Chapter 19

These days of persistent refinement, coupled with the aid of medication, finally allowed Jiang Chen to polish the four meridians to a state he found satisfactory.

"Four meridians advancing together, like the four petals of a flower, none more important than the others, almost progressing in unison. Compared to the first time I cultivated, the toughness and strength of these meridians have improved by more than tenfold?"

Jiang Chen was very satisfied with this progress, though he knew that in terms of martial cultivation, the previous Jiang Chen had already fallen behind others by a considerable margin.

However, this was not a reason to be impatient. Jiang Chen still followed his own pace, taking his time, and letting things develop naturally.

Finally, on the morning of the sixth day, Jiang Chen reached his optimal state.

The four streams of true qi, like fierce dragons, were filled with wildness and explosive power. They spontaneously developed a默契 (tacit understanding), a tacit understanding to break through the fifth key acupoint.

The powerful and rhythmic flow of true qi made Jiang Chen feel a sense of tranquility throughout his body.

Breathing out, gathering qi!

The four streams of true qi, like four carp about to leap over the dragon gate, were full of fighting spirit and vitality. Under Jiang Chen's guidance, they converged and rushed toward the fifth key acupoint he had already pinpointed, swift as meteors!

A warm current surged, bringing a transcendent pleasure akin to the union of a man and woman, instantly spreading through his entire body.

Boom!

The key acupoint was breached like a shell, and the powerful qi flow broke through, following the predetermined path to connect the fifth meridian!

The fifth key acupoint, breached!

The fifth meridian, connected!

The five meridians, perfected!

...

Bathed in the morning sunlight, Jiang Chen revealed his first genuine smile since his rebirth.

The five meridians of true qi did not surprise him. What brought him joy was the sense of achievement from cultivation and breakthrough.

This sense of achievement, even as the son of the Heavenly Emperor in his previous life, he had never experienced.

"With five meridians of true qi, I shouldn't be at the bottom among the heirs of the various feudal lords, right? Moreover, with my insight and strength, even the high-level true qi realm cultivators with seven or eight meridians might not be able to defeat me."

Jiang Chen had this much confidence.

Because with his insight, he could see through the essence of the basic martial arts in this world at a glance. He could see through all the opponent's moves before they even made them. In such a match, he would naturally have a significant advantage.

Leaving the cultivation chamber, Jiang Chen realized he hadn't visited his father for many days.

In this world, whether in terms of blood ties or first impressions, Lord Jiang Han, his father, had always been Jiang Chen's spiritual support.

Through this man, Jiang Chen experienced what it meant to have love in the world.

Although he didn't say it out loud, he placed great importance on this father-son relationship in his heart.

When he saw his father, Lord Jiang Han was holding an invitation, his brows slightly furrowed, clearly troubled by something.

"Father." Jiang Chen walked in.

"Ha ha, Chen, you're here!" Seeing his son, Jiang Feng's mood always improved, and the shadow of worry on his forehead was skillfully hidden.

"How are you? I heard that you haven't left your room for several days. Did you really decide to pass those three basic tests this time?"

Jiang Feng's half-joking tone left Jiang Chen speechless. This father had a surprisingly good attitude. At such a time, he was still in the mood to joke around.

"The basic tests are no big deal, Father. What were you looking at just now? You seemed troubled." Jiang Chen took the initiative to bring it up since his father didn't mention it.

"Well, ha ha! Chen, you used to not care much about family matters. Don't worry about these things."

Jiang Feng laughed, trying to change the subject.

"Father, I am your son. You should have a limit to how much you protect me. Don't you fear that I'll become a spoiled and useless son?"

"He he, Chen, you're exaggerating. Protecting my son is only natural! Actually, it's nothing much. Long Teng Hou sent an invitation, saying that he wants the various feudal lords to attend a banquet to celebrate a great joy in his Long Teng Hou residence."

"Long Teng Hou residence?" Jiang Chen immediately thought of the young lady, Long Juxue.

"We don't have a close relationship with the Long Teng Hou residence, do we?" Jiang Chen probed.

"Ah, Long Teng Hou! He's openly trying to bully our family. Since you asked, I'll tell you. In the future, be careful not to offend the people of the Long Teng Hou residence. You see, our Jiang Han territory, located in the southern border of the kingdom, has fertile land. Thirty years ago, we discovered a semi-spiritual vein. So our family has always had a major business deal with the Dan Wang Yuan, helping them cultivate spiritual herbs."

Discovering a semi-spiritual vein naturally made it a fertile ground for cultivating spiritual herbs. Having business dealings with the Dan Wang Yuan, which operated the medicinal business, was quite normal.

Jiang Chen listened quietly, knowing there was more to come.

"But in recent years, Long Teng Hou has approached me several times, proposing to lease our semi-spiritual vein herbal gardens."

"Lease? Leasing between feudal lords isn't unheard of. What kind of rent did he offer?" Jiang Chen seemed to have a vague understanding.

