8: The Peerless Emperor (Part Two)

The flames of revenge burned in his heart, but reality was cold and bone-chilling.

Wu Yun knew well that an Innate Spiritual Body was a bottomless pit.

Before it could fully gestate and take form, it required a massive amount of Spiritual Qi to fill. However, in his current situation, even a full meal was a luxury, let alone cultivation resources.

He could not wait.

From that night on, Wu Yun began his secret operations.

During the day, he was that bullied, numb, and indifferent Thirteenth Prince.

In the dead of night, he transformed into a ghost, silently wandering through every corner of the Cold Palace.

Relying on his experience as a Spirit Transformation Realm expert from his past life, he was like a hound searching for the scent of blood, not letting any trace of abnormal Spiritual Qi fluctuations escape him.

Half a month later, he finally stopped in his tracks beneath a rockery that had been abandoned for many years in the deepest part of the Cold Palace.

The air here was permeated with a faint, ephemeral trace of yin-cold energy and... an extremely weak but incredibly pure Spiritual Qi.

Found it!

Wu Yun's heart stirred. He carefully investigated around the rockery and finally discovered a Restriction rune that almost blended perfectly with the rock on a stone wall covered in vines.

It was a Seal.

He did not act recklessly.

By observing the flow of Spiritual Qi on the Restriction, he quickly deduced that this was a royal secret site that could only be opened by a specific Bloodline.

It was just so ancient that it had long been forgotten by others.

And the key to opening it was precisely the royal Bloodline of the Shenwu Empire.

He cut his fingertip and cautiously dripped his princely blood onto a node where the Spiritual Qi flow of the Restriction was at its weakest.

The blood seeped into the stone wall, and the light of the Restriction flickered slightly before returning to calm.

It works!

From that day on, using his own blood to "feed" the Restriction became Wu Yun's unshakeable daily task.

This process was extremely slow and incredibly taxing on his mental state.

During this time, the Seventh Prince brought people over several more times.

They found that Wu Yun had become even more "numb" and "submissive." No matter how they beat or scolded him, he showed no reaction, like a puppet without a Soul.

"Tsk, what a waste. It seems his spirit has been completely ground down."

The Seventh Prince spat disdainfully and felt bored, no longer bothering to visit this unlucky place.

Wu Yun used this situation to perfectly hide his secret.

Another two months passed.

On a night of wind and rain, with a soft "crack," the Restriction node he had been eroding with blood for months finally split open a tiny gap.

Wu Yun did not hesitate to turn sideways and squeeze inside.

At the end of the passage was a deep water pool.

A piercing chill rushed toward him, yet the pool water was crystal clear, emitting an intoxicating Spiritual Qi.

At the bottom of the pool, an object only as thick as an arm, emitting a faint white glow, lay coiled like a crouching Dragon.

A miniature Spiritual Vein source!

Wu Yun's breathing instantly quickened.

This was an abandoned Spiritual Vein, but to his current self, it was no different from a miracle.

He stripped off his clothes and leaped into the cold pool.

"Boom!"

Incredibly pure Spiritual Qi flooded frantically into his limbs and bones.

The golden vortex within his Dantian sensed this unprecedented feast and began to spin rapidly, growing larger.

Under the infusion of massive Spiritual Qi, the Innate Spiritual Body finally completed its preliminary gestation.

Spiritual Body Awakening!

After Awakening came the feedback.

Overnight, Wu Yun's cultivation Bottleneck was shattered like dry weeds.

Qi Nurturing Realm First Layer, achieved!

His Innate Spiritual Body was named the "Spiritual Ice Soul Body."

It was naturally capable of controlling the most yin and coldest Qi in the world.

Wu Yun slowly opened his eyes; within three feet of his body, the pool water had entirely frozen into ice.

He returned to the dilapidated side hall. Looking at the indelible stains on his body, a cold light flashed in his eyes.

It is time to collect some interest.

The next day, that sharp-tongued eunuch who delivered food threw the cold meals onto the table as usual.

The moment he turned to leave, Wu Yun flicked his finger, and a trace of yin-cold Qi, invisible to the naked eye, silently attached itself to the back of the eunuch's heart.

