“Chi Yao, I treated you like my beloved, why did you kill me?”
Zhang Ruochen roared out and tried to lunge forward, causing the gilt-cast bed to creak and sit up violently.
Only after discovering that it was just a dream did Zhang Ruochen exhale a long breath and use his sleeve to dry the beads of sweat on his forehead.
Nope!
It wasn’t a dream!
How could everything that happened between him and Princess Chi Yao be a dream?
Zhang Ruochen was the only son of “Emperor Ming”, one of the nine great emperors of the Kunlun Realm, and at only sixteen years of age, he had cultivated to the Heavenly Extremity Realm’s Great Perfection with his heaven-defying physique.
However, just as he was becoming the number one person of the younger generation in the Kunlun Realm, he died at the hands of his childhood sweetheart’s fiancée, Princess Chi Yao.
Princess Chi Yao was the daughter of one of the nine emperors, the Qing Emperor.
Emperor Ming and Emperor Qing were the best of friends, and Zhang Ruochen and Princess Chi Yao were even married, growing up together and cultivating together. One was valiant and the other was beautiful, a golden couple that could have become a good story in the cultivation world.
How could Zhang Ruochen not expect that Princess Chi Yao would actually strike at him?
After dying at the hands of Princess Chi Yao, when Zhang Ruochen woke up again, he realised that he was already 800 years later.
The once Princess Chi Yao had pacified the Nine Emperors’ Rebellion, united the nine kingdoms, established the First Central Empire, and became the sovereign of the entire Kunlun Realm – Empress Chi Yao.
Eight hundred years ago, the Nine Emperors who dominated the Kunlun Realm, completely became the past and disappeared into the river of history.
The Nine Emperors are dead, and the Empress is in power.
In this era, there was only one emperor, and that was Empress Chi Yao, who ruled the world and was powerful in all directions.
“Why did she want to kill me? How could her heart be so ruthless, or are all women’s hearts so ruthless?”
Zhang Ruochen’s eyes were sharp, his heart sunk like iron, and he was filled with questions. However, there was no one to help him answer them.
Eight hundred years had passed, long since the sea had changed, and things were different, except for the Empress Chi Yao who had an unrivalled cultivation, still youthful and ageless. All of those deceased people who had once been there had already been turned into yellow earth and turned into white bones.
Even the mighty nine emperors of that year, all of them have been extinct on earth, leaving only a section of the glorious stories that will be recited by future generations for a long time.
“Creak!”
A palace-suited beautiful woman with a soft body pushed the door in from outside, looking at Zhang Ruochen who was sitting on the bed couch with a concerned look, “Duan’er, did you have a nightmare again?”
This beautiful woman in front of her was the Royal Consort of the Yunwu County King, and Zhang Ruochen’s mother, Concubine Lin.
The original owner of this body, because of her frailty, had died of illness on her bed three days ago.
After Zhang Ruochen was killed by Princess Chi Yao, he woke up again and appeared inside this body, bringing the originally sick and dying teenager back to life. Even more coincidentally, the original owner of this body was also named Zhang Ruochen.
When Zhang Ruochen had just woken up, he was still repulsed by Concubine Lin. After all, in Zhang Ruochen’s eyes, Concubine Lin, was just a stranger.
However, after three days of contact, Zhang Ruochen gradually realised that Concubine Lin really cared about him very much, and was simply meticulous, and when she saw Zhang Ruochen waking up from a nightmare, she immediately rushed to Zhang Ruochen’s room despite the cold weather.
In his last life, Zhang Ruochen had never met his birth mother. It was said that she passed away when she was born! Unexpectedly, after being killed by Princess Chi Yao, being reborn inside this body had allowed him to have one more mother and feel the warmth of a mother’s love.
“Perhaps she still doesn’t know that her own Dust Child, three days ago, fell ill and died!”
If she were to be told the truth, she might not be able to withstand the shock of this terrible news.
Zhang Ruochen looked at the beautiful woman in front of him, his eyes became softer, and he smiled faintly, “Mother, there’s no need to worry about me, it’s just a dream.”
With a date-red hooded sable fur draped over her thin body, Concubine Lin sat on the edge of Zhang Ruochen’s bed, stroking Zhang Ruochen’s forehead as she worriedly said, “It’s been three nights now, and you’ve always been woken up by nightmares, and you’ve called out the name ‘Chi Yao’ every time. Who exactly is she?”
