Dragon Pearl

"Earth Dragon Pearl..." Chu Zhiyuan murmured.

He searched through his memories.

He quickly found some records concerning Dragon Pearls.

The Four Great Secret Lands contained all manner of Mysterious Beasts, incomparably powerful creatures far surpassing the beasts of Great Jing and every other place under heaven.

Dragons existed within the Four Great Secret Lands.

Earth Dragons, Crane Dragons, Azure Dragons, Turtle Dragons, Flying Dragons, and more were all apex predators, standing at the very peak of the Demon Beast food chain.

Earth Dragons were among the weakest kinds of dragons.

Only Grandmasters could resist them.

Without a Grandmaster standing guard, any random dragon that escaped a Secret Land could ravage the world, killing untold commoners and martial arts experts.

Only the foremost experts among Grandmasters could kill dragons.

Only by killing and butchering a dragon could one obtain a Dragon Pearl.

The Earth Dragon Pearl should be the Dragon Pearl of an Earth Dragon.

He then recalled the treasure catalog of the Heavenly Treasure Department. There had surprisingly been no Dragon Pearls in it, though there were some other items from dragons.

For instance, Dragon Blood Stones, the lowest-ranked items, were merely Ninth Grade.

The ranks of the others soared sharply.

Earth Dragon Armor was Seventh Grade.

Earth Dragon Blood was Sixth Grade.

Crimson Dragon Blood was Fifth Grade.

Dragon Tendon Bows, Dragon Teeth, Dragon Eyes—their grades varied, but all were above Sixth Grade. Some Dragon Blood had even reached Third Grade.

Lu Wan sighed softly. "An exceedingly fortunate disciple of ours obtained this Earth Dragon Pearl by chance. It is highly beneficial to cultivation. We never expected the Thick Earth Sect to come knocking, claiming it belongs to them."

"You refused to give it to them, and the Thick Earth Sect was dissatisfied?"

"Yes."

"...Do you know the Thick Earth Sect's background?"

"I heard that one of Prince Huai, the Thirteenth Prince's, concubines is the daughter of the Thick Earth Sect's leader."

"Did you think the Thick Earth Sect would not dare do anything to you because Grandmaster Song is backing you?"

"...We truly did not expect this."

"Under ordinary circumstances, they would not dare act too wildly out of respect for a Grandmaster... It seems the Earth Dragon Pearl is extremely important to them."

Even with Prince Huai's Estate as its backer, the Thick Earth Sect would not dare casually provoke a Grandmaster. If they dared do so, there had to be a reason. First, the Earth Dragon Pearl was too important to them. Second, they believed they had justice on their side.

In the Great Jing Dynasty, no matter how formidable a Grandmaster was, he still had to reason things out. He could not act with complete impunity, especially when the imperial family was involved.

Lu Wan fell silent.

Chu Zhiyuan said, "So your sect has decided not to give them the Earth Dragon Pearl?"

Lu Wan shook her head. "If we give it to them, another sect will come along claiming some treasure originally belonged to them and demand that our sect return it."

"That will not necessarily happen. Not every sect has Prince Huai's Estate as its patron." Chu Zhiyuan said, "...Of course, the Thick Earth Sect will not be the only one."

As far as he knew, quite a few sects in Jade Capital had ties to princely estates.

Lu Wan said softly, "The Thick Earth Sect is acting this way by relying on Prince Huai's Estate's influence, isn't it? Will Prince Huai's Estate simply ignore them?"

"As for Thirteenth Uncle..." Chu Zhiyuan shook his head.

From what he knew, Prince Huai's Estate would not interfere.

After all, from the Thick Earth Sect's perspective, they were not entirely in the wrong. Their own treasure had fallen into someone else's hands, and there was nothing improper about trying to reclaim it.

With each side standing in a different position, it was impossible to say who was right or wrong.

Lu Wan's lovely arched brows knit lightly, disappointment showing on her face. "I originally did not wish to trouble Martial Uncle Song over such trifling matters."

Chu Zhiyuan laughed.

This was an outright threat.

You had your patron, and she would bring out hers. Then they would see whose patron was tougher.

That was the way martial artists handled matters—straightforward and direct, without playing hollow games.

The Thick Earth Sect had acted relatively tactfully, but they had crippled a Flying Flower Sword Sect disciple the moment they arrived. That was tyrannical enough.

It was clear they had not taken the Flying Flower Sword Sect seriously at all. So what if it had Grandmaster Song? They were certain Grandmaster Song would not dare do anything to them.

At this point, Song Feiqiong actually had no choice. She could only step in and deal with the Thick Earth Sect, or it would be difficult for her to protect the Flying Flower Sword Sect.

The Thick Earth Sect had never produced a Grandmaster, so they did not understand Grandmasters at all. They did not know how one's temperament and outlook changed upon reaching the Grandmaster Realm.

Once one became a Grandmaster, one's temperament naturally changed. The affairs of the world became floating clouds, all phenomena empty illusions; one pursued only that last shred of true nature, true feeling, and conviction within one's heart.

Thus, Grandmasters would not be bound by too many constraints. If they wished to fight, they fought.

So long as they did not directly attack the emperor, directly deal with princes, or throw the realm into chaos, even the emperor would only turn a blind eye.

Therefore, the Thick Earth Sect was certain to suffer a setback this time.

But if it truly came to that, Prince Huai's Estate would lose face, and the imperial family would not look good either.

"Elder Lu, tell me—what exactly is this Earth Dragon Pearl?" Chu Zhiyuan asked. "Is there anything that can replace it?"

