It was dreadful that the Eighth Prince had been decapitated in Yunwu City. If the generals and soldiers could not find the assassin and punished him severely, all the members of the Royal Family would be in danger!
The Yunwu Commandery Prince was inflamed with anger. He summoned 10 generals who had guarded Yunwu City that very night. He demanded that they close the city gate and lock down the Martial Market. He told them that catching 100 innocent suspects was better than letting a single guilty person escape.
"It has been many years since someone dared to assassinate a member of the Royal Family in Yunwu City!" the Yunwu Commandery Prince said.
Inside the palace, the 10 Generals felt like they heard a loud boom of thunder. Their eardrums seemed broken as they all shivered and sank down to their knees.
Each of the 10 generals commanded thousands of soldiers and horses. Their martial cultivation was tremendously powerful. Yet, the Yunwu Commandery Prince only needed to groan slightly to frighten all of them into kneeling down on the ground.
That was because the Yunwu Commandery Prince was a warrior in the Heaven Realm, and he was known as a Martial Arts legend. All the Martial Arts warriors regarded him as a god.
Minister Xue Jingtian stood respectfully before him and said, "Your Majesty, do you think this incident is related to the Moon Worship Demonic Sect? Only the Moon Worship Demonic Sect and the Black Market dare to oppose the Royal Family in the Yunwu Commandery."
"Although numerous evil and unsavory people gather around the Black Market, they only work for their own benefit. Killing the Eighth Prince does not serve their interests. I doubt if they are involved in the assassination."
"Yet, the Moon Worship Demonic Sect worship devils, and they like meddling in high-profile affairs. It is highly possible that they've killed the Eighth Prince in order to provoke the dignity of the Royal Family," the minister added.
"The Moon Worship Demonic Sect?" The Yunwu Commandery Prince's eyes sank as he digested what the minister had just said.
The Royal Family was no doubt the most powerful group in the Yunwu Commandery. They had conquered the land and they held power over the military.
Other suzerains and superior families were subservient to the Royal Family.
However, some well-known groups often challenged the Royal Family, such as the Federation of Inscription, the Moon Worship Demonic Sect, the Black Market, and the Martial Market Bank.
The Federation of Inscription and the Martial Market Bank had control over all of the alchemists, weapons refiners, tamers, and other unusually talented people in the Yunwu Commandery, as well as more than one-third of the assets of the commandery.
The Federation of Inscription and the Martial Market Bank were located all over Kunlun's Field. They were influential enough to alter the Yunwu Commandery Prince's decisions with just one word.
Of course, the Federation of Inscription and the Martial Market Bank worked in partnership with the Royal Family to achieve mutual benefits. Under normal circumstances, they would not confront the official power.
In such a peaceful era, the Federation of Inscription and the Martial Market Bank symbolized subservience to the official power. They accepted the governance of the Royal Family.
Yet, the Federation of Inscription and the Martial Market Bank were left to manage their core interests themselves. The official power did not get involved.
The Black Market, like the Federation of Inscription and the Martial Market Bank, had been completely free from the supervision of the official power since ancient times.
It was a place specifically for all kinds of illegal businesses. It was the seedy underbelly of the world.
They controlled half of the assassins, prostitutes, thieves, wanted murderers, as well as a large number of slave traders and thugs-for-hire in the commandery.
To a certain extent, the Black Market was powerful enough to compete with the Martial Market Bank.
The official power was somewhat able to suppress the Black Market, but they could not completely eliminate it. In another commandery, the Black Market had dominated the entire government and military, turning it into a dark paradise.
The Moon Worship Demonic Sect was even more terrifying. Large numbers of warriors worshiped devils in every commandery. They had established a branch gang for every region to confront the official power there.
They even wanted to overrule the First Central Empire, and they took control over Kunlun's Field.
The Moon Worship Demonic Sect had built an assembly hall in every commandery and had appointed a branch chief to run it.
The power of the Moon Worship Demonic Sect was no doubt present in the Yunwu Commandery.
The chief of the Moon Worship Demonic Sect in the Yunwu Commandery was also a warrior with a cultivation in the Heaven Realm, as well as a Martial Arts legend.
"If the assassin who killed the Eighth Prince is a member of the Moon Worship Demonic Sect, it is definitely a threat. They must be testing the Yunwu Commandery. Perhaps heresy masters are planning to attack the Yunwu Commandery," Minister Xue Jingtian said.
The minister was the brother of the queen. He must have known that her assassins had mistakenly killed the Eighth Prince instead of the Ninth Prince, their intended victim.
