But in the end, when the remaining silver taels were tallied—along with the antique paintings and calligraphy, various precious collectibles, and the wealth amassed by the other pirates—the total far exceeded what Chu Lingguang and Eunuch Liu had seen in the hidden passage.
They sailed to meet Liu Ziyun with a ship laden with gold, silver, jewels, all sorts of expensive collectibles, silks, and satins.
By now, Liu Ziyun had already heard of Chu Lingguang’s triumphant return and was personally waiting for him at the port.
"This subordinate pays his respects, Lord Governor."
Chu Lingguang, along with Zhang Baofu and Xuanyuan Jinkang, stepped forward to pay their respects.
"Chu Lingguang, in less than four months since taking your post, you’ve annihilated the Xiazigou pirates, securing over a million silver taels for the Court, along with treasures worth over another million. It’s an achievement so great that even I am envious," Liu Ziyun said appreciatively.
"My lord, the leaders of Xiazigou are here. According to them, the total wealth of Xiazigou is far greater than this amount. Furthermore, Lord Chu used the Court’s spoils to privately reward his subordinates. That is a grave offense."
Jin Wubin was also at the port. Filled with pent-up frustration, he had been plotting how to impeach Chu Lingguang. When he learned that Chu Lingguang had rewarded the entire army, he knew his chance had come.
"The matter of Lord Chu rewarding the army was done on my personal order. Does Lord Jin have a problem with that?"
Just as Chu Lingguang was bracing himself for Liu Ziyun’s wrath, Liu Ziyun posed the question instead.
"This... Lord Governor, please calm your anger. This subordinate knows his error."
Jin Wubin felt as if he’d been struck by lightning. He hastily bowed his head and admitted his mistake, cursing inwardly. ’This is bad.’ He felt he had underestimated Chu Lingguang’s background from the very beginning.
"Lord Chu, please accompany me to my residence for a chat," Liu Ziyun said with a smile.
"Yes."
Chu Lingguang hurried to follow.
Liu Ziyun personally led him through the streets and alleys, ensuring everyone in Qingzhou Prefecture knew that he was the one who had annihilated the Xiazigou pirates, allowing the number of merchant ships in the sea to grow by the day.
Chu Lingguang was overwhelmed by the favor.
Liu Ziyun’s attitude toward him made it seem like he was treating him as one of his own. His tone was exceptionally polite, as if the two of them were equals.
He even ended up insisting they address each other as brothers.
At the banquet, Liu Ziyun said, "Chu, when you enter Yuanchu Mountain in the future, could you do your big brother a favor?"
"My lord, why are you so certain I can enter Yuanchu Mountain?"
’The problem must lie here somewhere,’ Chu Lingguang thought.
Liu Ziyun smiled without a word, simply rising and walking to the center of the hall.
VMMMM!
He released a fluctuation of his aura.
He unfurled his Mental Realm diagram.
Chu Lingguang saw that Liu Ziyun’s power was at the third layer of the True Martial Realm, the Life and Death Realm. His Mental Realm was at the third level, the Unity of Heart and Body, with one hundred and twenty-three responses, and twelve more that had not been awakened.
Furthermore, those twelve responses were dim and lightless, as if they had fallen into a dead silence, never to be awakened in his lifetime.
"Chu, would you let me see your Mental Realm diagram as well?" Liu Ziyun asked.
"Alright."
Chu Lingguang rose and released a fluctuation of his aura, and his Mental Realm diagram opened automatically, revealing three hundred and sixty-three responses. Although no power had been awakened from them yet, they all emitted a hazy luster. Compared to the deathly stillness of Liu Ziyun’s, Chu Lingguang’s responses seemed brimming with vibrant life, waiting only for the right moment to be fully awakened.
Moreover, these three hundred and sixty-three responses came from the fourth level of the Mental Realm: the Unity of Heart and Will.
"You... you are a truly favored child of the heavens, a genius seen only once in a century," Liu Ziyun said, his eyes wide with utter amazement.
"I originally thought you had merely broken through your Qi Sea and stepped into the first layer of the True Martial Realm. I never imagined your Mental Realm had also reached the fourth level. This is truly unexpected."
His face was filled with admiration.
The True Martial Realm only has three layers in total.
The Life and Death Realm is the pinnacle.
Some people, upon reaching the third level of the Mental Realm, can break through their Qi Sea and enter the True Martial Realm just by awakening a few streams of power.
Liu Ziyun and Jin Wubin were this type of person.
However, Liu Ziyun had gone further than Jin Wubin. Even without being able to awaken all his responses, he had relied on the superiority of his Cultivation Technique to cultivate to the third layer of the True Martial Realm, the Life and Death Realm.
His strength was considerably greater than even Guo Wei’s.
But in front of Chu Lingguang—who had awakened all one hundred twenty-three responses and reached the fourth level of the Mental Realm, the Unity of Heart and Will—Liu Ziyun was no longer a match.
As the Governor of Qingzhou Prefecture,
even before Jin Wubin had arrived in Qingzhou Prefecture, Liu Ziyun had learned that Chu Lingguang had conquered Xiazigou almost single-handedly.
It was he who had killed the great pirate chieftain alone, and it was he who had cleared a path for the army, allowing them to charge to the mountaintop with almost no casualties.
Furthermore, it was he who had terrified the vicious pirates into kneeling and begging for mercy, and who had scared a group of pirate leaders into scattering and fleeing.
At that moment, Liu Ziyun, who had personally led an attack on Xiazigou before and suffered a defeat at the hands of the pirates, realized that Chu Lingguang’s strength must have had a breakthrough. In fact, his power had likely already surpassed his own.
Sure enough, when Chu Lingguang appeared before him with Zhang Baofu and Xuanyuan Jinkang, he felt an invisible pressure, as if a mountain were walking toward him.
He clearly recognized that Chu Lingguang’s strength had surpassed his own, yet Jin Wubin still wanted to use him to make trouble for Chu Lingguang. It was simply asking for humiliation.
He understood that for someone to possess such strength and achieve such merits at such a young age, Chu Lingguang was certain to enter Yuanchu Mountain in the future.
As long as he could get close to Chu Lingguang now, it would be like obtaining an unknown future opportunity.
However, the reality still far exceeded his imagination. Chu Lingguang’s Mental Realm had actually reached the fourth level! Before, Liu Ziyun couldn’t be absolutely certain that Chu Lingguang could enter Yuanchu Mountain, but now he was one hundred percent sure. Chu Lingguang would definitely be able to enter Yuanchu Mountain to cultivate in the future.
This was because people who could reach the fourth level of the Mental Realm at such a young age were so rare in the entire Great Yuan that you could count them on one hand.
"Lord Liu, at what level of the True Martial Realm is my current strength?" Chu Lingguang inquired.
"The first layer, the Rebirth Realm," Liu Ziyun replied.
"Oh?"
Chu Lingguang was surprised.
Xuanyuan Jinkang and Zhang Baofu, who were standing to the side, were also rather astonished. As far as they knew, Chu Lingguang’s combat power was far greater than even some experts at the third layer of the True Martial Realm.
"Although the True Martial Realm has three layers, one’s actual strength is closely tied to the power of their awakened responses. You have already awakened all one hundred and twenty-three responses, and you awakened a large number of them simultaneously. So even though your realm is lower than others, the power you’ve formed far surpasses that of many True Martial Realm experts."
Liu Ziyun concluded with a shocking statement. "I have a hunch that you might not reach the pinnacle of the True Martial Realm until you’ve awakened all three hundred and sixty-three of your responses."