Li Ban stood, walking over to the table to study the Nine Heavens Thunder Meteor.
On the outside, this superior element looked entirely unremarkable.
If it didn't discharge lightning when exposed to flesh and blood, it could easily have been tossed on the side of the road without anyone noticing.
Li Ban wasn't wearing gloves. He reached out to touch the Nine Heavens Thunder Meteor bare-handed.
"Careful, my lord!" The branch master's heart leaped into his throat.
"Crack!"
When Li Ban's fingers came within three inches of the object, a distinct arc of electricity instantly struck his fingertips, leaving a scorched black mark.
Li Ban pulled his hand back and rubbed his fingertips. The blackened, carbonized skin immediately returned to normal.
His Flesh on White Bones effortlessly healed such a minor injury.
The branch master smiled apologetically. "Your abilities are extraordinary, my lord. It's not that no one has wanted to cut it open, but they fear ruining the Nine Heavens Thunder Meteor. No one has actually dared to try."
Li Ban nodded. He was only asking out of curiosity anyway.
It was still a superior element, after all. Even if it possessed a wicked nature, someone would always hold out hope that they were its true destined master.
"If you wish to fuse with it, my lord, you must be careful." Seeing Li Ban's interest, the branch master wiped his sweat and offered a word of caution.
If it were a stranger, he naturally wouldn't have cared.
But according to word from above, Li Ban held a rather high status within the Myriad Ancient Pagoda. The branch master absolutely could not let him take unnecessary risks.
"I know. I've heard the rumors about the Nine Heavens Thunder Meteor." Li Ban smiled, signaling the branch master not to worry.
The branch master breathed a sigh of relief. If Li Ban had insisted on fusing with it, he would have had no choice but to request further instructions from his superiors.
"Lord Li, to tell you the truth, its actual wickedness is far worse than the rumors suggest."
"Then why do you still have it out here for sale?"
The branch master offered a self-deprecating smile. "In truth, not many people have tried to buy it these past two years. We just keep it here as a signboard to attract customers."
After all, who wouldn't want to come and see such a powerful and wicked artifact?
Li Ban shook his head. He hadn't planned on buying it anyway. He was just about to leave when he suddenly heard a knock on the door.
The branch master frowned even before Li Ban did.
By all rights, no one should have been let in to disturb them at this time.
But precisely because someone had knocked at a time like this, he didn't dare ignore it.
The branch master asked Li Ban to continue admiring the item while he went to open the door.
A moment later, Li Ban heard someone walk in.
Spiritual rhinoceros surged; the newcomer was an expert.
Li Ban stood up and looked out.
He saw a middle-aged man in a dark purple robe step into the room.
Seeing Li Ban, the man bowed. "I am Hu Liu, Assistant Director of the Ministry of Justice. Greetings, Priest."
Hearing Assistant Director Hu Liu's title for Li Ban, the branch master was first confused, and then his hands began to tremble.
Clearly, whoever ordered him to receive Li Ban hadn't disclosed Li Ban's true identity.
If he had known Li Ban was a Priest, he never would have brought an Assistant Director from the Ministry of Justice straight inside.
Li Ban looked at Hu Liu, making no move to rise. "What is it?"
Technically, the Ministry of Justice had been Li Ban's superior.
The kind of superior he would normally never even get the chance to see.
Hu Liu made no move to sit, either. He just stood there, smiling obsequiously as if reporting to his own boss, and explained his reason for coming.
After listening to a string of semi-classical bureaucratic jargon, Li Ban roughly grasped his intent.
It seemed certain officials in the Ministry of Justice had once helped the grand prince, Li Yuan, make trouble for Lord Du back in the Yu Province Death Prison.
Less than two months later, the grand prince had fallen from grace. Worse, the Minister of Justice had informed them that Lord Du and one of his former prison guards had successively become Priests.
This left the officials at the Ministry of Justice sitting on pins and needles.
They had already sought out Du An to apologize, and now they were coming to Li Ban.
