Staring at the pit burning like a fire basin, watching those twisted and deformed monster limbs turn into ashes, Zhu Haomiao carried three terrifying heads and slowly walked out of the cave.
Outside the cave, Yan Yunsheng was guarding the entrance alone, having sent the others away to keep watch at a distance. Upon seeing the young man, he hurriedly bowed respectfully.
"Find someone to send these three heads to the Duke Ning Mansion, and pass a message to Duke Ning: tell him to sleep with one eye open tonight."
Taking the gruesome heads thrown by Zhu Haomiao, Yan Yunsheng swallowed hard and hesitated.
"Sir, won’t this be a bit too provocative for the other side..."
"Heh, what’s this? If these other heads weren’t unusable, I’d build a corpse pile right at the gate of Duke Ning’s Mansion!"
Scoffing, Zhu Haomiao waved his hand nonchalantly.
"Carry out the orders, go."
Seeing the young man’s determination, Yan Yunsheng no longer advised against it and nodded solemnly.
"Grandfather, the Emperor deliberately delays announcing the edict, what is he really planning?!"
The young man in the python robe paced the room, like an anxious beast.
On the other side, the old man, whose hair and beard were white, sipped aromatic tea, not lifting his head as he calmly advised.
"How many times have I told you, in major events, be calm, calmness leads to stability, stability leads to thoughtfulness, thoughtfulness leads to gain..."
"No one will willingly give up their authority, unless it’s at the moment of death...stay calm..."
However, before he could finish, a servant stumbled in, followed by three servants carrying a wooden box, trembling all over.
Seeing that familiar wooden box, both the old and young man widened their eyes with a foreboding sense.
"Master! The Pingyang Earl has sent another head...and...and..."
"Also a message, telling you to sleep with one eye open tonight..."
After a deathly silence, the old man slammed the table with his beard and hair standing on end, tiger eyes glaring widely, face alternating between blue and white, feeling a nauseating sweetness rising up his throat.
"Rascal! This is too much! I will annihilate your nine clans!!"
With a furious roar, Duke Ning spat out a mouthful of blood and fell back, causing the entire mansion to erupt into chaos.
Meanwhile, not far away at the Royal Martial Academy, Zhu Haomiao slowly lifted his head, seemingly hearing a cry of helpless rage in the void.
The soft chirp brought the young man back to awareness. Looking down, Zhao Nuo was clutching Diao Chan and holding onto his coat, face full of reluctance and grievance.
"Can you not go into seclusion?"
With a laugh, Zhu Haomiao rubbed the little girl’s head, making Diao Chan escape Zhao Nuo’s embrace, darting up to perch on the young man’s head in a flash.
"Don’t cling, this time the seclusion should be a bit shorter than last time. I will be back in a little over a month at most."
Gently pinching her plump cheeks with a smile, Zhu Haomiao waved his hand and departed without hesitation.
Behind him, Zhao Nuo looked at his dashing and upright back, stamping her feet in frustration.
That night, after taking care of all "aftermath," Zhu Haomiao went alone to the concealed underground palace, leisurely lying on the bed.
As gray-white threads spread out of nowhere, dozens of greed coins combined with the Constant Star Melting Furnace Body Tempering Technique rune were sealed deep within the spirit and body, beginning to brew a mysterious transformation.
After advancing to LV.7, the third layer of authority of Sloth was reactivated, with layers of thread continuously wrapping, forming a cocoon room to envelop his entire body.
Following the triple cocoon, Zhu Haomiao’s energy level plummeted back to Black Iron, his eyelids feeling as heavy as lead, uncontrollably closing.
Withdrawing his soul, amidst a dizzying sensation of weightlessness, Zhu Haomiao stepped forward, crossing the membrane between illusion and reality and landing on the solid floor.
His body involuntarily swayed slightly, like an astronaut returning to Earth from space; Zhu Haomiao took several seconds to readapt to the real world.
Not far from him, Liu Hongbin, who had been waiting for a long time, suppressed his anxiousness, waited till Zhu Haomiao caught his breath, then spoke.
"Good lad! Last time was just three days, this time it was five days straight. If you didn’t come out, I would’ve thought you were Lost in there!"
At these words, Zhu Haomiao chuckled and shook his head.
"Just progressed in Dao Heart."
Hearing this, Liu Hongbin looked at him in surprise.
It’s known that Dao Heart is truly equal for all living beings; whether God’s Destiny or Mortal Destiny, it can only be slowly honed with time.
And Zhu Haomiao’s previous Dao Heart strength was already outstanding among his peers; to improve further now would greatly enhance his cultivation efficiency, how could others keep up?
Sighing for the geniuses of his generation, Liu Hongbin quickly put these trivial matters aside, his expression turning serious.
"Little Zhu, I heard you encountered Emperor Shitian?"
"Didn’t suffer losses?"
"Then how strong is the opponent?"
"Do you think he will pose a threat to our southwest direction in the future?"
Taking out a small notebook, Liu Hongbin intently watched Zhu Haomiao, ready to carefully jot down his every word.
Facing Liu Hongbin’s serious demeanor, Zhu Haomiao hesitated for a moment before cautiously shaking his head.
"Both he and I are rapidly growing, with strength changing drastically every day. Only when close to the Illusion Realm’s limit will this slow down."
Finishing his words, Zhu Haomiao looked into Liu Hongbin’s eyes and smiled meaningfully.
"All questions can only be answered when we reach our Complete Body and fight a battle."
After a long silence, Liu Hongbin frowned worriedly: "Do you have confidence in defeating him?"
Hearing this, Zhu Haomiao chuckled lightly, pursed his lips, with an ethereal and mysterious glint of purple gold flashing in the depths of his pupils.
"As long as I have hands."
When the young man opened his eyes again, a surge of dark gold divine light escaped from deep within his pupils.
It was as if a sealed ancient demon awoke from its deep sleep, causing visible ripples in the space-time of the entire underground palace. An invisible wave kept spreading, and instantly every creature within dozens of miles felt a fleeting piercing chill.
Frightened birds flew away, insects silenced, leaving the area within dozens of miles around the underground palace in dead silence, with only the rustling of leaves in the wind.
Soon, the young man’s confused and dazed eyes gradually cleared up, as the unconsciously escaping Divine Power retracted and concentrated. He slowly sat up from the bed.
After sitting motionlessly for a few seconds, Zhu Haomiao fully adjusted, starting to examine the changes in himself.
Constant Star Melting Furnace Body Tempering Technique: LV.5→LV.6 (Perfect)