Imperial Cultivation

Zou Fang, in a blue robe, stood motionless at the entrance of the study, holding a white jade whisk.

Inside the study, Chu Zhiyuan sat lazily behind his desk, watching Feng Xi, who was bowing slightly, noticing the wry smile on his face.

Without asking, he knew something had gone wrong.

"Didn't catch them?"

Chu Zhiyuan took a sip of tea, asking leisurely.

"Reporting to you, Young Master, this servant is incompetent and allowed them to escape."

"Are those two so formidable?"

The difference in realm between a Xiantian and a Grandmaster is like an overwhelming force, yet they managed to escape, which shows how capable these two are.

"Their disguise skills are astonishing; they changed their appearances while blending into the crowd, altering their auras simultaneously, and vanished in an instant."

Chu Zhiyuan took another sip of tea, looking thoughtful.

This must be a special and unique skill.

"They shouldn't have discovered this servant."

"Are they from the Imperial Court?"

"… …"

"Both of them are from the Imperial Court?"

Chu Zhiyuan frowned, staring at him.

Feng Xi quickly replied, "The other one shouldn't be an expert from the Town Guard Division."

The experts in the Town Guard Division come from two sources: one is from the military, inherited from within the army, and the other is from the Four Great Sects.

Feng Xi could determine that one of them was an expert from the Town Guard Division, but the other was not.

"Town Guard Division… …"

Chu Zhiyuan stood up and paced in front of the desk, his hands behind his back.

Martial arts cultivation is currently flourishing throughout the world, with numerous sects, the Four Great Sects, the Eight Great Schools, the Thirty-Six Sub-Sects, and countless small sects, making it a lively scene.

However, in terms of strength, the Imperial Court is the strongest.

The Imperial Court established the Town Guard Division specifically to deal with martial arts experts who commit crimes.

The Town Guard Division is separate from the Imperial Court's bureaucracy, reporting directly to the Emperor, giving it a detached status.

The Town Guard Division's experts monitoring him should be the Emperor's will; he doesn't know the intention, but it shouldn't be dangerous.

However, the other one who isn't from the Town Guard Division, that's something he needs to be careful about.

"Young Master, Liang Guanjie is the most skilled in tracking and following within our residence; how about letting him accompany this servant tomorrow?"

Chu Zhiyuan raised his voice and said, "Zou Fang, bring Liang Guanjie here."

"Yes."

Zou Fang quickly brought in a stout, middle-aged man.

The stout, middle-aged man was wearing a brocade robe, with a smiling face like Maitreya Buddha, looking more like a wealthy man than a martial arts expert.

He entered the study, cupped his fists, and greeted with a cheerful smile.

Chu Zhiyuan sat back behind the desk, "Old Liang, tomorrow, follow the Young Masters of Tenth Uncle and Thirteenth Uncle, and see if there's anyone following them… … Be careful not to be discovered."

He suddenly thought of something: are these people only following him, or are they also following other Young Masters? If they're also following others, there's no need to be too nervous; if they're only following him, then he needs to be extremely careful, and even take the initiative.

This is what's more important.

Compared to Feng Xi's Grandmaster realm, Liang Guanjie is only at the Xiantian realm; of course, he would choose to have Feng Xi by his side.

"Young Master, don't worry, it's a small matter," Liang Guanjie patted his chest, grinning.

Chu Zhiyuan looked at Feng Xi, "Are there any other tracking experts in the residence?"

Feng Xi hesitated.

Chu Zhiyuan knew that meant there weren't any, so he turned to look at Liang Guanjie.

Liang Guanjie scratched the back of his head and shook his head, "Young Master, our residence originally had two, but they left the residence five years ago to return to their hometowns and become wealthy men."

"Then find a few to help from your former comrades."

Liang Guanjie used to be an elite of the Eagle Triumph Camp; an elite's friends are naturally elites as well, and he has no shortage of powerful comrades in the capital.

"This… …" Liang Guanjie looked embarrassed.

Chu Zhiyuan snorted, "Is it not enough friendship or not enough face?"

Liang Guanjie scratched his head, chuckling, "There are three old buddies, all working in the City Guard衙门, with duties to fulfill, so it's not good to trouble them."

"What about their character?"

"They're all straightforward people, ruined by their mouths, otherwise they wouldn't have ended up like this."

"Invite them to help, tell them that we have vacancies in the residence guard."

He deeply felt the shortage of talent in the residence.

Talent skilled in tracking may seem useless outside the military, but they can actually have miraculous effects.

At any time, intelligence is crucial.

Although Qing Wang Residence has declined, it depends on who it's being compared to; the residence guard's salary is at least three times that of the city guard, and compared to the city guard's busy and cumbersome work, the residence guard is much more leisurely, with less to worry about, and more time and energy to cultivate, which can be said to be a top-notch job.

If Qing Wang Residence was still in the initial state of confinement, it would be tantamount to being in prison; a quarter of the residence guards have already left in the past thirty years.

Now that Qing Wang Residence has been unsealed, even though it has declined, it's still a prince's residence, and there will definitely be people fighting to become residence guards.

Liang Guanjie's eyes immediately lit up, and he patted his chest hard, "Hey, Young Master, leave it to me!"

Chu Zhiyuan looked at Feng Xi, "Chief Steward Feng, let those three help you and find out the origins of that guy!"

"Yes," Feng Xi nodded solemnly.

Chu Zhiyuan said, "Old Liang, explain the situation of those three friends of yours clearly to Chief Steward Feng, don't mess things up; this matter is very important."

"Young Master, rest assured!" Liang Guanjie patted his chest again.

Chu Zhiyuan picked up the white jade tea cup.

Liang Guanjie cupped his fists and took his leave, exiting the room.

