# Chapter 573: Forty-Nine Mystical Arts
Zhang Ruochen hesitated slightly before saying, "Pulse Master, are you serious?"
"Of course I am serious," Chen Ji said with a smile.
Zhang Ruochen nodded, looked at everyone, and said, "Alright! Since everyone wants to know what treasure is inside, then I'll let you all take a look."
Zhang Ruochen once again took down the jade box from the back of the Earthfire Qilin, holding it in his hands, preparing to open it.
Everyone's gaze was drawn to it.
Zhang Ruochen paused his hand and said, "As I said earlier, this gift was originally intended for the Chen Clan. So, it is not the Buddha Emperor Relic, but another treasure."
Upon hearing that the jade box did not contain the Buddha Emperor Relic, the young martial artists of the Chen Clan all showed expressions of disappointment.
This time, Zhang Ruochen opened the lid of the jade box. Inside, there was no strong radiance of treasure, nor any unusual phenomena.
Only at the bottom of the box lay a roll of flood dragon leather, on which there seemed to be some small characters.
"This is..."
Everyone was stunned, never expecting Zhang Ruochen's third betrothal gift to be so unremarkable.
Zhang Ruochen explained, "This roll of flood dragon leather records the cultivation method for the fourth volume of the Forty-Nine Mystical Arts."
Originally just a very calm statement, it made Chen Ji's expression change drastically. He immediately activated his movement technique and rushed to the jade box.
Chen Ji had already extended his hand, but then hesitated, withdrawing it. His eyes, filled with complex emotions, stared at the roll of flood dragon leather in the jade box. "Zhang Ruochen, you must not be joking. This... this... is it really the fourth volume of the Forty-Nine Mystical Arts?"
At this moment, the young martial artists of the Chen Clan also reacted.
"How could it be the Forty-Nine Mystical Arts?"
"The Forty-Nine Mystical Arts is the supreme secret manual of our Chen Clan. Only the heir of the family head and high-ranking members of the clan above the Fish-Dragon Ninth Transformation are qualified to study it. How could it have been leaked to the outside?"
"It must be fake. The fourth volume cannot possibly be in Zhang Ruochen's hands."
...
The crowd was in an uproar, all expressing doubt.
The Forty-Nine Mystical Arts, also known as the "Thirty-Six Mystical Realms," was the supreme secret manual of the Chen Clan and the very foundation of their position as the rulers of the Eastern Domain.
It was precisely because of the Forty-Nine Mystical Arts that the Chen Clan could continuously produce many Half-Saints and even Saints.
No one believed that the Forty-Nine Mystical Arts could have been leaked to the outside world and then obtained by Zhang Ruochen.
Bu Qianfan's gaze sharpened as he said, "Legend has it that the Chen Clan's Forty-Nine Mystical Arts became incomplete during the Middle Ages, ten thousand years ago. Among them, the fourth volume was even lost."
"The fourth volume of the Forty-Nine Mystical Arts records the cultivation methods from the Twentieth Mystical Realm to the Thirty-Sixth Mystical Realm. These nine mystical realms are the most exquisite and profound essence of the Forty-Nine Mystical Arts."
"It was precisely because of the loss of the fourth volume of the Forty-Nine Mystical Arts that, after the Middle Ages, the Chen Clan indeed produced quite a few Half-Saints and Saints. However, no one was ever able to become an Emperor again, and no Great Emperor of the Sacred Dao was ever born."
"With an incomplete cultivation method, how could one become a Great Emperor?"
Upon hearing Bu Qianfan's words, everyone fell into thought. Could it be that the Chen Clan's proud Forty-Nine Mystical Arts had indeed been incomplete for a long time?
All eyes turned to Chen Ji.
Chen Ji groaned inwardly. The Forty-Nine Mystical Arts was indeed incomplete, with the fourth volume lost during the Middle Ages.
But this had always been a secret of the Chen Clan, never revealed to the outside world.
What now?
