Chapter 258 Part 1

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Chapter 258 Part 1: Emperor Yonghe’s Support, the Great Yan Royal Family’s Strength (1)

Inside the Imperial Study.

Emperor Yonghe organized the messy memorials.

As an emperor, he couldn’t act on impulse, so even if his emotions got out of control at times, he had to calm himself down afterwards.

The Flying Fish Guard was Emperor Yonghe’s eyes and ears, with the most outstanding members being at the 3rd to 1st ranks of the Spiritual Refining Period. Chu Xing was at the 3rd rank of the Spiritual Refining Period.

Martial arts in the world had progressed significantly over the past decades, mainly referring to the Martial Saint and the Wuji Association.

The Great Yan Imperial Court, as well as major sects like Wudang and Shaolin destroyed by the Martial Saint, all practiced what the Wuji Association called the "ancient method," which was stuck in the martial world of forty years ago.

Therefore, relying on the Spirit Refining martial artists in the Flying Fish Guard to gather deep intelligence in Great Qin City from either King Qin or cultivators behind him was quite beyond expectations.

Whether it’s a mysterious Qiao family member or the secrets of King Qin, the Flying Fish Guard can’t uncover…

"Your Majesty." At this moment, the Flying Fish Guard Chu Xing stepped inside:

"The Medicine Man you ordered to find the medicine has been found."

"Oh?" Emperor Yonghe’s eyes lit up immediately, and he quickly said:

"Quickly present it to me, let me take a look."

Chu Xing opened the jade box, inside it was a sparkling and translucent snow lotus flower, as beautiful as jade.

"This is a Winter Snow Lotus grown in the extremely cold regions of Bei Province, very precious and rare," Chu Xing explained:

"It only blooms once every ten years, for just a moment. It must be picked at that exact moment and stored in a special jade box to preserve its medicinal properties."

"The Medicine Man waited for three months in the snowy mountains of Bei Province before finally witnessing the flower blooming… However, he stayed in the snow for so long that his toes got frostbitten."

Emperor Yonghe pondered for a moment and said:

"Then, as a reward, I will give you ten thousand silver coins."

"Your Majesty, shall we handle this Winter Snow Lotus as usual? Split it into two parts, with three parts sent to the Qianyuan Palace and seven parts sent to the Great Dao Sect’s monastery?" Chu Xing asked again.

"Yes," Emperor Yonghe nodded, sighing slightly.

Most of the precious treasures in this world are controlled by cultivators.

The remaining parts are usually found in remote and dangerous places, either difficult to extract, extremely perilous, guarded by monsters, or inherently dangerous. Even cultivators could risk their lives there.

As a result, Medicine Men emerged.

Though cultivators have long lifespans, they are much more efficient at gathering herbs by hand than ordinary people.

However, herb gathering is a tiresome and dangerous task, better suited for ordinary folks.

Over the years, the palace has collected various precious materials, keeping three parts for themselves and contributing seven parts.

As for the three parts that the palace keeps for itself…

"This main ingredient is extraordinary. With this main ingredient, the power of the magical medicine furnace can be enhanced. I wonder how much progress can be made this time? Our ancestors have been waiting for many years, so we must send it immediately."

Emperor Yonghe thought for a moment, then changed his mind:

"Forget it, you can put it down. I will go there myself."

Recently, there were troubles in Great Qin Prefecture, and the Great Dao Sect supported King Qin. Emperor Yonghe was feeling tired and also wanted to see the esteemed ancestor of the royal family, known as the Sea God Needle.

……………………………..

The palace kitchen.

A tall and muscular chef was skillfully using a knife, effortlessly cutting through the muscles and bones of a cow. The cow was quickly being butchered under his knife.

His knife skills were excellent, the kitchen knife in his hands moved like a butterfly, dazzling the eyes with its speed and precision.

"Xiaohu, you really have some skills with that knife. What do you work as in the kitchen?" other kitchen staff praised.

"It’s not that the chefs in the royal kitchen are not good, for a kitchen hand to enter the royal kitchen, that’s truly reaching the top…"

"Honestly, with such good knife skills, but only average cooking skills, even if you enter the royal kitchen, you might just end up as a meat cutter’s assistant, it’s somewhat underusing your talent."

The young chef with the surname Hu smiled slightly.

"Being a chef is not my preference; I aspire to practice martial arts."

"?" The other kitchen assistants were surprised.

"What are you saying? Did you come to the wrong place? This is the Royal Kitchen, you are in the wrong place."

"Just because you don’t want to work as a helper for martial artists, does that mean you can’t be a good chef? The skills needed in the Royal Kitchen for cutting meat are different from the sword techniques of martial artists, they are not the same, right?"

Among the people’s discussions, the young cook named Hu remained unfazed, even seeming a bit strange.

"Haven’t you heard of it before?"

"Decades ago, there was another imperial chef named Hu in the royal kitchen. After he laid down his butcher’s knife, he immediately became the top martial artist in the world, wielding the legendary ‘Cow Cleaver Knife’ that no one could match."

"Wasn’t his knife skills honed in the royal kitchen?"

