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nTranslator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

nIt took only a simple swipe to let that figure clad in black know that he was no match for the eunuch.

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n“You wanna run? Let’s see if my broom agrees, eh?”

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nLi Mu swung his broom about as he moved, standing before the figure like a bolt of lightning, cutting off the other man’s escape.

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nThe man, who had lost both his black attire and his mask, had his face entirely exposed.

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nIt turned out that he was actually an old beardless eunuch dressed in purple robes.

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n“Who are you?” he asked in a shaky voice.

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nThere were only a handful of people capable of besting him in a fight, given the extent of his abilities.

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nHe also knew who all those people were.

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n“You have no need to know that,” Li Mu said, as he took another swipe at the old man with his broom.

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nHe had to put that old eunuch down once and for all.

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nHe was not about to let anyone disrupt his peaceful days of doing check-ins at the Jingning Palace.

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nSwoop~

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nThat old eunuch dressed in purple robes blocked him with his saber right away.

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nWhack~

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nHis saber was swiped out of his hands right there and then.

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nHis clothes were literally in tatters now.

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nThis guy is just too fast! The old eunuch was yelling to himself.

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nHe had no chance of reacting at all.

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nClap~

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nHe took a hit from the broom to his chest at that very second, sending him flying away.

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nPfftt~

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nBlood spewed from his mouth.

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n“D*mn it.”

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nThe purple-robed eunuch knew that he was done for.

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nEven if he were to survive this first attack, he was still going to end up dead all the same.

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nThump~

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nThe old eunuch was sent flying outside the Jingning Palace. He stayed airborne for quite a while, before crashing into a building.

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n“Who goes there?”

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nSome warriors who were patrolling at that moment noticed what had happened.

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nShuffle~

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nShuffle~

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nA bunch of people made their way over to where the old eunuch had landed.

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nLi Mu stood on top of the palace and watched for a while, before disappearing and returning to his room to continue training.

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nDespite having access to the powers bestowed by the pills he received from his check-ins, he nonetheless was diligent with his daily training.

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nThe entire royal palace was stunned by the news of the eunuch being killed.

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nA huge group of guards made their way to the Jingning Palace the very next morning.

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nThe guards took one look at Li Mu and proceeded to look for the court lady instead.

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nThe number of guards patrolling the area was increased for the next several days, day and night.

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nLi Mu could hear the eunuchs and the court ladies talking from far away, when he was training at night.

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n“I heard that the emperor was enraged.”

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n“I wonder just how many formidable warriors are lurking in the dark even now?”

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n“It was a eunuch from the Zhaochun Palace who served the emperor personally who ended up dead after all. That man was a grade nine of the Higher Heaven Realm. The supervisor guard who performed the autopsy said that he was killed by a single strike. The man who did that was definitely someone of the Spirit Manipulation Realm.”

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n“The Spirit Manipulation Realm, man! Anyone of such a level would definitely be an elder of the clans.”

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n“We can’t even get past Warrior Realm, and there are still Acquired Realm and Higher Heaven Realm beyond that. Oh. boy.”

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n“By the way, why was a personal eunuch of the emperor dressed in black anyway? He sure liked to sneak around for someone of such a high status.”

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n“Shh…go to sleep already!”

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n……

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nSo, that guy was actually at grade nine of the Higher Heaven Realm?

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nSo, that makes me someone at the Spirit Manipulation Realm then?

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nThere were different levels and tiers among warriors in that world.

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nWarrior, Acquired, Higher Heaven, Spirit Manipulation, Saint.

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nEvery single stage had nine grades in them.

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nThe eunuchs knew little about the realms that followed after that.

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nLi Mu had finally learned where he stood.

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nThe load that he’d been bearing on his shoulders was lifted at that moment.

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nIf only I had a sword with me.

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nThis was a good time to make use of the Saint Spirit Sword Techniques after all.

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nJingning Palace remained quiet for months after that eunuch in purple was killed.

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nLi Mu checked in multiple times during that period, but he never got himself a decent weapon.

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nHe was learning sword techniques, and yet he didn’t even have a sword.

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nIf that eunuch in purple had had a sword with him, Li Mu would have slit his throat and stolen it.

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nIt was a pity that all he got from the past two years of check-ins were a bunch of trinkets.

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nHe never got a sword once.

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nNot even one that was broken and rusted.

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n…

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nThe Ninth Prince paid a visit to the palace again.

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nHe had grown a lot taller on this visit.

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nHis childish face was finally starting to have a bit of a likeness of an adult in it.

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n“What are you feeding my mother?”

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nLoud voices were heard from the palace.

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nDespite his childlike tone, his voice’s strength was undeniable.

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n“Go and get the kitchen staff to make something good for my mother.”

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n“Yes, your highness.”

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nThe eunuch by the Ninth Prince’s side was about to leave.

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n“Hold on,” the old court lady called out to the eunuch who was about to leave.

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n“Yes, granny?” the prince asked out of curiosity.

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n“Have Xiaolizi go with him.”

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n“Well…all right then.”

