Imperial Cultivation

Chapter 135: Chapter 133 Dragon Fat

"Grandmaster?!"

"Is he really a Grandmaster?"

"Damn it, he’s really a Grandmaster?!"

"Damn, comparing people is so frustrating!"

...

At the Martial Arts Training Ground of Mingwu Hall, there was a chorus of wailing.

Chu Zhiyuan laughed as he looked at the crowd surrounding him, including Chu Mingxuan, Chu Zhiyao, Chu Zhitian, and Chu Zhichuan.

Not only were they not happy, but they looked as if they were mourning, wearing faces as long as funeral banners.

"Go, go." Chu Qingfeng waved them off with his hand: "Hurry and practice!"

"Sigh... practice, practice!"

"What’s the point of practicing, it’s all for nothing!"

"Fourth Brother is more diligent than us, and his talent is better too!"

"Sigh... sigh..."

Sighs echoed continuously; each of them seemed severely impacted, listless, and dispirited, all wanting to just lie down.

Chu Zhiyuan smiled as he glanced at them, not offering any words of encouragement, letting them digest the blow themselves.

Seeing them like this made him unconsciously happy.

"Uncle, I have something to ask."

"Let’s go."

Chu Qingfeng sized him up and, smiling, patted his shoulder.

In the morning light, Chu Zhiyuan’s eyes were gentle and bright; on close inspection, one could indeed see that he had reached Grandmaster level.

The earlier sharpness had completely subsided.

At the Grandmaster realm, in a small place, one could establish a sect, having deep comprehension of Martial Arts and creating unique methods.

The two of them went to the west hall.

Chu Zhiyuan first asked about what Cheng Tianfeng had mentioned, regarding emotional attachment and indifference, the impact on becoming a Great Grandmaster, and whether one really cannot be emotionally affected.

With Super Sense, he always maintained his calm, making it hard to completely fall into emotional entanglements. But after spending time with Xiao Ruoling, whose beauty was unparalleled and temperament gentle, aligning perfectly with him.

So, he might not be immune to emotional entanglements.

"I’ve never heard of such a thing," Chu Qingfeng pondered and shook his head with a smile: "Who enters into becoming a Great Grandmaster before sixty or seventy, at least fifty or sixty by then, where’s all the love and romance?"

Chu Zhiyuan smiled, "Really none?"

"After fifty, the heart closes, and it’s almost impossible to be moved again," Chu Qingfeng shook his head, "Even if moved, it’s hard to be as obsessed as in youth, completely losing oneself."

Chu Zhiyuan said, "So, it has an impact."

"Maybe it does, maybe it doesn’t," Chu Qingfeng said. "I’ve never heard of anyone becoming a Great Grandmaster in their youth... The progress as a Great Grandmaster is unlike the Innate realm; it can’t be hurried. Advancing one layer in four or five years is considered fast. For the Ninth Layer, it takes at least thirty-six years; the fastest seems to be thirty years."

Chu Zhiyuan nodded.

Seeing the form of the copper tower already instilled fear in him, unlike the Jade Tower, which was easier to break through; advancing in the Grandmaster realm was definitely not easy.

Chu Qingfeng waved his hand, "You’re twenty-one now, thirty years later, you’ll be fifty. No need to worry about this, don’t overthink it."

Chu Zhiyuan smiled, "What if I’m faster, and under forty reach Great Grandmaster?"

Chu Qingfeng said, "Grandmaster is not like the Innate realm; you can’t hurry it. Adjust your mental state now, don’t be too impatient; hastening will only make things worse, leading to mistakes."

"Yes." Chu Zhiyuan nodded slowly.

He was already adjusting his mindset, realizing he couldn’t apply the Innate realm’s speed of progress to the Grandmaster stage, and needed to be ready for a long-term battle.

——

Chu Zhiyuan once again announced seclusion.

He didn’t even look back at the Ministry of Rites’ Government Office.

Regarding matters of the Ministry of Rites, he wasn’t too interested, doing only as much as was required of a Junior Minister.

But once it conflicted with cultivation, he would choose cultivation without hesitation.

In matters of the Ministry of Rites, if he didn’t handle them, someone else would. Gao Lingfeng was the best candidate to replace him, perhaps even better.

