that would be incredible.

After hesitating for a long while, Ye Kang finally chose the Imperial Heaven-Reaching Skill.

It was an Internal Energy Art. An Innate-level Internal Energy Art had to be far more powerful than the Wood Heart Sutra. It was exactly what he lacked most.

Leng Ruyi's expression turned peculiar.

"You certainly know how to choose. The Imperial Heaven-Reaching Skill is the imperial martial art passed down by the Previous Dynasty's Imperial Family. It follows the way of emperors and is immensely powerful, but no one has dared to choose it."

Ye Kang looked innocent. "Am I not allowed to choose it?"

Leng Ruyi shook her head. "Of course you are. Her Highness said you could choose anything you liked. But I must warn you: the imperial path is closely tied to the dragon veins and the nation's fortune. The Previous Dynasty's dragon fortune has long since collapsed, making this art much harder to cultivate."

"That's all right. I'll take it."

Ye Kang didn't hesitate.

Cultivation difficulty was no problem at all for the system.

Leng Ruyi didn't try to dissuade him further. She took Ye Kang out of the Garrison Armory.

They parted ways, and Ye Kang hurried home that night.

After greeting his father, mother, and eldest brother, he went into his room and began to comprehend the art.

"System! Learn the Imperial Heaven-Reaching Skill!"

[Ping]

[Imperial Heaven-Reaching Skill recorded successfully]

[Martial art restriction: The host must reach the Xiantian Realm to learn this art. Initial comprehension requires 5,000 Comprehension]

[The host is temporarily unable to learn this martial art. The host is advised to upgrade the Wood Heart Sutra]

"Ridiculous! There are so many restrictions? And 5,000 Comprehension is way too expensive!"

Ye Kang hadn't expected this martial art to be so difficult to obtain.

It seemed Lord Leng had been right. The Previous Dynasty's dragon fortune had been destroyed, making this martial art harder to cultivate too.

"Since the system recommends it, I'll learn the Wood Heart Sutra first. Comprehend!"

[Ping]

[The host has spent 2,000 Comprehension to comprehend the Wood Heart Sutra to Great Perfection]

[Congratulations, host. You have broken through your Shackles and advanced to the Innate First Rank]

[Please share this website on Facebook with a tap of your finger so we can keep it running]