After a full two hours in the Chongzheng Hall, they meticulously debated the finer details of these new decrees and addressed numerous miscellaneous matters before finally dispersing with evident satisfaction.

However, just as the assembly was breaking up, Zong Shou gave a significant look toward Qiu Wei, pointing subtly toward Hu Zhongyuan, blinking his eyes, and then making a sharp cutting motion across his own throat with his hand held like a blade.

Qiu Wei paused in deep thought for a moment before finally grasping the meaning, bowing low. "Your subject understands. I will instruct Hu Zhongyuan to take charge of the sealing of the Shili Lingxiang District. If he dares to bend the law for personal gain, I, Qiu Wei, will personally see to his execution!"

His voice boomed like a great bell, loud enough for everyone remaining in the entire hall to hear clearly.

Hu Qianqiu’s expression was peculiar, uncertain whether to feel joy or dismay. Hu Zhongyuan, on the other hand, looked utterly miserable, wondering just how he had managed to offend this volatile young master. If what happened today got out, his old circle of decadent friends would surely mark him as an enemy immediately, making it impossible for him to ever socialize with them again. Furthermore, his good reputation in the Shili Lingxiang District would surely be ruined, making him an outcast.

Zong Shou, however, simply smiled faintly at the corners of his mouth. This was only the beginning; the real methods for crushing this fellow were yet to come.

Even after exiting the Chongzheng Hall through the rear door, a chilling aura radiated from Zong Shou, utterly sinister, punctuated by occasional cold chuckles. This involuntarily caused Chu Xue to shiver, thinking that it was best not to provoke a man as narrow-minded as the Young Master.

Inside the warm study, the immense volume of official duties and memorials still lay piled up like mountains.

But today, Zong Shou couldn't be bothered with them. He had already realized that whether the major or minor issues were left unattended for now, Ren Bo could handle them temporarily. Even if he ignored everything, the Qian Tian City wouldn't collapse; nothing catastrophic would happen.

He walked directly to the training room. Delayed by two days due to those tedious political affairs, he could finally check on his own progress today.

This training room, reserved exclusively for Zong Weiran, was incredibly luxurious. It spanned a hundred zhang in area, fully equipped with punching bags, wooden dummies, roly-poly weights, stone locks, and the full set of eighteen weapons, lacking nothing.

Zong Shou approached a wooden dummy and observed that it was not only crafted from high-grade spirit wood beyond the seventh tier but was also layered with several sheaths of hide from seventh-tier ferocious beasts, designed to minimize damage. Furthermore, it housed a spirit array that sensed applied force, allowing a person to accurately estimate their own power.

Secretly marveling at Zong Weiran's extravagance, Zong Shou threw a punch. A dull thud sounded, like striking hardened leather.

The dummy didn't even slightly sway. A yellow spiritual light merely flashed across its surface.

The force-measuring spirit array displayed nine distinct colors, indicating the level of power, while the depth of the hue determined the exact strength.

"Deep yellow, with a hint of red. The current strength should be around one hundred thousand jin, just slightly exceeding the peak of the Xiantian realm! And the True Qi within my body has condensed significantly too!"

Joyful light instantly flashed in Zong Shou’s eyes. He hadn't expected that fulfilling the final wish of the former 'Zong Shou' would bring such substantial benefits! He had fused nearly thirty percent of the Thunder Luan essence in a single stroke. At this rate, he estimated it wouldn't take a year to absorb it completely.

Coincidentally, he had nearly finished deducing the cultivation method for the second meridian of the Earth Wheel technique within the Hansei Spirit Art. Although not entirely complete, it was ready for use.

Without hesitation, Zong Shou took out a Spirit Capturing Tower. However, this time it wasn't the cheap version snatched from the demonic banner sect disciple in the underground waterway.

Instead, it was one of the spiritual master artifacts Zong Weiran had left for him. It stood about six stories high, its color a deep purplish-gold—anyone glancing at it would immediately recognize it as an item of extremely high grade.

And indeed it was; not only could it secure one more spirit meridian than a standard sixth-tier Spirit Capturing Tower, but it also aided the spirit master in locating spirit meridians, with an absorption power equivalent to a seventh-tier artifact.

Within this tower, Zong Shou had already nurtured several spirit meridians mixed with the Five Elements, which he had previously strengthened.

Now, without any further preparation, he sat cross-legged and, with a mere thought, drew both of those Five Element spirit meridians into his body, housing them within his Viscera Wheel.

Initially, things were unstable; the new meridians clashed with the two Earth Meridians already held in the Outer Wheel. His skin began to split in patches, and his channels swelled constantly, as if on the verge of rupture. Only after Zong Shou forcefully suppressed them with True Qi and continuously regulated the flow did they gradually calm down.

Following that, he could clearly perceive the six internal organs—gallbladder, stomach, small intestine, large intestine, bladder, and triple burner—rapidly strengthening at a measurable rate. The spiritual energy accumulated inside him flowed ceaselessly, seemingly inexhaustible; even if consumed, it would continue to generate.

Zong Shou meditated briefly until the four Earth Meridians were completely stable within his body, no longer conflicting, each distinct and separate.

Only then did he stand up and deliver a punch directly onto the nearby wooden dummy. In an instant, the four spirit meridians twisted into a single thread, all their power focused entirely on the fist's tip.

