The low-key prince summons trainees from the Imperial Household Department at the start of the game.

His memory improved dramatically after the Foundation Establishment process, to the point where he could remember almost everything he saw. After reading it once, all the formulas and acupoints were engraved in his mind.

He closed his eyes and mentally simulated the operating route of the "Hidden Edge Technique." After confirming that nothing was missing, he folded the Xuan paper and put it into his sleeve.

"If Your Highness encounters any difficulties while practicing this method, you may ask me at any time."

Xu Chu said in a deep voice, his copper bell-like eyes reflecting Zhou Xing's small figure, "I once used this method to suppress a seventh-rank to a third-rank, and it withstood the test in the Imperial Guard Competition. There were quite a few ninth-rank experts on the stage, and no one saw through it."

"Thank you, General Xu." Zhou Xing stood up and gave a proper bow.

As he reached the door, he suddenly stopped and turned back to ask, "General, how much force did you use when you cleaved Han Dang's halberd with that sword?"

His tone was like a child curiously asking an adult, "How strong are you?"—innocent and naive—but his eyes clearly held a sharpness that only he and Xu Chu understood.

A rare smile appeared on Xu Chu's lips as he replied in a deep voice, "Your Highness, rest assured, it was only 20% of my strength. I simply used some unique methods to conceal the aura of my rank at around the fourth grade, and then casually struck."

He paused, then added in a low voice, "If you strike with all your might, that blow can cleave a person and halberd in two."

Zhou Xing nodded, said nothing more, and turned to leave the duty room.

Outside the gate, the setting sun was painting the palace walls a dark gold, and patrolling guards marched past in formation in the distance, their footsteps perfectly synchronized.

Zhou Xing returned to the side hall at dusk.

Chunlan and Qiuju were collecting the clothes drying in the yard when they saw Zhou Xing running back from afar.

Chunlan quickly put down the clothes she was holding and went to greet him, taking out a handkerchief to wipe the sweat from his face, while muttering to herself, "Your Highness, don't push yourself too hard when you practice. Look at all this sweat. What if the wind blows it away later..."

Zhou Xing obediently tilted his head back and let her wipe him, saying with a grin, "Sister Chunlan, I'm hungry."

Chunlan felt sorry for him when she heard this, so she quickly asked Qiuju to serve the meal, and then pulled Zhou Xing into the house to change his clothes.

Zhou Xing changed into a dry undergarment, sat cross-legged on the bed, and took out the Xuan paper from his sleeve while Chunlan went to the kitchen to urge for the meal.

He unfolded it and looked at it from beginning to end again, then lit the fire tinder and brought the Xuan paper closer.

The flames devoured the paper, the ink twisted and turned black in the flames, and finally turned into a wisp of light ashes.

He skillfully poured it into the evergreen plant pot under the bed, stirred it with a twig, and then there was no trace of it left.

After dinner, Zhou Xing said he was sleepy early, dismissed Chunlan and Qiuju, blew out the candles, and sat cross-legged on the bed alone.

The night was deep, and only a thin layer of silvery-gray moonlight seeped into the side hall through the window paper.

He closed his eyes and began to circulate his qi and blood according to the methods of the "Hidden Edge Technique".

The first step is to extract most of the Qi and blood from the Dantian Qi vortex and hide it deep within the eight extraordinary meridians.

This process is not painful, but it requires extreme concentration. The eight extraordinary meridians are the body's hidden meridians, and under normal circumstances, very little blood and qi flow through them.

To forcefully inject a large amount of Qi and blood without damaging the meridians, a certain level of precision in controlling Qi and blood is required.

He carefully guided strands of qi and blood to flow from his dantian, ascending along the Ren meridian, and then diverting at the Tanzhong acupoint in his chest to enter the Yinqiao meridian.

Then, it slowly descends along the Yangqiao meridian on both sides of the spine, eventually sealing most of the Qi and blood in a nearly unused hidden meridian deep within the spine.

The second step is to rebuild a "fake qi vortex" in the dantian, retaining only the amount of qi and blood corresponding to the first-grade cultivation level.

Rearrange it according to the normal cyclone structure, so that it looks like the dantian of an ordinary first-rank martial artist.

