Imperial Cultivation

38: Chapter 36 Asking Heaven

38 -36 Asking Heaven

There were also four guards surrounding him.

He wore a brocade robe, exuding a spirit of sharpness, standing with his eyes closed, practicing martial arts diligently.

Upon hearing the commotion, he opened his eyes to face Chu Zhiyuan.

The two groups converged, the guards dispersed, and the two walked side by side.

“Fourth Brother, the Inspection Department has already received instructions.

You can go directly, and look for Director Leng Nanfeng.”

“Thank you, Third Brother.”

“No need to thank me.

Should I accompany you there?”

“Third Brother, you must be busy.

I will go by myself in the afternoon.”

“If you want to know anything, just ask Director Leng.

He will try to accommodate you; he already has the Imperial Grandfather’s verbal order.”

“Alright.”

The two parted ways on the bustling street, each surrounded by guards, returning to their respective Prince’s Mansions.

When Chu Zhiyuan returned to the Prince Mansion, he saw Chu Yi looking utterly despondent, like a withered eggplant.

He laughed, pulling a small purple box from his sleeve and handing it to Chu Yi.

Chu Yi took it curiously, and upon opening it, found a seed intertwined with black and white, immediately invigorating his spirit.

Chu Zhiyuan noticed that Bai Ningshuang started to change her formerly simple decorations, adorning herself with some bright jewelry, making her originally beautiful appearance look as regal and dazzling as a deity’s consort.

Chu Zhiyuan shook his head privately.

Although he had shown enough talent, time was still short and the effects of this talent had not truly manifested yet.

Therefore, he couldn’t fundamentally change their thinking or bring enough confidence.

At lunch, Bai Ningshuang muttered a few complaints, blaming him for not returning to the Prince’s Mansion to sleep last night, and warned him not to be fooling around outside, not to indulge in romantic affairs.

She said that he claimed to be practicing martial arts outside, but at his age, it was easy to be led astray by seductive people.

Chu Zhiyuan occasionally nodded, treating it as mere sounds by his ears.

After a short nap, he went to the Inspection Department.

Though the Inspection Department was not well-known in the Martial Arts circles, the civilians of Da Jing knew very little about it, if they even heard of it at all.

However, for the court officials, it was known like thunder to the ears and was full of dread and caution.

The responsibility of the Inspection Department is to monitor the world.

The civilians knew that the Imperial Censors were there to keep court officials in check, but they didn’t know that what truly frightened the court officials was the Inspection Department.

The ears and eyes of the Inspection Department were everywhere, hard to guard against.

It not only monitored court officials but also the Military Suppression Department.

The most important duty was outside the court: in Da Meng, Da Zhen, and various small countries, its ears and eyes were everywhere.

The Inspection Department was adjacent to the Heavenly Treasure Department, not far from the Ministry of Rites.

When he arrived at the Inspection Department, he was stopped by the cold-faced guard at the door, who then reported his name internally.

Soon, a middle-aged man with a horse face came out.

His narrow face was full of pits, and although his eyes were small, they shone brightly, and his face was full of enthusiasm: “Your Highness, I am Ma Tianhe.

Please pardon my tardiness.

Please come inside quickly.”

“Sir Ma, thank you.” Chu Zhiyuan said with a smile, clasping his fists.

“It’s my utmost honor to serve His Highness.”

“Director Leng…?”

“Unfortunately, the Director has official duties and had to leave.

Before leaving, he specifically instructed me to do everything possible to assist you, and he has already given instructions to allow you to review any documents you wish.”

“Well, I will trouble Sir Ma, then.” Chu Zhiyuan nodded with a smile.

Director Leng Nanfeng might not want to meet him; of course, it might just be true that he had something urgent to attend to.

Let it be; no need to delve too deeply.

Guo Chi stayed outside the government office, while Zou Fang followed him like a shadow.

Ma Tianhe understood the rules of the Prince, the internal monitors stayed close all the time, essentially inseparable, so he pretended not to see them, leading Chu Zhiyuan through the main gate, around the screen wall, through two spacious courtyards, and finally into a room in the third courtyard.

Inside the room were rows upon rows of bookshelves, filled with file scrolls.

Ma Tianhe pointed to a bookshelf and smiled, “Your Highness, here are all the records of Wentian Cliff.”

He retrieved nine boxes of documents from a nearby shelf and placed them on the study by the window: “Here is all the information about Cheng Tianfeng.”

Chu Zhiyuan nodded with a smile, “So many from Wentian Cliff?”

“These are just records from the past hundred years.” Ma Tianhe smiled.

Chu Zhiyuan frowned.

If he were Da Zhen, he would never allow such a powerful sect to exist; he would have thought of a way to dismantle this Wentian Cliff long ago.

But for now, he knew too little about Wentian Cliff; he needed to read more before making any conclusions.

