Beyond the capital of the Great Yan Dynasty, a thousand miles away.
Inside an inconspicuous mountain valley.
A young man sat cross-legged.
Before him lay a large quantity of precious spirit medicines.
These spirit medicines were all rare treasures; even a random one would be enough to make a "Blood Refining" Martial Saint envious.
But at this moment, they were piled in front of him like common weeds.
If a minister of the Great Yan Dynasty were present, they would notice that compared to the abundance of spirit medicines, the young man sitting cross-legged before them was even more hair-raising.
Because this young man was none other than the actual ruler of the current Great Yan Dynasty.
Not the emperor, but rather the Crown Prince Liu Yuan, who was more powerful than the emperor.
"I have achieved perfection in the Martial God realm; it's time to break through to the next stage."
Inside the valley, Lin Yuan's eyes were calm as he looked at the numerous spirit medicines before him.
In twenty years, Lin Yuan had completed the "Martial God" stage, relying on his unrivaled insight to deduce the specific path of the next stage.
However, in Lin Yuan's predictions, breaking through the "Martial God" stage might lead to the leakage of his aura and be detected by divine weapons.
Therefore, before the breakthrough, he deliberately came to this remote location.
This valley was thousands of miles away from the capital of the Great Yan Dynasty and over twelve hundred miles from the divine weapon ancestral land of the Great Yan Dynasty.
Such a remote distance was enough to conceal Lin Yuan's movements during the breakthrough.
"Let's begin."
Lin Yuan breathed out lightly.
All the precious spirit medicines before him turned into powder, and the most essential parts flowed into Lin Yuan's mouth.
Exhale! Inhale! With each breath, profound changes occurred within his body, and his essence, energy, and spirit began to transform, condense, and ascend to the utmost.
Hum! The terrifying aura spread uncontrollably in all directions.
For a moment, all the small animals in the valley felt an overwhelming suffocating sensation.
As if the heavens and earth were collapsing, and divine beings were descending.
Fortunately, this suffocating feeling lasted only a moment.
Half an hour later, all the auras completely converged.
"This is the Celestial Realm?"
Inside the valley, Lin Yuan stood up, carefully feeling the substantial increase in power within his body.
Above the Martial God is the Celestial Realm.
The "god" in Martial God refers to the spirit, a spiritual essence that all cultivators in this world have not yet touched.
While the Celestial Realm transcends the Martial God.
"The Tao of Tai Chi."
Lin Yuan's thoughts subtly moved.
An invisible fluctuation spread, easily covering a range of over ten miles around him.
Before the breakthrough, Lin Yuan's Tai Chi field could only cover a few miles.
Now, it had directly increased several times, enveloping nearly twenty miles.
In addition, the Tai Chi field not only expanded in range but also increased in suppressing and binding power several times.
Now, if Lin Yuan were to battle a third-rank evolver, he could directly suppress the opponent with the Tai Chi field, leaving no chance for resistance.
Apart from the Tai Chi field, Lin Yuan's physical body, soul, and blood and spirit had also undergone qualitative changes.
"This breakthrough has enhanced my strength."
Lin Yuan sighed lightly, satisfaction showing on his face.
"It's getting late."
"It's about time to go back."
Lin Yuan walked out of the valley.
Wherever he went, the air subtly distorted, and ordinary people could not detect Lin Yuan.
With the ability of the Tai Chi field, as long as he slightly distorted the light, he could achieve an "invisible" effect.
Of course, this kind of "invisibility" had little effect on true powerhouses.
The perception of the strong was no longer solely reliant on sight.
Eastern Palace.
Lin Yuan's figure appeared silently.
Not long after, a eunuch cautiously walked in.
"Your Highness, this is what you requested."
The eunuch respectfully presented a sealed letter.
Lin Yuan took the letter, glanced at it, and turned it into powder.
In the past twenty years, in addition to advancing his strength and opening up the Celestial Realm, Lin Yuan, using his transcendent insight, established a vast intelligence network, exploring the trade routes of the thirty-six central states and secretly building a massive intelligence force.
This matter was unknown even to Emperor Liu Shi. Only the eunuch, whose life and death were controlled by Lin Yuan, knew a thing or two about it within the entire imperial palace.
As for the purpose of establishing the intelligence force, it was naturally to investigate the divine weapons.
As representatives of the divine weapons, most of the imperial family's descendants were loyal to the divine weapons. Relying on the power of the imperial family to investigate the divine weapons would be fruitless.
Only by establishing his own force and cultivating wings could Lin Yuan hope to learn more about the divine weapons.
Actually, Lin Yuan didn't harbor any ill will towards the divine weapons; after all, there was no personal enmity between them. But unfortunately, the divine weapons always seemed intent on consuming him.
In the eyes of the divine weapons, everyone was food, and Lin Yuan was a delicacy. The two positions were irreconcilable.
Over the course of twenty years, Lin Yuan's understanding of the divine weapons had far surpassed the first six years when they arrived.
Firstly, there was the origin of the divine weapons. Most of it was myth, without concrete evidence. The specific rumor was that tens of thousands of years ago, in ancient times, divine beings walked the world and eventually forged the divine weapons. Moreover, at that time, they didn't just create thirty-six pieces; there were more. However, due to some unknown incident, only thirty-six divine weapons remained, each guarding one of the thirty-six countries, forming the current situation.
