Chapter 71: Omnidirectional Spirit
In less than half a day, news of another theft at the Gold and Silver Palace had spread throughout the entire Imperial Palace and was now rapidly making its way through all of White Jade City.
What was shocking was that this time, the Fifth Prince directly accused the Third Prince of being the mastermind behind it all, alleging that he had sent someone to steal his Bone Marrow Cleansing Fruit and Seven Hundred Year-Old Monkey Wine.
"Have you heard? The Third Prince sent someone to steal all of the Fifth Prince’s Miracle Treasures to limit his Cultivation progress."
"I heard the Fifth Prince used a special technique to detect the scent of Purple Perilla Wood from the Third Prince’s palace. That’s how he found out the truth."
"It’s not that surprising. The two princes have been fighting openly and covertly for so many years. It’s only natural for the Third Prince to do something like this."
"If that’s the case, do you think the death of Princess Yun Shu, the disappearance of Princess Qing Ling, and the disappearances of Xia Chenhua and Xia Chenguang are also related to the Third Prince?"
...
Discussions erupted in every palace. All eyes were fixed on the two princes who were contenders for the throne, and events were unfolding exactly as Xia Wuyang had guided them.
Upon hearing the news, the Third Prince, Xia Wuchen, flew into a rage. ’You’ve got some nerve, Xia Wushang! You’re incompetent, yet you dare to frame me for this?’
He knew perfectly well what he had and had not done.
Xia Wuchen was certain he had done none of these things. To be framed like this by Xia Wushang naturally sent him into a fury.
He immediately ordered a counterattack, accusing Xia Wushang of slander and hinting that the Fifth Prince might have staged the robbery himself just to frame him.
The two sides began to quarrel, and their conflict quickly escalated to physical blows once again. The attention of the Imperial Palace was drawn to them, including that of the Divine Female Constable, Liu Yiqing. Hardly anyone paid any mind to the "dying" elder Crown Prince anymore.
Xia Wuyang peacefully "recuperated" and "enjoyed himself," but in reality, he spent most of his time on his Cultivation. His Cultivation Foundation was consolidating at a visible rate.
’A dog-eat-dog fight!’
By listening to the words of small animals, Xia Wuyang stayed extremely well-informed about the dynamics within the palace. He had no need to develop a network of Hidden Scouts or spies, which also greatly reduced his risk of exposure.
Stealing the Seven Hundred Year-Old Monkey Wine had not only allowed his Cultivation Realm to leap forward, but it had also diverted everyone’s attention, buying him more time to cultivate. It was a move that killed many birds with one stone.
His Spiritual Power was also steadily increasing. Before he knew it, it had reached 130 points, hitting another small bottleneck.
As he broke through this bottleneck, another epiphany arrived.
Outside, the moonlight flowed like water; inside, the Practice Room was deathly still.
As his Spiritual Power reached 130 points, it was as if thunder exploded in his mind, and all sorts of profound insights came flooding in like a tide.
Unfortunately, he still hadn’t awakened a new Companion Talent. He had no idea how high his Spiritual Power needed to be to awaken the next one.
However, Xia Wuyang had a feeling that day wasn’t far off.
The last time he awakened a Companion Talent was when his Spiritual Power hit one hundred points. Since then, it had risen to 130, and still, no new Companion Talent had awakened.
Before reaching one hundred points, he had been able to awaken a Companion Talent every few dozen points. This time, thirty points had passed without a new one appearing.
This hadn’t taken thirty days, only a little over twenty. The improvement in his Cultivation Realm had also spurred the growth of his Spiritual Power.
It wasn’t much on its own, but it added up over time and was not an insignificant amount.
Especially since the boost driven by his Cultivation Realm covered multiple aspects. It wasn’t just a simple increase in Spiritual Power, but also included seven aspects: understanding, focus, Comprehension, memory, Metacognition... With the boost spread so thin, the increase in any single area was not as significant.
Compared to the beings of this world who cultivated Spiritual Power, this method of improvement seemed much slower, but it was extremely comprehensive.
In the future, if he were to practice a corresponding Spiritual Cultivation Technique, the rate of his Spiritual Power’s growth might not be as fast due to his Supreme Talent, but it would still be just as comprehensive.
But with the aid of his Golden Finger, which added one point of Spiritual Power every day, his progress would be second to none.
Moreover, each increase in Spiritual Power covered those seven aspects, bringing not just growth in Spiritual Power itself, but also growth in the conventional sense of quantity, quality, foundation... and so on.
When the time comes, if Xia Wuyang were to practice a Spiritual Cultivation Technique—even an ordinary one—he would be able to unleash unimaginable power with it.
And as his Spiritual Power continued to grow thanks to his Supreme Talent, that power would only increase.
Unfortunately, Spiritual Cultivation Techniques were exceedingly rare. Xia Wuyang had only seen them mentioned in ancient texts, and there were none in the Royal Family’s Inner Treasury. If he could obtain one, the growth rate of his Spiritual Power would be even faster.
Putting those thoughts aside, Xia Wuyang sank into his epiphany. The various essentials of the Stealth Technique suddenly became crystal clear. The technique, which he had already mastered to the Great Success level, began to advance by leaps and bounds under the influence of his epiphany.
In a trance, he seemed to see the very essence of the Stealth Technique, as if he were standing in the shoes of its creator, dissecting its every aspect with perfect clarity.
It was no longer a simple technique of concealment and escape, but one of becoming one with everything.
The Stealth Technique even showed faint signs of merging with his Dragon Storage Skill. Although it hadn’t succeeded yet, it was a good start.
At the same time, the Stealth Technique broke through from Great Success to the Realm of Perfection at an astonishing speed. He even began to make deep-level modifications to it, making it fit his body perfectly, completely tailored to him.
Unconsciously, Xia Wuyang began to practice. His figure flickered in and out of existence within the Practice Room—at times as ethereal as blue smoke, at others as unpredictable as a will-o’-the-wisp, and at others, completely merged with his surroundings.
He had all but vanished. From his aura to his physical form, not a single trace could be found.
Even better, after these modifications, the Stealth Technique now perfectly suited his body’s characteristics. The refinement was complete.
A small epiphany had not only allowed him to perfect his Stealth Technique’s cultivation but also to completely refine it. The sheer scale of his gains went without saying.
He had even found a path to merge it with the Dragon Storage Skill. If he succeeded later on, he might be able to evolve it to an even higher level.
Xia Wuyang was quite satisfied with this. Besides the Stealth Technique, his other abilities had also improved considerably with the increase in his Spiritual Power.
Improving and breaking through in Spiritual Power was arguably the easiest thing for him—at least, for a Xia Wuyang who possessed a Supreme Talent, it was the easiest.
If others wanted to increase their Spiritual Power, they often needed to practice special Cultivation Techniques and consume various Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures. But for him? All he had to do was wait.
Under the effect of his Supreme Talent Seven-Aperture Exquisite, the longer he waited, the more formidable his Spiritual Power would become.
In the future, if he ever encountered a bottleneck while practicing a Spiritual Cultivation Technique, he could also use the power of his Supreme Talent, Seven-Aperture Exquisite, to forcibly break through it.