Chapter 76 - 75: Above the Mundane
That night, the moon was hidden and the stars had sunk from view—the perfect time for settling accounts.
Xia Wuyang had many small animals acting as his eyes and ears in the Imperial Palace. He had even specially fed and controlled some of them. Because of this, it wasn’t difficult to find out who was behind such an insidious deed.
Besides, the Seventh Prince, Xia Wunian, had made little effort to cover his tracks. He was also the one who had discovered Dong Yujie’s affair with her cousin.
Executing his Dragon Storage Skill and Stealth Technique, he transformed into a nearly imperceptible shadow in the night, silently making his way toward San Yin Hall.
Among the many Princes and Princesses, Xia Wunian’s status was quite high, ranking around the top ten. His mother was a Saintess of the True Yin Sect, a sect that held immense power not only within the Great Xia Dynasty but also in several neighboring countries.
If not for the fact that Xia Wunian’s Talent and Qualification was merely one in a thousand, placing him only in the middle-upper tier among the Princes and Princesses, and that his mother’s relationship with the True Yin Sect wasn’t particularly good, he might have been a strong contender for the position of Crown Prince.
After decades of arduous cultivation, Xia Wunian was now a Martial Artist at Fourth Grade Perfection, a hair’s breadth from the Upper Three Grades. Once he reached that level, his standing among the Princes and Princesses would rise even further.
He had experts from the Upper Three Grades protecting him, but to the current Xia Wuyang, an ordinary Upper Third Grade Martial Artist was no longer a significant threat.
Unlike the splendor of most palaces, San Yin Hall was filled with a gloomy and eerie aura. Ghostly green candlelight flickered throughout the hall, and a faint, strange fragrance permeated the air.
His Mental Force Field silently expanded, covering a radius of over a hundred meters. Everything was within his grasp.
He didn’t immediately search for Xia Wunian. Instead, he first scouted the area to see if San Yin Hall held anything valuable, like an Ordinary Miracle Treasure, or perhaps even a Special Miracle Treasure...
Alas, there was nothing. The best items he found were a few Elixirs meant to aid in breaking through to the Upper Three Grades. While they were nearly as valuable as an Ordinary Miracle Treasure, they were useless to Xia Wuyang.
As for Miracle Treasures, there wasn’t a single one. It seemed Xia Wunian also lacked such a rare item that could only be found by chance.
Xia Wuyang wasn’t too disappointed by this. After all, his objective in coming to find Xia Wunian tonight wasn’t to steal treasures—it was for Xia Wunian himself.
"Hmm..."
Just then, Xia Wuyang’s Mental Force Field detected something that piqued his interest. His eyes lit up. He never expected that the very thing he had been longing for was right here.
His figure flickered, and he arrived in Xia Wunian’s study. After a few turns, he appeared before a secret room hidden behind a bookshelf.
Although the secret room was rigged with mechanisms and traps, they had nowhere to hide from his Mental Force Field. He disarmed them with ease and stepped inside.
The secret room was not large and was sparsely furnished, with only a Jade Platform placed in the center.
On it rested a book bound entirely in purple. The cover was embroidered with four words in silver thread, written in Ancient Seal Script... Enchanting Heart Treasure Manual!
Xia Wuyang instinctively sensed this was no ordinary item. He couldn’t resist opening the Treasure Manual and began to flip through it carefully.
A moment later, his eyes widened in shock. He never imagined that this was a Spiritual Treasure Manual, and not just an ordinary one, but a Spirit Level Spiritual Treasure Manual.
’What is Spirit Level? "Spirit" means to be extraordinary, to transcend the mundane.’
According to the Treasure Manual, the techniques Xia Wuyang had cultivated before—the Dragon Tiger Fist, the Dragon and Phoenix Body Technique, the Dragon Storage Skill, the Stealth Technique, the Escape Concealment Sword Technique... they shouldn’t actually be called Top Level Techniques, Top Level Combat Techniques, or Top Level Secret Techniques.
Their true names should be Top Level Mortal Cultivation Techniques, Top Level Mortal Combat Techniques, and Top Level Mortal Secret Techniques. However, since most people go their entire lives without ever encountering anything above the Mortal Level, they mistake these arts for the entirety of the Martial Dao.