He had to direct the Yunwu Commandery Prince's suspicions away from his sister. Xue Jingtian needed to guide the Yunwu Commandery Prince's attention to the Moon Worship Demonic Sect.
Assassinating a prince was a serious matter, but the Moon Worship Demonic Sect was even more important.
The Moon Worship Demonic Sect had eliminated more than one commandery during the last 800 years. This was a nightmare for many rulers.
Even if the Moon Worship Demonic Sect decided to attack the Yunwu Commandery, the Yunwu Commandery Prince would definitely make it a priority.
The Yunwu Commandery Prince's face grew serious as he listened to the minister. The Moon Worship Demonic Sect was threatening his position as a Commandery Prince.
The minister glanced at the Yunwu Commandery Prince and felt a little relieved.
He was relieved because he had finally switched the Yunwu Commandery Prince's attention to the Moon Worship Demonic Sect. If the Yunwu Commandery Prince ordered an investigation of the Eighth Prince's murder, it might expose the queen.
"It is impossible that the Eighth Prince was assassinated by the Moon Worship Demonic Sect!" Zhang Ruochen exclaimed while walking into the place.
The minister looked at Zhang Ruochen with surprise and asked, "My Ninth Prince, what's your opinion?"
Zhang Ruochen responded and said, "The Eighth Prince was riding on my carriage. He was assassinated on his way back to the palace. Obviously, assassins were targeting me, not the Eighth Prince! His death was a mistake!"
The Yunwu Commandery Prince nodded and said, "Ruochen's deduction is indeed reasonable. The Moon Worship Demonic Sect has always been high profile. If they wanted to challenge the Royal Family intentionally, assassinating the Eighth Prince would be too simple. This incident must be investigated comprehensively. Also, Ge Qian, you have to leave the palace and discreetly monitor what the Moon Worship Demonic Sect is about to do, just in case."
"Yes, Your Majesty!"
Ge Qian, the royal bodyguard of the Yunwu Commandery Prince, left the palace immediately to investigate the Moon Worship Demonic Sect.
Zhang Ruochen and the 10 generals also left the palace.
They immediately went and looked into the Eighth Prince's death, hoping to arrest the assassin.
Zhang Ruochen went back to the Jade Palace and checked up on Yun's injury. She had been badly hurt in the incident. Afterward, he went into the internal space of the Time and Space Spinel and started practicing.
"I was definitely the target of the assassination. Tonight was extremely dangerous! If the Eighth Prince hadn't forced Yun to send him back to the palace, I guess I would be the headless one."
During the Year-end Assessment, Zhang Ruochen's performance was too outstanding. It had made a lot of warriors jealous.
The people in the palace were the most suspicious.
Indeed, the Black Market and the Moon Worship Demonic Sect were not completely free from suspicion. A talented Martial Arts warrior who had born in the Royal Family was a threat to their existence. The best way to deal with it would be to kill the prodigy.
"Stop overthinking! If my cultivation is strong enough, no one will be able to kill me. Moreover, the assassination of the Eighth Prince has caused such a big reaction that the assassin may not try again."
Zhang Ruochen stopped overthinking and placed an Elephant Fire Pill in his palm.
The Elephant Fire Pill was as big as a longan. It looked like a flame and produced an extremely hot aura.
A Third-Class Pill was indeed different. The Pill Spirit inside was surprisingly potent.
An Elephant Fire Pill cost as much as a Fifth-Class Genuine Martial Arms. Only Zhang Ruochen would buy seven of these luxuries at one time.
On the other hand, only warriors with such a powerful body like Zhang Ruochen had the courage to take an Elephant Fire Pill. If a warrior in the Medium State of the Yellow Realm tried to take one, he would not only fail to digest it, but he might also burn himself badly.
Taking an Elephant Fire Pill was like swallowing a mini sun. The pain was even more intense than practicing in the Savage God's Pool.
"Phew!"
Zhang Ruochen swallowed the Elephant Fire Pill. A current of pill fire and Pill Spirit poured down from the sky. It drilled into his Meridians, flesh, bones, and five internal organs. It purified his body and blood.
Zhang Ruochen spent three whole days digesting the Elephant Fire Pill. His body strength had increased drastically. Also, his Genuine Qi in the Qi Pool had doubled.
Although Zhang Ruochen had fully digested the pill fire, he had only absorbed 30% of the Pill Spirit.
After five more days, Zhang Ruochen had completely absorbed the Pill Spirit of the Elephant Fire Pill. His pool of Genuine Qi had enhanced greatly.
