I became a prince in a martial arts world.

Wang Yu went out and brought back news of a woman, which spread throughout the Wang residence.

If Yuan Feifei was partially disfigured before, there wasn't much gossip, but Meng Zixiao is different this time.

She has a tall and slender figure, and her long, strong legs are the envy of even women.

She was dashing and heroic, with a rare blend of masculine spirit and feminine charm, making her an absolute weapon against men.

……

"Why are you so gossipy too?" Wang Yu asked Li Yunxiu.

Li Yunxiu's eyes flashed. "Qianqian asked you about it too?"

Zi Ling, standing next to Li Yunxiu, put her hands on her hips and pouted, saying, "Another vixen has appeared."

Wang Yu laughed in anger, "You're all so chaste, and you're trying to tell me what to do?"

"I wasn't planning on bothering you." Li Yunxiu shook his head calmly and said seriously, "It's just that this woman's background is unknown, so we need to find out more about her. If she's a demonic witch pretending to be infiltrating, be careful not to get drained dry."

Wang Yu, "..."

You probably don't know, but a demonic witch from a cult has already infiltrated the area.

"You're not jealous, are you?" Wang Yu raised an eyebrow and smiled.

"I'm only doing this for your own good." Li Yunxiu didn't answer, but just snorted. "I'll test her."

"How do I try?"

"I have already arranged for the servants to prepare a banquet."

"If the test shows she's okay, can I sleep with her?"

"Sleep, sleep, sleep! All you do is sleep!" Li Yunxiu picked up a book and threw it at Wang Yu. "With such strong martial arts talent, why don't you put more effort into improving your skills?"

Wang Yu took the book, laughed, and winked at Li Yunxiu as he left, saying, "I'll come and sleep with you the moment my martial arts surpass yours."

Li Yunxiu's heart skipped a beat, and she spat, "Dream on! Wait until you're stronger than me!"

After Wang Yu left, Li Yunxiu took a deep breath. Before she could react, Zi Ling asked from the side, "Madam, you probably can't beat Poison Hand Wei Tuo, right? Is Master's martial arts already superior to yours?"

Li Yunxiu glared at him, "If you don't speak, no one will think you're mute!"

……

On the other side, just as Wang Yu left the rear hall, Zhao Shan, who had wiped out Pegasus Fortress, returned to report, bringing with him the spoils of war.

Zhao Shan reported, "We launched a surprise attack on Feima Fort that day, and sure enough, there were still Black Qiang people hiding inside. We killed all the Black Qiang people, and handed the rest over to the government."

Pegasus Castle has three hundred fine horses, all of which have been sent to the West Town Horse Ranch. In addition, there is a certain amount of gold and silver. Apart from the reward for the cavalrymen, the rest has been handed over to the royal treasury.

In Yang Chengwu's study, I found his correspondence with the Black Qiang tribe. He was indeed Shi Mo's fifth disciple. He established the Pegasus Fortress inside the pass to gather intelligence and launch a surprise attack on Lingwu Pass from the rear if necessary.

He smuggled horses from the Zhenxi Horse Ranch, and many were secretly sent back to the Black Qiang tribe. The fine horses at our Zhenxi Horse Ranch are carefully fed and their strength and stamina surpass those of the Black Qiang's warhorses.

"Oh, right, and this too!"

Zhao Shan took out a porcelain bottle from his pocket and handed it to Wang Yu with both hands, along with a letter.

"I also found a bottle of pills. According to the letter, these are Snow Spirit Pills made by Shi Mo using cordyceps and snow cabbage, based on the teachings of the Snow Region Tantric Sect. They are meant to boost energy and enhance skills. There are six pills in a bottle. Yang Chengwu only ate one, so there are five left."

Wang Yu's eyes lit up. He took the porcelain bottle, opened it, and smelled it. Sure enough, it had a medicinal fragrance.

Zhao Shan knew about Wang Yu's instructions to Zhao Rong to buy potent tonics, and he had also witnessed Zhao Rong taking the Snow Lotus Jade Marrow Pill without hesitation, but he still couldn't help but advise, "Shouldn't we have the physician in the manor take a look?"

