fifth form

Chapter 3007 Your Majesty, I'm Here
Zhang Xuezhou is not the only one in the world who is changing.

Zhang Xuezhou entered the Realm of Sovereignty and returned to Chang'an City. Li Shaojun also entered the Realm of Sovereignty with the help of the Eight-Step Ascension Pill. Tian Fen's cultivation improvement was simply outrageous.

Zhang Xuezhou once looked down on Tian Fen, thinking that the other party's flying skills were incompetent. Little did he know that among the court officials, Tian Fen was the most capable.

Most cultivators in the world are ultimately from the lower levels. Not to mention the techniques and supernatural powers of the True Self Realm, even the pressure exerted by the difference in realm on cultivators in the Supernatural Power Realm is quite fierce.

The reason why Zhang Xuezhou, whose magical power is almost completely destroyed, is still so confident is because he possesses the power of a high level of spiritual attainment.

His purpose in constantly restoring his physical and magical power was solely to eventually break through to the True Self Realm, while also avoiding the embarrassment of encountering a True Self Realm cultivator.

As long as he doesn't fight against cultivators at the top True Self Realm, Zhang Xuezhou has ways to restrain cultivators at a lower level, and can even use the Abbot Island Staff to control cultivators at the Sovereign Self Realm.

Zhang Xuezhou was quite confident, while Tian Fen was almost overjoyed at being able to intimidate the group of cultivators at the Divine Power Realm.

Zhang Xuezhou, being perceptive, offered his congratulations repeatedly, thus allowing Tian Fen to refrain from testing Zhang Xuezhou's intentions.

"Lord Dongfang must be going to the palace to see His Majesty. His Majesty is not in a good mood today, so please be mindful of your conduct when you go!"

Tian Fen rode the waves and drifted away from the palace. As he left, Han Anguo whispered something to Zhang Xuezhou.

Han Anguo and Zhang Xuezhou had some old feelings for each other. On the other hand, Han Anguo was a double agent. Although he was promoted by the new emperor, he was biased towards the Empress Dowager who held real power. Only by not offending either side could he barely maintain his position in the court.

Han Anguo was friendly to everyone and also entrusted Zhang Xuezhou with some relevant information.

After exchanging a few words, Han Anguo also left in a hurry.

"I've met Mr. Wang!"

"Greetings, Lord Gongsun!"

"I've met Mr. Li!"

……

Being caught off guard by the end of the court assembly, Zhang Xuezhou could only stand aside and let others pass, even though the main road to Weiyang Palace was wide.

He would greet them from time to time. Some people would just nod, others would reply, and still others would chat quietly with their fellow officials and ignore him, glancing at him briefly before hurrying past.

Given his frequent absences from court and his rarity at court meetings, Zhang Xuezhou's influence was destined to be minimal. Furthermore, he did not form a faction within the court and had limited relationships with many people.

Zhang Xuezhou didn't care about other people's attitudes; he just wanted to avoid offending anyone or getting tripped up.

After exchanging greetings, Zhang Xuezhou finally took his leave.

Someone faintly mentioned his name from afar, but the voice was too low for Zhang Xuezhou to hear clearly.

He didn't bother to pay attention to what people were talking about about him in private. After a few quick steps, Zhang Xuezhou, holding the 'Governor' token, went directly into Weiyang Palace.

The court assembly had just ended, and the new emperor's position was quite easy to find.

If the new emperor does not return to the Jiaofang Palace in the inner palace, Zhang Xuezhou can see him as long as he enters the rear palace area of ​​Weiyang Palace.

After circling around for a while, Zhang Xuezhou saw the new emperor sitting in the back garden, holding a sword.

"You came!"

Zhang Xuezhou moved closer and heard the new emperor say something in a low voice.

"Your Majesty, I've arrived!"

Zhang Xuezhou replied, only to see the new emperor suddenly stand up and turn around, realizing that he was not the person the new emperor was waiting for.

"When did you get back? Has your magic returned to normal?"

He was clearly somewhat surprised to see Zhang Xuezhou as the new emperor, but also filled with anticipation.

Only when Zhang Xuezhou shook his head repeatedly did his eager anticipation subside.

“We’ll have to wait a bit longer,” Zhang Xuezhou shook his head and said, “I’m already receiving treatment!”

"Wait again? How long? Are you going to disappear again?" the new emperor asked.

Despite having the most loyal, intelligent, and capable official by his side, Zhang Xuezhou simply couldn't utilize him.

It wasn't that the new emperor was bad at using people; rather, he simply couldn't find anyone like Zhang Xuezhou. In fact, Zhang Xuezhou was extremely corrupt in his official career; after redeeming his wife from divorce proceedings just one year into their marriage, he issued a divorce decree.

