"What?!" The Zhou Emperor was shocked, and the ministers around him exclaimed in surprise.
Su Miaozhen smiled bitterly and recounted their experiences in the ruins. When she mentioned the Buddhist senior, the Zhou court officials all breathed a sigh of relief. The emperor and the chief minister exchanged glances, their eyes shining with joy.
"General Su, do you know who this Buddhist expert is?" The chief minister hurriedly asked. If they could invite the Buddhist expert to be in charge, petty criminals would no longer threaten the Great Zhou Dynasty. The emperor also looked at Su Miaozhen expectantly.
Su Miaozhen shook her head. "The senior is as elusive as a dragon—only his head seen, not his tail. I don't know who he is or where he resides. But he personally said he has some connection to the Great Zhou Dynasty. Presumably, if our dynasty is in danger, he won't置之不理 (stand idly by)."
"Excellent, excellent!" The emperor's eyes faintly showed disappointment.
"Your Majesty, fortunately, this Buddhist senior intervened. Otherwise, if the prodigies from various sects had perished in the ancient ruins, they would have blamed the Great Zhou Dynasty, since the jade talismans were distributed from here," the chief minister sighed in relief. If the demon cultivators' plot succeeded, not only would countless lives be lost, but the anger of the major sects could severely damage the dynasty.
"Yes! Fortunately, it was a close call."
"Indeed, we should thank that Buddhist expert."
"If we can find him, His Majesty should appoint him as the Protector of the Nation."
... The ministers whispered, shuddering at the thought of prodigies from major sects being annihilated in the ruins.
The emperor nodded and proclaimed, "传令天下 (transmit orders to the world): Demon cultivators set a trap to harm the prodigies of major sects. Fortunately, the Great Zhou Dynasty's Protector of the Nation acted, destroying the demon cultivators' plot and preventing生灵涂炭 (catastrophe)."
"Your Majesty, the senior didn't agree to be the Protector," Su Miaozhen said, puzzled.
The chief minister stroked his beard, nodding approvingly at the emperor. "Brilliant, Your Majesty! This tactic of passing falsehood as truth is truly高明 (ingenious)!" He turned to Su Miaozhen. "Others don't know the senior's relationship with us. Letting those with ulterior motives know we have a Myriad Manifestations expert will curb their ambitions."
Days later, news spread that the Great Zhou Dynasty had invited a reclusive Myriad Manifestations Buddhist expert and appointed him as the National Protector.
...
In the hostage manor, Lin Yu had secluded himself for days to break through to Myriad Manifestations Grade Seven, fully refining the vast spiritual energy the Cauldron Lord channeled into his meridians. He was unaware that the world now believed a Myriad Manifestations expert had emerged in the Great Zhou Dynasty.
Whoosh!狂暴的 (raging) spiritual energy surged out of Lin Yu like a hurricane. He slowly opened his eyes—after days of cultivation, he had finally crossed the threshold to Grade Seven.
"Is this Myriad Manifestations Grade Seven?" After advancing, Lin Yu controlled spiritual energy more subtly. The energy storm dissipating from his body calmed at his will. Compared to previous breakthroughs, this one felt effortless, as if cultivation bottlenecks didn't exist for him.
"Good! Now that you've reached Grade Seven, you can practice more powerful sword techniques," the Cauldron Lord chuckled.
"More powerful sword techniques? Cauldron Lord, teach me quickly!" Lin Yu was delighted. The Nine Heavens Sword Controlling Art was powerful but偏重 (focused on) speed. Against true powerhouses, its might was insufficient.
"Not yet." The Cauldron Lord smiled before Lin Yu could speak. "We need to visit the Great Zhou royal library. Maybe we'll find something there."
"Fine, let's go to the royal library tonight." Lin Yu nodded. The Cauldron Lord likely needed to devour more典籍(classics) to refine a sword technique surpassing the Nine Heavens Art.
At night, Lin Yu left the manor like a phantom, sneaking into the imperial city. The library, housing martial arts secrets, was heavily guarded in the depths of the city—comparable to the imperial armory. But these guards were negligible to Lin Yu, who reached the library undetected.
The three-story library stored martial arts for the Xiantian, Purple Mansion, and Myriad Manifestations realms, with a collection as vast as the Han Dynasty's.
"Eh!" Lin Yu was surprised to see the gray-robed elder who should have guarded the library sitting cross-legged at the door, a dagger in his chest, blood soaking his robe. There were no signs of a struggle, and the elder's face wore an expression of disbelief—caught off guard by the assassin.
Frowning, Lin Yu wondered who had assassinated the royal guardian and coveted the martial arts典籍 (classics). He released his spiritual sense, glanced at the second floor, and stepped inside.
On the second floor, a middle-aged man in black robes flipped through Purple Mansion realm martial arts scrolls, tossing precious典籍 (classics) to the floor in a hurry. "Not this one... It should be among these scrolls according to my calculations!"
An hour later, the patrol would pass. If he couldn't find the scroll, entering again would be hard. Suddenly, his eyes lit up, staring at a scroll in his hand with狂喜 (ecstasy). "This is it! The legendary Demon-Slaying Sword Technique of early Void Formation, hidden in a Purple Mansion scroll and lost in the Great Zhou library. I've finally found it!"
Holding the scroll, the man grinned. "With this, even as a Purple Mansion Grade Three, I can easily kill Grade Six cultivators—this is a huge gain!"
"Oh? Can you lend me this amazing scroll to read?" A clear voice sounded behind him as he tucked the scroll away.
"Who?!" The man spun, his face paling. Lin Yu's figure emerged in his view.
"Just a Grade Three cultivator." Seeing Lin Yu, he relaxed, assuming Lin Yu had sneaked in after finding the guardian assassinated.
Lin Yu looked at the scroll and smiled. "We're both here for the scrolls. Since you found a treasure, finders should share—let's take a look together."