The human body holds nine great main meridians, branching from the spine and threading through the whole. They are the root of cultivation.Every surge of power must pass through them to be used.
Jiang Ruochén focused wholly on the main meridian he had just opened, pushing his perception to its limit. Even so, it took nearly three hours to locate the first hidden vein.
He had opened a main meridian in half an hour, yet merely finding a hidden one cost him three. That alone showed how hard this path would be.
"Gather qi and strike the hidden vein," the old dragon said.
"Understood."
Jiang Ruochén did not pause. The instant he found the first hidden vein, he ran the Nine Dragons Divine Codex, drew in the surrounding qi, poured it through the newly opened main channel, and then guided that roaring current to batter the hidden vein.
Hidden veins are hair-thin, tucked between the filaments of the main channels. To open them requires not only a flood of spiritual qi but the endurance to withstand savage pain. Their walls fit tight; forcing them through is several times harder than opening a main meridian.
Even so, he clenched his teeth and kept pressing on. More than two hours later, the hidden vein finally burst open, ready to carry qi smoothly.
Boom.
At that instant, bones across his body crackled. Power condensed inside him like a rising tide. He could feel his strength spike in a straight line.
"So this is the benefit of a hidden vein."
He rose with a spark in his eyes, punched forward, and the air whistled. The force was at least two oxen.
Normally, First Heaven of Vein-Opening grants about one ox of force; the gifted might reach one and a half. With a single hidden vein opened, he stood at two—already nearing the three oxen mark of Second Heaven.
If he opened all ten hidden veins tied to First Heaven, how far would his strength climb?
"How does it feel to break a hidden vein?" the old dragon asked, appearing with a note of approval. Jiang Ruochén managing one in five hours was beyond his expectations.
"Thank you for the guidance, Senior. Hidden veins are truly fierce. One vein, and I gained half an ox of strength."
"In that case, continue. Before dawn, you must open four hidden veins," the dragon said, tone turning strict.
"Senior, I want to keep going, but…" Jiang Ruochén was tracking time. At daybreak he was to be expelled from the palace to Mount Yan; disappearing would look suspicious.
The dragon read his mind. "Be at ease. Time flows more slowly within the God Burial Tower. Six hours inside are barely more than two outside."
Shock and joy flashed through him. The tower's time dilation meant he could train three to four times longer than others.
"Yes, Senior."
Knowing the time difference, he shed every distraction, sat, and searched again. The first step is always the hardest; with experience, his detection quickened, and he opened the next veins with steadier hands—though the pain did not lessen. If anything, repeated impacts burned deeper.
He endured it all. Through the long night he opened five hidden veins.
Slender strands branched from the main channel; each new line added half an ox of force.Though his aura remained that of First Heaven, his raw power had reached four oxen.
Such strength could crush most Second Heaven cultivators, and even top talents at Second Heaven would not find him easy prey.
(Realm-force stacking: First Heaven 1 ox, Second Heaven 3 oxen, Third Heaven 6 oxen… Ninth Heaven 45 oxen.)
The old dragon's eyes gleamed. He had demanded four; Jiang Ruochén had driven through five. Once again, the boy had exceeded his mark.
"It grows late. You should go," the dragon reminded.
"Yes, Senior." Jiang Ruochén wanted to keep pushing, but he knew time was up. He bowed and withdrew from the tower.
Outside, the sky was only just paling. He had spent over twenty hours inside, while only five or six had passed beyond. The tower truly was wondrous.
"I awakened at sixteen, already far behind my peers. But with this time edge, I can make it up—slowly, surely."
Confidence swelled as he felt the strength in his limbs. He stepped out to take a cold bath. The breakthrough had driven impurities out of his body; washed clean and dressed anew, he looked like a different person—eyes bright, frame hardened—nothing like the former waste.
By the time he finished, daylight had fully broken—and the Queen's decree arrived on cue.
"The Queen's decree—arrives!"
Several eunuchs filed in with haughty faces, holding the scroll high.
Jiang Ruochén and Consort Wan stepped out to receive it.
A eunuch glanced at them, then unfurled the decree and read aloud. "Though the Fourteenth Prince's martial soul is a waste, out of regard for royal blood, this palace grants a temporary reprieve. Exile to Mount Yan is stayed. He will remain in the palace until after the Year's End Grand Trial, whereupon judgment will be rendered. Thus decreed."
"Temporary… reprieve?"
Mother and son traded a startled look. This was far from what they had prepared for. Everyone in the palace knew the Queen's nature. They had braced themselves for exile—yet now she had stayed the sentence? Too strange.
Beneath the surprise, a chill of foreboding rose in both their hearts.
"Congratulations, Fourteenth Prince. No exile for now. Here are your resources for awakening," the eunuch said carelessly, tossing a few loose qi stones and several lowest-grade Marrow-Washing Pills onto the table before strutting out.
"Wonderful, Chen'er—you won't be sent to Mount Yan," Consort Wan said, thrilled despite her misgivings. The palace was safer than the mountain, and for now, he kept his princely status.
Jiang Ruochén did not share her optimism. With the Queen's vindictive nature, there was no chance she meant him well. Keeping him in the palace likely served a crueler purpose.
"Jiang Ruochén!"
As the eunuchs left, a graceful figure stepped through the doorway.
"Qin Qi?" Jiang Ruochén looked up to see his former betrothed standing before him.