Guidance

Main Hall of the Bright Martial Hall.

The white jade floor was spotless, without a speck of dust.

A painting two zhang long and one zhang wide hung on the north wall, depicting the rising sun piercing dark clouds and shining over ten thousand mountains and the Great River.

Beneath the painting stood a Grand Master's Chair.

A row of chairs stood on each side of the Grand Master's Chair, seven chairs running from north to south on either side. There was nothing else, and the emptiness only made the hall feel more vast.

Twelve Night Pearls were set into the caisson ceiling, their bright, gentle glow converging and flooding the hall.

Chu Qingfeng settled into the Grand Master's Chair at the northern end and studied Chu Zhiyuan. "How is your father's health?"

"Father is well."

His inward vision could inspect not only himself, but also, through physical contact, clearly see another person's internal organs. He knew Chu Minghou's condition inside and out.

Chu Minghou looked so frail that a gust of wind seemed enough to blow him over, yet a surge of vigorous life pulsed within him.

His gaze could not help drifting toward the painting on the north wall.

The illusion he had seen earlier had been this very painting. It was as though he had entered the scene, yet the sensation had been so vivid and clear that it did not feel like an illusion.

Could this painting contain the mysteries of a Grandmaster?

Chu Qingfeng nodded. "Minghou is a blessed man. Had he not been born into the imperial family, he would not have lived past his first year."

Chu Zhiyuan raised his swordlike brows.

Naturally, no one in the estate discussed Chu Minghou's frail health. He had always found his father's physical condition strange.

Clearly born weak and sickly, with Spiritual Medicine proving useless, where had that vigorous life force inside him come from? And if he possessed such vitality, why had it not made his body stronger?

"When Minghou was born, he was so weak that he was unlikely to survive. My imperial brother entered Baichuan Grotto-Heaven alone in search of Spiritual Medicine and happened upon a Heavenly Spirit Fruit."

Chu Zhiyuan slowly nodded.

The Great Jing Dynasty possessed Four Great Grotto-Heavens and Four Great Secret Lands, all guarded by Grandmasters from the Grandmaster's Mansion. The Grotto-Heavens held rare treasures and wondrous fruits, while the Secret Lands contained exotic birds and strange beasts.

He had not expected his father to have consumed a spiritual fruit from a Grotto-Heaven.

"The Heavenly Spirit Fruit can only be encountered by chance, appearing once every several centuries."

"It can reverse one's inborn fate. No matter how frail a person is, consuming it grants them a hundred-year lifespan. If nothing unexpected happens, both you and your younger sister should possess excellent aptitude."

Realization dawned on Chu Zhiyuan.

No wonder this body's aptitude was so exceptional. He had originally thought it was inherited from Imperial Grandfather Chu Qingquan, but it turned out to be due to the Heavenly Spirit Fruit.

"Do not squander this heaven-sent opportunity," Chu Qingfeng said slowly. "Train well."

"Yes." Chu Zhiyuan nodded solemnly.

"There is one more thing. If you wish to become a Grandmaster, remember this: use external aids with caution... Pills and Spiritual Medicine may be used for Marrow Cleansing, but never to raise your cultivation. The moment you use external aids to improve your cultivation, you sever your path to becoming a Grandmaster."

Chu Zhiyuan was startled.

"Why are there so few Grandmasters in this world? First, because the barriers to Grandmasterhood are many, and neither talent nor luck can be lacking. But this is the more important reason: all things between heaven and earth are born from the interplay of yin and yang; benefit and harm go hand in hand. People see only the wonders of spiritual pills, never their drawbacks... Of course, some know, yet choose to pretend they do not."

"Thank you for your guidance, Great-Uncle!"

Most people preferred shortcuts and sought quick success.

A Grandmaster was already powerful enough in this world. Rather than abandon shortcuts for some vague, elusive hope of becoming a Grandmaster—only to perhaps perish midway—it was better to become a master as quickly as possible.

One had to know that after the age of sixty, one would no longer see the Grandmaster Gate, and all hope of becoming a Grandmaster would be cut off.

He possessed Super Sensation, so naturally he had to strive for Grandmasterhood.

That meant he could not use spiritual pills to raise his cultivation.

"Your foundation is deep and your aura pure. You have not used spiritual pills to raise your cultivation. That is rare."

"Great-Uncle's eyes are discerning. I indeed have not used spiritual pills."

He had wanted to mock himself by saying it was not that he did not want to use spiritual pills to increase his cultivation, but that even if he wanted to, he had none to use. There was no helping it.

