Chapter 4
Chapter 4: Breaking Through the Extreme Realm, Three Hundred Thousand Pounds of Strength
“Father, where is my shadow guard?” Qin Bei recalled the shadow guard that Emperor Xia had taken away.
“He has been dismissed and is currently in the Imperial Guard.”
“Did Father discover anything?”
Emperor Xia was once again taken aback, noticing that Qin Bei seemed to be in the know about something.
“Xiao Xuan seized some opportunities in the secret realm. After he comes out, he will definitely soar to new heights. You’re the person he is closest to. If someone kills you, it could affect his Dao heart.” Emperor Xia didn’t specify who was behind this, but aside from the Holy Demon Empire, no one else would dare to do such a thing.
Qin Bei understood; Qin Xuan, only eight years old this year, was his younger brother, sharing the same parents, and they had a very close relationship.
If something happened to him, Qin Xuan’s cultivation would surely be impacted, and falling into the demonic path wasn’t out of the question.
And that was precisely the outcome the other party desired.
“Humph! I’m afraid they’ll also intervene in this marriage alliance.” Qin Bei’s eyes turned icy. Even though he had just crossed over, he valued his family immensely, which might be a lingering influence from his predecessor.
“And what do you think about the marriage alliance?”
Emperor Xia suddenly inquired.
He was contemplating that the Saintess of Wu Nation was currently eighteen, while Qin Bei was twenty, making the age difference quite manageable.
Although Qin Bei’s current cultivation was considerably weaker, he possessed talent and the status of a prince, so it was only a matter of time before he caught up.
“Marriage?”
Qin Bei looked at Emperor Xia, sensing an inclination for him to marry the Wu Nation’s Saintess.
He suddenly thought of the Saintess’s dowry, rumored to consist of millions of spirit stones and a plethora of cultivation resources.
This… millions of spirit stones? Isn’t that like millions of krypton gold points waving at me?
Qin Bei was stunned by the system’s reward.
He thought having double pupils was already incredible, but now there was a once-in-a-lifetime cultivation body on offer. Was he going to sweep through everything?
“Wait, marry the peerless female emperor? Isn’t the marriage target the Saintess?”
One of the maids of this marriage is the Wu Nation’s empress, who chose to re-cultivate in order to break through the Saint realm!
“Then who is the Wu Nation’s empress now?”
She’s a puppet.
Now it dawned on Qin Bei why, in the past, it was so difficult to arrange a marriage with a princess, yet they were suddenly willing to use the First Saintess as a bargaining chip now.
It turned out the empress had re-cultivated, and Wu Nation needed a powerful ally.
The Great Xia Empire became their choice.
However, that empress surely had other motives for coming to Great Xia as a maid.
“Father, I understand your intentions. For the sake of the royal family, I am willing to sacrifice myself in this marriage.”
“Hahaha, good! In two days, the Saintess will enter the palace. You must be ready.” Emperor Xia was overjoyed, completely oblivious to the fact that he was celebrating too early, as the two were thinking of very different marriage partners.
‘Wait a minute? Sacrifice? Shouldn’t this be a good thing? Marrying the First Saintess should boost your chances in the struggle for the Crown Prince position. Countless princes covet it yet can’t obtain it. Why do you suddenly feel wronged?’
After Emperor Xia left, Qin Bei continued to cultivate.
He still had nine drops of true dragon blood, and he intended to use them all.
By the time he used up all nine drops of true dragon blood, Qin Bei’s cultivation had climbed to the ninth level of Body Refinement, and he was ready to break through at any moment.
However, he did not intend to just break through like that.
He assessed his current strength, which was about one hundred thousand pounds. Although this was approximately double the strength of other cultivators, Qin Bei was not satisfied.
What he desired was to break through the extreme realm, and he aimed to break through to the extreme realm at each level.
The Body Refinement realm was merely the first hurdle he wanted to overcome.
