Chapter 16

With his knowledge, even the cultivation techniques of the various heavens were not beyond his comprehension. As for the basic cultivation techniques of this mundane world, they were as simple to him as the启蒙读物《三字经》 and 《百家姓》 (The Three-Character Classic and The Hundred Family Names) are to a child.

After a quick review in his mind, the characteristics, strengths, and weaknesses of the technique were revealed in minute detail.

What made Jiang Chen both amused and exasperated was that in the memory, the previous Jiang Chen had only practiced the 《Purple Qi from the East Technique》 six times in two and a half years.

Moreover, on two of those occasions, he had been called out by his close friends to go out and fool around after just ten minutes of practice.

What was exasperating was that a cultivator could be so lazy, which was truly a rare case.

What was amusing was that the less the previous Jiang Chen had practiced, the better it was for the current Jiang Chen.

This way, he could save a lot of time correcting the previous Jiang Chen's cultivation errors. Practicing a technique six times, and that too intermittently, was almost like starting from zero.

Cultivating a basic technique of this level did not require Jiang Chen to comprehend it deeply. He could easily see many profound aspects that others could not, and he could even improve the technique, making it ten or a hundred times better.

Of course, Jiang Chen did not waste too much mental effort on this entry-level technique, as it was not worth spending too much time on.

After half an hour, Jiang Chen had completely mastered the so-called national foundation technique.

Once he had a thorough understanding, cultivation became simple.

The first time was a bit awkward, but by the second time, he had achieved a comprehensive understanding.

By the third time, it was almost perfect.

The fourth, fifth, and so on...

By the sixth time Jiang Chen practiced, even the old ancestor of the Eastern royal family who created the technique would have been shocked, and might even have wanted to bow down and learn from Jiang Chen.

This was because Jiang Chen had derived dozens of variations from the foundation, and this was still under his restraint.

If he were willing to spend more mental effort, deriving hundreds of variations would have been a breeze.

After a few rounds of practice, Jiang Chen lost interest. Spending too much time on this basic technique was a waste of his prime years.

He decided to take a look at the third assessment.

《Martial Arts Chapter》, 《Herbal Medicine Chapter》, 《Political Tactics Chapter》, 《Military Strategy Chapter》.

The third assessment was roughly about these contents, mostly rote memorization. Of course, there was also some room for free play.

Even without answering the free play part, one could still get a passing score.

The free play part was merely the dividing line between geniuses and mediocrities.

Jiang Chen casually glanced through the material, and it was all rudimentary and simple. With his knowledge and experience, it was like an adult doing a child's homework—simple to the extreme.

"Alright, the Hidden Dragon Examination is a trivial matter, and there's no need to spend too much time on it. At this stage, I must find a cultivation technique suitable for this body. It shouldn't be too good, but it must have infinite potential for improvement."

In Jiang Chen's memory, the cultivation techniques of the various heavens and planes were countless. However, finding a suitable one was not easy.

Firstly, a technique that was too powerful could not be cultivated with this body's qualifications and conditions. It would be like a person used to a simple diet suddenly eating luxurious delicacies, which would inevitably cause digestive problems.

Of course, the technique could not be too poor either. If it was too poor, the starting point would be low, and the potential for improvement would be limited.

Jiang Chen did not want his future cultivation path to be hindered by a poor start.

This was not something to rush. At this stage, Jiang Chen had not yet fully familiarized himself with his body, and thus could not tailor a suitable technique for his current stage.

Anyway, the improved 《Purple Qi from the East Technique》 was sufficient for the time being.

The primary issue at this stage was to deal with Dong Fang Lu.

On the third day, Jiang Chen did not go out but stayed in the library of the Marquis' residence. In this world, he knew almost nothing. The memories from his previous life, aside from a bunch of frivolous and absurd events, were not very valuable.

Jiang Chen did not want to live in a daze. Knowing oneself and the enemy was the key to victory.

Although this was a mundane plane and he was the son of the Heavenly Emperor reincarnated, his previous life's memories could only support him theoretically. In actual cultivation, he still had to rely on this world's body.

The theory could help him avoid many detours and grow faster than others, but it could not make him an unparalleled expert in a short time.

If he were to be complacent and arrogant because of his previous life's memories, he might not even know how he would die one day.

After all, his combat strength in this world was still at the lowest level. There were too many people who could crush him with a finger.

A day of reading deepened Jiang Chen's understanding of this world and made him feel very fulfilled. After nightfall, Jiang Chen entered the cultivation chamber and practiced diligently.

After a night of cultivation, his true qi in the four meridians was further consolidated, and the four meridians he had opened were clearly much stronger after several rounds of tempering.

"At this pace and speed, in another five to six days, my meridian strength will be sufficient to support me in opening the fifth acupoint."

In the realm of true qi cultivation, each step of improvement became more difficult.