Before the words left his mouth, he realized they carried a note of grievance and should not be spoken aloud.

Spiritual pills that increased cultivation were no ordinary pills. They all came from the Imperial Court, which held them tightly in its grasp; they could not be bought outside.

The Prince's Estate drew its support from two sources. One was the taxes and specialties of its fief, while the other was the stipend issued by the Imperial Court according to rank.

That stipend included spiritual pills.

The staffing of an imperial prince's estate followed fixed standards. The number of attendants was unrestricted, but guards had a set quota, and each guard was issued spiritual pills.

The Prince's Estate had ample silver, but silver could not buy superior spiritual pills. None of the allotted pills could raise cultivation.

The only way to obtain such pills was to exchange military merit for them from the Imperial Court. Prince Qing's Estate had been enfeoffed and had no opportunity to earn merit, so naturally it could not obtain such pills.

"Among your generation, aside from you, there are the children of Tenth Brother's family and Thirteenth Brother's family. As for the rest..."

He shook his head.

Just as his imperial brother had said, the Chu clan declined with each generation. If this continued, even the Rivers and Mountains of the dynasty would be handed over to others.

The imperial princes of Chu Minghou's generation were already disappointing, impatient for quick success, while the Heir Apparents of Chu Zhiyuan's generation were even more so—more impatient, less able to endure. Most had already been using spiritual pills to raise their cultivation.

Bright Martial Hall possessed top-tier martial arts and the guidance of Grandmasters, but it had one prohibition: no taking Miraculous Pills and Elixirs that raised one's cultivation. Only those that improved aptitude and innate constitution were permitted.

But once one entered the Xiantian Realm, one was no longer bound by this prohibition.

One could restrain oneself for a time, but not for a lifetime. If someone insisted on taking shortcuts and using elixirs to raise their cultivation, forceful suppression would be useless.

"...Great-Uncle, I'd like to find a movement technique to practice first."

"The secret manuals are in the West Side Hall, and miscellaneous books are in the East Side Hall. Find whatever you want to practice yourself. Ask me if there's anything you don't understand. Don't practice blindly or force yourself... You have guards, so what you should put the most effort into is still the Lesser Violet Sun Technique. The Lesser Violet Sun Technique is the foundation. Only after entering the Xiantian Realm can you begin taking assignments."

These Heir Apparents could hardly wait to take assignments at once.

Once they took assignments, they could earn merit. Once they had merit, they could exchange it for elixirs to speed up their cultivation.

Miraculous Pills and Elixirs were not only for themselves to consume; they could also reward them to their subordinates, winning people's hearts.

They all had princely residences and families. They could not possibly stand guard by themselves all day long.

Even if they did not care about their residences or families and thought only of themselves, they still needed trusted guards. A person's energy was limited; one could not keep one's nerves strung tight every moment of every day.

To win over powerful guards, Miraculous Pills and Elixirs were necessary.

As long as the Imperial Court controlled the Four Great Grotto-Heavens and the Four Great Secret Lands, it held the finest elixirs in its grasp. It would never lack people willing to earn merit in exchange for them. Thus, even after these Heir Apparents and Princes became Masters or even Grandmasters, they would still have to serve the Imperial Court.

"Yes. I'll also pick out a Breaking Through Tribulation Art."

"Go on, then."

"Thank you, Great-Uncle."

Chu Zhiyuan clasped his fists and offered his solemn thanks before withdrawing from the main hall.

The people on the Training Ground were bathing in golden light, standing motionless like twelve wooden stakes. With every breath, violet qi faintly swirled around them.

The moment he entered the West Side Hall, rows upon rows of bookshelves filled his sight, cramming the entire hall.

There were fourteen rows of shelves, each thirty meters long and three meters high, with five tiers in total.

Every shelf was packed to the brim, the number of books collected within truly astonishing.

A refreshing scent of books drifted through the air.

He stood in the center of the hall, his eyes shining.

Since awakening, his greatest regret had been that the princely residence's collection consisted mostly of music, chess, calligraphy, painting, poetry, songs, travel journals, and assorted miscellaneous works. Books related to martial arts were scarce.

In his view, cultivation was not merely about knowing that something was so; one also had to know why it was so.

Understanding the purpose and mysteries behind the course of every Meridian was utterly different from blindly circulating Internal Energy in a daze.

What was more, cultivation after the Postnatal Realm required comprehension. It was no longer simply a matter of endlessly circulating Internal Energy.

