Today, the first update! Seeking monthly tickets! Even a few meager recommendation tickets would be a great help, everyone, please lend a hand!) "Body inspection? Stripped bare? The entire body needs to be checked?" Jun Mo Xie murmured thoughtfully, raising one finger in a probing gesture, then squeezing his eyes shut. "The back end, uh, that gets checked too?"

"They said it’s to check for hemorrhoids or something," Tang Yuan said, sounding utterly miserable. "It's for unforeseen circumstances. Anyone with a hidden ailment there won't pass."

A chill shot through Fatty Tang, raising the hairs on his arms. "Third Young Master, the moment I heard I had to be poked and prodded all over by a man—er, no, by a eunuch—and have to strip completely naked..." I became utterly terrified.

Let alone mentioning the ***"unforeseen circumstances!" Damn it. What in the world is this thing?"

"I’m completely spooked now," Jun Mo Xie scratched his arm, where a dense layer of goosebumps had erupted.

For even the great killer Jun Mo Xie to be so unnerved, the terror of this situation could only be imagined!

"Is there any way out? Brother, I’m counting on you!" Tang Yuan looked at him with desperate hope.

"There is! But you need to find me the morning you go in for the inspection, and I’ll prepare you. Yes. Like this..." With a sly grin, Jun Mo Xie suddenly clutched his stomach and burst into loud laughter.

"Didn't get it," Tang Yuan blinked his small eyes.

"You don't need to get it. Truthfully, I'd hate for you to go into the palace either. I was planning on partnering with you to start a business. We could both get rich together," Jun Mo Xie chuckled, carefully observing Fatty Tang’s expression.

"A business? A big deal?" Tang Yuan’s spirits lifted; he was almost leaping with excitement, blinking his eyes emotionally. "Third Young Master, you truly are my savior and my soulmate!"

"Get lost. You’d better think about how your father will punish you for letting down his expectations. All those grand efforts your father made previously seem wasted!" Jun Mo Xie kicked out a leg.

Tang Yuan howled, clutching his backside, grimacing. "It’s fine! As long as the imperial decree doesn't come down, my dad won't beat me to death, will he? I’ll just stall a bit longer, and maybe I can get someone to take the fall, hahahaha!"

Fatty Tang departed, feeling as light as air. Jun Mo Xie laughed heartily, feeling all his worries and gloom instantly swept away; this fatty was truly a living treasure, a source of endless joy!

As he was laughing, a phrase Tang Yuan had mentioned suddenly surfaced: "Tang Wanli’s friend of forty years suddenly appeared, and he's a super expert." This made him pause his laughter. What was he thinking? A super expert? How super could he be? Was he also attracted by the news of that single Profound Pill? That was too fast! If that were the case, it seemed Tianxiang City would soon be turbulent.

Never mind. In any case, dragons and tigers would reveal their true powers; I will just remain behind the scenes, reaping the rewards like an angler!

The Heaven-Creating Fortune Art inside his body operated automatically. Jun Mo Xie could already clearly sense that the flow of vital energy within his meridians was approaching saturation. What was once a thin stream of Qi had now transformed into smooth True Qi, surging rapidly through his body. With every move, he felt a greater sense of effortless control.

Jun Mo Xie had a strange premonition, without any concrete reason, that the moment the Qi flow in his meridians reached saturation, the Heaven-Creating Fortune Art would enter its second stage, and he would be able to unlock the second level of the Exquisite Grandmist Tower!

Because of this, Jun Mo Xie dared not slacken in the slightest during this period. He operated the Heaven-Creating Fortune Art at maximum capacity every moment, striving to advance his cultivation. In the last day or two, Jun Mo Xie was pleasantly surprised to find that while cultivating, he could not only absorb the spiritual energy output from the Grandmist Tower but also draw in the same spiritual energy from the external air, albeit in small amounts and very thin. However, this signaled a massive breakthrough!

Jun Mo Xie held immense anticipation for breaking through to the second stage of the divine art and unlocking the second layer of the Grandmist Tower. The first layer was merely a foundation, yet it already contained such terrifying power. If the second layer were opened...

The temperature had suddenly dropped in the last few days; the autumn wind was bleak, and the city felt desolate. Yellow leaves danced everywhere, but because Jun Mo Xie spent most of his time at home cultivating and drawing in vast amounts of spiritual energy from the heavens and earth, the excess energy he couldn't absorb was dispersed around his small courtyard. As a result, his tiny courtyard, and the adjacent courtyards of Jun Wu Yi and Guan Qing Han, remained lush and verdant, as if still in midsummer. Some branches were even sprouting new shoots and tender buds. Most miraculously, a pure Ice Orchid, which Guan Qing Han treasured most, had budded several small flower clusters. This anomaly was guarded like a treasure by Guan Qing Han.

The impending upheaval in Tianxiang City undoubtedly placed immense pressure on Jun Mo Xie!

Pressure, however, could also be motivation! Thus, Jun Mo Xie was forcing himself to elevate his strength once more before the great storm arrived!

