Imperial Cultivation

Afterward, the three of them discussed the matters of the Great Meng border, wondering if a real war would break out.

The three of them all hated the Great Meng to the core.

Extremely cunning, insidious and difficult, they would seize any advantage they could, and retreat if there was no profit to be gained, never suffering a loss.

Then they talked about which great generals were in the Northern Territory, and who could severely punish the Great Meng, only to find that there were really no outstanding commanders.

The current Commander-in-Chief of Zhenyuan, Li Haoyuan, had always been prudent and accomplished, but like a tortoise, he would only defend against the provocations of the Great Meng.

The four of them then engaged in some armchair strategy, mentioning that the new emperor of the Great Meng had gradually secured his position and was about to work hard to govern and start using troops to establish his prestige.

Perhaps the border skirmishes were only small-scale provocations, and there would be no major war.

Chu Zhiyuan had a lively conversation with the three of them, full of enthusiasm, but in reality, he was constantly sorting through the books in the Tongtian Pavilion in his mind.

The Tongtian Pavilion had a vast collection of books, and it was necessary to read selectively. Even if there was enough time to read slowly, the order in which they were read would determine the benefit to one's cultivation.

…

After the group finished drinking, the banquet ended. After leaving the Eighteenth Prince's mansion, their enthusiasm remained, so they went to tour Jade Capital City together.

Chu Mingxuan led them to a bookstore, reopened a banquet, and continued drinking, accompanied by beauties from the bookstore.

Chu Zhiyuan put his arm around a beauty, but his interest was low.

The beauties in this bookstore were skilled in琴棋书画(the four arts of music, chess, calligraphy, and painting), knew how to please, and were graceful and elegant, but compared to his four personal maids, they were too worldly and somewhat affected.

In his eyes, these women, no matter how beautiful, were just ordinary and vulgar.

After the four of them finished this round of drinks, they completely ended the evening's revelry, and then dispersed and returned to their respective residences.

On the way back to the Royal Mansion, he saw Huang Shirong in the crowd.

Under the moonlight, illuminated by the soft light of the lanterns, Huang Shirong, walking in the opposite direction in the crowd, wore an apricot-yellow silk dress, her figure graceful like a willow branch.

Her expression was calm, and her temperament was aloof.

Guarded by two white-clothed girls as white as snow, she moved nimbly and lightly through the bustling crowd.

Suddenly, she seemed to sense something, turned her head to look, and met Chu Zhiyuan's gaze, and couldn't help but be stunned.

Chu Zhiyuan smiled and nodded, but his steps did not stop, and he passed by her.

"Your Highness," Huang Shirong hurriedly called out, twisting her willow waist, and suddenly accelerated to come closer.

Chu Zhiyuan waved his hand.

Guo Chi took a step back, and the four Innate experts also dispersed, allowing Huang Shirong to enter the circle.

Chu Zhiyuan stopped, cupped his fist and smiled, "Hall Master Huang, how have you been lately?"

Huang Shirong's beautiful face under the light became even more charming, and a light smile illuminated her face: "Still the same, congratulations to Your Highness on achieving the Innate realm and entering the Ministry of Rites."

Chu Zhiyuan waved his hand: "Just being lazy and avoiding trouble."

Huang Shirong smiled and didn't say any flattering words. His choice was indeed to be lazy and avoid trouble. With his amazing talent and extraordinary perception, going to the military would be the most beneficial for making contributions and cultivation. Going to the Ministry of Rites was a waste of talent.

Could this Fourth Prince be one without desires or demands?

Or had being sealed in the Royal Mansion for too long caused him to be cautious and timid?

But seeing him decisively deal with the Jade Cauldron Sect, he didn't seem like a timid person.

Presumably, there was another purpose for entering the Ministry of Rites.

The two stood in the center of the crowd, and the guards blocked the crowd outside, forming a quiet place.

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

Huang Shirong nodded lightly: "Master Jiang is still the same."

"Congratulations," Chu Zhiyuan smiled: "Being busy and unknowingly passing a day is the best thing, it's peaceful and happy."

Huang Shirong pursed her lips and smiled: "Your Highness's words are similar to my master's."

Chu Zhiyuan shook his head and smiled, this was laughing at him for being old-fashioned, but it was his most profound experience.

In the past, he felt that every day should not be wasted and should be magnificent and wonderful, but in this world, it was best to have an ordinary day, and it was best not to have any surprises, which would often be fatal.

The two exchanged some small talk, and as they parted, Chu Zhiyuan said with a smile: "It's very lively in the city recently."

Jade Capital City was bustling with activity, and the flow of people was like a river, but he knew the residents around the road from the Qing Royal Mansion to the Ministry of Rites like the back of his hand.

After he finished speaking, he sped away.

Huang Shirong clasped her fists and stayed in place, her bright eyes watching him disappear into the bustling crowd, the smile on her face faded, and she turned and continued to walk forward.

A white-clothed girl beside Huang Shirong said, "Hall Master, is there anything wrong with this Prince of Qing's son?"

"…Let's go," Huang Shirong looked at her in surprise.

Another white-clothed girl said, "Hall Master, are there any inappropriate words from this Fourth Prince?"

They were also quick-witted people, and they noticed the change in Huang Shirong's emotions, and after Chu Zhiyuan left, she visibly became low and tense.

