Deep into the night, at the entrance of the residence of Jiang Bin, the Commanding Officer of the Brocade Guards.
Having drank some wine and looking slightly flushed, Jiang Bin is being supported by Lin Qingyi, who insists on walking Pei Xuanjing out to the door.
"Mr. Pei, it's been a long time since I've been this happy drinking. To tell you the truth, I've hardly ever admitted defeat when it comes to drinking, and today, you're one of the few," Jiang Bin said, swaying slightly.
"Mr. Bin, watch your step," Lin Qingyi carefully guided Jiang Bin while addressing Pei Xuanjing, who also appeared a bit flushed, "Mr. Pei, why don't you stay the night? If not, just wait a while. After I help him to bed, I can escort you home."
Lin Qingyi never imagined that the two of them would get into a drinking competition. Now, both of them were somewhat intoxicated.
However, perhaps because of his profound martial arts skill, Pei Xuanjing did not seem to be too severely affected.
But recalling that Pei Xuanjing was targeted in an assassination attempt a few days ago, Lin Qingyi felt uneasy.
"No need, I can manage," said Pei Xuanjing, his face slightly flushed but his speech clear, as he declined Lin Qingyi's offer.
Jiang Bin on the side also loudly declared, "Mr. Pei, from now on, we're brothers. Your business is my business. Anyone who crosses you crosses me."
"Alright, I'm off. Please thank Mr. Jiang for me tomorrow. Tell him that I enjoyed the dinner party very much."
Pei Xuanjing patted Lin Qingyi on the shoulder, then turned and boarded his carriage. "You guys, escort Mr. Pei home. Be careful on the road," Lin Qingyi instructed to the men nearby.
"Yes, sir."
They watched as the carriage drove off, gradually disappearing into the night.
Jiang Bin, who had appeared to be unconscious against Lin Qingyi, opened his eyes. His look was clear and alert, showing no signs of intoxication.
"Sir Lin Qingyi was not surprised. He knew all too well that the amount Jiang Bin had consumed was far from enough to get him drunk.
Looking interest at the carriage disappearing in the distance, Jiang Bin said, "Send over three pieces of Spiritual Materials aged 500 years tomorrow."
'Yes!" Lin Qingyi bowed and received the order.
The two men returned to the mansion without another word.
On the carriage, Pei Xuanjing opened his slightly closed eyes, circulated the True Qi within his body, and instantly rid himself of the effects of the alcohol.
During the banquet, this Commanding Officer was quite impressive. Despite showing good intentions in every move, he never mentioned anything about cooperation.
All matters were lightly touched upon and promptly dropped, giving Pei Xuanjing no opportunity to refuse, nor any incriminating statements to latch onto.
And that act of drunkenly seeing him off was clearly a performance meant for others to witness.
Not just for Pei Xuanjing, but for many others as well.
However, these matters were of little concern to Pei Xuanjing. He put them aside for the time being and pondered over something else.
"That Commanding Officer said the reason he tried to stop you that night wasn't of his own volition; it was because someone asked him to do so," Lin Qingyi relayed the information he had learned from the Commanding Officer of the Military Equipment Department during the banquet.
Apparently, a person carrying a token ordered him to act that way, a person the Commanding Officer didn't recognize.
But he did recognize that token. It came from the Brocade Guards.
A token from the Brocade Guards.
The player behind the scenes really had some clout—he not only distanced himself from the matter but also drew suspicions to the Brocade Guards.
"Haha, this matter is getting more and more interesting." Pei Xuanjing's face turned cold.
When Pei Xuanjing returned to the Martial Academy from Jiang Mansion, he didn't go to bed immediately. Instead, he continued to refine his Taoyun.
The water in Tiandu was becoming more and more muddled, making Pei Xuanjing more and more anxious to increase his strength.
The next day, he also received the gift Jiang Bin had sent over.
With regard to this, Pei Xuanjing did not refuse, but readily accepted, seemingly broadcasting his stance to all.
In the following days, Pei Xuanjing spent most of his time in the Martial Academy, continuing to refine his Taoyun with the aim to initiate another simulation of his life.
It could be said that apart from attending the banquets at Jiang Mansion and Gu Ji's residence, he hardly ever set foot outside the Academy.
He didn't even go to claim the bounty for the Three Wolves of MO Bei, which Six Gates owed him. Instead, he had the deputy headmaster Qingyang Zi send someone to receive it on his behalf.
Pei Xuanjing was fully devoted to his cultivation and indifferent to worldly affairs, keeping a very low profile.
