Imperial Cultivation

When he arrived outside the Tongtian Pavilion, he suddenly stopped and walked towards Xu Weibian, who was lying in the chair, "Elder Xu, I would like to learn about the Great Feng Dynasty. I wonder which books I should read?"

The words "Qing Ying" on the Qingying Sword are in Feng script, the script of the Great Feng Dynasty.

The Great Feng Dynasty was 30,000 years ago.

Although he had read through the catalogs of all the books, he still didn't know where to start to learn about the history of the Great Feng Dynasty.

"Great Feng..." Xu Weibian opened his eyes and sized him up. "Is the heir interested in the Great Feng Dynasty?"

"I don't know much about it," Chu Zhiyuan shook his head. "Just curious."

"The Great Feng Dynasty is too far away from us. Some legends are so miraculous that they cannot be taken seriously."

"What legends are there?"

"...There are too many to tell." Xu Weibian thought for a while, "On the third shelf from the northwest on the second floor, most of them are books about the Great Feng Dynasty, but they are all in Feng script."

"I'll take a look. Thank you, Elder Xu." Chu Zhiyuan cupped his fists and entered the Tongtian Pavilion.

Xu Weibian watched him enter the Tongtian Pavilion and shook his head.

It is rare for a member of the royal family to like reading.

Most royal children desperately pursue martial arts and seek military merits. Only the Qing Prince's mansion values reading so much.

What a pity...

He shook his head again, closed his eyes, and enjoyed the warmth of the sun.

Chu Zhiyuan entered the second floor and came to the third bookshelf from the northwest. Before him were rows of old books, well-preserved and exuding a unique fragrance.

Each book had a new cover with the title written in Great Jing characters.

This made Chu Zhiyuan shake his head.

No wonder he couldn't find them.

He took out a book. Except for the cover, which was in Great Jing characters and read "Seven Seas Chronicles", the inside was in Feng script.

Feng script is ancient and profound, with simple characters and rich meanings. Often, one character has multiple meanings, and it is difficult to read fluently without enough cultivation.

He braced himself and continued reading.

In one day, he only read six books. At his reading speed, he could read sixty books in Great Jing.

As he read more, he became more familiar with Feng script, and his speed became faster and faster. He gained a basic understanding of the customs of the Great Feng Dynasty.

The Great Feng Dynasty was completely different from today's world.

The most fundamental difference was cultivation.

He vaguely judged that it was not a world of cultivation, but perhaps the spiritual energy was a little more abundant than the current world, so the upper limit of martial arts was a little higher.

By dusk, he finally found a clue. That strange pattern was a Feng紋 (Fengwen, Phoenix Pattern).

It is said that an ancient person had seen the divine bird Phoenix.

The Phoenix was covered in red light and could not be looked at directly. This ancient person was revered by later generations as the Phoenix Master, a highly accomplished cultivator, who actually saw the patterns on the Phoenix and used a secret method to imprint them on a strange stone.

After imprinting it, he exploded and died.

This Phoenix Pattern was preserved on the strange stone. Through the strange stone, the Phoenix Pattern could be branded on weapons or jade pendants.

Later, this strange stone suddenly burned to ashes, and the Phoenix Pattern could no longer be spread.

Within the Phoenix Sect, founded by the disciples of the Phoenix Master, there were eight divine weapons branded with the Phoenix Pattern.

As for what these eight divine weapons were, there was no record.

Chu Zhiyuan estimated that the Qingying Sword he obtained was one of them.

Phoenix Sect.

It's a pity that no inheritance was left behind. If there was an inheritance from the Phoenix Master, there might be hope to imprint the Phoenix Pattern, but now it is almost impossible.

No one in the entire Great Feng Dynasty could do it. It is impossible for him alone to surpass the talents of all generations of the Great Feng Dynasty.

He took out a jade pendant from his sleeve, a piece of gold-inlaid jade covered with cracked patterns.

First, glue was used to bond it, and then a mixture of gold and silver was used to embed and fix it, so that the broken jade could maintain a stable structure, and the Phoenix Pattern inside could be viewed at any time.

He personally processed it, ensuring the integrity of the pattern with his super-sense, perfectly seamless.

Phoenix Patterns are different.

The two Phoenix Patterns on the Qingying Sword are like martial arts techniques, which can change the true qi, thus possessing the wonders of clearing the mind and lightness of the sword.

But the Phoenix Pattern in this broken jade is different.

Through several viewings of the Phoenix Pattern, his spirit was actually strengthened by a point.

This change was very slight, but it could not escape his super-sense.

With a strengthened spirit, the true qi runs a point faster, which increases both the efficiency of cultivation and the power of martial arts.

So he added another item to his daily training program, watching the Phoenix Pattern in the broken jade before going to bed.

——

Bright sunshine enveloped Yujing City.

The alley north of Phoenix Avenue is called Yangma Alley (Horse Raising Alley).

At this time, Yangma Alley was very lively.

On one side were the City Patrol Guard, the Infantry Yamen, and officials from the Internal Affairs Department.