In truth, Li Ban had no idea the Ministry of Justice had ever made things difficult for them. However, due to his special status, the officials felt they couldn't afford to ignore him after apologizing to Du An.
They might not have actually offended him, but they still had to offer a formal apology just in case.
"How did you know I was here?" Li Ban asked, tapping his fingers against the table.
Only the people of the Myriad Ancient Pagoda should have known he was here.
"Our lord went to pay his respects to Priest Zhan, and then asked Priest Yao for an introduction," Hu Liu hurriedly explained.
Li Ban nodded. Since both Priests knew about this, it made things simple.
"Alright, I understand. Leave your gifts and go. Tomorrow is the Investiture Ceremony; I imagine you are all quite busy."
Hu Liu smiled in frantic gratitude. "We manage, we manage. Thank you for your concern, Priest. Right now, it's the Ministry of Revenue and the Ministry of Rites that are busy. Once the general amnesty is declared afterward, the Ministry of Justice will be run off its feet."
He raised his hands and respectfully placed two one-thousand-liang silver banknotes on the table.
Li Ban looked at the banknotes totaling two thousand liang on the table, then glanced at the superior element, the Nine Heavens Thunder Meteor, which was also worth two thousand liang of silver.
"This humble official knows that silver holds little value to a Priest, so I am willing to purchase this superior element for you, my lord."
Li Ban drummed his fingers on the table. "Do you not know this element's reputation for cursing its masters?"
"I do, but I believe it is of no concern to you, my lord. Even if you do not plan to fuse with it, you can take it to the Unreturning Place to trade with Priests outside the Myriad Ancient Pagoda."
This Assistant Director certainly knew quite a bit.
Li Ban looked back at the banknotes and the superior element before finally agreeing to accept the Nine Heavens Thunder Meteor.
Just as Hu Liu said, even if it couldn't be fused with, it still held a certain value.
To a Priest, it was undoubtedly better than two thousand liang of silver.
This superior element repelled metal, electrocuted flesh, and possessed a few other bizarre quirks.
The branch master specifically brought over some rubber to tightly wrap the wooden box, advising Li Ban not to carry it too close to his body. He also suggested not storing it in his Priest's spatial storage, as other Priests never did.
"Alright, I'll accept this gift," Li Ban said, picking up the wrapped box.
"Thank you, Priest." Overjoyed, Hu Liu bowed deeply. "I also thank you on behalf of all the spirit practitioners who might have risked their lives trying to fuse with it."
Li Ban chuckled softly. So by accepting this gift, he was indirectly saving other spirit practitioners?
The next day, the long-awaited Crown Prince's Investiture Ceremony finally began.
Chu Zhan dragged Li Ban along to the Heavenly Pavilion to watch.
Through Chu Zhan's Self-Seeking Mirror, it was as if they were standing in the sky, gazing down at the grand event.
Countless officials, tribute gifts, fresh flowers, and embroidered robes moved through the massive Imperial Palace like flowing water.
Someone had used some unknown ability, causing hundreds of out-of-season flowers to bloom simultaneously across the palace grounds while flocks of birds circled and danced in the air.
After the solemn and majestic Investiture Ceremony came an incredibly lively celebratory banquet.
Priest Chu Zhan's mirror didn't stay focused on the Realm Emperor and Crown Prince Li Zhai the whole time; it also showed the officials, the guards, and even the slaves hidden in the palace's dark corners.
One man's joy could easily be a disaster for a whole group of people.
The festivities lasted well into the night. Everyone was exhausted, but everyone forced themselves to endure it.
Finally, the Realm Emperor led the newly appointed Crown Prince, Li Zhai, to Zichen Hall to worship their ancestors.
The Crown Prince would spend the next forty-nine days there to fuse with the superior element he had been granted upon his ascension.
"This is far enough," Priest Chu Zhan said, retracting the Self-Seeking Mirror. "Zichen Hall is the resting place of all past Realm Emperors. The mirror cannot peer inside."
The last thing Li Ban saw was the heavy vermilion doors swinging shut.
