Strange Markings

Then the three of them turned to the matter of the Great Meng border—whether fighting had truly broken out.

All three loathed Great Meng to the bone.

Utterly cunning, insidious and hard to shake, they seized any advantage and withdrew when there was none, never taking a loss.

Then they discussed which generals in the Northern Territory could give Great Meng a thorough thrashing, only to find there were truly no formidable commanders.

The current General Zhenyuan, Li Haoyuan, had always been steady and prudent, with considerable achievements, but he was like a turtle—facing Great Meng's provocations with nothing but passive defense.

The four of them engaged in another round of armchair strategy, talking about how Great Meng's new emperor had gradually secured his throne and was now striving to govern and deploy troops to build his prestige.

Perhaps the border skirmishes were only small-scale provocations, not a full-scale war.

Chu Zhiyuan chatted enthusiastically with the three, his spirits high, though all the while he was mentally sorting through the collection of the Tongtian Pavilion.

The Tongtian Pavilion's vast library required selective reading; even if time allowed for leisurely study, the order in which one read determined the benefit to one's cultivation.

After drinking and the banquet ended, they left the Eighteenth Prince's estate still in high spirits, so they toured Yujing City together.

Chu Mingxuan led them to a bookhouse, where they opened another round of drinks, accompanied by the beautiful women of the establishment.

Chu Zhiyuan held a beauty in his arms but showed little interest.

The women of this bookhouse were skilled in music, chess, calligraphy, and painting, perceptive and graceful, yet compared to his four personal maids, they were too worldly and somewhat affected.

In his eyes, these women, no matter how beautiful, were nothing but common beauties.

After this round of drinking, the night's revelry came to a complete end, and they parted ways to return to their respective estates.

On the road back to the estate, he spotted Huang Shirong among the crowd.

Under the moonlight like water, softened by the glow of lanterns, Huang Shirong walked on the opposite side of the crowd in an apricot-yellow silk gown, her figure swaying like a willow branch.

Her expression was calm, her demeanor cool.

Guarded by two white-clad maidens, she wove through the bustling crowd, nimble and light.

Suddenly sensing something, she turned her head and met Chu Zhiyuan's gaze, pausing in surprise.

Chu Zhiyuan smiled and nodded, but did not stop, passing by her.

"Fourth Heir Apparent." Huang Shirong quickly called out, twisting her willow waist and accelerating to his side.

Chu Zhiyuan waved his hand.

Guo Chi stepped back, and the four Xiantian Masters spread out, letting Huang Shirong enter the circle.

Chu Zhiyuan halted, clasped his fists, and smiled: "Hall Master Huang, how have you been lately?"

Huang Shirong's beautiful face under the lamplight grew even more captivating; a light smile made her radiance shine: "Still the same. Congratulations to the Heir Apparent on reaching Xiantian and entering the Ministry of Rites."

Chu Zhiyuan waved dismissively: "Just slacking off and taking it easy."

Huang Shirong smiled without offering flattery—his choice was indeed one of laziness and leisure. With his astonishing talent and extraordinary perception, the military would have been the best place to earn merit and aid cultivation. Entering the Ministry of Rites was a waste of his gifts.

Was this Fourth Heir Apparent truly without desires or ambitions?

Or had being confined to Prince Qing's Estate for too long made him overly cautious and timid?

But judging by his decisive action against the Jade Cauldron Sect, he didn't seem afraid of trouble.

No doubt there was a deeper purpose behind his choice of the Ministry of Rites.

The two stood in the midst of the crowd, their guards blocking the people around them, creating a quiet space.

Chu Zhiyuan said: "Hall Master Huang, how has Division Chief Jiang been lately?"

Huang Shirong nodded lightly: "The Division Chief is still the same."

"Congratulations are in order," Chu Zhiyuan smiled. "A day that passes busily and unnoticed is one of peace and joy—that's the best."

Huang Shirong suppressed a light laugh: "The Heir Apparent sounds just like my master."

Chu Zhiyuan shook his head with a wry smile—she was teasing him for sounding old and weary, but this was his deepest realization.

In the past, he felt no day should be wasted, that life should be spectacular and thrilling, but in this world, an ordinary, uneventful day was the best—any surprises might cost you your life.

They exchanged a few more pleasantries, and as they parted, Chu Zhiyuan remarked with a smile: "The city has been quite lively lately."

Yujing City was bustling, with crowds flowing like a river, but he knew every resident along the road from Prince Qing's Estate to the Ministry of Rites like the back of his hand.

As a Hall Master of the Town Martial Division, responsible for a certain area like a neighborhood officer in his past life, she should have noticed as well.

The reason she hadn't was that the Xiantian Masters who had infiltrated all knew techniques to conceal their aura—only about twenty of them, enough to evade the Town Martial Division.

Huang Shirong was taken aback.

Chu Zhiyuan clasped his fists and smiled: "The night is deep, Hall Master Huang. Until we meet again."

With that, he accelerated away.

Huang Shirong clasped her fists and remained in place, her limpid gaze following him until he vanished into the bustling crowd. Her smile faded, and she turned to continue on her way.

A white-clad maiden beside Huang Shirong asked: "Hall Master, is there something wrong with this Heir Apparent of Prince Qing's Estate?"

"...Let's go." Huang Shirong gave her a surprised glance.

Another white-clad girl said, "Sect Leader, is there something wrong with what the Fourth Heir Apparent said?"

They were all sharp-witted and had noticed Huang Shirong's shift in mood. After Chu Zhiyuan left, she had visibly grown low-spirited and tense.

