As he walked further, Qin Ming finally heard a scholar giving a lesson to the young students in the open courtyard.
"Whoever dares to plagiarize poetry shall be executed without mercy! This is the most basic rule for identifying transmigrators!
Over the past thousand years, nearly half of the transmigrators we've executed were exposed due to plagiarizing poems or books!"
Qin Ming: |ʘᗝʘ|!
"Those who become rich through ruthless business practices—like monopolizing goods and starving competitors—are likely transmigrators!"
"Those who advocate for land reforms, gender equality, or monogamy—most of them are transmigrators. Kill on sight!"
"Women who act inappropriately, demand excessive dowries, behave coquettishly, or call themselves little fairies—chop them into mincemeat. No mistake there!"
Qin Ming: …speechless!
With such horrifying execution standards, most transmigrators wouldn't last more than a month after arriving in this world!
Soon after, Qin Ming found the Tianyi Academy's Library Pavilion, the central repository of books in the Dayan Empire.
There were six floors in total, but he was only allowed to browse the first and second.
After a thorough search, he picked out a mid-tier Xuan-rank technique called Tendon-Tearing Bone-Crushing Hand. It contained detailed instructions on how to crush all 108 bones in the human body.
With his hidden movement talent, his speed would only increase with time, and this technique would be a perfect pairing.
Just then, a voice suddenly came from behind him.
"Captain Qin, what a coincidence!"
Qin Ming turned to see the slightly hunchbacked eunuch Wang Jin, holding a horsetail whisk. He was now a messenger of the Directorate of Ceremonial Affairs and the very person who had briefed them when they first arrived.
"Eunuch Wang, I'm here under His Majesty's orders to choose a martial technique," Qin said politely.
"I know, I know. Congratulations! Out of all those who were castrated with me, you've done the best!" said Wang Jin.
Qin Ming quickly changed the subject.
"May I ask what brings you here?"
"I'm here to find a book for His Majesty."
"Impressive! This pavilion has six floors, but I can only access the first two. You can even go higher?"
"It's nothing special. Once you move up in ranks, you'll be able to browse floors three, four, and five.
But never go near the sixth floor of this library!"
Qin Ming looked confused and put on an innocent face.
"I'm still new to the capital, no one told me about that. I really didn't know."
Wang Jin pulled him aside and led him out of the academy. On the way, he said kindly:
"Captain Qin, since we were castrated together, I feel a connection. You're now with the Demon Suppression Guard, and I'm with the Directorate—let's help each other out."
"Of course, Eunuch Wang."
"Let me give you a warning: there are three places in the capital that are strictly forbidden."
"The first one—you've probably seen it—is Longyuan Ancestral Hall."
Qin Ming nodded thoughtfully.
"The second is the 15th to 18th floors of the Demon Suppression Tower."
"And the third is the sixth floor of Tianyi Academy's library."
Qin Ming nodded again.
"Got it! Thank you, Eunuch Wang."
He knew better than to ask too much. Sometimes, prying too deeply could raise suspicion. Best to take it step by step.
What exactly lies in these three forbidden areas?
Back at Taiyin Palace, Qin Ming immediately resumed training. He felt like he was close to breaking through to Body Tempering Stage Five—just needed one final push.
He went to the western wing of the palace, where a large courtyard covered in three feet of snow lay waiting.
He started with his Ice Soul Fist, heating up his body. Once warmed up, he pulled out his Tendon-Tearing Bone-Crushing Hand manual and trained with absolute focus.
In just two hours, he had fully mastered all 108 moves.
He also retrieved over a dozen low-rank movement, fist, and sword techniques from the Taiyin Palace library and left them around to cover his tracks. If someone came by, they'd only see him practicing basic skills, not the high-level ones like Heaven-Slaying Technique, Gale Sword Art, or Turtle Breath Spirit Art.
He trained until nightfall, his meridians flowing smoothly, body radiating heat.
Finally—he broke through to Body Tempering Stage Five!
His aura shifted dramatically.
Where he used to tire after 15 minutes of combat, now he could go for an hour straight!
Meanwhile, at the Drunken Immortal Pavilion, top-tier room T-1...
