Chapter Forty-Eight: The Ascetic Appears

As a cunning master of survival, Lin Qiye had not left Consort Ning’s Waterside Palace for a full six years. Thus, this was the first time in those six years that he gazed upon the entirety of the imperial palace.

Rows upon rows of grand halls stood side by side, resplendent with gold and jade, radiating magnificence. The solemn red walls, glazed emerald tiles, carved columns of white jade, lotus-blossom inlaid jade bricks, vermillion gates adorned with soaring phoenixes, towering pavilions, and dragonlike ridges—all spoke of extravagant grandeur.

Above the palace, golden rays pierced the rolling clouds, auspicious energies rose like purple mist, and a thousand flowering trees bloomed year-round, while countless sacred grasses remained perennially green. Palace maids and concubines wore jade hairpins and pearl-encrusted shoes; their hair ornaments swayed gently, and their jade pendants chimed softly. The nobility of the royal family dressed in black robes and jade crowns, riding in carriages of gold beneath canopies that touched the sky, their jeweled curtains dazzling in the sunlight. It was a vision of lavish prosperity—an earthly paradise.

The old emperor glanced at Lin Qiye from the corner of his eye. “What do you think of the palace?”

Lin Qiye nodded lightly. “It’s… impressive.”

A simple, indifferent judgment, betraying no particular feeling.

The old emperor laughed heartily, his eyes flashing with satisfaction, as if to say, “I was right about you.”

“My seventeenth child, I once took many princes across the skies above the palace. Do you know how they reacted?”

“They were excited, their bodies trembling with fervor, their eyes burning with greed and longing for imperial power. They wanted to rule a nation’s fate, to wield supreme authority. Their minds teemed with schemes and plots, thinking only of eliminating their brothers.”

“But not once did they reflect on whether their abilities matched their ambitions.”

The old emperor sighed, shaking his head, his tone a mix of frustration, disappointment, and loneliness.

Yet, his spirits quickly lifted.

“But you—you are different. In your subtle expression, I see only a thirst for strength, not the slightest greed for power.”

“That is how it should be. That is the grand perspective.”

Faced with the emperor’s direct praise, Lin Qiye merely smiled and said nothing, following the old emperor toward the library pavilion.

In front of the library, twelve golden-armored guards stood watch, each armed with halberds, whips, sabers, or swords, flanking the entrance.

At the emperor’s approach, the twelve guards knelt on one knee, their finely scaled golden armor clattering.

“Welcome, Your Majesty. Welcome… uh—”

They didn’t recognize Lin Qiye and faltered.

The old emperor waved them off. “No need for formalities. Rise.”

With that, he led Lin Qiye inside.

“The first floor holds historical records, open to ministers, generals, and royal kin alike. The second floor contains martial arts manuals of the Black and Yellow tiers—one may study these after submitting an application and registering. The third floor, however, houses our empire’s most precious Earth and even Heaven-tier martial arts. Without my direct permission, none may train in them—anyone who disobeys will be executed without mercy!”

As he explained, the emperor led Lin Qiye straight to the third floor. After all, such rules did not apply to Lin Qiye.

The third floor of the library was filled with crystalline treasure bones, each as translucent as fine jade, arranged neatly on the shelves. Upon their surfaces were intricate engravings of text and images, glowing with an otherworldly radiance.

“Thousands of years ago, our empire flourished beyond compare. But after centuries of defeat and turmoil, nearly eighty percent of our heritage was lost in war. Now, only two hundred martial arts remain, each a perfect legacy. Among them, sixteen are of the highest, Heaven grade.”

“I have selected six Heaven-tier martial arts for you. Master these, and all others will open to you naturally.”

With that, the old emperor laid six treasure bones before Lin Qiye.

As Lin Qiye examined them, he could not suppress a thrill of excitement in his heart.

“Heavenly Stellar Shift”—a perfected Heaven-tier footwork. Mastery would grant movement as fluid as shifting stars, even allowing the summoning of thirty-six astral forms behind oneself, each capable of absorbing a fatal blow.

