Chapter 58

In the royal palace, there is a royal training ground built at the foot of Jun Mountain.

The sky had not yet brightened when the training ground was already filled with the sound of "slaps." Princes and princesses were all practicing martial arts in the training ground.

Prince Yunwu has a total of nine sons and thirteen daughters. As long as they have activated the Divine Martial Mark, they will definitely come to the training ground every morning to practice. This is a daily required course!

Zhang Ruochen had never been to the training ground before. Today, he was dragged to the training ground by the Ninth Princess, who insisted that he must accompany her in practice.

Indeed, the royal training ground is seven or eight times larger than the Lin family's training ground, entirely paved with one-meter-thick white stone slabs.

In the training ground, princes and princesses can spar with each other, or they can practice with guards of similar cultivation.

Moreover, every day, a General of the Earth Apex Realm patrols the training ground, simultaneously guiding the princes and princesses in their practice.

"Little Princess, when practicing the Wind Chasing Sword Technique, the most important thing is to have steady steps and a smooth sword technique... Raise your left hand a little higher, like this. The sword should be as swift as the wind and as fast as lightning."

The General of the Earth Apex Realm was guiding the little princess in practicing a lower-grade human-level sword technique, demonstrating it for her as he gave instructions.

The little princess, only six years old, with a delicate and adorable face, was already learning the Wind Chasing Sword Technique with a semblance of skill, holding a small sword in her hand.

Seeing the Ninth Princess and Zhang Ruochen, the little princess's eyes lit up, and she ran over to Zhang Ruochen with a somewhat childish voice, saying, "Are you my Ninth Brother?"

Zhang Ruochen glanced at the Ninth Princess and nodded, saying, "Do you know me?"

"Of course! First in the year-end assessment, first on the Yellow List, a martial arts prodigy. Master said that Ninth Brother's sword skills have already reached the high-level realm of sword following the heart, even surpassing him. He told me to take Ninth Brother as a role model and practice diligently. Ninth Brother, can you teach me how to practice and reach the realm of sword following the heart?"

Although the little princess was young, she spoke clearly and logically, not at all like a child.

Zhang Ruochen smiled, finding the little princess very cute, and asked, "Who is your master?"

The little princess pointed to a general in armor not far away, saying, "My master is one of the ten top experts of the Imperial Guard, General Hosi."

When Zhang Ruochen looked at General Hosi, Hosi had already walked over, slightly bowing to Zhang Ruochen and saying, "This humble general, Hosi, pays respects to the Ninth Prince."

Hosi is a strong Earth Apex Realm cultivator with a high status in the Imperial Guard. His willingness to bow to Zhang Ruochen indicates that he highly values him and does not dare to be negligent.

The other princes and princesses must treat him as a master and do not receive such treatment.

"Indeed, a strong Earth Apex Realm cultivator, with a momentum like a mountain or the sea, giving a sense of being unattainably high and unfathomably deep." Zhang Ruochen nodded slightly.

Although he only glanced, Zhang Ruochen had already guessed Hosi's approximate cultivation.

Due to Zhang Ruochen's arrival, the entire training ground became very lively, and all the princes and princesses stopped practicing, curiously walking over.

The Fifth Prince said with a somewhat sarcastic tone, "It is said that your cultivation has reached the Great Perfection of the Yellow Apex Realm, and you have consecutively defeated ten Yellow List martial artists, making you the top of the Yellow List in Yunwu County. I am very curious, to what extent has your strength reached? I wonder if the Ninth Prince can give us a glimpse?"

The Sixth Prince sneered, "It is said that even the third on the Yellow List, Shui Wenxin, was defeated by the Ninth Prince. Now, everyone says that the Ninth Prince has the courage of a thousand men. I wonder how the Ninth Prince's formidable strength compares to that of a Mystic Apex Realm martial artist?"

The little princess and the other princesses all showed expectant expressions. Recently, they had heard many legends about the Ninth Prince and wanted to know if he was really as powerful as the legends suggested.

"The Ninth Prince, let the Third Prince learn from your high skills and let the other brothers and sisters see your supreme style." The Third Prince stepped out from the crowd with a faint smile.

The Third Prince is already twenty-eight years old, wearing a silver robe with golden edges, hands behind his back, and smiling at Zhang Ruochen standing opposite him.

Among the nine sons and thirteen princesses of Prince Yunwu, the Seventh Prince has the highest talent, followed by the Second Prince, Fourth Prince, Fifth Princess, and Ninth Princess.

The Seventh Prince, under twenty years old, is already an inner disciple of the Yuntai Sect.

The Second Prince and Fifth Princess have both joined the Yuntai Sect. The older Second Prince is already an inner disciple of the Yuntai Sect, while the Fifth Princess is an outer disciple.

The Fourth Prince joined the Martial Market Academy last year and became an outer disciple.

The Third Prince, standing opposite Zhang Ruochen, has participated in the Yuntai Sect's outer disciple examination three times, failing each time.

Hearing that the Ninth Prince is a martial arts prodigy who can enter the Yuntai Sect, the Third Prince naturally felt不服气 (unconvinced), so he decided to defeat Zhang Ruochen personally to prove his strength.

