Starting as a Grandmaster

"Are you saying that I might be the Sixth Prince of Great Jin who was lost among the commoners, and that as long as I return to the Imperial Capital with you, I can enjoy all the glory and wealth in the world?"

Su Qingyang set down the book in his hand, the corners of his mouth twitching slightly as he scanned the woman before him from head to toe.

A black veil covered the woman's face, obscuring her features and making it impossible to read her expression.

Her long, raven-black hair was tied behind her, and she wore a sleek, form-fitting black outfit that cinched at the waist, accentuating her slender figure.

"That is correct." The veiled woman's expression remained indifferent, showing no emotional fluctuation at Su Qingyang's teasing.

"I belong to the Secret Bureau of Great Jin, and I have come specifically to investigate your origins. I assume you should be interested in this as well."

Liu Qingni gazed at Su Qingyang, her eyes clear, cold, and profound.

She raised her hand slightly and tossed an identity token toward Su Qingyang.

Su Qingyang caught the pitch-black token and glanced at it; his brows twitched, and a look of suspicion appeared on his face.

He had been in this world for quite some time, and he knew the original owner's past clearly—

Since he could remember, he had been a lonely orphan with no family or connections.

He had grown up struggling at the bottom of society and had never heard a single clue related to the royal family, let alone being a lost prince.

Of course, he did not care about his own origins.

After all, he was a transmigrator, alone and unburdened; he had no need for family members he felt no connection to.

Thus, Su Qingyang chuckled and said, "Miss, are you joking? A prince has been missing for nearly twenty years, and you only just thought to look for him now?"

"Isn't that a bit too late?"

Liu Qingni looked at Su Qingyang, her eyes complex and hesitant, but her voice remained cold as she said:

"I apologize, but the reasons for this are complicated and difficult to explain in a few words."

"If you wish to confirm your identity and know the whole truth, you can accompany me to the Imperial Capital."

"So after all that, my status as a prince isn't even confirmed yet!"

Su Qingyang laughed, tossing the token back to Liu Qingni. "But I think I'll pass. After all, my aptitude is very mediocre; how could I possibly be this so-called Sixth Prince?"

Hearing this, Liu Qingni shook her head and frowned:

"Do not belittle yourself. Although many factions in the Imperial Capital are searching for people everywhere, in my opinion, you are the most likely candidate to be the lost Sixth Prince."

Su Qingyang became a bit interested. "Oh? What makes you say that?"

"Because I am the First Secret Agent of the Secret Bureau. Every mission I have taken on has never failed."

Liu Qingni was proud, revealing immense self-confidence. Combined with her "keep away" attitude, she exuded an air of aloofness and cold arrogance.

She was clearly a tsundere!

Su Qingyang couldn't help but chuckle, yet he still shook his head. "I wouldn't mind taking a trip to the Imperial Capital with you, but at the moment, I really cannot get away."

Liu Qingni's cold eyes narrowed slightly. She stepped forward and frowned, "Do you know what you are refusing?"

"What in this world could be more important than your status as a prince!"

"This is likely your only chance to ascend to the heavens in a single step. If you miss this opportunity, it will be as difficult as ascending to the heavens to uncover your origins and return to your clan in the future."

Su Qingyang put away his book, walked over to Liu Qingni, looked at her calmly, and smiled:

"I know that, of course."

He naturally understood what the status of a prince represented. If it were true, a mere piece of paper would allow him to rise through the ranks and step directly into the highest echelons of power in Great Jin.

Glory, wealth, and authority would be within his grasp—a stroke of fortune that countless people spent their entire lives chasing in vain.

It was just a pity that he didn't care at all whether he was the Sixth Prince or not!

So-called power over the court and the pinnacle of glory meant nothing to him!

Liu Qingni was about to continue her persuasion when she suddenly noticed the temperature in the room rising rapidly.

"It is just that, to me, these things are of no consequence."

Su Qingyang's voice came slowly, extremely calm.

He didn't care!

Because he himself was an existence standing at the pinnacle of this world.

Liu Qingni's delicate brows moved, and her shock became impossible to hide.

A terrifying aura that made one's heart tremble surged upward, and a horrific amount of Qi-Blood was released.

It was as if a great sun were rising.

At this moment, she felt as if she were standing in a scorching furnace; the rolling heat waves permeated the air, almost distorting it.

"Fourth Qi-Blood Breakthrough... Blood Refining Grandmaster..."

"How is this possible..."

Liu Qingni's mind was shaken, and she couldn't help but whisper to herself.

Such talent, such willpower...