However, the turmoil in Tiandu did not cease because of his low-key lifestyle. On the contrary, the conflict between the factions intensified.
At one of the morning meetings, around six months after Pei Xuanjing had secluded himself, Qian Ning, the commander of the Brocade Guards, proposed to move troops from the Four Towns to the capital.
His reason was none other than the assassination attempt on Pei Xuanjing in Tiandu.
"There are murderers hiding in Tiandu planning to cause chaos. Although they were killed by an editor of the Martial Academy, the people behind this plot still haven't been found half a year later. It's clear that security in Tiandu is lax and both the Three Judicial Departments and the Capital Guards are incompetent. That's why I propose to bring the troops from the Four Towns into Tiandu to reinforce security and set the people's mind at ease." Those were the exact words of Qian Ning, the commander of the Brocade Guards.
This statement was as audacious as could be. He criticized the Three Judicial Departments, Six Gates, and Capital Guards, and asked to deploy more troops, which would be a tremendous humiliation to the criticized parties.
As soon as he finished speaking, his words stirred up a huge uproar in the court.
What shocked all the officials the most was the ambiguous attitude of the Emperor. Instead of reprimanding Qian Ning for his outrageous words, it seemed the Emperor actually agreed.
At the morning meeting the next day, Li Dongyang, the head of the civil officials, strongly opposed Qian Ning's proposal. Some imperial censors even submitted a petition to impeach Qian Ning.
For a time, the whole court was abuzz with controversy and confusion.
After all, disregard the civil official group who were extremely against Qian Ning's suggestion, even within the faction of the Noble Officials, some people were displeased by it.
While Pei Xuanjing had heard a little about the situation in the court, he didn't pay much attention to it.
With his current status, even if his personal martial strength was great, he had no power to influence court politics or determine the outcome.
Moreover, most importantly, after six months, he had accumulated enough Taoyun,
The Taoyun gained from refining the "Three Extreme Heart Method" plus the Taoyun he earned from his daily cultivation added up to sixty thousand points, enough to support him through three simulations of life..
[Taoyun: 60163 points.]
[Would you like to use the Life Simulator? It consumes 20,000 Taoyun points per use.]
"Yes!"
Twenty-three years old: As the winds of unrest surged within the imperial court, you chose seclusion within the Martial Academy to avoid getting embroiled.
A few days later, Lin Qingyi suddenly arrived, claiming he had clues to the identity of your unknown assailant and invited you to accompany him to confront them. You agreed readily.
However, to your shock, the hideout turned out to be an outpost of the Underworld, ruled by Equal King, one of the Ten Judges of Hell.
Despite your injuries, you managed to defeat the second-grade Martial Artist from the Underworld, but in the process were severely wounded and poisoned by the Yin Sha Qi.
Half a month later, Qingyang Zi deduced that the only remedy for your injuries was to have the sect leader of the True Martial Sect personally heal you.
One month later, you arrived at the Taihe Mountain True Martial Sect to meet the sect leader.
Twenty-four years old: Upon arriving at Taihe Mountain, the sect leader of the True Martial Sect personally healed your injuries and purged your body of the Yin Sha Qi.
Half a year later, your injuries fully healed, you chose to stay within the True Martial Sect to receive instructions from the sect leader. You also entered the Scripture Pavilion to study Martial Studies, thereby enriching your understanding of Martial Arts.
Twenty-five years old: Finally, you derived the eighth and ninth layers of the "Four Spirits Skill". The sect leader of the True Martial Sect discerned it as the pinnacle of superior Martial Studies, comparable to some peerless Martial Skills. The only regret was that no one had reached the first-grade realm learning this skill. Otherwise, it could almost have been considered a semi-peerless skill.
The Sect Leader even lamented that if you had derived this skill earlier, there would have been no need to purge the Yin Sha Qi from Equal King. Instead, you could have absorbed it to enhance your power.
Eventually, you named this skill the "Four Seasons Celestial Skill".
After mastering the Mysterious Skill, you received a message from Qingyang Zi saying that the 'Martial Scripture' was about to be completed and asked you to return to Tiandu.
Three months later, just about to reach Tiandu, you were ambushed.
Facing a combined onslaught from two second-grade Martial Artists of the Underworld, you fought a desperate battle that ended in mutual destruction.
[End of this life.]
Having viewed this simulation, Pei Xuanjing was intrigued. He hadn't anticipated the presence of Underworld agents within Tiandu.
The Underworld, with its ancient and venerable origins, rivals the White Lotus Sect in terms of antiquity.
However, unlike the rebellious White Lotus Sect, the Underworld is more of an assassin organization.
