Looking at the girl, she still showed no intention of responding to him. Charles couldn’t be bothered to make a fool of himself again and continued to observe his surroundings.

Since the girl in the corner was merely a humanoid puppet, she had no need for eating, drinking, or other bodily functions, so he didn’t have to worry about her. But now that he was inside this Sun and Moon Spirit-Refining Vessel, Charles was in no hurry to leave.

This place was only about thirty zhang across, everything visible at a glance, and there wasn’t much to look at. In truth, he was hesitating.

Charles wanted to try out the many functions of this Spirit-Refining Vessel and the Overlord Spear, but he still had doubts. In the end, however, Charles couldn’t resist and, following the instructions on the bamboo slip, recited a few incantations.

Before coming in today, he had made preparations by specially summoning a Qi cultivator in service at the Duke’s residence to ask for clarification. He learned that the incantation was indeed safe, merely the most basic spirit-activating technique, a spell used by Xuanmen Qi cultivators to activate spirit arrays and talismanic tools.

Charles knew that in the Duke’s residence, apart from the guards under Matthew Bolton, the rest were either his grandfather Richard’s people or had been bought off by his uncle, and none could be trusted. However, this particular retainer was unlikely to deceive him in this matter.

After reciting the incantation, Charles couldn’t immediately tell whether time inside the Spirit-Refining Vessel had accelerated. Next, he methodically began to cultivate, following the The Foster Family family’s internal energy technique and the Thirty-Six Styles of the Gale and Storm Spear.

The former was a martial foundation method passed down by the ancestors of the Wuyang The Foster Family, said to refine internal energy forty percent faster than ordinary techniques, and was the foundation for the Wuyang The Foster Family’s rise to prominence in Great Qin. The Thirty-Six Styles of the Gale and Storm Spear was created by Charles’s father and served as the basis of spear techniques. In the past, Duke An, Samuel Foster, had used only these self-created thirty-six basic spear forms to defeat twelve Heaven-ranked experts of the Wei Dynasty in succession. Unfortunately, Charles currently had no spear in hand and could only practice empty forms, so the training effect was somewhat lacking.

That King Foster had left a note in the bamboo slip, stating that the body he possessed inside the Sun and Moon Spirit-Refining Vessel and his physical body outside were like the inside and outside of a mirror. Inside the vessel was the mirror’s interior, and outside was the real body. Any martial progress made ‘inside the mirror’ would be reflected onto his real body outside the vessel, just as if he were training normally.

In another two months, it would be the day when the family’s ‘Star-Plucking’ Divine Armor chose its master. Charles felt his chances were slim, but if he could maintain the cultivation of a fourth-rank ‘Martial Master’, he would still have a sliver of hope.

In Charles’s view, even if that Divine-Grade Ink Armor would drain all his lifespan and vitality within a few years, it was still better than letting it fall into the hands of his uncle William Foster.

He had been injured these past few days and unable to train. If he could complete all his daily practice inside the Spirit-Refining Vessel, it would save him a lot of trouble, and he could free up more time for leisure in the future.

As for the schemes of that ‘King Foster’ Charles, Charles was no longer too concerned. He had figured it out: with the methods that person had shown, taking his life would be as easy as turning a hand. If that person truly wanted to plot against him, he probably wouldn’t be able to defend himself anyway. It was better to go with the flow and see what happened. If that person truly harbored ill intent, there would surely be some sign. On the other hand, if he kept resisting, he might anger that person, leading to a total falling out. So it should be fine to try it out first.

After a full three hours, Charles finally stopped. If he were outside the Spirit-Refining Vessel, he would surely be panting and drenched in sweat by now. But inside the vessel, apart from being physically exhausted and unable to continue, there were no other reactions.

It truly was like the inside and outside of a mirror—even his stamina was nearly identical. Moreover, his body inside the vessel was unaffected by his real body—outside, he was still lying in bed recovering from his injuries.

As Charles pondered this, his attention shifted to the Overlord Spear. According to King Foster, this broken spear contained the remnant martial wills of ninety-nine Heaven-ranked experts, bound within. He could expend ‘inkstones’ to summon the spear’s soul will and temper his martial skills.

This was the second most intriguing ability to him, after the time-acceleration function of the Sun and Moon Spirit-Refining Vessel, even though his martial meridians were already severed and his prospects in martial arts were completely cut off.

“Don’t touch it!”

A clear, sharp voice rang out. Charles looked over in surprise toward the girl in the corner and saw her lips pressed tightly together, her expression extremely serious. “Your martial meridians are severed. Without the Evil Emperor’s true inheritance, you cannot use the Overlord Spear. Otherwise, you’ll die!”

Charles raised his eyebrows, the gleam in his eyes growing even sharper. In fact, he had never intended to touch it, as the bamboo slip had specifically mentioned this as well. Just using the time-acceleration ability already felt risky enough; without understanding the Overlord Spear, how could he dare touch it lightly?

But now that the girl had spoken, his curiosity was piqued even more. Still, reason prevailed, and he suppressed the urge to try.

The Evil Emperor’s true inheritance? The Overlord Spear? Only those with intact martial meridians could use the Overlord Spear? Could the Evil Emperor’s true inheritance really restore him to his former state? Was what was written on the stone tablet true or false? In a few days, would he really obtain the Evil Emperor’s true inheritance?

As these thoughts flashed through his mind, Charles saw the girl hand him another book.