Chapter 407: My Lord, Please Keep It a Secret for Me

Late July, inside the Eastern Palace.

Although this is the center of Yujing, the Imperial Palace is too vast, and the surrounding area is filled with Government institutions, so even in broad daylight, it is very quiet here. The clamor from the city outside cannot cross Chang'an Gate, vanishing into the air.

A man dressed in fine robes sits cross-legged on a cushion.

Before him are an almost useless Auxiliary Potion, an Eighth-tier Beast Pill, and a bottle containing a single Restoration Pill.

Beside him are a kind-looking old man, a tall woman wearing a Metal Mask, and a youth dressed in the attire of a previous dynasty whose gender is difficult to distinguish.

"Crown Princess, we may begin."

The kind-looking old man raises his eyes and looks calmly at the man: "For the past few decades, everyone in the Imperial Family who has advanced to a High-Tier has been guarded by me; you may rest assured."

"Many thanks, Lord Liu."

"I dare not accept such praise."

"If I should..."

"Rest assured, Crown Princess, this old man is a professional."

"Very well."

The Group Leader nods.

This old man is specifically tasked with assisting members of the Imperial Family in their advancement—every dynasty has placed great importance on the cultivation of their descendants and their privacy during advancement, establishing specialized institutions and official posts for this purpose, which Dayi has continued and has not yet abolished, so the Group Leader trusts him.

However...

The Group Leader turns his head calmly and looks at his younger brother: "Ziyang, you should go out."

"Hm? Then what about Wu Eiwei?"

"Wu Eiwei will also be attempting to reach the Seventh Stage in a few days; letting her stay here to observe more will help her gain some experience," the Group Leader says calmly.

"I am also on the verge of advancing to the Sixth Stage, so let me stay here as well; it could add to my experience for my own future advancement," Meng Chunqiu says, then adds after a two-second silence, "I was already lagging behind everyone else to begin with."

"Emmm..."

The Group Leader looks at the clarity in his brother's eyes, filled with a thirst for cultivation and knowledge, and truly cannot bring himself to drive him away.

"Alright then."

"Many thanks, brother."

"..."

The Group Leader glances at Wu Eiwei without changing his expression, using his eyes to tell her: If I become delirious later, throw my brother out.

Cold light flickers in the eye-slits of the woman's mask.

The Group Leader glances at the kind-looking old man again.

The old man nods at him, telling him to rest assured.

As a precaution, the Group Leader looks at Meng Chunqiu again and says calmly: "Watch carefully today, feel my Spiritual Tide and the subtle changes more; remember to listen to Lord Liu during this process, and when you advance next time, I will come to guard you."

"Okay!"

Meng Chunqiu nods heavily.

Only then does the Group Leader pick up the potion with peace of mind; a qualified successor to the Imperial Family must be thorough in considering matters.

"Gulp!"

He drinks the potion in one go.

The Group Leader's expression becomes solemn, giving it his all.

Which genius is not proud?

As early as four years ago, he had already advanced to the Sixth Stage; at that time, Chen Shu, Meng Chunqiu, Yan Keling, and Jiang Lai were only freshmen in college. Looking at the whole world, apart from an unnamed person suffering from a severe Genius Disease, there were very few who could compare to him.

It was not just relying on the Imperial Spirit Method.

It was also his own talent and effort.

Yet unexpectedly, Cao Ci took away more than half a year of his time and caused him to miss the crucial Killing Forbidden Land, so that now, several years later, the group members who were freshmen back then are all seniors, some have already advanced to the Seventh Stage, and the rest are also charging toward the Seventh Stage, while he is still stuck at the Sixth Stage Peak.

Of course, he feels this is nothing; it is just a temporary rise and fall, not a big problem—this is his cultivation and bearing.

However, in terms of cultivation, he has never slacked off.

Recently, he has even dreamed of himself advancing to the Seventh Stage.

For them, the Seventh Stage is only the beginning.

"Poof..."

The Beast Pill turns into countless Spirit Power, like light dust, seeping into his body, inducing tearing pain throughout his entire body and the boiling of his Spirit Power.

The Group Leader keeps his eyes tightly shut, letting the pain rage, without making a sound.

The Spirit Lock is tottering.

The Imperial Spirit Method is just like this; the process of advancement is much easier than for those who cultivate normal Spirit Methods.

As for the principle, it actually references the essence of the Buddhist Sect and Daoist Spirit Methods, and in some aspects, it is even better. Practitioners of the Imperial Spirit Method can, to a certain extent, establish a wondrous connection with their predecessors and borrow their power to advance. In fact, its subtlety is by no means as simple as accelerating cultivation; the so-called acceleration of cultivation is merely its side effect, and the so-called drawback of shortened lifespan is actually also its side effect.

After a day and a night.

The Group Leader, lying on the soft cushion, opens his eyes, but his gaze is unfocused, and his expression lacks the heroic spirit of the past.

Meng Chunqiu raises an eyebrow and quietly takes out his Mobile Phone.

Swish—

Both the old man and the woman turn their heads to look at him.

The old man speaks first: "Crown Prince Ziyang, Crown Prince Haoran's advancement has ended, and he requires quiet recuperation afterward; I ask that you please leave here for the time being."

"I'll just watch and not speak."

"The subsequent content is no longer of benefit to your advancement, and it involves Crown Prince Haoran's privacy; I ask that you please leave here for the time being."

