In the courtyard.
Tap, tap, tap-
Footsteps approached from afar.
Jiang Ning slowly opened his eyes, his turbulent emotions settling into calm.
The next moment.
The Northern Pacifying King appeared in his sight.
"My respects, Your Highness!" Seeing Jiang Ning standing beneath the tree, the Northern Pacifying King, Xu Zhen, bowed respectfully.
"Is something the matter?" Jiang Ning asked.
"Yes!" Xu Zhen replied, then said, "A convoy from the Northern Barbarian Royal Court is outside the city. They claim to have brought tribute on the orders of the eldest princess, Ashina."
Tribute.
Jiang Ning chuckled inwardly, then nodded. "It seems Ashina does keep her word. Let them enter the city and bring everything to my courtyard."
"Yes, Your Highness!" Xu Zhen answered.
He then turned and left.
Soon, his footsteps faded into the distance.
Jiang Ning withdrew his gaze.
A flicker of satisfaction crossed his eyes.
The first batch of resources Ashina had sent had arrived at just the right time.
He had only just grasped the true meaning of the body's great secret and learned the direction of the road ahead. He needed vast quantities of resources to strengthen his foundation and accelerate the breaking of his shackles.
This step concerned his glimpse into a higher realm of heaven and earth.
He had a premonition.
True qualitative transformation came from breaking every shackle in the human body.
And that Martial Saint might very well have accomplished precisely that.
Otherwise, breaking a mere handful of shackles could not possibly have granted him such staggering strength.
In terms of foundation, he did not believe the Martial Saint of those days had surpassed him.
After all, the fortune he himself had obtained was the so-called Hunyuan foundation.
Though he did not know what it was, he knew full well that it had