"I can go by myself." Wang Yu shook his head dismissively and then put the porcelain bottle away.

Zhao Shan, "..."

After Zhao Shan took his leave, Wang Yu took one pill and swallowed it without saying a word.

After a warm current passed by, the tortoise shell shimmered for a moment, and the medicinal power of the Snow Spirit Pill was completely absorbed.

Wang Yu clicked his tongue, shook his head in disappointment, and said, "The medicine is only so-so."

While the efficacy of this Snow Spirit Pill wasn't exactly negligible, it wasn't much better than the century-old ginseng and Polygonatum that Zhao Rong had bought. It was far inferior to the Snow Lotus Jade Marrow Pill, let alone the Lesser Rejuvenation Pill.

Then he ate all five pills one after another.

As Wang Yu's cultivation level and aptitude improved, the amount of energy he needed to further enhance his meridian endurance and innate talent also increased.

He also increasingly understood the importance of talent; besides comprehension, innate qualities were also very important.

This is why Fang Shaobai was able to advance to the Innate Realm at such a young age, while some people may never reach the Innate Realm threshold in their entire lives.

There's no other reason than that he was born with wide meridians and exceptional comprehension, so his cultivation progressed by leaps and bounds.

Wang Yu certainly doesn't belong to that kind of person, but he has cheat codes!

He can drink so much that his meridians are wider than Fang Shaobai's!

Of course, since the body is a material existence, each improvement has its limits. There is no way for Wang Yu to reach the sky in one step. Therefore, after expanding his meridians to the limit that he could temporarily bear, Wang Yu gave the remaining energy to "Iceberg Flowing Spring".

A series of diagrams of internal energy circulation flashed through Wang Yu's mind, along with corresponding finger techniques and sound attack techniques.

"Iceberg Flowing Spring" is divided into three parts, with a final section on innate insights.

Based on the deductions made by the tortoise shell, all three layers were slightly adjusted and adjusted to four layers. The final innate enlightenment was temporarily suspended due to insufficient energy.

In just a quarter of an hour, Wang Yu had already mastered the basics of "Iceberg Flowing Spring" and reached the first level.

The internal energy flows through the Foot Shaoyin Meridian and Foot Taiyang Meridian, with a cool true energy circulating in the body, which is significantly different from the "Flowing Fire Reflection" which flows through the Foot Shaoyang Meridian and Foot Jueyin Meridian.

At the same time, it seems that "The Flowing Fire Reflection" has also made some adjustments based on "The Ice Mountain Flowing Spring". The two internal forces, one fire and one ice, do not affect each other at all, and circulate independently. Then, the cultivated internal forces are stored in the dantian.

Perhaps due to the deduction and improvement of the tortoise shell, these two internal forces do not conflict at all in the dantian, are completely suitable for oneself, and can even transform and merge with each other to form a kind of internal force that is in harmony with water and fire.

Although "Iceberg Spring" was far behind "Blazing Fire" at this time, it did not feel suppressed at all. On the contrary, it accelerated the running speed of "Blazing Fire".

In other words, as "Iceberg Flowing Spring" continues to progress, the two internal skills will actually promote each other!

Wang Yu tried it out and found that he could use fire when he wanted, ice when he wanted, and even alternate between fire and ice!

Wang Yu's eyes lit up. This meant that as long as he found a suitable internal energy cultivation method and his meridians were sufficient, he could cultivate multiple internal energy cultivation methods simultaneously.

"What a pity, he only has the twelve regular meridians and the eight extraordinary meridians in his body." Wang Yu couldn't help but sigh.

……

May 20th, midsummer, moonlit night, the wind carrying fire.

Li Yunxiu arranged a banquet at Hongliuyuan, inviting Meng Zixiao to the feast. Wang Yu, Zhao Yingjie, and Yuan Feifei accompanied them, and Qianqian arrived uninvited.

Qianqian smiled softly and said, "Sister, you're hosting a banquet, why don't you invite your younger sister?"

Li Yunxiu smiled slightly, "Because I knew my sister would come."