“Let me see this first.” Chu Zhiyuan was not in a hurry to read Cheng Tianfeng’s information, instead opting to look at Wentian Cliff’s: “Do you have structural information about Wentian Cliff?”

“Yes.” Ma Tianhe went to a shelf and quickly took out a scroll to hand to Chu Zhiyuan.

Chu Zhiyuan quickly skimmed through it.

His reading speed was very fast, able to imprint an entire page into his mind, and began analyzing what he saw.

After reading, he requested information about the successive Cliff Masters of Wentian Cliff, followed by other documents.

Ma Tianhe was well-acquainted with the information on those shelves, and whatever Chu Zhiyuan wanted, he could quickly retrieve it.

This greatly assisted Chu Zhiyuan.

Even though he read through them one by one and would eventually sort through them in his mind after finishing, this was far more efficient.

By evening, as dusk set in, he finally finished reading all the documents.

Ma Tianhe remained respectful and diligent throughout.

Chu Zhiyuan noticed that he was an ambitious person with a promising future if he had sufficient backing.

“Sir Ma, have there been any other visitors reviewing these recently?”

“To my knowledge, no one else has.

You are the first, Your Highness.

These are top secret, and outsiders have no right to view them.”

“Would they be given to the Northwest Border General?”

“These are Third Grade ultra-secret documents; a copy will be made for the Town North General Mansion, but only the General there can view them, and they cannot be leaked.”

“So, besides the Town North General, no one else can see them?”

“Yes.”

Chu Zhiyuan was thoughtful.

Through these documents, what he saw of Wentian Cliff was indeed astonishing.

Wentian Cliff’s lineage exceeded a millennium, yet it consisted of only a dozen people, who resided at Wentian Cliff throughout the year and did not descend the mountain.

But the influence of Wentian Cliff was significant.

Every Cliff Master was a State Preceptor of Da Zhen, and each generation of the Da Zhen Imperial Family had several disciples apprenticed at Wentian Cliff.

He was quite amazed.

The strongest in Da Jing Dynasty were the Four Great Sects, whose disciples entered the Military Suppression Department and the Inspection Department, with Grandmasters entering the court as Tributes.

Yet even all four sects combined seemingly did not match Wentian Cliff’s influence in Da Zhen.

This influence was a direct impact on the Emperor and the Imperial Family, even directly affecting the Emperor’s power.

The Emperor of Da Jing would absolutely not allow such a sect to exist.

Yet the successive emperors of Da Zhen, all wise rulers, could allow Wentian Cliff such an exalted status.

It either suggests the great strength of Wentian Cliff defies imagination or there is another reason.

This Cheng Tianfeng was a closed-door disciple of a State Preceptor, always cultivating in seclusion at Wentian Cliff, rarely descending the mountain.

The Inspection Department assessed him to be at the Eighth Layer realm.

Besides this, what martial skills Cheng Tianfeng practiced, and what techniques, the Inspection Department could not ascertain.

This time, Cheng Tianfeng’s personal appearance was to challenge a princely heir of the Da Jing Dynasty and to seek out the Heir’s Wife.

Clearly, he was the candidate for an alliance marriage.

Chu Zhiyuan rose, pacing with his hands behind his back, his expression grave.

This Cheng Tianfeng would not be easy to deal with; it would not be surprising to fall at his hands if he weren’t careful.

So many records documented Wentian Cliff’s deeds, how its disciples acted heroically and aided the court.

Also recorded were the achievements of Wentian Cliff’s disciples, their actions, including the Imperial Family disciples they took.

However, regarding Wentian Cliff’s legacy and martial arts, there was no useful information.

A lineage so long-standing yet still maintaining such mystery was undoubtedly peculiar.

He turned to Ma Tianhe: “Is there not a single useful piece of information about Wentian Cliff’s martial arts?”

Ma Tianhe smiled wryly: “Wentian Cliff disciples do not venture into worldly matters until they reach the Grandmaster level, and Wentian Cliff holds extremely high prestige in Da Zhen, so when they encounter Wentian Cliff disciples, they often surrender without a fight.”

“…Are there any other Wentian Cliff documents?”

“The earlier documents are sealed in the Tongtian Pavilion.”

“Does Director Leng have the authority to access them?”

“Yes.”

“Then please have Director Leng find someone to bring all the documents related to Wentian Cliff’s martial arts, and I will come to review them tomorrow.”

“…Yes.”

——

The next morning, after signing in, Chu Zhiyuan came to the Inspection Department, where Ma Tianhe once again greeted him warmly.

“Sir Ma, is Director Leng absent again today?”

“…Yes, Director Leng has important matters to attend to these days, always on the move.”

“Alright then.” Chu Zhiyuan nodded.

It was to avoid suspicion, and also not to belittle himself, understandable.

He went into the room and reviewed the thirty-some documents selected, shaking his head.

He finally found some vague records regarding Wentian Cliff’s martial arts.