Imperial Cultivation

The strongest martial skill of Wentian Cliff is swordsmanship, known as the Wentian Swordplay.

It emphasizes striking after the opponent moves, ensuring a fatal blow with a single strike.

A perfectly executed move directly targets the opponent's weakness, eliminating the need for a second strike.

Chu Zhiyuan frowned.

This was similar to his own approach.

As the saying goes, rivals are often in the same trade. Both aimed to defeat opponents with a single move. Wentian Cliff focused on precision, while he relied on his extrasensory perception and the Great Avalanche Swordplay.

It was hard to say which was stronger; they would have to fight to know.

As it stood, his realm wasn't high enough.

He should be able to break through to the fifth level in the next few days, but even at the sixth level, he would still be two levels behind Cheng Tianfeng, not to mention Cheng Tianfeng might not only be at the eighth level.

Why hadn't the Emperor's support arrived yet?

He was being too patient!

After reviewing these files, he bid farewell to Ma Tianhe, left the Surveillance Department, and returned to his residence next to Hou Tu Hall and Mingyue Tower, preparing to break through to the fifth level of the Jade Tower.

With the Imperial Heaven Earth Scripture, he could quickly recover even from serious injuries, leaving him with no worries.

...

In the evening, he opened his eyes while sitting cross-legged on the couch and shook his head.

He was still a bit short.

If his meridians were a bit stronger, one more Binding Dragon Cord should be enough to break through, but he was just a little short.

He still needed to continue practicing the Dragon Transformation Art.

It was already dusk when he returned to Qing Wang Manor.

The family gathered for dinner.

Chu Zhiyuan saw that Chu Yi was beaming, likely because the few pots of exotic flowers and rare plants he had found for her were showing clear progress.

Bai Ning霜 casually said while chewing elegantly, "By the way, Yuan'er, your grandmother sent you a box of things today."

Chu Zhiyuan looked at her.

"Your grandmother said these should be to your liking."

Chu Yi giggled, "Grandmother also gave me two rare flowers, precious ones from the palace's back garden!"

Bai Ning霜 got up and retrieved a small, exquisite jade box, about the size of a book.

The jade box was entirely clear jade, with a warm, flowing luster.

He was quite surprised.

This small jade box actually blocked his extrasensory perception, preventing him from seeing inside. He could only feel the chilling aura of the jade.

It was actually made of cold jade, truly extravagant.

"Here, this is it," Bai Ning霜 handed him a white jade key.

The jade key blended seamlessly with her slender hand, about the size of her little finger. "This jade box has a one-time key; it becomes invalid once opened."

Chu Zhiyuan took the key and gently inserted it into the small hole in the jade box.

With a crisp "snap," the white jade key was instantly shattered into powder by an invisible force, disappearing into the small hole in the jade box.

The jade box slowly opened like a shell.

Inside was a small white jade bottle and a thin booklet.

Chu Zhiyuan's gaze immediately fell on the booklet. He carefully picked it up, and the cover had the four words "Royal Void Sword Scripture".

As soon as he saw the words "Royal Void," he immediately thought of the Royal Void Sword Sect.

The Royal Void Sword Sect's inheritance was in the Mingwu Hall, but only the Qi Cleansing Art was on the shelves.

Could this Royal Void Sword Scripture be the Royal Void Sword Sect's inheritance?

He quickly flipped through the dozen or so pages, his eyes shining like cold stars.

Chu Minghou, Bai Ning霜, and Chu Yi had been watching him, and seeing him so happy, they also smiled.

Chu Yi couldn't help but ask, "Big brother, is this Royal Void Sword Scripture very important?"

Chu Zhiyuan shifted his burning gaze to her and smiled, "Very important!"

"How important?" Chu Yi tilted her head and asked.

Chu Zhiyuan glared at her and stroked the Royal Void Sword Scripture with emotion, "It truly lives up to being a top ancient sect."

This Royal Void Sword Scripture not only contained the Qi Cleansing Art, but also the Meridian Cleansing Art and the Sword Cleansing Art.

After reading these two arts, he vaguely guessed why they weren't placed in the Mingwu Hall.

The cultivation requirements for these two arts were too high, and they couldn't be practiced in the Houtian realm. Putting them in the Mingwu Hall would only cause chaos.

The Meridian Cleansing Art was similar to the first level of the Dragon Transformation Art, but the cultivation threshold was extremely high, requiring too much comprehension and spiritual power.

It involved drawing a trace of void power, combining it with true qi, and then cleansing the meridians.

The Sword Cleansing Art was an advanced version of the Qi Cleansing Art. After cleansing the qi to the extreme, it involved introducing a trace of void power, causing a strange change that could catalyze sword energy.