In his previous life, he had always been a solitary wanderer, unburdened, free, and able to do as he pleased! But under the current grand circumstances, Jun Mo Xie suddenly realized his loneliness. Who among the great clans didn't have a retinue to support them? If he wanted to live freely in this world, his own strength might suffice; but if he wanted the entire Jun family to live peacefully and comfortably, relying solely on his own power would certainly be insufficient against truly formidable forces!

The three hundred men he had personally trained were currently far from ready for deployment.

For the first time in his life, Jun Mo Xie entertained the thought of establishing his own faction.

This was the first time in both his lives!

Once he had enhanced his grandfather's strength and resolved the Jun family's lingering worries, the development of his secret forces would begin. He would need to recruit several top-tier experts... otherwise, facing a world brimming with powerhouses, what good could a few Silver Profound or Gold Profound masters possibly do?

If he was going to recruit, he needed true masters! Mediocre talents were better left discarded!

But if they were truly peak experts, wouldn't they be hard to win over? Jun Mo Xie scratched his head and suddenly imagined something he had read somewhere in his previous life: "The Tiger Lord's body shook, and all heroes under heaven bowed their heads in submission, each loyal and devoted, thus establishing a foundation that would never collapse for ten thousand generations."

"If only I could also 'shake my tiger body,' and anyone who saw me, even a Supreme Profound master, would immediately pledge allegiance..." Jun Mo Xie rested his chin on his hand, daydreaming limitlessly.

Clutching the three invitations, a glint flashed in Jun Mo Xie’s eyes. Regardless, he had to attend the Second Prince's banquet. The reason was simple: the feast was set to take place at the Nishang Pavilion! He still vividly recalled the burning hatred the "Miss Yue'er" he overheard that night held for his Jun family.

For such a venomous woman, if Jun Mo Xie didn't ascertain her background and eliminate her, he would feel he had utterly failed himself.

And this banquet hosted by the Second Prince provided him with an excellent opportunity.

Also, let's see... the matter of that batch of Profound Beast tendon crossbows had been settled quite some time ago. He wondered if the personnel his grandfather sent out had received the news yet?

As for the First Prince's banquet at the Misty Rain Tower, and the Third Prince's feast at the Lake, Jun Mo Xie paid them no mind at all. For the moment, those places held no appeal for him whatsoever.

Decision made: he would go to the Nishang Pavilion after lunch today!

Jun Mo Xie, beaming with pleasure, walked out of the small courtyard with a leisurely, measured gait, ready to openly tell his grandfather that he was going "sightseeing" at a brothel, and ask the old man to assign him a couple of bodyguards, preferably strong ones...

Just as he reached the gate, he saw Guan Qing Han approaching, clad in white as snow, her cool gaze fixed on him. "You are going out?"

"Yes, I'm going to the Nishang Pavilion," Jun Mo Xie stated truthfully. Besides, it wasn't something shameful; the Emperor's son was hosting a banquet there, and he was merely an invited guest. It shouldn't reflect badly on him, right?

"Shameless! To go to such a place and still sound so self-righteous! I thought you had truly turned over a new leaf, but it turns out you only pretended to be a good person for two days before showing your true colors!" Guan Qing Han’s lovely face flushed crimson with anger, resentment bubbling up. She prepared to strike. After seeing this brat behave decently for a few days, he was openly announcing he was going to a pleasure house to indulge! If she could tolerate this, what could she not tolerate? A mere sister-in-law could not tolerate this!

Jun Mo Xie dodged the palm strike Guan Qing Han delivered, laughing heartily. "Sister-in-law, your angry expression is quite beautiful, to be honest..."

Guan Qing Han's face turned frosty, her movements sharp as the wind, without uttering a word. If she didn't teach this brat a lesson today, he would surely revert to his old ways! Besides, their routine sparring session hadn't even happened yet! Third Uncle was strange for stopping the "sparring" arranged by the Old Master!

Jun Mo Xie dodged left and right, then suddenly executed a slick slide, putting a good distance of three meters between them. He chuckled, "Sister-in-law, let's postpone today's sparring. I’ll spar with you when I get back. Someone is waiting for me!" And with a flash, he was gone.

Guan Qing Han felt a tightness in her chest from his teasing! What Jun Mo Xie said was the literal truth—the Second Prince was indeed waiting for him at the Nishang Pavilion. But in Guan Qing Han's ears, it sounded entirely different, as if he meant those low-class courtesans were waiting for him! How could she not be furious?

"This brat has shown some human decency these past few days. I absolutely cannot let him regress like this! If I do, how can I face my deceased in-laws and him, Big Brother?" Guan Qing Han bit her lip and hurried toward Old Master Jun's study. As Jun Mo Xie walked, he felt a sense of surprise himself; his subtle progress was almost unbelievable even to him. When sparring with Guan Qing Han previously, he couldn't exert his true strength and had to actively suppress his innate killing reflexes. Without the ability to counterattack, dodging was naturally quite difficult, but today, under Guan Qing Han's full fury, evading and dodging felt almost effortless!

And just the other day, he had struck a vital point of a Heaven Profound expert! Even if that expert hadn't been prepared beforehand, the hit landed, and that fact was undeniable!

Thinking back carefully, these were things he could not have done or lacked the capability to do before, but now they were happening naturally! Had he truly advanced this much without realizing it during this period? (To be continued)