Chapter 153

Yan Buji didn't know the situation inside the court, but he could roughly imagine that the court assembly had already erupted in an uproar.

As he expected, within the Profound and Firm Dao court, the ministers jointly submitted a memorial, objecting to the emperor's failure to execute Huyan Feng immediately.

"Your Majesty, since the traitor Huyan has been captured, he should be executed publicly for his multiple crimes!"

"Your Majesty, you've locked him in the heavenly prison—do you really intend to interrogate him? This traitor killed Minister Su in broad daylight, and Su's corpse is still warm; he should be vindicated!"

"Your Majesty, say something!"

The emperor seated on the dragon throne had a stern expression and remained silent.

The ministers knelt down en masse, submitting memorials urging the swift execution of Huyan Feng; to the emperor, who already knew the full story, it seemed a pity to kill such a person.

"Do you all think a supreme expert of the Heavenly Human realm is so easy to kill?" the emperor said lightly.

"What? Heavenly Human realm?!"

"Is Huyan Feng a Heavenly Human realm martial artist? Impossible!"

The ministers' faces were filled with shock, and they could hardly believe it.

How many years has it been since a Heavenly Human realm martial artist appeared? How could one show up now?

"Then how was he captured?"

In the eyes of mortals, a supreme expert of the Heavenly Human realm is the absolute manifestation of personal power, regarding tens of thousands of troops as nothing, coming and going freely; unless an immortal intervenes, who could defeat them?

"He bound his own hands and feet, willingly accepting the law, but don't think he truly dares not to act," the emperor chuckled.

The ministers exchanged glances.

One minister stepped forward, bowed, and said, "Your Majesty, is Huyan Feng truly of the Heavenly Human realm?"

"This is what the palace martial artists have personally witnessed; it cannot be false."

"So what should we do?"

As soon as the emperor said that, the officials in the court all wore complex expressions.

It wasn't that they feared he would really kill Huyan Feng if he broke loose and cause them trouble; the key was that the victim wasn't one of their own, and needlessly offending a Heavenly Human realm expert was unnecessary.

The court is the court, the Heavenly Human realm is the Heavenly Human realm.

The court has absolute control over the mundane, but the Heavenly Human realm also possesses the power to resist.

But if they were truly driven to desperation and sought revenge, even if an immortal intervened, what if bad luck let them find us first?

It's not fear; it's just that it seems unnecessary.

At least he's a Heavenly Human realm martial artist; if we can win him over, we should.

As for killing a court official in the street, that's actually simple. At worst the court loses some face; we could publicize his deeds among the people, have them petition for his release, and the court could then pardon him—no great loss of dignity.

Your Majesty would also win the people's hearts—wouldn't that be a double win?

Eh?

No, Your Majesty wouldn't have planned this from the start, would you?

The ministers glanced at the middle-aged person on the dragon throne and thought, Your Majesty still has tricks up your sleeve.

"If that's the case, we'll fully obey Your Majesty's decision!"

"Your Majesty is sagacious!"

The emperor sat on the dragon throne, a faint smile curling at the corners of his mouth.

The court is just that simple, not complicated.

A person needs a certain worth; the fame your worth brings determines the treatment you receive.

So Yan Buji in the heavenly prison, seeing that no one came for him after two or three days, roughly knew he wouldn't die.

Although he wouldn't actually fake his death, this outcome also fit his plan.

Next he needed to consider how to negotiate with the court to obtain the position he wanted.

"If I could work in the palace, I should have a chance to meet the Third Princess." Yan Buji narrowed his eyes and gave a light chuckle.

However, there are Profound and Firm Dao cultivators in the palace; although they wouldn't care about mundane affairs, my going there would not be good.

Exposing my cultivator identity is secondary; even if I could talk my way out, the emperor would surely not dare let me near the palace.

Yan Buji pondered: "I need to strike a balance—being able to contact the Third Princess while prematurely revealing my cultivator identity… No, the divide between immortal and mortal means Profound and Firm Dao cultivators would never allow me to serve in the court."

Then it's still a problem—how to avoid revealing my cultivation?

Is relying solely on the Yama's Judgment of Ghosts diagram enough?

Although the Yama's Judgment of Ghosts diagram can indeed greatly conceal one's cultivation, it's not reliable.

Yan Buji reflected and suddenly recalled that the basic cultivation manual he had bought earlier included a technique for concealing aura; he immediately began to practice it.

As always, his aptitude for cultivating techniques was pitifully poor; although he understood the principles, he still couldn't master them.

"Damn it! Is this because my Martial Dao Profound Skill is hindering my progress in learning techniques?"

Yan Buji was somewhat frustrated; the basic breath‑controlling technique is even simpler than the illumination technique, yet he can't learn it—clearly there's a problem.

"Indeed, the Martial Dao Profound Skill and magical cultivation still conflict; even if the pattern‑based Profound Skill isolates them and they don't interfere, different systems will inevitably produce contradictions… wait a moment."

Yan Buji suddenly remembered the golden foil he had obtained from the Storage Accumulation Device; recalling its pattern, he saw it shared the same source as the Profound Accumulation Command—could it also be a compatible type of pattern?

But compatible with what?

Could it be compatibility of techniques?

Previously Yan Buji thought the pattern on the golden foil was some kind of cultivation method or Martial Dao Profound Skill, but now it seems not.

Perhaps we can try it?

Yan Buji recalled the pattern on the golden foil and attempted to channel his magical power to flow through it within his body.

In an instant, a mysterious light flickered on Yan Buji's body, countless strange patterns spreading beneath his skin, then vanished in the blink of an eye.

In that moment, Yan Buji felt as if his brain had grown.

"Ah, that's it! Using magical power to drive the golden foil pattern can greatly boost my intellect? However, the consumption of spiritual awareness is truly terrifying."

Yan Buji's eyes lit up, and he carefully sensed it.

Besides the increase in intelligence, Yan Buji also felt his body seemed to be in the process of rapidly consuming spiritual sense, and using it for cultivating techniques would be much easier.

But when used for cultivation techniques, it remained the same; he didn't know whether it was because his basic Five Elements cultivation was incomplete or because it was too basic, resulting in no change in cultivation speed.

However, he noticed all the subtleties and points of conflict in the Breath Concealment Technique, and after avoiding them, he successfully cultivated it in just a short night.

The next day, Yan Buji rolled his eyes and fainted.

After several days passed, Yan Buji finally woke up; the passive operation of the Breath Concealment Technique had completely concealed the magical power fluctuations on his body, and combined with the marvels of the Yama's Judgment of Ghosts Diagram, they worked together to emit the aura of a Heavenly Human Realm martial artist according to his needs.

"Indeed! Although the Breath Concealment Technique is the most basic, when I used the Golden Foil Pattern, I modified its operation through the Yama's Judgment of Ghosts Diagram; not only can it run passively, but it can also cooperate to achieve the level of control I desire! Where exactly did this Golden Foil Pattern come from? And it shares the same origin as the Profound Accumulation Secret Command......"

Yan Buji was shocked inside, but still that saying.

Without that strength, there's really no way to investigate its mysteries.