"Father Emperor finds me old and decrepit. He’s forbidden me from participating in any Imperial Court affairs."
"The palace concubines see me as a walking corpse, avoiding me as if I were the plague."
"Hah, and even the Saintess of that insignificant Xinghe Sect—after taking my gifts and accepting my favors—dares to refuse my summons! Good. Very good!"
...
In Wenhua Hall, the seventy-two-year-old Dying Crown Prince, Xia Wuyang, seethed with uncontrollable rage, violently smashing everything before him.
The flickering candlelight illuminated his old face, contorted with anger. A memorial he had thrown to the floor lay open, a Vermilion Brush having gouged a glaring scratch across the paper.
"Bastards! Do you all think you can humiliate me as you please just because I’m about to die?"
He snatched a teacup from the table and hurled it against the wall. Hot tea splashed onto the eunuch, Andrew, who flinched in pain before dropping to his knees with a thud, pressing his forehead tightly to the cold floor tiles.
Outside the door, the waiting eunuchs and Palace Maids paled. They exchanged glances, and a peculiar look appeared on some of their faces, as if they had already figured out how to report this incident to their respective masters.
Xia Wuyang was not originally from this world. He was from Earth and had died saving someone, only to be reincarnated into the Great Xia Dynasty. By a stroke of incredible luck, he was born into the Royal Family as the Empress’s first son.
When his past-life memories awakened in his youth, he revealed just a fraction of his knowledge, stunning the court officials. They hailed him as a Celestial Human, and he was quickly named Crown Prince, enjoying boundless prestige.
He had originally assumed he would become the Emperor sooner or later and enjoy a life of endless glory and wealth. But at the age of thirty, he was unexpectedly ambushed, and his Cultivation Foundation was destroyed, completely ruining his future.
In this world of high martial arts, being unable to cultivate was no different from being a cripple. This was especially true for a Crown Prince. Xia Wuyang, who once had a limitless future, was instantly kicked while he was down.
The Eastern Palace, once bustling with visitors, was suddenly deserted. The fawning Sects and Gangs all scrambled to distance themselves from him. Even his Imperial Brothers, who had always seemed respectful and honest, began to show the glint of ambition in their eyes.
Fortunately, the Emperor and Empress took pity on him and never stripped him of his title. Over the years, he sought out famous doctors and rare medicines, desperate to restore his Foundation and return to the path of Cultivation.
But unfortunately, nothing worked. With his hopes dashed time and again, his temperament gradually twisted until he became irritable and perverse, causing everyone around him to drift away.
In the blink of an eye, he was already seventy-two. He had long abandoned any hope of cultivating again, seeking only to live out the rest of his broken life in silken robes and fine food.
Yet he never expected to be rejected when he summoned Su Xingwan, the Saintess of the Xinghe Sect, to the palace to attend to him. The Xinghe Sect was merely one of the Small and Medium-sized Sects. In the past, they had desperately tried to offer their Saintess to him, afraid he would refuse, and had even made various promises. Seeing their respectful attitude back then, Xia Wuyang had declined to take Su Xingwan but had still granted them benefits.
Now, when Xia Wuyang wanted them to make good on their offer, the Xinghe Sect directly refused him, the current Crown Prince. They showed no regard for past favors or promises, a clear sign of just how far this Dying Crown Prince had fallen.
"Haha... HAHAHAHA..."
At this thought, Xia Wuyang couldn’t help but laugh out loud. He had thought that after transmigrating he was destined to reach the pinnacle of life, but it had turned out to be so frustrating and helpless.
The so-called honor of a Crown Prince was nothing more than a fleeting illusion.
"’If I had known...’"
’Perhaps I never should have transmigrated. Compared to the suffering I’ve endured all these years, compared to the agony of watching my loved ones die one by one—especially my Empress Mother Luo Jin—what was a little wealth and glory worth?’
’If I hadn’t transmigrated, I wouldn’t have had to watch my mother, my soulmate, my most trusted aides... all die tragic deaths.’
"THUD..."
Just then, a deep thrum suddenly vibrated from within his chest. The sound was like the tolling of a great temple bell, sending a shiver through his entire body.
