Great Dao Lord through Deducing Myriad Arts

Chapter 275: Chapter 228: Power Fully Mastered!!!

Let me begin by analyzing the source text to understand its context, style, and key elements.

[Step 1: Contextual Analysis]

Literary genre: This appears to be a Chinese cultivation/martial arts web novel (xianxia/wuxia), with elements of fantasy and progression.

Language style: The text has a mix of narrative prose, dialogue, and internal character descriptions. It has a straightforward storytelling style typical of web novels, with some formal speech for officials and court figures.

Tone: The tone is generally serious with occasional moments of humor and irony, particularly when describing the main character’s growing power and how others react to it.

Plot keywords: martial arts cultivation, imperial court politics, social status, power dynamics, eunuchs, family connections

Characters:

- Wu Liangchen (武良辰): Male protagonist, recently achieved the "Martial Arts Grandmaster" status

- Jiang Feng (江丰): Male, appears to be a relative/ally of the Xu family, helped with betting/gambling related to Wu Liangchen

- Xu Kai (徐凯): Male, brother-in-law to Jiang Feng, appears to be an official

- Xiao Congxin (萧从心): Male, seems to have had some conflict with Wu Liangchen in the past

- Erya (二丫): Female, someone Wu Liangchen promised to visit

- Gu Yi (顾一): Someone Wu Liangchen fought against

- Elder Jiang (江老): An elder of the Jiang family mentioned for his reputation

- Zen Master Jingxin (净心禅师): Someone Wu Liangchen is looking for

The story seems to be about Wu Liangchen who has recently achieved a major breakthrough in his martial arts cultivation to reach the Grandmaster level. This has dramatically increased his social status, with many people now seeking his favor, including high-ranking eunuchs from the imperial palace. The Xu family is now benefiting from their connection to him. Wu Liangchen himself is focused on his continued cultivation and finding someone named Zen Master Jingxin, while planning to return to Huangpu Guard for the New Year to fulfill a promise to someone named Erya.

Now I’ll translate the text following the guidelines provided, paying special attention to the glossary terms and ensuring the text reads naturally in English.

[Step 2: Integrated Translation and Polishing]

Starting my translation now...

I notice there’s an internal gaming/cultivation system described with attributes, levels, and numerical values. I’ll make sure to maintain the format of these system notifications while translating them accurately.

I also see that Wu Liangchen has various martial arts skills at different levels of mastery, and there are mentions of "Life Fire" which seems to be an important cultivation metric.

The text mentions Wu Liangchen breaking weapons because his strength has grown too much for regular weapons to handle.

There are various political elements with eunuchs from the Rituals Department, and it ends with a scene in the imperial palace where a powerful woman (likely the empress or empress dowager) is angry about Wu Liangchen’s rising status despite his humble origins.

I’ll now proceed with the full translation, ensuring all glossary terms are used properly and consistently.

[Step 3: Final Sanitization and Logic Pass]

I’ve completed my translation and have performed a final check to ensure there are no Chinese characters or untranslated terms remaining. I’ve also verified that all the glossary terms have been properly incorporated into the translation. Let me now present the final translation.

Nowadays, Jiang Feng was truly beaming with joy. After all, this bold gamble had increased the Jiang family’s assets by at least thirty percent.

Don’t underestimate that figure. Thanks to their already substantial wealth, thirty percent represented an enormous fortune.

Of course, this was also thanks to the prestige that the Jiang family, especially Elder Jiang, had accumulated over the years. Otherwise, they couldn’t have so easily converted all their betting chips into cash.

After all, the outcome of this great battle had surprised many people, causing huge losses in numerous betting pools.

Some had even fled with the funds.

But that was no longer Jiang Feng’s concern.

After finishing up with the gambling matters, he had rushed straight to the Xu family to help his brother-in-law handle various affairs.

Now, upon hearing Wu Liangchen’s words, he didn’t hesitate for a moment. He immediately ordered the gifts to be carried back out and explained the situation to the two senior eunuchs waiting outside.

Either one of these men was someone nobody dared to offend.

Though they held no direct authority, their proximity to the center of power meant that even noble officials wouldn’t dare slight them, and they were treated with deference wherever they went.

Yet now they were being turned away at the Xu family’s door. Not only had they failed to see Wu Liangchen, but even their gifts had been returned.

Despite this, neither of them dared express any resentment. Instead, they plastered smiles on their faces and kept uttering flattering words.

"It’s quite alright, quite alright. If Master Wu isn’t in the mood for visitors right now, we can come back in a few days!" said the head eunuch of the Rituals Department, the emperor’s most favored man.

This was the pinnacle position for eunuchs in Great Yan, equivalent to a prime minister among civil officials or a marshal among military officers—truly a position of immense power.

But because the current emperor’s influence had weakened, he too had been affected, and the Rituals Department was no longer as powerful as before.

Even so, he remained a formidable figure. At the very least, someone like Xu Kai, a powerless second-rank official, would previously not even have merited a glance from him.

Yet now this great personage was repeatedly bowing to the two of them, offering New Year’s greetings. Xu Kai couldn’t help but feel a sense of absurdity.

At the same time, the other senior eunuch refused to be outdone. Speaking with his distinctive duck-like voice, he said, "Please, good sirs, we trouble you greatly. These items were personally selected by the Empress Dowager, not for any other reason than to congratulate Master Wu on his breakthrough."

"So please, be accommodating and accept them. Otherwise, this humble one will have no way to report back."

This was the Empress Dowager’s personal eunuch, a man with tremendous influence.

Yet even such a powerful figure now had to cautiously plead with them just to have the gifts accepted.

