novelraw Chapter 65 : Master of All Arts, Breakthrough to Divine Power
Chapter 65 : Master of All Arts, Breakthrough to Divine Power
Chapter 65: Master of All Arts, Breakthrough to Divine Power
The royal banquet commenced.
One by one, the princes entered the grand hall. When Jiang Zhaoming stepped through the palace doors, many of his royal brothers were already seated.
His arrival instantly drew countless gazes.
Standing tall and poised, Jiang Zhaoming followed the palace maid’s guidance to the fifteenth seat on the upper left and sat down.
The moment he took his seat, he could feel countless probing eyes upon him.
Though none of the princes deliberately released their auras, the natural presence of Divine Power Realm experts still caused Jiang Zhaoming’s breath to tighten slightly.
Among those gazes, several were calm and unruffled, yet carried immense pressure within.
Jiang Zhaoming took a deep breath, his expression composed as he swept his eyes across the royal brothers around him.
His Life Fate · Imperial Authority quietly activated. Despite being only at the ninth layer of the Blood Refining Realm, he faintly exuded a presence not inferior to those royal brothers who had already stepped into the Divine Power Realm.
A few breaths later—
“Ah-Ming is still young and new to this seat. Do not make things difficult for him.”
A calm voice broke the silence, and the invisible pressure in the hall instantly dispersed.
The speaker was Jiang Zhaoding, seated in the foremost position on the left.
He cast Jiang Zhaoming a gentle smile, then turned back without another word.
Sitting near the front, Jiang Zhaoming felt somewhat bored.
Last year, he had Jiang Zhaode to chat with, but this year, he didn’t even have someone to speak to.
The two royal brothers beside him hadn’t once spared him a proper glance.
In contrast, down among the lower seats—beyond the hundredth place—the princes chatted merrily, with even the princesses helping to arrange matches and betrothals.
Utterly uninterested, Jiang Zhaoming simply closed his eyes and began refining his blood and energy.
As his qi and blood circulated, gazes once again converged upon him—even Jiang Zhaoding couldn’t help but glance over.
“The Qin Clan’s blood flows in his veins along with ours. At his age, he should have already stepped into the Divine Power Realm.”
Someone’s voice rang out, sharp and mocking.
Another responded with a sneer, “You’ve cultivated for two hundred years and only reached the Myriad Phenomena Realm. What’s there to be proud of?”
Hearing his royal brothers at the upper seats mock one another, Jiang Zhaoming frowned slightly. Their mouths were truly foul.
With that thought, he decided to give them a real surprise.
Coincidentally, he needed to fulfill one of Father’s requirements—that the Anxi Prefecture produce five Myriad Phenomena Realm cultivators within twenty years.
【Remaining Fortune: Purple ×1, Blue ×18, Green ×29, White ×73】
His consciousness sank into the River of Fortune. Jiang Zhaoming grabbed his fishing rod, glanced at the remaining fortune, and began his search.
After a few breaths, a blessing deep within the current caught his eye.
【Innate Talent · Master of All Arts】: Those who possess this talent are proficient in all arts and have extraordinary aptitude in cultivating any form of technique.
“This one!”
Jiang Zhaoming was quite pleased with this talent.
Because the Myriad Phenomena Realm tested one’s mastery of all kinds of techniques, this Master of All Arts would not only aid his breakthrough to the Divine Power Realm but also pave his future path toward the Myriad Phenomena Realm.
He hooked the rod, baited it with purple fortune, and cast it into the River of Fortune, fishing the blessing out.
Once it surfaced, Jiang Zhaoming didn’t hesitate—he immediately bestowed this talent upon himself.
【Name: Jiang Zhaoming
Cultivation: Ninth Layer of Blood Refining Realm
Innate Talents: Master of All Arts (Red), Extraordinary Constitution (Blue), Peerless Beauty (Green)
Life Fate: Imperial Authority (Red)】
When his consciousness returned, the hall remained lively and noisy.
Not all the princes had arrived, and Father had yet to appear.
With the clamor around him unceasing, Jiang Zhaoming stopped refining his qi and blood and instead immersed himself in studying the royal clan’s secret divine technique—Eight-Nine Mystical Arts.
Seeing him openly cultivating this art, the atmosphere in the hall subtly shifted.
That same sharp voice sounded again, “The Prince of Anxi finds his brothers too noisy, so he’s practicing at the banquet now?”
Jiang Zhaoming ignored the provocation, fully absorbed in deducing the art.
Following his own understanding, he made subtle adjustments at key junctures, diverging slightly from the standard path.
A stick of incense later, commotion arose at the hall’s entrance.