Immediately after, a seven-colored radiance burst forth from his heart’s aperture. A strange, seven-apertured, crystalline stone materialized and, in an instant, completely fused with him.
Xia Wuyang’s pupils shrank. In a daze, he felt as if a thousand epiphanies were flooding his mind.
His body, which had been dormant for years, began to stir with a long-lost vitality. He could clearly sense that a talent, the likes of which had never been seen before, was awakening within him.
Seven-Aperture Exquisite!
This was a talent bordering on a miracle. Once awakened, its user’s Spiritual Power would increase by one point every day. Considering an ordinary person had only one point of Spiritual Power, this meant he would gain the equivalent of a normal person’s total Spiritual Power every single day.
With every passing day, he could effortlessly gain the spiritual acuity others might spend a lifetime seeking.
Even more astonishingly, as his Spiritual Power grew, he could also awaken other profound and mysterious Companion Talents.
This strange stone was something Xia Wuyang had brought with him when he transmigrated. He had initially assumed it was his Golden Finger, but for seventy-two long years, it had shown no reaction.
Just as Xia Wuyang was on the verge of despair, it had finally fused completely with his body, helping him awaken this talent that was practically a cheat code.
’It took a full seventy-two years to finally merge,’ he thought wryly. ’This Golden Finger sure took its sweet time. Good thing I’m still alive, or I would’ve never seen the day it finally activated.’
Xia Wuyang gave a wry smile. A flicker of hope ignited in his once-despairing eyes. His life, which had been nothing more than waiting for death, was finally about to change.
Spiritual Power +1!
At that very moment, the newly fused Seven-Aperture Exquisite Talent increased his Spiritual Power by one point.
After years of hardship, Xia Wuyang’s Spiritual Power had reached two points—twice that of an ordinary person, which was already a rare feat among mortals.
With the addition of one more point, he now possessed three times the Spiritual Power of an ordinary person.
He could distinctly feel his memory, understanding, and Comprehension beginning to improve. His thoughts became as clear as the sun breaking through clouds.
Recalling memories became as easy as reading the lines on his palm. Obscure principles suddenly became crystal clear. Even the cultivation problems that had once been incomprehensible now began to reveal their underlying logic.
However, a stronger Spiritual Power also required a stronger body to contain it, or else problems would surely arise.
Therefore, as the Seven-Aperture Exquisite Talent increased his Spiritual Power by one point, it also bolstered his physical condition, strengthening it enough to bear three points of Spiritual Power.
A gentle, spring-like energy flowed through his limbs and bones. Under the influence of this strange power from the Seven-Aperture Exquisite, his frail, broken body began to rapidly heal itself.
Xia Wuyang stared down in a daze, watching as color slowly returned to his withered hands. He had never imagined this Supreme Talent would come with such an additional function.
’At this rate,’ he thought, ’it won’t be long before my body makes a full recovery and my Cultivation Foundation is completely repaired. Then I can resume my Cultivation.’
The path to ascension, severed for so long, would soon be open to him once more.
At this thought, Xia Wuyang felt his Qi Blood surge, and his heart, which had been dormant for so many years, began to pound like a war drum.
After so many years of merely clinging to life, he could finally see a ray of hope.
He had been pathetic and powerless for far too long. Now that he could finally see hope, how could he not be ecstatic?
But at a time like this, he had to be more cautious than ever, as if treading on thin ice. Right now, everyone was just waiting for him to die a natural death. They were all waiting for him to take his last breath.
His covetous Imperial Brothers, the Powerful Ministers entrenched in the Imperial Court, and the Sects and Gangs that stood behind them...
If they discovered that he could suddenly cultivate again and that his body was rapidly recovering, the Eastern Palace would likely be hanging white funeral banners by tomorrow.
Until he had sufficient power, he absolutely could not let this be discovered. Xia Wuyang steeled his resolve.
"Get out! All of you, get out! Get far away from me!"
The sound of shattering porcelain suddenly echoed through the hall. Xia Wuyang, feigning a mad frenzy, ordered everyone to get out. The eunuchs and Palace Maids dropped to their knees and crawled out of Wenhua Hall.
No one dared to raise their head to see the astonishing calculations hidden behind that contorted mask of fury.
"Lian Xing and Shu Yu, stay behind. I will favor you tonight!"