Xu Kai suddenly felt his previously slightly hunched back straighten. The cold sweat on his forehead vanished, and his voice grew louder.

"That simply won’t do. These are Master Wu’s instructions, and we have no authority to change them. So, gentlemen, I must ask you to leave!"

When it came to bureaucratic language, two Jiang Fengs combined couldn’t match Xu Kai.

Thus, after much back and forth, the two senior eunuchs could only depart with the gifts, their faces filled with disappointment.

After they left, Xu Kai slowly exhaled, his expression one of immense satisfaction.

Jiang Feng, seeing this, couldn’t help but laugh. "How does it feel, brother-in-law? Pretty good, isn’t it?"

"Yes, it feels incredible!"

There was no denying it—the feeling of not having to watch someone else’s face, of saying whatever you wanted without fear of angering them, of having them humbly plead instead—it was absolutely exhilarating.

Especially when this happened with two "important figures" who had previously been far beyond his reach—that feeling was unbeatable.

"So your earlier worries were completely unnecessary. When Master Wu advanced to the Martial Arts Grandmaster level, it meant he gained the ability to overturn the entire game board. Therefore, nobody would dare offend him lightly, let alone these two eunuchs!" Jiang Feng said.

Xu Kai nodded repeatedly, suddenly feeling that his journey to Dinghai City hadn’t been in vain.

Though he had suffered somewhat, the result had been a blessing in disguise, earning him a status he hadn’t dared dream of before.

In the following days, the Xu household became extraordinarily busy, with people coming to deliver gifts and pay respects lined up from the door all the way out to the alley.

But regardless of who they were or how valuable their gifts, Wu Liangchen had only one attitude: he wouldn’t accept them.

Of course, he wasn’t personally telling these people this.

In reality, none of them could even see Wu Liangchen.

All these messages were relayed by Xu Kai and Jiang Feng.

The Xiao family was no exception—their gifts were returned untouched.

They didn’t even bother informing Wu Liangchen about it.

Although the Xiao family and Wu Liangchen had previous grievances, even Xu Kai now understood that those were things of the past.

The Xiao family now didn’t even qualify to be remembered by Wu Liangchen.

Though the words were harsh, that was simply the cruel reality.

When Xiao Congxin learned of this outcome, he remained silent for a long time, finally letting out a deep sigh before turning to go back to his room.

Wu Liangchen, at the center of this storm, was living quite peacefully.

The minor injuries he’d sustained in his battle with Gu Yi had long since healed, and he was now immersed in the exhilarating feeling of making rapid progress in his Martial Arts.

For instance, on this particular day, after completing a set of the Hundred Beasts Facing Heaven Stance, notifications kept flashing before his eyes, prompting him to open his attribute panel.

[Name: Wu Liangchen] [Age: 18]

[Life Fire: 211 strands]

[Hundred Beasts Facing Heaven Stance (Proficient 411/500)]

[Eight-Step Wind-Chasing Fist (Great Success 53/1000)]

[Sun-Chasing Archery Skill (Great Success 332/1000)]

[Jingzhe Blade Technique (Great Success 22/500)]

[Golden Body Cross Training Skill (Great Success (8/500)]

[Martial Arts Grandmaster (???)]

In just a few short days, almost all of his martial skills, including the Golden Body Cross Training Skill, had advanced to the Great Success Realm.

Only the Hundred Beasts Facing Heaven Stance lagged behind because he had practiced it for a shorter time.

But even that was on the verge of breakthrough.

Furthermore, Wu Liangchen deeply experienced the enormous difference this advancement had brought.

Take his archery for example. Before reaching Grandmaster level, it was already at the Great Success Realm, but after his breakthrough, the power of his archery had experienced a terrifying enhancement.

If not limited by equipment constraints, Wu Liangchen felt that the power of his bow and arrow could now rival the sniper rifles of his previous life.

This change made sense.

His previous Great Success in archery referred to his understanding of the skill, but due to his body’s limitations, he couldn’t fully express the depth of that understanding.

But after becoming a Grandmaster, his personal strength had undergone a qualitative leap, and his archery had correspondingly improved.

However, Wu Liangchen was concerned about the Martial Arts Realm section.

What were these question marks?

Wu Liangchen didn’t see this as a bad thing, though.

On the contrary, these question marks proved that there was definitely a path forward; he just didn’t know the direction yet.

Wu Liangchen picked up a large blade, intending to practice his blade techniques, but after just a few swings, this blade made of fine iron was shattered by his immense strength.

Looking at the bare handle in his hand, Wu Liangchen let out a long sigh.

Damn, another weapon gone!

He’d lost count of how many this made.

Wu Liangchen felt helpless about this situation.

With his growing strength, ordinary weapons simply couldn’t withstand his tremendous power.

But finding a suitable weapon was no simple matter.

Wu Liangchen had to temporarily abandon the idea of practicing his blade techniques and returned to his room.

He planned to focus his energy on finding Zen Master Jingxin in the coming days.

After all, the New Year was approaching, and Wu Liangchen had promised Erya he would return to Huangpu Guard for the holiday.

The Imperial Palace!

As a massive structure that had endured through three dynasties, and although it had suffered several wars but been rebuilt afterward—each time larger than before—this was the power center of all Great Yan.

Countless brilliant individuals had spent their entire lives striving to advance just a little further within this imperial city.

And now, in the magnificent and extravagantly luxurious inner palace, the most powerful woman in the land was in a rage.

"How outrageous! A mere cart-puller by birth who’s only practiced Martial Arts for a short while, and now he doesn’t know his place?"