The Blindfolded Emperor: I Only Wanted a Quiet Life

Chapter 4: The Weight of Three

Jasper had a saying: the higher you climb, the harder you fall. Every high has a low, and he did not need to look far for proof—his own life was the example. He had everything and stood at the peak of his fame; now he had nothing. Whenever luck was on Jasper’s side, it always disappeared.

He looked at the third ability of the blindfold. Even with the first two abilities, he would go blind, and Jasper knew that, but it was worth the power. In the cultivation world he'd read about, the weak were always trampled by the strong, and that was true in every world. Jasper was not dumb enough to think otherwise. Everyone had goals and ambitions, no matter how noble they made them look. Even main characters who fought for a righteous cause were the same—if you had power, you fought your way to achieve what you wanted. The only difference was that victors told the tale.

Nothing was free. But still, his luck could not be that bad.

He read the third ability.

Item Ability 3: Full Authority (Consumable — 3 Uses) 

The Eye was never meant to remain in mortal hands. It was lost once. It will be lost again. 

The artifact grants its full power for only three bindings. Each time the blindfold is donned and subsequently removed, one seal breaks. While worn, the wearer wields the complete, uninhibited authority of the primordial gaze. Upon removing the blindfold for the third and final time, the relic severs its connection entirely and vanishes back into the infinite expanse of Chaos from whence it came.

Jasper stared at the text. Three uses. That was it. He had hoped for a cooldown or a time limit—something he could work around—but three uses? The item came from a being of the Chaos Void. If Jasper remembered correctly, those were the entities that existed in the chaos void.

It was strange; the author never really followed up on them. They were mentioned once or twice, then forgotten.

Jasper kept reading and also noticed he had awakened his mind sea. He tried to remember the realms in the story. This was not the usual cultivation system; it had its own structure. There were twelve realms to become an immortal, and each realm was grouped into five phases.

The author wrote that the reason for this was that there were particular realms where moving from one to another was the difference between earth and heaven, while others were just mirror steps, and that was why they were grouped. The last realm that ended each phase was a major leap.

Jasper had to adapt.

- Foundation Phase: Three realms  

- Master Phase: Three realms

- Spiritual Master Phase: Two realms  

- Sovereign Phase: Two realms  

- Eternal Phase: Two realms  

Twelve realms total.

Jasper sighed. He had so far to go with only three uses of the blindfold, but he hoped his future rewards would be worth it.

He asked the system to show his status, and new text appeared on the screen:

Host: Jasper Stonehart  

Phase: None

Mind Sea Realm: Opened

Techniques: None

Jasper stared. The last host was this bad? Or was he just too lazy to cultivate? Why would you challenge someone when you had no cultivation? That was begging to be killed.

Just as Jasper sat in his thoughts, Chris and Victor came knocking. They knew their young master was not cultivating.

“Young Master. Your father has ordered for your presence immediately.”

Jasper was surprised. Who could blame him? He had always been neglected by the family, and the previous owner was not welcomed, so to hear his father wanted to see him was shocking. But Jasper had his doubts. He did not say anything; he just had to play the role of the original body’s owner—an obedient listener.

Chris and Victor led him to the inner estate of the family. The estate was large, with wooden buildings and curved roofs spreading across the grounds, connected by stone pathways. Gardens filled the spaces between structures, with carefully trimmed trees and small ponds.

Servants walked quickly along the paths with their heads down while guards stood at every entrance, their eyes sharp. The Stonehart Family may not have been the strongest, but they lived well, and their wealth showed in every polished pillar and every silk curtain.

They reached the main building where the elders and the head of the family stayed. The guards stopped Chris and Victor before allowing Jasper to enter the head’s study alone.

Jasper stepped inside. The study was large but simple. A wooden desk sat at the center, covered with scrolls and documents, while bookshelves lined the walls, filled with old texts and records. A single window let in pale light from outside, and the air smelled of ink and old paper.

At the center, behind the desk, sat his father. Lord Aldric Stonehart was a stern man with sharp eyes and graying hair tied back neatly. He wore dark blue robes with the Stonehart emblem embroidered on the chest and did not look up when Jasper entered.

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Far away, in the kingdom of Star Rise Dominion, the empress sat on her throne. Her royal palace was massive. Gold covered most of the walls and pillars, reflecting light from every surface, while the throne room stretched wide and tall with red carpets leading from the entrance to the raised platform where she sat. Guards stood at every pillar, silent and still.

The empress was a beauty every man in the world wanted. She sat on her throne with her red robes draped around her; the robes did not cover her legs, showing smooth skin beneath. She was beautiful and deadly, and her aura made people walk on eggshells around her.

Lately, some officials had started to grow disloyal and were forcing her to marry one of them. She looked at the officials, all of them begging for her to get married, and she smiled at them. The smile made her look colder.