If Zhang Xuezhou hadn't returned, the new emperor would have seriously suspected that Zhang Xuezhou had defected to some other force with the Imperial Shuttle.

"I will not go out anymore. I will stay in Chang'an City obediently from now on!"

Zhang Xuezhou shook his head repeatedly.

Unless there is a special need, he is unlikely to travel around the world anymore.

On the one hand, he is genuinely unable to fly right now, and on the other hand, the risk of him running away after being wanted by the police is high.

For example, the Jade Emperor and the Daoist Master were fully aware of his identity.

One side consists of a large number of human cultivators who are not afraid of the Demon-Revealing Mirror, while the other side consists of a large number of masters of incantations.

If Zhang Xuezhou messes things up and offends either of these two parties, he will face countless troubles.

After running around for so many years, and lacking a clear direction regarding his true self, why would he run around aimlessly again?

Barring any unforeseen circumstances, Zhang Xuezhou felt he would behave himself for the next few years.

"You're not going out anymore; you're supposed to stay obediently in Chang'an?"

Zhang Xuezhou's answer was sincere, but the new emperor felt something was amiss.

Zhang Xuezhou stopped going out, and the new emperor still wanted to travel around. He felt that Zhang Xuezhou could go out and didn't need to stay obediently in Chang'an.

Of course, the only requirement was that Zhang Xuezhou had to carry him and could not run alone.

"You may go out; you don't need to stay in Chang'an for long," the new emperor advised.

"No, no, no, I really have to stay in Chang'an to fulfill my duty," Zhang Xuezhou said. "Then I want to marry and have more children, and try to marry and have as many as possible!"

You make me feel like a stranger!

Looking at Zhang Xuezhou, whose face had aged and who had grown a beard, the new emperor felt that Zhang Xuezhou's thoughts had changed so much that he was almost a stranger to him.

Logically speaking, young people like to travel and explore.

The new emperor felt a strong urge to travel the world, while Zhang Xuezhou had lost that desire. This willingness to remain in one corner of the world was somewhat like that of the old ministers who were unwilling to move.

"Tell me about what you've seen and experienced over the past six months!"

There must be a reason for Zhang Xuezhou's unusual behavior. The new emperor did not order Zhang Xuezhou to do anything, but wanted to hear what Zhang Xuezhou had experienced that led to the change in his mentality.

"If Your Majesty is willing to believe me, then I will tell you some of what I saw and heard when I sought medical treatment from my friend, the Buddhist monk Shi Gong..."

Setting aside his role as the protagonist of this centennial event, Zhang Xuezhou positioned himself as an observer and began to recount the changes in the various holy land forces from that perspective.

This was the information needed for the overall strategic situation, and Zhang Xuezhou also tried his best to correct the outdated information from the generation of the Empress Dowager.

Whether the new emperor believes it or not, whether he maintains his old beliefs, and whether he can benefit from it, are not within Zhang Xuezhou's responsibility.

"You and that Buddhist disciple are too fond of gambling. If you hadn't gambled on the detoxifying properties of that half-jade lotus root, you would be so much freer right now!"

Upon hearing that Zhang Xuezhou and the Buddhist monk Shi Gong had the same drawbacks and had chosen the same method to detoxify, the new emperor couldn't help but feel regretful and heartbroken.

The Buddhist monk Shi Gong was released from his restraints, but Zhang Xuezhou, due to excessive greed, was locked up again.

Compared to a cultivator in the Solitary Realm whose magical power has its drawbacks sealed, the new emperor would prefer Zhang Xuezhou to be a cultivator in the Divine Power Realm who can freely use his magical power.

"You can go to Changxin Palace more often. Your mother has read many cultivation books from all over the world and understands all the methods. If your mother were willing to give you even a little guidance, you wouldn't have ended up in this situation!"

Zhang Xuezhou's cultivation was too radical and risky, and the new emperor felt that the Yin-Yang School's realm technique was very problematic.

Only by appropriately modifying the Yin-Yang School's realm techniques could Zhang Xuezhou avoid taking such risks in his cultivation.

He felt that Zhang Xuezhou could consult the Empress Dowager more often, since the Empress Dowager had invited Zhang Xuezhou before, and the probability of Zhang Xuezhou receiving guidance was relatively high.

Leaving aside others, Prime Minister Tian Fen was a genuine case of spiritual cultivation guided by the Empress Dowager.

The new emperor concealed his cultivation level from the Empress Dowager, and he couldn't help but feel a little regretful. Even though he was only a step away from the Realm of True Self, he sometimes wondered if he would have reached the True Self realm like Tian Fen if he hadn't hidden it.