"Thousands of years ago?" "Ancient divine beings?"
Lin Yuan rubbed his chin, deep in thought. In Lin Yuan's view, the so-called ancient divine beings were nothing more than powerful Evolvers. However, why did this ancient divine being forge these intelligent divine weapons remained unexplained.
For the past thousands of years, the ancient divine being who forged the divine weapons had disappeared without a trace.
This also puzzled Lin Yuan. Such a powerful being, even if their lifespan had reached its limit, would at least leave behind specific legends.
"If I can capture a divine weapon and 'scan its soul.'"
Lin Yuan had an idea. Since the divine weapons had developed consciousness and souls, 'scanning the soul' involved using his powerful mental strength to forcibly browse the opponent's memories.
But this idea was quickly rejected by Lin Yuan. According to his current understanding of the divine weapons, combined with the scenes from the few times the divine weapons revived in history, Lin Yuan inferred that each of the central thirty-six state's guardian divine weapons possessed power close to the quasi-fourth rank.
Such strength was beyond what Lin Yuan could handle at the moment. Perhaps reaching the perfect Celestial Realm rank would allow him to reach the quasi-fourth rank. Even so, it would still be on par with the divine weapons.
Attempting to capture a divine weapon would undoubtedly create a huge disturbance, attracting the attention of other divine weapons.
At that time, Lin Yuan might find himself facing thirty-six divine weapons at once.
"How is the investigation by the Anti-God Society going?"
Lin Yuan asked casually.
The Anti-God Society was an extremely secretive underground organization.
Its active range covered the entire central thirty-six states.
If it weren't for the intelligence force Lin Yuan established, which once captured traces of the Anti-God Society, it would have been challenging to discover information about this organization.
The purpose of the Anti-God Society was to overthrow the rule of the divine weapons.
For thousands of years, the divine weapons had been feeding on the beings below them, inevitably causing some to resist.
However, the might of the divine weapons was unmatched.
These people can only hide in the shadows, establishing the Anti-God Society and waiting for the right moment. Lin Yuan aims to obtain specific information about the divine weapons through the Anti-God Society.
As an organization that has been opposing the divine weapons for thousands of years, the Anti-God Society undoubtedly holds many secrets about the divine weapons.
And these are precisely what Lin Yuan needs. Knowing oneself and knowing the enemy is the key to victory. The more Lin Yuan understands the divine weapons, the more confident he becomes.
"Reporting to Your Highness, we have located the approximate range of the Anti-God Society's main headquarters in the Great Yan Dynasty. In at most half a month, we will be able to determine its specific location" the eunuch respectfully answered.
The next day, early in the morning, imperial guards arrived outside the Eastern Palace.
"Your Highness, His Majesty wants you to come."
The leader of the imperial guards respectfully said.
"Emperor Father is fine, right?"
Upon hearing this, Lin Yuan immediately got up. Emperor Liu Shi was a late-born child. When Lin Yuan was born, Liu Shi was already close to fifty.
Now, twenty-six years later, Liu Shi was in his seventies. In his younger years, Liu Shi had paid a considerable price to contend for the throne, and his body had accumulated many hidden injuries.
Now, in his old age, these injuries were starting to manifest. Lin Yuan had discovered this situation over a decade ago. He had even studied some medical books specifically and formulated prescriptions tailored to Liu Shi's condition.
However, healing the foundational injuries required a significant amount of time. Coupled with his age, Liu Shi had gradually reduced his involvement in state affairs over the years.
"He should be fine" Lin Yuan thought to himself. The prescriptions he had devised for Liu Shi could, at the very least, slow down the progression of those hidden injuries.
As long as nothing major happened, living to a hundred was not an issue. Of course, certain symptoms associated with old age, such as mental fatigue, were unavoidable.
It wasn't that Lin Yuan couldn't resolve them, but the existence of the divine weapons prevented him from using his true strength.
In the Hall, Lin Yuan met Emperor Liu Shi. Liu Shi's spirit was still decent, and he was currently drinking medicinal soup.
"Yuan'er."
Seeing Lin Yuan approaching, Liu Shi waved.
"Emperor Father."
Lin Yuan walked over.
"My body is getting weaker, and my spirit is declining. I can no longer handle many state affairs" Liu Shi said, looking towards the ministers beside him. These ministers were all high-ranking officials in the court who had arrived before Lin Yuan.
"Therefore, I want to abdicate and become a retired Emperor. As for the Great Yan Dynasty, I'll leave it to Yuan'er. What do you think, my beloved ministers?"
Liu Shi looked at the ministers.
The ministers exchanged glances, having anticipated this day long ago. Now, they showed no signs of surprise.
"Emperor Father."
Lin Yuan looked at Emperor Liu Shi.
"My son will become the wise ruler."
Emperor Liu Shi didn't say much, patting Lin Yuan's shoulder with a relaxed expression.
After three thousand six hundred and twenty-five years in the Great Yan calendar, the new emperor, Liu Yuan, ascended to the throne.
...
15 chapters ahead on patreon: patreon.com/David_Lord
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