Imperial Cultivation

Chapter 1: Chapter 1 Princely Heir

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After a night of heavy snow, the entire Yujing City was blanketed in white, truly resembling the White Jade Capital of the heavens.

Dream Immortal Tower was one of the largest restaurants in Yujing City.

It consisted of a five-story main building and four four-story auxiliary buildings.

The flying eaves layer by layer created a steep momentum, and the sixty-meter-tall building stood majestically like a sharp sword piercing the sky.

The faint sound of strings and flutes, the soft singing, and the loud laughter, all mixed together, formed the epitome of worldly prosperity.

The restaurant’s guests were either rich or noble, causing ordinary people to shy away.

Common families and the wealthy in Yujing seemed like two different worlds.

The distance between tables on the third floor was quite far, with flowers and plants as barriers, neither making it feel deserted nor lacking in tranquility, truly an ingenious design.

At one table sat six elders, each wearing brocade and jade belts, exuding a rich and elegant aura, drinking wine while discussing loudly.

”Old Lu, did you hear the thunder yesterday?”

”I’m not deaf, it startled me awake, truly frightening.”

”Hehe, old Lu, do you know why there was such loud thunder?”

”I’m puzzled too, it was snowing yesterday, not raining, where would thunder come from in winter, could it be there’s an injustice?”

”Haha...”

”What’s so funny about that?”

”Old Lu, you’re just inexperienced.”

”Stop babbling, just tell me!”

”Another Great Grandmaster has emerged!”

”Hmm——?”

”Alright, old Huang, old Lu hasn’t been here long, it’s not surprising he doesn’t know, it’s the Flying Flower Sword Sect that produced a Great Grandmaster, right?”

”Yes, Song Feiqiong from the Flying Flower Sword Sect.”

”A woman?”

”She’s the third female Great Grandmaster of the Da Jing Dynasty, ... when Song Feiqiong rose to fame, you hadn’t even entered the capital. Her brilliance was a fleeting glimpse, and she became rarely heard of later. Unexpectedly, after being silent for decades, she amazed the world by achieving Great Grandmaster!”

”Old Huang, how old is this Grandmaster Song?”

”Same age as me.”

”Fifty-nine?”

”Yes.”

”Great Grandmaster... Flying Flower Sword Sect is truly blessed!”

”When one person attains the Dao, all associated rise. With a Great Grandmaster, the disciples of the Flying Flower Sword Sect can now enter the Court for official positions or join the Military Suppression Department.”

”That’s the dream of so many sects.”

”Entering the Court brings the opportunity for meritorious service, which can be exchanged for Spirit Pills and various rare treasures. This third-rate sect Flying Flower Sword Sect can suddenly rise to first-rate, truly enviable!”

”Who wouldn’t want to attain Great Grandmaster? We have only eighteen Great Grandmasters in the Da Jing Dynasty, and each one is extremely precious!”

”There’s another major news, have you all heard, the Prince Qing Mansion has been unsealed?”

”Prince Qing Mansion...?”

Everyone present shook their heads in confusion.

They hadn’t even heard of King Qing.

”Prince Qing is the Third Prince, who was punished thirty years ago, having his mansion sealed, and was prohibited from entering or leaving.”

”I remember now! Thirty years ago... the Second Prince King Jing was confined, the Third Prince King Qing pleaded, angered the Emperor, who ordered the sealing of the Prince Qing Mansion, isn’t that right?”

”If you’re not an old resident of Yujing, you wouldn’t know about King Jing and King Qing, it’s old history!”

”This King Qing is really unfortunate, brotherly love, pleaded for a favor, and unfortunately incurred the Emperor’s wrath, ending up with the Prince Mansion sealed.”

”King Qing... to sum it up, King Qing just didn’t fight for himself, had a weak constitution unable to practice martial arts, hence not favored by the Emperor. Others dared not plead, yet he pleaded, serving as a warning to others.”

”The current Emperor is the greatest in the history of Da Jing, with unparalleled aptitude, and values cultivation greatly, so it’s not surprising King Qing wasn’t favored.”

”Unable to practice martial arts... King Qing is indeed unfortunate.”

”The most heartless is the imperial family. If unable to practice martial arts, it’s fortunate if the Emperor shows pity, otherwise life might be hard.”

”Even tough life, he’s still a prince.”

”A prince only gets to eat better and dress better, but still has seven emotions and six desires, envy and hatred as well, with so many brothers, definitely there’s fawning and stepping down.”

”I’ve heard Prince Qing is a decent person.”

”In this world, without good martial arts, being a good person is seeking death!”

”Indeed... in this world, not practicing martial arts is truly unfeasible.”

”Whether the Prince Qing Mansion is unsealed or not, it is doomed to decline.”

”The Prince Qing Mansion is indeed finished.”

...

At a table by the south window sat three people, a young man in a purple robe holding a wine cup, lost in thought.

The morning sunlight shone on the window paper, illuminating his handsome face.

His nose was like a hanging gallbladder, his lips like applied vermilion, his eyes shone like cold stars as he pondered, bearing a calm and deep demeanor.

To his left was a burly man, crouching like a black bear.

To his right was an elder with a clean and soft appearance, and unshaven face.

”Damn it...” the burly man suddenly stood up, pointed at the other table, about to curse.

The young man in the purple robe waved his hand.

”...” The burly man swallowed his words forcefully, glaring resentfully at the scholars at that table, and sat down heavily.

The elders at that table continued their lively discussion, unaware of the anomaly over here.

