Imperial Cultivation

Seeing his arrogance, Feng Zhihao's face darkened, and he said coldly, "If the Young Lord is proficient in swordsmanship, why not use a sword?"

"No need." Chu Zhiyuan shook his head: "Young Sect Leader, be careful, my moves are based on speed."

Feng Zhihao said lightly: "Coincidentally, so am I. Young Lord, please make your move!"

A faint yellow aura flashed across his face.

As Chu Zhiyuan's extrasensory perception saw, the yellow light on Feng Zhihao's body suddenly brightened, and his true qi began to condense on his feet.

"Young Sect Leader, please go first." Chu Zhiyuan said, "If I make a move, the Young Sect Leader will have no chance to attack."

"Heh!" Feng Zhihao let out a cold laugh: "Take this!"

His palms turned yellow as if smeared with a layer of yellow mud, and his body transformed into a yellow shadow, instantly rushing forward.

Chu Zhiyuan deduced that he also possessed a miraculous skill like the 'Horizon Within Reach' step.

The Hou Tu Sect excels at borrowing the power of the earth, and their lightness skill borrows the power of the earth. It's not surprising that they have a miraculous skill like the 'Horizon Within Reach' step.

Under extrasensory perception, Feng Zhihao's movements were like slow motion, every action clear, even seeing the fluttering of his hair and the fine layer of fluff on his face.

Based on his judgment, he took a step diagonally, Feng Zhihao happened to rush to his original position, and he happened to be behind Feng Zhihao.

He lightly slapped Feng Zhihao on the back.

"Poof!"

Feng Zhihao stopped, standing like a stake.

"Puff!" His paused body trembled violently, and he suddenly spat out an arrow of blood, a sky full of blood mist blooming with bright luster under the sunlight.

Chu Zhiyuan stood with his palm withdrawn.

Feng Zhihao slowly turned around to look at Chu Zhiyuan.

Chu Zhiyuan shook his head with a disappointed expression.

As soon as he touched Feng Zhihao's back, his extrasensory perception penetrated his internal organs and the circulation of true qi in his meridians.

Feng Zhihao's Yongquan acupoints contained two balls of true qi, like stepping on wheels of wind and fire, no wonder his movement technique was so fast.

His Laogong acupoints on the palms of his hands also contained two balls of true qi, making the speed of his palms extremely fast.

Feng Zhihao gritted his teeth and spat out two words: "Again! Come!"

"Please—!" Chu Zhiyuan smiled.

A yellow aura flashed across Feng Zhihao's face, and his figure disappeared with a flash. The next moment, he was behind Chu Zhiyuan.

Chu Zhiyuan flashed and disappeared, appearing behind him at the same time.

This time, Feng Zhihao was prepared, twisting his waist and turning around to meet him with both palms.

But Chu Zhiyuan leaned sideways, his right palm lightly passing through the space between the two palms, striking his chest.

"Bang!"

Feng Zhihao shot straight out, crashing into the wall like a painting hanging on the wall, motionless.

Chu Zhiyuan shook his head and flicked up a mud pellet with his toe.

The mud pellet shot into Feng Zhihao's Dantian.

"Uh… cough cough cough cough…"

Feng Zhihao gasped dramatically, his chest bulging with an exaggerated amplitude, and then he coughed violently, sliding from the wall to the base of the wall, coughing non-stop.

Chu Zhiyuan shook his head.

Guo Chi watched with beaming eyes, eager to applaud and cheer.

Zou Fang glanced at Feng Zhihao with a smile, shaking her head.

After coughing dozens of times, Feng Zhihao slowly stood up, leaning against the wall, wiping the blood from the corner of his mouth fiercely with his sleeve, and said coldly, "I misjudged you, Young Lord, you have good martial arts!"

The one in ten thousand chance actually happened.

The Young Lord of this soon-to-be-abandoned Qing Royal Mansion is actually so powerful!

Chu Zhiyuan shook his head and smiled: "Young Sect Leader's cultivation is not bad, but your martial skills are lacking, and your experience is insufficient."

Feng Zhihao was speechless.

He could feel that his true qi was similar to his own, but he was beaten without any power to fight back.

Feng Zhihao felt even more suffocated, gritting his teeth and said coldly, "A month later, we'll compete again!"

Chu Zhiyuan nodded: "Then we'll meet again in a month, I'm leaving."

He cupped his fists and turned to leave.

Guo Chi and Zou Fang didn't even look at Feng Zhihao, following Chu Zhiyuan away.

Feng Zhihao stared at Chu Zhiyuan's back, his eyes shooting out cold light, his heart surging.

Chu Zhiyuan's extrasensory perception saw everything clearly.

This Young Sect Leader doesn't seem to have an open mind and holds grudges. He needs to be taught a good lesson a few more times.

Far away from the Hou Tu Hall, Chu Zhiyuan said: "Zou Fang, find a house within a hundred meters of the Hou Tu Hall."

"Yes." Zou Fang replied softly.

Guo Chi accompanied Chu Zhiyuan on the other side, sneering: "Damn thing, the Young Lord taught him well!"

——

The next day, at dusk, Chu Zhiyuan entered a house about fifty meters away from the Hou Tu Hall, looking at the three-courtyard house, quite satisfied.

The previous owner of this house was obviously a wealthy man, with elegance and luxury.

What he was most satisfied with was that the distance between this house and the Hou Tu Hall was fifty meters.