Records indicated that the strongest in this realm had achieved a strength of two hundred thousand pounds, a record set by a powerful practitioner with a unique cultivation body.
And Qin Bei’s goal was even more terrifying.
“System, exchange all remaining krypton gold points for true dragon blood!”
Qin Bei endured the excruciating pain and accelerated the absorption. Each drop of true dragon blood brought him a tremendous force of ten thousand pounds. With each accumulation, Qin Bei’s strength surged to a terrifying level.
“True dragon blood essence is good, but the more you use it, the weaker the effect becomes. It seems that exceeding two hundred thousand pounds of strength will not be achievable with just true dragon blood essence.”
Once his strength reached two hundred thousand pounds, Qin Bei, blessed with double pupils, could sense in advance that the effect of the blood essence would be diminishing.
“Since true dragon blood essence won’t suffice, let’s go for true dragon spinal cord! True dragon tendons! If that fails, maybe a true dragon demon pill!”
What Qin Bei mentioned was increasingly formidable, all items available for exchange in the system mall. After a night’s rest, Qin Bei visited a trading post the next day, bought ten drops of Deep Snow Dew, and returned to the palace.
He first utilized ten drops of Deep Snow Dew to enhance his Extreme Cold Gaze.
Then he started browsing the system mall for necessary items.
True dragon spinal cord: 10,000 krypton gold points.
True dragon tendons: 10,000 krypton gold points.
“System, exchange for two true dragon spinal cords and one true dragon tendon.”
Qin Bei looked at the two large bones and a long white strip that appeared out of thin air, and he couldn’t help but salivate.
“Hmph! What kind of pressure can these bones exert? Do you think your son, the Saint, is scared of you?”
With a firm slap, Qin Bei dispersed the dragon energy that was subtly gathering.
This pressure might work on ordinary people or beasts, but not on him.
Slurp~
“Big bones should be stewed to make a nourishing soup, and dragon tendons should be braised. Just thinking about it makes my mouth water.”
Qin Bei prepared a pot in his backyard and then showcased his culinary skills.
Sensing the aura of the true dragon, Emperor Xia peeked over.
Upon discovering Qin Bei’s situation, his face twitched from afar in the Yangju Palace.
“Did this kid actually get his hands on a true dragon? And he’s using it for cooking—it’s such a waste. Sigh, it looks like I’ll have to discreetly give him some spirit stones.”
Although Emperor Xia acknowledged the preciousness of true dragon materials, he had no intention to intervene.
Or rather, he allowed each prince to fend for themselves, refraining from overly interfering with their fortunes.
“This kid can actually withstand such powerful forces; it seems he possesses some unique physique yet to be uncovered.”
…
Slurp~
Qin Bei tasted the bone soup, and it was absolutely delightful, surpassing anything he had ever eaten.
“The food in the cultivation world is simply unmatched; even my terrible cooking skills can create something so delicious.”
Once the bone soup was ready, Qin Bei set out to prepare the braised dragon tendons.
“Let’s eat!”
Qin Bei’s body had significantly strengthened, allowing him to absorb these items even if consumed directly. At most, he felt a bit bloated.
Burp~
With a long, satisfied burp, Qin Bei drank the last mouthful of soup, rubbed his round belly, and had no desire to move an inch.
“I’d hazard a guess that my current strength exceeds three hundred thousand pounds. Breaking through the extreme realm in the Body Refinement realm shouldn’t be that difficult.”
Qin Bei murmured.
Little did he know, if others dared to attempt this, they would have exploded long ago, let alone attempted a breakthrough.
“But three hundred thousand pounds is already the limit of my body; if I push further, I’m afraid I might explode.”
Having double pupils is quite a boon; Qin Bei could sense his limits in advance.
“If I want to surpass a million pounds of strength, it seems I’ll have to wait until I obtain the Immortal Phoenix Body.”
With this thought, Qin Bei began to eagerly anticipate the arrival of the empress.