Starting as a Grandmaster, all of my cultivation techniques are at max level.

"Forty years of cultivation!! If calculated according to the system's own progress in deducing cultivation techniques, if all of it were used to deduce the Nine Revolutions Creation Scripture, it would probably be enough to directly break through to the ninth level of the Innate Realm!" Xia Jin took a deep breath, forcibly suppressing the excitement in his heart.

"Qin Hu! Have your men clean this place up! You and I will return to the palace first!"

"Yes, Your Highness!"

Qin Hu casually beckoned to a commander of the Imperial Guards, whispered a few words in his ear, and then quickly followed Xia Jin back to the palace.

Inside the Hall of Mental Cultivation, Qin Hu was kneeling on one knee, reporting back to Xia Yu.

"Your Majesty, following Prince Jin's command, this humble servant led the Embroidered Uniform Guard to wipe out a Ming Cult stronghold at Lingyin Temple, killing twenty-seven Ming Cult remnants, including Yang Lie, one of the Twelve Protectors of the Ming Cult, known as 'Blood Blade.' No one on our side was killed in action."

On the dragon throne, Xia Yu finally showed a long-lost smile: "As expected, we still have to rely on our elder brother! We've only just returned to the capital, and we've already achieved results!"

Qin Hu quickly bowed and said, "Your Majesty is wise! It is truly a blessing for the court that our Great Xia has Prince Jin."

"Alright, you don't need to tell me, I already know!" Xia Yu's smile vanished, his expression turning serious. "Qin Hu, receive my decree!"

"Your subject is here."

"In order to eradicate the remnants of the Demonic Cult, from this day forward, all actions of the Imperial Guards shall be at the command of Prince Jin! Treat Prince Jin as if he were personally present; any disobedience is tantamount to defying my decree!"

Qin Hu's expression changed slightly, then he kowtowed: "Your subject obeys Your Majesty's decree!"

"Go ahead." Xia Yu waved his hand.

Qin Hu left the Hall of Mental Cultivation and then let out a long sigh. It seemed that Prince Jin was indeed as rumored, the only "underworld emperor" in the Great Xia Dynasty who could sit on equal footing with His Majesty. If he could also curry favor with this man, he would be second only to the emperor and above all others in the entire Great Xia Dynasty.

Thinking of this, Qin Hu's face showed a hint of excitement. This time, the cleanup of the remnants of the Demonic Cult was his chance to properly latch onto Xia Jin, his powerful patron.

Meanwhile, Xia Jin had already returned to her room.

"Forty years of cultivation!!" Xia Jin sat cross-legged on the cold jade bed. It took him several breaths to calm down completely from the icy chill.

"System," he murmured to himself, "recover the reward."

[Reward being withdrawn...]

[Congratulations, host, on receiving the mission reward: Little Li Flying Dagger (Beginner Level), forty years of cultivation.]

"System, use your thirty years of cultivation to deduce the Nine Revolutions Creation Scripture."

[Command confirmed. Consuming thirty years of cultivation, deducing the "Nine Revolutions Creation Scripture"...]

"In the first year, you used the Nine Revolutions Creation Scripture to open up your Ren and Du meridians, increasing the speed of your true qi circulation by more than three times."

"In the tenth year, you successfully broke through the eighth level of the first revolution of the Nine Revolutions Creation Scripture, and your martial arts cultivation broke through from the first level of the Innate Realm to the fourth level of the Innate Realm."

"In the twentieth year, you successfully broke through the ninth level of the first revolution of the Nine Revolutions Creation Scripture, and your martial arts cultivation broke through from the fourth level of the Innate Realm to the seventh level of the Innate Realm."

"In the thirtieth year, you successfully broke through the first level of the second stage of the Nine Revolutions Creation Scripture, and your martial arts cultivation broke through from the seventh level of the Innate Realm to the first level of the Grandmaster Realm."