"Who says it's of no benefit? I can watch how you take care of someone who is delirious and learn a bit. And see what symptoms delirium has; I don't even know what I did when I was delirious before. I'll watch this time so I can prevent it next time."

"Crown Prince..."

"Crown Princess!" Wu Eiwei spoke, her voice cold, "Choose for yourself: leave on your own, or let me invite you out!"

"You... arrogant!"

"I'll count to three... three..."

"Then why don't you leave?"

"Two..."

"Is this the attitude you people of the Royal Court have toward members of the Imperial Family?" Meng Chunqiu stared intensely at Wu Eiwei, attempting to exert pressure on her, but he received no response from Wu Eiwei; he wasn't even sure if her eyes beneath the mask were looking at him, and having no way to deal with her, he had no choice but to turn his head and look at the old man again, "Lord Liu, why don't you tell her to leave?"

"Crown Princess Haoran did not tell her to leave."

"!"

Meng Chunqiu's chest heaved violently.

What brotherhood, what blood being thicker than water—at this moment, all of it was as fragile as glass.

"One..."

"I'm leaving, fine!"

Meng Chunqiu tucked his Mobile Phone away and walked out indignantly.

"Bang!"

The sound of a heavy door closing.

Wu Eiwei withdrew her gaze; the Metal Mask made her appear extremely cold, and the expression on her face could not be seen, yet she reached her hand into her pocket and, a moment later, pulled out this year's Flagship Phone from a mobile brand under the Imperial Family.

Seeing this, Lord Liu was stunned for a moment; after a few seconds, he silently lowered his eyelids and sat cross-legged without a word—

This must have been tacitly approved by the Crown Princess, right?

It should be, right?

It should be, right?

One hour later.

Wu Eiwei turned her head to face Lord Liu: "Lord Liu, please keep this a secret for me."

"?"

Lord Liu was stunned again.

August arrived.

Chen Shu had been studying the Tracer Technique improved by Shi Qian's team recently.

The volume of this Tracer Technique was nearly double that of the one he had improved himself; it used more Runes, had a more complete structure, and more thorough details, and the more he looked at it, the more he realized the gap in foundation and experience between the two sides. What he needed to do now was to take the best from both, merge their advantages, and form a more powerful Spell.

The two sides communicated via video almost every day.

By the time Chen Shu had thoroughly mastered this version of the Tracer Technique, Shi Qian's team had also mastered his version, and the two sides began meeting at the school every day, still in the same laboratory where they had previously improved the Thunder Method, forgetting to eat or sleep.

Until September—

A new automatic interception version of the Tracer Technique was born.

This was a version tending toward perfection; not only were its functions complete and the types of targets it could intercept numerous, but its performance was also extremely powerful. It possessed the advantages of single-target identification and active redirection from Chen Shu's version, while also being as intelligent and complete as the previous version from Shi Qian, already far exceeding the military's tender requirements.

Yes, Shi Qian and his team were researching it for the military.

The final result of the fusion would naturally also be delivered to the military; if it were excellent enough, it would be selected, and Chen Shu would also be able to get money.

This was naturally a good thing.

The state's power was very strong; once selected, their version would serve as the main body, and many excellent researchers would go on to perfect it in the future. As one of the original designers of this Spell, Chen Shu, according to relevant regulations, would be able to access the new version at the first opportunity every time it was improved.

"Inside information."

Shi Qian said to everyone: "The research over at the Military Academy has basically been abandoned. The research institutes of several domestic military factories have produced results, each with its own advantages but also its own shortcomings, and none of them compare to our version."

"As expected."

"I knew it..."

"Not surprised at all."

"That group of people at the Military Academy really have rusted brains; they can't get anything done. My former classmates, the ones with the worst grades, are all at the Military Academy now."

"Yeah, even worse than Ling'an."

"..."

Chen Shu shook his head as he listened from the side.

These teachers from Yujing Academy were more arrogant than the last.

Immediately afterward, to celebrate the completion of the project, although they didn't know if it would be selected by the military, they still went out for a group meal, drinking, bragging, and singing. The usually serious image of these teachers vanished in the private room, each revealing their true colors in life—some were funny, some were artistic—which also made their images in Chen Shu's mind become complex and full.

Especially after singing, there were actually two teachers discussing going out to find some fun.

Chen Shu was speechless at the time.

And these two teachers were quite generous—

"Is Chen Shu going?"

"Hey, hey! Not going, not going!"

"Come on! Don't be shy!"

"Not going, not going!"

"Why?"

"I'm not like you guys, getting on in years and still single dogs!"

In order to preserve himself, a genius, for the country, Chen Shu righteously refused them.

For the next few days, Chen Shu felt incomparably empty.

The things that were always done, the things that took up a lot of time every day, had ended, yet he had grown accustomed to the previous rhythm of life, so he suddenly did not know where to use this freed-up time, resulting in all sorts of boredom and all sorts of discomfort.

Even playing games felt unnatural.

Every day, he had no choice but to go harass Qingqing, Xiaoxiao, and Taozi.

Qingqing was so annoyed by him that she had no other choice, Taozi would show a wary expression the moment she saw him, and only Xiaoxiao remained well-behaved, acting as her brother-in-law's thoughtful little comfort, keeping him company and playing with him without a single word of complaint, though it was unknown what she was thinking inside.