Starting as the young master of a medicine shop, he practiced swordsmanship for twenty years.

Chapter 360 The Mysterious Old Emperor! Breakthrough to Grandmaster Mastery!
The vermilion gates outside the main hall of the East Palace have been tightly closed for three whole days.

As dawn broke, the white marble square in front of the palace was already packed with kneeling people.

The head steward of the Eastern Palace, Eunuch Feng, wore a bright red robe, with a whisk draped over his arm, his wrinkled face revealing neither joy nor anger.

The newly appointed commander of the guards, Peng Tiansheng, stood beside him with his hand on his sword, his black iron armor gleaming coldly in the morning light.

This martial arts master, who came from a branch of the Peng family, had a worried look on his face at this moment.

“Eunuch Feng…” Peng Tiansheng lowered his voice, the sword at his waist jingling softly with his uneasy footsteps.

"His Highness the Crown Prince has not eaten for three days, this..."

Feng Gonggong slightly raised his eyelids, his withered fingers in his sleeve gently stroking the whisk: "Commander Peng, be careful with your words."

His voice was barely audible, yet it sent a chill down Peng Tiansheng's spine. "Just now, this old servant sent someone to inform His Majesty..."

These words were spoken very softly, yet they were like a bucket of ice water poured over Peng Tiansheng's head.

His hand on the hilt of the knife immediately loosened, and the thought that he had just been planning to send someone to the Peng residence to report the news vanished.

The meaning behind Eunuch Feng's words was quite clear: His Majesty was already on his way to the Eastern Palace.

If he were to send someone to inform the Emperor's father-in-law, who was also his uncle Peng Lie...

Wouldn't it be incredibly awkward if my uncle and His Majesty happened to meet?

After all, the last time, his uncle Peng Lie single-handedly stormed the palace in full view of everyone.

They even killed the commander of the Eastern Palace guards, who was personally appointed by His Majesty!

His Majesty is already grateful that he doesn't cause trouble for his uncle.

The sound of a water clock can be heard in the distance!
A strange light flashed in Eunuch Feng's turbid eyes, and his gaze unconsciously drifted toward the pair of golden dragons swallowing the spines on the roof of the palace.

The copper bells on the eaves tinkled automatically without wind, emitting a soft "ding-dong" sound.

The little palace maid kneeling in the back row suddenly shivered; she clearly saw it.

A flash of golden light seemed to pass through the tightly closed, carved window...
Host: Lu Xuan, the Immortal of the Mortal World (Third Incarnation)

Realm: Grandmaster (Mastery)
Kung Fu: Nine Dragons Protective Scripture 8/9
Score: 800
When Lu Xuan deduced the eighth level of the Nine Dragons Protective Scripture, he used more than 70,000 system points.

Lu Xuan squandered all of his 10+ system points in one go.

"His Majesty has arrived --!!!"

Suddenly, the old eunuch's shrill voice rang out from outside the hall.

The sound pierced through the vermilion palace doors and reached Lu Xuan's ears.

Lu Xuan's eyes narrowed, and the golden light that had been swirling in them quickly disappeared.

However, what Lu Xuan didn't know was...
After he deduced the Nine Dragons Protective Manual to the eighth level, an invisible pressure surrounded him.

That wasn't an aura deliberately released, but rather an innate dragon's might!
The moment the vermilion palace doors opened, everyone kneeling on the ground held their breath in unison.

His Highness the Crown Prince has gone out!

In everyone's eyes, His Highness the Crown Prince seemed like a completely different person.

His Highness the Crown Prince was simply standing there, yet he inexplicably evoked the image of a dragon coiled atop a mountain.

Peng Tiansheng unconsciously lowered his head, and fine beads of sweat kept appearing on his forehead.

This martial arts master, having achieved great success, suddenly remembered his uncle Peng Lie's admonition.

True majesty lies not in grand gestures, but in the ability to command respect even when one has concealed all brilliance.

Although His Highness the Crown Prince appeared calm at this moment, he couldn't help but tremble deep inside.

Suddenly, the copper bells on the eaves rang in unison, and Lu Xuan looked up in the direction from which the imperial carriage had come.

With such a simple action, the kneeling eunuch Feng trembled all over.

He clearly saw countless golden dragon shadows flash and disappear deep within the Crown Prince's pupils.

Was he the emperor of the Wenjing Dynasty, and the original owner's father?

The emperor of the Wenjing Dynasty was slowly stepping down from his gilded imperial carriage.