"Long Teng Hou bullying us is right here. Our business with the Dan Wang Yuan brings us about five million silver taels a year from the herbal gardens. But Long Teng Hou offered only three hundred thousand silver taels to lease our land."

Cultivating spiritual herbs for the Dan Wang Yuan brought in about five million silver taels a year!

Leasing to Long Teng Hou would reduce the annual income to just three hundred thousand silver taels!

This was outright robbery, blatant robbery!

Jiang Chen suddenly understood everything. Long Teng Hou, relying on his status as the kingdom's top feudal lord, was planning to take over. The so-called banquet was nothing but a trap. Inviting Lord Jiang Han was just a way to pressure him into submission.

If it were just pressure from Long Teng Hou, as feudal lords of the Eastern Kingdom, he could simply ignore it.

Feudal lords could not wage war on each other without the king's command.

If feudal lords started wars lightly, it would violate the ancestral laws and be a grave offense.

Jiang Chen saw his father's worry and suspected the pressure wasn't just from Long Teng Hou alone.

"Is it possible that the Dan Wang Yuan is secretly colluding with Long Teng Hou?" Jiang Chen asked.

Jiang Feng looked at Jiang Chen with a hint of surprise: "Well done, Chen. You usually don't care about these matters, but you've seen through the underlying issues. Indeed, the Dan Wang Yuan has also hinted that even if we don't lease to Long Teng Hou, they plan to terminate our cooperation after the Qianlong Examination."

Jiang Chen now understood everything. This was a blatant act of adding insult to injury.

Colluding from both sides, they were directly excluding the owner of the semi-spiritual vein land.

Long Teng Hou was a master of calculation, making this a risk-free business.

And the Dan Wang Yuan, naturally, would favor Long Teng Hou over Lord Jiang Han, given that he was the kingdom's top feudal lord.

"So, tonight's banquet is a trap, right?" Jiang Chen played with the invitation, the words revealing Long Teng Hou's arrogance and the air of a petty person's triumph.

Most importantly, the invitation specifically mentioned that Lord Jiang Han should bring Jiang Chen along.

Was this to humiliate them both together?

"Chen, I'm thinking of going alone. You could just—"

"Go! Why not go? I really want to see it." Jiang Chen laughed heartily. "I want to see if Long Teng Hou has three heads and six arms."

From what his father said and connecting it with previous events, Jiang Chen had every reason to suspect that the fart released by the previous Jiang Chen during the Heaven Worship Ceremony was likely related to Long Teng Hou.

Even if there was no direct connection, there must be an indirect one.

But a mere Long Teng Hou could never make Jiang Chen back down.

Fear and evasion were the actions of the weak.

Jiang Chen would only be a strong man in this life!

Moreover, Jiang Chen wanted to see what great joy the upstart Long Teng Hou had encountered to boast about it so much.

...

That day, in the royal palace.

After several days of busy construction, Dongfang Zhiruo's palace had been renovated according to Jiang Chen's design.

Now, Dongfang Zhiruo's residence was less refined but more spacious and open.

Dongfang Lu had heard about this and personally came to inspect it, accompanied by Princess Gouyu.

"Ha ha, this Jiang Chen sure knows how to cause trouble. This doesn't look like a princess's palace at all!" Dongfang Lu said this, but it was clear he didn't really mind.

"Gouyu, what do you think of this Jiang Chen?" Dongfang Lu asked Princess Gouyu with a smile.

"Brother, if Jiang Chen can cure Ruo'er, we'll let him do as he pleases. If he's just pretending, I'll be the first to make him pay!"

As they spoke, Dongfang Zhiruo, like a little deer, bounced over.

"Father, Aunt, you came to see Ruo'er."

"Yes, Ruo'er, how have you been feeling these past few days?" Dongfang Lu looked at his daughter, who had suffered from a young age, feeling a deep sense of guilt.

Zhiruo had a difficult fate from a young age but never complained. On the contrary, she was always very understanding and considerate of others.

Even with her illness, even knowing her life was short, she always lived optimistically.

"Father, Ruo'er has been very happy these past few days. Look at Ruo'er's face, isn't it better? And, Ruo'er doesn't feel as cold at midnight anymore. I've been sleeping much better than before."

From Dongfang Zhiruo's appearance, it was clear that she had improved significantly over the past few days, looking much more spirited.

"Ruo'er, so Jiang Chen's treatment is effective?" Dongfang Lu's eyes lit up.

"Yes, it must be thanks to Brother Jiang Chen. The sachets he gave me, I carry two with me all the time. I don't feel as tired as before, and I'm not often woken by the cold at night. Father, Aunt, the diagram Brother Jiang Chen gave me, I visualize it every day, and it feels very effective!"

Hearing Dongfang Zhiruo's words and seeing her noticeable improvement, Dongfang Lu and Gouyu exchanged meaningful glances.