From bone collectors to the supreme ruler of humanity

Chapter 70 Body training? Cultivation!

Xiong Kuo gripped the axe handle tightly, but Lin Yan raised his hand to stop him.

"I'll go with you, but leave my two brothers behind."

The pale-faced man glanced at Xiong Kuo and Sun Dayong, then nodded: "His Highness the Crown Prince only invites General Lin."

The Eastern Palace is located on the east side of the Imperial City, with vermilion gates and copper nails, and two stone lions in front of the gates that are taller than a person.

After being brought into the East Palace, Lin Yan did not go to the main hall, but instead went around to the back garden.

There are artificial hills and flowing water in the garden, and a row of birdcages hangs under the corridor, where a thrush is singing merrily.

Crown Prince Li Zhengxin sat in a grand chair in the pavilion, holding a covered teacup in his hand, and was looking down at a report.

Hearing footsteps, he looked up, glanced at Lin Yan, and then smiled and said:

"Tethered?"

The pale-faced man bowed: "I didn't make a move on the way."

"Tie him up," Li Zhengxin said casually, placing his teacup on the stone table. "How can it be proper if he's not tied up?"

Two guards stepped forward, grabbed Lin Yan's shoulders, wrapped a rope around his wrists three times, tied a knot, and began to search him.

Lin Yan didn't resist at all, since there was no point in resisting in front of eight Unending Realm guards.

Several guards placed the items they had found on Lin Yan on a tray and handed them to Li Zhengxin, including the fragments of the breathing exercises, the iron token, and the "Mountain" token.

Li Zhengxin picked up the iron token and stroked it for a long time. He then beckoned a eunuch to take the token away. After doing this, Li Zhengxin stood up, walked to Lin Yan, and circled around him.

The young prince looked to be under thirty years old, with fair skin and a somewhat cynical smile in his eyes.

He stopped in front of Lin Yan and suddenly reached out and patted Lin Yan's shoulder.

"From Black Wind Ridge to Zhenbei Pass, from Iron Coffin Cliff to Chessboard Ridge, you captured Gu Li alive."

Li Zhengxin withdrew his hand, looked into Lin Yan's eyes, and said, "I heard that Qingfengxiang sent no less than three groups of people to kill you. Some died at Black Wind Ridge, some perished at Jiming Ridge, and some were stopped by Jiang Bufan. You didn't die, you weren't crippled, and you even made a great contribution at Zhenbei Pass and entered the capital alive."

He sat back down in the armchair and crossed his legs.

"What does this mean? It means that Heaven didn't let you die. Since Heaven has spared your life, and I've already obtained what I was looking for, wouldn't it be against Heaven's will if I were to kill you now?"

Lin Yan tried to break free of the rope binding her wrists, but failed, so she gave up.

"What does Your Highness wish to say?"

"Come work for me."

Li Zhengxin's tone didn't sound like he was trying to recruit Lin Yan; it sounded more like he was stating a fact that had already been established.

"I know everything you investigated in the North. The ledgers for the illegal sale of military rations, the books in the secret room of the quarry, and Guli's confession—you're carrying these with you, preparing to hand them over to the court, right?"

Lin Yan remained silent.

Li Zhengxin chuckled:

"Why do you think I waited until today to make my move against you? You don't really think I wouldn't dare touch you once we're out of the Northern Border, do you? Before you entered the city, your brother Xiong Kuo, who traveled by water, had his account book on the boat checked, though he didn't know it. Zhang Dabiao, who traveled by land, slept at the Tongzhou post station, and someone pulled out a few pages from the thick account book in his bundle and stuffed it back in. My men could have done it long ago, but they didn't, because I wanted you to take these things to the capital, and then I would tell you face to face that even if these things were handed over to the court, to my father, you still couldn't touch me."

Lin Yan struggled against the rope for the third time, this time really wanting to break it.

Li Zhengxin acted as if he hadn't seen Lin Yan's actions and continued talking to himself.

"The ironware from the quarry was given to the Northern Barbarians and supplied to the Blood Wolf Tribe to fight the Yan Army. The Northern Border Military Government embezzles 30% of its annual grain and fodder. This mess was there when the previous General Zhenbei was in office, and I just took over the business. As for the military equipment and gunpowder that Yongfeng Company resold, they were obsolete old goods that the court couldn't allocate. They were just going to rot in the warehouse. None of the things you investigated wronged me, but none of them were enough for my father to depose me."

Li Zhengxin picked up the covered bowl, took a sip of tea, and looked up at Lin Yan.

"Because the people in the court aren't stupid. They know that the northern border relies on silver to support its troops, and that silver comes from the Eastern Palace. If I fall, the frontline troops' pay will be cut off. With the northern barbarians blocking the border, where can Zhenbei City get its supplies? Nobody wants to take the responsibility of fighting a war without money to pay their troops. So even if the evidence you have is genuine, solid, and deadly enough, you just can't submit it in the capital."

Lin Yan finally stopped struggling.

