Although Tushan Qing had not known Zhang Chen for long, he could still tell that Zhang Chen was definitely not some easily handled pushover.
If Zhang Chen were some pushover, then how did he get all those terrifying trump cards on him?
Zhang Chen glanced at Tushan Qing. "Haven’t you heard that if you can’t endure small grievances, you’ll ruin great plans? The Shen Family is already about to be finished; why should I bother arguing with them? Once they lose the Shen Family as their backing, people will naturally come looking for trouble with them."
As he spoke, Zhang Chen passed through the golden light curtain and arrived outside the Exquisite Tower.
"We’re not going to continue comprehending the Mysterious Power here? Why are you just leaving?" Tushan Qing was momentarily stunned, his eyes staring at Zhang Chen in disbelief.
"Zhang Xiaohua is trapped inside the Treasure Tower; this is the perfect time for us to act. You go and scout out information on that big tomb of the Shen Family. Without Zhang Xiaohua restraining us, if we can enter the Shen Family Mausoleum and seize the Creation of the Innate Water God, wouldn’t that be much easier than comprehending the Mysterious Power in this Treasure Tower?" Zhang Chen instructed Tushan Qing, "In my view, compared to comprehending the Mysterious Power inside the Treasure Tower, going to seize the Creation within the Shen Family Mausoleum is much easier."
Hearing this, Tushan Qing slapped his forehead. "Your schemes are indeed thorough. Big Brother, just wait; once your little brother has probed out all the information, I’ll come back and report."
Tushan Qing turned into a streak of blue light and shot into the distance, leaving Zhang Chen standing where he was, taking one last look at the Exquisite Tower. The next moment, he cast an Escape Technique and returned to his own courtyard.
In the small courtyard, Mrs. Zhang was practicing her blade techniques, the blade light in her hand flashing, weaving a dense net of blades in the air.
Zhang Chen gave Mrs. Zhang a glance but did not disturb her. Silently, he returned to his own room, then sat cross-legged on the bed. The next moment, his hands formed seals as he chanted a Spell under his breath; his Primordial Spirit stirred, and his Magical Power surged like a mighty, roaring tide.
Inside the Exquisite Tower
Zhang Gaoqiu held the Celestial Measuring Ruler in his hand, turning it over and over. "It’s said this thing can connect to the legendary Thirty-Three Heavens, but it’s far too Mysterious. Even the old ancestor of the Great Victory Royal Palace couldn’t detect anything unusual from it. I don’t know what kind of profundity this treasure holds, that it can possess the power to enter the Thirty-Three Heavens."
A hint of contemplation appeared in Zhang Gaoqiu’s eyes. At his side, Jiang Nan said, "If we can comprehend the profundity of this ruler, in the future we’ll definitely become figures who can sway the tides of the world, able to bridge all gaps between us and those first-echelon heaven’s chosen."
"I must comprehend the profundity of this ruler. I already have nothing left; only by grasping the Xuanji of this ruler can I pull off a counterattack, truly become a heaven’s chosen of the first echelon, and, in the future tides of the world, become one who stirs the waves." Zhang Gaoqiu’s voice was filled with madness.
As he spoke, the Celestial Measuring Ruler in his hand suddenly vanished into thin air, leaving both Jiang Nan and Zhang Gaoqiu stunned.
"Where’s the ruler?" Jiang Nan looked at Zhang Gaoqiu’s now-empty hand, a look of astonishment in his eyes.
"The ruler?" Zhang Gaoqiu stared at his empty hands, a trace of bewilderment in his eyes.
At this moment, Jiang Nan stared at Zhang Gaoqiu in utter disbelief. "Zhang, could it be you’ve already mastered the profundity of this ruler and have taken it into your body?"
Hearing Jiang Nan’s words, Zhang Gaoqiu hurriedly inspected the bloodlines in his body, but he found nothing. Yet, seeing the look of eager anticipation on Jiang Nan’s face, a thought stirred in Zhang Gaoqiu’s heart. "No matter where the ruler went, this is an opportunity for me."
In the Zhang Family house, a ruler appeared in Zhang Chen’s hand. The ruler seemed to sense Zhang Chen’s Qi Mechanism, letting out a series of soft hums, expressing its delight.
"What a fine treasure. Its Spirituality truly is astounding." Zhang Chen caressed the ashy-gray ruler. Seeing the grime on it, he moved his thoughts and summoned out his Alchemy Furnace. Gazing at the Sun Embers blazing fiercely inside, Zhang Chen casually tossed the ruler into the furnace to undergo the tempering of the flames.
This was Sun Charcoal Fire, its temperature unimaginably high. No matter how stubborn the filth on the Celestial Measuring Ruler was, it could not withstand the burning of the Sun Charcoal Fire.
As time passed, three hours later Zhang Chen lifted the lid of the Alchemy Furnace, and a streak of silver light flashed out, falling into his hand.
Zhang Chen examined it carefully and saw that the Celestial Measuring Ruler had already undergone a complete transformation, practically a rebirth. Even if it were placed right before Zhou Qiucheng, he still would not be able to discern the true identity of the Celestial Measuring Ruler.
He saw that the Celestial Measuring Ruler was now entirely silver-white, as though cast from silver. However, there were streaks of scars across it, as if left by blades and swords. Its markings seemed to have endured the impact of tremendous external force and had grown blurred, as though they had been polished thousands of times.
