Chapter 40 Returning to the Palace and Ascending in Rank

Zhang Xiao gave a kick as he finished speaking, sending Rakov flying into a small room before slamming the door shut. With a faint smile, he said, "You can hide in here for now. Once the people outside have left, you can make your way out on your own."

With that, Zhang Xiao turned and walked away, a subtle smile playing on his lips. What he had made Rakov swallow was naturally something extraordinary—a demonic fetus formed from condensed demonic Qi. The *Boro Zen Scripture* encompassed both Buddha and Mara; just as the Buddhist path had scriptures for delivering souls, the demonic path possessed the demonic fetus.

However, the demonic fetus of the demonic path was far more overbearing, ruthless, and insidious than any soul-delivery scripture. Once planted within someone, the demonic fetus would cause the victim's inner self to grow increasingly dark, feeding and expanding upon the negative emotions dwelling in their heart.

The stronger the demonic fetus grew, the greater the boost in power the host would receive, driving those afflicted by it into an even deeper frenzy.

If that were the extent of it, it might still be tolerable. But the true malice of the demonic fetus lay in the fact that with a mere thought from Zhang Xiao, he could manipulate the victim's mind. Whenever he wished, he could instantly trigger a backlash, devouring the target's flesh, blood, and soul, transforming them into pure Yin demonic Qi that would return to Zhang Xiao to enhance his own cultivation.

Of course, the demonic fetus had major limitations: the target could not possess too high a level of cultivation, and their willpower had to be extremely weak. While it worked well on a weakling like Rakov, it would prove utterly ineffective against anyone with even slightly higher cultivation or unshakeable willpower.

In fact, some individuals upon whom the demonic fetus was planted could seek out righteous experts to refine it out of their bodies. Yet, Zhang Xiao was certain that Rakov would never do such a thing; instead, the man would likely thank him for granting him such formidable power.

While Zhang Xiao was inwardly calculating how much help having a high-ranking member of Atlantis under his control would bring him in the future, he had no idea that this single action of his today would sow the seeds of boundless slaughter in the days to come.

"You have no idea how incredible the giant cannon Zhou Fang ended up assembling was! It actually unleashed countless bolts of lightning—it's simply a miracle in the scientific world. He is an epoch-making genius; if I hadn't seen it with my own eyes, I wouldn't have believed such a genius existed in this world."

Bai Shunuan chattered away incessantly along the journey, leaving Zhang Xiao with a deep sense of helplessness. He had originally intended for Bai Shunuan to use a seductress's wiles to extract information from Zhou Fang. Naturally, the honeypot strategy had failed completely, but Zhou Fang's unintentional display of masculine charm had utterly bewitched the female doctor. He truly could not tell whether this was a blessing or a curse.

Catching the strange look Zhang Xiao was giving her, Bai Shunuan suddenly realized she had lost her composure. Her face flushed, and she quickly changed the subject, asking, "Right, that True Spirit Water you gave Zhou Fang at the end seemed extremely precious. Why would you give him something so valuable? Could it be that you've taken a fancy to his little sister?"

Hearing this, Zhang Xiao was momentarily stunned before replying with a faint smile, "I'm not as bored as you. Not only did you fail to extract any information, but you even managed to compromise yourself. I gave Zhou Fang the True Spirit Water simply to make him owe me a favor."

Naturally, the reality was quite different. The primary reason Zhang Xiao gave Zhou Fang the True Spirit Water was actually because of Zhou Qiuyan. Mind you, no one should let their imagination wander; it was simply because Zhou Qiuyan had been bewitched by the evil Qi lingering on Zhang Xiao—though Zhang Xiao had promptly knocked her unconscious to prevent further issues.

Even so, it was inevitable that some anomaly might remain. If the fiercely protective Zhou Fang were to discover it, not only would the favor he owed Zhang Xiao today vanish, but it might even turn them into enemies.

This was certainly not what Zhang Xiao desired. Since he still planned to rely on Zhou Fang's assistance in the future, how could he possibly allow a petty matter like this to turn them into adversaries?

Unfortunately, fortune loved to play tricks on mortals. Zhang Xiao never imagined that Zhou Qiuyan had not been beguiled by his evil Qi at all from the very beginning; rather, her heart had genuinely stirred with romantic feelings. Poor Zhang Xiao, whose heart had long since extinguished romantic love and human desires, had simply assumed that Zhou Qiuyan's mind was too weak and had thus fallen victim to his residual malevolent aura.

With Zhang Xiao and Bai Shunuan each lost in their own thoughts, it wasn't long before Zhang Xiao piloted the Heavenly Sun Sword outside the Hongmen branch stronghold. Although he possessed the mysterious heavenly token, the Mysterious Heaven Grotto-heaven was his personal lair, which naturally could not be open to just anyone.

Therefore, he had to teleport from the Hongmen branch to the main headquarters before returning to the imperial palace. (Note: The branch's clearance level was insufficient; it lacked a direct teleportation array connected to the palace.)

Upon seeing Zhang Xiao arrive, Shangguan Tianheng immediately hosted a grand banquet to celebrate his achievements. It wasn't that Shangguan Tianheng was trying to ingratiate himself; rather, for Zhang Xiao to enter the palace, Shangguan Tianheng at least had to dispatch someone to submit a memorial and await approval before Zhang Xiao and Bai Shunuan could enter. Hosting the banquet was simply a way to keep Zhang Xiao from growing too bored in the meantime.

Though Zhang Xiao understood the underlying reasons, his mind was still fixed on the Qiongqi horn in Qin Shihuang's possession. Once he obtained the Qiongqi horn, he would immediately enter secluded meditation to cultivate the third transformation, then use the Divided Spirit Fruit to refine his clone into a second primordial spirit, and finally make his breakthrough to the Integration stage.

