Verification

According to the Grand Cycle Qi Circulation Compendium, in ancient times, Qi Cultivators who had attained the Dao traveled with auspicious beasts at their side. The Pure Qi they casually breathed out could help plants gain Spirit Awakening and transform into demons.

To call such methods heaven-reaching and earth-piercing would not be an exaggeration.

After Song Lingxue spoke that one sentence, she fell silent. Chu Zheng tentatively asked:

"Eldest Young Lady, what brings you here?"

"Hmm?"

Song Lingxue abruptly came back to her senses. Somewhat flustered, she raised a hand again and, under the guise of smoothing the hair at her temples, discreetly pinched her earlobe. Then she said solemnly:

"It has been a few days since we last met. I came to see you. Have you gotten used to the Storehouse?"

Finding this somewhat strange, Chu Zheng nevertheless answered honestly:

"I was rather busy the past few days, but it is much better now."

At the mention of the Storehouse, Chu Zheng carefully watched Song Lingxue's expression, yet he could not discern the slightest clue. As always, her face remained expressionless.

Song Lingxue opened her mouth, momentarily unsure what to say. After holding it in for quite a while, she nodded.

"I watched your fist forms just now. Your Body-Fitting Fist has already reached great accomplishment, and you have nurtured some vitality and blood. You should not be far from condensing Internal Qi."

Before she finished speaking, she drew two ancient books that looked somewhat weathered from her sleeve and handed them to Chu Zheng.

"These are two Cultivation Methods, one Internal Arts and one External martial arts. Cultivating both inside and out, either can condense Internal Energy. You may practice them in your spare time."

The covers of the ancient books bore no titles, completely blank. Chu Zheng took them instinctively, and a prompt abruptly rang out in his mind.

Heavenly Origin Heart Method (First Order): The Song Family's inherited supreme art. It can be cultivated to the peak of First Order at most. To you, it is as useless as chicken ribs.

Dragon Tiger Body (Fourth Order / Incomplete): An incomplete body-tempering cultivation method, with only the Introductory Chapter remaining. After restoration, some of its contents hold a certain degree of reference value for you.

The Song Family's inherited supreme art could be cultivated to the realm of a Great Grandmaster. From this, it seemed that a so-called Great Grandmaster was First Order.

Only at this moment did Chu Zheng gain a comparatively clear understanding of this world's Martial Dao.

After digesting the information in his mind, Chu Zheng was somewhat surprised. The Song Family was a Martial Dao family, so possessing a First Order cultivation method was nothing unusual. But a Fourth Order cultivation method, even an incomplete one, carried entirely different significance.

By the Immortal Dao's division of strength, the fourth realm was already Soul Condensation, placing it on the same level as the author of the Travels of the Long Rainbow Sword Immortal he had read earlier.

For a Mortal Noble Family, that was far too unbelievable.

"Eldest Young Lady, one should not accept rewards without merit. I fear this is inappropriate..."

Doubts rose in Chu Zheng's heart. In the past, even the Breathing Method for the Body-Fitting Fist had been kept under wraps. Now, she had suddenly produced the family's inherited supreme arts. It was difficult not to have misgivings.

"If there is anything you do not understand, you may come ask me at any time. I can teach you some things."

Song Lingxue, however, paid no heed to Chu Zheng's thoughts. With a wave of her hand, she turned and left on her own, her steps exceedingly hurried.

Chu Zheng was utterly baffled. He looked around a few times and discovered something else amiss.

Song Yun, who usually followed Song Lingxue like a shadow, seemed to be absent today. Not only today—over the past several days, he seemed to have vanished without a trace.

Song Lingxue disappeared from sight in the blink of an eye. Left with no choice, Chu Zheng carried the two untitled cultivation methods toward the Storehouse.

Naturally, he did not intend to cultivate them. But once the Dragon Tiger Body had been restored, Chu Zheng intended to verify a thing or two through it. Since the Panel said it was worth drawing lessons from, it ought to offer some benefit.

