Chapter 11: Your Highness, Ninth Prince, You Succeeded

Zhang Ruyi sat cross-legged at the bottom of the water, calm and composed, his countenance unchanged. He mobilized the true energy within his body, circulating it through his three meridians.

With each cycle of true energy, the pain diminished by a few degrees. With his current martial cultivation, he couldn't hold his breath and practice in the water continuously. Every five minutes, he had to surface for air.

"Whoosh!"

Zhang Ruyi rose from the water, drying the droplets on his body with a towel. Standing before a bronze mirror, he appraised his physique and nodded in approval.

After more than ten days of cultivation, coupled with the tempering of medicinal baths, his body had noticeably grown stronger, no longer frail as before.

Of course, while more than ten days had passed within the Time-Space Crystal, only four days had elapsed in reality. Four days ago, he was just a weakling, driven out of the Yu Shu Palace by the Eighth Prince, subjected to merciless ridicule and oppression by everyone. Who would have known that, four days later, he had reached the mid-stage of the Yellow Realm in martial arts?

It was simply a miracle!

"Not enough! Mid-stage of the Yellow Realm is just the beginning!" Zhang Ruyi clenched his fists tightly, his gaze razor-sharp.

After dressing, he ingested a Blood Dan and entered the inner space of the Time-Space Crystal to continue practicing.

His rapid progress to the mid-stage of the Yellow Realm within four days was not only due to his experience in martial arts from his previous life but also the assistance of the Time-Space Crystal.

With the Time-Space Crystal, he had three times more cultivation time than other martial practitioners. This was his unique advantage!

"Bang! Bang! Barbaric Elephant Rush!"

Zhang Ruyi's legs bent, stepping in a rhythm, and his arms continuously struck out. Each palm strike mobilized the strength of every muscle and bone in his body.

After the medicinal bath, he had to use boxing techniques to fully integrate the medicinal power into his body, transforming it into his own strength.

In the following days, Zhang Ruyi almost entirely practiced in the inner space of the Time-Space Crystal, only leaving it once every three days.

Lin Fei knew that Zhang Ruyi had just activated the Divine Martial Mark and would surely need seclusion to practice, open meridians, wash marrow, and cleanse veins. Thus, she didn't ask much, only instructing Yun'er to take good care of Zhang Ruyi's daily life.

She continued to sell her jewelry and use the silver coins obtained to purchase Blood Dan for Zhang Ruyi. At this time, Zhang Ruyi would often have Yun'er buy back those pieces of jewelry at a high price.

It was an indescribable emotion, an altruistic love that deeply moved Zhang Ruyi.

Gradually, he accepted the identity of his current body and regarded Lin Fei as his true mother.

"Ninth Prince, should we tell Princess Lin Fei the truth? If she knows that you are already a true warrior, she will certainly be overjoyed," Yun'er said.

"Not for now. I want to give her a surprise during the year-end assessment. Besides, my current cultivation is not strong enough. I need to become stronger," Zhang Ruyi replied.

Now, Yun'er knew many of Zhang Ruyi's secrets. Apart from the secrets of his previous life and the Time-Space Crystal, he had told her almost everything.

In Yun'er's eyes, Ninth Prince was truly an extraordinary martial genius. In such a short time, he had already cultivated to the mid-stage of the Yellow Realm, far surpassing the other princes and ninth princes. Perhaps only the Seventh Prince, who had unparalleled cultivation among his peers, could be compared to the Ninth Prince.

After reaching the mid-stage of the Yellow Realm, Zhang Ruyi continued to practice within the Time-Space Crystal for another month, taking a Qi-Gathering Dan every six days and bathing in medicinal baths every ten days.

During the remaining time, he focused on practicing the second palm of the Dragon-Elephant Prajna Palm, "Flying Dragon in the Sky," and pondering the "Meridian Chart" from the "Nine Heavens Imperial Scripture."

Stolen novel; please report.

Although the second palm of the Dragon-Elephant Prajna Palm had not been successfully cultivated, the true energy in the Qi pool had been perfected.

"Tonight, I can begin to break through to the late stage of the Yellow Realm!" Zhang Ruyi proclaimed.

Hearing this, Yun'er was shocked and exclaimed, "Late stage of the Yellow Realm? Ninth Prince, it has only been ten days since you reached the mid-stage of the Yellow Realm. Are you able to advance to the late stage of the Yellow Realm already? It took the Eighth Prince four years to progress from the mid-stage to the late stage of the Yellow Realm."

Unaware of the existence of the Time-Space Crystal, Yun'er thought that Zhang Ruyi had only been cultivating for ten days, when in fact, he had been cultivating for a whole month. This was because he had devoted a significant amount of time to tempering his body; otherwise, his cultivation speed would have been even faster.

"Is it really fast? It can only be described as a natural evolution!" Zhang Ruyi did not consider his cultivation speed particularly fast. If other geniuses had access to the abundant cultivation resources he had, their progress would certainly be swift as well. The fact that the Eighth Prince took four years to reach the late stage of the Yellow Realm only indicated his poor aptitude.

