"By the way," seeing that Zhou Qing no longer retorted, Sikong Yan changed the topic, his tone becoming light once again, "Have you been to a certain place since you came to the Imperial City?"

"Where?"

"Jintian Palace."

Zhou Qing's pupils contracted sharply, about to nod but suddenly narrowed his eyes: "Jintian Palace? Lin Jin?"

He looked at Sikong Yan incredulously, his heart pounding like a drum.

Sikong Yan chuckled at his reaction, "Exactly what you're thinking. But I had decent luck; I made some preparations before it happened, which is why I escaped unscathed."

"You... you're the Grand Prince Xuanyuan Xuanhuang?" Zhou Qing's voice trembled as if he had discovered an enormous secret, his heart beating rapidly.

Sikong Yan said leisurely, "It seems you indeed went there. The palace, is it still magnificent?"

"Impossible! You clearly..." Zhou Qing still couldn't believe it.

"See, I told you but you didn't believe." Sikong Yan shook his head with a sigh, "This world is vast, and anything bizarre can happen."

Zhou Qing stared blankly at him, his thoughts in turmoil.

Ever since Sikong Yan confessed that he was, like his uncle-master Gao Xuan, someone who had seized a body, Zhou Qing had speculated countless possibilities, but never associated them with the Royal Family.

Zhou Qing hesitated for a moment before finally asking, "What exactly did you do to make the current Emperor set out to kill you?"

Sikong Yan leaned back, lazily: "Actually, I didn't do much, just wanted to steal the secret formula for advancing to the Spirit Severing Realm and make it public, allowing all cultivators to take that step."

Zhou Qing's pupils contracted slightly, as if he were re-evaluating the person before him.

Are you not joking?

Sikong Yan, seeing this, curled up his lips with a playful grin, "What? Are you feeling admiration for my broad vision? I allow you to kneel and worship."

"Heh." Zhou Qing sneered, though his heart was stirred with waves.

"Let's be reasonable," Sikong Yan restrained his smile and said seriously, "The Holy Martial Dynasty, merely a newly risen Level 4 Cultivation Country for over three thousand years, compared to those millennia-old established powers surrounding us, has far fewer Spirit Severing Realm cultivators."

"When the Old Emperor obtained the secret formula, instead of benefiting the world, he thought to leverage it to control others. Isn't this the epitome of foolishness?"

Zhou Qing squinted his eyes, "So you decided to steal it?"

"How could it be called stealing?" Sikong Yan raised an eyebrow, "I am a dignified Grand Prince and future heir to the Holy Martial Dynasty. I was merely taking something in advance that I am destined to manage in the future."

"From what I know of you," Zhou Qing said seriously, "you're not such a benevolent person. Since we're cooperating, you should tell the truth."

"How am I not benevolent? I was the one who saved Nannan, wasn't I? And I handed her over to Gao Xuan in perfect condition..."

"Don't talk nonsense!" Zhou Qing interrupted directly.

Sikong Yan gazed at Zhou Qing for a moment, then suddenly chuckled, "Alright, indeed nothing so noble. At that time, I was young and impulsive."

"My grandmother—she treated me extremely well, but her life was nearing its end. I wanted to take the secret formula to help her break through the Spirit Slash."

"But in their eyes, she was no longer of any value, and the elixirs made from the secret formula had been exhausted. Even if they existed, she had no qualification to take them, so I had no choice but to resort to this desperate measure."

Zhou Qing nodded slightly; this reason made sense, but he still had doubts, "Even so, a dignified Dragon Reserve prince stealing the secret formula shouldn't have led to a fatal catastrophe, right?"

"Indeed," a trace of gloom crossed Sikong Yan's eyes, "normally, breaking my legs and putting me in solitary would have sufficed."

"In reality, they did just that—sealed my cultivation, broke my limbs, and tortured me day and night with 'Soul-Eroding Nails,' forcing me to admit fault."

"Unfortunately, I'm the type to yield to softness, not force; the more they pressured me, the less I'd bow, until..."

His voice suddenly went cold, "Until my grandmother came to plead for me, and they accused her of orchestrating it all."

"After all, with my mid-stage Nascent Soul cultivation at that time, the secret formula was indeed useless." 𝑓𝘳𝑒𝑒𝓌𝘦𝘣𝘯ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝑚

"They executed my grandmother in front of me, just as I had previously said—young and impetuous, and my mouth had no gate. On the spot, I declared that I would one day make the secret formula known to the world."

He let out a cold laugh, "Because of that sentence, they decided that I would definitely take action, posing a threat to the Dynasty's grand plans. So they figured, might as well eliminate me—"

"Thus I died." Sikong Yan suddenly grinned, revealing his white teeth.

"But fortunately, before doing this, I anticipated the consequences and made some preparations in advance, which is why I managed to survive."

Zhou Qing, lost in thought, couldn't help but question, "Where did the Old Emperor's secret formula come from?"