Although the military power of the Qin Nation is currently unparalleled, the evils within the Imperial Court were prevalent. And in the eyes of the citizens, the biggest villains of them all were the Prime Minister, the Chancellor and the Head Eunuch, eunuch Hong. Granted, though the Director of the EBI was equally notorious, Fan Xian did not make the joke at his expense due to his respect for Teacher Fei Jie.

This joke was actually adapted from one in his previous world regarding the political situation in Taiwan. Fan Xian had also written and sent this joke to his sister which sent her rofl-ing (Okay I kid, but “made her laugh” and “amused her greatly” lacks intensity ~MCM). After telling his Grandmother the joke, the seemingly naïve yet surprisingly cunning Old Madam cannot help but guffaw as well.

Having greatly amused the most influential old lady in Danzhou port, Fan Xian reported to his grandmother that he would be going out for a while. Already, his Grandmother has returned to her usual poker face. As she seldom meddles in his affairs, she gave a soft reply of consent.

After leaving the manor, Fan Xian felt rather pleased with himself as he began to feel closer towards his Grandmother. After all, his Grandmother had taken care of him quite a lot. As he thought about this, he cannot help but remember a rumor that the House of Fan was originally a large clan within the Capital. However, the House of the Southernland Count, owned by his father, was a branch that was small and insignificant. Moreover, the number of people in it was small and was hence easily suppressed. This caused his Grandmother to become a nanny for the House of Prince Cheng, a thing unheard of for a person of n.o.ble birth.

Fortunately, the previous Emperor did not have a heir and, because of an overactive s.e.x life, pa.s.sed away early. Meanwhile, the two prince consorts who were the most likely candidates for the throne were a.s.sa.s.sinated by a Northern hit man, while the other one who hired the a.s.sa.s.sin was also a.s.sa.s.sinated…… d.a.m.n it (I s.h.i.t you not, this is the author’s exact words ~MCM). In short, after all the convoluted and complicated plotting, this insignificant yetEmperor Cheng managed to secure his position for a good number of years. When his time came and he ascended to the Heavens, the throne was handed to the current Emperor. Under the guidance of the current Emperor, the Q deadly throne finally belonged to the b.u.t.tocks of Prince Cheng.

in nation was successful in its western campaign against the barbarians and its northern expedition, finally managing to splinter the major powers of this world. The originally mighty Northern nation was disintegrated, reduced to the current Northern Qi nation, a few va.s.sal states as well as the neutral Eastern Yi city.

The role of the Emperor was not just to expand the nation and handle political situations; nowadays, apart from being adept at handling national affairs, the Emperor could also be considered one of the skilled martial artists in the Qin Nation. Already, some of the ministers have written pet.i.tions suggesting the Emperor to write books regarding his techniques to pa.s.s down to the next generations (Not quite sure about this part, may look into it again when I have the time ~MCM).

However, the Emperor insisted on not doing so. Some of the bolder ministers who thought the Emperor was merely bluffing and bragging were beaten to a b.l.o.o.d.y pulp on the spot in the Imperial Court.

And the one who used to babysit this merciless, almighty yet reclusive bada.s.s Emperor, was the Old Madam in the Count’s Manor.

Fan Xian already had some suspicions about his father a few years back. The Count of Southernland’s actual influence differs greatly from his position in the court and could even get Fei Jie from the EBI to become Fai Xian’s teacher. Once he knew his Grandmother used to be the Emperor’s nanny, all his curiosity were instantly quelled.

His own father’s, the Count, situation resembled the official named Cao Yin from Kang Xi’s (One of the emperors in Chinese history ~MCM) era in the other world. Cao Yin’s mother, Sun Shi, was also Kang Xi’s nanny, which was why Cao Yin was always in Kang Xi’s good books. Although he was just a third rate official in the Court, he had the power to defy the chain of command and report directly to the Emperor. When Kang Xi went on his Southern tour, the House of Cao was also visited frequently. Who wouldn’t fear such a person? (The full sentence goes like “If you asked the entire Southern Jiang, who wouldn’t fear him?”, which is kind of awkward. ~MCM)

Even in Kang Xi’s later years, when Cao Yin was investigated for embezzling the nations silver, Kang Xi dragged and pardoned the issue on account of their history together. It was not until Cao Yin’s death that the House of Cao fell to ruins.

Cao Xue Qin wrote “Dream of the Red Chamber” when arrived at Beijing when he was eighteen.

Because he wrote it, in another dimension, Fan Xian was able to copy “Dream of the Red Chamber”.

“Sir Cao, it seems that though we were both born in two different places, the same thing happened to the both of us.  This book that I am copying… must also be a result of fate.” When Fan Xian thought that his and the Cao’s family’s situation were quite alike, he could not help but chuckle. He gently folded the marked tenth letter and strolled out of the manor.

………………………………………………………………………………………………………

On the cliff along the sea, Fan Xian was meditating with his eyes closed, his entire being filled with a curious feeling. It was precisely because he was a pa.s.sive materialist (*shrugs* I have no idea what this means either ~MCM) in the previous life that he was able to control such potent inner energy. This feeling was both dreamy and surreal – a little like being in love.

However, love is always full of ups and downs; training his potent inner energy brought him both joy and pain. It was obvious that this potent inner energy was mysteriously shaping his body, granting him great strength and quicker reflexes. Yet, its unpredictable nature often causes him to encounter dangerous situations.

It was only due to Five-Bamboo hitting him all these years that the inner energy became tamer. Today, however, was another dangerous milestone – today will be the final training exercise that is written on the scroll.

Five-Bamboo was silently standing at a corner, looking at Fan Xian who was hugging his knees and staring into s.p.a.ce. In his hands was the usual wooden stick.

The pool of inner energy in his Dantian gently flowed out as willed and, with perfect concentration, flowed along his chest and his abdominal regions and spread throughout his body. Like what happened for the past twelve years, the inner energy that flowed behind would sink into the Snow Mountain meridian like mud in the ocean, disappearing without a trace.

The remaining inner energy stayed at a relatively strong amount, gushing through his meridians with the painful sensation of countless hot knives cutting along his thin and sensitive arteries.

Fan Xian’s entire body was shivering and cold sweat soaked his clothes. His long eyelashes fluttered uncontrollably from his shut eyes as he endured the agony.

After cultivating this potency for around twelve years, even the most difficult milestone could be overcome by just sleeping for a while. It was rather easy after that. To think that to overcome the last milestone of the first scroll was this difficult!

The inner energy continued to rage around in the meridians in his abdominal region. The cutting rush of inner energy can help expand the meridians, allowing inner energy to be transported at a faster rate. However, the pain that came with it was proportional to the benefits that it would bring. The invisible force that expands the meridians brings along a mental pain that was not easily endured.

Fortunately, the twelve years of hard training enabled Fan Xian’s meridian to reach a considerable degree of toughness, allowing the walls of the meridian to endure such pressure. Moreover, his concentration was also forged in his previous life. These strange coincidences made him stronger than the average person.

……

……

Although it seemed like a very long time, the sun had only just rose from the eastern horizon, placing itself on slightly over the corner and spreading its warm rays across and upon the cliff, illuminating the two lonely silhouettes, one sitting and the other standing.

The inner energy deviated from the path and rose upwards. A bout of strong and violent energy shot out from the thin barriers of the meridian within the body. Like a knife, it viciously stabbed upwards to Fan Xian’s forehead.

In the crimson sunlight, Fan Xian’s head was raised and, as if struck by lightning, stared blankly towards the sky, his mouth agape soundlessly.