Chapter 187 - 186: Heavy Snow and Hot Pot

Chapter 187: Chapter 186: Heavy Snow and Hot Pot

As the Dragon and Tiger Qi Blood grew stronger and more refined, the faint light flickering within it became more brilliant. Its effect in purging the impurities and filth from his Dantian and the surrounding channels grew increasingly potent.

Feeling more and more impurities being purged, and his physique continuously improving, a smile appeared on Xia Wuyang’s face.

By the time the medicinal power of the Blood Lotus Fruit was completely consumed, his Cultivation and strength had stabilized at the Celestial Human Middle Stage, and he had smoothly broken through a bottleneck.

At this moment, many of his attributes had improved significantly. The improvements to his Qi Blood and overall physique were a given, but the greatest enhancement was to his speed.

’Time to test my current speed!’

Xia Wuyang, disguised and wearing a cloak, silently arrived at a deserted courtyard nearby.

A crescent moon hung in the sky, its clear light bathing the ground.

Without activating any Body or Step Techniques, nor using any Mortal Artifact, he took a casual step and his figure flickered like a phantom, crossing a distance of several dozen zhang.

Leaves were drifting down from a giant tree in the courtyard. He casually plucked a single falling leaf from the air, yet the other leaves around it remained completely undisturbed.

’My speed has really improved a lot. If I combine it with my Companion Talent, Light as a Feather, as well as other Combat Techniques, Secret Techniques, and Mortal Artifacts, the result will surely be even more impressive.’

With a thought, he activated his other abilities. His figure abruptly blurred, leaving a series of afterimages in the courtyard—illusions that could only be produced by reaching an extremely high speed. Other Celestial Humans would find them hard to distinguish, and even an ordinary True Monarch would have trouble telling them apart.

Even more astonishingly, as he sped about, the falling leaves around him didn’t even stir, remaining completely unaffected.

This wasn’t just ease of movement; his speed was so fast that it no longer displaced the air. On a battlefield, his enemies would fall inexplicably, unable to even touch the hem of his robes.

Back in the Practice Room, he casually swung his longsword, yet no afterimage of the blade could be seen. This too was a testament to his speed reaching a certain level.

The improvement in his speed was truly astounding. But the breakthrough to the Celestial Human Middle Stage hadn’t just boosted his speed; it had enhanced him in many other ways as well.

For example, his Basic Power had shockingly reached 400,000 kilograms, which was also his baseline destructive force.

With the enhancement from his tailor-made Top Level Mortal Techniques and Arts, as well as his Top Level Mortal Artifact, this destructive force could soar by about eleven times.

In that case, Xia Wuyang’s destructive force could surge to over four million kilograms—a destructive power of more than four thousand tons.

A single strike carrying over four thousand tons of destructive force—one can only imagine how astonishing that was. It was already approaching the destructive power of an ordinary True Monarch.

There were also improvements in other areas such as sight, hearing, and touch. And, of course, his Defense had also been boosted.

By breaking through to the Celestial Human Middle Stage, Xia Wuyang’s comprehensive strength had soared by several tenths at the very least, bringing him ever closer to Celestial Human Perfection.

As long as he could step into Celestial Human Perfection and purge all impurities and filth from his Dantian, he would be able to use his Extraordinary Spiritual Power to forcibly absorb the Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi from the outside world, condense a True Qi Seed, and thereby step into the True Monarch Realm.

At that time, Xia Wuyang would truly stand at the Peak of the Great Xia Dynasty, on the same level as the hidden old ancestors of the Royal Family.

Even Emperor Xia himself might not have reached that level.

’What a waste of this Blood Lotus Fruit. For an ordinary Martial Artist, it might have been enough to approach the Celestial Human Late Stage, unlike me, who barely managed to break through to the Celestial Human Middle Stage.’

Sensing the Qi Blood within his body, Xia Wuyang sighed.