At this speed, if I take two more Elephant Fire Pills, I will be able to practice the Genuine Qi of my Qi Pool and reach the Peak of the Mid Stage of the Yellow Realm.
The role of the Elephant Fire Pill was to refine one's body, not to elevate one's Genuine Qi.
However, the Elephant Fire Pill was miraculous because while Zhang Ruochen was refining his body, his Genuine Qi also increased.
Zhang Ruochen was in no hurry to take the second Elephant Fire Pill. The Pills were so strong that, even with his physique, if he took them without any interval, they would be unbearable.
Rather than taking the second Elephant Fire Pill, he thought. "Let's start learning how to carve the basic Inscription of Space!"
He took out the inscription pen and the Spiritual Paper. He infused the pen with his Genuine Qi and started drawing on the Spiritual Paper.
After wasting 130 pieces of paper and an entire day, he had failed to draw an inscription.
Rather than giving up, he kept drawing and practicing until he succeeded.
Zhang Ruochen spent almost every day in the internal space of the Time and Space Spinel within the next month. He only went out once every three days.
The rest of the time, he practiced the Dragon and Elephant Prajna Palm, the Heaven and Heart Sword, and drawing eight types of the Inscription of Space.
A month outside the Time and Space Spinel equaled three months in the internal space of the spinel.
Zhang Ruochen had taken three Elephant Fire Pills in three months time. Finally, he had fully developed his Genuine Qi Pool and reached the Peak of the Medium State of the Yellow Realm. He could start practicing the Final State of the Yellow Realm.
"My physical quality is just about the same as it was in my last lifetime. Indeed, when I broke through the Final State of the Yellow Realm in my previous life, I was only six years old," said Zhang Ruochen.
Zhang Ruochen was ready to break through to the Final State of the Yellow Realm in this current life.
"I wonder how many Meridians I will manage to open up. In my last lifetime, when I reached the Final State of the Yellow Realm, I had opened 27 Meridians. Will I be able to open more than last time?"
Zhang Ruochen's determination showed in his eyes. No matter what happened, he had to make it.
There were currently 19 Meridians inside Zhang Ruochen's body, who was classified as outstanding among all the warriors.
With a cultivation in the Medium State of the Yellow Realm, Zhang Ruochen was able to fight against warriors in the Completion of the Yellow Realm.
If he could open up 27 Meridians when he was breaking through to the Final State of the Yellow Realm, he could not imagine how powerful his fighting ability would be.
When Zhang Ruochen took the first bottle of Marrow-washing Liquid, it took him an hour to open the 20th Meridian.
The second bottle of liquid took him four hours to open the 21st Meridian.
When he took the third bottle of liquid, it took him four days to open the 22nd Meridian.
He continued by taking the fourth bottle of liquid. The 23rd Meridian opened after quite a long time.
The more Meridians in his body, the more difficult it was for him to open them.
Having opened up four Meridians consecutively, Zhang Ruochen had used up half of his Genuine Qi. He felt exhausted and pain went all over his body.
As he was an experienced warrior in his last lifetime, he did not force himself to open the 24th Meridian. Rather, he stopped and decided to take some rest.
He then took a Triple-purity Genuine Qi Pill, and with the help of the Pill Spirit, his Genuine Qi would recover after all the energy that he had expended.
Shortly afterward, the Genuine Qi in his Qi Pool had been fully recovered. His entire body was full of power and energy.
Later, Zhang Ruochen placed the Graph of Meridians of the Scripture of Emperor Ming's Empyrean in front of him and started studying.
Zhang Ruochen had memorized all 36 Meridian paths on the scripture solidly. Even when he closed his eyes, the scripture appeared clearly in his mind.
In Zhang Ruochen's last lifetime, altogether he had opened up 33 Meridians. No matter how hard he tried, he could not open the remaining three.
The remaining three Meridians were the Chakras, the Vessel of Spiritual Blood, and the Vessel of Spirit.
These three Meridians were all mysterious. They overrode either the knowledge of normal warriors or their Martial Arts. Otherwise, with the talent that Zhang Ruochen had in his last lifetime, it was impossible that he was unable to open all the Meridians.
The Chakras referred to the growth ring of a warrior.
It was known that trees would grow a spiral-shape growth ring. Yet, after practicing the Scripture of Emperor Ming's Empyrean, Zhang Ruochen realized that even human warriors would be able to develop a growth ring.
The only condition for warriors to cultivate a growth ring was that the warriors had to open up the Chakras under their skin.
For each layer of growth ring, there was a layer of leather armor.
