The moment the news broke, Lady Xingyan, who was still in the Eastern Palace, came to Wenhua Hall. She apologized to Xia Wuyang and gifted him another batch of Dragon and Tiger Elixir.
Although she wasn’t the one who had spread the news, the matter was still closely related to her. Lady Xingyan didn’t tell him who was responsible, but by using the Soul Capturing Technique to probe her surface thoughts, Xia Wuyang learned the person’s identity.
The Master of Ten Thousand Swords Manor!
The Manor Master was jealous of Lady Xingyan’s lingering feelings for Xia Wuyang. That, combined with Lady Xingyan always keeping her distance, led him to believe Xia Wuyang was the cause of it all.
Even though Lady Xingyan had repeatedly pleaded with him not to, the Master of Ten Thousand Swords Manor broke his word and spread the news anyway.
Clearly, he didn’t want Xia Wuyang to use the Dragon and Tiger Elixirs and Celestial Water Essence to extend his life, allowing him to cling to a wretched existence for even longer.
Lady Xingyan had a huge fight with him over the incident, and now the two were giving each other the silent treatment.
Feeling deeply apologetic, Lady Xingyan had come to Wenhua Hall. She felt it was her mistake that had brought this unwarranted disaster upon Xia Wuyang.
Xia Wuyang, however, held no grudge against her. Thanks to the Soul Capturing Technique, he already knew that none of it was her fault.
As for why Lady Xingyan had told the Master of Ten Thousand Swords Manor in the first place, it was because the Manor Master had helped procure some of the Dragon and Tiger Elixirs and Celestial Water Essence. There was no way he wouldn’t have known.
The moment the news spread, Xia Wuyang sensed something was amiss. He immediately had Wei Xianren and Liu Jun come over to "seize" the Elixirs, staging an elaborate act. This was to make the outside world believe that he had only managed to consume one and a half portions of the Celestial Water Essence, while the rest had been snatched away by Wei Xianren and Liu Jun.
The two men also "consumed" the treasure immediately, but alas, they failed to break through the bottlenecks that had long troubled them.
No one suspected a thing. After all, it was common knowledge that Wei Xianren’s and Liu Jun’s Talent and Qualification were painfully average. Just getting them to the Middle Three Grades had nearly depleted all the resources and treasures of the Eastern Palace.
They had a history of failing to achieve breakthroughs even with Miracle Treasures, so this latest failure seemed perfectly plausible.
What Xia Wuyang hadn’t anticipated, however, was that even the Fifth Prince—Liu Jun’s backer—had taken an interest. Seeing no way to acquire the Celestial Water Essence for himself, he ordered Liu Jun to deliver a portion of the Dragon and Tiger Elixir instead.
To avoid raising suspicion, Xia Wuyang had no choice but to begrudgingly hand over several hundred bottles of Dragon and Tiger Elixir. He let Liu Jun take them to appease his master.
Fortunately, he could now withdraw Dragon and Tiger Elixir from the Inner Treasury as he pleased. The loss of a few hundred bottles didn’t sting too much, and he knew he wouldn’t be lacking Cultivation Resources in the future.
Meanwhile, Liu Jun deliberately "let it slip" that most of Xia Wuyang’s Dragon and Tiger Elixir had been taken as well, leaving him with very little. At last, the matter could finally be put to rest.
However, he now harbored a murderous intent toward the Fifth Prince, Xia Wushang.
’How dare he conspire to take the Dragon and Tiger Elixir I worked so hard to obtain, obstructing my Cultivation? How could I possibly let him live?’
Xia Wushang was the wealthiest of all the Princes and Princesses. His mother, Consort Rong, hailed from the Celestial Treasure Pavilion, the top merchant alliance in Jiangnan. Their wealth was comparable to that of a nation, and they controlled over thirty percent of the Great Xia Dynasty’s shipping and its trade in salt and iron.
Xia Wushang himself was an Upper Third Grade Martial Artist and a strong contender for the throne. For him to stoop to scheming for the Dragon and Tiger Elixir belonging to a Dying Crown Prince... his greed was simply shameless.