To ascend to the rank of Grandmaster at the age of twenty—even in the Imperial Capital, where experts were as numerous as clouds, there was no such monster.

Liu Qingni gazed at the young man before her, unable to stop herself from falling into a daze.

In the martial arts world, first-rate experts were everywhere, but a Blood Refining Grandmaster was nearly a myth.

It was the state of refining the internal organs and viscera through hard training, where the physical body and Qi-Blood merged into one, and the skin, flesh, tendons, and bones became harder than tempered steel; even a mountain of blades or a sea of fire could not shake them.

Any single Blood Refining Grandmaster possessed the terrifying combat power to contend against a Thousand Army single-handedly.

In the entire Great Jin martial arts world, only legends like the "Innate Sword Aura," which existed only in rumors, could be compared to them.

The path of the martial dao was divided into two major branches: Internal Forging and External Refining.

As the old saying went, internal training cultivates a breath of Qi, while external training cultivates the tendons, bones, and skin.

Internal Forging martial artists focused on cultivating internal Qi, and the third-rate, second-rate, and first-rate experts known to the world were judged solely by the depth of their internal Qi.

However, in the eyes of true powerhouses, such foundations were shallow and mostly not worth mentioning.

Those who could truly enter the hall and reach the inner chambers were those who had opened the eight extraordinary meridians and stepped into the Post-Heaven Realm.

Only when the essence, Qi, and spirit were perfectly blended could one break through the shackles and become an Innate Expert.

The martial dao Grandmaster recognized by the world was one who, upon the foundation of internal Qi, birthed a wisp of transcendent True Qi, using it to rise above the mundane.

Once one attained the rank of martial dao Grandmaster, they could ride the clouds, tread the air, possess immense strength, and travel the heavens and earth with unfathomable means.

But a Blood Refining Grandmaster was entirely different.

One had to undergo the Fourth Qi-Blood Breakthrough, break through the barrier of life and death, and evolve the physical body and Qi-Blood to the extreme.

In terms of frontal combat power, they were enough to crush ordinary martial dao Grandmasters, and within the same rank, they were nearly invincible.

Liu Qingni stared blankly at the calm and composed young man before her.

The young man had a face like jade, thick black hair hanging loosely over his shoulders and spreading across his broad chest, his figure slender and well-proportioned, his muscles and bones hidden rather than exposed, with lines that were just right.

This appearance completely shattered the stereotype of a Blood Refining Grandmaster in Liu Qingni's mind.

In her imagination, a Blood Refining Grandmaster should have been a burly, brawny man with arms thick enough to run horses on, a waist like a tiger or bear, and a physique like a mountain.

Not like Su Qingyang, who looked more like a robust scholar.

Yet, the majestic heat wave that rushed toward her, scorching the air, and that suffocating pressure of a life-level difference—like an ant looking up at a monster—

forced her to believe that this was a living, breathing Blood Refining Grandmaster.

"You, you... how could you... I..." Liu Qingni's thoughts were in chaos for a moment, her speech stuttering, yet a brilliant, fiery light ignited in her beautiful eyes beneath her veil.

"Since you have already ascended to such a realm, what could a mere small county town possibly have that is worth a Grandmaster lingering here and attending to personally?"

"As long as you return to the Imperial Capital with me, even if it is eventually verified that you are not the Sixth Prince, based solely on your status as a Blood Refining Grandmaster,

the imperial court and the public would surely treat you as an honored guest, revered by ten thousand, with a status supreme above all..."

Liu Qingni murmured in a low voice, her thoughts tangled in a knot; she could not digest this scene that overturned her perception in such a short time.

Su Qingyang glanced at her calmly, then withdrew his pressure and looked out the window, a touch of gentleness appearing in his eyes.

This was the reason he disliked revealing his strength, because it was a difference in levels.

A complete difference in the level of their very existence.

It was as if...

He was no longer an ordinary mundane creature, and a gap had opened up between him and the very existence of humanity!

"You should go; do not disturb me for the time being," Su Qingyang said softly.

Liu Qingni looked at him deeply, her heart filled with hesitation, but in the end, she slowly retreated, appearing several feet away in the blink of an eye.

Clearly, her own martial arts cultivation was not that of an ordinary person.

She had no reason now to persuade a Blood Refining Grandmaster to accompany her to the Imperial Capital.

But she would not give up; she still firmly believed that even after ascending to the rank of Grandmaster, there must be something in this world that he desired to pursue.

After all, there were no shortage of martial dao Grandmasters serving in the Imperial Capital.