Chapter 8: Prince Jing of the North (Part III)

When the late King of Moxiang completed his mourning period, the Crown Prince ascended the throne as the new King of Moxiang, and Jingri Guming was conferred the title of Prince—Prince Beijing, while Haoqiong Guming was elevated to Crown Prince.

The King of Moxiang had the Prince Beijing Mansion constructed for Jingri Guming, and by the time the estate was completed, two years had already passed.

During these two years, Zhan Bingwei ultimately came to pledge his allegiance to Jingri Guming.

Afterwards, Zhan Bingwei thought through everything with absolute clarity and complete understanding, which was why he chose to serve Jingri Guming.

Perhaps he still harbored a lingering desire to avenge Tianque Guming. Knowing this, and given how exceptionally wise Jingri Guming was, would there come a day when Jingri Guming himself walked down that very same path?

Aside from Zhan Bingwei's allegiance, which provided Jingri Guming with a formidable martial arts protector, another significant event had occurred.

Two years prior, Jingri Guming had studied the Imperial Hegemony Scripture of Heaven and Earth, attempting to merge all three volumes and cultivate them simultaneously, which resulted in severe damage to his cardiac meridians.

This also served as the very justification for why Jingri Guming required a top-tier martial artist for his protection.

The royal physicians of the Moxiang Palace, the King of Moxiang, and Crown Prince Haoqiong Guming had all examined him, yet they were completely helpless.

At the same time, this brought a quiet sense of relief to both the King and Crown Prince Haoqiong Guming.

After all, having just witnessed the overwhelming martial might of Tianque Guming, it was impossible for them not to harbor internal vigilance toward Jingri Guming, who had been renowned for his brilliance since childhood.

A Prince Beijing incapable of practicing martial arts posed virtually no threat to them. After all, to become a monarch, one had to navigate all manner of plots and schemes.

Without martial prowess, how could anyone hope to survive amidst such treacherous machinations?

This was the exact reason why the King of Moxiang and Crown Prince Haoqiong Guming readily agreed to let Jingri Guming move out of the main palace.

Naturally, any potential threat had to be kept under close watch, but a cripple unable to practice martial arts warranted little to no attention.

As for whether his condition was genuine or feigned, there was hardly any need for explanation. Even if it were false, faking it was a simple matter—he had directly utilized the Great Principle of Causality to plant this illusory cause and effect. Whoever came to inspect him would invariably discover that Jingri Guming's cardiac meridians were indeed damaged, rendering him incapable of martial arts.

Over the years, ever since he learned to read at the age of five, Jingri Guming had thoroughly immersed himself in the vast collection of texts within the Moxiang archives.

He let nothing escape him, devouring all manner of bizarre anecdotes, military strategies, human biographies, and historical records.

He had even perused numerous martial arts manuals, and naturally, the Imperial Hegemony Scripture of Heaven and Earth—exclusive to the Moxiang royal family—had been examined long ago.

Studying the Imperial Hegemony Scripture of Heaven and Earth was the inherent right of every member of the royal lineage, and naturally, no one was in a position to prevent Jingri Guming from reading it.

Backed by his reincarnated and refined soul, a single glance was all it took for Jingri Guming to commit every word to memory, boasting a truly photographic memory.

Subsequently, he began integrating the martial manuals and classics of the Demon Child world with the Imperial Hegemony Scripture of Heaven and Earth.

This process of fusion spanned several years, lasting until his tenth year—which was also the second year after Zhan Bingwei pledged his loyalty to him.

In this year, Jingri Guming officially commenced his martial arts cultivation. After long and careful deliberation, the three elemental attributes he selected were Ice, Water, and Lightning!

Once the three-colored true qi converged and unified into a primal state, its overall appearance manifested as a pristine white, looking largely indistinguishable from the Ice Jade Ninefold Heavens, though its foundation had fundamentally changed.

As for why he chose these specific attributes:

The attributes bestowed by the spirit bead inherently belonged to ice; the dragon race naturally commanded water and lived within aquatic realms, making the water attribute entirely normal.

As creatures capable of gathering clouds and dispensing rain, it was only natural for the dragon race to possess the lightning attribute. Furthermore, having undergone the baptism of the Heavenly Tribulation Curse, his comprehension of thunder and lightning was profound.