Feng Xi stayed behind at Chu Zhiyuan's gesture.

Chu Zhiyuan put down the white jade cup, looked at Feng Xi, and expressed his doubts.

Feng Xi tactfully said, "Old Liang likes to brag, but he's still very steady in his actions."

Not just anyone can enter the Eagle Triumph Camp; they are the elites among the military elites, otherwise they wouldn't be able to enter the Wang Residence after retiring.

Chu Zhiyuan nodded, "Find out the details of Old Liang's three friends."

If they are really to be recruited into the Wang Residence, they need to have a clean background and no hidden dangers.

"This servant understands," Feng Xi nodded solemnly.

People's hearts are easily changed; they are Old Liang's comrades, but they may have other intentions, so it's still necessary to investigate.

Chu Zhiyuan waved his hand.

Feng Xi bowed and retreated.

Chu Zhiyuan came to the courtyard.

Under the roots of the wall was a patch of bamboo forest, and with a gentle breeze, it rustled, hence the name of Tingtao Courtyard.

Several strings of lanterns were hung in the courtyard, illuminating it brightly.

The green bamboo under the lamplight cast patches of sparse shadows.

The night sky was dotted with stars, and the bright moon was hidden within a few dark clouds, illuminating the sparse parts of the dark clouds as if they were layers of silver scales.

He stared blankly for a long time.

Is this round moon the same round moon from his previous life?

What is the connection between this world and his previous world?

While lost in thought and admiration, the dark clouds drifted lightly away, revealing the icy wheel-like bright moon.

The dissolving moonlight sprinkled down from the sky, falling into the bright light within the courtyard.

He suddenly flashed, disappearing from the spot, and appeared a zhang away in the next moment, and then flashed again, reaching three zhang away.

His figure flashed in the courtyard, each flash crossing about three zhang.

The 'Shichi Tengai' footwork had already achieved a small degree of success.

The 'Shichi Tengai' footwork has a complex route for circulating internal energy; if you want to make the internal energy run along such a complex route, and be so skilled that it flows without any deviations, you need to take two steps.

The first step is exploration.

Use internal energy to explore this route.

This route is neither in the Twelve Meridians nor in the Eight Extraordinary Meridians, but instead opens up new meridians within the body.

From one acupoint to the next acupoint, and then to another acupoint, passing through thirty-two acupoints along the way, and finally leading to the Yongquan acupoints on both legs.

The internal energy stored in the dantian undergoes a change each time it passes through an acupoint, and after experiencing thirty-two changes through thirty-two acupoints, it is completely different from the internal energy cultivated by the 'Little Purple Sun Art', which can make the body light and swift, and instantly explode with powerful force.

The second step is to become extremely skilled and flow naturally.

After opening up the mental route, you also need to be skilled and free, be able to circulate smoothly without having to close your eyes and be distracted, and be able to operate it subconsciously, turning it into an instinct like drinking water and eating.

If you can't do this, it's easy to make mistakes in the heat of battle, causing stagnation at best, and injury at worst; doing this during a life-and-death struggle is tantamount to suicide.

He discovered that it wasn't just his facial features that had mutated, but also his brain.

Otherwise, he wouldn't be able to easily accept the vast and complex flow of information brought by the extension of his five senses, without feeling dizzy or overwhelmed.

Unconsciously, he had a photographic memory.

He memorized the complex route of energy circulation after one reading, became proficient after three readings, and after twelve readings, it had already become an instinct.

He didn't have to deliberately focus on moving his internal energy, as if others had practiced for decades.

He shook his head and sighed, he really was a martial arts prodigy.

The so-called prodigy is someone who can do things effortlessly that others need to spend a lot of time to do.

This means that others may only be able to master two or three martial arts in their lifetime, while he can master countless martial arts.

He then shook his head, the most fundamental thing is still the realm; if the realm can't keep up, having a variety of fancy skills and unique techniques is just a show.

Most of his energy should still be focused on internal energy cultivation, focusing on improving his realm.

Subsequently, his figure continued to flash, increasing the distance covered from three zhang to four zhang, five zhang, and then no longer increased.

Limited by the purity of his internal qi, five zhang was already the limit.

If he wanted to improve further, he would have to improve the level of his internal qi.

He then asked Zou Fang to bring a long sword, tied it to his waist, and repeatedly drew the sword from its sheath and thrust it out, getting faster and faster.

Unknowingly, the bright moon had already shifted westward.

The night became increasingly deep and thick.

A cold light flashed at his waist, and the sword had already pierced into the air, extremely fast.

The 'Great Snow Avalanche Swordplay' had already been mastered.

Whether it was the 'Shichi Tengai' footwork or the 'Great Snow Avalanche Swordplay', they both had a common characteristic, belonging to explosive martial arts.

What they pursue is speed and surprise.

This is what he chose based on his own characteristics.

With two Grandmasters, Zou Fang and Guo Chi, he only needs to use the 'Shichi Tengai' footwork to avoid one attack or the second attack, and Zou Fang and Guo Chi will not allow the opponent to make a third move.

The 'Great Snow Avalanche Swordplay' is to condense the cultivation of the whole body into one sword, one sword to determine life and death, combined with extrasensory perception, to discern the opponent's weaknesses and judge the timing of his own sword strike, and then add the acceleration of the 'Shichi Tengai' footwork, to maximize the power.

His spirit relaxed, and he immediately felt pain all over his body; the meridians had endured too much impact, and they were about to crack open.

He gasped and lay down on the couch, the pain was unbearable and he couldn't sleep; he needed to divert his attention to alleviate the pain, so he concentrated on the 'Jade Lock Golden Gate Art'.

Then he sighed.

No wonder no one has been able to master this 'Jade Lock Golden Gate Art' to this day.