Imperial Cultivation

The two floated along, manipulating Qi beneath their feet.

The ice-paved steps were so smooth that they could reflect one's image, yet they walked on them without slipping, moving gracefully.

As they ascended, a palace made of ice blocks appeared before his eyes.

Standing ten meters high, covering over three hundred square meters, it shimmered with a sacred light under the sun.

In front of the palace was a large courtyard with white jade walls, integrated with the Great Bright Peak.

He did not recklessly use Super Sense but instead restrained his spiritual power from leaking out.

Regarding this palace, he was wary, supposing it was the location of Diwu Academy.

Perhaps there might be top experts stationed there.

Thus, he had to be cautious of those who could sense his Super Sense, being highly careful.

He followed Chu Honglin into the courtyard's main entrance, turned past the screen wall without heading to the front hall, and veered into a moon gate on the right along the corridor, entering another courtyard.

Then they crossed this courtyard, turned again, and finally arrived at a spotless sacred ice-built palace.

Inside the hall were rows of bookshelves, with several people organizing the bookshelves.

Upon seeing Chu Honglin arrive, they continued their tasks without greeting.

Yet their gaze was inevitably drawn to Chu Zhiyuan.

Soon someone recognized him.

"Ninth Prince?" A middle-aged man frowned, set the book down from the shelf, walked over, and scrutinized Chu Zhiyuan: "Why are you here?"

Chu Zhiyuan clasped his fists: "Greetings, Uncle."

From the original owner's memory, he knew this was the Fifth Imperial Uncle, Chu Hongming.

In the original owner's impression, he was an old pedant, a man of rigid consistency, the epitome of seriousness.

The original owner labeled him as falsely serious.

"Brother, I brought the Ninth Prince over," Chu Honglin said: "Let's go."

He turned to ascend the stairs.

Chu Zhiyuan clasped his fists in salute to Chu Hongming, then followed Chu Honglin.

Chu Hongming's thick brows furrowed tightly, glanced at Chu Honglin, and shook his head helplessly, ultimately saying no more.

After returning from the Outer Realm Battlefield, Chu Honglin's actions became free-spirited; if truly stopped, resistance was inevitable.

Chu Zhiyuan grinned at Chu Honglin: "Uncle, you're mighty, always annoying Uncle."

He didn't mind Chu Hongming hearing him.

Regardless of whether heard or not, Chu Hongming would scold him whenever he saw him.

Chu Honglin chuckled and went directly up to the third floor.

The first floor was filled with rows of bookshelves, yet he restrained his Super Sense and did not use Insight on the shelves to identify the books.

He merely glanced briefly, speculating they were miscellaneous books, such as travelogues or books on natural philosophy.

The second floor had rows of antique racks, showcasing various ancient and quaint books.

Obviously, these were not books easily flipped through.

The third floor was left empty.

Encircling the walls at a meter height were embedded jade steles, each inscribed with names.

Chu Zhiyuan scanned the nine jade steles, quickly finding one labeled with the Great Demon Suppression Seal.

He could not help but walk to it.

The jade stele, sculpted from Mutton Fat Jade, was engraved with intricate patterns.

The ancient and simple characters "Great Demon Suppression Seal" were vertically inscribed from top to bottom.

Seeing these characters brought forth an aura of ancient barbarism, a vista of mountains and earth vaguely appeared, with giant beasts roaring within.

Chu Zhiyuan's sword-like brows raised, retreating two steps.

He inspected meticulously once again.

The aura evidently originated from those four characters, with subtle spiritual power contained within them.

Mutton Fat Jade emitted a luminous glow, flowing faintly as if a spring flowed within.

The spring intermittently flowed through the patterns, making them flicker subtly.

He turned to Chu Honglin: "Uncle, is this the inheritance?"

"This is the Inheritance Stele," Chu Honglin said: "Have you seen it before?"

Chu Zhiyuan shook his head: "The Great Brightness Fist doesn't seem to be inherited this way."

He recalled that the Great Brightness Fist and Infinite Brightness Scripture naturally appeared in one's mind upon entering the Great Bright Peak, profoundly mysterious.

"The inheritance method of the Great Brightness Fist and Infinite Brightness Scripture is more esoteric, considered a dojo transmission, ... You just need to touch the jade stele with your palm to receive the inheritance."