"...It's nothing." Huang Shirong gently shook her head, furrowing her delicate brows as she looked at the white-clad girl who had spoken earlier. "Miaoyue, the Fourth Heir Apparent is of royal blood. Do not harbor arrogance toward him."

"Yes, Sect Leader." The white-clad girl lowered her eyes.

Huang Shirong shook her head inwardly.

The new generation of disciples from the Four Great Sects were growing increasingly arrogant, looking down on everyone, even holding the imperial family in contempt.

Of course, this was also tied to the Fourth Heir Apparent's background. Prince Qing's Estate had indeed declined—a fallen phoenix was worse than a chicken.

If it had been King Ying's heir, how would they have dared to show such neglect?

But they failed to understand one truth: no matter how much Prince Qing's Estate had fallen, he was still a Prince, his father was the Emperor—how could he be underestimated?

She set these thoughts aside and mused privately: These young ones will only learn these lessons after suffering setbacks. They're all too proud to heed my advice, so it's better to keep quiet. The key point is the Fourth Heir Apparent's last words.

Though simple, they carried a remarkable piece of news.

The city has been lively lately? Why haven't I noticed any liveliness?

Chu Zhiyuan returned to the Listening to Waves Courtyard. After being attended to by Mo Yi and the others for washing up, he donned a loose sleeping robe, sat down on the couch, and opened the Ebony Wood Box.

A pile of broken jade—in the blink of an eye, he pieced it back together, restoring it to a complete pendant, a palm-sized Green Jade Pendant.

He pressed his hand onto the Green Jade Pendant, sensing its fine details, and faintly glimpsed a strange pattern.

He seared this strange pattern deep into his mind, then got off the couch and sat before the desk. When he picked up the brush to draw it, he found his mind a blank.

An invisible force had erased the memory of the pattern.

Refusing to accept this, he gripped the pendant again, imprinted the pattern into his mind, and examined it closely, seeing it clearly.

But when he tried to remember it, he simply couldn't.

He frowned and began recalling the two patterns on the Qingying Sword, only to find he couldn't remember those either.

He hadn't noticed this before.

He then struggled for a long time but ultimately failed to remember any of the three patterns. He could see them, but he couldn't draw them on paper or recall them.

So he gave up for now, planning to thoroughly investigate at the Tongtian Pavilion. The two characters "Qing Ying" were the best clue.

His cultivation progressed by leaps and bounds. Breaking through the Jade Lock Golden Pass Technique was going smoothly—he had already burst through the Second Layer and was now assaulting the Third Layer.

Each time he broke through a layer, his True Qi became more vigorous and refined, but it also placed greater pressure on his Meridians. After breaking through the Second Layer, he had faintly felt the strain on his Meridians.

When he used True Qi to cultivate the Dragon Transformation Technique, he discovered that the first layer, Meridian Refining, which had already reached perfection, was no longer perfect—it could still be improved.

So he paused to cultivate the Dragon Transformation Technique, intending to wait until the first layer of the Dragon Transformation Technique was perfected before continuing to break through the remaining ten layers.

But the Dragon Transformation Technique's progress wasn't as fast. Refining Meridians took time and couldn't be achieved overnight.

Over the next two days, he reported for duty at the Ministry of Rites and then headed straight to the Tongtian Pavilion, wishing he could live there day and night.

With the extraordinary techniques he now possessed, there was no need to risk going outside to earn merits. As long as his reading kept pace and his comprehension of martial arts followed, he could smoothly reach Innate Perfection, find the Grandmaster Gate, and break through to Grandmaster.

Once he became a Grandmaster and had the means to protect himself, he could go outside to earn merits and temper himself, striving to become a Grandmaster.

Unity of Heaven and Man was Grandmaster; clarity of mind and nature was Grandmaster. But it wasn't that simple—there were countless subtle and profound intricacies, requiring layer upon layer of enlightenment.

This was the path he had set for himself.

One morning, just after reporting for duty, he was about to head to the Tongtian Pavilion when a young man stopped him—one of his subordinates, Gao Lingfeng.

Gao Lingfeng was imposing, with clear, upright eyes. He had been the Top Scholar four years ago and had transferred from the Hanlin Academy a year ago.

Rising to Principal Sixth Rank Assistant Director in just four years was astonishingly fast.

This was the special advantage of a Top Scholar—his future prospects far surpassed even Chu Zhiyuan's as a Heir Apparent.

After all, no matter how capable a Heir Apparent was or how great his achievements, he could never enter the cabinet and become a minister like a Top Scholar.

"Assistant Director Chu, a moment, please." Gao Lingfeng clasped his hands.

Chu Zhiyuan stopped and looked at him with confusion, returning the gesture. "Assistant Director Gao, what is it...?"

Gao Lingfeng said solemnly, "The Flying Flower Sword Sect's detached estate has already had its site chosen and will soon begin construction. The Director's intent is for you, the Assistant Director, to preside over the Groundbreaking Ceremony."

"The Groundbreaking Ceremony?... When?"

"It's set for tomorrow."

"Mm. Come fetch me tomorrow." Chu Zhiyuan nodded.

"Yes!" Gao Lingfeng clasped his hands respectfully.

Chu Zhiyuan smiled and left the ministry.

This was a small gesture from the officials—neither wanting to send a higher-ranking officer to avoid appearing too fawning, nor wanting to fail to show the court's respect for a Grandmaster. Using his status as Heir Apparent was just right.

In truth, all this empty formality was unnecessary—it was merely a way to display the civil officials' integrity.