“Violet Wind and Thunder Sword Technique”—a perfected Heaven-tier sword art. Mastery would make one’s swordplay as elusive as wind and thunder, cunning and unpredictable. Perfected, it could even produce a sphere of wind-thunder sword energy expelled from the mouth for a deadly surprise attack. However, cultivating this energy was extremely difficult, requiring enlightenment upon thunder itself.

“Golden Arc Bell”—a Heaven-tier defensive art. It condensed vital energy and spirit into a golden bell as a shield; the greater one’s cultivation, the stronger the defense.

“Thirty-Six Blades of the Ancient Sage”—a Heaven-tier blade art. Its strikes were fierce: hacking, slashing, cleaving, and cutting with the force of dragons descending, tigers leaping, thunder rolling, and floods surging. Mastered, the thirty-six blades were unstoppable.

“Fivefold Wrath Bloodburn Technique”—a Heaven-tier secret art. By burning one’s life and essence, it temporarily increased combat power by twenty percent.

“Formless Technique”—a Heaven-tier concealment art to hide one’s cultivation. Unless scrutinized closely, it was nearly impossible to detect.

Every martial art recorded on these six treasure bones was of golden quality.

Lin Qiye exhaled deeply. Six! Six golden-quality martial arts! Their value exceeded ten million movement points. Even if you offered twenty million, no one would sell. Yet here they lay before him, his for the taking. Even one golden-quality martial art would be enough to soar to the heights—Lin Qiye was determined to seize all six.

He picked up the treasure bones, rubbing them in his hands like a miser caressing gold ingots.

“Should I try to refine and perfect these six golden martial arts?”

“Hmm… That would cost six hundred thousand movement points. Better wait for now… Maybe in the future.”

Tempted at first, Lin Qiye immediately abandoned the thought at the sight of the cost.

“I’ll train first… and upgrade each one when needed.”

“But now that I have these six golden martial arts, I must achieve an SSS rating and bring them all back!”

Even a single one would be enough for meteoric success, but Lin Qiye wanted all six. To that end, he banished all distractions and buried himself in study.

Golden martial arts were not easy to master. Each one had four stages: Initiation, Minor Achievement, Major Achievement, and Perfection. Even with his silver-quality Insight of the Cosmos card, progress was slow. After all, even cultivators on the verge of forming a Nascent Soul would take years to comprehend them.

But passion conquers all.

To master these six supreme arts, Lin Qiye secluded himself within a small building, indifferent to the world outside. Apart from eating and sleeping, he did nothing but train.

Within the Waterside Palace, the white jade floors were worn with rows of ten-centimeter-deep footprints from his practice of “Heavenly Stellar Shift.”

The old emperor was dumbfounded.

“So this is what they call water wearing away stone?” he mused. “I even had the floors reinforced tenfold.”

Yet, in time, the footprints reappeared, deep as ever.

Even the old emperor had to admit defeat. Geniuses were terrifying—not for their talent, but for their relentless drive atop monstrous gifts.

“My son truly has the bearing of an emperor!” the old man chuckled, stroking his beard.

In Lin Qiye’s sweat-soaked diligence, the emperor saw a peerless sovereign, a ruler for the ages.

He did not disturb Lin Qiye, but watched him train silently each day.

After a hundred thousand—hundreds of thousands—of repetitions, Lin Qiye finally summoned thirty-six astral forms. With a single step, he vanished like a ghost. The stars revolved, and his presence became untraceable.

A smile played on Lin Qiye’s lips as he wiped away his sweat, filled with a sense of achievement.

“The first martial art—perfected! Next, the blade technique!”

“I must master all six within a year, then venture into the world for experience.”

His eyes burned with determination. Time was pressing—he still had to absorb the Heavenly Tribulation Thunder Pool, rescue the empress, overcome the six great sects, slay five formidable world-walkers, and cultivate scientists to develop military technologies…

The sooner these difficult tasks were completed, the better.

In a few years, the world-walkers would surely rise, and Lin Qiye’s advantage would be diminished.

“So—I must keep pushing on!”