Imperial Scepter

Gao Chun struggled to awaken from the boundless darkness of chaos.

My consciousness was like being submerged in the cold seabed, struggling to rise, before being slowly awakened by the warmth seeping in from outside the window.

My whole body ached as if it had been taken apart and then put back together; every inch of my bones was screaming silently.

The sun was already high in the sky outside the window, and the warm, golden-red light shone through the carved window and into the room, falling on the edge of the bed and completely dispelling the last trace of coldness and death in the room.

A faint, sweet fragrance of medicinal herbs filled the air, gently enveloping his body and finally giving his nerves, which had been taut on the edge of life and death for so long, a slight but real relaxation.

His entire body was wrapped in thick white bandages, from his shoulders to his waist and abdomen, from his arms to his calves. Every inch of his skin was tightly wrapped, as if he were bound in a soft but taut cocoon.

The slightest movement, which aggravates the unhealed wounds under the skin, sends waves of excruciating pain crashing through the body, rushing from every limb to the top of the head.

Knife wounds, palm prints, and hidden injuries left by the shock of profound energy are densely covering his body. Even the slightest movement causes him excruciating pain.

Gao Chun slowly lifted his heavy eyelids.

A trace of confusion and disorientation remained in his narrow eyes, and there were faint bloodshot streaks in the whites of his eyes, showing the intense struggle and exhaustion he had experienced before losing consciousness.

But it only took a few breaths.

That composure, calmness, and precociousness that didn't belong to a twelve-and-a-half-year-old boy was like a layer of warm jade light covering his brows and eyes again, completely concealing that vulnerability and helplessness.

While ordinary people his age were still laughing and playing carefree, he had already been teetering on the brink of life and death.

Some things are destined to be different from the moment one becomes a Xuanzhe.

A fleeting clarity crossed his pure, deep eyes.

Followed by.

The terrifying scenes I encountered deep in the forest before I lost consciousness flashed through my mind like a flood, each scene so vivid as if it had just happened.

A chilling wind swept through the dense forest, obscuring the sky and the sun. Suddenly, the protector of the black-robed youth from the Human Puppet Sect appeared, his aura overwhelming, his profound energy liquefying and radiating a suffocating sense of oppression.

That was the unique skill and terrifying aura of a King-level expert.

The mere pressure of his aura was enough to pin him to the ground, making it difficult for him to breathe. His bones creaked and groaned, as if he would be crushed into dust by this terrifying pressure at any moment.

In the face of true absolute strength, so-called talent, methods, and courage all seem pale and laughable.

The protector's eyes were indifferent, arrogant, regarding him as an ant, and he raised his hand to kill him completely.

Without any probing or unnecessary movements, the attack was a decisive blow.

The biting pressure and chilling killing intent completely enveloped him. At that moment, despair, like a cold venomous snake, tightly coiled around his heart, leaving him no room for resistance. He could only close his eyes and wait for death.

He is not afraid of death.

But he was not willing to give up.

He still harbored the ambition to become a high-ranking official, had people he wanted to protect, and possessed a hidden talent that he had yet to fully unleash. He did not want to die quietly in that dark, dense forest.

Just when he thought he was going to die and return to the forest.

Brother-in-law Gao Qingfeng appeared out of nowhere.

Then, the intense, unbearable pain completely overwhelmed his consciousness, plunging him into boundless darkness.

In his last moments before falling into a coma, he felt only relief.

I'm so grateful that I can still see the warm sunshine of this world...

As her thoughts slowly returned, Gao Chun blinked her bright eyes and looked around.

This isn't his room; judging from the decor, it looks more like his sister's house.

The tension and seriousness that had been building up instantly dissipated, leaving only a sense of peace and relaxation.

But the next second, he suddenly remembered something extremely terrifying.

"I think I didn't even have time to dispel the Bagua seal before I passed out..."

"My cultivation level of the fifth level of the Bronze Realm is about to be completely exposed."

Gao Chun immediately tried to circulate his profound energy to reactivate the Eight Trigrams Seal and completely conceal his true cultivation level.

But when she looked at her body, which was wrapped tightly in bandages, she felt that the slightest movement caused excruciating pain from her wounds, making it difficult to even lift her hand, let alone concentrate on circulating her profound energy.

Left with no other choice, he could only sigh softly and temporarily abandon the plan.

On second thought.

"The four members of the team, Huang Xiaoming, Li Daoqiu, Wang Hu and Gao Chengzhi, have personally witnessed his Bronze Realm Level 5 cultivation in the dense forest."

