Elderly Prince: My Spirit Increases by 1 Point Daily

Chapter 15: Chapter 15: Kill the Frenzied Princess

’Could Emperor Xia have been the one who attacked Xia Wuyang?’ This thought had already crossed Mo Qianqiu’s mind, but the more he considered it, the less likely it seemed.

Back then, the Crown Prince had been full of vigor. His influence, Cultivation, and faction were all expanding rapidly, but he was still worlds apart from Emperor Xia.

Besides, the Crown Prince wasn’t an overly ambitious man. Even if Emperor Xia had grown wary of him, it shouldn’t have warranted such a vicious attack.

Not long after the Crown Prince was deposed, even the Empress died from a Qigong Deviation. On the surface, nothing seemed out of the ordinary, but the timing was far too coincidental.

After the Empress’s death, the deposed Crown Prince posed no further threat. With his faction having crumbled, Emperor Xia could finally rest easy.

But to depose one of his most brilliant sons and not even spare his own Empress over such a minor threat... wasn’t that a bit extreme?

’From what I know of Emperor Xia after all these years, he isn’t that kind of madman. Could there be something else going on behind the scenes?’

Mo Qianqiu had no answers. He wanted to investigate, but the former Crown Prince was already withered and old. He might be gone in a few months. ’Is there any point in investigating now?’

The rain fell harder and harder. Mo Qianqiu cast one last glance at the broken glazed tiles of Wenhua Hall, then turned and vanished into the downpour.

The old handkerchief in his sleeve was clenched in a death grip, the faded ink plum blossoms now stained with scarlet dots—blood from where his nails had dug into his palm.

This loyal minister and strategist, who had once helped Xia Wuyang build a massive faction, seemed to have finally given up all hope.

What he didn’t know was that hundreds of meters away, in the Practice Room of Wenhua Hall, Xia Wuyang had already reached Sixth Grade Perfection, his future now limitless.

After breaking through, he spent some time consolidating and adapting to his new Cultivation. When a good amount of time had passed, Xia Wuyang returned to his Sleeping Palace to continue feasting and making merry with the Qiuci Dancers, all while secretly cultivating and advancing his power.

He appeared to be lost in debauchery, but in reality, the True Qi within him surged like a mighty tide.

The sounds of ridicule from within and without the Imperial Palace were incessant, yet Xia Wuyang, inside Wenhua Hall, was advancing by leaps and bounds, his Cultivation Power growing at a shocking rate.

With every bit of increase in his Spiritual Power, his Cultivation Speed also rose, boosting his overall strength.

Before he knew it, his Nether Acupuncture Needle technique had reached a bottleneck. Wisps of black energy swirled between his fingers.

He hid himself away in the Practice Room again, preparing to break through to the Minor Achievement Realm.

The black energy seemed to have a life of its own, dancing between his fingers. One moment it formed fine needles, the next it dispersed like smoke.

”Condense...”

At a certain moment, Xia Wuyang let out a low cry. The black energy contracted abruptly, forming three nearly transparent, fine needles at his fingertips.

The needles were three inches long and as fine as an ox’s hair, emitting a nearly imperceptible glint under the lamplight.

”Finally! I’ve done it!”

Xia Wuyang let out a long sigh of relief, fine beads of sweat covering his forehead.

Netherworld’s Extinct Meridian. The needle strikes without a sound. At the Minor Achievement Realm, the enemy dies in three days!

Having reached the Minor Achievement Realm, the Nether Acupuncture Needle could lie dormant inside an enemy’s body for three days before activating, ensuring their death.

Silent, traceless, and undetectable... it was the ultimate art of assassination.

However, its Cultivation difficulty was astounding. Even within the vast Royal Family, very few had ever managed to master it.

Although Xia Wuyang’s Nether Acupuncture Needle had only just reached Minor Achievement, his version had been modified and tailor-made for him. As a result, it was hardly inferior to the technique practiced by others who had reached the Great Success Realm.