It was naturally impossible for Concubine Lin to associate the name ‘Chi Yao’ with the empress of the First Central Empire.
Furthermore, after Empress Chi Yao unified the Kunlun Realm and established the First Central Empire, she was known as the “Great Mighty Great Virtue Holy Empress”, so no one would dare to mention the word “Chi Yao” at all. It would be taboo.
Zhang Ruochen said, “It’s nothing, Mother, you heard wrong!”
Concubine Lin sighed and said, “In the future, don’t ever call out the word ‘Chi Yao’ again, not even in your dreams, that’s the Empress’ name. Calling out the Empress’ name is a great disrespect, once someone with a heart hears it, they will be executed.”
Zhang Ruochen nodded, squeezing his fingers tightly, and said rather profoundly, “Definitely not anymore! In the future ……”
In the future, I will be her nightmare.
Concubine Lin looked at the thin and pale Zhang Ruochen and gently sighed, her heart incomparably sour.
Although he was born in the county king’s family, however, he was weak and sickly from a young age, he was already sixteen years old, and still could only lie in bed all year round, I’m afraid that this life could only be like this!
Outside, a messy footsteps sounded.
“What are you doing? This is the Jade Gargoyle Palace, who gave you the guts to barge in here at will?” A delicate looking maid tried to stop the eighth prince who barged in, but was gently pushed by the eighth prince and fell more than ten metres away.
The Eighth Prince was a martial artist, with a cultivation of the late Huangji Realm, a palm strike was enough to knock a three hundred pound stone disc ten feet away, let alone just a hundred or ten pound maid?
A flick of the finger would be able to send her flying.
That one maid screamed miserably and fell heavily to the ground, her left arm broken.
The Eighth Prince was wearing a golden wisp suit with a jade belt wrapped around his waist, his body was robust, his arms were slender, and his pace was steady as he walked into the Jade Gargoyle Palace, and coldly stared at that servant girl, “A slave girl dares to get in this prince’s way, really looking for death.”
Behind the Eighth Prince, followed by six guards wearing Lin Skin armour, with tall bodies and tiger backs, obviously all of them were martial arts cultivators with strong combat power, belonging to the royal palace’s forbidden guards.
Princess Lin heard the commotion outside and after calming Zhang Ruochen down, she closed the door and walked out.
She stared at the Eighth Prince standing outside, frowning slightly as she said, “Your Highness, the Eighth Prince, this is the Jade Gargoyle Palace, even if you’re a prince, you can’t just trespass!”
Eighth Prince Zhang Ji raised his head to stare at Consort Lin and said aloud, “The Queen has ordered that the bedchamber of Auntie Consort Lin and Ninth Brother be changed to the ‘Ziyi Partial Hall’. In the future, the owner of Yushu Palace will be this prince’s birth mother, Concubine Xiao.”
Consort Lin’s face changed slightly, she had long expected this day to come, however, she did not expect it to come so quickly.
Consort Lin smiled miserably and said, “Is the Queen going to drive us mother and son out of the Jade Gargle Palace so soon? Fine! Tomorrow, I will move to the side hall with Duan’er.”
The eighth prince said, “I’m sorry! Mother has said that she wants to move into the Jade Gargoyle Palace tonight. Please ask Concubine Lin to move to the side hall now!”
Consort Lin knew that Zhang Ruochen was frail and could not withstand the tossing and turning, and with a few pleading tones, she said, “Your Highness, the Eighth Prince, you also know that your Ninth Brother is frail and sickly, and the night is already late and the weather is chilly, so in case ……”
The eighth prince smiled coldly, not polite in the slightest and said, “Concubine Lin, there are many pitiful people in this world, but not everyone deserves pity. Since Ninth Brother is weak and sickly, why is he still living in the world?”
“He is your ninth brother!”
Concubine Lin was about to say something else when suddenly, the door behind her was pushed open.
Zhang Ruochen’s body was so weak that he could only barely stand with his hand on the doorpost, staring at the eighth prince not far away. His seemingly weak body looked like it contained an unyielding will as he said, “There’s no need to beg them, we’ll move out now.”
“Duster, why did you get out of bed? It’s cold outside, don’t go back yet.” Concubine Lin hurriedly went forward to support Zhang Ruochen, fearing that he would catch the wind chill.
