Chronicles of Huan You

Seeing this, Lin Xiao widened his eyes and carefully studied the scene before him, determined not to miss a single detail.

This was all material! Once he returned, he could record it and store it in the library so everyone could broaden their horizons.

A moment later, Zhao Yunzhong opened his eyes.

Seeing Lin Xiao staring at him without blinking, he smiled gently and said, “I hope you won’t laugh at me, Fellow Daoist Lin. The Imperial Seal can be stored directly inside the reigning sovereign’s body. Moreover, the Imperial Seal is of great importance, so keeping it outside the body would be far too dangerous. By placing it in my heart as soon as possible, the seal remains with me wherever I go, and I can feel more at ease.”

Lin Xiao nodded to show that he understood, though he couldn’t help wondering whether storing the Imperial Seal this way was truly safe when Zhao Yunzhong was only at the early Golden Core stage.

Still, Lin Xiao knew how to conduct himself. He would never question someone over something like this.

Yet Zhao Yunzhong seemed to know what he was thinking. With a smile, he said, “There’s no need to worry, Fellow Daoist. Don’t be fooled by the fact that I’m only at the early Golden Core stage. Once the sovereign stores the Imperial Seal in his heart, it will automatically defend him whenever he is attacked. Its defensive power is so formidable that even a Nascent Soul cultivator would have difficulty breaking through it.”

Hearing this, Lin Xiao did not deny it or pretend that he had never been concerned. Instead, he nodded in understanding and exclaimed, “I see. I never imagined the Imperial Seal had so many functions.”

Hmm. A new entry for Records of the Huanyou Kingdom.

[Ding—Congratulations, Host, on successfully unlocking the [Sect Master’s Record of Experiences] function. Through this function, the Host may record everything he sees and hears in the form of consciousness. Both text and images are supported. The records can later be reproduced into books through the Item Synthesis function. Reminder: The Host may independently select excerpts for reproduction, or organize them by chapter and section.]

The system’s sudden appearance brought Lin Xiao an unexpected delight.

Although his memory was already excellent now that he had reached the Golden Core stage, who wouldn’t want a personal memo pad that was always on hand?

Thus, he happily entered the system and took a quick look at the [Sect Master’s Record of Experiences] function.

Inside, there were categorized folders and an option to create records. He could create record files however he wished.

He immediately created one, then quickly recorded in his mind everything Zhao Yunzhong had just told him, along with the scenes he had witnessed.

Naturally, Zhao Yunzhong knew nothing about this. All he saw was Lin Xiao pause almost imperceptibly for a moment before his expression returned to normal.

So he paid it no mind and continued speaking to Lin Xiao. “Fellow Daoist Lin, you needn’t worry that learning the secret of the Imperial Seal will cause you trouble. The many countries and dynasties in this world were, for the most part, established over a thousand years ago, or even earlier. After developing to this day, secrets such as those concerning the Imperial Seal are no longer truly secret to many people at the highest levels.”

Lin Xiao naturally understood that Zhao Yunzhong was trying to ease his concerns, so he readily accepted the goodwill.

“Rest assured, Lord of Zhao. I will never spread this matter.”

When I get back, I’ll see whether I can place a restriction on the reproduced records so that they can only be viewed and cannot be shared.

“I naturally trust your character, Fellow Daoist Lin. Speaking of which, I must thank you for recovering the Imperial Seal for me. Otherwise, I don’t know when I would have found it again. However, may I ask where you found the seal?” Zhao Yunzhong asked, somewhat puzzled.

After all, he had located the vicinity of the Jishi Mine Cave by sensing the Imperial Seal’s position. But how had Lin Xiao managed to find it directly?

Since he had asked, Lin Xiao did not conceal the truth. He told Zhao Yunzhong about the former sovereign he had discovered.

Upon hearing this, Zhao Yunzhong pondered for a moment. Then, as though he had thought of something, he furrowed his brows tightly.

“If my guess is correct, that person may have wanted to absorb the Imperial Seal and turn it completely into his own.”

“The Imperial Seal can be completely absorbed and made one’s own?” Lin Xiao asked.

Zhao Yunzhong nodded.

“An ancient saying states: If any member of the imperial family encounters a desperate situation in the mortal world, he may absorb the Imperial Seal and fight for a sliver of hope.”

Lin Xiao couldn’t tell whether Zhao Yunzhong trusted his character too much because Lin Xiao had saved him, whether he was simply naïve and told everyone everything, or whether there was some other reason.

In any case, while recording these experiences, Lin Xiao also felt a certain amount of pressure.

The Lord of Zhao trusted him so much that he told him everything. This was putting him under a great deal of pressure…

Yet the Lord of Zhao seemed completely unaware of Lin Xiao’s feelings and continued explaining.

“There’s something you don’t know, Fellow Daoist Lin. Anyone who wields the Imperial Seal is mortal enemies with Jishi and absolutely cannot cultivate that evil technique. However, I suspect that person was unaware of this, because it is a secret passed down orally within the Zhao Imperial Clan. Since he once wielded the Imperial Seal, he also became connected to the fortune of the Huanyou Kingdom and is subject to the same restriction.”

All right. Just a moment ago, it had merely been an ancient teaching, whose level of secrecy was unknown. Now it had become a secret passed down orally within the clan. For a moment, Lin Xiao hesitated over whether he should continue recording.

Zhao Yunzhong was still speaking at length.

“Perhaps he only came into contact with Jishi recently and discovered that he was unable to switch cultivation methods. Then, after hearing this ancient teaching within the Imperial Seal and finding himself driven into a desperate situation, he conceived the idea of absorbing the seal.”

At this point, he seemed to think of something. He shook his head and sighed.

“Unfortunately, he did not know that absorbing the Imperial Seal of the Huanyou Kingdom is no easy task. For an ordinary holder of power, the chance of success is practically one percent. Without that sliver of luck, the result would be death by backlash. Only the orthodox bloodline of the Zhao Imperial Clan can increase the odds of success. The purer the bloodline, the greater the likelihood.”

“After all, the one who founded the Huanyou Kingdom was the Zhao ancestor!”

Lin Xiao was left dazed after unexpectedly hearing the deepest secret of an imperial family.

Was it too late to ask him to stop now?

Moreover, judging from the similarities in the relationship between the Imperial Seal, the country, and its sovereign, what the Lord of Zhao had said afterward was probably true of other nations as well.

In other words, without meaning to, he had been forced to hear the secrets of nearly every country in the mortal world with an ancient lineage and inheritance.

If the imperial families of those other nations learned of this, he would very likely become the target of their united attacks.

Knowing too many secrets—and the secrets of a whole group of people, at that—was not a good thing…

At that thought, Lin Xiao suddenly felt as though the weather had turned colder. Otherwise, why did his back feel so chilly?

He looked at Zhao Yunzhong again, only to see him smiling at Lin Xiao with the same gentle, friendly expression.

At this moment, Lin Xiao couldn’t help sighing inwardly. As expected of a sovereign, even one who had only just taken office.

During all those years the Zhao Imperial Clan had remained in hiding, they must have devoted no small amount of effort to training their successors in this standard imperial-family skill.

Things had already come to this point, so there was naturally no need to consider whether killing Zhao Yunzhong would solve the problem. For him to act with such confidence, he must certainly have other precautions and backup plans in place.

Zhao Yunzhong had done all this simply to prevent Lin Xiao from leaking the secret.