Only grandmasters could cultivate sword energy.

That would be equivalent to possessing the destructive power of a grandmaster.

He smiled.

The Emperor had finally made his move.

But he did it in such a silent way, secretly and covertly.

He then opened the white jade bottle, which contained nine Marrow Cleansing Pills.

He shook his head.

Nine Marrow Cleansing Pills were just nine eighth-grade merits.

He had originally thought that with so many elixirs and medicines in the Heavenly Treasure Department, the Emperor would at least give him elixirs that could be exchanged for third-grade merits, or even first-grade, but in the end, he only gave him a bottle of Marrow Cleansing Pills.

Was it really because his cultivation wasn't high enough to withstand higher-grade spiritual medicines?

"Big brother, do you not need this bottle of elixir?" Chu Yi asked curiously.

"I can use it," Chu Zhiyuan smiled, "Thank you for grandmother's kindness."

Bai Ning霜 said, "It's good if it can help you... In a few days, it will be your fourth uncle's birthday banquet. Yuan'er, won't you come with us to meet people?"

Chu Zhiyuan shook his head, "I still need to practice."

Bai Ning霜 said, "Don't just bury yourself in cultivation. It's good to go out and relax. There should be a balance between work and rest."

Chu Zhiyuan smiled and shook his head.

"You... don't push yourself too hard. Our Wang Manor's situation is already good," Bai Ning霜 smiled.

Chu Minghou said, "Yuan'er, your mother is right. Don't force yourself too much."

"Yes," Chu Zhiyuan agreed.

After eating, he took the cold jade box, Marrow Cleansing Pills, and Royal Void Sword Scripture back to Listening Waves Courtyard, sat cross-legged on the bed, and began to study the two arts.

The window was open, and moonlight and evening breeze slowly entered, falling on him.

The Great Violet Sun Art circulated on its own, dispelling the cold.

All his mind was on the secret manual.

The biggest threshold of the Royal Void Sword Scripture was the void.

Understanding the void, comprehending the void, connecting with the void, and finally controlling the void—this was the Royal Void Sword Sect's purpose and essence.

The reason why the Royal Void Sword Sect's inheritance was lost was because the requirements for comprehension were too high.

The understanding of the void was too mysterious, profound and mysterious, an indescribable, subtle feeling that could only be understood intuitively.

The Qi Cleansing Art was still okay; it had traces to follow and didn't require the participation of the void. But the Meridian Cleansing Art and the Sword Cleansing Art both required the power of the void, which was profound and subtle.

How to sense the void, connect with the void, relied solely on a 《Void Inscription》.

The void is the body, the emptiness is the mother,

The void is the spirit, the emptiness is the home,

The void is the beginning, the emptiness is the end,

The void is nothingness, the emptiness is existence,

The void is yang, the emptiness is yin,

The void is motion, the emptiness is stillness,

The void is softness, the emptiness is hardness,

Control the void and ride the emptiness, supreme and limitless.

This inscription seemed plain at first glance, but it was profound and difficult to understand upon careful study.

It was almost impossible to comprehend the essence and mystery of the void through this 《Void Inscription》.

Chu Zhiyuan studied for a while, feeling like he had gained something, but also like he had gained nothing.

When he felt dizzy, he steadied his mind and simply put it aside, first practicing the Meridian Cleansing Art.

After circulating a unique route of energy, the true qi changed, vaguely having a strange connection with the void.

This connection was extremely subtle, almost imperceptible.

But it couldn't escape his extrasensory perception.

His extrasensory perception focused on this trace of connection, verifying it with the 《Void Inscription》, verifying it again and again. After countless times, a sense of understanding arose spontaneously.

It took some geniuses decades to condense this trace of understanding, while most geniuses couldn't condense it in their entire lives.

As the understanding solidified, the connection between true qi and the void became clearer. He continued to verify it with the Void Inscription, deepening his understanding.

Repeating this cycle, it became clearer and clearer.

The power descending from the void was clearly visible, and it combined with true qi to create a strange change. The dense purple qi transformed into a milky white aura, like milk.

Wherever the milky aura passed, it was quickly absorbed by the meridians, becoming thinner and thinner, eventually turning into a transparent aura and suddenly dissipating.

He continued to circulate the Meridian Cleansing Art, the Earth Origin Art transforming into true qi, and the true qi transforming into a milky aura through the Meridian Cleansing Art, constantly being absorbed by the meridians.

An hour later, he began to practice the Jade Lock Golden Gate Art.

When he opened his eyes the next morning, his essence shone brightly, and his pupils glittered with brilliance.

The fifth level of the Jade Tower was broken through, and he had already stepped into the sixth level.