Chapter 52 - 51: This Zhao Ci, a Man of Monstrous Ambition

Chapter 52: Chapter 51: This Zhao Ci, a Man of Monstrous Ambition

In an instant, countless memories flooded his mind, becoming bodily instincts in the blink of an eye.

Imperial Extreme Scattering Hand was a top-tier martial art. Cultivated to its peak, one’s hands would become phantom-like and intangible, capable of catching divine weapons bare-handed.

The Celestial Demon Body Refining Secret Technique, on the other hand, was a secret skill of destruction and rebirth. It could completely ravage the body, then stimulate its vitality to rebuild. The stronger one’s foundation and the more powerful their existing Physical Cultivation Technique, the more potent the effect.

There were four optimal moments to use it.

After the first Body Refining: crush all muscles for the Heaven-Forming Demon Body.

After the first tendon transformation: snap all tendons and meridians for the Refined Celestial Demon Tendons.

After the first bone forging: shatter all bones for Establishing the Celestial Demon Bone.

And finally, after opening a Physical Body Divine Treasure: destroy and rebuild the entire body to completely forge the Celestial Demon Undying Body.

Once the Celestial Demon Undying Body was formed, unless a divine punishment descended and instantly crushed every cell in the body, the only way to die was of old age.

’And as for me...’

Zhao Ci grinned. ’I haven’t even started my first Body Refining, yet I’ve already mastered all sorts of top-tier combat techniques and secret skills. It feels a bit strange.’

’But the timing is perfect. With this Celestial Demon Body Refining Secret Technique, it’s like I’m being forced down the path of achieving sainthood through the physical body!’

’But damn, this stuff really burns through Insight!’

’I just earned four thousand Insight, and it’s gone in a flash. I need to find a way to earn a huge amount.’

He took a deep breath and asked, "Father Emperor! Will these two hundred thousand taels of silver be counted toward this son’s merits?"

Upon hearing this, everyone turned to look at Zhao Huan.

Many had heard the rumors beforehand and knew that Zhao Huan had taken these two hundred thousand taels from his private treasury to drive down pill prices.

But if they were counted as merit, it would mean an easy twenty merit points, which would be far too unfair.

"Of course not!"

On this point, Zhao Huan did not indulge him. "The Imperial Clan Court stipulates that all merit for the mansion competition must come from tasks assigned by the four ministries—Revenue, Works, Punishments, and War—or from the ledgers of your various enterprises. There is no room for loopholes. Although you have performed a great service, don’t think you can get by with clever tricks."

Zhao Ci knew it would be so. He wouldn’t be short on money in the future, so while two hundred thousand taels was a lot, it was meaningless to him.

What he lacked was Insight.

After a moment’s thought, he said, "In that case, this son requests that Father Emperor use these two hundred thousand taels to purchase pills from the Xingyu Pill Workshop and bestow them upon the common people! This will alleviate the pressure on the populace and display the boundless imperial grace."

"Whoa!"

An uproar immediately swept through the venue.

All eyes instantly focused on Zhao Ci.

’Using the Emperor’s money to buy his own pills, and then gifting them to the people.’

’Even though the gifts are in the Emperor’s name, who wouldn’t feel indebted to the Xingyu Pill Association?’

’What a brilliant scheme!’

’He’s really willing to part with it!’

On either side of the viewing platform, the expressions of the Crown Prince and the Fourth Prince turned somewhat unnatural.

Before, whenever they heard that the Emperor intended to change the heir apparent to Zhao Ci, they would have just treated it as a joke. But now...

’Hot damn!’

’This kid actually believes it!’

’Trying to win people’s hearts like this?’

’The ambition of a wolf!’

’The ambition of a wolf!’

Gu Xiangzhu also snapped her eyes open, studying Zhao Ci with a puzzled expression.

Zhao Huan was also taken aback. "Ci, are you certain you want to do this?"

He had thought of using Zhao Ci to muddy the waters.

But he had never considered truly throwing Zhao Ci into the battle for succession.

Zhao Ci nodded solemnly. "I am certain! As a Yu Minister, it is my duty to share my sovereign’s burdens. Today, the Great Yu has countless ambitious youths who cannot bear to drag down their families. The only thing standing between them and serving the nation might be a single elixir. Therefore, this son implores Father Emperor to bestow these pills upon the people. This son is willing to serve you faithfully in this matter."

’When the time comes, I’ll gather everyone, put five thousand pills into ten thousand boxes for a blind box opening. There’s no way I won’t be able to farm some wishes.’