Sixteen eunuchs in red robes knelt on either side of the brocade carpet, and nine five-clawed golden dragons were embroidered in gold thread on the bright yellow curtains hanging around the imperial carriage.

However, when that pale hand lifted the curtain, it revealed a face as withered and rotten as wood.

Emperor Wenjing wore a dragon robe with twelve imperial symbols, but the jade belt around his waist hung loosely.

It was as if this frail body could no longer support the attire that symbolized supreme imperial power.

Lu Xuan watched the figure staggering closer, his eyes narrowed slightly. The once incomparably majestic father in the original owner's memories had now fallen into such a state of decay.

At fifty years old, he was like a candle flickering in the wind, teetering on the verge of collapse.

Those dragon eyes that once made all the officials dare not look directly at them were now cloudy, as if shrouded in gloom.

Only the occasional glint of light reminds people that this was once a powerful dragon—although it has reached its twilight years.

"My son, I pay my respects to my father."

As Lu Xuan bowed in greeting, he noticed that Emperor Wenjing's fingers, which were resting on the eunuch's arm, were trembling slightly.

Those hands, which once could split mountains and shatter rocks, now even the cuffs of the dragon robe sway in the wind.

Emperor Wenjing stopped three steps away, a slight smile appearing on his gaunt face.

The smile deepened the wrinkles around his eyes, making him look like an old dragon displaying its broken scales.

However, at that very moment, Lu Xuan's five senses, which had just broken through to the Grandmaster realm, suddenly tensed up.

His hair stood on end, and a fine layer of cold sweat broke out on his back.

The grandmaster's intuition was issuing a frantic warning!
It was an almost instinctive sense of crisis, as if countless steel needles were pressed against his throat.

Even though the person in front of him was just an old man on his deathbed, Lu Xuan's body was sending out the most primal escape signals.

"Something's not right..."

Lu Xuan showed no outward signs, but his heart was in turmoil.

He maintained his bowing posture, but the internal energy of the "Nine Dragons Protective Scripture" within his body had already quietly reached its peak.

Countless golden dragon shadows roamed through the meridians, amplifying perception to its limit.

The more Lu Xuan investigated, the more alarmed he became.

The seemingly frail old emperor before them was actually surrounded by a subtle yet palpable aura of power.

The aura was obscure and difficult to discern, sometimes as faint as a candle flickering in the wind, and sometimes as terrifying as a dragon lurking in the abyss.

What a master of concealment…
A golden glint flashed in Lu Xuan's lowered eyes.

He subtly adjusted his breathing, raising his guard to the limit.

In every experience of worldly trials, he never distrusts anyone.

Even though the old emperor before her was the original owner's blood-related father.

Beneath his wide, crimson robe, Lu Xuan's fingertips had already quietly gathered a wisp of golden dragon-shaped energy, ready to launch a sudden defensive attack at any moment.

"My good son..."

The old emperor's voice was very hoarse. He slowly raised his hand, and his withered fingertips trembled slightly just before touching Lu Xuan's shoulder.

"I heard that you have stayed indoors for the past three days, and I am very worried about you."

Lu Xuan maintained his respectful demeanor, the strands of hair falling across his forehead perfectly concealing the strange look in his eyes.

"Your Majesty, I have recently made some progress in martial arts, so I have gone into seclusion to study it."

"It was my fault for not wanting to disturb Your Majesty."

The moment Lu Xuan raised his eyes to apologize, his pupils suddenly contracted!
The old emperor's eyes, which should have been cloudy, were now pitch black, with not a trace of white showing.

What's even more terrifying is that the emotions surging in his eyes don't resemble those of a father looking at his son at all.
It was more like a hungry wolf eyeing a plump lamb.

Greed, jealousy, desire... all sorts of emotions twisted and entangled within it.

Finally, it solidifies into a chilling kind of appetite.

Lu Xuan's back straightened instantly, and countless golden dragon shadows within his body simultaneously emitted warning hisses.

He clearly saw that the old emperor's Adam's apple was bobbing abnormally, as if... as if he was trying his best to restrain the urge to pounce and bite.

That was not the look of a human being, but the gaze of some ancient and ferocious predator.

For example, those eerie and sinister things!
"Good...very good..."

The old emperor's eyes returned to normal instantly, and he suddenly grinned, revealing his excessively neat teeth.

The hand that patted Lu Xuan's shoulder was so cold it seemed inhuman, and the fingernails had become sharp and bluish.

"As expected of my Crown Prince, the heir apparent of the Wenjing Dynasty... truly... exceptionally gifted..."

(End of this chapter)