How could he spar with Emperor Qian Yuan?
Yang Cheng chose the simplest, most direct way: he just openly "asked" Emperor Qian Yuan for guidance.
After all, he was only a one-year-old baby. There was no need to worry about Emperor Qian Yuan getting angry.
Sure enough, Emperor Qian Yuan burst into hearty laughter at the sight.
"Hahaha, I didn't expect my little Cheng'er to already yearn for the way of the sword at such a young age."
Emperor Qian Yuan couldn't resist pinching Yang Cheng's chubby cheeks.
Everyone else in the room laughed along.
Yang Cheng lifted his little face seriously. "Father, please teach me."
"Alright, Father will spar with his son right now," Emperor Qian Yuan said cheerfully.
The others smiled brightly too, clearly understanding that the emperor was just playing with the crown prince.
The gloom cast by the Myriad Despair Divine Water incident was already half gone.
Emperor Qian Yuan was rarely this relaxed.
As the ruler of a nation, he usually spent his days cultivating or managing state affairs.
Now, getting the chance to play around with his beloved crown prince was pure joy for him.
So Yang Cheng got his chance to spar with Emperor Qian Yuan.
He was just a one-year-old baby; no one expected him to actually learn swordsmanship.
Emperor Qian Yuan played along with Yang Cheng for a while before pretending to be struck by a sword. "My son's sword skills are superb. Father admits defeat."
"We're evenly matched," Yang Cheng said.
"Oh? Is Father admitting defeat not good enough?" Emperor Qian Yuan asked.
"Father is the emperor of Great Zhou. How could you lose to anyone?" Yang Cheng replied.
His words immediately brought him closer to Emperor Qian Yuan.
More importantly, the system only required him not to lose.
Emperor Qian Yuan froze for a second, then let out a loud laugh. "Very well. Father and son are evenly matched."
Then he looked around at everyone. "Did you hear that? Even at such a young age, my son already thinks about protecting his father's dignity."
Ding!
[Congratulations, host, mission complete!]
"The crown prince truly has a pure heart."
"This shows how high His Majesty's status is in the crown prince's mind."
People all around spoke with smiles.
[Supreme Emperor Yang Yuan has a strict personality and would never hold back during a sparring match.]
[With your current strength, staying undefeated against him is nearly impossible.]
[For you to achieve this is a miracle of a comeback.]
[Congratulations, host, mission complete!]
[Innate Sword Intent has been issued. Would you like to fuse with it now?]
In front of Yang Cheng, ripples appeared in the air as the mission panel floated up with words.
"No," Yang Cheng replied silently in his heart.
At the same time.
In Radiant Sunlight Hall.
Noble Consort Zhuang's face looked terrible.
Splendid Radiance Hall held both the emperor and empress, so every little movement there would attract attention from the whole palace.
She hated Yun Liyue, so of course she paid close attention.
"That little wretch was poisoned with Myriad Despair Divine Water. How can he still be so lively?" she snarled through gritted teeth.
Her confidant, Granny Huang, said, "Your Ladyship, Myriad Despair Divine Water mainly destroys martial foundations. It might not affect the body much."
"Mother."
Just then, Yang Xiu's childish voice rang out. "No matter whether his foundation is ruined or not, I have full confidence I'll crush him."
Hearing this, Noble Consort Zhuang immediately smiled and hugged Yang Xiu. "Mother believes in you."
"Mother, I'm tired," Yang Xiu said.
Noble Consort Zhuang quickly laid him in the crib.
But as Yang Xiu lay down with eyes closed, his mind sank into the void of his spiritual sea.
Inside his spiritual sea.
A woman wearing a dark robe decorated with star patterns sat above a vast river of sword energy.
Her phoenix eyes were sharp, and her long hair flowed like a waterfall.
Even just sitting there calmly, she radiated an aura of absolute dominance over the world.
"Disciple greets Master," Yang Xiu said, bowing low.
"I'm not your master yet. If you want to be my disciple, you must work harder to earn my approval," the woman said coolly.
She was Lin Xinglan.
Yang Xiu looked a bit disappointed, but quickly steeled himself. "Yes, I won't let you down."
"This period, come here every day to comprehend my sword river," Lin Xinglan ordered.
Hearing this, fear flashed across Yang Xiu's face.
To comprehend the sword river, he had to approach it.
But the sword river was formed from endless sword energy.
Every time he got close, his consciousness was sliced apart by the sword qi, causing excruciating pain.
"Are you afraid of pain?" Lin Xinglan's gaze was as icy as frost. "Martial cultivation is a path of endless hardship, full of suffering. The sword path is the most extreme of them all."
"If you can't even endure pain, you'd better give up cultivation right now."
"No, Senior, I can endure the pain."