Members of the Underworld come from diverse backgrounds. They wander the world, known only by their code names. No one knows their true names or identities.
[The simulation has ended and you can now choose one of the following rewards.]
[First, accumulation of True Qi for ten years.]
[Second, the complete version of the "Four Seasons Celestial Skill".]
[Third, the experience of combating a second-class Martial Artist.]
Pei Xuanjing chose the second option. The next moment, the complete technique of the "Four Seasons
Celestial Skill" surfaced in his mind, laying out a clear roadmap for his Martial Arts cultivation journey.
The "Four Seasons Celestial Skill" was created by Pei Xuanjing with the "Four Spirits Skill" as the foundation, it merged the principles of other techniques and divided into nine stages, corresponding to every realm after reaching the grade stage. It is considered superior Martial Studies that forms a direct pathway to the first-grade Martial Artist realm.
According to the evaluation of the True Martial Sect Leader in the life simulation, this is considered to be the epitome of superior martial arts techniques, almost comparable to many peerless skills. If one day Pei Xuanjing could step into the first-grade realm while practicing this skill, it could be regarded as a semi-peerless skill.
In addition to the cultivation technique, there is a corresponding Sword Skill, which is called the Four Seasons Sword Skill.
The rewards from this life simulation were extensive for Pei Xuanjing.
Although he didn't manage to break through to the second-grade realm in this simulation, he had deduced his technique to the ninth layer, eliminating any future worries about his cultivation technique.
It'S worth noting that Pei Xuanjing's hesitance to progress in his techniques was due to his considering a shift to a different technique.
In the following days, Pei Xuanjing recovered his spirit while meticulously studying the "Four Seasons Celestial Skill" , and began to gradually convert the True Qi within his body.
After waiting a few days, he activated the life simulator again.
[Taoyun: 41158 points.]
[Would you like to use the Life Simulator? It consumes 20,000 Taoyun points per use.]
"Yes!"
Twenty-three years old: Amid the rising turbulence in the Court, you paid no heed, focused on cultivating the recently derived "Four Seasons Celestial Skill".
Just when your True Qi conversion was completed, Lin Qingyi invited you to join him in exterminating the forces behind your past assassination attempt.
Despite being a third -grade Martial Artist, you managed to slay Equal King, a second-grade Martial Artist of the Underworld. While this won you great fame in Tiandu, you were injured by his Yin Sha Qi before his death.
A month later, under Qingyang Zi's guidance, you arrived at the Taihe Mountain True Martial Sect to meet the True Martial Sect Leader.
Twenty-four years old: Using the "Four Seasons Celestial Skill", along with instructions and assistance from the True Martial Sect Leader, you began to transform the Yin Sha Qi in your body, enhancing your skill.
Half a year later, you successfully transformed the Yin Sha Qi in your body to increase your power, your strength soared instead of decreasing.
You did not leave, but stayed in the True Martial Sect to cultivate and verify your martial arts path.
Twenty-five years old: You returned to Tiandu and were ambushed by two second-grade assassins from the Underworld just before reaching. You easily killed them both and returned to the Martial
Academy, where you were pleased to see Pang Hong had broken through to the ninth-grade realm.
The 'Martial Scripture' was successfully compiled, which drew the attention of a gang of thugs intent on ransacking the Martial Academy.
With your formidable strength, you slew several second-grade thugs, drawing the attention of a first-grade thug. Facing his thunderous attacks, you were caught off guard.
That night, the 'Martial Scripture' was destroyed, the Martial Academy suffered heavy losses, and the young man who called you his teacher was killed. You survived by chance, but your skills were wasted.
Although filled with anger, you were helpless.
You swore to re-cultivate your martial arts and take revenge in the future.
Twenty-six years old: You bid farewell to Gu Ji and left Tiandu, unexpectedly encountering King Xing, who was also leaving Tiandu. Both of you hit it off immediately and found kindred spirits in each other. King Xing did not discriminate against you for your low strength and invited you to return to his fiefdom to discuss Dao.
With no place to go, you went with King Xing.
Twenty-eight years old: Gu Ji was appointed as the Left Deputy Minister of the Ministry of War.
Twenty-nine years old: You received news about an uprising in the Northwest Dao, Gu Ji's loss in quelling the rebellion, and his demise in the uproar. You were filled with sorrow.
Thirty years old: You received a gift from Gu Ji delivered by someone before his death. It was a technique he begged from a scholar. You burst into tears upon seeing this.
Thirty-one years old: King Xing passed away, and you lost another close friend. Overwhelmed with grief, you departed from the Xing King Mansion after King Xing was buried..