Even a Tiger Doesn't Eat Its Cubs?

Inside Cloud Rest Garden, Ji Xuanyuan smashed things like a madman... while Xiao Fan trailed behind him, frantically picking everything up.

"Your Highness, things are perfectly fine. You mustn't say such unlucky words!"

Xiao Fan hurriedly supported Ji Xuanyuan and pulled him into a chair in the next room, stopping him from continuing to destroy cultural relics!

"What exactly happened? Weren't you fine last night?" Xiao Fan was utterly baffled as he looked at the disheveled, haggard young master.

At that moment, the old steward let out a long sigh. "This morning, Master entered the palace to see His Majesty. Who would have thought His Majesty would inspect his studies at random... The result... the result..."

Xiao Fan understood at once... so some failing student had gotten dealt with by his father... It was quite tragic, but he just wanted to laugh.

The sunny young man with a belly full of bad ideas blinked and deliberately put on a clueless expression. "And what was the result?"

That was asking while knowing full well! Xiao Fan found it hard to hold back, even wondering whether he was being a little too wicked.

Yet what he had never expected was that the result truly was beyond imagining...

Ji Xuanyuan, looking pitifully aggrieved, undid his robe. On his left shoulder was a dark purple, nearly black bruise in the unmistakable shape of a shoe!

Holy shit... that was one heavy blow?

Xiao Fan immediately shouted in fury, "Which bastard did this?!"

The moment those words left his mouth, the old steward was so frightened that he dropped to his knees and frantically kowtowed toward the empty air outside! "Oh, heavens!!! Young Master, mind your words, mind your words! This was His Majesty's admonishment for Master!"

"Those who do not know are without fault! May His Majesty forgive this offense... forgive this offense... forgive this offense..."

"My apologies, my apologies. I misspoke. So it was His Majesty's admonishment—then it's fine." Xiao Fan hurriedly helped the old steward up. The old man mustn't kowtow himself to death...

By then, Ji Xuanyuan had finally cried himself out. He said, "How is it fine? If this keeps up... I'll be beaten to death!"

Those words were truly frightening, but they were not without reason... After all, nowhere was affection more scarce than in an emperor's household.

Xiao Fan hurried to comfort him. "It can't be that bad! Even a vicious tiger does not eat its cubs. No matter how much of a good-for-nothing you are... Ah, no, no matter how poor your studies are, His Majesty wouldn't kill his own son, would he?"

"You called me a good-for-nothing?" Ji Xuanyuan lifted his head.

Cold sweat broke out on Xiao Fan's forehead. "Huh? I didn't! Your Highness must have misheard!"

Damn it, he'd let that slip! Xiao Fan panicked inside.

Just as Xiao Fan thought Ji Xuanyuan was about to fly into a rage, the man instead wore a miserable face. Not only did he not lose his temper, but rather...

"You're right... I am a good-for-nothing. Father Emperor already doesn't want to acknowledge me as his son. If I anger him again, he might truly kill me..."

Ah, this...

Xiao Fan could see that Ji Xuanyuan was genuinely despairing. It seemed the situation was far more serious than he had imagined.

He had originally thought Emperor Hongwu was merely angry at his son's poor studies and had scolded him... Yet he never expected him to have kicked him as well!

And that was not all. Judging from Ji Xuanyuan's state, Emperor Hongwu might truly kill his own son...

Throughout history, there had indeed been cases of royal kin slaughtering one another. But killing a prince just because his studies were poor was far too absurd.

Feeling that there was more to this matter than met the eye, Xiao Fan grew serious as well. "Your Highness, if you trust me, tell me what happened in the palace today. Then I can help you analyze it."

Ji Xuanyuan nodded like a pecking bird. "Of course I trust you. The reason I summoned you today was precisely because of this..."

"Do you remember telling me that you wanted me to teach you martial arts?"

Xiao Fan thought back for a moment. "I remember. You said at the time that it involved certain royal secrets."

"That's right. Strictly speaking, this matter must be kept tightly secret. Today, I've decided to tell you everything. You must keep it confidential!" Ji Xuanyuan said with a serious expression.

