Starting with being handed over to the Imperial Concubine, building a family with a thousand-year hi

He picked up his teacup, took a sip, and secretly comforted himself: "Su Mu is just a greenhorn; his strength can't improve much in a short time. As long as I wait patiently, I'll eventually have a chance to eliminate him, seize the Thunder Stone, the Meteorite Puppet, and those unknown treasures from him. Then, my strength will surely reach a new level!"

……

The news of Xiao Anxun's re-ascension to the throne spread like wildfire, reaching every street and alley of the entire Great Qian Imperial City within an hour. Everyone knew about it.

That afternoon, Xiao Anxun summoned all civil and military officials and imperial relatives to the palace. In the main hall, he briefly explained the reason for the new emperor's "sudden death." This matter did not cause much of a stir, after all, the Xiao imperial family still held power in the Great Qian Dynasty, and the country had not changed hands. The officials simply knelt and bowed as usual, and no one dared to ask any more questions, for fear of bringing trouble upon themselves.

Xiao Anxun knew perfectly well that the previous emperor was not the genius of the Xiao family from ten thousand years ago, but Situ Chengjun of the Xuan Gang Sect. This matter was too shameful. If it were to spread, the Xiao royal family would lose face and become a laughing stock of the world. Therefore, he never revealed Situ Chengjun's true identity to anyone and always treated him as the genius of the Xiao family.

Since he couldn't reveal Situ Chengjun's true identity, he naturally couldn't tell the real cause of his death—that he had been killed by Su Mu. He could only follow the story he had fabricated before, claiming that the new emperor had died suddenly because he was seriously injured during the treasure hunt in Huitai County and something went wrong during his treatment.

As for his recognition of Su Mu as his adoptive father and his honoring of Su Mu as the retired emperor, Xiao Anxun neither actively publicized it nor strictly forbade those in the know to spread it. He planned to let the matter ferment slowly, allowing the court and the public to gradually accept the fact. This way, it would not cause too much of a public opinion storm, and he could also use Su Mu's powerful strength to deter those who harbored ill intentions and coveted the throne.

That night, the capital of the Great Qian Dynasty was peaceful and quiet, without any unusual activity, as if the sudden death of the new emperor was a trivial matter that had never happened.

At dawn the next day, just as the sky was beginning to lighten, the first rays of sunlight streamed through the window into the secret room, illuminating the jade bed. Su Mu finally slowly opened his eyes, two golden rays flashing from them. The aura of thunder and fire around him instantly subsided, returning to calm, as if there had never been any violent energy fluctuations.

In fact, late last night, the Thunderstone had completely exhausted its energy, stopped releasing lightning arcs, and cracked into dozens of grayish-white fragments scattered on the jade bed, losing its former luster.

It took Su Mu most of the night to completely refine the remaining thunder energy in his body, integrating it all into his spiritual body. This completed another tempering and sublimation of his spiritual body, greatly enhancing his strength.

If Su Mu were to unleash his full power now, not only would his body be surrounded by blazing golden true fire, but also by terrifying bolts of lightning. The golden fire is masculine and intense, capable of burning everything, while the lightning is domineering and fierce, capable of tearing apart heaven and earth. The two intertwine and entwine, emitting an increasingly terrifying aura, enough to change the color of heaven and earth and reverse the wind and clouds.

In addition, his own swordsmanship brought him a sharp aura, and the imperial pressure surrounding him made even a peak True Martial Realm expert feel fear and have his primordial spirit tremble when standing in front of him. He would not be able to muster any resistance and could only submit.

Seeing Su Mu get up, Jinzi immediately flapped its wings and flew over, landing on his shoulder and chirping softly. It nuzzled his cheek affectionately, as if celebrating his successful seclusion, its tone full of dependence and joy.

Su Mu smiled gently, raised his hand and took out dozens of Spirit Essence Pills, which he held to Jinzi's lips. Then he squeezed out a few drops of his own essence blood—his essence blood contained rich spiritual power, which would greatly benefit Jinzi's cultivation and help him improve his cultivation and break through to a higher realm more quickly.

After Jinzi had eaten and drunk its fill, Su Mu carried it out of the secret room, went downstairs to put away the meteorite puppet, and slowly walked into the courtyard of the library, enjoying the fresh morning air.

Having rested enough, Jinzi no longer wanted to stay on Su Mu's shoulder. It flapped its wings and flew up, circling and dancing in the sky above the courtyard. Its golden wings shimmered with dazzling light in the morning light, and its figure was agile and nimble.

Su Mu slowly stretched his limbs in the courtyard, each movement carrying immense power, causing the ground to tremble slightly. He carefully sensed the changes brought about by the integration of the lightning energy into his spiritual body, familiarizing himself with this more powerful force, ensuring that every bit of energy could be controlled freely and without going out of control.

At this time of day, Xiao Anran would usually be practicing her sword in the courtyard, her sword light sharp and her aura steady, her sword shadows flashing as she moved with a dashing and heroic air. But today, there was no movement at all. Su Mu was a little puzzled when suddenly a system notification sounded in his mind.

[Congratulations to the host's adopted daughter, Xiao Anran, for advancing to the late stage of the Innate Realm! The system reward has been sent to the system warehouse. Please check!]

"So that's how it is, she's breaking through a realm." Su Mu suddenly realized, his smile growing even wider. "She's been at the peak of the mid-stage of the Innate Realm for so long, her foundation is already incredibly solid. It's only natural that she's breaking through now, nothing surprising."

As he pondered this, Su Mu opened the system warehouse. When he saw the rewards in the warehouse, a hint of surprise flashed in his eyes—this time the system rewards were far more generous than he had expected, including many rare and precious items that were enough to make his eyes light up.

The system warehouse still contained a considerable number of pills, mostly common types used to nourish the spiritual body and enhance cultivation, such as Spirit Essence Pills and Soul Nourishing Pills. Although these pills were extremely practical and could solve immediate problems, helping martial artists quickly recover their condition and improve their cultivation, they were not considered rare. For Su Mu at this point, they were merely a useless commodity, dispensable.

What truly caught Su Mu's eye was not these ordinary pills, but a genuine magic weapon—the core of this system reward, whose value far exceeded that of ordinary pills.

This magical artifact is named the "Giant Tiger Bone Bracelet." Its entire surface is as white as jade, smooth and delicate to the touch. Upon closer inspection, one can see fine tiger stripes covering the bracelet, the lines clear and subtly radiating an ancient tiger's might, exuding an extraordinary aura. It is crafted from the claw bones of an ancient golden-spotted giant tiger beast, reaching the lower-grade Earth rank. Its core power is extremely pure—it can greatly amplify the wearer's arm strength, palm strength, and fist strength, making it a perfect match for martial artists with strong physiques and outstanding strength, significantly enhancing the user's close-combat abilities.

Su Mu's spirit body has undergone three tempering processes: Dragon Blood Fruit, Golden Fire, and Thunderous Qi, making it incomparably powerful. Its strength far surpasses that of martial artists of the same or even higher levels. With a single punch, it can shatter rocks. This Giant Tiger Bone Bracelet is as if it were tailor-made for him. The two complement each other perfectly, allowing him to maximize his strength advantage.