Yun Shuiyao, wearing her signature silver moon robe, sipped hot tea from a high-backed chair. Her disciple Qingxuan stood in front of her, hands on her sword, reporting everything that happened in the spirit realm.
She didn't exaggerate—just told everything she saw and thought.
After a brief silence, Yun Shuiyao spoke.
"Your master only ever entered three spirit realms, and none were as dangerous as this one!
If Qin Ming hadn't stayed calm and clever the whole time, you two might not have made it out."
Qing Xuan nodded earnestly.
"Master, he saved me at least twice—both times I would've died!
The first time, I was about to write 'female' on the wedding invite. In that ghost bride realm, that would've meant instant death!
The second time—at the wedding chamber. I'm a girl, how could I marry a headless ghost bride?
But Senior Brother ran over from his own room to be with me—he didn't care about breaking the rules!"
Yun Shuiyao smiled.
"Calling him 'Senior Brother' now, are we?"
"Aww come on, Master, I'm trying to be serious!"
Yun Shuiyao chuckled.
"That's why your uncle and I value Qin Ming. He's smart, but he also has a kind and loyal heart.
He knew you'd die if he didn't show up, and he also knew he might die if he broke the rules.
Yet he still came."
Qing Xuan blinked, a bit dazed, then nodded.
"Master… There's one more thing.
That eunuch Zhou Chang died in the wedding room, right? He was a eunuch—so is Qin Ming. But my Senior Brother didn't die.
I even saw him shiver in… delight?"
Yun Shuiyao: (⊙_⊙)!
"He… shivered?"
"Yeah! Why?"
Yun Shuiyao's face twitched awkwardly, suddenly recalling similar reactions her disciple had to the ghost bride…
"We'll… discuss that later. What happened next?"
"After we came out, he tried to give me a soul core, but I refused."
"Good. He needs those right now more than anyone."
"Also, that tip-off we sent inside was perfectly timed! When I found him, he was just about to head to Tianyi Academy.
If I hadn't warned him, he might've been exposed!"
"Can we have someone from the Five Elements Alliance kill Tang Wei?"
"No," Yun Shuiyao shook her head.
"I've thought about that. Tianyi Academy is under heavy restrictions. Assassinating someone there is nearly impossible."
Just then, Ma Qiang entered the room.
"Master, your martial sister said the Five Elements Alliance headquarters has summoned you to a meeting in Starlight City."
Qin Ming trained deep into the night. His body was burning up.
He smashed through the frozen river beside him and jumped into the freezing water.
The icy cold clashed with the heat in his veins—pure bliss!
Just then, he surfaced from the water—and saw the Princess, Han Yuexi, leaning against the open eight-trigram window of her palace's 11th floor.
She was holding a jug of wine and staring straight at him.
"If you're training, then train properly. Why jump into icy water?"
"Your Highness, my body was burning up. The cold water helps cool it down."
"You're a eunuch. Why would your body burn up? What technique did you pick up at the academy today?"
"The Tendon-Tearing Bone-Crushing Hand, Your Highness!"
"Show it to me—start to finish."
Qin Ming leapt from the water and performed all 108 moves, each blow precise and forceful, with momentum flowing like a river.
Using his talent, he masked his power at Body Tempering Stage Three.
"Looks decent. Come here."
"Your Highness, my clothes are soaked. I'll change and return…"
Suddenly, the Princess lifted her hand and gently waved.
In an instant, all the water in his clothes was drawn out, forming snowflakes that danced in the air.
Qin Ming (thinking): Damn… this crazy woman's cultivation is off the charts!
"Now your clothes are dry. Come."
Qin Ming entered the Princess's chambers.
A soft shadow crystal lamp glowed above. A fireplace crackled in the west corner.
Princess Han Yuexi lay on a fur-lined jade bed, her black robe highlighting her stunning figure.
"Little Qin, that Bone-Crushing Hand technique isn't bad. Come over and use it to give me a massage."
Qin Ming: …|ʘᗝʘ|!
Qin Ming (thinking): This is a lethal martial art! You want me to give you a massage with it?
Where should I even start? What if I crush something important?!