27: Chapter 27 The Prodigy's Sword Splits the Back Mountain

Wei Yong was dead.

In the imperial court, one-third of the positions now stood empty.

Li Xuan's methods were ruthless and decisive.

The upright and important ministers who had been suppressed by Wei Yong before now began to emerge.

Those who had rendered meritorious service during the suppression of the rebellion were promoted.

The court situation stabilized.

Meanwhile, the wealth accumulated by Wei Yong's faction, whose homes had been confiscated, was fully inventoried.

When the Minister of Revenue presented the memorial at Zhaoyang Hall, his hands were trembling.

Li Xuan glanced at it.

Even he raised an eyebrow.

"Good heavens, did that old dog treat the entire Great Xia as his own backyard?"

Looking at that astronomical figure, Li Xuan cursed.

This windfall was greater than the total revenue of the Great Xia's national treasury over fifty years.

All the wealth Wei Yong had extorted over a lifetime had, in the end, benefited him entirely.

This could be called the ultimate 'zero-dollar shopping'.

Li Xuan was in an excellent mood.

"Exchange on a massive scale!"

He thought to himself, his consciousness already sinking into the System's mall.

Before, when he was poor, everything seemed too expensive.

Now, holding immense wealth, it felt like all the treasures in the entire mall were waiting for him to exchange.

The palace's defenses were too fragile.

They must be reinforced.

Li Xuan had a plan in mind.

Without hesitation, he spent a massive fortune to exchange for a pile of Materials.

Ten Thousand Stars Heavenly Core, Formation core, draws upon the Star Power of the Nine Heavens, eighty million.

Nine Nine-Bend Yellow Dragon Pillars, stabilize the earth's veins, lock the Dragon Qi, one hundred and twenty million.

Void Five Elements Stone, evolves the Five Elements, endlessly regenerative, thirty million.

These divine Materials, which could spark bloody wars among Holy Lands in the outside world, were exchanged by him as if they cost nothing.

The open space in Zhaoyang Hall was instantly piled high.

Various Materials overflowed with Spiritual Qi, their treasures gleaming.

Li Xuan couldn't be bothered to move.

He merely flicked his finger.

The man-sized Ten Thousand Stars Heavenly Core directly sank into the ground beneath the palace's central axis.

Immediately after, nine giant pillars carved with golden dragons flew into the sky, then precisely landed on the nine Luck nodes of the palace, sinking into the earth and disappearing from sight.

Finally, tens of thousands of multicolored Divine Stones melted into every inch of the palace's land, every tile and brick.

Boom!

The ground of the entire Imperial Capital of Great Xia trembled once.

Above the palace, a vast net woven from countless golden talisman characters flashed past and then completely vanished.

"Ding! Congratulations, host, for successfully deploying the 'Nine Dragons Locking Heaven, Suppressing the World Grand Formation'!"

"Human Emperor Realm level, capable of growth."

"Effect: Automatically absorbs Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi and national Luck. Can withstand a full-force strike from a Human Emperor Realm expert. The stronger the national Luck, the stronger the Formation."

Li Xuan was very satisfied.

Good, he could finally sleep soundly from now on.

With this top-tier defensive grand Formation, even if a Saint came, he could give them a run for their money.

Having resolved this major concern, Li Xuan felt greatly relieved. He stood up, stretched, and decided to go to the rear palace to see the children.

The scent of blood in the palace had completely dissipated.

Replaced by a rare tranquility.

Li Xuan first went to Yue Chan's bedchamber.

This consort, who possessed the Lunar Holy Body, appeared even more serene and cool in temperament after giving birth to the imperial daughter, Li Qingyue.

The newborn Li Qingyue lay in her cradle, neither crying nor fussing, her large, dark eyes curiously observing her surroundings.

Li Xuan picked her up, and a cool, gentle Lunar Power flowed into his body, bringing immense comfort.

"A little cotton-padded jacket is indeed different."

Li Xuan gently stroked his daughter's small nose and smiled.

After soothing the little one, he set off to find the older one.

The eldest prince, Li Changsheng, was already over a year old.

An ordinary child of that age would still be babbling.

But Li Changsheng could already run swiftly, speak fluently, and even hold a simple conversation.

When Li Xuan found him, he was surrounded by a group of palace maids and eunuchs, sitting on a stone stool like a little adult, his small face taut, lost in thought.