To be honest, Xiao Fan did not want to know any royal secrets at all. Some things were safer the less one knew about them!

But the young master's circumstances truly looked dire. If he wanted to help him through this crisis, he needed to grasp enough information first.

Xiao Fan slapped his thigh. "So be it! Since Your Highness trusts me so deeply, I'll risk it! Tell me. Once we leave this room, no one else will ever know!"

At that, the old steward very consciously withdrew from the room and shut the door. He personally stood guard in the courtyard as well, lest the walls have ears.

Ji Xuanyuan rose from the rosewood chair, clasped his hands behind his back, and began pacing as he recounted a royal secret of the Ji Clan of Great Liang...

Great Liang ruled the nation through martial might, relying on absolute force to cow the four seas. So where did that power come from? From the Ji royal family's most formidable trump card, the Sovereign True Dragon Heart Seal!

This cultivation art known as the Sovereign True Dragon Heart Seal was the Ji royal family's exclusive secret technique. Its core principle, put simply, was the process of gradually transforming into a true dragon.

In all the world today, across the Nine Provinces and Four Seas, among humankind, there was only one first-rank Martial God of the Divine Transcendence Realm: Great Liang's emperor, Emperor Hongwu, Ji Shaoyan!

To this day, no one in the Central Plains had ever seen Emperor Hongwu make a move. There were only all manner of legends about him.

One legend tacitly acknowledged by the authorities was that he could completely transform into a true dragon, making him nearly invincible beneath the heavens.

He was, in the literal physical sense, a true dragon Son of Heaven!

The Ji royal family relied on the Sovereign True Dragon Heart Seal to rule the Central Plains through absolute martial force.

Therefore, so long as one was a prince, one had to cultivate the Sovereign True Dragon Heart Seal. This was the "studies" Ji Xuanyuan had spoken of.

The Sovereign True Dragon Heart Seal was divided into an upper and lower volume. There was no written manual; the emperor personally passed it down only to his own sons.

Once each prince reached the age of twelve, he would begin cultivating the upper volume. When the throne was to be passed on, the emperor would personally transmit the lower volume to the heir to the throne.

Thus, passed down from one generation to the next, the Ji royal family could forever stand at the pinnacle of martial power, their realm secure for all eternity!

As Xiao Fan listened to Ji Xuanyuan's account, his scalp grew increasingly numb... Is this really something an ordinary commoner like me should know?!

Having said that, Xiao Fan raised a hand to wipe the cold sweat from his brow. "Your Highness... I really can't help with this. I don't know the Sovereign True Dragon Heart Seal or anything like that."

"Of course I know. That's why I want to write out the cultivation method for the Sovereign True Dragon Heart Seal from memory. You're a ranked martial artist—could you help me study how it should be cultivated?" Ji Xuanyuan spoke the most terrifying words in the most innocent tone.

Young master... you really are invincible... Xiao Fan was too drained even to complain. If I were Emperor Hongwu, I'd want to beat this unlucky son senseless too!

"Your Highness... wouldn't that be inappropriate? If I read it and trigger some kind of restriction, I'm afraid I won't have any chance of surviving!"

Though he said that, Xiao Fan still wanted to see it deep down! After all, it was the number one martial arts cultivation method under heaven. Transforming into a true dragon—just hearing it made his blood surge!

At its core, the Sovereign True Dragon Heart Seal was an extraordinary martial arts cultivation method. It too was divided into nine ranks, corresponding one-to-one with the martial arts ranks. If it could be cultivated...

What he feared was that the technique might contain some sort of restriction—perhaps outsiders could not cultivate it, or perhaps attempting to do so would cause qi deviation and madness.

Sure enough, Ji Xuanyuan's next words confirmed Xiao Fan's guess to a certain extent.

"Don't worry. The Sovereign True Dragon Heart Seal itself has no restrictions, because even if I let you read it, you still won't be able to cultivate it. Only those who possess Ji Clan blood can cultivate this art."

Got it. So it was a bloodline-bound cultivation method. Since he couldn't cultivate it anyway, he might as well take a look...