A layer of growth ring would increase after each year of practice. The defensive power of the skin would also be greatly enhanced.
The growth ring of a warrior was incredibly thin, so people would not be able to see it.
Even warriors who had practiced a hundred years and cultivated a hundred layers of growth rings, the thickness of their skin had no difference compared to ordinary citizens. The defensive power of their skin had reached a terrifying level, so they were impervious to bullets and swords.
The Vessel of Spiritual Blood referred to the Meridians which linked to the blood.
Blood was in a liquid state. If warriors wanted to cultivate a gaseous state Meridian inside the liquid state of blood, this was completely beyond their knowledge. Even Zhang Ruochen was suspicious about whether or not the Vessel of Spiritual Blood actually existed.
The Vessel of Spirit was even more unexplainable. It was recorded in the Scripture of Emperor Ming's Empyrean that the Vessel of Spirit existed in the Meridians of a warrior's soul. It linked a warrior's body and soul together.
Once warriors cultivated the Vessel of Spirit, they would be able to see their soul. They could also control their soul apart from their body. What they had to do to make it work was just a thought. When they thought about a certain idea, their soul could fly and see what happened a mile away.
The Chakras, the Vessel of Spiritual Blood and the Vessel of Spirit were all incredibly mysterious and exceeded the knowledge of ordinary warriors. Even with the talent and capability in Zhang Ruochen's last lifetime, he could not open up these three Meridians.
In this life, Zhang Ruochen was determined to seize every opportunity to elevate his capability. If he was able to open these three mysterious Meridians, his physical quality would definitely be stronger and much more powerful than it was in his last lifetime.
"Among all three Meridians, the Chakras seem to be the highest possible in existence. Maybe I will be able to open them up!"
Zhang Ruochen stared at the Graph of Meridians and pondered on the "Chakras". He wanted to open this Meridian up under his skin.
After nine days of studying, Zhang Ruochen came up with some ideas. He transferred the Genuine Qi into his skin. However, he failed with every trial and was badly hurt.
"Does it even exist?" Zhang Ruochen questioned himself. No matter how hard and how many times he had tried, he could not open the Meridians. He was sweaty. His shirt was all wet because of the numerous trials.
Suddenly, he heard a voice coming from the Yin Yang Wooden Graph. "Hey, young man! Let me tell you. The Chakras do exist! Just the way you that you are trying to obtain them is wrong!"
"My method is wrong? So what's the correct way to open them? Tell me now!" Zhang Ruochen said.
That voice responded by saying, "Haha! If you let me get out of this wooden graph, I'll tell you. Well, don't worry, I'm not going to hurt you. The Yin Yang Wooden Graph will suppress me if I hurt you. As long as you think about it, you can put me back into the graph!"
When Zhang Ruochen thought about it, the Yin Yang Wooden Graph dashed out immediately from his glabella.
He held the Yin Yang Wooden Graph firmly. He started transferring the Genuine Qi to the graph in order to unleash the sealing stamp and he released the giant black cat.
"You can tell me now! How can I open the Chakras?" Zhang Ruochen asked.
The giant black cat said, "The answer is already in your hands."
"In my hands?"
Zhang Ruochen looked at the Sacred Prime Tree on the graph. It seemed that he figured something out and yelled, "The Sacred Prime Tree?"
The giant black cat nodded and said, "If you see yourself as a human being, surely you won't be able to open the Chakras. Now imagine, if you see yourself as a tree, maybe it'll be easier for you to obtain it!"
Zhang Ruochen then walked out from the blind area in the past as if there was a flashlight to guide him out. He sat on the ground and stared at the Sacred Prime Tree in the graph, trying to imagine that he was the tree.
It had been two days since he moved an inch, as if he had turned into a thousand-year-old Divine Tree. Even his pulse seemed to have stopped.
At this moment, he had already entered a realm which was a mystery of mysteries. He took a bottle of Marrow-washing Liquid unconsciously and started opening up the Chakras.
After two hours of practicing, there was a layer of a faint halo shining on Zhang Ruochen's skin.
A white, thin line circulated on his skin as if he had been wrapped by a massive net.
The giant black cat widened his eyes with surprise and thought, "Oh my god... he made it! Nyima... do the Chakras really exist?"
In fact, the giant black cat knew nothing about the Chakras. He randomly told Zhang Ruochen that he knew the key to open the Chakras to help himself get out of the graph.
"I made it!"
He was extremely excited about the fact that he had finally opened up the Chakras.
The Meridians looked like a gleam of light, flowing around on his skin.