He only knew the origins of Dragon Pearls, not their wondrous uses, and wanted to use this chance to ask about them.

Moreover, the Thick Earth Sect and the Earth Dragon Pearl had stirred an association in his mind simply from their names.

Other Dragon Pearls were likely not so important to the Thick Earth Sect. Only the Earth Dragon Pearl might possibly complement the Imperial Heaven Earthly Soil Scripture, or perhaps Earth Venerable.

It should involve the secrets of cultivation manuals.

Lu Wan's bright eyes flickered as she stared at Chu Zhiyuan.

At last, she lightly bit her red lip, made up her mind, and slowly said, "The Earth Dragon Pearl contains power—an extraordinarily strange power. It can replenish depleted internal energy and True Qi, like another dantian."

"It aids cultivation?" Chu Zhiyuan asked.

This was similar to his own Earthly Yuan Art.

The Earthly Yuan Art still required mental effort to activate, whereas the Earth Dragon Pearl could replenish energy directly. It was indeed tremendously beneficial to cultivation.

Especially when practicing Martial Skills.

To master a martial art, there were generally two aspects. One was comprehension: one had to grasp its essence before truly learning it. The other was practice: one had to train it to mastery, for familiarity bred skill, and skill bred wonder.

Take his Great Avalanche Sword Art. With his exceptional comprehension alone, he had rapidly learned it, but he could not raise its power any further afterward.

Each use of the Great Avalanche Sword Art drained all his True Qi. Without the Earthly Yuan Art and Heavenly Yuan Art, he could only practice it once a day—thirty times a month, three hundred and sixty times a year.

Yet with the Earthly Yuan Art, he could practice it more than three hundred and sixty times in a single day.

What was more, practicing once a day for three hundred and sixty days had an utterly different effect from practicing three hundred and sixty times in one day.

Without the Earthly Yuan Art and Heavenly Yuan Art, the Great Avalanche Sword Art's current power would not even be half what it was now.

This showed just how greatly the Earthly Yuan Art and Heavenly Yuan Art benefited cultivation.

The Earth Dragon Pearl had the same effect.

Such a treasure was indeed enticing. No wonder the Thick Earth Sect could not abandon it merely because of a Grandmaster.

However, the Earth Dragon Pearl was still different from his Earthly Yuan Art.

The Earth Dragon Pearl was like a miraculous pill that replenished internal energy and True Qi. Though it was not the kind of miraculous pill that directly raised one's cultivation, it was still external aid and would still affect one's path to the Grandmaster Realm.

The Earthly Yuan Art, however, drew upon the power of heaven and earth itself, so it would not affect his path to the Grandmaster Realm.

Lu Wan nodded. "Yes, it is enormously helpful to cultivation. I have never heard of anything capable of replacing it."

Chu Zhiyuan sighed and searched his memories for treasures with such an effect.

The Heavenly Treasure Department held treasures as numerous as clouds. There certainly were treasures of this kind, but he only knew their names and did not clearly understand their individual effects.

The Heavenly Treasure Department had quite a few miraculous pills that restored internal energy and True Qi. Such pills could save lives at crucial moments, so they were exceedingly precious. No one would be willing to use them for ordinary practice.

"Elder Lu, may I ask how your disciple came upon it by chance?"

Lu Wan said, "Her luck was exceptionally good. She accidentally entered a cave mansion left by an ancient predecessor. The Earth Dragon Pearl was inside, bestowed upon one fated to find it."

"Was this predecessor from the Thick Earth Sect?"

"He was an Elder."

"They believe it should be returned, while you are naturally unwilling to part with it. They cannot simply say something is theirs and make it so. What kind of reasoning is that?"

"Even if the person in that cave mansion truly was an Elder of the Thick Earth Sect," Lu Wan said, "the treasure was gifted by that Elder. He never instructed that it be returned to the Thick Earth Sect."

"No matter who it was, they would not hand over such a treasure." Chu Zhiyuan nodded, understanding the Flying Flower Sword Sect's thinking.

To hand over a treasure after obtaining it, to gain it only to lose it again—no one could accept that.

Moreover, the Flying Flower Sword Sect had another concern. If they truly handed it over, it would mean showing weakness and appearing easy to bully, as though anyone could come and push them around.

If it came to that, they would truly become a laughingstock. Not only would they disgrace Song Feiqiong, but they could forget about attracting talented youths to join the Flying Flower Sword Sect.

Chu Zhiyuan fell into thought.

Besides Prince Huai's Estate, was there some other force behind the Thick Earth Sect?

He suddenly called out, "Lord Gao!"

"My lord." Gao Lingfeng pushed open the door and entered.

Chu Zhiyuan said, "Retrieve the Thick Earth Sect's case files again, the more detailed the better... Also, have the Supervisory Department submit its case files on the Thick Earth Sect as well."

This was a special period, so he currently had the authority to inspect the Supervisory Department's case files. Once this period passed, that authority would likely be gone.

"...Yes." Gao Lingfeng froze for a moment, then finally gritted his teeth and agreed.

The Supervisory Department stood above all departments. It had always been the Supervisory Department inspecting the case files of the Six Ministries and every office; never had the Six Ministries inspected the Supervisory Department's files.

The Prince's Heir Apparent truly differed from ordinary officials.

After Gao Lingfeng left, Chu Zhiyuan looked at Lu Wan. "Elder Lu, return for now. I will investigate this matter thoroughly."

Lu Wan clasped her fists. "Then I shall trouble you, my lord."

She rose and drifted gracefully out of the room, leaving the Ministry of Rites.

Chu Zhiyuan paced the room with his hands behind his back.