Since the secret has already been exposed to his closest brother, there's no point in hiding it from his sister Gao Xuemei and brother-in-law Gao Qingfeng.

"A secret that has been laid bare before everyone is no longer a secret that needs to be carefully guarded."

"However, if one wants to continue to stand firm in the perilous cultivation world, and even gain a foothold in future turmoil, one must quickly improve one's cultivation level, widen the gap between oneself and others, and make one's exposed cultivation level one's confidence, rather than a weakness that others can exploit."

"To quickly improve one's cultivation level, one must obtain more Mystic Vein Pearls."

But then I thought about my experience yesterday going to Li Family Village to get the three Mystic Vein Pearls.

Gao Chun's heart sank, and he could still feel the biting chill of the dense forest on his back.

Yesterday's trip to Lijia Village was fraught with danger and constant turmoil.

He first fought Li Tianjiao, the young village chief of Li Family Village, three times. He easily defeated Li Tianjiao the first two times, but in the last fight, he fought desperately and unleashed all his strength to finally kill him.

Li Tianjiao was cautious by nature and brought two Bronze Realm Six-Star Xuan Masters with him. That battle not only consumed one-third of his bloodline crystal energy, but also exhausted most of his physical strength.

Before he could catch his breath, the genius youth of the Human Puppet Sect suddenly appeared.

This person possesses terrifying talent and strength far surpasses that of a six-star Bronze Realm cultivator of the same level. Not only does he master two top-tier Bronze-level techniques, but he also possesses acquired supernatural abilities.

In that battle, he exhausted all the energy of his bloodline crystals, and only with the desperate help of his four wounded brothers was he able to barely defeat this genius youth.

Just as he was about to kill the black-robed youth, a terrifying King-level protector suddenly appeared. With a casual strike, he almost killed him and his soul was destroyed in the dense forest.

One wrong step and you're doomed.

"The cultivation world is indeed fraught with danger, and every step is fraught with peril. My cultivation level of five stars in the Bronze Realm is still far too low in front of true powerhouses."

Gao Chun lay on the bed, sighing softly, his eyes filled with the vicissitudes and clarity that came from experiencing life and death.

A twelve-and-a-half-year-old Bronze Realm Five-Star is an astonishingly heaven-defying talent in the eyes of outsiders, but in front of a King Realm expert, he is still as vulnerable as an ant and does not even have the right to fight back.

Strength is the only true principle in this world.

After the life-or-death ordeal in Lijia Village last night, Gao Chun had made a decision—to temporarily stop going out to search for the Xuanmai Pearl.

Firstly, Li Tianjiao is dead. He was not only the young village chief of Li Family Village, but also a member of a collateral branch of the Li family, one of the five great clans of Jiuyang Town.

As a powerful and influential family in the town, the Li family has a deep-rooted foundation and will never let this go unpunished. They will definitely use all their resources to investigate to the end.

Secondly, the genius youth from the Human Puppet Sect had clearly taken him and Cheng Zhi as his training targets.

Although that person suffered a crushing defeat this time, he will not give up so easily and will definitely continue to hunt him and Chengzhi down.

Gao Chun wasn't afraid of him personally; what he truly feared was the King-level protector behind him and the terrifying background of the Human Puppet Sect.

That was one of the dominant forces among the ten sects and twenty-one schools during the sect era.

Thirdly, he was also aware that his strength was still weak and that any powerful enemy could easily take his life.

The most urgent task is to focus on cultivating magical arts and improve one's strength as soon as possible.

After making the decision, Gao Chun slowly closed his eyes, letting the warm sunlight fall on his face, and his mind gradually calmed down.

He gently moved his fingers, which were still able to move freely.

With nimble fingertips, there was no stiffness or awkwardness, and the meaning was instantly clear in my mind.

He figured that most of his injuries were just superficial wounds, but the most dangerous and fatal internal injuries left by yesterday's battle must have been slowly healed and repaired by his sister and brother-in-law using rare healing pills.

If it weren't for the desperate protection and resourceful rescue efforts of his loved ones, he would never have been able to wake up so peacefully and steadily today, given the life-threatening internal injuries he suffered yesterday.

Upon realizing this, a gentle yet intense warmth quietly rose from the bottom of my heart, spreading through my veins to every part of my body, even more tender than the warm sunlight streaming through the window.

It is the comfort of being cherished and loved, the peace of mind of having someone who will never abandon you in dire straits, and the deep kinship that needs no words to express, the bond of blood.

In this perilous world, the protection and warmth from his family became his strongest support and the source of all his confidence to forge ahead and strive to become stronger.