Eunuch Baoquan gnashed his teeth, and glared at Zhou Mingxuan.
"You, book boy, have forced my hand!"
The old eunuch grabbed something from his pocket, and put it in his mouth. With a crunch, Eunuch Baoquan's skin reddened and his eyes dilated.
The crowd of servants backed away in fear, and Censor Wei Zhongren took upon himself a fierce expression, exclaiming, "He used a burst meridian pill!"
After ingesting the pill, Eunuch Baoquan's realm began to increase, before finally settling. Eunuch Baoquan ripped his hand out from Wei Zhongren's grip, and shouted, "I'm currently as strong as a Body Refinement Stage 6 expert! If you value your lives, leave!"
Rather than staying to fight with his new-found power, Eunuch Baoquan turned toward the palace's entrance and leapt forward.
Zhou Mingxuan directed Wei Zhongren, "He's trying to escape!"
Imperial Censor Wei Zhongren erupted forth with his Body Refinement 7th Stage cultivation and chased Eunuch Baoquan. But, he was caught off guard just moments before, and with only a single realm between them, it felt impossible to catch up.
"Damn it!" Wei Zhongren barked.
Then, just as Eunuch Baoquan made it through the palace gates, a guard in a full suit of armor suddenly appeared in front of the old eunuch.
"Move!" Eunuch Baoquan spat.
Then, the guard flashed his spear, and several spear marks could be seen where Eunuch Baoquan was! For Baoquan, time seemed to stop, and he lost all of his momentum, falling to the floor just before exiting the palace.
With a resounding thud, Eunuch Baoquan's fierce aura dispersed.
Censor Wei was shocked, just as he thought he failed his first arrest, the castle guard erupted with strength completely unexpected of him.
Zhou Mingxuan simply looked at the twitching Eunuch Baoquan, his red-tinted limbs convulsing on the floor, and thought, 'Thank the heavens I was respectful to this guard…'
"I've apprehended the man escaping arrest. Censor Wei should handle the rest," the guard who stopped the old eunuch said flatly.
Wei Zhongren simply nodded, still a bit dumbfounded by the guard's strength. To become an imperial you needed to be at least the 7th stage of Body Refinement, and also needed to be nearly-invincible in the same realm.
'Yet… I couldn't see this guard's movements at all,' the snake-eyed imperial censor thought.
As the guard returned to his station and Wei Zhongren retrieved Eunuch Baoquan, the courtyard erupted into chaos.
"Did you see that?!"
"That guard has to at least be in the Qi Condensation realm!"
"No way, right? Body Refinement Peak at most!"
Censor Wei Zhongren met with Zhou Mingxuan shortly after ensuring the old eunuch was properly restrained.
"Book Boy, today you did exactly as you promised. If you ever need my blade in the future, let me know."
Zhou Mingxuan nodded, and asked, "Will he be incarcerated?"
The imperial censor shook his head, "More likely executed.
Tears began to stream down Madam Wang's face as she stood behind Zhou Mingxuan.
'Husband, our son has been avenged!' she thought.
Mingxuan and Madam Wang gave a slight bow as Wei Zhongren left with the knocked-out eunuch.
Seeing that the drama ended, many servants simply left the courtyard. But a few addressed Zhou Mingxuan.
"Book boy, that bully of a eunuch will be prosecuted thanks to you! Keep it up!"
"They should hire you as an imperial censor!"
"If you ever need help you can come to our gardening division!"
Mingxuan spoke with each of them cordially. He learned in his last life that these small connections could add up, soon the third princess wouldn't be his only backing.
After cultivating goodwill, Mingxuan met with Xiao An and Madam Wang before returning to the repository.
The servants' outrage during the case had not been left to pure chance.
Previously, Zhou Mingxuan told Xiao An to sow discord. Creating a jury bias in his favor certainly aided in the case.
When they arrived at the repository, Madam Wang dropped to the ground, and kowtowed to Zhou Mingxuan, "Young Master, this old lady has nothing left but her life, and will do whatever you ask!"
Xiao An rushed to help her up, but Zhou Mingxuan stopped him, and knelt before the old widow.
"Madam Wang, I merely did my job as a lawyer. In exchange, simply light incense in my name. I believe that your devotion can bring me good fortune."
With tears in her eyes, Madam Wang stood up with Mingxuan's help, "Young Master says such foreign things… Yes, this old lady will certainly offer incense right away. Please excuse me so I may return home."
Mingxuan nodded, and commanded Xiao An, "Please assist Madam Wang on her way out."
"Of course, sir!" Xiao An said, linking his arm with Madam Wang's.
Soon, the repository's inner doors closed behind them, and Zhou Mingxuan fell into his chair with a heavy sigh.
'As expected, without cultivation, I'm nothing! In the future, a guard can't save my case every time something goes wrong…'
That event motivated Mingxuan's cultivation like never before, and he fell to the ground, settling in a meditative position.
"I must quickly become a Body Refinement realm cultivator!" he declared.
Xiao An returned, but seeing that Zhou Mingxuan was cultivating, simply found a spot at the table and quietly began to read.
After circulating the Copper Body Manual once, Mingxuan realized that the sense of soreness from the last attempt didn't appear.
'It seems the last time I truly did strengthen my body… then, I'll keep going,' he thought.
Three circulations later, Mingxuan began to feel a level of struggle. Weakness began to overtake him, but his spirit remained alight.
Today, he refused to back down. Others became Body Refinement Stage 1 the moment they acquired a spark of qi, so why should he falter now?
Still, Zhou Mingxuan slowed down, and circulated the manual more slowly.
After an incense stick's time, he could no longer continue.
'Is the qi I have simply not enough? This soreness still can't compare to yesterday… why is it becoming more and more difficult to cultivate?' Mingxuan hypothesized.
Then, just as he finished forming that thought, a new spark of qi formed in his dantian, and Zhou Mingxuan, overcome with glee, immediately rushed to cultivate again!
Thump… thump… thump…
Zhou Mingxuan's heart rate skyrocketed, and circulating the manual became much easier!
The weakness that plagued him prior disappeared, and the veins through his body became more visible on his skin!
Mingxuan's bones started to emit cracking noises, and energy welled up from within him. The intimidation he used to feel coming from Xiao An drastically decreased, and he thought, 'Finally…!'
With an eruption of energy from his body, Zhou Mingxuan exhaled a mouthful of turbid air and exclaimed:
"Body Refinement, Stage 1!"