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

Time flies, and another three days have passed in the blink of an eye.

On March 1st, under Su Mu's personal guidance and with the aid of a large number of pills, Zheng He successfully broke through the bottleneck and advanced to the early stage of the Acquired Realm.

Su Mu also received a system reward for this, but the reward was very ordinary, consisting of some common pills and spirit stones, which were of little use to him at the moment.

Su Mu knew that only when his adopted sons and daughters at a high level achieved a breakthrough in cultivation would the system give them truly valuable rewards.

Therefore, he had already focused his attention on his adopted sons, such as Li Lianqing and Xiao Anxun, who were at the Grandmaster level, frequently guiding their cultivation and providing them with ample cultivation resources.

Of course, other adopted sons and daughters, if they are diligent, filial and sensible enough, and visit him frequently at the library, can also often reap benefits.

Currently, Su Mu's system warehouse already has plenty of cultivation resources. In addition, he recently killed Tuoba Hongzhen, Situ Chengjun, Su Feiyang and others, and obtained a large amount of resources, which is enough for him to squander at will. He doesn't have to worry about not having enough.

After Zheng He advanced, he went to the Martial Arts Academy as Su Mu instructed. He needed to find a suitable cultivation method for himself at the Martial Arts Academy, as he could no longer continue to cultivate according to the "Martial Arts Classic". At the same time, he also needed to learn various martial arts skills to improve his combat power.

Su Mu is usually very busy and doesn't have much time, so sending his adopted sons and daughters to the Martial Arts Academy to learn martial arts is the best option.

After Zheng He went to the Martial Arts Academy, Su Mu had someone call Yu Tian back from the academy.

Given Su Mu's current status as the retired emperor, no one dares to say a word against what he wants to do within the palace. Even if he summons the disciples of the Martial Arts Bureau back to the library, no one dares to stop him.

The reason he allowed Yutian to return to the library was because this adopted son was very worthy of cultivation—Yutian, who was thirteen years old this year, possessed innate essence fire, was exceptionally talented, and had already reached the peak of the late stage of the Acquired Realm, only one step away from the Innate Realm.

The library has many chores that need to be done by staff on a daily basis, such as laundry, cooking, and cleaning.

Normally, martial arts masters in the palace would never be willing to do such menial tasks, but it's different if they come to the library to "do menial tasks"—serving the retired emperor can hardly be considered menial work. This is clearly a good opportunity to get close to the retired emperor and receive guidance.

After returning to the library, Yutian, following Su Mu's instructions, practiced several martial arts techniques he had learned at the Martial Arts Academy in the courtyard for Su Mu to instruct him on.

"Not bad, your basic skills are very solid, and your martial arts techniques are also very well executed."

After watching Yutian's demonstration, Su Mu nodded in satisfaction and offered a few words of praise.

The experts at the Innate Realm and Grandmaster Realm of the Martial Arts Bureau all knew that Yutian possessed the Innate Essence Fire and was a rare martial arts genius. They took great care of him and taught him with exceptional dedication and strictness, which is why Yutian's foundation was so solid.

Su Mu took out some pills and handed them to Yu Tian to help him cultivate. Xiao Anran was also there, sharing her cultivation experience with Yu Tian to help him improve his strength faster.

The sun was shining brightly this afternoon.

Emperor Xiao Anxun, accompanied by Li Lianqing, arrived at the library with a solemn expression, as if he had important matters to report.

"Your Majesty, we have captured a Japanese expert in the northeast of the empire."

Xiao Anxun bowed and reported, his tone serious: "According to the Japanese expert, the reason why the entire Japanese tribe migrated from the Fusang Islands to the inland is because a strange black fog appeared in the depths of the East China Sea."

"That black fog not only blots out the sky, but also seeps into the seabed, and its range is extremely wide. It is constantly spreading westward, getting closer and closer to the coastline."

"The black mist is extremely dangerous. Any living being that is enveloped by the black mist will perish instantly, with no chance of survival."

"It is precisely because the black fog continues to expand that the sea monsters and beasts in the East Sea have been forced to flee westward, thus harassing the eastern coast of our empire and causing considerable losses."

"That Japanese expert also said that the same black fog had appeared in the north of the barbaric wilderness and was spreading southward."

Hearing this, Xiao Anran couldn't help but speak up, her tone tinged with worry: "In that case, there must also be that black mist to the west of the Cangmang Mountains, otherwise, the demonic beasts in the west would not dare to rashly attack the empire's border to the east."

"Yes, that's most likely the case."

Xiao Anxun nodded, his face full of worry: "The black mist has cut off all escape routes. Not only will the demonic beasts on the east and west sides rush into the territory of the Great Qian Empire without hesitation, but I'm afraid the barbarians and Japanese will also have no choice but to attack the heartland of the empire."

"As for Wanjiang Yusu in the south, we, the Xiao royal family, know nothing about her current situation."

Xiao Anxun added, "To the south of our Great Qian Empire, there are two other kingdoms. The southern region of the empire does not border Wanjiang Yusu, so we cannot directly investigate the situation there."

"Black mist..."

Su Mu frowned, tapping his fingers lightly on the table as he pondered the secrets behind this eerie black mist—this kind of black mist, capable of blotting out the sky and devouring living beings, was no ordinary thing.

"The black mist isn't expanding very quickly, but at this rate, it will eventually spread into the empire's territory."

Xiao Anxun continued, his tone growing increasingly heavy: "Before the black mist spread into the empire's territory, the armies of alien races and demonic beasts from all directions were enough to keep us from having any peace."

"That True Martial Realm expert Xi Changfeng from the Heavenly Martial Sect has lived for tens of thousands of years and has extensive knowledge. Perhaps he knows some of the secrets about the black mist."

Su Mu spoke slowly, his tone calm—he had no intention of personally going to investigate the location of the black mist. Firstly, the distance was too far, and the round trip would waste a lot of time, affecting the refining of the sword embryo; secondly, the black mist was too dangerous, and he would not rashly venture into it.

However, if they do not venture inside, they will be unable to uncover the truth behind the black mist, so they can only put the matter aside for the time being.

"Your Majesty, there is one more thing to report."

Xiao Anxun quickly said, "The royal family and the Martial Arts Bureau have found out that the Divine Judgment Organization's hideout in the imperial city is a place called Laifu Inn, which is not far from the imperial palace."

"Furthermore, we have also discovered that Xi Changfeng, a True Martial Realm expert from the Tianwu Sect, is colluding with the Divine Judgment Organization. He is very likely hiding in the Laifu Inn right now."

"I see."

A sharp glint flashed in Su Mu's eyes as he thought to himself, "Staying on the defensive isn't a solution. Since Xi Changfeng has come to me, I should take the initiative!"

Late that night, the imperial city fell into silence, with only the occasional sound of footsteps from the night patrolling guards.

Jinzi was already fast asleep. Su Mu got up quietly, leaped out of the library courtyard alone, and disappeared into the night like a ghost.