Just as Chen Ji was at a loss, he heard a vast and distant voice in his ear, "Chen Ji, since it can no longer be hidden, why not tell the world openly?"
Chen Ji's gaze turned toward the depths of the Eastern Domain Saint King Manor, showing a solemn and reverent expression. He bowed slightly and replied, "Yes."
Having received permission from the ancestor, Chen Ji no longer feared anything.
He straightened his body again, and his aged eyes gradually became sharp. "That's right, the fourth volume of the Chen Clan's Forty-Nine Mystical Arts was indeed lost during the Middle Ages."
"Boom!"
The young martial artists of the Chen Clan were the most shaken, unable to accept this fact.
The Forty-Nine Mystical Arts was a cultivation method second only to the six great books of the Kunlun Realm, and it had always been the pride of the Chen Clan. Yet it had been incomplete for a hundred thousand years.
How could anyone accept this?
"Whoosh!"
"Whoosh!"
...
A white-robed elder and a green-robed elder rushed out from the main gate, turning into two afterimages, charging toward Chen Ji with fierce auras.
The white-robed elder, named Chen Xican, was the pulse master of the Chen Clan's Snowfield Branch. The green-robed elder, named Chen Tiankun, was the pulse master of the Chen Clan's Southern Domain Branch.
The white-robed elder Chen Xican's eyes were furious as he accused, "Chen Ji, what nonsense are you spouting?"
Chen Ji said, "The Forty-Nine Mystical Arts is indeed incomplete. What is there to hide? Even without the complete Forty-Nine Mystical Arts, doesn't the Chen Clan still dominate the Eastern Domain?"
The white-robed elder was about to continue his reprimand, but then his ears twitched slightly, as if he had heard someone's voice transmission.
He quickly turned his head and looked into the depths of the Saint King Manor, showing a reverent expression, and then said no more.
Clearly, the white-robed elder and the green-robed elder had also received the voice transmission from the Chen Clan's ancestor and no longer continued to blame Chen Ji.
The atmosphere on the scene became somewhat strange.
Everyone's gaze once again fixed on the jade box in Zhang Ruochen's hands.
Since the fourth volume of the Chen Clan's Forty-Nine Mystical Arts had indeed been lost long ago, and outsiders could not possibly know this secret, Zhang Ruochen would naturally be even less likely to know.
If so, then that jade box might indeed contain the fourth volume of the Forty-Nine Mystical Arts, lost for a hundred thousand years.
Chen Ji's expression was very tense as he asked, "Zhang Ruochen, you say that the flood dragon leather in the jade box records the fourth volume of the Forty-Nine Mystical Arts. I am very curious—where did you obtain it?"
Even standing before a Half-Saint, Zhang Ruochen remained as calm as water. "It was given to me by a senior. That senior had long wanted to return the fourth volume of the Forty-Nine Mystical Arts to the Chen Clan, but due to certain reasons, it was inconvenient for him to appear personally."
"When he learned that I was going to marry a woman from the Chen Clan, he gave me a transcribed copy of the fourth volume of the Forty-Nine Mystical Arts, intending for me to return it to the Chen Clan."
These words were, of course, fabricated by Zhang Ruochen.
In reality, the fourth volume of the Forty-Nine Mystical Arts had always been stored in the Nine Heavens Book Repository of the Holy Bright Central Empire. Back then, Zhang Ruochen had unintentionally read it and memorized it.
However, Zhang Ruochen's fabricated words, when heard by others, gave rise to different thoughts.
Some speculated that the senior Zhang Ruochen mentioned was Xuanji Sword Saint. Others guessed it might be the Golden Dragon, the mount of the Buddha Emperor.
Chen Ji's eyes shifted continuously, and finally, he asked, "May I examine its authenticity?"
Before Zhang Ruochen could speak, Bu Qianfan from a distance laughed first. "Earlier, the people of the Chen Clan claimed they just wanted to see the treasure inside the jade box. Now that you know it's the fourth volume of the Forty-Nine Mystical Arts, do you want to take it for yourselves? Is the Chen Clan a band of bandits? Or robbers?"