Some matters required his princely stature to lend weight, which he needed to handle personally; other matters could be entrusted to Gao Lingfeng.

Moreover, upon reaching Grandmaster, he had a second chance to choose.

Stay in the original Ministry of Rites Martial Arts Department, or go to the Military Suppression Department, or even the Inspection Department, or join the military.

Each option was his to choose.

This was a special privilege of a princely heir; outsiders could only envy it.

He thought that with these actions, the people of the Ministry of Rites might think he no longer wished to stay there, seeking a more advantageous position.

He was indeed contemplating whether to stay in the Ministry of Rites or switch to a position that could better provide merit and support his cultivation.

...

That evening, four people had dinner together.

He planned to start his seclusion right after this meal.

During the meal, he said to Bai Ningshuang, "Mother, could you ask if the Empress wants me to defeat Li Hongzhao?"

"The Ninth Princess?" Bai Ningshuang exclaimed, "I’ve heard she’s extremely formidable, even more so than Cheng Tianfeng."

"Yes, the Ninth Princess is a Grandmaster, surpassing Cheng Tianfeng."

"Can you defeat her?"

"Not yet." Chu Zhiyuan said, "But with the Empress’s help, I would be more confident."

"And how can I help you?"

"A miraculous item to strengthen the meridians."

"Hmm... strengthen the meridians... okay, I will ask the Empress." Bai Ningshuang surveyed him, concerned, "Yuan’er, don’t overestimate your abilities."

Chu Yi chuckled, "Mother, your words are quite amusing."

"How are they amusing?!" Bai Ningshuang glared at her irritably.

Chu Yi laughed, "When has Big Brother ever overestimated himself?"

"Hmm, your Big Brother is different now," Bai Ningshuang said. "He now has an heir’s wife."

Chu Zhiyuan chuckled, "Rest assured, it’s not to seek fame or attention."

If he could defeat Li Hongzhao, it would be tantamount to blunting Da Meng’s momentum.

It could greatly mitigate the current setbacks at the border, boosting the morale of Da Jing’s people.

Thus, the Emperor should not feel stingy about this.

Such a rare opportunity to profit from the Emperor should not be missed.

——

The next day at noon, Chu Zhiyuan was at Tingtao Courtyard practicing the Dragon Subduing Stance, alternating between the first layer of the Dragon Transformation Technique and the Blood Purification Technique.

He found that alternating between the two cultivation techniques yielded better results.

His meridians could now withstand the simultaneous impact of five Binding Dragon Ropes, though they couldn’t shake the copper tower’s first layer in the slightest.

He decided to head to the new residence for seclusion the following day.

Bai Ningshuang personally visited.

Zou Fang stepped aside to let her through the courtyard gate, and Bai Ningshuang entered Tingtao Courtyard. She saw Chu Zhiyuan holding a unique posture, motionless, surrounded by howling winds.

Her light purple court dress flapped in the wind.

Chu Zhiyuan slowly opened his eyes, and the surrounding gusts gradually came to a halt.

Bai Ningshuang observed the surroundings in surprise.

The roaring winds had swept the courtyard clean, leaving the bamboo leaves in the Green Bamboo Forest scattered sparsely against the walls.

The petals of the flowers in the flowerbed lay strewn about.

This was the scene after being swept by the fierce winds, too messy.

"Mother?"

"Here, for you."

Bai Ningshuang took a small Cold Jade Box from her sleeve and handed it to him, "The Empress gave this; it’s Dragon Fat Fragrance."

Chu Zhiyuan took this palm-sized Cold Jade Box, opened it, and saw it contained a piece of gold, irregular in shape, resembling a dog-head gold nugget.

Yet it emitted a peculiar scent.

It wasn’t fragrant, nor was it foul, but rather a scent unlike any he had experienced before, a completely new sensation.

He looked up at Bai Ningshuang.

Bai Ningshuang shook her head, "The Empress said nothing more, only that you should handle it yourself."

"Thank the Empress for me." Chu Zhiyuan smiled.

He decided to explore its use on his own.

When the Emperor provides something, it’s bound to be of high quality, not to be missed.