’A single Low-Grade Qi Cultivation Pill is equivalent to a family’s income for several years. A reward of 10 Insight isn’t too much to ask, right?’

’Five thousand pills... that’s fifty thousand points.’

’Wotama is truly a little genius at farming wishes.’

’Of course.’

’If I used these two hundred thousand taels for disaster relief, I could get even more.’

’But disaster relief isn’t part of the mansion competition, and forcing my way in would be suicidal.’

’Using the Emperor’s money to boost my own performance and earn Insight is already a pretty good choice.’

Zhao Huan pondered for a long time. "Good! We will do as you say. In the coming days, the Xingyu Pill Association must not slack off. Once you have gathered the pills, come to the Imperial Palace to discuss the matter of bestowing them!"

"Yes!"

Zhao Ci nodded. He knew this move would draw a lot of hatred.

’But this Great Yu belongs to that Old Deng, Zhao Huan. The amount of pressure I’m under is entirely up to him.’

’As long as it’s not time for that Old Deng to ’harvest’ me, no one can put any real pressure on me.’

’I just need to focus on grinding my level.’

’Why the hell should I care about this riffraff!’

’As for whether this will affect recruiting Mansion Officials... would staying out of trouble really have made a difference?’

"Then let’s conclude for today!"

Zhao Huan waved his hand, signaling for Eunuch Li to help him leave.

Following that, the various important figures who had come to observe also dispersed, leaving only the crowd of Alchemists.

Zhu Li hiked up her fiery-red Pill Robe and came running over, TAP-TAP-TAP-TAP, her face flushed with excitement. "Zhao Ci! Zhao Ci! Aren’t I amazing?"

Zhao Ci was speechless.

’Before she got famous, she called me ’Your Highness.’’

’After she gets famous, it’s just ’Zhao Ci,’ is it?’

’Forget it.’

’She’s the queen of the assembly line.’

’If she called me her son, I’d still have to answer.’

Tributor Zhang also came over, his face full of shame. "Your Highness, our alchemy speed couldn’t keep up. We didn’t manage to grab many orders for Top-Grade Qi Cultivation Pills."

"It’s not your fault!"

Zhao Ci laughed. "It’s mainly because the other Pill Workshops changed their strategy. At first, they were mocking us, saying that an Alchemist of your level had stooped to refining something as basic as Qi Cultivation Pills. But in the end, that bunch of rats started refining Qi Cultivation Pills themselves. Isn’t that hilarious?"

Tributor Zhang couldn’t help but smile, his mood instantly lightening.

In contrast, the Chief Stewards of the other Pill Workshops had awful expressions, and many left in a huff. Zhao Yong, in particular, had disappeared at some unknown point.

Zhu Li, however, kept glancing toward the Alchemy Platforms.

Zhao Ci grinned. "If you want to go gloat, then go. Damn it! A bunch of blind fools, daring to mock the number one Alchemist of my Xingyu Pill Association."

"Hehe!"

The smile on Zhu Li’s face grew even brighter. She hadn’t expected this boss of hers to understand her so well.

Zhao Ci instructed, "Tributor Zhang, you go with her. Don’t let our number one Alchemist get beaten up!"

Tributor Zhang: "You got it!"

Zhu Li was speechless.

Although she was a bit exasperated with Zhao Ci, she still ran happily toward the Yonghe Pill Workshop’s Alchemy Platform.

Inside that Pill Workshop were many Alchemists from the Feng and Zhu families.

"Where is that bitch Zhu Mei? Get out here and take your beating! The number one Alchemist of the Xingyu Pill Association is here to teach you a lesson!"

In an instant, the faces of the Alchemists at the Yonghe Pill Workshop turned green.

...

Watching Zhu Li go off to gloat, Zhao Ci also felt much more relaxed.

Just then, Gu Xiangzhu’s Transmission came through.

"Ci, please invite the Chief Stewards of the Xun Mo and Lingyun families to the Pill Workshop for a talk."

"Yes!"

Zhao Ci immediately went after them. The two were hostile at first.

But after much consideration, they nodded, saying they would head to the Xiang’s Pill Workshop immediately after settling their own Alchemists.

Judging by their expressions, they had likely guessed Zhao Ci’s intentions.

’Looks like there’s still hope?’

Zhao Ci had to marvel at Gu Xiangzhu’s shrewd methods. If she could merge these two Pill Workshops, and with the National Pill Golden Plaque, they might truly have a chance of competing with the three great alchemy clans.

’Of course, only competing in certain aspects.’

Without the inherited Divine Patterns of the three great clans, their foundation could never truly match up.