The soft-looking elder, with glossy black hair, and skin shining with a faint treasure light, whispered, ”Young Lord, these are just market gossips, treat them as the sound of birds chirping.”

The young man in the purple robe shook his head, put down the wine cup, and stood up to leave.

The soft-looking elder picked up the mink coat and cloak to follow.

”Young Lord, aren’t you going to eat?”

The burly man looked at the full table of delicacies, regretfully followed him out, giving one last fierce glare at the old men still chattering as they went down the stairs.

In the army, such a large table of dishes wasn’t something you could easily eat, and just because of those old guys, it’s all wasted!

The young man in the purple robe arrived at the entrance of Dream Immortal Tower, and before the cold wind reached, the soft-looking elder had put a fur hat, wrapped a mink coat, and tied a red cloak for him.

His movements were elegant yet unusually fast.

The young man in the purple robe allowed him to fuss over him, gazing at the sky with a sense of emotion.

A golden sun slanted down, its rays turning the thick white snow on the rooftops into gold, dazzlingly beautiful.

The street was bustling with people, merchants and vehicles flowed incessantly.

The cries of shops and stalls filled the air.

Every passerby carried a sword or saber, striding confidently, laughing loudly.

Groups of three City Guards in dark robes patrolled the crowd.

A scene of prosperity.

The current Emperor has reigned for fifty years, governing with keen diligence, making the Da Jing Dynasty currently at a time of prosperity and peace.

He retracted his gaze, stepped out of Dream Immortal Tower, and walked slowly into the bustling crowd, amid the respectful farewell of the waiter.

Four young men in brown combat uniforms gathered around him from a distance, their clothes brimming with an invisible force, pushing away the approaching pedestrians, creating a separate space like the legendary ”Eighteen Falls”.

He walked leisurely, hands behind his back, at a pace neither fast nor slow, composed and unhurried, in stark contrast to the bustling flow of people around.

The white mink coat had not a single stray hair, a jade pendant on his waist, green and crystalline, the white jade embedded in the fur hat seemed to have been soaked in water, exuding a luxurious and refined aura all over, like a white jade tree standing in the wind.

”Young Master, I say we should have taught them a lesson; those gossipers are just asking for it, are they even allowed to speak about our Prince?”

Guard commander Guo Chi continued to grumble in dissatisfaction.

The young man in the purple robe, Chu Zhiyuan, looked solemn, his heart calm and unruffled.

The memories of his past life were like floating clouds, and in this life, he was the Princely Heir of the third prince, Crown Prince Qing.

No matter how fallen the Prince Qing Mansion became, it could provide him with a life of riches and luxury, never having the anxieties and hurry of his past life, making his mental state vastly different.

This mindset allowed him to remain calm and at ease amidst the prosperity and noise, strolling leisurely, entirely out of place with the hurried surroundings.

He focused his mind slightly, and his five senses opened wide.

In an instant, a flood of information surged into his brain, mastering all within two hundred square yards.

Pedestrians coming and going, weaving together.

The appearance, clothing, speech, behavior, walking gait, subtle expressions of every passerby; the voices, breathing, heartbeat, even the sound of blood flowing in each person’s body; the smell of clothes and hair; the elasticity of skin, the strength of muscles and bones; the flow of inner qi and faint glow of each person, all clearly presented to his senses.

In the tavern by the street, the guests were talking and laughing wildly, the waiter and the shopkeeper busy without rest.

The guests’ laughter, the banging on the table, the sound of wine going down the throat, the chewing in the mouth, the stomach grumbling, the chair scraping, the footsteps, all infiltrated his ears.

The fragrance of wine in big jars and in cups, the aroma of food and dishes all entered his nose and mouth.

The smooth and solid texture of the tables, the coldness of the cups and wine, the thickness and softness of clothes, even the elasticity of the skin, all flooded into his palms.

In the rouge shop next to the tavern, the shopkeeper kept nagging while the waiter dusted off boxes of rouge with a chicken feather duster.

In a deep alley, two red-clad martial roamers were lying on their sides against the wall, snoring loudly.

A wonton stall was enveloped in steaming heat, the aroma of meat wafting in all directions.

Beside it was a fried dough stall with the fragrance rolling off it.

Over twenty people sat around low tables, quickly digging into their meals, in stark contrast with the patrons above in the restaurant.

The air was filled with various dust and particles, different light rays, hundreds of scents, winds from various directions, and a mix of voices.

Within two hundred square yards, he saw everything, heard everything, smelled everything, touched everything, sensed everything.

This god-like sensation intoxicated him, also subconsciously making his mindset one of a deity overlooking the multitude of beings from above.

But he knew clearly such a mindset was unwise.

He could perceive every tiny detail within two hundred square yards, but that was all; it didn’t mean he could control the life and death of everything within.

This divine-like state of mind, intertwined with clear understanding, rendered him extremely composed, observing the human world coldly.

Among the forty-six pedestrians, thirty-three were martial artists, with eighteen practicing sword and fifteen practicing sword fighting.

This was the high martial world, where everyone was like a dragon.

Among these thirty-three, two wore a layer of radiance, having stepped into the Innate Realm.

They had the ability to kill someone like him, who was at postnatal perfection.

Of course, only he could see this layer of radiance.

More importantly, these two Innate Masters were always using secret techniques to conceal their presence, tailing him.

Since opening the residence for three days, he had come out every day, and they started following him from the second day without being detected by the guards.

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