The Song Dynasty was the king for thirteen years before he knew that he was Tianlong.

Chapter 443 Mastery of Divine Skill (Seeking Monthly Tickets)

The night was quiet, the lamplight flickered, and all was silent.

Zhao Ti opened his eyes in the chair, showing a surprised expression.

What happened? I was in a daze just now, it seemed like I had a dream, but it was only a short time, and I didn't even see how much time passed, so how could I have been dreaming?
He rubbed his temples in confusion. Although he felt as if he had entered a dream, he couldn't remember anything. Was it just his imagination?
His gaze fell upon the crystal coffin on the table, where the tiny figure inside was still fast asleep, exquisitely beautiful and of unparalleled grace.

Hmm? Zhao Ti suddenly raised his eyebrows, realizing something was wrong, and leaned closer to take a look.

A faint blush of peach blossoms appeared on Yu Ling's originally flawless, impeccable cheeks.

What's going on? Zhao Ti immediately moved closer to observe carefully, his expression becoming increasingly surprised and serious.

How could this be? Why did Yu Ling's expression change? It seemed... a trace of color had appeared?
But Yu Ling is dead. She has been dead for thousands of years and is suppressed in the underground palace of the Flying Tower, placed in a crystal coffin. She is just a corpse, unable to move or speak. Her breath has long been cut off. She is just a small statue. How could she show this color?

Zhao Ti took a deep breath and carefully recalled whether he had accidentally touched the other party and been affected by his own life force, like that severed hand, causing something strange to arise.

But no, in my memory I often went close to watch, but I never touched Yu Ling in the slightest, and I never even touched anything inside the crystal coffin, so it was impossible for my life force to be transferred to her.

What's going on? Logically speaking, the Feather Spirit Demon would never have undergone such a change on its own. If something were to happen, it would have happened long ago. Not to mention the underground palace for thousands of years, it hasn't happened even a few days ago. How could this be so unusual now?
Could it be... Zhao Ti pondered, his brows furrowing. Could it be that he had been pulled up by the severed hand in his sleep these past two days and had touched the Feather Spirit?

You know, that day when we retrieved several items from the underground palace of the Flying Tower, the severed hand had acted without my knowledge, taking the small crystal coffin out of my bosom without my consent, and then dragging me out of bed to dig a hole in the corner, seemingly intending to bury it. So…

As he was thinking, his gaze fell on his left arm. Just then, his left arm suddenly jerked and stood up rapidly, then began to shake violently back and forth.

You… Zhao Ti raised an eyebrow. This thing had indeed been putting on an act all along. He had thought it was being suppressed by profound internal energy and had been silently worn down.

"What do you mean by waving your hand? Are you saying it wasn't you?" Zhao Ti retorted angrily, "If it wasn't you, then who else could it be?"

Upon hearing this, Zuo Shou seemed stunned for a moment, but then surprisingly nodded and clenched his fist, shaking it up and down repeatedly.

Zhao Ti's lips twitched: "What nonsense are you talking about? You didn't touch it, so there's no way I could have. Do you think I don't know how dangerous it is?"

He turned his left hand into a fist and pointed it forcefully at Zhao Ti, as if to say, "It's you, it's definitely you!"

Zhao Ti's face darkened. He secretly used his Four Illuminations Divine Skill to suppress the left arm, which immediately drooped down and was regained under his control.

He then kept his eyes fixed on the crystal coffin, watching the body of the Feathered Spirit to see if there were any other changes.

A good half hour passed, and apart from a blush appearing on her cheeks, Yu Ling remained unchanged, as peaceful and serene as Sleeping Beauty, seemingly never to wake up.

Unable to come to any conclusion, Zhao Ti carefully closed the crystal coffin lid, then got up and put it back in the wooden box. But after thinking about it, he felt it was inappropriate and planned to lock the box. However, these wooden boxes had not been fitted with locks since Zhao's father made them. He looked around and finally took a golden gourd and placed it on the box as a warning.

After resting, the next morning there was a loud banging on the window. Zhao Ling'er called from outside, "Big Brother, get up."

Zhao Ti responded, and then he saw Zhao Ling'er had already pushed open the window and was peeking inside.

"Ling'er, what are you doing?" Zhao Ti asked, puzzled.

"Big pot, why did you move that iron gourd to the box?" Zhao Ling'er's gaze swept around the room before landing on the gourd on the wooden box.

"Oh, you mean the gourd..." Zhao Ti glanced at her upon hearing this. For some reason, Zhao Ling'er was quite interested in this gourd. If one did not know that this thing was a magic weapon, then it could only be considered a decoration. Moreover, the surface was pitted and not very attractive. Why was it so attractive to her?
"This thing isn't a toy, why are you staring at it so much?"

“Big brother, I just like this gourd. I don’t know why, but I feel like I’ve seen it somewhere before,” Zhao Ling’er said, shaking her two little braids.

