The Original Body's Evil

The material of the white bead resembled jade, yet also glass, resting silently in a groove beneath the shattered wooden floorboards.

After a flicker of thought, Xu Yuan identified the bead's name from the vast list of heavenly treasures in Cangyuan, based on its appearance and properties.

Source Crystal.

It was something similar to the spirit stones of a cultivation world—no, compared to spirit stones, a Source Crystal was more like a concentrated spirit eye from traditional cultivation lore.

It was a treasure of a higher grade than the pool of spirit liquid currently sitting in Xu Yuan's Sumeru Ring.

However, that was not the issue; the issue was why a treasure of this caliber would be in Xu Changge's aerial palace.

The scarcity of a Source Crystal was no less than that of the life-bound Snake Heart Lotus produced by a Seven-Life Python. Moreover, unlike the specific effects of the Snake Heart Lotus, a Source Crystal was a divine object that could tangibly and continuously increase one's cultivation speed—a true rarity that was priceless and impossible to find on the market.

As his thoughts reached this point, the purple-black ring Xu Changge had worn on his left hand suddenly flashed through Xu Yuan's mind.

The other party surely possessed a Sumeru Ring as well; why would he leave such a treasure here in the Mystic Eagle Pavilion?

Silently standing up, Xu Yuan restarted the cultivation technique that had been disrupted by the backlash and walked toward the hole in the floorboards.

Approaching the spot, Xu Yuan stared at the Source Crystal for a long moment before leaning down, reaching out to retrieve it.

But when his hand came within a foot of the Source Crystal, an invisible repulsive force, much like a magnet from his past life, gently pushed his hand away.

Xu Yuan frowned. He channeled Source Qi into his Sumeru Ring and extended his soul sense, intending to use the ring to collect the object from a distance.

Yet, the same repulsive force pushed his soul sense away as well.

"..." Xu Yuan.

This must have been the reason he was sent flying earlier.

But what was this repulsive force?

A formation protecting the Source Crystal?

A thought flashed through his mind, and his brow furrowed deeper. Xu Yuan exerted his full strength to circulate his technique, pouring all the Source Qi in his body into his left hand to resist the invisible force as he pressed down once more.

His palm descended inch by inch, but after moving only about two centimeters, Xu Yuan felt the meager Source Qi in his body run dry.

"Hum—"

His left hand was repelled, and the powerful force caused Xu Yuan, who was half-crouched on the floor, to stumble and land hard on his backside.

Xu Yuan stared silently at the Source Crystal in the groove for several seconds, then stood up, brushed off his robes, and sat back down on the bed with a faint, self-aware smile.

Xu Changge knew he possessed an Innate Soul Body and could sense this object, yet he had left the treasure right under his nose.

Furthermore, the formation protecting the Source Crystal was so rudimentary that with his current Innate Body, he would have a chance to break the formation and take the treasure once he cultivated diligently enough.

Heh.

So, this big brother was going out of his way to send him gifts, was he?

During the time spent flying toward Jingjiang City on the Mystic Eagle, Xu Yuan devoted all his time to cultivation, save for the two or three hours of sleep he required each day.

Circulating his technique day and night was incredibly dull and monotonous, but the positive feedback of watching the Source Qi within his body accumulate at a visible rate was enough to wash away that boredom.

The various restrictions placed on a beginner cultivator simply did not exist for him, thanks to the powerful buffs provided by his "pay-to-win" advantage.

The ancients did not deceive me.

The reason a person isn't strong enough is often simply because they haven't "paid" enough.

With various precious medicinal pills ingested, the special medicinal properties not only increased his cultivation speed but also ensured he could train for long periods without damaging his meridians.

Cultivation knows no time.

The Great Yan Dynasty was vast, with a single province often spanning ten thousand miles, but the Mystic Eagle flew at an incredible speed and required almost no rest.

After an unknown number of days, a magnificent, massive city appeared on the horizon within the Mystic Eagle's line of sight.

Following a long cry from the Mystic Eagle, Xu Yuan, who had been sitting cross-legged on the bed, slowly opened his eyes. He lowered his gaze to look at his hands, a hint of confusion in his eyes.

Just now, as he circulated his technique to inhale Source Qi, he felt as if something within his body had been pierced through.