He leaned against a pillar in the pavilion, looked at Li Zhengxin, and said, "Your Highness, aren't you afraid that I'll reveal all this to His Majesty after we meet?"

"Oh? Do you think Father Emperor will listen to you?" Li Zhengxin asked in return.

Li Zhengxin stood up and walked to the pavilion, turning his back to Lin Yan as he looked at the thrush under the eaves and continued speaking.

"There will be a grand martial arts competition in the palace in two months. Anyone below the third rank and commanders of various battalions can participate. I want you to fight in the name of the Crown Prince and win the martial arts championship. If you win, the Imperial Household Department will give you the complete version of the Breathing Incomplete Manual, including the Transformation Realm techniques."

The Realm of Transformation? What is that?

Upon hearing this, Lin Yan's breath caught in his throat for a moment.

Li Zhengxin turned around, looked at Lin Yan, and said calmly, "You follow the path of a martial artist, right?"

Lin Yan did not deny it.

"Body tempering, true qi, endless energy, qi transformation, innate... these are the five realms of martial arts. You are currently only following the path of body tempering, cultivating only the body and not the qi."

"I know you have a fragment of the Breathing Technique Manual. The first part is for body tempering, and the second part is for true qi. The two combined can only make your muscles and bones strong and your true qi circulate, but no matter how the true qi circulates, it is just going around in circles in your body. Without the complete manual, you will never be able to break through to the third rank."

He paused, and seeing that Lin Yan did not respond, he continued, "Condensing Qi into a Dharma form is something that spiritual cultivators can do. Only those who cultivate spiritual Qi can condense their true Qi into a Dharma form. When they reach a high level of cultivation, once the Dharma form is released, whether it is taking someone's head from a thousand miles away or fighting against ten thousand people, it is something that body cultivators cannot compare to."

When you encounter a spiritual cultivator, they won't even need to draw their sword; a single dharma image will crush you, and you won't even be able to stand. You have a mother to support, a sister to care for, and brothers to help, yet all you have is a fragmented manual of physical cultivation techniques. Is that enough for you?

Lin Yan looked down at the bloody marks on his wrist, then looked up at Li Zhengxin and nodded.

Li Zhengxin gestured with his chin toward the pale-faced man: "Untie him."

The rope was untied, and the guards subtly took two steps back.

Li Zhengxin sat down again in the armchair and crossed his legs.

"Settle down in the Eastern Palace. I've already sent people to fetch your mother and sister. I'll arrange everything for you for the next two months, including sparring partners, training grounds, food, clothing, and other necessities. There's only one condition: you must win the martial arts competition. If you win, I'll forgive and forget everything that happened before, including the murder of Zhao Yuanlang. Not only that, but you can have whatever you want: martial arts techniques, money, official titles, and beautiful women."

"If you lose, useless people only face death in my eyes. You can then take your mother and sister with you on your journey."

Seeing that the eight Undying Realm experts were watching him intently, Lin Yan felt like a fish on a chopping board and had no choice but to agree to the Crown Prince's deal.

After seeing Lin Yan off, the pale-faced man approached Li Zhengxin, bowed, and said, "Your Highness, are you really not going to deal with him directly? What about the Imperial Uncle...?"

Li Zhengxin waved his hand, "What kind of trouble can a mere True Qi Realm kid cause? If he really wins, then I can let him participate in my plan. If he loses, it's not too late to kill him. As for the Imperial Uncle, I will explain it to him myself..."

After saying that, he made a pinching gesture towards the thrush. The bird in the cage seemed to be compressed by space and burst instantly, its beautiful feathers fluttering down to the ground.

"Third brother, let me see what's so special about the person your Martial Selection Division is trying to rescue..."

……

The Ministry of Justice prison was located in the southwest corner of the imperial city, with high walls and deep alleys, and four jailers with knives stood at the entrance.

When Lin Yan arrived, Xiong Kuo and Sun Dayong had already been locked up overnight and were squatting in their cell eating cornbread. When Sun Dayong saw Lin Yan standing outside the cell door, he almost spat out the cornbread in his mouth.

"General! You've been arrested too?"

"You weren't arrested; I'm here to pick you up."

Lin Yan turned around and glanced at the pale-faced man following behind him.

The pale-faced man took out a release document from the Crown Prince from his sleeve and handed it to the jailer. The jailer opened it and opened the cell door with a "clatter".

Xiong Kuo and Sun Dayong followed Lin Yan out of the Ministry of Justice prison, completely bewildered.

Sun Dayong glanced back at the sign at the prison gate and asked in a low voice, "Chief, what exactly is going on?"

"We'll talk about it when we get back."

Zhang Dabiao arrived in Beijing that evening.

He traveled by waterway around Tongzhou, arriving a day and a half later than Xiong Kuo. When he entered the city, all the books he had brought out from the secret room of the quarry had disappeared from his bundle, leaving only a few changes of clothes.

He was pacing anxiously in the courtyard of Liutiao Hutong when Lin Yan pushed open the door and came in.

Zhang Dabiao stepped forward and was about to speak when he saw the pale-faced man behind Lin Yan, and all his words choked back.