Just as Zhang Xiao was making grand calculations in his mind, Bai Shunuan suddenly slapped her forehead and exclaimed, "Oh dear, I almost forgot. Zhou Fang asked me to give this to you."

With that, Bai Shunuan retrieved a square metal box from her storage pouch. Zhang Xiao's eyebrows arched slightly as he took the box, and a voice transmission quietly echoed in his mind from the container:

"Brother Zhang, you saved my younger sister today, and I have no other way to repay you save for telling you one piece of information as a token of gratitude. The joint alliance army of the Nine Sects engaged in a battle against the Peacock Buddhist Kingdom at Crimson Blood Ridge, causing the earth to shatter and releasing a powerful member of the demon race. That demon's cultivation is unfathomable, and he even used spiritual Qi to paint a portrait of you, swearing to strip your tendons, flay your bones, refine your soul, and shatter your spirit. Brother Zhang, please take care."

This message had evidently undergone special processing so that outsiders could not overhear it. A cold glade flashed in Zhang Xiao's eyes as he effortlessly crushed the iron box into a lump of scrap metal. While the news was far from favorable, Zhang Xiao felt no panic; if that demon dared to come, Zhang Xiao would simply greet him with the Starlight Extermination Array.

Finally, on the third day of their stay at the Hongmen headquarters, Shangguan Tianheng received the imperial approval allowing Zhang Xiao and Bai Shunuan to enter the palace. Bai Shunuan appeared rather impatient that Qin Shihuang had made them wait for three full days.

Teleporting from the Hongmen array straight into the imperial palace, she hurried directly toward the Taide Hall, Qin Shihuang's audience chamber. The guards along the way stepped aside to let her pass without obstruction, clearly recognizing the female doctor. Zhang Xiao, however, had to display his waist medallion before he could enter—his treatment truly falling short compared to that of the brilliant scientist.

"Halt!" Before Bai Shunuan could speak, Qin Shihuang raised a hand in a slight downward gesture, signaling her to pause. Only after Zhang Xiao had walked in did Qin Shihuang say, "Dr. Bai, tell me, do you still insist on your mecha designs?"

At Qin Shihuang's words, Bai Shunuan suddenly recalled how Qin Shihuang had previously adopted Zhang Xiao's advice and refused to equip the Qin troops with mecha, a decision that had sparked a furious argument between her and the emperor.

Subsequently, Qin Shihuang had decided to let Bai Shunuan and Zhang Xiao travel outside together to witness the reality on the ground, while also giving her the chance to personally test the mecha she had developed.

Looking back now, Bai Shunuan's face turned pale as paper, especially recalling Zhou Fang's words: *"You haven't even figured out basic weaponry, yet you want to reach the heavens in a single bound."* Only then did Bai Shunuan calm down. Bowing her head, she said to Qin Shihuang, "It was my fault. I am willing to bear the responsibility."

Only then did a smile touch Qin Shihuang's face. "Good. It seems you've made significant progress out in the world. Very well, return to the research institute first, and then write me a report letting me see your new ideas."

"Yes!" Bai Shunuan bowed deeply to Qin Shihuang before slowly backing out of the grand hall.

Once she had departed, Qin Shihuang produced a jade box and tossed it to Zhang Xiao. "This is the Qiongqi horn; it's yours. However, you've stirred up a massive trouble for yourself. The continental demon race is beginning to awaken, and a certain demon has explicitly named you as his target. You'd better advance to the Integration stage as soon as possible."

Clutching the Qiongqi horn, Zhang Xiao nodded. Even without Qin Shihuang's warning, he had already intended to immediately begin his secluded breakthrough. Following this, Qin Shihuang handed Zhang Xiao a jade tablet inscribed with the characters *Marquis Suppressing the Nation*. Zhang Xiao blinked in surprise—how had his peerage been promoted so suddenly?

One had to understand that the current Great Xia Nation still adhered to ancient systems in many of its institutions. While advancing in official rank might be relatively easy, elevating one's peerage was immensely difficult. Peerages were divided into five major tiers: King, Marquis, Lord, Scholar, and Brave/Righteous, with each tier comprising thirteen distinct levels. Every single level required a massive accumulation of military merits to ascend.

Once one reached the Scholar peerage, further advancement required doubling the military merits needed for each subsequent level. Relying on his contributions to the founding of the nation, Zhang Xiao had been enfeoffed as a Lord Suppressing the Nation, barely standing on equal footing with great generals like Bai Qi and Wang Jian.

Zhang Xiao hadn't even fulfilled a single fraction of those thirteen levels of military merits, yet a single trip outside had resulted in a promotion in peerage. If there were no covert dealings behind this, Zhang Xiao would refuse to believe it even in death.

Yet, one look at Qin Shihuang's expression told him that asking would be pointless. If this old fox was willing to speak, he would have done so; otherwise, no amount of questioning would yield any answers. Tucking the jade tablet away, he watched as his character attributes immediately updated to show the title *Marquis Suppressing the Nation*.

Qin Shihuang had originally intended to keep him for a drink, but Zhang Xiao declined. Striding out of the imperial palace, Zhang Xiao directly instructed Ziyan to activate the Grand Teleportation Array. With a flash of white light, Zhang Xiao vanished, reappearing shortly after once he had returned safely to the Mysterious Heaven Grotto-heaven.

Leaving all the chores of managing the grotto-heaven to Ziyan, Zhang Xiao irresponsibly patted his backside and left without a care, immediately entering secluded meditation, completely oblivious to the look of lingering resentment in Ziyan's eyes.