[Deduction complete! The Nine Revolutions Creation Scripture has advanced from the seventh level of the first revolution to the first level of the second revolution! The host's cultivation level has also increased accordingly!]

"It's even better than I predicted! Thirty years of cultivation have directly transformed into the first level of the Grandmaster Realm!" Xia Jin couldn't help but smile slightly after hearing the system notification "First Level of the Grandmaster Realm" in his mind.

However, he did not notice that as the Nine Revolutions Creation Scripture broke through to the second revolution, he seemed to have become even younger.

"By the way, how about we test our current strength?"

Xia Jin gently grasped a bronze lampstand tens of meters away, which was ten feet tall, and the lampstand shattered into dozens of metal fragments that fell to the ground.

"Not bad. Although it's only at the first level of the Grandmaster realm, its power is comparable to that of a fifth-level Grandmaster!" Xia Jin nodded in satisfaction. "I still have ten years of cultivation left. System, use it directly to deduce the Little Li Flying Dagger!"

[Command confirmed. Consuming ten years of cultivation, deducing the Little Li Flying Dagger...]

As the system voice sounded, the internal energy circulation route and techniques for operating Little Li's Flying Dagger began to rapidly appear in Xia Jin's mind.

[In your first year, you studied day and night, starting with a three-inch wooden knife, constantly practicing throwing knives to hit every falling leaf within thirty meters.]

[In the fifth year, through your continuous practice, your throwing knife technique has reached its peak. Within a hundred meters, there is no object you cannot hit if you so desire! When the throwing knife is unleashed, the world loses its color. Little Li's throwing knife technique has reached its pinnacle!]

[In the tenth year, you have completely mastered it. With a single throw of your flying dagger, even gods and demons tremble. Little Li's Flying Dagger has reached its pinnacle!]

[Drill completed, feedback pending...]

Xia Jin unconsciously stretched out her right index and middle fingers, instantly pinching a fruit leaf scattered on the table.

As he unconsciously channeled his inner energy, a faint golden light emanated from the edge of the leaf. He simply flicked his wrist casually—

"call out!"

The leaf then transformed into a faint golden thread, instantly disappearing into the foot-thick black stone brick wall opposite.

Xia Jin had also recovered his senses by this time. He seemed to have been startled. He got off the cold jade bed and stopped at the wall, staring intently at the tiny hole.

"Little Li's Flying Dagger truly lives up to its name!"

"This wall is built with black stone bricks, which are as hard as iron. Even ordinary swords and knives cannot damage them in the slightest. Yet, a single leaf easily pierced through it. Impressive, truly impressive!"

Xia Jin walked to a nearby sandalwood chair and sat down. She poured herself a glass of wine, drank it all in one gulp, and then, smelling the lingering aroma on the rim, began to secretly plan.

"If ordinary leaves possess such power, imagine the full force of a specially crafted throwing knife... combined with my Grandmaster-level first-stage but comparable to fifth-stage true qi, even against a Grandmaster who is completely unprepared, there's a good chance I could severely injure them!"

He calmed himself down and opened his system panel.

[Host: Xia Jin]

[Realm Level: Grandmaster Level 1]

[Mental Techniques: Nine Revolutions Creation Scripture (Second Revolution, First Level), Formless Skill (Mastered)]

[Talent: Divine Sense Detection (Intermediate, Range 3,000 meters)]

Martial Arts: Little Li Flying Dagger (Great Perfection), Thirteen Swords of Chasing Wind (Mastery)

Current reward: None

Xia Jin admired her system panel for a full fifteen minutes before logging off, satisfied. She poured herself another glass of wine, drank it, and, slightly tipsy, drifted off to sleep.

The next day, after changing his clothes with the help of palace maids, he gestured to open the palace door and saw Eunuch Wei waiting outside.

At this moment, Eunuch Wei looked a little tired, but the moment he saw Xia Jin, he immediately perked up and hurriedly prepared to bow.

"Alright, come in and talk."