Chapter 166: The Marquis of Returning Righteousness!
The next day.
The rising sun bathed the world in golden light.
Li Xun awoke from his cultivation. As his eyes opened, a divine gleam flickered deep within them, and the aura around him had grown slightly stronger.
"Although my cultivation hasn't improved much, the Great Yan Divine Technique is finally nearing total completion," he murmured to himself.
With the Great Yan Divine Technique approaching its peak, his spiritual sense had more than doubled in strength. At this point, Li Xun was confident that his spiritual sense could rival even those at the Divine Palace Realm.
Even without practicing any concealment techniques, by using his spiritual sense alone to cover his whole body, was enough to block the probing of Divine Palace Realm experts.
"The Great Yan Divine Technique truly lives up to its reputation as a High-grade Heaven divine technique. If I can cultivate it to total completion, perhaps my spiritual sense will be on par with peak Divine Palace Realm experts."
"I wonder what it would be like once the Great Yan Divine Technique is upgraded to the Saint level?" the thought surfaced in Li Xun's mind.
He did have quite a few Heaven level techniques and divine techniques in his possession, but Technique Advancement Tokens for upgrading them—especially to the Saint level—were extremely hard to come by.
Each required a purple-grade investment.
And those worthy of purple-grade investment were either protagonists of great fortune or incredibly powerful individuals. Encountering such beings wasn't exactly rare.
But for Li Xun to conveniently have something they needed? That was asking a bit too much.
Who knew what strange things they might desire?
Just as he was reflecting on this, a sharp, feminine voice echoed from outside the residence:
"Where is Holy Son Li Xun of Profound Sun Holy Land?"
"Oh? They're here this early?" Li Xun raised an eyebrow in surprise, quickly stood up, and spread out his spiritual sense. Taking a glance outside the estate, his brows furrowed slightly.
Under the sweep of his spiritual sense, he saw clearly that nearly a thousand elite soldiers had gathered outside his residence, each of them at least at the Spirit Meridian Realm.
On the surface, Spirit Meridian Realm might not seem impressive—but for ordinary soldiers to all be at that level? That was quite terrifying.
Such a force could likely crush countless opponents of the same tier.
At the front of the elite troops stood the yellow-haired man he had seen yesterday, now merely acting as a background character.
In front of him was an even more powerful eunuch, standing with hands behind his back.
This eunuch had silver-white hair that shimmered like crystal, divine light flowing around him. Though he emitted no overt aura, he radiated a sharp and oppressive presence that made it hard to look him in the eye.
A rough estimation placed him at least in the mid or late stages of the Divine Palace Realm.
Of course, there was also the possibility that he was at the peak of the Divine Palace Realm.
"What a grand display," Li Xun muttered, stepping forward.
Swoosh!
In the next instant, he appeared directly at the front of the residence.
Seeing Li Xun appear, both the leading man and the onlookers brightened in anticipation. They all knew that the real show was about to begin.
Li Xun's attitude would determine how the Great Chu Dynasty would deal with him.
If he was willing to bow his head, then he might still secure a high position in the dynasty. After all, someone who had survived the ten lightning calamities tribulation was a rare talent.
There was no way the Great Chu Dynasty would not value him.
"You must be Holy Son Li Xun of Profound Sun Holy Land."
The white-haired eunuch took a step forward, cupped his hands in greeting, and spoke with a smile.
His smile radiates warmth and approachability—even the sharp aura from before was instantly retracted. To someone unaware of his identity, he might have seemed like a kindly elder.
"That's right," Li Xun nodded calmly.
He had no intention of being friendly with this group.
In the world of martial arts—or even in ordinary realms—eunuchs already tended to have unstable mindsets. But this was now a cultivation world, and when one reached a certain level, it was entirely possible to regrow severed limbs.
And yet…
Everyone else could regenerate the male part of their body—except eunuchs.
They had been branded by their empire with a special restriction seal. Every part of their body could regenerate… except their ale part. Just imagining the mental toll this must take made it easy to understand how twisted their state of mind must be.
"This servant has come today under the orders of the Emperor."
Seeing Li Xun's cold attitude, the white-haired eunuch expression darkened as well. With a wave of his hand, a general clad in armor stepped forward.
This man held a jade box, about a meter long. Within it pulsed a formidable power, but none of it leaked out—restrained by an invisible seal that kept it locked inside.
The white-haired eunuch lifted a hand and released the seal on the jade box.
In an instant, the box snapped open, and a beam of divine light soared into the sky. A terrifying pressure burst forth like a tidal wave, threatening to drown the land.
"A supreme-grade Dao Weapon!"
Even the onlookers in the distance gasped audibly.
Many eyes gleamed with greed and desire at the sight of the divine glow. They wished more than anything to claim it for themselves.
A Dao Weapon!
And not just any Dao Weapon—a supreme-grade one!
This was an incredibly rare and precious treasure.
The Great Chu Dynasty had brought it out today, in front of everyone, for one clear purpose: to force Li Xun to take a stance.
If he yielded to the Great Chu Dynasty, then the treasure would be his—and no one else would dare to covet it.
But if he defied the Emperor's will?
Then too bad—Dao Weapons belong to those strong enough to hold onto them. Even if the Dynasty had gifted it, whether Li Xun could keep it… was a different matter entirely.
"This is the Robe of Salvation," the man announced.
"Crafted from Ten-Thousand-Year Blood Jade Silkworm thread, Starry Blue Sand, Seven-Color Spirit Crystal… and countless other rare materials. It took years to forge."
"It is capable of limitless transformations, and its defense is unmatched—second only to a Sacred Weapon."
"Even a Saint would struggle to pierce its protection."
With a slight smile, the white-haired eunuch ignored the burning gazes of the crowd and turned back to Li Xun.
"The Emperor has heard of Fa Zhao's defeat at your hand. In recognition, he bestows this treasure upon you."
"But that's not all…"
He pulled out a royal seal and presented it to Li Xun.
"The Great Chu Dynasty has always valued talent. You've slain Fa Zhao and rid us of a menace. As such, the Emperor also grants you a noble title."
"Henceforth, you are offered the title of Marquis of Returning Righteousness!"
"Tell me, Daoist Friend Li Xun—would you be willing to join our Great Chu Dynasty as a Marquis?"
"Oh?"
Li Xun let out a light "oh," raising an eyebrow.
"Marquis of Returning Righteousness?"
This title… felt like an insult.
The words "Returning Righteousness" sounded noble on the surface, but in reality, they implied surrender—a title usually given to barbarians who submitted to the empire.
"So this is the extent of the Great Chu Dynasty's sincerity."
Li Xun gave a cold chuckle and reached out to grab the robe from the jade box. After confirming its authenticity, he stored it directly in his storage ring.
"You can keep the Marquis title. This Dao Weapon is more than enough."
With that said, Li Xun summoned his Golden Divine Chariot and stepped inside without looking back.
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