’It’s true what they say, the richer they are, the stingier they get. He won’t even let go of such a paltry sum.’
Furthermore, Xia Wushang had targeted him many times before. He had acquired many of the Eastern Palace’s businesses and resources at dirt-cheap prices—they called it a purchase, but it was no different from robbery.
’Too bad I’m not strong enough right now. If I were, I’d get rid of him at the first opportunity, just like I did with Princess Yun Shu.’
Now that the unexpected incident was resolved and his Cultivation Realm was stable, it was time to aim for a higher level.
He downed a bottle of Celestial Water Essence. A torrent of medicinal power surged through him, steadily strengthening his Dragon and Tiger Qi Blood and tempering each and every one of his bones. Soon, he hit a bottleneck.
RUMBLE...
With the combined power of the Miracle Treasure and his Dragon and Tiger Qi Blood, it only took the time to drink a cup of tea to shatter the bottleneck to the Fifth Grade Late Stage. Xia Wuyang’s Cultivation had ascended to a new level.
Fifth Grade Late Stage!
His bones began to radiate a golden light, and his Defense increased dramatically!
A faint golden sheen spread across his bones. It was a sign that they had been tempered and elevated to a new level, signifying a shocking increase in both Power and destructive capability.
A single punch, without relying on Combat Techniques or Secret Techniques, could now easily unleash more than 9,000 kilograms of destructive force.
A great deal of medicinal power from the Celestial Water Essence remained. After taking a moment to consolidate his new realm, Xia Wuyang continued to push his Cultivation higher.
It wasn’t long before he encountered another bottleneck. He shattered it with ease, and his Cultivation ascended to yet another level.
Fifth Grade Perfection!
His bones were now completely golden, their killing power terrifying!
With this further tempering, practically every bone in his body had turned gold, and their piercing power had reached a shocking level.
He could now shatter an ordinary city gate with a single punch, fully demonstrating the might of a City-Breaking Level expert.
Feeling the power surging within him, Xia Wuyang nodded in satisfaction and continued absorbing the medicinal power of the Celestial Water Essence.
After more than half an hour, his Cultivation was on the verge of the Fourth Grade Realm.
However, when he calculated the remaining medicinal power, he realized his chances of a successful breakthrough were slim. After a moment of hesitation, Xia Wuyang decided against it.
’I might as well use the rest of the medicinal power to polish my Cultivation Foundation. That way, after a period of consolidation, I can try for the Fourth Grade Realm directly, maybe even without the help of another Miracle Treasure.’
While there was enough medicinal power left for one more attempt, the chance of failure was too great. It was simply too risky.
’It’s better to take one step back now to take two steps forward later. I’ll cultivate for a bit longer and then break into the Fourth Grade Realm in one go.’
Once that happens, I’ll be ranked among the top-tier experts, even among the other Princes and Princesses. I’ll finally have some meager ability to protect myself.
With my custom-designed Cultivation, Combat Techniques, and Secret Techniques... even if I can’t defeat an Upper Third Grade Martial Artist, it won’t be too hard to escape with my life.
’The Power of a Miracle Treasure really is something else. Just three portions of Celestial Water Essence were enough to skyrocket my Cultivation to Fifth Grade Perfection.’
Of course, this was only possible because of his own astounding Comprehension and the improved Cultivation and Combat Techniques he’d developed. Otherwise, he never would have dared to consume a Miracle Treasure so recklessly.
As Xia Wuyang finished absorbing all the Celestial Water Essence, with one foot already across the threshold to the Fourth Grade Realm, Princess Ling Yi took her own first step out of Yufu Hall, heading straight for the Eastern Palace Wenhua Hall.
"Based on my understanding of that old codger, the Crown Prince, he might be incompetent, but he’s no fool. I’m certain he’s still hiding some Celestial Water Essence."
"And even if he doesn’t, those two lackeys, Wei Xianren and Liu Jun, are bound to have some. It’s the perfect opportunity to ’borrow’ it and help me break through to the Fourth Grade Realm."