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nLi Mu didn’t get to see what was actually happening inside the room.

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nHowever, he was able to tell that the old court lady had signaled something to the Ninth Prince nonetheless.

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nConcubine Jing had most probably nodded as well.

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nLi Mu knew that the old court lady was concerned about someone poisoning the food.

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nThe only person that the old court lady could trust at the moment was Li Mu, who had no martial arts training and seemed to have no agenda, which she had learned after being around him for more than two years.

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nIf Li Mu had had ulterior motives, something would have already happened to the concubine.

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nLi Mu finally got his chance to venture outside Jingning Palace after waiting for two years.

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nHe was quickly summoned and was ordered to head out to the kitchen with the other eunuch, carrying the token pass that the Ninth Prince had given him.

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nHe checked in furiously along the way.

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nHe then asked for some cakes and other food per the prince’s instructions as soon as he got to the kitchen.

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n“Successfully checked in at the Imperial Kitchen. One Great Recovery Pill rewarded.”

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nHuh? A Great Recovery Pill rewarded at the Imperial Kitchen? Why had the reward at the Imperial Dispensary only been a minor one then? Was this because the kitchen was more renowned or important than the dispensary? He was turning these questions over to himself.

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nIf it was up to him, he would have held the kitchen to be of higher importance as well.

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nNothing appeases people more than food after all.

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nFurthermore, in the eyes of gluttons, the Imperial Kitchen was where the greatest number of the best foods found in the world were.

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nThe Imperial Dispensary was only a place for the storage of medicines after all, and it was far less renowned than the Imperial Physicians’ Office.

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nA Great Recovery Pill would bestow 60 years’ worth of powers.

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nIt was only natural for Li Mu to be overjoyed.

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nHe then took the food back to the Jingning Palace.

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nHe tested the food and confirmed that it wasn’t poisoned, before he handed it over to the old court lady.

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nThe Ninth Prince had ordered a great many lavish dishes from the kitchen during his visit.

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nThat meant that Li Mu got to eat a lot of good food as well.

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nIt seemed as if Concubine Jing wasn’t going to stay like this in the “cold” palace for many more years now.

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nI wonder if the other concubines will be okay with that?

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nPoisons had failed to work.

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nAssassinations had failed to work.

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nWhat would they try next?

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nI guess oppression and pressure wouldn’t be of much use.

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nThe emperor wouldn’t have given the Ninth Prince so much power otherwise.

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nAll of that was what Li Mu speculated.

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nHe would be content to know that nothing was going to happen to the concubine in the near future.

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n“So, you’re Xiaolizi then?”

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nThe prince had asked to meet Li Mu as he was leaving.

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n“Yes, your highness,” Li Mu bowed and answered.

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n“Good job.”

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nThe prince turned around and left after he’d said that.

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n“What the…”

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nLi Mu was stunned.

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nHe was stunned at how the prince had learned how to compliment others at such a young age.

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nThat would have been a bestowal like no other to the other eunuchs.

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nYet, as someone who’d hailed from a place where equal rights were commonly practiced in society, he found it rather laughable instead.

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nHe’s just a kid.

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nNo need to be petty with him.

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nHe then returned to sweeping the compound.

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nHe deemed that his powers would definitely reach new heights, given that he had received the Great Recovery Pill.

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nTwo more years passed..

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nHe was already 17 years old in that world by then.

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nIf it hadn’t been for his status as a eunuch, he would have been a handsome young man.

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nThe Great Recovery Pill that he had acquired two years ago had propelled his training to the peak of the second level of the Zaohua Sutra right away.

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nHe had already made a breakthrough last year.

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nHe was at the moment working on the third tier.

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nThe Zaohua Sutra would allow him to reconstruct his body after getting to the fifth tier.

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nThat meant that he would be one step closer to freeing himself from the status of a eunuch.

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n“I wonder how far I have come indeed. Common Spirit Manipulation warriors would definitely not be able to fight me. The best to be found in the royal palace are all at the Spirit Manipulation Realm on paper. I wonder just how capable are the ones who are hidden away and not written down on paper.”

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nLi Mu stood at the center of the compound with his broom.

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nThe leaves on the ground moved on their own despite there being no wind to blow them, and they gathered around him as well.

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n“The Ninth Prince has arrived!”

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nLi Mu headed to the gates right away as soon as he heard the call, receiving the prince by bowing low.

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n“At ease, Xiaolizi.” The voice of the Ninth Prince could be heard.

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nLi Mu straightened himself.

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nThe prince had paid multiple visits during the past two years.

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nThere were even times when he would visit once every month.

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nThings had gotten somewhat rowdy outside the Jingning Palace now since the Ninth Prince showed up more often.

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nThe eunuchs and court ladies who happened to pass by wouldn’t shirk the area anymore.

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nThe food from the Imperial Kitchen had gotten increasingly lavish as well.

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nIt would seem that the days of the Jingning Palace being a “cold” palace were numbered.

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nDanger was looming all the time.

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nLi Mu deemed that he had to take a risk on that very night, as he could no longer afford to slacken off.

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