"Don't spout nonsense so early in the morning. I picked this up on an ancient battlefield. Where else could you have seen it? This thing has too much metallic aura and is not suitable for a child to handle. I can't give it to you, so don't even think about it," Zhao Ti said calmly.

"Big pot..." Zhao Ling'er pouted, looking unhappy.

"It's no use saying anything, and don't even think about sneaking into my room. From now on, I'll lock my door and bolt the windows." Zhao Ti said expressionlessly. One reason was that he didn't want Zhao Ling'er to handle the demon-summoning banner magic weapon, even if it was broken, there might be some danger. The other reason was that Yu Ling Tianmo was acting strangely, so he had to be on guard. Although the doors and windows were weak, it was better than nothing.

"Hmph..." Zhao Ling'er's face twitched upon hearing this, and she turned and left angrily.

Zhao Ti ignored her, then fetched water to wash up, went to the main room for dinner, locked the door after dinner, and carried his book box to the state school.

With nothing to do during the day, Mo Xun remained silent by his side, and Zhao Ti went home alone after school.

He had originally planned to take a different route, bypassing Yujiang to avoid encountering Yang Yao'er again and causing trouble, but he quickly abandoned the idea. After all, he had killed the old man surnamed Zhu, and deliberately avoiding him at this time would inevitably give people the impression that he was hiding something and had something to hide.

He walked home along the riverbank, but he didn't see Yang Yao'er, and the pleasure boat from yesterday was not on the river.

After a while, I entered Xinghua Lane and returned to my own front door. I found it quiet inside today, with no noise or commotion coming out.

It seemed that Ling'er wasn't playing around in the courtyard. Zhao Ti nodded, pushed open the door and entered, but his expression froze. He saw Zhao Ling'er standing on tiptoe in front of her room's window, gently poking at the window crack with a bamboo strip, and constantly making shushing gestures to the greyhound staring blankly at her.

"What are you doing, little sister?" Zhao Ti's face darkened immediately, and he shouted.

"Ah, I, I..." Zhao Ling'er was so frightened that her hand trembled, and the bamboo strip fell onto the windowsill. She quickly took two steps back and explained, "Big Brother, I saw a huge ant crawl into the crack in this window. I was afraid that you would be bitten at night, so I was trying to get it out."

"Ants? And big ones at that?" Zhao Ti frowned.

“Yes, yes…” Zhao Ling’er’s eyes darted around, and she gestured with her hand. At first, she made it the size of a grain of rice, but then she felt it wasn’t scary enough, so she enlarged it to a full inch long.

"An ant this big?" Zhao Ti's lips twitched as he looked at the greyhound, which immediately barked twice and shook its head vigorously.

Zhao Ling'er kicked the greyhound, angrily saying, "You treacherous dog! I just fed you a bone, and now you're betraying me!"

The greyhound leaped aside nimbly, dodging the attack, then quickly ran behind Zhao Ti and barked again.

"At such a young age, and despite having studied, you've resorted to breaking and entering. Tell me, should I tell your parents, or will you accept the punishment yourself?" Zhao Ti snorted.

"I, I didn't break the window, I was just catching ants..." Zhao Ling'er said anxiously, her face changing color.

"Hmm?" Zhao Ti glanced at her. "I'll go tell my parents."

"Ah, no big pot..." Zhao Ling'er hurriedly said, "I'm willing to accept the punishment myself..."

"Then let's talk this out. Why did you break into my window?"

"I...I want to see the gourd..." "See the gourd?" Zhao Ti said, "It's just an iron gourd, is it that attractive to you?"

"Yes, big brother, I don't know why, but I always think about you. I want to see you as soon as I get home from school. Who knew you would come back so early today..." Zhao Ling'er looked down and stared at the tips of her shoes. The tips of her shoes had cracked because she was too naughty. Her toes were peeking out.

"Can't you wait for me to come back? I didn't say I wouldn't let you see it, but I have to be home, and you can't take it out of my room," Zhao Ti said.

"I...I understand the big pot..." Zhao Ling'er didn't dare to look up and said timidly.

"Go and receive your punishment. Stand facing the wall until it's mealtime..."

"Could we go to the back of that house, not near the big cooking pot?"

“No, the chickens and geese behind the house are making noise and distracting me. How can I properly repent? Go to the back of my house. We’ll stop when we eat.”

"Okay..." Zhao Ling's shoulders trembled upon hearing this, and she moved weakly towards the back of the house.

After watching Zhao Ling'er walk away and disappear from sight, Zhao Ti opened the door, put down his book box, and then opened the window. He had returned early today and planned to review his lessons first.

About 45 minutes later, Zhao's mother's voice rang out in the courtyard: "Dinner's ready, dinner's ready! Tonight we'll have stewed fish..."

"Ah, finally time to eat..." Zhao Ling'er's figure rushed past the window. Zhao Ti shook his head and got up to go to the main room.

Just as he reached the door, Zhao Ling'er turned around and blocked his way, saying, "Big brother, show me the gourd after you finish eating?"