This step was relatively easy because he had just broken through from the first rank and still had a vivid memory of the amount of Qi and blood and the rhythm of circulation in the first rank state.

He completed the construction of the fake cyclone in less than half an hour and even made some minor adjustments along the way.

He adjusted the speed of the fake cyclone to be slightly slower than his real first-grade level, making the investigator feel that his foundation was solid.

However, his talent is not particularly outstanding; he belongs to the type that is "diligent but not outstanding".

The final step is to unify the outward aura with the fake vortex, while simultaneously silencing the hidden true cultivation level, making it seem as if it never existed.

This step is the most crucial, because when a master examines a person's cultivation level, they not only use their internal strength to sense the intensity of the Qi and blood in the dantian, but also make a comprehensive judgment by observing external characteristics such as breathing rhythm, the lightness or heaviness of their steps, and fluctuations in Qi and blood.

Xu Chu made a special note of this in the formula.

Those who are inconsistent in word and deed will surely fail when they encounter a true expert. The key to self-control lies in aligning one's mind and spirit, so that one's pretense is genuine.

The meaning of this sentence is very clear: you can't just hide your cultivation level; you also have to completely immerse your body, your breathing, and even your subconscious reactions in the state you're pretending to be in.

Otherwise, if you encounter a true expert, they will be able to tell at a glance that you are acting.

Zhou Xing spent two whole hours repeatedly adjusting, striving to synchronize every breath with the rhythm of the fake cyclone, and to make every subtle muscle reaction conform to the state of a first-grade martial artist.

In his previous life, he was a programmer with an almost obsessive pursuit of "system testing," always feeling that testing multiple times was never a bad thing.

He adjusted his eyes until the moonlight began to set in the west, then slowly opened them.

The pseudo-qi vortex within his body rotated steadily, emitting the faint aura befitting a first-grade martial artist.

The true second-grade cultivation level was sealed deep within the hidden meridians of the spine, like a dormant seed, completely still.

He tried circulating his qi and blood, and the strength, speed, and reaction time of his movements were precisely controlled within the range of the first grade.

He tried a few more of the light footwork steps taught by Zhan Zhao. The height of the jump, the weight of the landing, and the speed of the turn were all a level lower than before, just within the normal performance range of a first-rank martial artist.

He walked to the bronze mirror and examined himself by the moonlight.

The little boy in the mirror had a calm expression and a steady demeanor. The sharp glint in his eyes, which had become even more intense after breaking through to the second rank, had been completely concealed. He looked like an ordinary prince who had just entered the first rank.

He smiled at himself in the mirror.

The child in the mirror smiled, revealing a small tiger tooth, looking innocent, harmless, well-behaved, and sensible.

Great, that's the feeling.

A transparent, harmless, and unsuspecting ninth prince.

The next morning, as usual, Physician Li from the Imperial Hospital came to check Zhou Xing's pulse.

He placed three fingers on Zhou Xing's radial artery pulse, closed his eyes and concentrated. After a moment, he nodded slightly, stroked his goatee, and said, "Your Highness's breathing is steady, and your foundation as a first-rank official is solid. You are expected to advance further within six months."

He paused, then added, "However, Your Highness is still young, so we should not rush things. A steady and cautious approach is the best policy."

Zhou Xing nodded obediently, took the outer garment handed to him by Chunlan and put it on, his heart as calm as still water.

With a solid foundation, he is expected to advance further within six months. Physician Li's diagnosis perfectly matched the illusion created by the "Hidden Edge Technique," and even the imperial physicians of the Imperial Hospital could not see the flaws.

He picked up the ginseng tea that Chunlan had just brewed and sipped it slowly. The ginseng tea was slightly bitter, but had a long-lasting sweet aftertaste. The pseudo-qi vortex in his dantian was still spinning steadily, like a wound-up top, stable and slow.

The spring hunt will begin in two days.

The Second Prince has broken through to the fourth rank, and the Grand Commandant's Mansion is about to flex its muscles. Various forces are eyeing this opportunity. In this grand drama, he only needs to sit quietly in the audience and be the most inconspicuous spectator.