The firmer one's martial foundation, the broader the road ahead.

The martial arts books collected in Bright Martial Hall were priceless treasures. Right now, he was like a man standing within a mountain of treasure.

Internal cultivation manuals, lightness skills, movement techniques, fist arts, palm arts, saber arts, sword arts, spear arts, staff arts, and more were placed on different tiers according to their profundity and power.

The top tier held those with the greatest power or the greatest potential. The next tier was slightly inferior, and so on downward until the fifth and lowest tier.

There was also a separate bookshelf containing the inheritances of ancient sects: Taiqing Yuan Sect, Dragon Subduing Sect, Void Controlling Sword Sect, Thunder Sound Temple, Great Snow Mountain Sect, and Boundless Sect—the Six Great Sects in all.

He slowly closed his eyes, easing his breathing as his senses spread outward.

All information within twenty zhang surged into his mind.

That information included every secret manual's name, appearance, location, distinctive scent, and material.

A moment later, he opened his eyes and walked to the separate bookshelf. Casually, he pulled a yellowed silk booklet from the top tier. On its thin cover were four bold, wildly flowing characters: "Within Reach, Yet Worlds Apart."

It was a miraculous art of the Boundless Sect.

Next, he pulled out an even older silk volume from the top tier, bearing the words "Great Avalanche Sword Art."

It was a miraculous art of the Great Snow Mountain Sect.

He quickly finished leafing through the two thin booklets. After returning them, he drew out another: a slim booklet with a golden cover, bearing five characters—"Jade Lock Golden Pass Technique."

At dusk, the clang-clang of bells rang out. The palace gates were about to be locked.

Chu Zhiyuan reluctantly left the West Side Hall.

The Training Ground outside Bright Martial Hall lay shrouded in twilight, empty and deserted.

The Princes and Heir Apparents practiced martial arts at Bright Martial Hall during the morning and forenoon. In the afternoon, they returned to their respective homes, either to amuse themselves or receive other instruction.

They could also remain until evening, as he had done.

Chu Zhiyuan left Bright Martial Hall and walked between the empty palace buildings. For no reason, a sense of desolation rose within him.

All alone, it seemed as though he were the only person left between heaven and earth, drifting like duckweed, lonely and without support.

Memories from his previous life came flooding back.

He wondered whether his friends were still working, whether they had already married and had children, whether they had finished paying off their mortgages.

Fortunately, his parents had already passed away, spared the pain of white-haired people sending off black-haired ones.

What a pity—he could no longer drink and laugh with his friends, no longer let loose drunken shouts and curse his unscrupulous boss.

In dreams, one knows not that one is but a guest.

Over the past two years, he often felt dazed, as though nothing were real. Perhaps it was an aftereffect of reincarnation and rebirth.

After leaving South Palace Gate, Guo Chi and eight estate guards escorted him back to Prince Qing's Estate.

The moment he entered the estate, Inner Manager Feng Xi came forward to report that the Prince, Princess Consort, and County Princess had been waiting for quite some time.

At dinner, Chu Minghou, Bai Ningshuang, and Chu Yi questioned him at length.

He answered them one by one, saying that the Heir Apparents and Princes were all friendly, that Thirteenth Uncle looked after him, and that the atmosphere in Bright Martial Hall was excellent. Everyone trained diligently and wanted to reach the Xiantian Realm as soon as possible so they could take up assignments. Who had the mind for scheming against one another? There was no messy nonsense at all.

His words finally eased the worries they had carried all day, and smiles appeared on their faces.

Chu Minghou said with a smile, "See? Inside the palace, right under Father Emperor's nose, those little ones wouldn't dare act recklessly."

Bai Ningshuang snorted. "I'm afraid they may not fear His Majesty that much."

Those Heir Apparents and Princes had been pampered since childhood. What reverence could they possibly have? Besides, they might not even grasp the difference between a grandfather and an emperor, merely thinking that their grandfather had not become emperor.

Chu Yi shook her head in disappointment, drawing a sidelong glance from Chu Zhiyuan. She hurriedly broke into a giggle.

She had originally wanted to watch a good show—to see how her elder brother would deal with those Heir Apparents and Princes, cutting down all before him and displaying his might in every direction. Yet they had turned out to be so well-behaved. It was truly disappointing.

By the time he returned to Listening to Waves Courtyard, the lanterns had just begun to glow.

The entire courtyard was brightly lit, as clear as day.

He had only just changed into a loose green robe when Zou Fang entered to announce that Feng Xi requested an audience.