Upon entering the Storehouse, Chu Zheng headed straight for the place where the books were kept.

After reading that Handwritten Note, he could no longer hold himself back. He wanted to examine Great Zhou's history and see whether he could uncover some clues through analysis.

At the very least, he wanted to try and see whether he could unearth information from ancient books about the several Hidden Immortal Sects within Great Zhou's territory.

Fortunately, most of what had previously been moved out of the Storehouse had been gold, silver, and all sorts of Herbal Ingredients and treasures needed for cultivation. Most of the books had not been touched.

There were not many books, and Great Zhou's historical records were easy enough to find. Before long, Chu Zheng began reading the records of Great Zhou's history since its founding.

He read until the sun set in the afternoon twilight.

Only when the lingering clouds on the horizon resembled blood did Chu Zheng leave the Storehouse, the doubts between his brows growing heavier.

After reading a vast amount of historical material, he had indeed made many discoveries.

Great Zhou's Founding Ancestor's uprising did not seem to have been a spur-of-the-moment decision, but something prepared for many years. The Previous Dynasty's fall had also been exceedingly strange. It had been at the height of its prosperity, yet it perished in merely a dozen or so years.

Earthquakes, lightning fires that burned mountains, floods, great droughts, and other natural disasters came without end. Great Zhou's Founding Ancestor had seized this opportunity to raise his army, and in just three years, swallowed the realm whole and established the dynasty.

There was almost no need to guess that an Immortal Sect had been pushing matters from behind the scenes.

Over a thousand years ago, the land within a radius of one hundred thousand li should have changed hands. The Phantom Spirit Sect mentioned in that Handwritten Note had played some unknown role in it all.

After leaving the Storehouse, Chu Zheng found an excuse to leave Song Manor.

He needed to begin preparing a way out for himself.

He was merely a household slave. If they truly had to flee for their lives, he would undoubtedly be among the first to be abandoned.

Even if Song Lingxue treated him well and seemed to harbor some unclear intentions toward him, Chu Zheng would not gamble his life on another person's momentary kindness.

In his Previous Life, whenever he opened the history books, he had seen countless tragedies: fathers slain, brothers murdered, flesh and blood turning against flesh and blood, relatives becoming enemies—all for power.

Human nature was the least reliable thing in the world.

People would go so far for power, let alone for the far more important matter of life itself.

Ever since arriving in this world, Chu Zheng had constantly reminded himself not to relax his guard in the slightest.

Now, his vigilance had grown several degrees stronger.

After all, if the diary hidden at the bedside had written only one page before abruptly ending, that would be far too ridiculous.

The rear courtyard of Song Manor.

Inside a side room, a thick smell of blood mingled with the bitter scent of medicinal herbs, spreading through the air.

On the bed lay Song Yun, bare-chested, his eyes shut tight. Cloth bands were wrapped around his chest, his lips were cracked, his complexion deathly pale, and his breathing alternated between weak and strong.

The wound was still seeping blood. The cloth bands that had only recently been changed had already begun to stain red.

Seeing this, the physician bent over again to stop the bleeding and replace the gauze.

Song Tonghai stood to one side, his eyes lowered, his expression unreadable.

"Father, what exactly happened?"

Song Lingxue pushed open the door and entered. Seeing Song Yun on the bed, her expression darkened. "Where was Song Yun injured?"

"At the city gate. He was struck by a hidden arrow."

Song Tonghai rubbed his fingertips as he spoke in a low voice:

"The arrow came from over a hundred zhang away. It pierced through the Inner Armor, passed through his chest, and still sank three cun into stone. Whoever could draw such a powerful bow must be a Grandmaster."

A chill flashed through Song Lingxue's eyes at those words. "This is a warning."

The physician, already past sixty, slowly raised his head and wiped the sweat from his brow with a sigh.

"The arrowhead was poisoned. The bleeding will not stop. For now, we can only barely keep him alive. For some time to come, he absolutely cannot fight."

Before his words had faded, Song Yun let out a muffled groan on the bed and slowly opened his eyes.