He gently touched his chest. The Seven-Orifice Exquisite Heart had completely fused with his body, causing his own heart to emit a warm, gentle glow.

Ever since awakening this Supreme Talent, his Cultivation and strength had progressed by leaps and bounds. Now, beneath this seemingly ancient husk lay a dormant Power that could make the entire Eastern Palace tremble.

’In that case, it’s time to settle some scores. And I’ll start with Princess Yun Shu.’

A cold light glinted in Xia Wuyang’s eyes. He recalled how his forty-sixth Imperial Sister had secretly plotted against him simply because he’d run into her on the road and paid her little mind. She wanted to see him sucked dry to the bone and die in the arms of the Qiuci Dancers.

Although he had managed to turn the tables and emerged relatively unscathed, Princess Yun Shu was simply too dangerous.

’She tried to have me killed over such a trivial matter. If she sees I’m not dying, who knows what other crazy scheme she’ll cook up?’

’For my own safety, it’s best to send her on her way. Tonight will be perfect.’

The drum marking midnight had just sounded. After checking on the soundly sleeping Qiuci Dancers and confirming everything was normal, Xia Wuyang slipped out of Wenhua Hall without a sound.

With his current strength, combined with his Dragon Storage Skill at Great Success and his Dragon and Phoenix Body Technique at Minor Achievement, few places in the Imperial Palace posed any danger to him.

A short while later, his figure drifted down like a dead leaf, landing silently on the glazed tiles of Caiyun Hall.

His body blended perfectly with the surrounding darkness. Not even a Martial Artist of the Upper Three Grades could have spotted him, so how could the Guards of Caiyun Hall, who were mostly of the Middle Three Grades, possibly notice his presence?

Inside the Sleeping Palace, Princess Yun Shu was removing her makeup before a Copper Mirror. By candlelight, the royal noblewoman’s skin was as smooth as cream and her face as lovely as a peach blossom. She was, by all accounts, a stunning beauty.

She hummed a little tune, completely unaware that the Death God was already waiting just outside her window.

Unintentionally, the image of her Eldest Crown Prince Brother being drained dry by the Qiuci Dancers and crawling out of Wenhua Hall came to mind, and she couldn’t help but laugh. ”At this rate, my dear big brother won’t last another half a year. I wonder who will claim the Crown Prince’s title then. It would be best if they all fought over it, beat each other bloody, tee-hee... hehehehe...”

Lost in her triumphant thoughts, Princess Yun Shu chuckled aloud, completely oblivious to the three Nether Acupuncture Needles, as fine as an ox’s hair, that had already shot silently into her body.

’Say hello to King Yan for me, my dear forty-sixth Imperial Sister!’

Before leaving, Xia Wuyang glanced back at his Imperial Sister. ’She’s quite beautiful, but far too crazed. I wonder if she’ll still be this way after she dies and enters Hell.’

The night wind blew, and his figure dissipated like smoke. He returned to Wenhua Hall and resumed his drinking and carousing with the Qiuci Dancers—the very ones Princess Yun Shu had sent him—as a tribute to his soon-to-be-departed good sister.

He would take good care of these Qiuci Dancers and not let any harm come to them. They were, after all, Princess Yun Shu’s final gift. Seeing them would forever remind him of her—a keepsake of sorts.

He mused, ’Thinking about it, though, my forty-sixth sister’s death is a bit unfair. All because of a single encounter, she harbored malicious thoughts she shouldn’t have and brought this fatal calamity upon herself.’

’But then again, perhaps I am the one who was truly wronged.’

’Just because she couldn’t stand the sight of me, Princess Yun Shu wanted me dead. Truly worthy of a Princess of the Royal Family—she sees human lives as worthless weeds and treats all people like cattle.’

His mood lifted, Xia Wuyang suddenly felt a stir in his mind. Inspiration for the Soul Capturing Technique, which he had already improved once, came flooding back like a tide.