"Changsheng."

Li Xuan called out with a smile.

Seeing him, Li Changsheng's eyes lit up. He toddled over on his short legs and hugged Li Xuan's thigh.

"Imperial Father, up!"

Li Xuan picked him up, secretly marveling in his heart.

Truly worthy of the Supreme Sword Body. This little body was so sturdy, almost comparable to a Martial Artist at the Peak of the Body Refining Realm.

His intellectual development was simply like cheating.

While other people's children were still toddling, his own kid was almost ready to go out and 'farm the jungle'.

"What are you thinking about, looking so serious?"

Li Xuan pinched his son's chubby cheek.

"Sword!"

Li Changsheng extended a small finger, pointing at the sword worn at the waist of a nearby imperial guard, his eyes filled with longing.

Li Xuan followed his pointing finger and smiled.

He had noticed long ago that this little fellow had no interest in any toys except for long, slender objects.

Brooms, horsetail whisks, fire pokers.

He wanted to pick them all up and swing them a few times.

An instinct from his Bloodline, perhaps.

"You like swords that much?"

Li Changsheng nodded vigorously, his eyes brimming with desire.

"Alright then. Who asked me to be your father?"

Li Xuan became interested. Carrying Li Changsheng, he walked under a peach tree and casually broke off a branch as thick as a child's arm.

He formed his fingers into a blade, True Qi circulating, and casually shaved the peach branch a few times.

Wood shavings flew. A simple, ancient-looking two-foot wooden small sword appeared in his hand.

"Here, for you. 'Peachwood Sword'."

Li Xuan stuffed this mischievously named wooden sword into Li Changsheng's arms.

The surrounding palace maids and eunuchs all smiled.

The little prince imitating adults playing with a sword was truly adorable.

The next instant.

Everyone's smiles froze.

The moment that wooden sword fell into Li Changsheng's hands, the little fellow's aura changed.

His previously simple, innocent gaze became sharp.

It was a pure, singular focus born for the sword alone.

He no longer looked at Li Xuan, nor at the people around him.

His eyes held only that wooden sword.

His two small hands gripped the hilt in a manner that, though childish, was shockingly precise and standard.

He planted his short legs apart, assuming an awkward, unorthodox horse stance.

Then, facing forward, he let out a loud, childish shout.

"Hai!"

Imitating the imperial guards practicing swordsmanship, he swung the wooden sword forward with all his might.

Hum!

The air emitted a faint, trembling hum.

A dazzling golden Sword Qi, roughly three feet long, suddenly shot forth from the tip of the fragile peachwood sword.

The Sword Qi was incredibly condensed.

A thin, sharp slice.

A streak of golden light tore through the air, silently slicing across the sky.

All the palace maids and eunuchs present, including the Empress and several consorts nearby, were utterly dumbfounded.

This... what was happening?

The little prince... had unleashed a Sword Qi?

And with a wooden sword, no less?

Everyone watched in astonishment as that golden Sword Qi traversed several dozen zhang, shooting straight towards a Taihu rockery over ten meters tall in the corner of the Imperial Garden.

That rockery was a relic from the previous dynasty, incredibly hard.

Swish!

There was no explosion.

The Sword Qi effortlessly sank into the rockery and vanished.

Silence immediately fell over the surroundings.

One second.

Two seconds.

Three seconds.

Just as everyone thought it was an illusion.

"Crack... crackle..."

A faint sound of splitting rang out.

On the surface of that massive rockery, from top to bottom, a perfectly straight hairline crack appeared.

Then, to everyone's astonishment, they watched.

Boom!!

The right half of the rockery actually began to slide sideways along that crack, finally crashing heavily to the ground.

Immediately, dust billowed andflying stones.

Everyone looked again at the severed surface of the rockery.

The cut was smooth and level.

The atmosphere instantly turned grave.

The instigator, Li Changsheng, was startled by the loud noise.

He looked at the intact wooden sword in his hand, then at the half of the rockery that had collapsed with a crash, a look of confusion on his face.

Then, as if he found this game quite fun, he raised the wooden sword again and began waving it around with childish babbles.

In the entire scene, only Li Xuan remained calm, his expression unchanged.

Looking at his extraordinarily gifted son, he smiled with satisfaction.

He walked forward and ruffled Li Changsheng's small head.

"Not bad. You have about one-tenth of my former flair."

"Keep working hard."