In the piercing gaze of Zhang Ruyi, there was a resolute determination as he said, "Mother, rest assured! I will strive to cultivate into a strong warrior as soon as possible and use my own power to protect you."

Holding the Blood Dan, Zhang Ruyi returned to his room and continued to diligently practice cultivation.

"Your Highness, it is said that warriors not only need to consume the Blood Dan, but also need to practice martial arts. They must possess the techniques in order to open up their meridians," Yun'er, the maid, said.

Looking at Zhang Ruyi's departing figure, Lin Fei pursed her lips and nodded with bitterness, saying, "I know! However, even the lowest-grade techniques cost more than five hundred silver coins, which I simply cannot afford with my current financial situation. Moreover, with the Queen and the Imperial Preceptor currently in charge of court affairs, the Queen would never allow Ruochen to receive the cultivation techniques and martial skills from the Scripture Pavilion. It seems there is only one way!"

Yun'er said, "Does Your Highness intend to seek help from the Lin family? But three years ago, Your Highness had a complete falling out with the Lin family. Will they provide the Ninth Prince with cultivation techniques?"

"As long as they are willing to provide Ruochen with cultivation techniques, even if it means I have to kneel down and admit my mistakes, I am willing to do so," Lin Fei seemed to recall something from the past, tears streaming down her eyes.

"But it wasn't Your Highness's fault in the first place..." Yun'er sighed softly.

...

The internal space of the Time and Space Crystal was abundant with spiritual energy, approximately twice as dense as the outside world.

In the Cloud Martial County, if the spiritual energy density of those famous mountains and rivers reaches one and a half times, it is already considered a treasure land for cultivation and would be contested by major clans.

Sitting in the center of the internal space, Zhang Ruyi took out a jade bottle containing ten Blood Dan pills and sniffed at one of them at the tip of his nose.

Although the Blood Dan was refined from the blood of savage beasts, it did not have a bloody taste. Instead, it carried a faint fragrance. When alchemists refined the Blood Dan, they removed the bloody smell and added Tiger Vine Grass and Mandto.

Long-term consumption of Blood Dan not only provided a continuous supply of physical strength to warriors, but also improved their meridians, bones, and internal organs, making their bodies stronger.

"It's just a first-grade Blood Dan," Zhang Ruyi nodded slightly and murmured to himself, "With my current cultivation, consuming a first-grade Blood Dan is sufficient."

Zhang Ruyi ingested one Blood Dan pill and then sealed the jade bottle, placing it on the stone platform. With the impetus of true qi, the vitality of the Blood Dan quickly melted, providing Zhang Ruyi with an uninterrupted supply of physical strength.

"Although I have reached the initial stage of the Yellow Realm and become a warrior, this body of mine is still too weak and cannot compare with other warriors. I must strengthen my body; otherwise, I will be at a significant disadvantage when facing warriors of the same realm."

For a warrior, it was not only about cultivating true qi, but also about practicing martial skills.

"Dragon Elephant Prajna Palm!"

The image of this esoteric palm technique surfaced in Zhang Ruyi's mind. Among the martial arts recorded in his memory, it was ranked in the top three, making it suitable for his current cultivation level.

With his legs apart, sinking his lower back, Zhang Ruyi filled his legs with true qi, stabilizing his body. He slowly raised his arms and began to clap his palms according to a mysterious pattern.

In his mind, he envisioned himself as an ancient divine elephant with boundless strength, and a deep abyss dragon emitting clouds and mist, exerting every bit of power with each strike, as if wanting to unleash every ounce of strength within him.

With each strike, all the muscles in his body were engaged, and the true qi within his body fused with the muscles and tendons, making them stronger, tougher, and even integrated with the true qi.

The Dragon Elephant Prajna Palm consisted of thirteen palm seals and belonged to the lower-ranked royal martial arts.

To be precise, if the thirteenth palm of the Dragon Elephant Prajna Palm could be cultivated, its power would be comparable to that of a divine-level martial art.

Both martial arts and techniques were divided into five levels: Human, Spirit, Ghost, Royal, and Divine.

The first palm, "Barbarian Elephant Racing Ground," when successfully cultivated, had a power comparable to a lower-ranked human-level martial art.

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The second palm, "Flying Dragon in the Sky," when successfully cultivated, had a power comparable to a middle-ranked human-level martial art.

The third palm, "Dragon Elephant Returning to the Field," when successfully cultivated, had a power comparable to an upper-ranked human-level martial art.

The fourth palm, "Dragon-Shaped Image," when successfully cultivated, had a power comparable to a lower-ranked spirit-level martial art.

...

The thirteenth palm of the Dragon Elephant Prajna Palm, known as "Dragon Elephant Destruction," had a power comparable to a divine-level martial art, unleashing unimaginable power.

The preceding palms of the Dragon Elephant Prajna Palm could only be considered low-level martial arts, and the art itself was extremely difficult to cultivate. Few people could successfully cultivate beyond the seventh palm.

After the seventh palm, each subsequent palm required a considerable amount of time and energy. If one could not withstand the pure Yang force within the body, it could even lead to self-immolation.

It was precisely due to these reasons that the Dragon Elephant Prajna Palm could only be considered a lower-ranked royal martial art.

Although the cultivation of the Dragon Elephant Prajna Palm was extremely challenging, it happened to be suitable for Zhang Ruyi's current cultivation level and could strengthen his body in a short period of time.

