Chapter 2: One Step into the Third Rank! The Furious Xia Emperor!

Looking at the Vast Righteous Qi before him, the Prime Minister’s eyes nearly popped out of their sockets.

Who said the Prince of Qin was a martial prodigy?

He was clearly a peerless monster of the Confucian Dao!

Those reckless martial brutes had delayed His Highness for so many years. They truly deserved death!

He no longer had the leisure to care about anything else. He hurriedly stepped forward and shouted aloud,

“Protect his Dao!”

The Vast Righteous Qi within his body erupted at once, and a plume of white mist shot into the heavens.

“Fellow cultivators, guide His Highness into the Dao!”

The moment his words fell,

a towering phantom several dozen meters high stepped out from the white mist behind the old Prime Minister.

It stood behind the old man, gazing down at the crowd with cold indifference.

In an instant, an incomparable pressure spread through the hall.

It was precisely the Confucian Dao divine ability: Second-Rank Dharma Manifestation!

“Yes!”

Among the assembled officials, five figures followed close behind as their Vast Righteous Qi burst forth.

Amid the surging white mist, one Dharma Manifestation after another rose proudly into being, surrounding Xu Tian in the center.

Their auras linked together and directly sealed off the entire hall.

Sensing the Vast Righteous Qi around Xu Tian growing stronger without cease, the old Prime Minister became even more excited.

As everyone knew, cultivation was divided into nine ranks, with the Ninth Rank the lowest and the First Rank the highest.

But the aura on Xu Tian’s body was clearly not that of someone who had just entered the Ninth Rank.

It was the Seventh Rank.

And it was still rising.

The other officials also gathered around, one hand pressing down on their court caps as they watched their surroundings with wary eyes.

Yet most of their attention was focused on the beaded curtain.

Behind it,

Chu Lan’s expression was incomparably dark, both hands clutching the arms of her chair so tightly they nearly creaked.

As she looked at the crowd below, her eyes were filled with resentment.

These people were truly beyond outrageous.

Before that imperial decree had been read, each and every one of them had behaved by the book, meek and obedient.

But the moment the decree was put away, it was as though the entire court had descended into chaos.

First they interrupted her, then they openly discussed matters in the hall, and now they had even begun cultivating without the slightest restraint…

They truly acknowledged neither law nor Heaven.

Had they forgotten that this was the Golden Luan Hall?

That she was the Empress of the current dynasty?

Was it simply because she came from the Arcane Dao lineage?

Because Great Xia was a nation founded through martial might and governed through the Confucian Dao, it had always looked down on her!

“But that works just as well.”

She slowly let out a breath, and her mood gradually calmed.

“Those who walk different paths cannot work together. From now on, I will have no more scruples in what I do.”

Since she had used outside forces this time to obtain the Heavenly Heart Lotus and strip Xu Tian of his position as Crown Prince, then while the Xia Emperor was still in seclusion, she had to seize enough power in Great Xia for the path of arcane arts.

Only then could she truly secure her place.

She looked down at Xu Tian, who was breaking through with his eyes closed, and the corners of her lips lifted slightly as a trace of disdain flashed through her eyes.

It was just as well that the boy had entered the Confucian Dao.

A physically frail Confucian cultivator who had to abide by rites and laws would still be easy enough to deal with.

Confucian arts were incomparably domineering, and their upper limit was astonishingly high, but they were also extremely difficult to cultivate.

Thus, nearly all Confucian cultivators only began practicing Confucian arts after their Vast Righteous Qi could advance no further.

In other words, for a very long time to come, Xu Tian would not even possess the strength to protect himself.

During that period, there would be countless opportunities…

Buzz!

A streak of white light shot into the sky, illuminating her pupils.

It also froze the upturned curve of her lips and made her body tremble involuntarily.

How was this possible?

This aura…

【Enlightenment at Longchang amplification...】

【Comprehended the Heavenly Heart Lotus and obtained divine ability: Bone Cleansing and Marrow Refinement.】

【Bone Cleansing and Marrow Refinement: Shatter and rebuild, rise anew through fire! Reforge flesh and bones, with qi and blood like a dragon! Your body shall become peerless uncut jade!】

【Comprehended the Heaven and Earth Mountain and River Cauldron and obtained innate divine ability: Body of Mountains and Rivers.】

【Body of Mountains and Rivers: The sea embraces a hundred rivers; in tolerance there is greatness! The heart of a Confucian Sage embraces all under Heaven! Your body may contain the power of Heaven and Earth.】

A wondrous warm current flowed through Xu Tian’s entire body, instantly repairing every hidden injury within him.

It then transformed into a blazing white torrent, surging through his meridians, seeping into every limb and bone, and releasing strand after strand of drifting white mist.

The strength of his third-rank body, which should have been gradually fading, now seemed to be undergoing some kind of transformation, growing ever stronger.

No… this was not right!

Xu Tian clenched his fist and felt the surging power within it, a trace of bewilderment flashing through his eyes.

“This Proper Confucian Sage System… is it really proper?”

At that very moment, the Mountain-Suppressing Diagram in his hand suddenly vanished.

It turned into countless motes of light and merged into his body.