He could clearly see everything in the Hou Tu Hall, especially the quiet room behind it, and the strange painting clearly.

After taking a turn around, he left the house and returned to the Qing Royal Mansion.

——

A bright moon hung high.

The Bright Moon Restaurant was like a palace in the sky.

Chu Zhiyuan sat in an elegant room on the third floor, admiring the bright moon in the night sky through the open window, while drinking wine and eating delicious dishes.

At the table were Gao Lingfeng and several officials from the Ministry of Rites, including a Yuanwailang Zhou Xudong, who was at the same level as Chu Zhiyuan, and several other principals.

The few people chatted and drank wine.

Such banquets were obviously commonplace for them. After drinking a few cups of wine, they let go of their restraint and spoke freely.

The Ministry of Rites was a clean department with little opportunity for corruption, so there were few conflicts of interest between officials, and they were considered harmonious.

Another Yuanwailang, Zhou Xudong, came from a poor background and was also a scholarly talent. His talent was no less than Gao Lingfeng's, but he was a little unlucky and only became a Tanhua (third place in the imperial examination).

Given his background, he should have gone to a department other than the Ministry of Rites to show his talents, but he was still stuck in the Ministry of Rites at the age of forty, an unfulfilled person.

Chu Zhiyuan was curious but didn't ask too much, just observed.

Zhou Xudong was tall and straight, with ordinary looks and dark skin. He looked more like a farmer than an official. After drinking a few cups, he made a surprising statement: "These martial arts sects are all sources of chaos. The common people have suffered from them for a long time. In my opinion, they should all be wiped out!"

Chu Zhiyuan was stunned.

"Yes, they should all be wiped out!"

"They are all scourges!"

…

The principals slapped the table, echoing one after another.

Chu Zhiyuan watched as their eyes gleamed, their emotions were激昂, as if they were about to fight someone, and couldn't help but shake his head inwardly.

This was obviously too much suppressed.

The officials of the Zhenwu Division that he had come into contact with had no good feelings towards the martial arts sects.

He originally thought that Gao Lingfeng was already radical, but now it seemed that Gao Lingfeng's idea of weakening and suppressing them was not radical, and these people were even more radical.

Zhou Xudong glared at Chu Zhiyuan: "Does Lord Chu think that the Zhenwu Division is enough to deter the martial arts people from daring to commit crimes?"

Chu Zhiyuan looked at him, knowing that he didn't need his answer.

Zhou Xudong sneered: "In those remote areas, how many innocent people have been killed without being discovered? No matter how powerful the Zhenwu Division is, its numbers are limited, and the scope of deterrence is limited. There are too many murderers at large!"

The crowd echoed one after another.

It was extremely difficult to investigate cases committed by martial arts masters. If they used knives and swords, there was still hope to determine the martial arts style through the wounds and narrow the scope of the murderers. But what if they didn't use knives and swords?

Flicking a small pebble could take a life. How could the murderer be investigated?

"Those who harbor sharp blades will naturally have murderous intentions. Once these martial arts masters are angered, they will kill those with low martial arts or those who don't understand martial arts at every turn."

"Alas… it's like a wolf meeting a sheep, killing as they please!"

"They clearly look like they have a good temper, but they might kill someone after drinking some wine!"

"These martial arts sects are untamed and rarely serve the imperial court by fighting on the battlefield, shrinking in the folk all day long and wreaking havoc on the world!"

"They should be wiped out!"

"Lord Chu, am I wrong?" Zhou Xudong smiled: "Do you think these martial arts masters should not be suppressed?"

Chu Zhiyuan shook his head and smiled: "Lord Zhou, I am new here and have seen and experienced little, so I dare not speak rashly."

Zhou Xudong sighed: "Lord Chu shouldn't have come to the Zhenwu Division. Even if you entered the Ministry of Rites, you shouldn't have entered the Zhenwu Division. The other four divisions are truly comfortable."

Chu Zhiyuan smiled: "I also practice martial arts."

Zhou Xudong shook his head and sighed repeatedly, feeling very sorry for his choice. As a Young Lord, it would be truly carefree to hold a leisurely position in one of the other divisions.

Entering the Zhenwu Division was just asking for trouble. The Zhenwu Division, after all, played the role of a good cop, coaxing people rather than cleaning them up.

Sometimes, I really wish I could wipe out these sects, but I still have to endure my temper to coax them and even endure their temper.

The tempers of these sects are getting bigger and bigger, and they are paying less and less attention to the Zhenwu Division!

This made them extremely resentful, but because of their duties, they had nowhere to vent their anger.

This caused their dissatisfaction with the martial arts sects and the martial arts masters, wishing they could wipe them all out, so that there would be no trouble.

Chu Zhiyuan frowned as he listened.

He originally thought that the imperial court was powerful, and the Zhenwu Division represented the imperial court, so it could use the power of the imperial court to be in a strong position when dealing with the martial arts sects.

Now, listening to their words, it was exactly the opposite.

If that was the case, then it shouldn't be.

No matter what, the Zhenwu Division represented the imperial court. How could it allow the martial arts sects to be so presumptuous?

He carefully pondered the key to this.

Was the imperial court intentionally doing this, allowing the Zhenwu Division to become an outlet for pressure?

He shook his head inwardly.

The crowd drank wine for half the night, the atmosphere became more and more harmonious, and everyone was satisfied when the banquet ended.

Chu Zhiyuan didn't return to the Qing Royal Mansion, but went directly to the newly bought house.