"Uncle Nine, who exactly is this Young Marquis Ming?"
"A madman!"
"Hmm—?"
"He harbors extre hatred toward us, wishing he could kill us all!"
Chu Zhiyuan frowned.
"The previous generation of the Marquis Ming was the sa way!"
"Is there so old grudge, or did soone die at our hands?"
"Yes, the earlier generation of Marquis Ming died at our hands, ... deserved to be killed!"
Chu Zhiyuan frowned deeper.
In a court, there are all sorts of people with complex backgrounds.
There are those who are gentle toward the Jade Dynasty, and there are those who are tough, even extrely tough.
The Young Marquis Ming is of the extrely tough faction, very troubleso.
Chu Zhiyuan frowned and said, "So, it’s he who released the news himself?"
"Deliberately making you look bad, to embarrass you, and to undermine your prestige."
"Forcing to take action?"
"Yes." Chu Hongwei sneered, "It’s exactly to force you to act first, so he can use the opportunity to cripple you, or even kill you."
Chu Zhiyuan frowned, "Would he really dare to kill ? ... Can’t the Twelfth Princess suppress him?"
Chu Hongwei snorted, "If she could suppress him, would he dare to act so recklessly?"
Chu Zhiyuan slowly nodded, "Does he have soone else to rely on?"
"No matter how outstanding the Twelfth Princess is, she is ultimately just a princess, not a prince."
"Which prince is supporting him?"
"The Third Prince."
"The Third Prince... Li Yongning?"
"Yes, indeed, ... this Third Prince is remarkably talented, has astounding abilities, and a great reputation, far surpassing the Eldest Prince and Second Prince."
Chu Zhiyuan frowned, "He and the Twelfth Princess..."
"The two were born of the sa mother, both are the legitimate son and daughter of the current Empress."
"I thought they were enemies, but they are actually siblings."
"He clearly looks down on you, Zhao’er," Chu Hongwei sneered, "That’s why he allows his subordinates to humiliate you."
"Humiliating also ans humiliating the Twelfth Princess, doesn’t it?"
"You are not married yet. If you were married, that would be different."
"He wants to disrupt the engagent, doesn’t he?"
Chu Zhiyuan saw through Li Yongning’s intentions at once, humiliating him was not the ultimate goal, disrupting the engagent was.
He then smiled and said, "Is he dissatisfied with the Emperor?"
"He doesn’t yet have the courage to oppose the Emperor, but if he could make you retreat in defeat, replacing you with Young Marquis Ming would be best."
"Young Marquis Ming..."
"You are not his match," Chu Hongwei said, "Don’t think about fighting him."
Chu Zhiyuan raised an eyebrow.
Chu Hongwei said, "You are a martial arts prodigy, but this Young Marquis Ming is different."
Chu Zhiyuan said, "Is he also a martial arts prodigy, not inferior to ?"
"Exactly," Chu Hongwei said, "He is ten years older than you. At your age, he had already advanced to the Divinity Transformation Realm, becoming a Venerable."
Chu Zhiyuan’s expression turned serious.
It seems the praise for Young Marquis Ming was not unfounded, now it appears, he is indeed superior by a margin.
"Now it’s likely he’s already at Second Transition, at the Second Transition of the Divinity Transformation Realm, you would have a hard ti defeating him."
Chu Zhiyuan nodded.
In the Qi Transformation Realm and Transformation Realm, it’s not uncommon for the First Transition to defeat the Second or even Third Transition.
But in the Divinity Transformation Realm, the gap in power naturally becos significant after long cultivation.
Of course, so prodigies can overco higher transitions with lower ones, but the power gap is real.
Chu Hongwei said, "The concern now isn’t about you challenging him, but fearing he’ll challenge you."
Chu Zhiyuan frowned and pondered.
If what Chu Hongwei said is true, the Young Marquis Ming, extrely hostile towards the Jade Dynasty and under the Third Prince, plus his admiration for the Twelfth Princess.