That night, the eunuch caught a severe chill, vomiting and having diarrhea. He was directly sent away by the Internal Affairs Office to scrub commodes on the grounds that his "body was unclean and might defile the nobles."

Wu Yun listened to the news coming from afar, expressionlessly eating a steaming hot bun.

His first revenge was carried out without a trace.

Time flew by, and another three months passed.

The annual Imperial Prince Great Examination arrived.

All princes at least six years old and under sixteen had to undergo inspection in three areas—Literary, Martial, and Strategy—by Emperor Shenwu and the civil and military officials.

For Wu Yun, this was the first opportunity to publicly change his situation.

The first part of the Great Examination: Strategy.

Atop the high platform, Emperor Shenwu remained expressionless, while the civil and military officials sat upright below.

This year's exam topic was quickly announced: "On how to deal with the recently surrendered Barbarian Tribes."

The Seventh Prince wrote eloquently, advocating for "execution" to demonstrate the national prestige.

The Fourth Prince cited classics, advocating for "appeasement" to show benevolence.

The answers of the other princes mostly followed these two paths, filled with cliches.

When it was Wu Yun's turn, he handed up a piece of paper.

There was no long-winded discourse on it, only a short story written in childish handwriting.

The story was simple: a barbarian child and an Empire child fought over a toy. The teacher did not punish them but instead had them learn the Empire's script together, recite the Empire's poetry together, and go home together after school. Later, they became best friends.

The end of the story had only one sentence: "The path of enlightenment begins with children; after a hundred years, there will be no more barbarians."

The entire venue fell into silence.

This essay did not talk about great matters of state, finances, or military forces, yet it contained the deepest and most terrifying political strategy.

Emperor Shenwu picked up that thin piece of paper and remained silent for a long time.

He was shocked that a nine-year-old child could come up with such a strategy.

But he was even more shocked by this "Great Dao is simple" way of thinking.

For the first time, he lifted his eyes and truly looked at the thin, weak son below the platform whom he had always forgotten.

That gaze was unfathomable.

In the second part, the Literary Test, Wu Yun performed moderately, barely passing.

The final part, the Martial Test, was a duel between the princes.

Wu Yun's opponent was the legitimate son of Prince An, with a cultivation of the Second Layer of the Qi Nurturing Realm. He was considered a Genius among his peers.

"A piece of trash dares to step onto the stage?"

The Heir of Prince An was full of disdain.

Wu Yun remained expressionless.

The bell for the start of the match rang. The Heir charged forward with a gust of wind, his fist aimed directly at Wu Yun's face.

The crowd below the stage seemed to already see the scene of Wu Yun being struck until he spat blood and flew backward.

However, Wu Yun merely reached out calmly.

In his eyes, this Heir was simply full of openings.

Just as the opponent's fist was about to touch him, he shifted slightly. His palm wound around the fist like a butterfly through flowers and lightly pressed against the opponent's chest.

"Thud."

A muffled sound.

The cruel grin on the Heir of Prince An's face instantly froze. He felt as if he had been struck by a heavy blow and flew backward, crashing below the stage and fainting.

The entire venue was deathly silent.

Qi Nurturing Realm!

Wu Yun? That born waste who couldn't even sense Spiritual Qi, the Thirteenth Prince, was actually in the Qi Nurturing Realm?

And he defeated an opponent with a higher Realm in a single move?

How is this possible!

After the Great Examination, Wu Yun's treatment underwent a heaven-turning change.

He moved out of that dilapidated side hall and had a real palace of his own along with over a dozen attendants.

But he keenly perceived that in Emperor Shenwu's gaze toward him, there was no fatherly love, only scrutiny, curiosity, and undisguised exploitation.

A more direct crisis followed.

Although his strategy essay had astounded everyone, it also touched upon the interests of certain people.

Great Marshal Xiang Tong publicly criticized in the imperial court: "The Thirteenth Prince's strategy is too naive; it is the benevolence of a woman and of no benefit to the country."

Before the two had even met, the first grudge had already been established.