Qianqian raised her eyebrows slightly, only then realizing that Li Yunxiu had already prepared her seat, right next to Wang Yu.

"Sister understands me best." Qianqian thanked him softly, then sat down next to Wang Yu and looked at Meng Zixiao, who had just entered the hall.

Li Yunxiu was looking at Meng Zixiao's hands, while Qianqian was looking at Meng Zixiao's legs.

Meng Zixiao's hands were long and elegant, and his legs were strong and powerful.

Meng Zixiao also sized up Li Yunxiu and Qianqian, who were sitting on either side of Wang Yu, and bowed respectfully, saying, "Greetings to the two princesses!"

Li Yunxiu gestured for him to sit, "Please sit down."

Meng Zixiao sat down, while Zhao Yingjie pulled Yuan Feifei to sit on the other side.

Everyone raised their glasses for a toast. Li Yunxiu picked up her chopsticks and placed a piece of mutton on Meng Zixiao's plate. "Judging from Miss Meng's accent, she seems to be from Linchuan Prefecture?"

Meng Zixiao shook his head. "I am from Shanyang Prefecture, but Shanyang Prefecture and Linchuan Prefecture are adjacent, so our accents do sound similar."

Linchuan Prefecture is located south of Fengming Prefecture, facing it across a large river. Shanyang Prefecture is also south of Linchuan Prefecture, but it belongs to the Sichuan West Circuit—the Shu region.

"Sichuan is known for its swordsmen. Miss Meng also practices swordsmanship. Is she a successor of one of the major sword sects?" Li Yunxiu asked again.

Meng Zixiao shook his head again, "I don't have that blessing, but my ancestors had some connection with the Qingyang Sect and I was able to inherit the White Dragon Sword Technique of the Qingyang Sect. However, after changes over the generations, it has become somewhat different."

The Qingyang Sect, one of the seven major sword sects, was founded by a Taoist. Its swordsmanship is moderate and peaceful, and its five major sword techniques are inspired by the five elements. It is said that when mastered to perfection, the five elements return to their origin, making one invincible.

Yes, to reiterate the second half, it's said to be true.

Qianqian suddenly interjected, "Why has Miss Meng come to Longshan Prefecture?"

Meng Zixiao's eyes lit up. "Of course, it's to hone my swordsmanship! The Qishan bandits have cut off trade routes, the Western Region bandits roam freely, and experts from the northern grasslands frequently venture south. They're all tough opponents, making this the perfect place for me to hone my swordsmanship amidst life-or-death situations!"

Qianqian said softly, "Miss Meng is so beautiful, yet she runs off to the Northwest to mingle with men who have hardly ever seen a woman. Isn't she afraid of being taken advantage of and having unpredictable consequences?"

Meng Zixiao's expression turned serious. "Do you think I can escape unscathed just because I fell into the hands of bandits in the Central Plains?"

Li Yunxiu's eyes gleamed with a hint of admiration. "Miss Meng is very perceptive."

Qianqian gave Meng Zixiao a deep look, then chuckled and said, "I'm not as brave as Miss Meng. If it weren't for Brother Yu by my side, I wouldn't dare go anywhere."

Li Yunxiu glanced at Qianqian sideways, "If my husband goes north to the grasslands, would you really go with him?"

"Serving Brother Yu's daily needs is perfectly acceptable," Qianqian said matter-of-factly. "If you can manage the affairs of the Prince's Palace, why can't I participate in its military affairs?"

Li Yunxiu narrowed his eyes, a cold glint flashing within them.

Qianqian smiled sweetly and gently took Wang Yu's arm.

Wang Yu looked around. Wasn't the plan to test Meng Zixiao? Why did they start arguing again after just a few words?

……

After the banquet, Wang Yu personally saw them off. Meng Zixiao took a few steps, turned back to look at Wang Yu, winked and smiled, "Prince Zhao, why do I get the feeling that you're not having an easy time?"

Wang Yu's expression turned serious. "No, this is what makes it lively!"

Meng Zixiao couldn't help but chuckle, shaking her head and revealing a hint of allure amidst her bright smile. "I don't believe it!"