Jade Cauldron

Jiang Qiuge shook his head. "These Demonic Humans will never let go of any opportunity, no matter how slim. They act with utter recklessness, defying all law and heaven!"

He let out a cold laugh, his eyes flashing with murderous intent.

Chu Zhiyuan's face darkened.

This was the height of absurdity—a member of the imperial clan reduced to prey, to cultivation fodder!

"But can we truly uproot them?"

Thirty years ago, even the court's combined forces had failed to wipe them out. How could the Town Martial Division succeed alone now?

Jiang Qiuge's icy expression softened into helplessness. "The Division is mobilizing all its strength to hunt them down and see if any Jade Cauldron Sect Demonic Humans remain in hiding. Your Highness must also strengthen your defenses."

"Strengthen defenses..." Chu Zhiyuan gave a wry grin.

"Fourth Heir Apparent, how about the Division assign two Grandmasters to protect you in secret?"

"Then I thank the Division Chief!" Chu Zhiyuan agreed without hesitation.

Prince Qing's Estate was now thin on strength. Given its current reputation, recruiting Xiantian Masters was easy, but Grandmasters were out of reach. Adding two Grandmaster guards was crucial.

Jiang Qiuge's arrangement was a timely rain in a drought.

This Jiang Qiuge was proud and aloof, harboring little genuine respect for heirs and princes deep down. This move was also to avoid any mishap that might implicate him, but regardless, it was a great help.

"Are the Jade Cauldron Sect Demonic Humans targeting all princes and heirs, or just me?"

"...From what we can see, only you."

"Why?"

"Well..." Jiang Qiuge shook his head.

"The easiest target—they pick the softest persimmon to squeeze, don't they?" Chu Zhiyuan snorted.

Jiang Qiuge lifted his teacup and took a light sip, dodging the topic.

The Fourth Heir Apparent had hit the nail on the head, laying bare the truth.

In the eyes of the Jade Cauldron Sect, Prince Qing's Estate was in decline, its guards weak—the easiest among all the bloodlines to strike.

If not for the Fourth Heir Apparent's keen intuition and a faint premonition, he likely wouldn't have escaped this time.

A surge of murderous rage churned within Chu Zhiyuan as he said slowly, "I wonder if these Jade Cauldron Sect disciples carry any tokens?"

Jiang Qiuge took a thumb-sized jade cauldron from his sleeve. It was exquisitely crafted, covered in a Chrysanthemum Pattern.

Chu Zhiyuan frowned at it but didn't reach out to take it.

To the eye, the little jade cauldron appeared warm and smooth, but to him, it was shrouded in a faint haze, tinged with a subtle fishy scent.

He could see through clothing with his Super Sensation, but he never did—especially not with men, to avoid disgust. So he hadn't noticed the little cauldron earlier.

Jiang Qiuge set it on the table. "This is the token of Jade Cauldron Sect disciples. Each one wears it around their neck."

Chu Zhiyuan nodded. "It looks quite fine. I'll try to see if I can find any other Jade Cauldron Sect disciples."

Jiang Qiuge was taken aback.

Chu Zhiyuan gave a self-deprecating smile. "I can faintly sense the aura of this cauldron from a distance. Maybe I can track them down."

Jiang Qiuge's eyes suddenly blazed with sharp light. "Truly?"

Chu Zhiyuan said, "Let's give it a try. I ask that Division Chief Jiang keep this secret for me."

Jiang Qiuge rose and clasped his hands solemnly. "Rest assured, Your Highness!"

He bowed deeply. "For this aid, Jiang will remember it in his heart."

Chu Zhiyuan returned the gesture. "This is also self-preservation. I won't have peace until they're eradicated."

Jiang Qiuge nodded slowly. "Junior Sister Huang!"

"Division Chief." The Green-clad Maiden standing quietly by responded crisply.

Jiang Qiuge's eyes gleamed. "You'll handle this. No outside help, and no leaks!"

"Yes." The Green-clad Maiden answered gravely.

Jiang Qiuge smiled again. "Your Highness, Junior Sister Huang is a True Disciple of our White Cloud Sword Palace. She has a photographic memory."

Chu Zhiyuan inclined his head. "That's best. No time to waste—let's go now."

"Much obliged, Your Highness!" Jiang Qiuge clasped his hands once more and saw Chu Zhiyuan all the way to the stairway before stopping.

Chu Zhiyuan descended the stairs and left the tavern.

Huang Shirong walked gracefully beside him, lithe and elegant, a long sword at her waist that made one worry her slender frame might snap under its weight.

Chu Zhiyuan followed the main road.

Jade Capital had three north-south avenues and three east-west ones, each about ten kilometers long, bustling day and night with endless crowds.

Weaving through the throng, Chu Zhiyuan would stop now and then, pointing a finger in a direction. "That way."

After a while, he paused again and pointed. "This way."

At the first light of dawn, Chu Zhiyuan's body steamed with white vapor as he stopped outside the South Palace Gate. He clasped his hands toward Huang Shirong and said, "That's all, Miss Huang. Until we meet again."

"Yes." Huang Shirong clasped her hands in return and said softly, "This humble woman takes her leave."

Chu Zhiyuan smiled and nodded.

He had taken quite a liking to this Huang Shirong, who was as elegant and understated as a chrysanthemum.

She spoke little, outwardly gentle yet inwardly resilient, graceful and composed. Young as she was, she had already reached Innate Perfection and was a True Disciple of the White Cloud Sword Palace, yet she harbored no arrogance whatsoever.

Such a state of mind and cultivation was truly rare.