"I have finished observing the ceremony on behalf of Priest Zhu Yao. It is time for me to set out."
Priest Chu Zhan didn't ask him to stay. "Very well. Leaving under the cover of night is cleaner anyway."
Li Ban briefly packed his belongings and first headed to Shunyi Palace to pick up Li Yan.
Li Yan wasn't asleep yet. She was sitting in the courtyard, sipping tea and occasionally touching the scar behind her ear.
Li Ban suddenly appeared before her. "Pack no more than a single bundle. We're leaving."
Tears welled up in Li Yan's eyes when she saw him, and she hurriedly ran back inside to grab her things.
When she returned clutching a small bundle, Li Ban didn't take her away immediately. Instead, he asked her a question.
"If I didn't take you away today, what would happen to you?"
Li Yan clutched her bundle tightly. Because her body was ruined, she trembled thinly even in the summer night. "I carry beast blood in my veins. I can never be married off to a noble family. At best, I would be gifted to a Seventh-Tier or higher spirit practitioner as a concubine."
At most, her status as an imperial princess would just give her new master a bit more face when bringing her out.
"If it weren't for you personally taking me away, Priest, then aside from Imperial Father, no one else could ever walk me out of Shunyi Palace."
Only the authority of a Priest could supersede imperial power and the Six Ministries.
Li Ban nodded coldly. "As long as you understand."
With that, he turned, pushed open the main doors of Shunyi Palace himself, and walked out.
Li Yan remained very cautious. Following him, she took a single step out.
The two 5th Tier Spirit Cultivators at the door glanced at her, but upon seeing Li Ban walking ahead, they ultimately didn't stop her.
Seeing this, Li Yan took her second step.
Then her third, then her fourth—
A smile bloomed on her face. She broke into a light jog, trailing just half a meter behind Li Ban.
Behind the two of them, the heavy doors of Shunyi Palace slowly fell shut.
Li Ban couldn't take someone else along while using 'Shrinking Ground to an Inch', so he walked with her all the way to a side palace.
There, Shi Ming and Deng Jun, whom Li Ban had notified well in advance, were already waiting.
Their carriage was the same one they'd had before, but it had been reinforced by the palace guards, and the horse had been swapped for a powerful, sturdy black steed.
Under the cover of darkness, this inconspicuous carriage carried the four of them out of the Imperial Palace, passing straight through the Capital City's north gate and continuing their journey north.
It was near dawn by the time Li Zhai, guided by the Realm Emperor, finished all the ancestral worship rites.
Had it not been for the formidable physique of a Seventh-Tier spirit practitioner, he probably would have collapsed from exhaustion after being busy since the middle of the previous night.
But right now, Li Zhai's spirits surged with renewed vigor. Next up was the moment he had anticipated most: fusing with the superior element, the Hundred Refinements Bell.
The two of them returned to the rear hall of Zichen Hall, sealing all the doors and windows tight. Only the front door of the rear hall could still be opened to allow the Realm Emperor in and out.
The Realm Emperor personally went and shut the main doors. Flicking his sleeves, he walked over and stopped in front of Li Zhai, who was sitting cross-legged on a futon.
He raised his hand and placed an object onto Li Zhai's uplifted palm.
Li Zhai's smiling face froze.
The texture was wrong.
He hastily lowered his hand to look at his palm.
"Imperial Father, what is this?"
His father was supposed to have placed a miniature version of the Hundred Refinements Bell into his hands. Instead, it was something he had never seen before.
A dusty-looking watermelon seed?
The Realm Emperor remained expressionless. "This is the superior element I personally prepared for you: the Blood Demon Vine."
"But Imperial Father, didn't the ceremonial registry say it was the Hundred Refinements Bell?"
The words 'Blood Demon' made Li Zhai's pupils contract.
"That was merely to deceive the public. You are now the Crown Prince. Must you still handle everything personally?"
The Realm Emperor urged him on.
"Hurry and fuse with it. This is the only one ever successfully cultivated in the entire Wizard World. The Blood Demon Vine is absolutely unique, and it represents my highest expectations for you."