From bone collectors to the supreme ruler of humanity

Chapter 106 What reward do you want?

Wang Yan also noticed Steward Feng. Looking at the carriage, he couldn't help but snort coldly and withdrew his imposing aura.

Lin Yan felt a huge weight lifted off his shoulders. He gasped for breath, got up from the ground, and brushed the dust off his body.

Within just a few breaths, Lin Yan was covered in a cold sweat.

If Steward Feng hadn't appeared in time, a few more breaths under such immense pressure would have likely caused cracks in his bones.

The fourth rank is terrifying.

Wang Yan stepped aside and said as Lin Yan passed by, "His Highness the Third Prince said he's remembered this incident. There's plenty of time in the future, so don't let us have any leverage against him."

Lin Yan did not stop walking and went straight to the Crown Prince's carriage.

Lin Yan boarded the carriage, while Li Zhengxin leaned back on the cushions, sipping a cup of tea. His expression was much more relaxed than when he was in court.

"Sit down," Li Zhengxin said, pointing to the seat opposite him.

Lin Yan sat down, and the carriage slowly started moving.

Li Zhengxin took a sip of tea, but still couldn't help laughing out loud. "You didn't see the third son's face. It was as black as an iron pot in the kitchen. He thought he could do something to you by bringing up three charges, but in the end, Father Emperor gave him a 50/50 slap, and he even lost a steward."

Lin Yan did not respond.

Li Zhengxin glanced at him. "What's wrong? You're unhappy about being fined six months' salary?"

"It's not that I'm worried about the salary," Lin Yan shook his head. "I'm thinking that since His Highness the Third Prince suffered a loss this time, if he wants to retaliate again next time, he probably won't be so gentle."

Li Zhengxin put down his teacup, his expression unusually serious. "So you need to improve your strength as soon as possible. Although you are currently at the peak of the second-grade True Qi Realm, it's not enough in the capital."

"You did a good job this time. Tell me, what reward do you want?" Li Zhengxin added.

Lin Yan raised his head and met the Crown Prince's gaze.

The question came suddenly, but he knew it wasn't just a polite formality.

Lin Yan remained silent for a few moments. What kind of reward should he ask for?

Gold and silver? Although he was fined six months' salary, he didn't need to spend money on food and clothing, so he wasn't short of money.

Official position? He is currently a sixth-rank councilor, and the next promotion would be to the fifth rank. However, once he is promoted, given his second-rank cultivation level and the fact that the Third Prince just impeached him, he would likely become a target before he even had a chance to settle into his new position.

Weapons? He has the Zhenyue Blade, which is only a low-grade Xuan Treasure, but it is enough for his current needs. Besides, weapons given by outsiders are not as handy as those found by oneself.

Pills? The pills the Crown Prince gave him were nothing more than to improve his cultivation, but he had just confiscated the pills and the dangers of pill poisoning were still fresh in his mind. Taking pills to improve his cultivation would probably sow the seeds of future troubles for his cultivation.

Gongfa.

Lin Yan's mind flashed through all his experiences over the past two years.

In today's world, cultivation techniques are controlled by major families, and ordinary people have no access to any cultivation manuals. If it weren't for this, he wouldn't have had to risk picking up the brocade pouch to steal the incomplete breathing technique and be chased by Qing Fengxiang in such a sorry state, barely escaping death several times.

The [Micro Dust Step] and [Firewood Cleave] he learned later were all self-taught techniques. At his current level, he couldn't even imitate other people's techniques with [Shallow Imitation]. Only [Wandering Body Step] and [Black Tiger Fist] were still passable. If he were to break through to the third-grade Unceasing Realm one day and face an opponent of the same level, the shallow martial arts he knew now would be as fragile as paper.

Now, all he can rely on is his ability to observe qi and his brute strength.

He needs a cultivation technique that can support him on his journey forward.

"Your Highness," Lin Yan raised his head and looked at Li Zhengxin, "I come from a humble background and have never been taught any proper martial arts skills since I was a child. The skills I have now are all cobbled together from various sources and are all second-rate techniques. Now, I... want to learn a good martial arts technique so that I can establish myself in the capital and better serve the Crown Prince."

"Oh? Cultivation techniques? You're quite honest. I thought you'd be like others, asking for money, official positions, or women. But you're different; you want cultivation techniques." Li Zhengxin was a little surprised by Lin Yan's choice.

"Silver and official positions are ultimately just external things; only skills you learn truly belong to you."

Li Zheng pondered for a moment, then took out a bronze plaque from his sleeve and tossed it to Lin Yan.

Lin Yan caught it, looked down and saw that the front of the bronze plaque was engraved with the two characters "Wen Yuan" and the back was engraved with two coiled dragons.

"This is the token of the Wenyuan Pavilion of my Great Yan Dynasty. The Wenyuan Pavilion houses all the cultivation manuals and classics from the hundreds of years since the founding of the Great Yan Dynasty," Li Zhengxin said. "With this, you can go in and choose one cultivation technique. Remember, you can only choose one. As for what kind of cultivation technique it is, it depends on what the Pavilion Master of Wenyuan Pavilion can let you choose."

"The Master of Wenyuan Pavilion?"

"The Lord of Wenyuan Pavilion has been at the fifth-grade Innate Realm since the time of the late emperor. He has always stayed in Wenyuan Pavilion and never participated in court affairs. He has never belonged to any faction. This token of mine can only let you in. As for whether you can choose, and what you can choose, it all depends on the Lord of Wenyuan Pavilion's will."

Lin Yan held the bronze plaque, stroking its patterns, and bowed to Li Zhengxin with clasped hands, saying, "Thank you, Your Highness."

The carriage stopped in front of the Lin residence. Lin Yan got out and watched the Crown Prince's carriage drive away.

He looked down at the bronze plaque in his hand, took a deep breath, and turned to enter the mansion.

When Lin Xiu saw him return, she skipped and hopped over to him.

"Brother! I heard someone spoke ill of you to the Emperor today? Who could be so malicious?"

Lin Yan was taken aback. "How did you know?"

"Manager Feng sent someone to say that you've been fined six months' salary, brother." Lin Xiu pouted. "Six months' salary! That means I'll have to buy so many fewer ribs..."

Lin Yan chuckled and patted her head: "It's alright, I still have money, you'll get plenty of ribs."

"real?"

"Really." Lin Yan took out the bronze plaque from his pocket and waved it in front of her. "And I got this too. Tomorrow I'll go pick a powerful cultivation technique and earn more money in the future."

Lin Xiu instantly became excited, grabbing his arm and asking, "What kind of technique is it? Is it powerful?"

"I don't know yet, I'll find out when I go tomorrow."

Lin Yan put away the bronze medal and went into the study.

He sat down at the table, took out the bronze alchemy furnace and the few spirit stone fragments from the drawer, and placed them in front of him one by one.

A mid-grade Xuanbao (mysterious treasure), a damaged alchemy furnace.

If it can be repaired, and given that his herb-gathering skills can preserve most of the medicinal properties of the herbs, he might be able to refine higher-grade pills with less toxicity, which would greatly benefit his cultivation.

However, he still had to learn the craft of weapon crafting from scratch.

He needs more time and greater strength to survive amidst the turbulent power struggles of the court.

As night deepened outside the window, Lin Yan blew out the lamp and sat on the bed quietly cultivating the [Qi Condensation Technique]. He felt the spiritual energy crystals growing larger and larger in his dantian, and he could sense that he was not far from the late stage of Qi Condensation.

I'm going to Wenyuan Pavilion tomorrow, hoping to find a useful cultivation technique.