My cultivation disguise has been exposed by Xiao Sizi.

A pale, fish-belly white dawn appeared on the horizon.

The morning drums of Chang'an City had not yet sounded, and the air was filled with the unique dampness and coolness of early morning.

Two figures stood some distance from the entrance.

One of them wore an extremely heavy, dark cloak that seemed out of place in the height of summer, and leaned on a sandalwood cane. Most of his face was hidden in the shadow of the hood, and his body trembled very slightly in the morning breeze.

Crown Prince, Li Chengqian.

Half a step behind Li Chengqian stood a burly eunuch dressed in a dark blue eunuch robe, with a sinister face. The eunuch's hands were tucked into his sleeves, and his breathing was extremely deep and even, so deep that the grass beneath his feet did not bend in the slightest.

This is a master who has cultivated internal energy to its highest level among ordinary martial artists.

Li Chen was not wearing any clothes, and his muscular upper body gleamed with a cold, hard luster like jade in the morning light.

He stared blankly at the two uninvited guests, his dark eyes devoid of any emotion.

The eunuch in blue was the first to notice the commotion near the dry well.

He whirled around, his sinister gaze locking onto Li Chen like a venomous snake. When he saw the boy, a flicker of undisguised contempt and wariness flashed in his eyes.

"How dare you!"

The eunuch lowered his voice and let out an extremely sharp, cold shout.

"Your Highness is here! You unfavored, useless prince, get over here immediately and kneel down to pay your respects!"

As he spoke, the eunuch's right hand, which was tucked into his sleeve, suddenly flipped, revealing a short steel blade gleaming with a ghostly blue, poisonous light. He then thrust his feet forward, lunging straight at Li Chen like a night owl skimming the ground.

His orders were to protect the Crown Prince. In the remote and secluded palace, any sudden change in circumstances required first incapacitating the other party before questioning them; this was his intuition, honed through years of surviving in the deep palace.

Upon hearing the sound, Li Chengqian instinctively lifted his hood and turned around.

When he saw clearly the handsome face standing by the dry well, a face that was all too familiar to him.

Li Chengqian's pupils dilated to their limit instantly, his eyes almost popping out of their sockets. Last night in the side hall of Taiji Palace, the terrifying figure who tore down the palace door, disregarded imperial authority, and even left his father helpless, slammed into his mind like a heavy hammer.

"Stop! You idiot! Stop right now!!!"

Li Chengqian let out an extremely shrill scream, like a wildcat whose tail had been stepped on. He even threw away his crutch and, dragging his crippled leg, desperately tried to tug at the eunuch's robe.

But it was too late.

The eunuch moved with incredible speed, closing the distance to within three feet of Li Chen in the blink of an eye. His poisoned dagger aimed precisely at Li Chen's right collarbone.

Li Chen did not move.

He didn't even lift his eyelids; he simply and casually fixed his gaze on the eunuch's face.

"boom--"

An invisible, terrifying shockwave, as heavy as a mountain, crashed down from Li Chen's center.

This is not the release of true essence; it is merely the purest mental crushing of a Foundation Establishment cultivator against a mere mortal ant.

"Snap! Snap!"

Two chilling cracking sounds rang out in the silent courtyard.

The blue-robed eunuch's forward-leaning body froze mid-air. His eyes bulged violently, his face filled with disbelief.

Followed by.

His kneecaps, which he was so proud of and had honed for thirty years of lower body training, exploded into a cloud of blood mist under this invisible pressure.

"Thump."

The eunuch's upper body slammed heavily onto the blue bricks. Before he could even scream, he coughed up a mouthful of blood mixed with fragments of internal organs and immediately lost consciousness. The fine steel dagger clattered to the side, its tip less than half an inch from Li Chen's toes.

Li Chen stepped over the blood on the ground and walked step by step toward Li Chengqian, who was sitting on the ground.

"What did I say last night in the side hall?"

Li Chen's voice was soft, yet it carried a chilling edge.

"Don't bother me while I'm in my meditation."

Li Chengqian was trembling as if he had been soaking in an ice cave for a day and a night. Ignoring the mud on the ground, he scrambled to his feet and knelt down at Li Chen's feet.

The dignified Crown Prince of the Tang Dynasty didn't even dare to raise his head at this moment.

"Immortal...Sixteenth Brother! No, Immortal Master!"

Li Chengqian's teeth were chattering wildly, and his face was covered in tears and snot.

"I...I didn't come to bother you! I came to beg you! My foot...the imperial physician said it can't be cured! Although Prince Wei is under house arrest, no one can fathom the Emperor's thoughts! I am the Crown Prince of the Tang Dynasty, how can a cripple become Emperor?!"

He cried as he frantically tore at his black cloak, revealing his visibly atrophied right leg.

"I beg you, Immortal Master, grant me the elixir of immortality! If you can heal my leg, I'm willing to share the entire Tang Dynasty with you! You can choose any of the rare treasures in the Eastern Palace! I only beg you, Immortal Master..."

"Shut up."

Li Chen lowered his head, looking at the Tang Dynasty Crown Prince who had gone mad with extreme fear and despair.

"To divide the country equally?"

Li Chen chuckled, as if he were watching an extremely absurd joke.

"Your father, even with the entire treasury of the Tang Dynasty, could only afford to buy me enough talismans to control the Yellow River floods once. What do you have to offer me to split the profits?"

He crouched down, looking calmly into Li Chengqian's bloodshot eyes.

"I can't cure your leg. Even if I could, I wouldn't. I already said last night that I have absolutely no interest in your pathetic power struggle."

Li Chen stood up, turned around, and walked towards his dilapidated house.

"Take your dog and get out of my yard. If there's a next time, it won't be his knee that gets blown out, it'll be your head."

Li Chengqian slumped to the ground, watching Li Chen's receding figure, his eyes completely losing their light.

The sudden downpour in Chang'an has lasted for three days and three nights.

The gray sky seemed to have been torn open with a huge gash, and rain poured down, splashing onto the bluestone slabs in the side hall courtyard, creating rings of white mist. The water that had accumulated on the eaves gathered into a waterfall, cascading into the drainage ditch in the corner of the courtyard.

Since the urgent military report of "Turks knocking on the gates, Daizhou city falling" arrived in Chang'an three days ago, the entire war machine of the Tang Dynasty has been running at full speed.

The imperial court was in complete chaos, with military officers from the Ministry of War shouting and arguing heatedly in the main hall.

But none of this has anything to do with this dilapidated courtyard located in the northwest corner of the palace.

Li Chen lay on a bamboo rocking chair under the eaves.

He wore a faded white shirt and held a freshly brewed cup of Junshan Yinzhen tea in his hand. Wisps of white steam rose from the surface of the tea, emitting a refreshing aroma.

He squinted, his gaze piercing through the heavy rain, landing on the figure outside the courtyard gate.

Crown Prince Li Chengqian.