Splendid Radiance Hall.
"Your Majesty, we've been secretly watching Consort Xian for days and found something strange," Hu Po reported to Yun Liyue.
"What's strange?" Yun Liyue asked.
"Consort Xian and Princess Changle seem to be in close contact," Hu Po said. "Even though it always looks like they just bump into each other by chance, the odds of that happening so many times are just too unlikely."
Yun Liyue's eyes turned cold. "Hu Po, if I hadn't ordered you to keep a close eye on Consort Xian, would you have even noticed these 'coincidences'?"
Hu Po froze, then answered earnestly, "Your Majesty, if you hadn't given the order, we probably would've missed it completely."
"Anything else?" Yun Liyue asked.
"Yes," Hu Po said. "Recently, Consort Xian and Noble Consort Zhuang still seem to act like bitter enemies, but the number of times they run into each other and argue has increased compared to before."
"Princess Changle, Consort Xian, Noble Consort Zhuang," Yun Liyue murmured with a trace of mockery on her lips. "What a fine performance they're putting on. Keep watching them closely. Also, when Cheng'er goes out tomorrow, secretly strengthen his guards."
Hu Po's heart trembled. "Your Majesty…"
Yun Liyue's eyes showed no emotion. "I hope they behave themselves. Otherwise, if anything happens to Cheng'er, I'll make sure they understand that I'm perfectly capable of shedding blood."
Night passed in the blink of an eye.
Yang Cheng headed for Autumn Water Courtyard once again. This time, Lady Cheng Junyi would officially begin his martial arts initiation.
Yun Liyue and Emperor Yang Yuan both arrived with him at Autumn Water Courtyard.
Straightening robes, washing hands, bowing, and presenting the ceremonial bundle—after these four steps were completed, Yang Cheng knelt before Cheng Junyi to offer tea.
Seeing his tiny body meticulously performing every step with precision moved Cheng Junyi deeply.
"Disciple Yang Cheng presents tea to Teacher," Yang Cheng declared loudly.
Cheng Junyi accepted the cup and drank the tea. Instantly, the atmosphere around them grew warm and joyful. By completing this ceremony, the teacher-student bond between Cheng Junyi and Yang Cheng was formally established.
"Cheng'er, do you want to learn martial arts?" Cheng Junyi asked sternly.
"I do," Yang Cheng replied solemnly.
"Why?" Cheng Junyi pressed.
Everyone around them fixed their eyes on Yang Cheng, eager to hear his answer.
Yang Cheng looked puzzled. "Teacher, do I need a reason to want to learn martial arts?"
Cheng Junyi was momentarily stunned, then burst out laughing. "Hahaha! What a great answer—'do I need a reason to want to learn martial arts?' Cheng'er, you've taught your teacher a valuable lesson today."
Yang Cheng looked like he didn't quite understand what was so funny.
Cheng Junyi turned to Emperor Yang Yuan. "Your Majesty, after so many years of practicing martial arts, we adults always come up with countless reasons for learning. But we seem to forget that when we first started down this path, it wasn't because of any reason—it was just because we loved it deep in our hearts."
Emperor Yang Yuan sighed softly. "Lady Cheng, your words are absolutely true." The gaze he cast on Yang Cheng was filled with even greater pride.
"Your Majesty, Your Highness the Empress, I will now begin teaching the crown prince his martial arts initiation," Cheng Junyi announced.
"We shall take our leave, then," Emperor Yang Yuan and Yun Liyue said tactfully. They knew that what Cheng Junyi would teach might involve secrets of her martial techniques, and it wouldn't be appropriate for them to stay and watch.
Inside the hall.
Once everyone else had left, Cheng Junyi looked at Yang Cheng seriously. "Cheng'er, my martial lineage comes from the ancient Taizhen Sect. The ancestor of Taizhen once lived closely with the Tai Sui, and from that created the Tai Sui Breathing Technique."
"Tai Sui possesses an immortal body. The Tai Sui Breathing Technique can give a person tremendous recovery abilities, letting wounds heal many times faster than ordinary people."
Yang Cheng's eyes lit up brightly. For someone with the system, his path in martial arts was destined to have limitless potential. But first, he had to live long enough. That made the Tai Sui Breathing Technique the perfect match for him.
However, he couldn't help feeling worried. Normally, a martial artist could only practice one breathing technique in their lifetime. Since he already had the Daji Breathing Technique, could he still train in the Tai Sui Breathing Technique?
Just then, Cheng Junyi called out, "Tangtang, come here."
Tang Xingyu obediently walked over to Cheng Junyi's side.
"Cheng'er, do you know why I said that to enter my sect, you had to earn Tangtang's approval?" Cheng Junyi asked with a gentle smile.
Yang Cheng shook his head.
"It's because Tangtang has the Tai Sui Divine Body," Cheng Junyi explained. "She was born with Tai Sui blood, which gave her the Tai Sui Divine Body. The Tai Sui Breathing Technique is extremely difficult to learn—almost impossible for ordinary people to master on their own."
"But if Tangtang accepts you and is with you during your initiation, you won't have any trouble entering the technique. On the other hand, if she rejects you, her Tai Sui Divine Body won't help you at all."
Yang Cheng suddenly understood. "So that's why, Teacher."
Many probably thought that Cheng Junyi's condition for accepting disciples was a joke. But now it was clear this was anything but a joke—it was actually crucial.
"Now, I will teach you the Tai Sui Breathing Technique," Cheng Junyi said. "But before we begin, I must confirm once more: are you fully prepared? Once you start cultivating a breathing technique, it's almost impossible to switch later. If you ever wanted to change, you'd have to abolish all your progress and start over."
Yang Cheng answered without hesitation. "Teacher, I am ready."
"Good," Cheng Junyi nodded. She had Yang Cheng sit cross-legged, then had Tang Xingyu sit beside him. Cheng Junyi placed her hand on top of Yang Cheng's head, sending her inner energy into his body.
"Cheng'er, follow the flow of my energy as you breathe," Cheng Junyi instructed.
For most babies, doing this would be incredibly difficult. But with 500 years of experience from his past life, it was as easy as breathing for Yang Cheng.
Cheng Junyi quickly noticed how smoothly he followed along. He made no mistakes at all, matching her energy flow with incredible precision. His talent was astounding. Then again, with the mind of a one-year-old as sharp as his, maybe it wasn't so unbelievable.
After about half a cup of tea's time, Cheng Junyi guided Yang Cheng to complete one full circulation of spiritual energy. The Tai Sui Breathing Technique absorbed both water spiritual energy and wood spiritual energy. Yang Cheng clearly felt these two types of energy flowing into his body with each breath.
"Cheng'er, now keep running the energy along this path inside your body," Cheng Junyi said.
Yang Cheng followed her instructions exactly. One circulation, two circulations, three circulations… His breathing continued, but he realized the absorbed water and wood spiritual energy never merged with his blood and energy.
For a breathing technique to be considered successfully initiated, it had to fuse spiritual energy into the practitioner's blood, gradually transforming and strengthening it. But no matter how many cycles he completed, Yang Cheng couldn't make that fusion happen.
This could only mean he hadn't succeeded in entering the Tai Sui Breathing Technique.
Then, from beside him, Tang Xingyu began to emit faint traces of mysterious blood energy. That energy carried a milky sweetness and felt different from anything he'd sensed before. Within that mysterious blood energy seemed to lie extraordinary factors. As Yang Cheng kept breathing, those factors slipped into his own blood.
Instantly, his blood started to ripple invisibly. His blood gained a strange attraction, and the water and wood spiritual energy entering his body began to merge directly into his blood.