Regardless, Yun'er was extremely excited at that moment. She said, "Ninth Prince, I believe you will definitely succeed. Once you reach the late stage of the Yellow Realm, we will no longer have to fear the Eighth Prince in the future."

"Very well! You may leave now. Tonight, do not let anyone disturb me," Zhang Ruyi instructed.

Yun'er vigorously nodded, resembling a chick pecking at grains, and vowed, "Tonight, I will guard outside. I will stop anyone, even at the cost of my life, from disturbing Ninth Prince's cultivation."

Zhang Ruyi gazed deeply at Yun'er and softly said, "Thank you."

After Yun'er left Zhang Ruyi's room, he immediately entered the inner space of the Time-Space Crystal.

"To break through to the late stage of the Yellow Realm, I must open up three new meridians, connecting them to the five viscera, arms, and legs."

Zhang Ruyi took out three small jade vials and placed them in a row. Each vial contained a portion of marrow-cleansing liquid. After adjusting himself to the optimal condition, he swallowed the marrow-cleansing liquid from the first vial, immediately commencing the opening of the fourth meridian within his body, with the aid of the liquid's medicinal power.

After half an hour, the fourth meridian was successfully opened.

The fourth meridian flowed from the Qi pool, passing through the neck, chest, left arm, right arm, then ascending along the spine on the back, returning to the Qi pool between the eyebrows, completing a great circuit.

Without any rest, Zhang Ruyi swallowed the marrow-cleansing liquid from the second vial, starting to open the fifth meridian.

The fifth meridian extended from the Qi pool, traversing the chest, abdomen, passing through the left and right legs, and returning to the Qi pool.

This meridian's route was longer, and it took Zhang Ruyi a full three hours to open it.

His true energy was nearly completely depleted, and sweat covered his entire body. He had to take out a spirit crystal, hold it in his hand, and rapidly absorb the spiritual energy within, converting it into true energy and storing it in the Qi pool.

The true energy in the Qi pool was restored to a complete state once more.

Zhang Ruyi immediately ingested the marrow-cleansing liquid from the third vial, beginning the opening of the sixth meridian.

This meridian passed through the spleen, lungs, kidneys, liver, and heart, related to the body's five viscera. When true energy flowed through the five viscera, they would be strengthened. However, the viscera were also the most vulnerable, so Zhang Ruyi had to handle the process with extreme care.

After an entire six hours, almost all of his true energy was consumed, yet the meridian had not yet passed through his entire body, still lacking a small section.

If the flow of true energy was interrupted, all his efforts would be in vain, and even the five viscera would suffer trauma.

Opening this meridian in the future would be ten times more difficult than it was now.

Zhang Ruyi made a bold decision and swiftly swallowed a Qi-Gathering Dan.

"Boom!"

The Qi-Gathering Dan's energy exploded within his body.

Zhang Ruyi simultaneously used the five already opened meridians to absorb the energy and convert it into true energy, transporting it to the Qi pool, while carefully controlling the true energy to continue impacting the sixth meridian.

This dual task was a significant test of his mental strength. Fortunately, Zhang Ruyi had been a powerhouse at the consummate stage of the Heaven Realm in his previous life, possessing formidable mental strength. Against all odds, he succeeded!

The sixth meridian was successfully opened!

A circle of white light radiated from the Qi pool between his eyebrows, expanding its capacity tenfold.

At the mid-stage of the Yellow Realm, the Qi pool was only the size of a water tank. Now, Zhang Ruyi's Qi pool had expanded to the size of ten water tanks, incredibly spacious and capable of holding a large amount of true energy.

"I have finally broken through to the late stage of the Yellow Realm!"

Zhang Ruyi held a spirit crystal in his hand, and the Divine Martial Mark between his eyebrows emerged, continuously absorbing the spiritual energy from the crystal.

With all six meridians running, the speed at which the Divine Martial Mark absorbed spiritual energy doubled.

After stabilizing his realm, Zhang Ruyi ceased his cultivation. Opening his eyes, his pupils shone brilliantly, resembling two dazzling cold stars.

Having opened three new meridians, his body expelled a large amount of impurities through his pores, emanating a stronger, more intense stench.

Exiting the inner space of the Time-Space Crystal, Zhang Ruyi bathed in a prepared wooden tub, donned his clothes, and then stepped out.

It was now deep into the night.

Snowflakes, like goose feathers, drifted in the air, falling gently and covering the entire courtyard with a layer of silver frost.

Yun'er sat on the steps outside Zhang Ruyi's room, curled up and occasionally rubbing her hands together, warming them.

"Squeak!"

Hearing the sound of the door opening behind her, Yun'er immediately stood up and looked towards Zhang Ruyi, who had just emerged from inside, joyfully asking, "Ninth Prince, have you succeeded?"

(End of this chapter)