Zhang Ruochen stubbornly shook his head and said, “Mother, we don’t need to ask anyone, sooner or later …… we will be back here again!”
Concubine Lin looked at Zhang Ruochen’s determined eyes and seemed to be infected by his emotions as well, nodding with tears in her eyes.
Consort Lin and Sen supported Zhang Ruochen and walked out of the Yu Shou Palace step by step, with the exception of that one servant girl who had her arm broken when she was pushed out with a slap from the Eighth Prince. All those other servants, all of them did not follow them out of the Jade Gargoyle Palace.
Everyone could see that Consort Lin and the Ninth Prince had completely lost their power, and it would be difficult for them to gain a foothold in the County King’s Mansion.
Originally, they were the servants of the Yu Shu Palace, and now they naturally and wisely chose to stay in the Yu Shu Palace, and all of them went to curry favour with the new master, the Eighth Prince.
Ziyi side hall, generally is the disfavoured princess living place, very remote, full of fallen leaves, seems to have been a long time no one lives.
The night is deep, and the wind is chilly.
Sitting on top of the cold stone bench, Zhang Ruochen’s thin body was wrapped in a coat, but he still felt cold.
“This physical body is too weak, only by cultivating martial arts can I gradually make my body stronger. Otherwise, even if I am now the son of a county king, I will still only be at the mercy of others.” Zhang Ruochen’s mind thought darkly.
Eight hundred years had passed, and Zhang Ruochen didn’t know where he could go now. Since the heavens had arranged for him to be reborn inside this body, whether it was for the sake of taking revenge on Empress Chi Yao in the future or for the sake of that one mother who took care of him in every way, he had to be strong.
The humiliation and cold treatment that he suffered today was entirely because he was too weak to resist, unable to control his own destiny, and even the place he was living in was forced by others.
If he wanted to gain the respect of others, if he wanted to obtain a warm and comfortable living environment, he had to become a martial artist and prove his abilities.
In the Kunlun realm, in order to become a martial artist, you must first open the “Divine Martial Mark”.
The so-called “Divine Martial Seal” is the qualification given to human beings by the gods to cultivate martial arts. Those who did not open the “Divine Martial Seal” would never be able to cultivate true qi, and could not become the strongest person in the world.
Zhang Ruochen was already sixteen years old, but he still hadn’t opened the “Divine Martial Mark”.
After the age of sixteen, he would miss the best age to cultivate martial arts, and even if he opened the Divine Martial Mark, he would not be able to achieve much.
Why was the Eighth Prince so superior when he was also the son of the Yunwu County King? Why was he able to drive Zhang Ruochen and Concubine Lin out of Yushu Palace?
It was because the Eighth Prince had opened the “Divine Martial Mark” at the age of ten, and was now a young martial artist at the late stage of the Yellow Extreme Realm.
“As long as I am allowed to open the ‘Divine Martial Seal’, I will be able to cultivate the ‘Nine Heavens Bright Emperor Scripture’. With the subtlety of the ‘Nine Heavens Bright Emperor Scripture’, even if I’ve missed the best age for cultivation, it’s still possible for me to catch up with other geniuses and become a strong martial artist again.”
The Nine Heavens Ming Emperor Scripture was the supreme treasure code that Emperor Ming cultivated, and apart from Emperor Ming, only Zhang Ruochen knew the complete cultivation method of the Nine Heavens Ming Emperor Scripture.
“Tomorrow is the Sacrificial Ceremony, I hope that I can gain the approval of the gods and have the ‘Divine Martial Seal’ opened.” Zhang Ruochen tightened his fists, eager to open the ‘Divine Martial Seal’.
After Princess Lin tidied up the room, she came over to assist Zhang Ruochen, “Dusty, you should rest early! Tomorrow, you still have to go to the Ritual Ceremony.”
“Mother don’t worry, I will definitely be able to open the ‘Divine Martial Seal’ tomorrow!” Zhang Ruochen said.
“Hmm! Mother believes in you!”
Concubine Lin gave Zhang Ruochen a deep look and sighed softly in her heart.
In fact, she didn’t have any hope for Zhang Ruochen to open the Divine Martial Seal, after all, Zhang Ruochen was already sixteen years old, and after that, it would be almost impossible for him to open the Divine Martial Seal.
However, as a mother, she had to encourage her child and give him confidence.