Jiang Zhaoqian strode in, robes fluttering, exuding overwhelming might.
His gaze swept across the hall and immediately locked onto the cultivating Jiang Zhaoming, his eyes darkening.
He had already learned that Father had granted Jiang Zhaoming’s seemingly absurd request…
“Heh, the Prince of Anxi is quite diligent. Careful not to stray off the path and fall into madness.”
Jiang Zhaoqian sneered, moving to the main seat on the right, throwing a provocative glance at Jiang Zhaoding across the hall.
Jiang Zhaoding couldn’t be bothered to respond, merely turning his face away with a faint snort of disdain.
Bored once more, his gaze drifted back to Jiang Zhaoming.
At first, it was just a casual glance—but gradually, his expression grew serious.
“Hm?”
Jiang Zhaoding keenly sensed that although Jiang Zhaoming’s cultivation seemed to deviate from the traditional path of Eight-Nine Mystical Arts, every time he adjusted, he corrected himself with astonishing speed.
It was as if… he was optimizing the art according to his own constitution?
“This boy…”
Jiang Zhaoding narrowed his eyes, studying his younger brother seriously for the first time.
Time passed. The others’ attention drifted away, yet Jiang Zhaoding’s gaze never left Jiang Zhaoming.
Soon, the princesses entered, and Father arrived—the banquet was about to begin.
Jiang Zhaoqian had intended to exchange a provocative glance with Jiang Zhaoding, but the latter’s eyes remained fixed on Jiang Zhaoming.
“Pretentious fool,” Jiang Zhaoqian thought disdainfully.
However, when he glanced toward Jiang Zhaoming himself, his brows instantly furrowed.
Something was wrong!
Jiang Zhaoming’s aura was surging at an unbelievable rate!
“How is this possible? Just moments ago, he was still—” Jiang Zhaoqian’s pupils contracted sharply.
The banquet officially began, and the exquisite dishes were served.
But Jiang Zhaoming remained immersed in cultivation.
Then, at the exact moment Father declared, “Let the feast begin—”
“Hum!”
A vast surge of power erupted from within Jiang Zhaoming. Spiritual energy roared like tidal waves, coalescing above his head into a golden sword phantom!
“He… he broke through?!”
The hall erupted in uproar!
Jiang Zhaoqian leapt to his feet, disbelief flooding his eyes.
That fellow Jiang Zhaoming—he had just broken through into the Divine Power Realm before everyone’s eyes?!
Jiang Zhaoding’s lips curved upward as he slowly clapped. “Congratulations to the Prince of Anxi for stepping into the Divine Power Realm!”
The hall fell into stunned silence—especially those princes who had known Jiang Zhaoming’s prior progress.
Jiang Zhaoming opened his eyes, golden light flashing within. He rose and bowed toward Jiang Zhaoding.
Then, his gaze fell upon the prince who had mocked him earlier.
That prince, though stronger, felt inexplicably uneasy under Jiang Zhaoming’s calm yet sharp gaze.
After a brief standoff, he was the first to avert his eyes.
Father, seated at the head, raised his cup with a smile. “Congratulations, Ah-Ming, for breaking through to the Divine Power Realm.”
With Father’s toast, no one dared remain seated. Every prince and princess raised their cups in unison.
As he sat back down, Jiang Zhaoming looked inward at his River of Fortune, where new messages emerged—
【You have received the Great Zhou royal family’s blessing. Gained Purple Fortune ×1】
【Jiang Xuanhao’s attitude toward you has improved. Gained Purple Fortune ×1】
Profit!
Jiang Zhaoming felt elated.
Today, he had not only earned Father’s recognition and gained the Master of All Arts talent, but also two precious purple fortunes.
Most importantly, he had clearly demonstrated before all the royals his determination and potential to vie for the throne.
As for whether this would attract greater hostility or opposition—
Jiang Zhaoming already understood.
The moment he stepped onto the path of imperial contention, his fate had been sealed.
It was not because he shone today that others would notice him—it was because, at merely twenty-one, his Imperial Destiny Value had already surpassed two thousand.
A hero could bide his time beneath the nine lands, waiting for his moment to rise.
But an emperor must blaze like the great sun, reigning above the heavens.
He must possess the spirit to devour the eight wildernesses and the grandeur to gaze down upon eternity—an unshakable confidence to challenge Heaven and Earth themselves.
He, Jiang Zhaoming, was a prince, the Prince of Anxi, and a rightful contender for the throne.
The Emperor gazed at Jiang Zhaoming, eyes full of pride and admiration.
As if he were seeing his younger self—full of vigor and ambition, aiming for the endless skies.