C7 Raging Dragon Strikes

After a brief wait, Chu Yan remained silent, leaving the eunuch sweating profusely, nervousness threatening to drip from his temples. Gathering his courage, he stealthily glanced up and noticed Chu Yan was not looking at him but rather towards the distant city tower.

"Go back and tell her that if she dares come within ten miles of me again, I will not hesitate to sever her head," Chu Yan said with a cold laugh, then turned and retreated into his carriage, not to be seen again.

"Yes, yes!" The eunuch, trembling like a leaf, fell to his knees with a thud, bowing his head repeatedly. Once granted leave, he scrambled onto his horse and rode off.

Meanwhile, atop the city tower Chu Yan had faced, a figure in pale yellow lingered behind the towering battlements, stealing glances in his direction. Her silhouette was striking, her curves sketching an alluring figure, with her dark hair cascading down, shimmering faintly.

Even with a sheer veil masking half her face, her nearly perfect lips were discernible. Her eyes brimmed with deep affection, like ripples on water, ensnaring anyone who dared a single look, drawing them into a helpless reverie.

"Brother can be so cruel, threatening me like this. But accepting the Cyan Astral Sword means you still hold Chan Er in your heart," she murmured from behind the veil, her lips playfully biting down, her voice a mix of joy and reproach, so sultry it could melt bones.

Turning back to the now distant carriage, the figure in yellow seemed even more isolated and delicate against the vast city walls.

"When will we meet again? Brother, you must survive. When the chance arises, Chan Er will surely come to see you, and I'll give you quite the surprise, hehe." With a graceful twist of her waist, Chu Chan'er vanished from the city wall in an instant, as if she had never been there at all.

The caravan had been traveling westward for over a month. The procession consisted of two carriages: one for Chu Yan and Xiao Pei to rest, and the other laden with provisions and valuables, all under the watchful escort of seventeen riders.

The supplies required by the guards were provided by the city guardhouses they encountered along their route.

This was no ordinary entourage; it was a delegation meant to foster peace between nations. Yet, even everyday merchants transporting goods seemed better equipped.

The guards harbored complex feelings toward Chu Yan. On one hand, he was once the celebrated prodigy of the entire Southern Yuan Kingdom and the youngest, most distinguished general in the military. He had quelled domestic bandits and repelled foreign enemies, securing the most glorious reputation for his nation since its founding.

On the other hand, he was the same man accused of attempting to usurp power and murder his father, a "beast" rumored to have sullied his own sister. Such a wretch, by all accounts, deserved the harshest of punishments.

Due to these conflicting sentiments, the guards' behavior toward Chu Yan was neither deferential nor disdainful. Their relationship resembled that of employer and hire, with interactions strictly limited to necessary communications, such as updates on their current location and next destination.

Chu Yan was largely left to his own devices, free to wander nearby whenever they stopped to rest. At night, after settling into town inns, the guards paid him no heed. Even if Chu Yan spent the entire night away, they likely remained unaware.

In some ways, it seemed the guards preferred Chu Yan to slip away quietly, allowing them to complete their assignment and return home sooner.

These were no fools; they recognized the mission for what it was. Ostensibly a marriage alliance, it was effectively an exile, a death sentence given Chu Yan's fallen status and the strained relations between the Southern Yuan and Persian Kingdoms. The details of his delivery, or whether it occurred at all, were of little concern to them.

The guards' lax oversight inadvertently provided Chu Yan with opportunities. After testing the waters and confirming he was unsupervised at night, Chu Yan would wait for Xiao Pei to assist him with his evening ablutions. Once alone, he'd enter the temporal prison on the second level of the Return to the Ruins Tower to train tirelessly until dawn approached, then reemerge.

By day, Chu Yan would sit in meditation within the carriage, mentally revisiting the myriad martial techniques he had mastered, continuously refining and rehearsing them in the theater of his mind.

A month slipped by, and in that quiet span of time, Chu Yan had silently advanced to the second tier of the True Martial Realm — mastery and entry. With this newfound level of power, Chu Yan was confident that he could now hold his own against adversaries at the third tier of the True Martial Realm. The transformative effects of the Canghai Cloud Cracking Beast's blood essence far surpassed any natural treasures found within the Southern Yuan Kingdom.

Chu Yan kept this secret closely guarded; not a soul had caught wind of it, not even Xiao Pei, much less the palace guards. To the outside world, Chu Yan remained the downcast prince, whose year in confinement had seemingly sapped him of his strength, leaving him as feeble as any common man. None were aware of the earth-shattering transformation that had taken place within him over the course of a mere month.

Attaining the second tier of the True Martial Realm signified that Chu Yan was now capable of unlocking the seal to the third level of the Return to the Ruins Tower. So, on a night when silence reigned supreme, Chu Yan stepped into the echo loop and, with eager anticipation, ascended to the third floor of the tower.

This level revealed a stone chamber, not unlike the spatial prison of the second level, but at its center rested a small booklet. The booklet bore the marks of age, yet it was pristine, untouched by dust or decay.

As Chu Yan lifted the booklet, his eyes were immediately drawn to the cover where a line of vigorous, powerful characters read: Raging Dragon Coiling Kill. "A martial technique!" A surge of excitement raced through him.

Chu Yan had long harbored hopes of acquiring cultivation methods and martial techniques from the tower, ever since he learned it was the work of an immortal. Such teachings from an immortal would undoubtedly eclipse any known to the mortal realm.

Now in possession of a martial technique, Chu Yan couldn't resist the urge to flip the booklet open. He had braced himself for cryptic text or intricate illustrations, but instead, a white glow emanated from the pages. The light coalesced into a luminous screen before him.

As Chu Yan marveled at the immortal's craft, a humanoid silhouette materialized on the screen of light. The next moment, the projection began to demonstrate the moves of the Raging Dragon Coiling Kill right before his eyes.

Every movement was visible from multiple angles, and in a flash, Chu Yan was utterly captivated, diving deep into his study.

He was a prodigy, with an exceptionally sharp intellect—otherwise, he wouldn't have reached a level at fourteen that many spend a lifetime striving for in vain.

Having refined his body with the essence of the Canghai Cloud Cracking Beast's blood, he could reach levels of concentration that were nearly impossible for the average person.

So now, under the tutelage of this spectral "master," Chu Yan felt a sudden clarity in his heart, and his eyes sparkled with increasing brightness.