115: Chapter 115 Abdication

"Crack!" Dense cracks appeared on the stone walls of the secret chamber.

"Hum—!" The dome overhead shook violently, and dust rained down.

The entire main hall visibly shook three times, and the candlesticks, vases, and scrolls on the bookshelves clattered to the floor.

You sat cross-legged in the center of the secret chamber, your long hair flowing and sleeves fluttering. A pale blue luster of Yuan Qi surrounded your body, and every inch of your muscles and every Meridian was being reshaped by this Yuan Qi.

Outside the hall.

The palace servants on night duty were so startled by the sudden tremor that they dropped their lanterns.

"E-earthquake?!" a young eunuch shrieked, clutching a corridor pillar.

"No! It came from Your Majesty's bedchamber!" Female Official Liu Hanyan was the first to react; she lifted her skirts and ran toward the secret chamber.

Followed by four or five guards and palace maids, the group rushed to the door of the secret chamber, about to push it open.

The door opened from the inside.

You walked out.

Female Official Liu Hanyan was the first to see your appearance clearly, and she froze in place instantly.

The layer of pale blue luster around you had not yet fully receded, flowing like water in the dim corridor.

Female Official Liu Hanyan's knees went weak uncontrollably.

With a "thud," she knelt down.

The guards and palace maids behind her followed suit, kneeling in unison.

Female Official Liu Hanyan was a veteran who had served you for eight years; she had personally witnessed the Aura of Patriarch of the Martial Dao Sect, Patriarch Jiang Buzhou, when he struck. The sense of oppression you exuded right now was exactly the same as that old fellow's.

She trembled all over, her voice filled with irrepressible excitement and awe: "Your Majesty... You, you have achieved a Breakthrough?!"

You slightly retracted the Qi around your body, and the sense of oppression dissipated for the most part, but the people kneeling still dared not stand up.

"Your Majesty!" An elderly eunuch kowtowed forcefully, his voice trembling, "Congratulations, Your Majesty! Congratulations, Your Majesty! Your Majesty is a heaven-sent talent, unique throughout history! To achieve the Realm of an Earthly Immortal at just over thirty years old... this is a feat unprecedented in history!"

"Long live Your Majesty!" the others chimed in unison.

You glanced at them and said calmly, "All of you, rise. Clean up the secret chamber, and replace whatever is broken."

"Yes!" everyone responded in unison.

You walked back to the bedchamber and closed the door.

Standing in the spacious main hall, you slowly clenched your fists, feeling the power within your body that was completely different from before.

Yuan Qi, carrying a trace of Spiritual Qi, circulated through your Meridians—thick, deep, and far beyond the comparison of the True Qi of the past.

Earthly Immortal.

Finally, the Breakthrough was achieved.

But after the wild joy, you quickly calmed down, and several speculations appeared in your mind.

You sat cross-legged again, carefully sensing the state of the Yuan Qi in your Dantian, and began to operate your meditation technique to absorb the extremely thin Spiritual Qi around you.

After reaching the Realm of an Earthly Immortal, you could finally perceive the faint Spiritual Qi that you could not perceive before.

A moment later, you opened your eyes, a flash of expected disappointment crossing your gaze.

Without a Spiritual Root as a carrier, Spiritual Qi could not exist alone in your Dantian; it had to combine with True Qi to be stable.

In other words, the Yuan Qi in your body now was essentially a mixture of "Spiritual Qi + True Qi." This mixed Yuan Qi could be maintained, but if you wanted to supplement new Spiritual Qi to improve your cultivation, you had to extract it from external Spirit Stones again.

Even with the blessing of Peerless Elegance, the Spiritual Qi integrated into your body was not permanently stable.

After about an hour, that once-stable Spiritual Qi would gradually begin to escape your body until it dissipated back into the heavens and earth.

Furthermore, due to the thinness of the Spiritual Qi, if your Yuan Qi was completely exhausted, it would take about seven to ten days to replenish and condense it again. During this period, your strength would drop significantly.