If he hears of my arrival, he will certainly find a way to challenge .
"Zhao’er, it’s best if you don’t show your face."
"Ultimately, it can’t be avoided," Chu Zhiyuan shook his head, "What martial skill does he practice?"
"Eternal Ming King Scripture."
"..."
"His defense is extrely formidable, very hard to break through; we call the Marquis Ming the Stone King."
"Stone King... as hard as stone?"
"Hard..." Chu Zhiyuan mused.
He quickly pondered ways to break through in his mind, among his secret techniques, which specializes in breaking defenses?
It seems none.
Great Brightness Fist?
Great Demon Suppressing Seal?
Autumn Water Divine Blade?
Or Heavenly Dragon Divine Palm?
"At what level is your Great Brightness Fist?"
"Spirit Transformation."
"Hmm—?"
"Barely at Spirit Transformation level," Chu Zhiyuan said.
In fact, it was already at Spirit Transformation level perfection, with no further advancent possible.
The next step would be Void Entry Level.
But the Void Entry Level is entirely different; those at Transformation Realm cannot enter Void.
It’s impossible to comprehend its state or existence, hence there’s no further enlightennt.
Normally, for Venerable and below, Spirit Transformation is the limit of martial arts.
"Good boy!" Chu Hongwei exclaid, "More powerful than I imagined, if it’s a Spirit Transformation level Great Brightness Fist, it might work."
Chu Zhiyuan said, "I only have Great Brightness Fist at Spirit Transformation level, the others are far behind, ... can Spirit Transformation level Great Brightness Fist break his defense?"
"Our Great Brightness Fist is one of the best fist techniques for breaking defenses, ... it should work!"
Chu Zhiyuan said with a smile, "Then I can rest assured."
"Hey, I can rest easy too! ... Zhao’er, if you’re ruined in this city, I, as your uncle, will be held responsible."
"This isn’t your fault, Uncle Nine."
"I didn’t fulfill my duty to warn you, nor was able to help you avoid him, so it is my responsibility."
"Don’t worry, Uncle Nine, if I really can’t win, I’ll just run, running away is always an option."
"His defense is formidable, and his Qinggong is impressive. It seems he’s mastered so Miracle Technique, his movent technique is extraordinarily fast."
"That’s indeed troubleso."
Chu Hongwei said, "Otherwise, Young Marquis Ming wouldn’t have such a great reputation."
Chu Zhiyuan said, "That’s what everyone hopes for."
"It’s just about right, except for the subordinates of the Eldest Prince and the Second Prince, everyone else feels Young Marquis Ming is more suited to be the Twelfth Prince Consort."
Chu Zhiyuan slowly said, "Uncle Nine, do you have detailed information about him? ... Also, about the other princes, princesses, and nobles."
"I placed it in a courtyard." Chu Hongwei took out a plain sheet from his breast pocket and handed it to him.
Chu Zhiyuan saw it was a map, marked with annotations.
"Inside, there’s a detailed introduction of Young Marquis Ming and several princes, as well as important noble figures that need attention, which should be useful to you."
"Thank you, Uncle Nine!" said Chu Zhiyuan.
"We are uncle and nephew, there’s no need for courtesy!"
"Rest assured, Uncle Nine, I won’t frequently trouble you," said Chu Zhiyuan, "I don’t want to implicate Uncle Nine and ruin your years of hard work."
In the eyes of outsiders, Chu Hongwei is a martial arts fanatic, secluding himself for cultivation all year round, rarely appearing in public.
Only a few know that he has infiltrated the Phoenix Imperial City for decades, single-handedly maintaining its intelligence network.
Over the years, he has rendered ritorious service.
The saying goes, brothers fight tigers, fathers and sons go to battle, vividly exemplified in the Jade Dynasty.
So key positions are often held by the Emperor’s own brothers.
Such as the Divine Martial Bureau, the City Guard Bureau, the Inspection Departnt, and other departnts.
The majority are controlled by the Imperial Family.