He waited for the two outside the Vermilion Bird Gate for a while before they all went to the Xiang’s Pill Workshop together.

As expected, Gu Xiangzhu had been waiting for a long time. When the two arrived, she received them with the etiquette befitting honored guests, and after a few pleasantries, they naturally entered negotiations.

Zhao Ci listened as the woman laid out all the pros and cons. Although her tone was calm from beginning to end, her words were incredibly inflammatory.

Zhao Ci couldn’t help but nod along. He felt she was like someone running a pyramid scheme; if he were the Chief Steward of one of the two Pill Workshops, he would have decided on the spot to build a commercial empire with her.

But unexpectedly, these two Chief Stewards were surprisingly stubborn.

The negotiations lasted from the afternoon until sunset.

The two of them looked extremely conflicted. They were clearly tempted, but they stubbornly refused to agree.

In the end, Gu Xiangzhu almost lost her temper, and the negotiations ended on a sour note.

"How outrageous!"

Gu Xiangzhu was incensed.

Zhao Ci also felt something was off. "Mother! I feel there’s something strange about this. You’ve already offered significant concessions. From the way they acted, it seems they were determined not to merge. But if that’s what they really thought, why did they come with me in the first place?"

Gu Xiangzhu snorted coldly. "It’s simple. Someone is pulling strings behind the scenes!"

"Ah?"

Zhao Ci feigned shock. "Who’s pulling strings?"

’I could figure out it was that Old Deng, Zhao Huan, with my toes.’

’He’s happy that the pill prices have dropped.’

’But there’s no way he’d let Gu Xiangzhu become too powerful.’

"You don’t need to worry about this matter. You’ve already done very well today."

Gu Xiangzhu stood up and walked out from behind the screen. "Let’s return to Wangshu Palace first. That bastard Zhao Yong nearly injured you today. You must cultivate at once. Mother will act as your Dharma Protector. After you achieve a breakthrough, it won’t be too late to tell Mother your Wine Refining Technique."

"Yes!"

Zhao Ci nodded and boarded the carriage with her.

It was clear that Gu Xiangzhu had been playing the role of a Kind Mother recently.

Otherwise, she wouldn’t have decided to act as his Dharma Protector first.

’It’s just that the woman seems to have a bit of a temper today.’

[Gu Xiangzhu’s Current Wish]: Completely take control of the entire Xingyu Pill Association. Wish Completion Reward: Insight +1000, Stealable Skill: Demon Palm of the Eight Desolates.

Zhao Ci: "!!!"

’Her wish has evolved from the previous ’Medicine Extraction’ to ’take control of the entire Xingyu Pill Association.’’

’This Demon Palm of the Eight Desolates... just the name sounds so damn badass.’

’I really want to learn it!’

’But I can’t let go!’

’But the upgrade to her wish clearly shows her patience meter is full. She’s been the contractor for so long without even seeing the core technology. Then, just when she finally achieved a partial victory, she got played by Zhao Huan.’

’On top of that, she saw me exchanging glances with Zhao Huan at the Gongdan Conference.’

’Anyone in her shoes would have their patience meter full.’

’Any unexpected change could make her explode.’

’I might have pushed too hard this time, instigated too much!’

’I’m probably in deep trouble!’

’Damn it!’

’That Old Deng, Zhao Huan! He said he’d see me after the Gongdan Conference, so why hasn’t he shown up to have it out with Gu Xiangzhu yet?’

’Could it be...’

’...that this tribulation is my destiny?’

Zhao Ci closed his eyes and looked at the floating Insult Talisman and Self-reflection Talisman.

Then he glanced down at Gu Xiangzhu’s fair, lustrous ankles.

’If I don’t seize this opportunity today, I’m afraid I’ll never get another chance.’

He said with emotion, "Mother! You’ve worked so hard today, and you wasted so much time on those two who don’t know what’s good for them. Later, you’ll even have to act as Dharma Protector for your son. It’s truly been hard on you!"

’The feeling of impending doom is getting stronger.’

’Better lay the groundwork first!’

The success of the Gongdan Conference was just him following the plan.

His real battle was only just beginning.

~~~~~~

I feel like getting on the Sanjiang recommendation list is a long shot.

But regardless of whether it gets on Sanjiang, the novel should be going premium around next Tuesday.

The plot before and after it goes premium should be the first major turning point in the book.

I have plenty of Chapters saved up.

I can release 50,000 words on the day it goes premium.

I hope everyone continues to follow the latest Chapters.

Also, asking for monthly tickets and recommendation tickets.