The spiritual light emanating from the dummy completely vanished, the yellow tone giving way entirely to red.

"Light red, but very faint. The power should be around two hundred thousand jin. Based on my own judgment, it's one hundred ninety thousand jin—and I've only integrated two spirit meridians..."

An ordinary peak Xiantian master possessed about ninety thousand jin of strength. If one broke through their realm and integrated just one more spirit meridian, their strength would instantly triple to three hundred thousand jin!

He could now barely contend with a Wu Zong expert using only the power of his two Xiantian meridians, and this was without even employing Sword Intent to further condense his True Qi.

However, this progress had reached its limit for now. Recalling that he possessed the full essence of the Thunder Luan and the formidable martial arts of his past life, yet was unable to employ them, Zong Shou couldn't help but sigh internally at the cruelty of his fate.

Fortunately, his Spirit Law realm was unrestricted, offering some solace.

With this thought, he brought his mind back. Zong Shou first focused entirely on practicing the fourth set of guiding techniques within the martial arts field. He then proceeded to strike the body-refining techniques—the Taixi Spirit Fist, the Great Sun Brilliant Fist, the Lesser Five Wheels King Fist, and the Rhinoceros Demon Spirit Armor Fist—each ten times.

Finally, he practiced the basic swordsmanship routines twenty full times. The entire process was performed without haste or impatience, meticulously correct.

It took two more hours before all these exercises were fully completed, leaving Zong Shou drenched in sweat. Before, during his travels, practicing on the carriage had been inconvenient and incomplete. Thus, Zong Shou had spent most of his time cultivating Spirit Laws. Now that he had returned to Qian Tian Mountain and finally settled down, these foundational practices naturally needed to be made up.

Although his Spirit Law realm far surpassed his martial path standing, in Zong Shou's heart, the Sword Dao he pursued in his previous life always held the foremost position.

After finishing all these basic martial arts routines, Zong Shou practiced some Spirit Laws for a while, including the countermeasures he had just devised for dealing with the vocal impairment. Then, he heard a sudden, joyous roar erupting throughout the Hanyan Palace.

Zong Shou blinked in surprise. Stepping out of the training area, he saw the guards all sporting excited, flushed faces, their gazes toward him filled with immense gratitude. Listening closely, he could vaguely hear discussions about the Library Pavilion and the procurement of medicinal pills.

Zong Shou instantly felt pleased. He mused that he could now invest in armaments and pharmacies. Those borrowing money from him would naturally have to purchase goods from the shops he designated. This way, he could earn interest, profit from these two businesses, and cultivate some outstanding alchemists and artifact refiners before the spiritual tide fully arrived—killing several birds with one stone. He truly was brilliant.

What to do? Even he himself was impressed by his own ingenuity. At this rate, wouldn't he become narcissistic?

Turning his head, he saw Chu Xue standing by the edge of the cliff, gazing downwards. Zong Shou walked over and looked down as well. The entire city was decorated with lanterns and festive streamers. Even from several thousand zhang away, Zong Shou could still hear the occasional crackle of firecrackers below, a scene of sheer joy.

Looking closer, nearly half the women on the streets below wore beaming smiles, showing visible delight.

Chu Xue giggled softly when she saw him approach. "Young Master, that Jingyun Yagou is truly miserable now. Your method was the best—straightforward, and you settled your personal score perfectly."

Zong Shou’s brow arched. He glanced sideways towards the Shili Lingxiang District. There, already surrounded by over ten thousand troops, Hu Zhongyuan could vaguely be seen wearing iron armor, leading a group of soldiers as they began clearing that area.

The Jingyun Yagou, meanwhile, was currently encircled by over a thousand women, who seemed to be arguing animatedly about something unknown.

The corners of Zong Shou's mouth twitched slightly, then quickly straightened. He tapped Chu Xue's head and then inscribed a few characters in the air, actually gathering spiritual energy to coalesce them directly in the void.

"Nonsense! How could I, the lord of a city, stoop to arguing with mere women?"

Chu Xue rolled her eyes, thinking, Just keep up the pretense, Young Master. Then, her brow furrowed slightly, showing a hint of reluctance. "Young Master, those women are actually quite pitiful."

Zong Shou fell silent upon hearing this, then let out a cold laugh and turned away, forming a few characters in the void again.

"How can the sorrow of one family compare to the sorrow of an entire city? We'll discuss it in a couple of days."

Turning directly, Zong Shou walked back toward the training grounds, feeling a bit weary. This technique of condensing characters from spiritual energy in the void was a new method he had just been developing. While it looked impressive, due to his lack of mastery, the consumption of soul power was actually greater than that of Spirit Laws. Coupled with his previous practice, his soul power was completely depleted.

Chu Xue, however, felt a wave of relief. Knowing Zong Shou’s temperament, if he said that, he certainly wouldn't wipe them out completely.

In the wide training space, Zong Shou lit a few sticks of sandalwood incense and entered a state of deep meditation.

After the ‘Yun’ character rune, he focused on simultaneously summoning two runes: the ‘Tun’ character and the ‘Jing’ character. The former was easy; with the Tuntian Yuanhua Sutra in hand, Zong Shou had spent years studying and immersing himself in that scripture in his past life. It only took minor exploration to grasp its essence. As for the ‘Jing’ character rune, Zong Shou also had a lead. The greatest inspiration for him was Xiao Jin on his arm. (To be continued)