In a Fine Mood

"At minimum, I had to master all nine great formulas before I could leave the secret place?"

The empress seemed to be in a good mood today, her face full of kindness.

Not only had she given Zhang Xuezhou a set of heavenly robes, she had also expounded on the Halt Warfare Formula.

When the empress was in a good mood, so was the emperor. Thus, after Zhang Xuezhou opened 2,143 acupoints through cultivating the Grain Avoidance Instruction, he brought up what was on his mind during their conversation.

The emperor's answer left Zhang Xuezhou feeling a little weighed down.

He was no cultivation prodigy.

Such a requirement might not have been much for Wu Chao, but for him, it was truly demanding.

Though Zhang Xuezhou had been opening hundreds of acupoints at a time while cultivating the Grain Avoidance Instruction, cultivation had always been easy at first and difficult later. The closer one drew to the limit, the more effort and time it took.

Zhang Xuezhou reckoned that, even if he worked as hard as he had today for several hours each day, it would take him at least three to six months to cultivate the Grain Avoidance Instruction to his current limit. As for all nine great formulas, mastering them would be impossible without three to five years.

That was far longer than Zhang Xuezhou had imagined.

But in this secret place, the emperor's word was iron law.

The emperor had set no time limit, but had welded shut Zhang Xuezhou's little hope of going out.

"Cultivate diligently. Your martial aunt has high hopes for you!"

The empress let out a rare string of giggles.

Aside from Zhang Xuezhou, whose feelings were a little complicated, both she and the emperor were in excellent spirits.

Zhang Xuezhou's slow cultivation