Chen Ji looked toward Bu Qianfan, his expression darkening, showing a cold glare.
Unfortunately, the Half-Saint's aura could not suppress Bu Qianfan.
Bu Qianfan still wore a smile, revealing a look of mockery and ridicule.
Zhang Ruochen ignored Bu Qianfan and said to Chen Ji, "In truth, I don't know its authenticity either. Senior Chen Ji, if you wish to examine it, I have no objection. Please go ahead."
Chen Ji did not stand on ceremony. He quickly took the flood dragon leather from the jade box, held it in his hands, and carefully examined it.
Although Chen Ji had never seen the fourth volume of the Forty-Nine Mystical Arts, he had studied the first volume. Therefore, he was quite familiar with the Forty-Nine Mystical Arts and could tell at a glance whether it was genuine or fake.
After only a moment of reading, Chen Ji's body suddenly shook violently, and his pupils gradually dilated, clearly shocked by the content on the flood dragon leather.
Seeing Chen Ji's expression, everyone could roughly guess that the content recorded on that roll of flood dragon leather was indeed likely the fourth volume of the Forty-Nine Mystical Arts.
The Chen Clan, with only an incomplete cultivation method, could already dominate the Eastern Domain. If they completed the Forty-Nine Mystical Arts, wouldn't they become even more formidable?
Many people present began to feel anxious. They did not want the Chen Clan to grow stronger.
Among them was Bu Qianfan.
Bu Qianfan's gaze was very cold, as if he had suddenly become a different person.
Everyone else was focused on the fourth volume of the Forty-Nine Mystical Arts in Chen Ji's hands, and no one noticed Bu Qianfan's strange change.
Only Zhang Ruochen glanced at Bu Qianfan, his suspicion growing stronger.
Suddenly, Zhang Ruochen had a bold guess. "Bu Qianfan's gaze right now is so similar to Di Yi's. The temperaments of the two seem to overlap. Could it be... could it be the legendary Heavenly Demon Shadow..."
"Ha ha!"
Bu Qianfan laughed loudly. "The Chen Clan is also considered a medieval aristocratic clan, yet I didn't expect them to be such fickle and opportunistic people. Zhang Ruochen, that volume of the Forty-Nine Mystical Arts is your treasure, and now the Chen Clan wants to forcibly take it. Can you swallow this insult?"
"Bu Qianfan, you brat, stop sowing discord! Zhang Ruochen is our Chen Clan's son-in-law. Returning the Forty-Nine Mystical Arts to the Chen Clan makes him our greatest contributor," the white-robed elder Chen Xican said coldly.
The green-robed elder Chen Tiankun also showed an angry expression, saying in a deep voice, "Our Chen Clan's family affairs do not require an outsider's meddling."
Bu Qianfan laughed. "When you can benefit from him, he's your son-in-law. But earlier, when your clansmen saw that Zhang Ruochen only brought ten carts of betrothal gifts, they all looked down on him, didn't they?"
"Zhang Ruochen, you'd better take back the fourth volume of the Forty-Nine Mystical Arts. Don't associate with these fickle people. If you hand over the fourth volume of the Forty-Nine Mystical Arts to me, I'll give you a hundred women like Huang Yanchen, and I guarantee each one is more beautiful than her."
Zhang Ruochen only smiled faintly, staring at Bu Qianfan across from him. "Are you finally going to reveal your true face?"
Zhang Ruochen's decision to return the fourth volume of the Forty-Nine Mystical Arts to the Chen Clan was, of course, made with a certain deeper intention.
Once the Chen Clan obtained the complete Forty-Nine Mystical Arts, they would surely increase in strength and even become self-inflated. When the Chen Clan's power grew to a certain level, would they still be willing to obey Chi Yao?
Only when one's strength is insufficient would one be willing to be a subject.
After gaining great power, who wouldn't want to be an emperor?