Yang Xiu's eyes were full of determination as he gritted his teeth and stepped up to the sword river.
Seeing this, Lin Xinglan looked pleased. "As long as you keep at it, you'll grasp sword intent in less than three months. Comprehending sword intent before you're even two will put you leagues ahead of your peers."
Yang Cheng had no idea what was happening in Radiant Sunlight Hall.
And even if he did, he wouldn't care right now.
He was still just a baby. Besides his safety, no one really paid him much attention most of the time.
Taking advantage of the lack of prying eyes, he decisively thought, 'Fuse the Innate Sword Intent.'
In an instant, endless sword dao truths flooded into his mind.
He felt as if he saw the moment the world was born, a giant wielding a sword splitting open the chaos, its power shaking eternity.
These torrents of sword dao gathered in his consciousness, condensing into a phantom sword.
Without a doubt, this was his Innate Sword Intent.
The next two days.
Yang Cheng lived the life of an ordinary baby.
To outsiders, he did nothing but drink milk, sleep, and occasionally play with his wooden sword.
But in truth, he was secretly getting used to his Innate Sword Intent the whole time.
In the blink of an eye, three days passed.
Today.
It was the royal bone aptitude testing day.
In ordinary families, children only had their bones tested after they turned three.
But the royal family had advanced methods that allowed them to do it at one year old.
Among all the princes, only Yang Cheng and Yang Xiu were one.
So this event was organized specifically for them.
Great Zhou was a nation built on martial strength.
Right outside the royal ancestral temple was the martial training ground.
As the hour of Si approached.
The training ground bustled with noise, packed with guests here to watch.
Concubines, royal relatives, and high-ranking officials all gathered.
A large empty space had been cleared in front of the guests—this was the testing platform.
Emperor Qian Yuan, dressed in black ceremonial robes, stood inside the ancestral temple.
"Your Majesty, the auspicious hour has arrived," Chief Eunuch Su Jin reminded him as the Si hour struck.
Emperor Qian Yuan burned incense and bowed to the ancestors, his voice like a bell ringing through the hall. "Today we hold the great bone testing ceremony for Crown Prince Yang Cheng and Sixth Prince Yang Xiu. May our ancestors bless them..."
After paying respects, he stepped out of the ancestral hall and swept his gaze across the guests outside. "Begin the bone testing immediately."
Yun Liyue and Noble Consort Zhuang each brought Yang Cheng and Yang Xiu forward.
At that moment.
All eyes turned to them.
Noble Consort Zhuang couldn't wait and hurriedly led Yang Xiu onto the platform first.
The testing stone monument had already been prepared there.
The master of the ceremony was Royal Clan Patriarch, Prince Duan.
Prince Duan's face was kind as he said, "Sixth Prince, place your hand on the martial stone."
"Yes, Imperial Uncle-Grandfather."
Yang Xiu's small face showed a calm far beyond his years.
As he placed his tiny hand on the martial stone, it shuddered violently.
Blinding beams of light shot out, coalescing midair into a dazzling silver sword.
The roar of the crowd around the arena suddenly died away.
"Silver light turning to blade, sword aura piercing the sky!"
Prince Duan's hands trembled as he held the Bone Aptitude Record. "Heavenly Sword Sacred Body—this is the sword dao sacred body of a true killing master!"
As soon as his words fell, a thunderous outcry erupted from the crowd.
"A sword dao sacred body! It's really a sword dao sacred body!"
"And not just any sword dao sacred body—he has the top-ranked Heavenly Sword Sacred Body!"
Everyone watching was overcome with excitement.
A sword dao sacred body was incredibly rare.
In all of Great Zhou, there were at most ten people alive with one.
For the sixth prince to possess the Heavenly Sword Sacred Body was nothing short of dazzling.
It was as if they could already see a supreme genius rising.
"Heavenly Sword Sacred Body, Your Majesty, did you see that? Our Xiu'er has the Heavenly Sword Sacred Body!"
Noble Consort Zhuang's eyes glistened with excitement, her breathing rapid with joy.
"My dear consort, you've raised Xiu'er so well," Emperor Qian Yuan said, deeply satisfied with Noble Consort Zhuang and placing immense hope in Yang Xiu. "Xiu'er, from now on you must treasure your gift and work hard on the martial path."
"I will never let you down, Father!" Yang Xiu said loudly.
On Yun Liyue's side, everyone's faces grew tense.
Yang Xiu possessing the Heavenly Sword Sacred Body was no good news for them.
They couldn't help but look toward Yang Cheng, their eyes full of worry.
A sword dao sacred body was so rare that they didn't dare hope Yang Cheng could match Yang Xiu.
And with how Yang Cheng had recently been poisoned by Myriad Despair Divine Water…
All they could do now was pray that Yang Cheng's bone test result wouldn't be too terrible.