Watching Huang Shirong drift away like a wisp of smoke, Chu Zhiyuan turned his head to look around. Some ministers attending the morning court were casting curious glances his way.

Chu Zhiyuan nodded in greeting, then turned and entered the South Palace Gate.

In the following days, he followed a simple routine—morning at the Bright Martial Hall, evening back at the Prince's Estate. Calm and uneventful, he devoted himself entirely to cultivation.

The Dragon Transformation Technique steadily advanced toward the first layer's completion. His meridians grew wider and tougher with each passing day.

While reading in the West Side Hall, he came across a copy of the Record of Punishing Evils.

This Record of Punishing Evils documented the deeds of certain evil sects in the martial world, and it mentioned the Jade Cauldron Sect.

The Jade Cauldron Sect pursued longevity and eternal life. Their foundational technique strengthened oneself through devouring, forging the body into a jade cauldron—immortal and indestructible.

The so-called "Jade Cauldron" of the sect meant the human body was like a jade vessel: indestructible, yet capable of absorbing the Spiritual Qi of heaven and earth to strengthen itself.

Their technique was overbearing. Devouring vital essence allowed them to rapidly increase their cultivation, advancing by leaps and bounds. What held them back, however, was the method for breaking through bottlenecks.

Cultivation gained through devouring was never pure enough. When breaking through a bottleneck, it was ten times harder for them than for disciples of other sects.

Even so, the Jade Cauldron Sect had grown immensely powerful through this technique.

Disciples of other sects might break through more easily, but their success rate was still low. Adding ten times the difficulty didn't change the outcome much.

Moreover, Jade Cauldron Sect disciples advanced ten times faster than those of other sects. With these two factors balancing out, the Jade Cauldron Sect disciples actually came out stronger.

After reading this, Chu Zhiyuan understood completely.

Accustomed to rapid progress, they could not bear stagnation. And the Jade Cauldron Sect possessed top-tier concealment techniques, giving them a high success rate in ambushes and a good chance of escape afterward.

The despair of stagnation, the luck of expert concealment, and the temptation of power gained through sudden breakthroughs—these three combined drove them to take the risk of devouring the vital essence of Royal Scions.

The purer the bloodline, the stronger the effect on the Jade Cauldron Sect.

As the Heir Apparent of Prince Qing's Estate, he was indeed the perfect target.

His face darkened.

Being an Heir Apparent, enjoying the utmost wealth and status, yet still becoming prey—the Jade Cauldron Sect must be destroyed!

Unfortunately, even with the extraordinary techniques of the Taiqing Yuan Sect, which allowed him to cultivate ten or twenty times faster than ordinary people, he still couldn't achieve success overnight. He had to take it step by step.

With that thought, he put down the Record of Punishing Evils and went out to train.

"Oh? Fourth Son, it's rare to see you out here training." Chu Mingxuan noticed Chu Zhiyuan taking the Dragon Subduing Stance on the Training Ground and curiously approached him. "Not burying your head in books anymore?"

Chu Zhiyuan smiled. "Eighteenth Uncle, I had too many questions while in the estate. Now that I've mostly figured things out, I'll focus on cultivation from now on."

"What are you practicing?"

"The Dragon Transformation Technique of the Dragon Subduing Sect."

"...Don't tell me it's the Jade Lock Golden Pass Technique?" Chu Mingxuan frowned, thought for a moment, and asked uncertainly.

"Exactly."

"Hiss..." Chu Mingxuan sucked in a cold breath.

Though they spoke in low voices to avoid disturbing others' training, the various Princes and Heirs Apparent still caught their words.

As soon as they heard "Jade Lock Golden Pass Technique," they all turned to look.

"Fourth Brother, are you really going to practice the Jade Lock Golden Pass Technique?"

Someone released their Violet Sun Stance and came over to ask.

Chu Zhiyuan smiled and nodded. "I'll give it a try. Whether it succeeds or not, we'll see."

"As expected of Fourth Brother."

"Fourth Brother, don't waste your time."

"It's impossible to master."

One by one, they released their Violet Sun Stances and gathered around Chu Zhiyuan, forming a circle as they discussed among themselves.

Some praised him, some advised against it—opinions varied.

Chu Zhiyuan smiled but said nothing.

He remembered that a certain celebrity from his past life once said that after becoming famous, everyone around you turns into a good person. And now, the same was true.

Although the other princes and heirs apparent had shown no hostility before—only curiosity—they had still kept their distance, observing from afar. But ever since he had taken first place in the last minor competition, they had suddenly become far warmer and friendlier.

He thoroughly enjoyed this feeling of being the center of attention.

"Let's see if Fourth Son can actually pull it off. He won't turn back until he hits the wall—we were all like that back then," Chu Mingxuan suddenly raised his voice: "I've heard the news—our winter hunt this year is in three days."

"Eighteenth Uncle, isn't it supposed to be on New Year's Day?"

"It's been moved up this year. If you lot haven't heard yet, then hurry up and prepare. Don't miss this opportunity!"

Chu Zhiyuan turned his gaze toward Chu Mingxuan.

Chu Mingxuan chuckled. "Fourth Son, the only chance our Bright Martial Hall has to earn military merit is the once-a-year winter hunt."

In spring, all things flourish, so killing is not fitting. Summer is too hot. In winter, most animals hibernate. Autumn is both the season of harvest and the season of slaughter—the perfect time for hunting.

"The autumn hunt is for Father Emperor and the others. For us in Bright Martial Hall, it's the winter hunt..." Chu Mingxuan then explained the finer details at length.