Each new meridian opened was several times more difficult than the previous one. If the foundation was not solid, and one rushed to open new meridians, it could lead to collisions between meridians, resulting in minor damage to the meridians and a halt in progress, or in severe cases, the meridians could burst, leading to immediate death.

The path of martial arts was fraught with danger, not just an empty phrase.

Of course, Jiang Chen had his own advantages. His memory contained many techniques for tempering meridians and many methods for refining them. With the help of certain medicinal herbs, he could save a lot of time.

Typically, for those with high talent, the transition from four meridians to five meridians took three months to be considered top-notch, six months to be considered excellent, and nine months to be considered qualified. If it took more than a year, it was considered mediocre.

Of course, there were also those who could never break through, and they were considered subpar.

However, with the techniques and medicinal herbs, Jiang Chen was confident he could break through from four meridians to five meridians in seven days.

One of the procedures he did not need to spend time on was locating the true qi acupoints.

In this world, each true qi acupoint had to be discovered and comprehended.

However, Jiang Chen had the 《True Acupoint Resonance》 technique for locating acupoints.

A night of continuous cultivation made Jiang Chen very satisfied with this life.

The next morning, as the first light of dawn appeared in the east, Jiang Chen got up early and went to the Marquis' residence's training ground. He ran through the 《Purple Qi from the East Technique》 once and practiced the two martial techniques inside.

The 《Purple Cloud Palm》 was graceful and elegant, with movements that were sometimes like falling petals and sometimes like chasing clouds, emphasizing fluidity.

The 《Eastern Royal Finger》, on the other hand, emphasized unpredictability, with movements that were sudden like thunder or shooting stars, catching people off guard.

Jiang Chen's practice mobilized his entire body, and the set of techniques and the two accompanying martial techniques were performed with many nuances that were not in the original.

Unfortunately, there was no audience, or there would have been thunderous applause.

An hour later, after having breakfast, Jiang Chen sent Jiang Zheng to Mr. Song to personally escort the batch of Woyang stones to the royal palace.

The previous Jiang Chen had entered the royal palace several times with Marquis Jiang Han, so he was familiar with the palace's layout and rules.

With the Dragon-Engraved Gold Token, the journey was smooth.

Although the royal palace was a hundred times more magnificent than the temporary residence of Marquis Jiang Han in the capital, it did not interest Jiang Chen.

Compared to the grand scenes he had seen in his previous life, the palace's luxury was insignificant.

"Jiang Chen pays respects to Your Majesty." It was agreed that he would not kneel, so Jiang Chen only bowed slightly when he saw Dong Fang Lu.

These minor etiquette issues were not something Dong Fang Lu was in the mood to nitpick, especially since he had personally granted this honor.

"Jiang Chen, I am pleased that you have come today. Let's forget about the past and look forward, shall we?"

"What happened in the past? Your Majesty, my greatest strength is my poor memory. Hahaha." Jiang Chen did not want to be polite, so he feigned ignorance.

"Good, I like smart people. Xia Ting, take Jiang Chen to the inner courtyard. Have him diagnose Princess Zhiruo."

"Yes, your servant obeys the order." Xia Ting was a eunuch, and a eunuch who could announce orders in the presence of the ruler was naturally of high status.

Xia Ting was a clever person and did not show any disrespect due to Jiang Chen's past. Instead, he was courteous and friendly, saying, "Young Marquis, please follow me."

Jiang Chen nodded. "My steward, Jiang Zheng, will be escorting a batch of stones. Please have them delivered to the princess's quarters."

The royal palace was vast, and it took a while to reach the inner courtyard.

Walking along the quiet path, Jiang Chen shook his head.

In terms of environment, this place in the capital was impeccable, with lush trees, blooming flowers, and a serene atmosphere. The pavilions and corridors were designed with great care and attention to detail.

After walking through a corridor and passing through an archway, they came to an open area. Xia Ting stopped under a cluster of flower trellises.

"Young Marquis, we have arrived."

In the area, there were two people. To be precise, two women. One was a young girl, still retaining some childishness, with a figure that was not fully developed, and she was Dong Fang Zhiruo.

She was currently holding a wooden sword, struggling to parry the attacks of another woman.

The other woman was in her early twenties, with an excellent figure, wearing tight-fitting martial armor that accentuated her curvaceous figure.

She had a fierce and commanding presence, and her movements were strict and authoritative, exuding a spirit of women not yielding to men.

"Got you!"

With a light shout, Dong Fang Zhiruo's wooden sword clattered to the ground, and the other woman's wooden sword was placed against her delicate neck.

Jiang Chen shook his head speechlessly. Who was this woman? She had the nerve to place a wooden sword against a princess's neck during a sparring session. Did she not know how to go easy?

Moreover, hadn't he instructed Dong Fang Zhiruo to stop her martial arts training last time?

"Stupid woman." Jiang Chen's lips curled slightly, and he was highly unimpressed. "Indeed, big breasts and no brains, as the ancients said."

Little did he know, his shaking head and curling lips were seen by the fierce woman, and it brought him trouble.