"You are quite clever," Chu Hongwei said with a smile, "just co to if you need help, don’t think too much!"
If Chu Zhiyuan hadn’t said those words, he would have been less willing to let Chu Zhiyuan co to him often.
Chu Zhiyuan’s words made him feel reassured, instead, he wanted to help.
Chu Zhiyuan nodded with a smile.
...
Chu Zhiyuan and Fu Zheng left the restaurant, strolling along.
Fu Zheng noticed Chu Zhiyuan and Chu Hongwei were always using Sound Transmission into Secret, avoiding her.
It made her alert.
She vaguely guessed that Chu Hongwei was the Court’s eyes and spies here.
Therefore, Qianji Tower is not indispensable.
If Qianji Tower does not perform well enough, it can be abandoned.
If Qianji Tower continues with these antics, it truly might be abandoned.
She was anxious and angry, yet her expression remained calm.
In her heart, she was prepared to start a ruthless purge, to curb Qianji Tower’s arrogance here.
Do they really think the Phoenix Dynasty is superior and can slight people from the Jade Dynasty?
Chu Zhiyuan glanced at her: "Take it slow, don’t rush."
"Your Highness..."
"Acting recklessly might lead to complete isolation, making progress impossible."
"...Understood." Fu Zheng clenched her teeth, her bright eyes sparkling.
She was extrely dissatisfied with the current situation.
Chu Zhiyuan said, "You want to assert authority over Qianji Tower here, right?"
"Yes." Fu Zheng replied, "Their tails are too high, they need to be dealt with!"
Chu Zhiyuan said, "Don’t be forceful."
Fu Zheng lightly furrowed her brows, sinking into thought.
The aning in Your Highness’s words was not to be forceful, but to be soft, the authority still needs to be established, but not forcefully.
She couldn’t help but think about Chu Zhiyuan’s situation yesterday.
In half a day, those once indifferent maids and attendants all changed their attitudes.
This achieved the goal of establishing authority.
How was it done?
"There are many ways to establish authority; you need to adapt to circumstances, sotis using force, sotis using softness. If we are to stay here for a long ti, it’s best not to make things too stiff, use softness to envelop hardness."
"Softness within hardness?"
"Going straight up with a good beating to have them submit, this approach might not be unsuitable, but often it backfires, so first establish contact with Qianji Tower in Jade, find the intel on Qianji Tower here, and understand the truth."
"..."
"Did you not consider this before?"
"Originally thought All Under Heaven Demon Sect is in one lineage, communicating with each other, even more so, Qianji Tower here is just a branch, affiliated to Jade there."
"First figure out the truth, whether they are opponents or friends, all need the sa approach."
"Yes!" Fu Zheng nodded firmly.
"Let’s see your ans, how you incorporate the Qianji Tower here."
"Rest assured, Your Highness!" Fu Zheng bit her lip tightly.
Chu Zhiyuan said, "Don’t focus solely on using force, Venerable is not the only one in Qianji Tower, there are also Venerables here."
"Understood." Fu Zheng slowly nodded.
Seeing her anger had subsided and she wouldn’t act impulsively, Chu Zhiyuan felt relieved.
Fu Zheng is extrely intelligent, but her ti entering the world is too short, lacking experience.
However, everything fears contemplation, especially intelligent people’s contemplation.
As long as she abandons one-dinsional thinking, no longer relying solely on Martial Arts to dominate, she’ll be able to manage well.
Besides, even if she doesn’t manage well, there are ways to deal with Qianji Tower.
On the way back, an old woman, while passing by, slipped a pill into Fu Zheng’s hand.
Chu Zhiyuan and Fu Zheng also took ti to visit a residence marked on the map.
They directly leaped over the wall into the courtyard, found a key in the corner, entered the study and opened a Purple Box.
Inside the Purple Box were booklets.
Chu Zhiyuan sat down to read these booklets, each detailing the life and detailed information of a prince.
Besides the eight princes, there were also twenty-four royal relatives and nobles.
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