They are but one stage of the Martial Dao. Above them lies a higher realm: the Spirit Level.
Above Top Level Mortal Cultivation Techniques are Spiritual Techniques; above Top Level Mortal Combat Techniques are also Spiritual Techniques; and above Top Level Mortal Secret Techniques are Spirit Arts.
Spiritual Techniques and Spirit Arts are also divided into four tiers: Low, Middle, High, and Top Level.
The Enchanting Heart Treasure Manual was a Low Level Spiritual Scripture. It was a Spiritual Treasure Manual that offered a direct path to the Spirit Level. It could help a Martial Artist cultivate their Spiritual Power beyond the Mortal Level, allowing them to become Extraordinary, step into the Spirit Realm, and possess unbelievable power.
’So, above the Super Grade Celestial Human realm is the realm of the Extraordinary.’
This was the first time Xia Wuyang had heard of a cultivation level above Celestial Human. ’If that’s the case,’ he thought, ’is the claim that a Super Grade Celestial Human is the strongest expert in the Great Xia Dynasty just an exaggeration? Or has someone deliberately hidden the truth?’
Even Xia Wunian possessed a Spirit Level Technique in a Treasure Manual; it was impossible that Emperor Xia didn’t have one. How could the Emperor not know about this?
And what about the Third Prince, Xia Wuchen, and the Fifth Prince, Xia Wushang? Could they be ignorant of this?
If they do know, then do they have experts who have transcended the Mortal Level backing them?
The Great Xia Dynasty spanned over thirty million square kilometers, as large as several countries from his past life. ’In such a vast territory, could Super Grade Celestial Human really be the pinnacle of the Martial Dao?’
Xia Wuyang fell silent. Then, he began to memorize the Enchanting Heart Treasure Manual as quickly as he could. His Companion Talent, Unforgettable Memory, activated. He only needed to flip through it once to commit it perfectly to memory, never to forget.
The Spiritual Cultivation Technique he had been longing for was now in his grasp. And it was a complete Treasure Manual, containing not only the Cultivation Technique but also a set of matching Spiritual Skills and Spiritual Techniques, such as the Enchanting Heart Technique, the Enchanting Heart Step, and the Enchanting Heart Needle...
The Enchanting Heart Technique could create an Illusion Realm, its effects far surpassing the Soul Capturing Technique. It could delude the masses and turn black into white.
The Enchanting Heart Step was as ethereal as a ghost, bizarre to the extreme. Combined with Spiritual Power, it made the user practically untraceable.
The Enchanting Heart Needle could be a needle condensed from Spiritual Power, or a technique used with a physical weapon. It was impossible to defend against, a way to kill without a trace.
...
The Cultivation Technique, complemented by its Combat Techniques and Secret Techniques, was terrifyingly powerful.
This had to be one of the supreme Treasure Manuals of the True Yin Sect. He hadn’t expected Xia Wunian to possess such a treasure. And now, it had all fallen into Xia Wuyang’s lap.
However, tonight’s discovery also sent a shiver of alarm through Xia Wuyang. The small bit of pride that had come with his soaring strength had now vanished without a trace.
He had originally thought that once he advanced to become a Second Grade Grandmaster or higher, he might be able to reveal a bit of his true strength. But now, it seemed the waters of the Great Xia Dynasty ran much deeper than he had ever imagined.
If that was the case, being a Second Grade Grandmaster was definitely not enough. Even being a First Grade Grandmaster would likely be cutting it close.
As for becoming a Super Grade Celestial Human, even that still felt a little unsafe.
Then he would just have to remain hidden until the day he no longer could. Until then, he had to focus all his efforts on cultivating and growing as strong as possible.
After all, his enemies might not only include the other Princes and Princesses, but also that one, supreme existence.
With his resolve settled, Xia Wuyang memorized the Enchanting Heart Treasure Manual, then returned it to its original position, leaving not a single trace behind.
He then left the study and crept toward the Practice Room. At this very moment, the Seventh Prince, Xia Wunian, was inside.