The City Patrol Guard and the Infantry Yamen blocked the road on both sides, prohibiting idlers from approaching. Officials from the Internal Affairs Department and clerks from the Ministry of Rites were directing their subordinates to arrange the ceremony.

On the other side, more than twenty young men and women surrounded four middle-aged men and women, staring restlessly at the alley opposite.

The alley was winding and could only accommodate four people side by side, but it could lead to the bustling Phoenix Avenue.

A beautiful girl said crisply, "Master, the time is approaching, why hasn't he come yet? Is he going to be late?"

"He won't."

The woman beside her was charming, wearing a lake-green silk dress that wrapped her slender and graceful figure. At first glance, she looked in her twenties, but on closer inspection, she looked in her thirties, already middle-aged.

Her charming face was tense, and her willow eyebrows contained majesty.

The beautiful girl said, "Master, is it the Ministry of Rites' Yuanwailang (a title) who is coming to preside over the ceremony?"

"Yes." The middle-aged woman nodded slightly.

Another young man snorted, "A mere Yuanwailang, only a fifth-rank official."

A young man next to him shook his head, "It's a bit too much. It is said that in recent years, the court officials have been suppressing our martial arts sects more and more severely. It seems to be true."

"I wonder what rank officials presided over the groundbreaking ceremonies of the other courtyards of the Four Great Sects?"

"It's been too long, who remembers? Besides, now is different from the past, and cannot be compared."

"We can't be compared with the Four Great Sects now, but we can in the future. It's too disrespectful to have only a fifth-rank official preside over the ceremony, right?"

"Noisy!"

The middle-aged woman snorted lightly.

Everyone stopped abruptly.

She turned to glance at everyone and said lightly, "Both thunder and rain are the Emperor's grace. If you don't have this kind of awareness, you should obediently go back to Feihua Peak and stay there!"

"Yes..."

Everyone obediently complied.

She continued, "The Ministry of Rites' Yuanwailang who is coming this time is a fifth-rank official, but he is the heir of a royal prince's mansion, a member of the imperial family. If you are negligent, don't blame this seat for being impolite!"

"Yes, Elder Lu." Everyone responded.

Lu Wan shook her head and sighed inwardly.

It's hard to avoid being carried away by success. Not to mention the young disciples, even the elders in the sect are inevitably like this.

After a Grandmaster appeared, they could enter the court and hold office, comparable to the Four Great Sects. With this heaven-sent opportunity descending, who can maintain a normal state of mind?

The court has designated a place to establish a Feihua Sword Sect's other courtyard, which is already a great favor, but they are still not satisfied, thinking that sending only a Ministry of Rites' Yuanwailang to preside over the groundbreaking ceremony is too negligent.

Especially since the officials from the Internal Affairs Department and the clerks from the Ministry of Rites are still here, they are so unscrupulous. It is really ignorant and extremely stupid!

Martial arts sects act based on martial arts, without so many twists and turns, but the court is different.

Fortunately, they will be entering the Zhenwu Division in the future, which is not as treacherous as the officialdom of the court, otherwise they would die without knowing how they died.

"He's here!"

Suddenly someone whispered.

Their eyes immediately looked over.

They saw several experts in blue robes escorting a slender and upright, handsome and compelling youth walking slowly.

Wearing a red official robe, a white pheasant patch, with clear and bright eyes, full of vigor.

"Lord Yuanwailang."

"Heir."

...

The City Patrol Guard and the officials from the Internal Affairs Department cupped their fists and saluted from afar.

Chu Zhiyuan cupped his fists, smiled and nodded, came closer, and smiled at Lu Wan, who was in the lead, "Elder Lu, I'm not late, am I?"

"Lord Chu, thank you for your trouble." Lu Wan smiled slightly, "The time hasn't arrived yet."

"Congratulations to Elder Lu, and congratulations to the Feihua Sword Sect..."

Chu Zhiyuan and Lu Wan exchanged greetings, and the atmosphere was harmonious.

The surrounding Feihua Sword Sect disciples stared at the guards of the Prince's Mansion, secretly amazed.

As expected of the royal heir, the guards around him all had bulging temples and their eyes were sharp, all of them were experts in the Xiantian (Innate) realm.

There was also a eunuch beside him, with a gentle temperament, clear and distinct black and white eyes, and his skin faintly glowing like white jade, obviously a Grandmaster expert.

Lu Wan also secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

She didn't expect Chu Zhiyuan to be so amiable, without the arrogance and airs of an heir. Then she understood when she thought of his experience.

This Fourth Heir is different from other heirs. This may be the reason why the court invited him over. If it were other heirs, with their soaring arrogance, it would probably end up in a bad situation.

While Chu Zhiyuan was talking to Lu Wan, he secretly shook his head.

Of the four middle-aged people, only Lu Wan was a Grandmaster. The remaining three middle-aged people were one at the sixth level of Xiantian, one at the seventh level, and one at the eighth level.

The twenty-three young men and women have not even reached the completion of Houtian (Acquired).

This was beyond his imagination.

It was much worse than he imagined.

Was the Feihua Sword Sect showing weakness, or was its true foundation so shallow?