His Companion Talent, Deep Roots and Strong Trunk, made his Cultivation Foundation far surpass that of ordinary people. His comprehensive strength also far exceeded theirs, perhaps even reaching around three times that of a Martial Artist at the same level.

But this also meant that during his cultivation and breakthroughs, he needed three times the accumulation of a Martial Artist at the same level. This Blood Lotus Fruit, after all, was an extraordinary item among High Level Mortal Treasures, very close to being a Top Level Mortal Treasure.

For an ordinary Celestial Human, it might have allowed them to advance even more, perhaps even by two minor realms. But for him, it was barely enough to advance one minor realm.

However, Xia Wuyang had no regrets about this. Cultivation was like building a tower; the more solid the Foundation, the farther one could go in the future, and the greater the power one would possess.

When the day came that he could advance no further, and everyone was at the same realm, Xia Wuyang, with a Cultivation Foundation three times that of his peers, would inevitably be an Overlord Level existence among Martial Artists of the same rank.

At this moment, relying on his Body Refining Cultivation alone, Xia Wuyang’s combat strength was already close to that of an ordinary True Monarch. The effect of his Companion Talent, Deep Roots and Strong Trunk, was immense.

Outside, the clapper for the fourth watch of the night sounded, but Xia Wuyang seemed not to notice, continuing to consolidate and adapt to his new power. By dawn, he had preliminarily stabilized his gains.

’Time to leave the Practice Room, then, and continue playing ’eagle catching chicks’ with the beauties in the Sleeping Palace. Whichever one gets caught will be thoroughly... appreciated by me.’

Dim-witted and incompetent, insatiably fond of women—the very image of a useless Crown Prince.

For some reason, playing this kind of shameless game as a break from his intense Cultivation felt surprisingly good. At the very least, it was an effective way to relax.

Especially when savoring each peerless young beauty he had rarely sampled before, the feeling was even better.

How could the wise and martial Crown Prince of the past possibly indulge in such nightly debauchery? Even if he had the stamina for it, he couldn’t have done so.

Now, using the opportunity to hide his true strength, putting on a good show as an incompetent Crown Prince wasn’t so bad after all.

Before he knew it, the number of young maidens in Wenhua Hall was approaching three hundred, and their "quality" was getting better and better. Xia Wuyang had taken every single one of them to his bed, and the name of the debauched Crown Prince echoed throughout the Imperial Court and beyond.

The year was drawing to a close. The twelfth lunar month had just arrived, and with it, the first heavy snow of the season fell upon Fallen Dragon Land as expected. Goose-feather-like snowflakes fell thick and fast, and in just half a day, the entirety of White Jade City was painted a pristine white.

About nine months had passed since Xia Wuyang awakened his Supreme Talent, Seven-Aperture Exquisite. He had awakened it in the spring, and now it was already the twelfth month.

A thick layer of snow had accumulated on the glazed tiles of Wenhua Hall. Outside, the branches of ancient pine trees were bent low under the weight, and now and then, a clump of snow would slide off with a soft "PLOP."

But inside Wenhua Hall, it was as warm and pleasant as spring, with not the slightest trace of the bone-chilling cold outside.

Four gilded braziers burned brightly, filled with special Silver Silk Charcoal that produced not a wisp of smoke, only radiating a cozy warmth.

In the center of the hall stood a Purple Sandalwood eight-immortals table. On it sat a fine copper hot pot, bubbling away with a "GURGLE GURGLE."

Goji berries, red dates, and other highly nourishing ingredients tumbled in the milky-white broth, and a rich aroma of bone broth mixed with medicinal herbs permeated the entire hall.

Xia Wuyang, draped in a dark fox fur cloak, reclined on a soft couch covered with a tiger skin. He was surrounded by beauties on both sides, like the moon surrounded by stars. How could one not be immersed in such a scene?

From time to time, a beauty would offer him fragrant tea or fine wine, along with a variety of rare and exotic fruits. It wasn’t just ordinary fruit, either—some was passed from a beauty’s own lips, carrying her unique fragrance.

Paradise on earth could be no better than this.