"It worked," Yang Cheng thought happily. The merging of spiritual energy into his blood clearly proved he had successfully started the Tai Sui Breathing Technique. He had already been cultivating the Great Divination Breathing Technique, yet he could still learn the Tai Sui Breathing Technique—something he hadn't expected.
Soon, the water and wood spiritual energy blended with his blood, causing his blood to transform, forming a new kind of power. This was undoubtedly Tai Sui blood energy.
"Something's not right," Yang Cheng quickly realized. His Great Divination Breathing Technique was still running. The Great Divination Breathing Technique didn't even need him to actively train—it ran automatically. What's more, it operated so subtly that even Cheng Junyi couldn't detect it.
Now, he noticed the Tai Sui blood energy generated by practicing the Tai Sui Breathing Technique was merging into the Great Divination blood energy. It felt like the Great Divination Breathing Technique had a power like an ocean, able to absorb any other breathing technique.
"The full name of the Great Divination Breathing Technique is the Great Divination Self-Liberating Breathing Art. It can absorb any type of power—so it's really true!" Yang Cheng was stunned. The Tai Sui Breathing Technique was already extraordinary, no less remarkable than the Asura Qi-Devouring Technique he had practiced in his past life. But techniques like those were still within the realm of what he could comprehend.
Only the Great Divination Breathing Technique was beyond his understanding, far too mystical to grasp.
Since Yang Cheng was still so young, Cheng Junyi didn't make him train for too long. After one hour, she told him to stop. Young children naturally loved to play; she worried that forcing Yang Cheng to train too long would make him start hating martial arts. Originally, she'd only planned to let him train for half an hour. Yang Cheng lasting a whole hour had already surprised her.
"Go play with Tangtang. This afternoon, we'll train for another hour, then you can go home," Cheng Junyi said. "For the next half month, you'll need to do this every day, and every time Tangtang must be by your side. Only then will your Tai Sui Breathing Technique become completely stable. After that, your schedule can be more flexible."
"Yes, Teacher," Yang Cheng said obediently. He didn't force himself to train more—after all, even if he didn't practice deliberately, the Great Divination Breathing Technique would keep running on its own.
"Chengcheng, let's play the 'Papa and Mama' game!" Tang Xingyu said excitedly.
Yang Cheng forced a smile. "What's the 'Papa and Mama' game?"
"I'll play the mama, and you'll play the papa," Tang Xingyu said with sparkling eyes full of expectation.
Yang Cheng felt utterly helpless. There really was no point expecting maturity from a two-year-old girl.
"I'll play with you," Yang Cheng said. "But you have to tell me—if you had to choose between me and Yang Xiu, who would you pick, and who would you give up?"
He really didn't want to ask such childish questions, but for the sake of the mission, he had no choice.
Tang Xingyu blinked. "Didn't I already make my choice yesterday?"
"Doing it isn't enough. I need you to say it out loud," Yang Cheng insisted. The mission still hadn't shown as completed, which meant he needed the system to hear Tang Xingyu clearly express her decision.
Tang Xingyu giggled. "Chengcheng, you're so childish."
"…" Yang Cheng was stunned—a two-year-old girl had just called him childish.
"Are you going to say it or not?" he asked, bracing himself.
"Fine, I'll give up on Yang Xiu and pick Chengcheng," Tang Xingyu said, as if she were trying to humor him.
Outside, the noises of their conversation made Cheng Junyi smile faintly inside the hall. She had always thought Yang Cheng was overly mature for his age, lacking the playfulness children should have. But now she realized she had worried too much. Yang Cheng clearly had his childlike side too.
At that moment—
Ding!
[Congratulations, host. Mission completed.]
Yang Cheng felt a surge of joy. His guess had been right—completing the mission required Tang Xingyu to say it out loud.
[Host seized the opportunity to meet Tang Xingyu up close.]
[Through the host's incredible efforts, Tang Xingyu actually chose to give up on Yang Xiu and support the host instead.]
[Congratulations, host, mission successfully completed.]
[Innate Divine Strength has been granted. Do you wish to claim it?]
Yang Cheng chose not to claim it yet and continued playing with Tang Xingyu. She had helped him earn such an unbelievable reward; playing house with her was more than worth it.
Time flew by, and before long, it was nearly the Shen hour. The imperial carriage arrived outside Autumn Water Courtyard. Yang Cheng bid farewell to Cheng Junyi and Tang Xingyu before boarding the carriage. The convoy began heading back toward the palace.
Before long, the carriage rolled onto a busy street.
"Neigh—!"
Suddenly, a sharp horse cry pierced the air. Yang Cheng saw several fierce horses up ahead, eyes red and foaming at the mouth, charging straight for his carriage like mad beasts.
"This is bad!"
"Quick, protect the crown prince!" the guards shouted in shock and anger.
But the charging horses were too wild and appeared too suddenly. The guards couldn't stop them all in time. Though many of the rampaging horses were intercepted with desperate effort, two broke through, galloping right at Yang Cheng's carriage.
Buzz!
At the critical moment, everyone watching saw a blur. A figure appeared in front of the carriage, hands moving like lightning. It was a petite woman who looked tiny compared to the massive horses. But as her hands pressed out, both horses were stopped dead in their tracks, then shoved backward by sheer force.
"Hu Po," Yang Cheng gasped in surprise. The woman before the carriage was none other than Hu Po, head maid of Splendid Radiance Hall.
"Your Highness, don't worry," Hu Po reassured him calmly. Then she shouted to the other guards, "Hurry, take the crown prince away! Leave this to me."
No sooner had she spoken than three figures in black appeared on the rooftops nearby. The assassins leaped at the carriage but were blocked by Hu Po. The guards didn't hesitate. They quickly formed up around Yang Cheng and began retreating with him.
But along their escape route, more black-clad assassins kept appearing from the shadows. At the same time, more elite palace experts emerged, intercepting the attackers. The guards with Yang Cheng eventually slipped into a narrow alley without even realizing it. By then, they were already very close to the palace walls.
"You all stay here and guard the alley entrance. Zhang Qian and I will escort His Highness back to the palace," said a burly guard with thick eyebrows.
"Understood," the other guards replied without suspicion.
"Yuhui, His Highness has extraordinary talent. He is the future of our Great Zhou Dynasty," Zhang Qian said earnestly once they reached the deeper end of the alley. "We must lay down our lives if that's what it takes to keep him safe—"
Before he could finish, there was a soft squelch. Zhang Qian's body froze. He looked down in disbelief to see a sword thrust clean through his chest. Slowly, he turned his head, eyes wide in shock. The one who struck him was none other than Yuhui.
"Y-you… why…?" Zhang Qian choked out.
"We each serve our own master," Yuhui said coldly.
Then he turned to face Yang Cheng, whose heart pounded with alarm bells. Even though Yang Cheng had an unmatched foundation and potential now, his cultivation time was still too short to turn that potential into real power. But he didn't despair.
"Innate Divine Strength, activate!" Yang Cheng called silently in his mind.
Boom!
In an instant, an invisible force exploded inside him. Every cell in his body began strengthening and transforming at a terrifying speed.
"Your Highness, don't blame me," Yuhui said with a fierce glint in his eyes. "Blame yourself for standing in the way of destiny."
With those words, he slashed his sword down hard at Yang Cheng's head.