【Comprehended the Mountain-Suppressing Diagram and obtained Confucian Dao secret art: Suppress Formula. Once a word is spoken, all arts bow in submission!】

【Obtained Sixth-Rank Vast Righteous Qi...】

【Confucian Dao prestige increased... Obtained Confucian Dao divine ability: Success Comes Naturally. The improvement of your Vast Righteous Qi shall ignore all bottlenecks!】

【Great Confucian guidance amplification... Confucian Dao aptitude amplification... Enlightenment at Longchang amplification... Success Comes Naturally amplification...】

The white mist around Xu Tian grew ever more blazing, weighty, and ancient…

Until at last, it reached a critical point.

【Promoted to Third-Rank Vast Righteous Qi...】

With a thunderous boom,

a terrifying pillar of light pierced through the dome of the great hall and illuminated the entire imperial palace.

“Third rank… the third rank…”

Feeling the aura radiating from Xu Tian’s body, the old Prime Minister became so excited that he could barely speak coherently.

“He entered the Third Rank in a single step!”

That cry also jolted the others out of their shock.

As the officials looked at the tall figure standing within the white light, their gazes changed completely.

If anyone had said before today that the Prince of Qin was a martial prodigy, no one would have doubted it.

After all, the military merits he had won in battle after battle, and his achievement of becoming a third-rank martial grandmaster at such a young age, were no lie.

But now, if they heard anyone say the same thing again, they would only think it utter nonsense.

Compared to the aptitude of the Confucian Dao that allowed him to step into the Third Rank in a single bound, martial talent that required years of cultivation to reach the Third Rank truly seemed somewhat lacking.

The Third Rank was a height most people would never reach in their entire lives.

Cultivation realms ranged from the Ninth Rank to the First Rank, yet most people, no matter how desperately they strove, would remain stuck at the mere Fifth Rank.

They could not even touch the threshold of the upper three ranks.

As for the Prince of Qin being stripped of his position as Crown Prince, that was hardly worth mentioning at all!

In Great Xia, the words “Prince of Qin” were scarcely any weaker than the words “Crown Prince.”

“Many thanks to all of you for protecting my Dao!”

The white mist faded from Xu Tian’s eyes, and he cupped his hands solemnly toward the officials around him.

The others returned the gesture with equal courtesy, not showing the slightest negligence.

“Congratulations, Your Highness the Prince of Qin, on stepping into the Third-Rank Rea—”

“Ahem!”

At that moment, a voice also came from behind the beaded curtain, carrying a tone of gratification.

“The Prince of Qin’s aptitude in the Confucian Dao is unmatched. This is truly a blessing for Great Xia. I believe this matter ought to be proclaimed throughout the world. What do you all think?”

The instant those words were spoken, the scene fell completely silent.

It became so quiet that one could hear a pin drop.

The officials stared fixedly at Xu Tian, each and every one of them keeping his mouth shut and standing as steady as Mount Tai.

The hall once again sank into an awkward silence.

“Heh-heh…”

Xu Tian merely chuckled and spoke with a smile.

“Since there is nothing else to do today…”

“My lords, let us dismiss the court.”

With that, he flicked his sleeves and strode out of the great hall as though no one else were there.

From beginning to end, he never once glanced at the beaded curtain.

“Yes, Your Highness the Prince of Qin!”

The assembled officials answered in one voice and followed right behind him, striding out in great steps as though this were no different from any ordinary day.

The once-bustling Golden Luan Hall instantly became empty and desolate.

Only that lonely beaded curtain remained behind.

Clatter!

A trembling hand parted the curtain, revealing Chu Lan’s furious, twisted face.

“Presumptuous! Utterly presumptuous… Do these people have even the slightest sense of decorum left?”

“Have they forgotten that Xu Tian is no longer the Crown Prince? That he no longer holds the authority of the Regency?”

“I did not dismiss the court, so how did they dare to leave?”

“If the Xia Emperor were here, I refuse to believe they would still dare be so arrogant…”

While Chu Lan was still seething with rage, message after message rapidly spread out from the capital, carrying the news across the whole of Great Xia.

......

The Hall of Heart Cultivation within the imperial palace was shrouded beneath a mysterious barrier.

It was also the place where the Xia Emperor was in seclusion.

“Old Li, after Tian’er heard the imperial decree, did he blame me?”

At that moment, a booming voice full of vigor rang out from within the hall, though there was also a hint of caution in it.

“Even if he did, it does not matter. I stripped him of his position as Crown Prince. It would only be natural for him to resent me.”

“Absolutely not!”

The old eunuch who had read the decree stood outside the entrance, answering with absolute certainty.

The Xia Emperor’s voice clearly paused, then at once became more relaxed.

“I knew it. That boy is bright and perceptive, far wiser than his years. He would surely understand my painstaking intentions.”

“The ten-thousand-year Heavenly Heart Lotus is a supreme treasure. It will definitely heal his hidden injuries. With that boy’s martial talent, he will surely be able to reach the realm of the First-Rank Martial God. Don’t you agree, Old Li?”

The old eunuch hesitated for a moment, then answered even more decisively.

“Absolutely not!”

“Because His Highness the Prince of Qin has already converted to the Confucian Dao. In this lifetime, he will never reach the Martial God Realm.”