"The first palm of the Dragon Elephant Prajna Palm, Barbarian Elephant Racing Ground."

Zhang Ruyi first stood in a horse stance, then quickly stepped forward, swiftly executing the palm seal.

Quiet as a mountain, agile as a wild elephant.

He practiced repeatedly until he exhausted his true qi, wiped away the sweat, and sat down, using the martial mark on his brow to absorb the spiritual energy in the inner space of the Time and Space Crystal, converting it into an uninterrupted flow of true qi.

In the inner space of the Time and Space Crystal, after nine days of cultivation, only three days had passed in the outside world.

"I wonder how powerful I can be when I unleash the first palm of the Dragon Elephant Prajna Palm with my current cultivation level?"

Zhang Ruyi emerged from the inner space of the Time and Space Crystal and stood in the middle of the backyard, circulating his true qi, filling his legs.

"Barbarian Elephant Racing Ground."

He walked with a rhythmic pace and suddenly rushed out, swiftly executing the palm seal.

With each step, a powerful force surged from his legs, through his waist, spine, back, and shoulders, and finally burst out from his arms.

Although it was just a single palm technique, it mobilized the strength of every muscle in his body, naturally resulting in an astonishing explosive force.

"Bang!"

His palms struck a one-thousand-kilogram stone, then immediately retracted, stepping back to his original position at great speed.

Looking at the stone, Zhang Ruyi saw two shallow palm prints on its surface. The bottom of the stone had sunk about two centimeters into the soil.

Zhang Ruyi was quite satisfied with the power of this palm.

Although the Dragon Elephant Prajna Palm was currently only a lower-ranked royal martial art, it was more sophisticated and possessed greater power than other lower-ranked royal martial arts.

The higher the level of the martial art, the more difficult it was to cultivate. If he were to directly cultivate a spirit-level martial art at his current level, it would be impossible to achieve success in nine days, and would likely take at least half a year or longer. Moreover, with the amount of true qi in his body, he would be unable to execute a spirit-level martial art.

The time for cultivating martial skills and techniques must be reasonably arranged. If one emphasized the cultivation of martial skills while neglecting the cultivation of techniques, it would lead to slow progress in cultivation. Conversely, if one focused solely on cultivating techniques and neglected martial skills, they would be at a disadvantage in combat.

In any case, by cultivating the first palm of the Dragon Elephant Prajna Palm, Zhang Ruyi had finally obtained the ability to defend himself after eight hundred years.

During these nine days, Zhang Ruyi's cultivation had made great progress, and the true qi in his dantian had been fully cultivated, allowing him to begin opening his second meridian.

However, to open a meridian, he needed to consume Marrow-Cleansing Elixir. The Queen had only given Zhang Ruyi one Marrow-Cleansing Elixir, which he had already used to open his first meridian.

How could he obtain a second Marrow-Cleansing Elixir and even more?

"Ninth Prince, Her Highness is looking for you everywhere. What are you doing here?" Yun'er saw Zhang Ruyi standing in the middle of the courtyard and curiously walked over.

Yun'er was the only maid by Lin Fei and Zhang Ruyi's side, appearing to be around seventeen or eighteen years old. She was quite beautiful, with bright eyes and a pointed chin.

Walking to the opposite side of Yun'er, Zhang Ruyi blocked her view to prevent her from seeing the two handprints on the thousand-kilogram stone in the distance, and asked with concern, "Is your arm injury getting better, Sister Yun'er?"

Yun'er shook her head lightly and said, "A broken tendon and bone take a hundred days to heal; it probably won't be fully recovered for another two or three months."

Her arm injury was caused a few days ago when she was pushed by the Eighth Prince and broke her bone. For maids like them, even if their bones were broken or they were beaten to death, the Eighth Prince would not be held accountable.

In a world where the strong were revered, the weak had no status at all.

"Why don't you get a jar of Bone-Healing Ointment?" Zhang Ruyi asked.

Enduring the pain in her arm, Yun'er smiled bitterly, "Even the worst Bone-Healing Ointment costs two hundred silver coins, which we can't afford as lower-class people. Ninth Prince, your concern for us maids is already very kind. Let's go meet Her Highness now. Today, we are leaving the palace."

Following behind Yun'er, Zhang Ruyi asked curiously, "Leaving the palace? Where are we going?"

"We're going to see Ningshan! It's been a long time since we last saw her. You must be very happy, right?" Yun'er's face lit up with a radiant smile as she gazed at Zhang Ruyi.

Every time Ningshan was mentioned, Zhang Ruyi would blush and look as shy as a young girl.

"Who is Ningshan?" Zhang Ruyi hesitated before swallowing his words.

Evidently, the Zhang Ruyi who died of illness would have known the woman named Ningshan, and from Yun'er's tone, their relationship might have been quite extraordinary.

If Zhang Ruyi had asked "Who is Ningshan?", it would have surely revealed something. Therefore, it was better to remain silent and speak as little as possible.

Fortunately, over the years, Zhang Ruyi had been frail and sickly, hardly interacting with anyone apart from Lin Fei's care. Otherwise, he would have certainly been suspected long ago.

Surprised by Zhang Ruyi's calm demeanor, Yun'er was slightly taken aback, but she didn't dwell on it and continued walking towards the courtyard where Lin Fei resided.

(End of the chapter)