The Ninth Princess said somewhat displeased, "Third Brother, your martial cultivation has already reached the middle stage of the Mystic Apex Realm, while the Ninth Prince is only at the Great Perfection of the Yellow Apex Realm. What would it matter if you defeat the Ninth Prince?"

The Third Prince coldly snorted, "Ninth Sister, what do you mean by that? This prince is afraid that the Ninth Prince will become arrogant and complacent after becoming the top of the Yellow List, so I plan to spar with him. Besides, even if the Ninth Prince is defeated by this prince, it's not a disgrace. After all, I am his elder brother, and being defeated by one's elder brother is also a form of training for him."

"Clap, clap!"

Outside the training ground, a series of claps sounded.

"Third Prince, well said!"

Lin Chenyu and Lin Nishan walked in from a distance, entering the training ground.

"Pay respects to all the princes and princesses." Lin Chenyu bowed to the princes and princesses in the training ground, but his face did not show any sign of respect, instead, it carried a mocking smile.

The Ninth Princess frowned slightly, saying, "Lin Chenyu, Lin Nishan, this is the royal training ground. How can you come here?"

Lin Chenyu took out a waist plate, saying, "By the order of the Empress, from now on, Nishan and I can also come to the royal training ground to practice martial arts and spar with the princes and princesses."

Then, Lin Chenyu put away the waist plate, smiling and saying, "I heard what the Third Prince said just now, and I think it makes a lot of sense. Cousin, are you afraid of losing, or do you look down on the Third Prince?"

Hearing Lin Chenyu's words, the Third Prince's face immediately turned cold, saying, "Ninth Brother, are you afraid of sparring with this prince, or do you really look down on me?"

Zhang Ruochen looked around at the crowd and said, "Since it has come to this, I will spar with the Third Prince."

The Ninth Princess shook her head at Zhang Ruochen, saying, "Ninth Brother, don't be impulsive. The Third Prince has failed to enter the Yuntai Sect multiple times, so he wants to defeat you to find a sense of achievement."

Zhang Ruochen smiled, saying, "Ninth Sister, don't worry, I know my limits."

After several days of practice, Zhang Ruochen's cultivation has improved, and his maximum burst of strength has reached 92 Newtons.

Even if the Third Prince is at the middle stage of the Mystic Apex Realm, Zhang Ruochen still has a chance to defeat him.

Seeing Zhang Ruochen agree, a hint of a satisfied smile appeared on Lin Chenyu's lips. He also felt that the Ninth Prince was too outstanding, and using the prince's hand to humble him would be a fun thing to do.

A smile appeared on the Third Prince's face, saying, "Ninth Brother, be careful. Don't lose to me in the first move, or the top of the Yellow List will lose face."

"Barbarian Bull Battle Fist."

The Third Prince used the middle-grade human-level martial technique, the Barbarian Bull Battle Fist.

The Barbarian Bull Battle Fist is divided into ten levels.

Cultivating the first level allows one to strike with the strength of a barbarian bull.

Cultivating the second level allows one to strike with the strength of four barbarian bulls.

Cultivating the third level allows one to strike with the strength of nine barbarian bulls.

And so on, cultivating the tenth level allows one to strike with the strength of a hundred barbarian bulls.

In the military, many soldiers cultivate the Barbarian Bull Battle Fist, but no one has ever reached the tenth level before the Mystic Apex Realm.

The Third Prince has only cultivated up to the ninth level, able to burst with the strength of 81 bulls.

Although Zhang Ruochen is only at the Great Perfection of the Yellow Apex Realm, his strength far exceeds that of martial artists at the same level. Even without using the Dragon Elephant Prajna Palm, he can burst with the strength of 81 bulls.

Zhang Ruochen struck a palm, colliding with the Third Prince's Barbarian Bull Battle Fist.

"Bang!"

One exchange, and it was a tie.

Zhang Ruochen shook his sleeves, saying, "Is this the strength of a middle-stage Mystic Apex Realm martial artist?"

"Only just beginning."

The Divine Martial Mark on the Third Prince's forehead lit up, and true qi infused his blood. A pale red blood qi escaped from his body, forming a rainbow-like ring around him.

Blood qi like a rainbow.

Only middle-stage Mystic Apex Realm martial artists can achieve blood qi like a rainbow, forming a red ring behind them. The deeper the color of the ring, the stronger the martial artist's cultivation.

The Third Prince's ring was very pale, indicating that he had just reached the middle stage of the Mystic Apex Realm.

The mark of the early stage of the Mystic Apex Realm is boiling blood qi.

The mark of the middle stage of the Mystic Apex Realm is blood qi like a rainbow.

The mark of the late stage of the Mystic Apex Realm is blood qi surging to the sky.

After stimulating the blood qi, the Third Prince's strength increased significantly, bursting with the power of the tenth level of the Barbarian Bull Battle Fist, each punch carrying the strength of a hundred bulls.

"Bang!"

With just one punch, the Third Prince sent Zhang Ruochen flying.

"Is this the strength of the top martial arts prodigy on the Yellow List? Not much."

The Third Prince let out a mad laugh, kicked off with both legs, and charged at Zhang Ruochen like a barbarian bull, delivering eighteen punches in succession.

Zhang Ruochen took