"It seems the Celestial Measuring Ruler once went through an inconceivable great battle, to have its own body wounded and scarred like this." Zhang Chen felt a trace of shock in his heart. At the same time, he took out the purple bead he had obtained back then. The purple bead shone with divine light, as if sensing the aura of the Celestial Measuring Ruler. The bead transformed into a streak of flowing light and directly inlaid itself onto the Celestial Measuring Ruler, fusing with it as one. The missing markings and the thirty-six key nodes that had been absent were now all completed, forming a fully whole treasure.
After those thirty-six purple beads fused with the ruler, they filled in the gaps and turned into spindle wheels that shimmered with a silver luster. Those spindle wheels drew and wove billions of silver threads together, forming a single complete entity.
At this point, the Celestial Measuring Ruler was fully restored and became a complete entity.
"Not bad! Not bad!" Zhang Chen secretly praised in his heart.
After the praise, Magical Power circulated within Zhang Chen’s body, accompanied by streams of Innate Qi, which poured into the Celestial Measuring Ruler as he began to perform Sacrificial Refining on the Innate Restriction.
Now that the Celestial Measuring Ruler had become a single whole, its Qi Mechanism began to revive. Facing Zhang Chen’s Innate Qi and Magical Power, it had no power to resist; instead it directly devoured Zhang Chen’s strength like a whale, actively guiding his Magical Power to refine itself.
As time passed, the courtyard gradually grew lively. The three little ones came back from school, Mrs. Zhang began preparing dinner, and the rising clamor woke Zhang Chen up.
With a thought, Zhang Chen sent the Celestial Measuring Ruler turning into a streak of flowing light that disappeared into his palm, where it was housed by his Primordial Spirit.
"To think that in just the time it takes to eat a meal, I actually refined three Innate Restrictions. The refining speed is really too fast. Mainly, the Celestial Measuring Ruler is too enthusiastic toward me, so I can’t very well refuse. All I need to do is keep pouring in Magical Power and Innate Qi; as for refining those Innate Restrictions, I don’t even need to do it myself—they’ve already started refining themselves automatically." Zhang Chen muttered to himself in his heart.
Zhang Chen pushed open the window and saw the three little ones kicking a shuttlecock in the courtyard. With Zhou Qiucheng’s protection, Zhang Chen wasn’t worried about their safety. At least within Jinling City, Yellow Heaven Dao would never recklessly fight Zhou Qiucheng to the death over the three little ones.
Besides, he also had his Blood God Child clone protecting the three little ones. Even if they ran into some trouble, Zhang Chen had the ability to use the Blood Dao to lock onto their position. That Blood God Child clone, if nothing else, even when facing a far stronger opponent, could still rely on the Blood Dao’s power to stall for some time.
"Big Brother, come play shuttlecock." Zhang Tuowei saw Zhang Chen pushing the window open and called out to him.
Zhang Chen smiled lightly at that, pushed the door open, and walked out. "How was your studying at the academy today? Did the teacher scold you?"
Zhang Chen seemed like a parent checking his own children’s homework.
But as soon as he walked out into the courtyard, he immediately sensed something was off. There were scrapes on the three little ones’ necks and faces.
As if sensing Zhang Chen’s gaze fall on them, Zhang Tuowei hastily shrank his neck.
"What happened?" Zhang Chen asked, his tone neither warm nor cold, yet a faint, indescribable pressure settled over the entire courtyard.
Zhang Tuowei hurriedly spoke up, "You can’t blame me for this. Those people look down on others; when they saw us dressed in rough cloth and coarse hemp, they said we were low-born and unfit to study, and that just sitting with us made the air filthy. How could I endure such humiliation? So without another word I rushed up and started brawling with them. That brat did have some skill, so we took a few hits. But that brat surnamed Huang didn’t get off easy either—we cracked his head open and beat him unconscious, he passed out cold."
At this moment Zhang Tuowei stepped forward of his own accord, puffed out his little chest, and said, "Big Brother, I was the one who struck first in this matter; I was the one who started it. If you want to punish us for stirring up trouble, then punish me. This has nothing to do with the other two; they were dragged in by me."
Zhang Tuowei’s eyes were full of stubbornness.
Looking at Zhang Tuowei, Zhang Chen suddenly smiled, reached out, and gently stroked his wounds, manipulating a wisp of Innate Qi to heal them. "How could I possibly blame you? You were upholding your own dignity. As long as you’re in the right, even if you beat someone to death, I’ll cover for you."
Here Zhang Chen’s expression grew solemn. "There’s just one thing we need to make clear beforehand: if you win the fight, then fine. But if you lose, then I will have to punish you."
Off to the side, Chengyu quickly said, "We didn’t lose! We didn’t lose! That Young Master Huang was beaten unconscious by us; he even peed his pants."
"Good! Since you didn’t lose, not only will I not punish you, I’ll give you a heavy reward instead." Zhang Chen took out three cups of Yellow Spring Water and handed them to the three little ones. "This is your reward. It can help your souls grow stronger and speed up your cultivation in the Yin Spirit Dao. But although this Yellow Spring Water is good, it must be taken in moderation. Absolutely don’t drink too much. If it exceeds what you can bear, it will wash away your memories and scrub your souls into a blank slate, turning you into fools who know nothing."
The three little ones naturally knew how precious Yellow Spring Water was. Seeing Zhang Chen actually use Yellow Spring Water as a reward for them, smiles immediately bloomed on their faces. They didn’t care about Zhang Chen’s nagging; clutching the Yellow Spring Water, they just stood there grinning foolishly.
"Time to eat!"
Just then, Mrs. Zhang’s voice came from inside the house.