To cultivate at a rapid pace, one naturally needed an innate affinity for a specific attribute to achieve twice the result with half the effort.

This was the fundamental reason behind Jingri Guming's choice. As for the fire attribute, he actually possessed deep insights regarding it from the time he merged with Ne Zha.

Yet, could one expect someone living in the depths of the ocean to cultivate fire-attribute techniques?

There were no peculiar phenomena, nor any insurmountable bottlenecks. Under the control of his reincarnated soul, the three streams of true qi ran concurrently, eventually merging into a single torrent within his dantian.

Jingri Guming's cultivation was far from diligent. Aside from evading the prying eyes of the King and the Crown Prince, he had to maintain the complete facade of a sickly invalid until the day he finally moved into the Prince Beijing Mansion.

At that exact moment, he truly felt like a bird let loose in the vast skies or a fish swimming freely in the boundless sea.

In a place like the Moxiang Royal Palace, one had to be exceedingly cautious in every action, for one could never guess whose agent anyone nearby might be.

Staying in such an oppressive environment was suffocating. Fortunately, Jingri Guming's soul was not that of a genuine child; he simply pretended to be entirely oblivious, passing the time by reading books and playing chess until he finally weathered through it.

Jingri Guming finally understood why the original Jingri Guming possessed such an extraordinary capacity for forbearance.

Leaving aside the fact that he had grown up in this environment from infancy, even with the soul of an adult, Jingri Guming now felt that he had himself become exceptionally patient.

Forbearance was mandatory; given the sheer heights of martial power in this world—one had only to consider what the falling snowflakes represented every time the Sword Girl made her appearance, and yet her combat tier was merely average, far from being considered a top-tier expert.

Therefore, over the past few years, Jingri Guming could only endure, suppressing all his underlying thoughts while striving to play the part of an obedient and harmless child.

Now, having finally arrived at the Prince Beijing Mansion, although certain servants and guards were undoubtedly spies dispatched by the King and the Crown Prince, the situation was infinitely better than within the royal palace.

The royal palace was teeming with countless experts, where any slight fluctuation of true qi or spiritual arts would instantly trigger extreme vigilance. Consequently, Jingri Guming had previously been forced to practice his cultivation in a sporadic, stop-and-go manner.

"Zhan Bingwei, inspect all corners of the Prince Beijing Mansion and conduct a thorough sweep first!"

Draped in a white fur cloak, Jingri Guming stood outside the estate, choosing not to enter immediately.

Guarded by his soldiers, he waited quietly for the report.

Without a word, Zhan Bingwei silently led a squad of men to thoroughly search and secure the mansion.

Upon his return, Zhan Bingwei signaled that the area was entirely secure, and only then did Jingri Guming slowly walk into the manor.

From this moment onward, this was his home. Even if this action exposed certain things, he could no longer afford to hesitate.

Presumably, having just murdered the late King and framed his eldest son, the current King of Moxiang would not be in any rush to move against Jingri Guming—especially since this eldest brother of his did not have many years left to live anyway.

Upon receiving the report, the reigning King of Moxiang let out a solitary sigh to himself:

"Sigh! Let it be, let it be. Even if my little brother harbors any ambitions, he will have to wait until he grows up and cultivates his own faction. Chances are, I won't even live to see that day!"

The King reached out, gently touching a gift that Tianque Guming had once given him:

"If only... if my son Tianque had ascended the throne as King of Moxiang, with little Jingri assisting him, Moxiang would surely have grown immensely prosperous!"

"Sigh!"

That deep, resonant sigh laid bare the inner turmoil of the King.

When he was Crown Prince, he yearned to be King; yet upon becoming King, he found it far less carefree than being the Crown Prince, burdened with having to make every single decision himself.

At that moment, the King suddenly felt a wave of nostalgia for both his father and his eldest son, regretting only that everything had been set in motion by his own hands.

Elsewhere, Crown Prince Haoqiong Guming upon receiving the news likewise sighed and remarked:

"Royal Uncle, it is a pity you were born so many years too late, though I know not whether you have seen through everything or if you are simply born with such extreme caution!"

From that day onward, a sliver of vigilance toward Jingri Guming took root in Haoqiong Guming's heart, though having yet to claim the throne himself, he did not yet view Jingri Guming as an immediate threat.