Zhao Ti patted her head: "Okay, you can tell me directly when you want to see it in the future, and you are not allowed to do those sneaky things again."

"I know, sir!" Zhao Ling'er cheered, then turned around excitedly, only to see the greyhound wagging its tail as it approached. She immediately kicked it and shouted angrily, "Traitorous dog!"

After finishing their meal, Zhao Ti went back to his room, with Zhao Ling'er following closely behind like a little tail.

She walked to the front of the wooden box, her eyes gleaming, and grabbed the golden gourd in one swift motion.

"Be careful it doesn't fall and hit you," Zhao Ti warned, then sat down at the table to read a book, telling the other person to play by themselves.

Zhao Ling'er was small and weak, and couldn't move the gourd quite easily, so she rubbed it in front of the box, her eyes shining, as if she liked it very much.

“Big pot, this doesn’t seem to be made of iron, and the outside doesn’t seem to be coated with copper paint?” Zhao Ling’er suddenly said.

"Oh, how so?" Zhao Ti glanced at her.

"There are so many pits and bumps on the gourd, but there's no sign of paint peeling off. Shouldn't such big pits reveal the original color? But it's still golden yellow..." Zhao Ling'er stammered.

"You know quite a lot," Zhao Ti said calmly. "The logic is sound, but the copper lacquer on this gourd is thick, so even though many places are dented, you can't tell."

"Is that so?" Zhao Ling'er looked somewhat disbelieving, reaching out to touch the hollow on the gourd's body, but couldn't find anything. Then she looked at the gourd's mouth and curiously tried to pull it out.

She tried to pull it open for a long time but couldn't. Zhao Ti had to use a lot of effort to open it, let alone her, who was so young and a girl.

"Big pot, what's wrong? Why can't I open it?"

"The gourd spout is cast in place; it's just for decoration. It can't be opened at all, so don't try to pull it out."

"Is it... for the sake of looking good?" Zhao Ling'er wrinkled her little nose, looking incredulous.

She practically pressed herself against it to examine it, and after a long while said, "The big pot doesn't seem to be cast in place..."

Zhao Ti said, "I say so, it can't be opened at all. It's just that there are traces left behind, making people think there's a stopper."

"Really?" Zhao Ling'er blinked.

"Ling'er, come back to study!" At this moment, Zhao's father's voice rang out in the courtyard.

"I understand," Zhao Ling'er replied, then reluctantly walked out the door, turning back every three steps.

After watching her leave, Zhao Ti got up, closed the door, and continued studying.

When the night was deep and quiet, the lights in the main room were turned off. Zhao Ti got up, drew the curtains, and then began to practice his martial arts.

He first demonstrated the sword technique, and then began to practice the Four Illuminations Divine Skill.

He felt that his Four Illuminations Divine Skill was about to break through. If he couldn't break through tonight, he would at most tomorrow, but today was more likely. At this moment, the power in his body was surging, and if he didn't deliberately suppress it, it would almost overflow. If he couldn't break through now, he was afraid that he would lose control in a short time.

Thinking of this, he immediately went to the bedside, sat cross-legged with his palms facing upwards, and began to practice the exercise.

He was surrounded by four-colored light, unlike the usual colors, but the colors were so intense that they were outrageous.

He seemed like a god, radiating light and reflecting each other, like a majestic and solemn statue.

As the power of the Four Illuminations within his body slowly circulated through the Ren and Du meridians and the Tian Shu Zi Fu, Zhao Ti felt his internal energy expanding as if inflated, seemingly without end, like the ocean pouring in from above, endless and boundless.

At that moment, he sensed that his power had increased several times over, almost enough to split mountains and rivers, indestructible and invincible, and that no one or nothing in the world could withstand his full-force attack.

The four colors surrounding his body grew increasingly intense, almost becoming tangible. His figure remained motionless, like an ancient mountain, as if it had existed for countless ages.

After a full hour or two, the Great Circulation was about to be completed. The colors outside his body gradually faded, and they all receded and gathered into his body, as if his body were a treasure bottle that could hold the world's infinite colors, infinite light, and infinite power.

Zhao Ti's body was as solid as a rock, as still as a mountain, seemingly merging into the world, both visible and untraceable. He couldn't help but want to let out a long roar and a joyful sound, but he forced himself to suppress it and not make the slightest noise.

Finally, after completing the Great Circulation, he suddenly felt a violent roar within his body, as if a solid shackle, a chain, a huge obstacle had been broken. His internal energy had almost transformed from vapor to liquid, churning and surging endlessly, like clouds and mist, and had increased by an unknown amount.

"It's a great success!" Zhao Ti exclaimed with joy.

Just then, suddenly the energy around his body rushed upwards, indicating that he had just entered this realm and had not yet fully mastered the power of his breath.

"Oh no!" Zhao Ti cried out inwardly, hastily stopping his attack again. But the energy had already surged upwards, and a deafening "boom" resounded, piercing a large hole through the roof...

(End of this chapter)