The flames of revenge burned in his heart, but reality was cold and bone-chilling. Li Tianhan knew well that an Innate Spirit Body was a bottomless pit. Before it could fully gestate and take form, it required a massive amount of spiritual energy to fill. However, in his current situation, even a full meal was a luxury, let alone cultivation resources.
He could not wait. From that night on, Li Tianhan began his secret operations. During the day, he was that bullied, numb, and indifferent Thirteenth Prince. In the dead of night, he transformed into a ghost, silently wandering through every corner of the back palace. Relying on his experience as a Spirit Tempering Realm master from his past life, he was like a hound searching for the scent of blood, not letting any trace of abnormal spiritual energy escape him.
Half a month later, he finally stopped in his tracks beneath a rockery that had been abandoned for many years in the deepest part of the palace grounds. The air here was permeated with a faint trace of yin cold energy and an extremely weak but incredibly pure spiritual energy.
He had found it. Li Tianhan investigated the rockery and discovered a restriction rune that almost blended perfectly with the stone wall. It was a seal. He did not act recklessly. By observing the flow of energy, he quickly deduced that this was a royal secret site that could only be opened by a specific bloodline. It was just so ancient that it had long been forgotten by others.
The key to opening it was precisely the royal blood of the Azure Empire. He cut his fingertip and cautiously dripped his princely blood onto a node where the energy flow was at its weakest. The blood seeped into the stone, and the light of the restriction flickered slightly before returning to calm.
It worked. From that day on, using his own blood to erode the restriction became his unshakeable daily task. This process was slow and incredibly taxing on his body. During this time, the Seventh Prince brought people over several more times. They found that Li Tianhan had become even more submissive. No matter how they beat or scolded him, he showed no reaction.
"What a waste," the Seventh Prince spat disdainfully. "It seems his spirit has been completely ground down."
The Seventh Prince felt bored and no longer bothered to visit. Li Tianhan used this situation to perfectly hide his secret. Another two months passed. On a night of wind and rain, the restriction node he had been eroding finally split open. Li Tianhan did not hesitate to squeeze inside.
At the end of the passage was a deep water pool. A piercing chill rushed toward him, yet the pool water was crystal clear and emitted an intoxicating energy. At the bottom of the pool lay a miniature Spiritual Vein source. It was an abandoned vein, but to his current self, it was no different from a miracle.
He stripped off his clothes and leaped into the cold pool. Incredibly pure spiritual energy flooded frantically into his limbs and bones. The golden vortex within his dantian sensed this feast and began to spin rapidly. Under the infusion of massive energy, the Innate Spirit Body finally completed its preliminary gestation.
Spirit Body Awakening.
After awakening came the feedback. Overnight, Li Tianhan's cultivation bottleneck was shattered like dry weeds. Spirit Origin Realm, First Layer, achieved!
His specific physique was the Frost Soul Body. It was naturally capable of controlling the most yin and coldest energy in the world. Li Tianhan slowly opened his eyes; within three feet of his body, the pool water had entirely frozen into ice. He returned to the dilapidated side hall with a cold light in his eyes. It was time to collect some interest.
The next day, that sharp tongued eunuch who delivered food threw the cold meals onto the table as usual. The moment he turned to leave, Li Tianhan flicked his finger. A trace of yin cold energy silently attached itself to the back of the eunuch's heart. That night, the eunuch caught a severe chill and began vomiting. He was directly sent away to scrub commodes on the grounds that his body was unclean.
Li Tianhan listened to the news while expressionlessly eating a steaming hot bun. His first revenge was carried out without a trace.
Time flew by and another three months passed. The annual Imperial Prince Great Examination arrived. All princes had to undergo inspection in three areas: Strategy, Literature, and Martial combat. For Li Tianhan, this was the first opportunity to publicly change his situation.
The first part of the Great Examination was Strategy. Atop the high platform, the Emperor remained expressionless while the officials sat below. This year's topic was announced: "On how to deal with the recently surrendered Northern Tribes."
The Seventh Prince advocated for execution to demonstrate prestige. The Fourth Prince advocated for appeasement to show benevolence. When it was Li Tianhan's turn, he handed up a piece of paper with a short story written in childish handwriting.
The story was simple: a tribal child and an empire child learned the empire's script together and recited poetry together. After school, they became best friends. The end of the story had only one sentence: "The path of enlightenment begins with children; after a hundred years, there will be no more tribes."
The entire venue fell into silence. This essay contained the deepest and most terrifying political strategy. The Emperor picked up that thin piece of paper and remained silent for a long time. He was shocked by this way of thinking. For the first time, he truly looked at the thin, weak son whom he had always forgotten.
In the second part, the Literature test, Li Tianhan performed moderately and barely passed. The final part was the Martial test, a duel between the princes. Li Tianhan's opponent was a young heir with a cultivation of the Second Layer of the Spirit Origin Realm.
"A piece of trash dares to step onto the stage?" the boy sneered.
Li Tianhan remained expressionless. The bell rang and the opponent charged forward, his fist aimed directly at Li Tianhan's face. However, Li Tianhan merely shifted slightly. His palm wound around the fist and lightly pressed against the opponent's chest.
A muffled thud echoed through the hall. The boy felt as if he had been struck by a heavy blow and flew backward, crashing below the stage and fainting. The entire venue was deathly silent.
Spirit Origin Realm!
The born waste was actually in the Spirit Origin Realm? And he defeated an opponent with a higher level in a single move?
After the examination, Li Tianhan's treatment underwent a massive change. He moved out of that dilapidated hall and received a real palace along with attendants. But he perceived that in the Emperor's gaze, there was no fatherly love, only scrutiny and exploitation.
A more direct crisis followed. Although his strategy had astounded everyone, it also touched the interests of certain people. Marshal Wei Yan publicly criticized him in the imperial court, claiming the Thirteenth Prince's strategy was too naive and was merely the benevolence of a woman.
Before the two had even met, the first grudge of this life had already been established.