A clean, crisp "pop."

A very strange sensation.

After a moment of contemplation, Xu Yuan surmised that this was likely a sign that he had broken through some sort of bottleneck.

However, because Ran Qingmo had only taught him the basics of cultivation, he could not yet determine what his current cultivation level was after breaking through that bottleneck.

After all, the cultivation hierarchy of this world couldn't possibly be divided by the numerical levels found in Cangyuan, could it?

He pushed the thought aside; these questions were not real problems. He could just ask someone later; there was no need to waste time thinking about it here.

With that in mind, Xu Yuan cast his gaze back toward the large hole in the floor.

Now that he had broken through the bottleneck, he could try to retrieve that Source Crystal again.

Thinking this, Xu Yuan got off the bed and walked to the groove, crouching down.

Looking at the jade-like, glass-like Source Crystal, Xu Yuan took a deep breath and began to circulate his technique.

"Tap, tap, tap—"

The door was knocked on at exactly that moment, and Ying'er's slightly hoarse voice drifted in:

"Third Young Master."

"Get lost!"

Xu Yuan didn't even think about it, responding to her with a single word.

Ever since this Ying'er had released killing intent toward him, Xu Yuan had maintained this exact attitude toward her.

Delivering medicinal meals?

Not eating, get lost!

Passing on messages for Xu Changge?

Not listening, get lost!

As Xu Yuan flipped through the memories belonging to the original body bit by bit, he had completely understood the original's behavioral patterns.

This was a young master who was extremely arrogant and conceited, yet simultaneously inferior to the very marrow of his bones.

He could beat a passerby until they were on the verge of death in the middle of the street simply because they had jokingly said to a friend, "Look, that's the Prime Minister's Estate's Third Young Master, heh~."

In his memories, Xu Changtian sometimes didn't want to be this way, but unfortunately, under the shadows accumulated over the years by his two older brothers, his personality had long since become twisted.

Things he exhausted all his strength to achieve were merely trivial matters done with a wave of the hand for his two brothers.

Compared to his two brothers, who were dragons among men, the original body was just an ordinary person, perhaps even an ordinary person of below-average aptitude.

The expectations of the masses, the disappointment of the masses, and, the mockery of the masses.

If it had only been this, the long-term inferiority might have only created a withdrawn child.

However, the original body had tasted the flavor of power brought by his father's position as Prime Minister far too early.

It all started because of a conflict at the academy when he was ten years old.

At the academy, the sarcasm of other children and youths who loved to compare him to his two brothers had, over the years, finally led the original body to get into an argument with them.

That day, after the morning lesson ended, he got into a physical altercation with the other children and youths.

Because the other side had more people and had started practicing martial arts early, the ten-year-old original body was pinned to the ground and beaten while being mocked.

Cowering in the pile of people, clutching his head, he felt a sense of confusion and despair as pain surged in from all directions.

After the beating, that group of children and youths even clamored, "If you dare to be stubborn again, we'll beat you every time we see you," before laughing and leaving together.

Returning to the Prime Minister's Estate, the original body hid directly in his own room.

He was afraid.

Afraid that if he went to the academy, those people would plunge him into that despair once again.

At dusk, while he was in a hazy sleep, the old butler suddenly knocked on his door, saying that someone from the academy was looking for him outside the estate.

This sentence caused all of the original body's sleepiness to vanish instantly.

Panic and unease occupied his entire mind, and he refused to go out no matter what.

However, the old butler did not give up, and after patient persuasion, he finally trembled his way to the main entrance.

Under the setting sun on the street, What the original body saw, Was not the demons who had rained blows upon him during the day.

Instead, It was a row of quails kneeling on the ground, shivering.

Those who had originally been fierce and vicious, clamoring to beat him again, were now kneeling at the Prime Minister's Estate alongside their parents, their terrified and cowering appearance resembling a flock of quails waiting to be slaughtered.

At that moment, Accompanied by the setting sun as it gradually sank below the horizon of the Imperial Capital, The evil in Xu Changtian's heart, Began to sprout and spread.

"Snap--"

As his thoughts reached this point, Xu Yuan had already overcome the massive repulsive force and grabbed the Source Crystal in the groove, his narrow eyes flickering with a hint of complexity.