"…Nothing," Huang Shirong shook her head lightly, and frowned slightly as she looked at the white-clothed girl who spoke earlier: "Miao Yue, the Fourth Prince is a member of the royal family, and you must not be arrogant."

"Yes, Hall Master," the white-clothed girl lowered her eyes.

Huang Shirong shook her head secretly.

The new generation of disciples from the four major sects were becoming more and more arrogant, looking down on everything, and even looking down on the royal family.

Of course, this was also related to the Fourth Prince's background. The Qing Royal Mansion had indeed declined, and a fallen phoenix was not as good as a chicken.

If it were replaced by the Prince of Ying's son, how would they dare to be negligent?

But they didn't understand a principle: no matter how declining the Qing Royal Mansion was, it was still a prince, and his father was the emperor, so how could he be underestimated?

She then put these aside and thought to herself: These younger generation would have to suffer before they could understand these principles. They were all arrogant and wouldn't listen to her advice, so it was better to shut up. The key was the Fourth Prince's last sentence.

Although simple, it contained a remarkable message.

It's lively in the city recently? Why didn't I see any liveliness?

…

Chu Zhiyuan returned to Tingtao Courtyard. After being served by Mo Yi and the others to wash up, he put on a loose sleeping robe and sat on the couch, opening the black sandalwood box.

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

He pressed his hand on the jade pendant, feeling the subtle details inside, and vaguely saw a strange pattern.

He deeply imprinted this strange pattern in his mind, and then got off the couch and sat in front of the desk, wanting to draw it out with a pen, but found that his mind was blank.

An invisible force had erased the memory of this pattern.

He didn't believe it and held the jade pendant again, and then imprinted the pattern into his mind, and looked at it carefully, clearly.

But when he wanted to remember it, he couldn't remember it no matter what.

He frowned, and began to recall the two patterns in the Qingying Sword, and found that he couldn't remember them either.

He hadn't noticed this before.

He then tossed and turned for a long time, but in the end he still couldn't remember these three patterns. He could only see them, but he couldn't draw them on paper, and he couldn't remember them.

So he simply put it down, intending to go to the Tongtian Pavilion to investigate thoroughly. The two characters Qingying were the best clues.

His cultivation progressed rapidly, and the Jade Lock Golden Gate Art broke through smoothly. He had already broken through the second level and was attacking the third level.

The true energy after breaking through each level was more majestic and purer, and the pressure on the meridians was also greater. After he broke through the second level, he vaguely felt pressure on his meridians.

When he used his true energy to practice the Dragon Transformation Art, he found that the perfect first layer of meridian refinement was no longer perfect and could continue to improve.

So he stopped to practice the Dragon Transformation Art, and after the first layer of the Dragon Transformation Art was perfect, he would continue to break through the remaining ten levels.

But the progress of the Dragon Transformation Art was not so fast. Meridian refinement took time and could not be achieved overnight.

…

In the following two days, he went to the Ministry of Rites to sign in and then went to the Tongtian Pavilion, wishing he could live in the Tongtian Pavilion all day long.

With the miraculous skills he now possessed, there was no need to go outside to risk making meritorious contributions. As long as the books he read kept up and his understanding of martial arts kept up, he would be able to reach the Innate Perfection and find the door to the Grandmaster, breaking through to the Grandmaster.

When he reached the Grandmaster realm and had the power to protect himself, he would go outside to make contributions and hone himself to achieve the Great Grandmaster.

Harmony between man and nature is the Grandmaster, and understanding one's own mind and seeing one's own nature is the Great Grandmaster, but it is not that simple. There are countless subtle and profound points that need to be understood again and again.

This was the path he had set for himself.

This morning, after he had just signed in, he was about to go to the Tongtian Pavilion, but was stopped by a young man, who was one of his subordinates, Gao Lingfeng.

Gao Lingfeng was imposing, with clear eyes, and was the top scorer in the imperial examination four years ago. He had just been transferred from the Hanlin Academy a year ago.

In just four years, he had been promoted to the sixth-rank director, which was extremely fast.

This was the special advantage of the top scorer in the imperial examination. His future was much brighter than Chu Zhiyuan's, the son of a prince.

After all, no matter how powerful the son of a prince was, no matter how great his achievements, it was impossible for him to enter the cabinet and become a prime minister like the top scorer in the imperial examination.

"Lord Chu, please wait," Gao Lingfeng cupped his fists.

Chu Zhiyuan stopped and looked at him in confusion, cupping his fists and saying, "Lord Gao is…?"

Gao Lingfeng said in a deep voice, "The Flying Flower Sword Sect's other courtyard has been selected and is about to be built. The meaning of the minister is to let the vice minister preside over the groundbreaking ceremony."

"Groundbreaking ceremony? …When is it?"

"It's scheduled for tomorrow."

"Well, you come and greet me tomorrow," Chu Zhiyuan nodded.

"Yes!" Gao Lingfeng solemnly cupped his fists.

Chu Zhiyuan smiled and left the government office.

This was a little thought of the official family. They didn't want to send officials of higher rank to avoid appearing too flattering, but they wanted to express the court's respect for the Great Grandmaster, and using his status as the son of a prince was just right.

In fact, these superficial things were really unnecessary, but they just wanted to show the integrity of the civil officials.