"Do you also believe in such absurd rumors?" The others remained silent.

"Why wouldn’t I believe it? Slicing meat in the royal kitchen is a process that sharpens a martial artist’s mindset. He spent decades slaughtering cattle to become the top in knife skills. What’s wrong with following in his footsteps?" said the young man surnamed Hu.

Just then, footsteps were heard outside the door, and the Emperor’s guard Chu Xing approached.

"Prepare medicinal meals for the Qianyuan Palace… get red fruit, snow bone ginseng, purple smoke fruit… make sure to have all these ready, the medicinal meals are necessary."

Chu Xing had no intention of chatting with the imperial chefs and hurriedly left.

Before leaving, he also glanced at the young helper surnamed Hu out of the corner of his eye and shook his head silently:

"This chicken soup is not something you can just drink anytime."

"The former swordsman surnamed Hu did indeed achieve the top position in swordsmanship in the Royal Kitchen of the palace… but rumors are just rumors, they only tell half the story, the truth is more than that."

"How could a chef in this world suddenly have an epiphany, give up the butcher’s knife, and become a master of the martial arts? Are the other martial artists just silly pigs?"

Chu Xing was not only a guard for the emperor, but also a spy known as the Flying Fish Guard, who knew a lot more things than ordinary people.

"When that former master of martial arts was still working in the imperial kitchen, he was skilled in cooking, which greatly pleased the ancestors in the deep palace."

"When the old ancestor was in a good mood, he saw him as a talented and promising individual. His understanding of martial arts was good, so he would often give him guidance."

"So, this young man named Hu wanting to imitate the master is not as easy as he thinks…. Becoming a master of the martial arts is not something that can be achieved easily."

"Even if your knife skills are excellent, without guidance from your predecessors, it’s as good as futile…"

In the first forty years of the martial arts world, there were ten superb martial artists.

The royal ancestor in the deep palace lived for a very long time, so his martial arts skills were even better than those of ordinary superb martial artists, giving him a bit more advantage. Teaching the younger generation was a piece of cake for him.

After giving instructions to the royal kitchen, Chu Xing headed straight to the deep palace.

The presence of the royal ancestor was also considered a secret.

Ordinary people only knew that there was a senior member of the royal family in the deep palace, but they didn’t know specifics like how long this senior member had lived, or if they possessed martial arts skills… Chu Xing himself wasn’t too clear either.

However, being a Spirit Refining martial artist and spending a lot of time with Emperor Yonghe, Chu Xing could make some guesses about things without knowing everything for sure.

…………………………………

It was early morning, with the soft morning light shining gently in the royal garden.

Some noblewomen and royal family members got up early to practice martial arts in this royal garden.

They gathered in small groups, claiming to practice martial arts, but actually just passing the time.

How can the noblewomen in the palace endure the hardship of martial arts practice?

They practiced martial arts under the morning sunlight, their movements slow and weak, lacking strength and vigor. It was more like a gentle exercise than actual martial arts practice.

If Qiao Mu were here, he would surely recognize that these people were practicing a modified version of the Qiao Family Long Life Fist.

A century ago, a hundred-year-old grandmaster emerged from Heyang City’s Qiao Family, gaining worldwide fame. Later on, the art of martial arts was introduced into the palace for teaching. However, it was evident that these nobles only desired longevity and not the dedication to endure the hardships of martial arts practice.

Except for an elderly man in the corner with white hair.

Despite his white hair, this elderly man had few wrinkles, looking youthful. His sharp eyes were full of vigor, unlike ordinary elderly people.

Although his movements were slow, there was a harmony between the path of his fist and his breathing. Two visible streams of white vapor even emanated from his nostrils as he executed his fist techniques, revealing a clear distinction from the other nobles nearby.

"Hoo…" After completing a set of fist techniques, the old man stood still, gently exhaling a breath of white vapor.

However, in the morning light, the white vapor was surprisingly condensed, like an arrow released, lingering for a long time before dissipating.

"Is he here?" The old man didn’t even turn around, he just asked quietly.

From some time onwards, there were no people around the royal garden, and it became quiet.

The palace nobles who were chatting in small groups a moment ago had already left on their own, and now Emperor Yonghe was walking briskly, followed by several guards.

"Grand Ancestor." Emperor Yonghe slightly bowed, showing respect.

"Since you are here, listen to some words of wisdom from this old man." The white-haired old man spoke:

"In the past, the founding emperor of Great Yan used the Human Emperor Sword to establish the country through martial arts. Not only was he strong in battle, but the martial arts skills of the emperor himself were also the best in the land at that time."

"If someone’s martial arts reach a superb level, they become a powerful warrior on the battlefield. During the chaotic times two to three hundred years ago, the founding emperor naturally had countless followers who responded to his call."

"The ‘Imperial Extreme True Skill’ created by the founding emperor was also considered the top martial arts skill at that time."

"Besides the martial art "Imperial Extreme True Skill," the Qiao Family in Heyang City also practices the "Long Life Fist," a special skill that is said to be connected to the Long Life Gate of the Nine Heavenly Immortal Gates."

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