Perhaps this was the reason why those old things rarely moved.

Thinking this, you retracted your fists.

The next day.

News of your Breakthrough spread throughout the entire imperial city.

By the time of the morning court, the eyes of all the civil and military officials had changed when they looked at you.

Before, it was awe.

Now, it was... fear and true submission.

A female emperor in her early thirties, possessing an army with firearms, having the combat power of an Earthly Immortal behind her, and now having personally stepped into the Realm of an Earthly Immortal herself.

What did this mean?

It meant that the rule of the Great Li Lin clan could not be shaken as long as she lived.

The news spread across the thirteen provinces of Great Li within three days.

The garrisons, provincial governors, and feudal lords in various places—anyone who still harbored a shred of dissent—completely extinguished their ambitions at this moment.

The common people were even more lively; the storytellers in teahouses and taverns revised their scripts overnight, with tales like "The Female Emperor's Ascension" and "The Immortal Descends to the Mortal Realm," spreading with mythical exaggeration.

You paid no attention to this.

Over the next two years, you did three things.

First, you taught Crown Prince Lin Chengan how to handle government affairs step by step. This child's talent was not top-tier, but he was steady and willing to learn, with an upright Heart-Nature. You broke down the operational logic of the Imperial Secretariat, the intricacies of the checks and balances of the Six Ministries, and how to wield the blade that was the Black Tiger Division, feeding it to him piece by piece.

Second, you solidified your Realm. You spent over half a year familiarizing yourself with the operational laws of Yuan Qi and figuring out your own limits. In a full-power state, you could sustain combat for about two hours. Once your Yuan Qi was exhausted, your combat power would drop sharply, and normal recovery would take seven to ten days.

Third, you scavenged five top-tier Martial Skills of Great Li from the secret treasury of the Black Tiger Division: the Wind-Riding Footwork of the Heart-Shattering Sect, the Protective Qi Barrier of the Tiangang Sect, the Mountain-Shattering Palm of the Martial Dao Sect, the Iron-Cutting Style of the Iron Sword Sect, and the Poison-Discernment Heart Scripture of the Southern Border Poison Sect.

You did not expect these Mortal Martial Skills to be of much use in the Cultivation World, but having one more method meant having one more path to survival.

Two years passed in a flash.

The seventh year of Great Li, autumn.

You felt the time had come.

Morning court, Weiyang Palace, Golden Throne Hall.

The civil and military officials lined up on both sides. Standing at the very front were three people: Imperial Secretariat Head Zhou Jingzhi, Privy Councilor Zhao Yuanlang, and Censor-in-Chief Chen Wangshu. These three were the backbone you had personally promoted, and they were the only ones who knew of your plan in advance.

You sat on the Dragon Throne, scanned those below, and spoke.

"Today, there is one matter to announce."

"Three months from now, I will abdicate in favor of Crown Prince Lin Chengan."

The main hall went silent instantly.

It was silent for three full breaths.

Then it exploded.

"Your Majesty!" He Chongwen, Vice Minister of the Ministry of Rites, was the first to rush out and kneel on the ground, "Your Majesty is in your prime, why speak of retirement? This subject boldly requests that Your Majesty retract this order!"

"Your Majesty is thirty-two, in the prime of life, and has newly entered the Realm of an Earthly Immortal; your lifespan is bound to be at least a century!" Qian Mu, Minister of the Ministry of War, knelt down as well, "Great Li is in the midst of a flourishing restoration; it must not be without a ruler!"

"This subject seconds this!"

"We subjects implore Your Majesty to reconsider!"

More than half the court knelt down with a clatter.

Your gaze passed over those hunched backs and fell upon the three people standing at the very front.

Zhou Jingzhi lowered his eyes and said nothing.

Privy Councilor Zhao Yuanlang was expressionless.

Chen Wangshu sighed slightly but did not move.

The kneeling officials also noticed the reactions of these three, and their movements clearly hesitated.