Once he revolved the Genuine Qi, there would be a transparent armor on the surface of his skin. Even if he were to stand still and let people attacked him freely, random swords would never be able to pierce through his skin.
This was his 24th Meridian!
By opening the tough Chakras, it greatly boosted Zhang Ruochen's confidence. He did not waste his time resting but continued opening other Meridians so that he could break through to the Final State of the Yellow Realm.
Another four days had gone by. Altogether, he opened up 27 Meridians and reached the Final State of the Yellow Realm.
The capacity of his Qi Pool had enlarged 10 times more after breaking through the realm.
"27 Meridians... that's awesome! If I keep working hard, my capability will go beyond my last lifetime. With my power now, I guess I would be able to knock away the warriors in the Completion of the Yellow Realm!"
Warriors who reached the Completion of the Yellow Realm could break out the Strength of 25 Bulls.
When Zhang Ruochen first broke through to the Medium State of the Yellow Realm and displayed the Dragon and Elephant Prajna Palm, he successfully erupted with the Strength of 25 Bulls. Furthermore, when he was at the Peak at this stage, he broke out the Strength of 36 Bulls!
And now, he had already made it to the Final State of the Yellow Realm.
Zhang Ruochen would easily break out the Strength of 36 Bulls with a random palm. If he demonstrated the Dragon and Elephant Prajna Palm, it was sure that his power level would equal 49 Bulls.
The best explosiveness of Zhang Ruochen at the moment was 49 bulls, which fairly doubled up the power of warriors who had reached the Completion of the Yellow Realm.
There was a myth saying that if the warriors in the Yellow Realm could reach the power of 100 bulls, it would be called the "Power of Realm". However, no one had exceeded such a limit.
Not even those with magnificent martial techniques and physical quality.
In fact, Zhang Ruochen had never encountered anybody who could break out the Strength of 100 Bulls. There were warriors whose power was close but no one had ever reached 100, the perfect number.
When he reached the Peak of the Yellow Realm in his previous life, he could only break out the Strength of 94 Bulls.
"Young man! I have to say, you have almost caught up with me when I was young!" said the giant black cat, flattering him.
Zhang Ruochen eventually calmed himself down from the practice. He glanced at the giant black cat and said, "There are eight basic types of Inscriptions of Space. I can possibly carve six of them—the Inscription of pointy, the Inscription of transverse-type, the Inscription of lengthways, the Inscription of Height, the Inscription of line-type, and the Inscription flat-type. However, I can't carve the remaining two inscriptions no matter how hard I try. Do you know what's happening to me?"
"What?! You're able to carve six types of inscriptions now? How is that even possible?" The giant black cat could not believe what Zhang Ruochen had just said and kept shaking his head.
Indeed, before Zhang Ruochen broke through to the Final State of the Yellow Realm, he was able to carve six basic types of Inscriptions of Space. Such a talented warrior with no doubt about what he had achieved with three months of practice.
In order to convince the giant black cat, Zhang Ruochen took out six pieces of Spiritual Paper and carved the inscriptions on the paper using the inscription pen at his fastest speed. Shortly after, six inscriptions were displayed on the Spiritual Paper.
The giant black cat crawled toward and stared at the inscriptions on the six pieces of Spiritual Paper. He nodded and praised it. "This is wonderful! You can surely carve all the six basic types of Inscriptions of Space! You've mentioned that you still can't carve the remaining two inscriptions—the Inscription of strain-type and the Inscription of condensing, right? Well, it's normal as these two inscriptions are a lot more difficult and complex compared to the other six. Do you have any carved jade with you, young man?"
"Carved jade?"
Zhang Ruochen did not understand what it was saying but he still took down the jade thumb ring from his thumb and placed it on his palm. He asked, "Why do you ask for carved jade?"
The giant black cat quickly glanced at the jade thumb ring. He nodded and said, "The quality of the jade is pretty good. You can use it for refining weapons."
"Refining weapons?" Zhang Ruochen asked with hesitation.
The giant black cat responded, "Yes! Refining weapons! You have already learned how to carve the six basic types of Inscriptions of Space. You will be able to refine the simplest Genuine Martial Arm of space—the Spatial Ring. In the entire Yunwu Commandery, you are the only one who has the ability to refine the ring!"
"What is the Spatial Ring?" Zhang Ruochen's mind was full of questions.
The cat continued, "A Spatial Ring is an independent space being constructed inside the ring. If your Spiritual Power and cultivation are powerful enough, the ring you define will be able to store a mountain or even the world! By all means, if you can create a space one cubic meter in size with your cultivation at the moment, that will be a very decent achievement!"
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