Chu Zhiyuan laughed: "So easy?"

"With the Inheritance Jade Stele, learning is not difficult; the challenge lies in the cultivation."

"Yes."

"Have you made up your mind?" Chu Honglin asked: "It's still time to change your mind; the remaining Eight Strange Skills are all exceedingly powerful."

Chu Zhiyuan glanced at the remaining eight white jade steles.

"Yin Yang Ruyi Hand," "Heart Execution Mysterious Palm," "Heaven Shaking Divine Hammer," "Heart Inquiry Divine Finger"...

After scanning one by one, he shook his head: "Just this one then."

"Really made up your mind?" Chu Honglin queried.

Chu Zhiyuan chuckled: "Uncle, are you reneging?"

"I'm afraid you'll regret it," Chu Honglin snorted: "You only have this one chance to choose, if it's wrong, there's no way to learn the others."

Chu Zhiyuan asked: "Can the other princes also choose only one Martial Arts?"

Chu Honglin nodded: "Everyone can only choose one, no more."

Chu Zhiyuan frowned: "If one masters a skill, could they choose another?"

Chu Honglin shook his head.

Chu Zhiyuan queried: "If someone has extraordinarily high comprehension, and can master it completely?"

Chu Honglin still shook his head.

Chu Zhiyuan questioned: "How can one ensure this Martial Arts is most suitable for oneself?"

Each Martial Skill has different requirements.

If you find a Martial Skill tailor-made for you, your cultivation can progress rapidly, making leaps and bounds.

If the Martial Skill does not resonate with you, cultivation becomes stifled, slow and arduous.

But how can you find the most resonant one?

"Leave it to fate," Chu Honglin advised: "Follow destiny."

Chu Zhiyuan shook his head: "Why not let everyone train all nine Miracle Techniques, find the most suitable one, and sharpen the knife without delay for chopping firewood?"

Finding the one that resonates can result in surpassing expectations, accelerating increasingly, reaching farther.

Chu Honglin said: "The jade stele inheritance method damages the soul; for those in the Qi Transformation Realm, they can only bear it once; otherwise, it leads to obsession."

"What about the Transformation Realm? Divinity Transformation Realm?"

"In the Transformation Realm, one can inherit again, so can those in the Divinity Transformation Realm."

Chu Zhiyuan frowned: "Only the jade stele inheritance method causes this, what about the Secret Manuals?"

"I see you are greedy," Chu Honglin shook his head: "This mindset is undesirable; understand that Martial Arts ultimately converge. What's the use of practicing so many Martial Arts? That time is better spent relaxing a bit, easing your mental state, which benefits cultivation more."

Chu Zhiyuan said: "I always wish to find the Martial Art that resonates most deeply."

"It's not the Martial Skill resonating with you, but for you to resonate with the Martial Skill," Chu Honglin advised: "Truthfully, Visualization is most critical; a person's soul is limited. Two visualizations are manageable; once exceeding three, they easily interfere with each other, which becomes perilous."

Chu Zhiyuan realized suddenly.

Chu Honglin said: "Alright, since you've made up your mind, begin the inheritance."

"Yes." Chu Zhiyuan extended his hand to touch the White Jade Stele.

Suddenly, his vision showed a gaunt withered elder, entirely golden as if coated with a layer of golden liquid.

He sat cross-legged in the pitch-black Void, his body radiating a faint golden light.

His eyes slightly closed, slowly forming hand seals with both palms, the left and right differing.

His lips moved in murmuring syllables, a strange sound reverberating in his mind.

A ball of light emerged in the Void, rapidly forming into a golden web, descending upon him.

Chu Zhiyuan opened his eyes.

His eyes flickered with golden light, gradually receding.

"How is it?" Chu Honglin eagerly asked.

Chu Zhiyuan said: "Uncle, have you ever seen anyone perform it?"

"Since no one has mastered it, naturally I've never seen it," Chu Honglin replied.

"Then why assert it's the strongest?"

"Ancient legends, alongside its difficulty," Chu Honglin explained.

"... Doesn't seem that strong," Chu Zhiyuan commented.

Just a web, compared to the Great Brightness Fist's Fist Seal or Forget Sorrow Divine Finger's Seven-colored Flower, it seemed powerless.