The First Lackey Under The Empress

Ding… … Ding-a-ling… …

In a daze, Zhao Du'an opened his eyes and found himself leaving the palace, appearing once again within the Martial God Diagram.

At this moment, the sky was faintly dawning, and the night sky was adorned with twinkling stars.

He found himself lying on the back of a donkey.

Beside him were his travel bags, and looking ahead, he saw the tall figure of the Great Yu's Founding Emperor, his hair unkempt, striding forward.

He was no longer wearing the thick felt cotton-padded coat, but a single layer of clothing, with a green gourd hanging from his waist.

“Phew, I’m in again… … Thankfully, at least I can avoid the embarrassment of being rubbed with medicine by the eunuch… … ”

Zhao Du'an sighed, feeling the pain in his body completely recede.

Not surprisingly, it was after all a state of "visualization"; external pain was isolated here.

“I say, Old Xu, your great-great-great… … granddaughter is really ruthless, hitting for real.” Zhao Du'an complained loudly while riding the donkey.

Old Xu didn't say anything, pretending not to hear.

The donkey, however, snorted loudly, braying a few times.

This donkey was "picked up" by them after leaving the snowy plains.

To be precise, Old Xu encountered a band of highway robbers, and with one punch, they scattered, leaving only a donkey behind.

Yes, there were "people" in the Martial God Diagram!

This discovery once excited Zhao Du'an greatly.

He tried to talk to the people in the Martial God Diagram, other than Old Xu, but was frustrated to find that.

The people here, each one seemed like an NPC in a game, following a set of logical actions, but lacking sufficient intelligence.

After all, they were people in a painting… … understandable.

“Old Xu, how far are we from the East Sea?” Zhao Du'an rode the donkey, traveling under the stars and moon.

The Great Yu Founding Emperor rarely raised his hand, pointing forward, and said:

“Keep going straight, and you'll reach Martial Emperor City.”

“What? Where did you say we’re going? You're taking me to Martial Emperor City?” Zhao Du'an was stunned.

He had just learned from the Empress that Martial Emperor City was the supreme inheritance of the martial path in this world.

It was also the "holy land" in the hearts of all martial artists, roughly equivalent to Jerusalem in the hearts of believers.

The inheritance of Martial Emperor City was even older than the Great Yu Dynasty, a place that rarely interfered in the mortal world, yet no one dared to underestimate it.

Each generation of city lords had three thousand disciples, all of whom held esteemed positions in the Jianghu.

“Martial Emperor City six hundred years ago… … Wait, you're not going to challenge them, are you?” Zhao Du'an's expression changed.

Recalling what the Empress had said before, that the Great Yu imperial family's founder had some grievances with Martial Emperor City back then.

Could it be… … that the 《Martial God Diagram》 recorded not only Old Xu's ten-thousand-mile journey of heart cultivation, but also important supplementary material?

However, this time Old Xu didn't bother to answer him, only gazing intently at the east, where a great sun suddenly rose.

The night broke, and the stars disappeared.

Old Xu said, “I’ll take you to view the sea.”

… …

The Imperial Palace.

Inside the room.

Zhao Du'an opened his eyes and found that his body was no longer in pain.

His eyes darted around, and there was no one else in the room, leaving only him.

He tried to sit up and was surprised to find that he had regained much of his strength. Although still a little weak, he could move and sit as normal.

“My injuries are healed too? What miraculous medicine… … ”

Zhao Du'an looked at his body in surprise.

He found that his injuries had been greatly reduced, with almost only marks remaining. He jumped out of bed and looked in the full-length mirror in the room. The bruises and swelling on his face had completely healed.

“Is the medicine in the palace so effective?”

Muttering to himself, Zhao Du'an looked at himself in the mirror, restored to his original state, and once again sensed the special nature of the extraordinary world.

He picked up the prepared new clothes, dressed neatly, and when moving his hands and feet, was surprised to find that his nerve response was more acute than before.

In his mind, the combat experience of the past few hours had been imprinted on his body.

What terrifying effect would the meticulous guidance of a top expert in the world have?

Zhao Du'an felt that his accumulation in martial arts had been raised to a new level on the spot.

“Remember these battles today, and ponder them repeatedly after you go back. When you have digested them, in martial arts, it will be difficult to find an opponent of equal realm.” The Empress's words were still ringing in his ears.

Zhao Du'an's trip to the palace today not only gained the "Six Talisman Treasure Armor," greatly enhancing his ability to protect himself.

More importantly, he gained the Empress's martial arts guidance, and as long as he could master it, his combat power would have a quantum leap in progress.

Carrying joy and embarrassment, Zhao Du'an pushed open the door and looked at the eunuch guarding the door with his head bowed.

“Has Lord Zhao awakened? Her Majesty has gone to attend to other matters, and said that you may leave the palace on your own.”

The eunuch said, with an inexplicable meaning in his eyes.

How many people could receive Her Majesty's personal application of medicine?

Moreover, it was a man in "ragged clothes."

The eunuch clearly remembered that when the Empress came out of the room, her face was redder than usual.

“… … Oh.”

Zhao Du'an didn't know what he was thinking. Seeing the eunuch's strange expression, he assumed that the other party had been hurt in his self-esteem when applying medicine to him.

He felt uncomfortable all over, thought for a moment, and said with a straight face:

“This official fell asleep at the time, if I offended you, Eunuch… … I hope you will forgive me.”

Saying that, he fled as if escaping, for fear of causing the eunuch to misunderstand.

“Ah?”

The middle-aged eunuch stood there in a daze, not understanding at all.

… …

“Your Majesty, Zhao Du'an has left.”

Outside the Imperial Study, Eunuch Hai, in a bright red python robe, came to the door, cupped his hands, and said inside.

Xu Zhenguan sat quietly behind the bright yellow imperial desk, lost in thought, not knowing what she was thinking.

Hearing this, she came back to her senses, nodded lightly, and said:

“He left, that's good.”

After a pause, she asked curiously:

“For such a trivial matter, you could have ordered a servant to report it. Coming here in person, is there something else?”

Slightly hunched, in charge of the Great Inner Enshrinement, the unfathomable Eunuch Hai nodded and said:

“There is indeed one thing that must be reported in person. The shadow guards below have sent a message, please take a look, Your Majesty.”

Eunuch Hai took out a secret memorial from his sleeve and handed it over.

A secret memorial from the shadow guards?

Xu Zhenguan became serious, unfolded it, and scanned it, slightly stunned:

“The Kuangfu Society has a new helmsman entering the capital?”

Eunuch Hai nodded and said:

“Last time, the Frost Sword entered the capital, and died within a few days.

The shadow guards learned that after the news was sent back to the Kuangfu Society's headquarters, Zhuang Xiaocheng and other rebellious parties were greatly enraged, but the capital is too important and cannot be abandoned, so they sent a new leader.

This time, the one entering the capital is the 'Thousand-Faced Divine Lord' from the Thirty-Six Heavenly Generals, ranked two places higher than the Frost Sword.”

The Kuangfu Society members have a distinction in ranks.

Not counting the outer members, the core members, the "management," are divided into the Thirty-Six Heavenly Generals and the Seventy-Two Earthly Fiends.

The top thirty-six are all "helmsman" level figures who can independently lead prefecture-level branches.

Among the Heavenly Generals, there are also distinctions.

Former Grand Tutor Zhuang Xiaocheng is ranked second among the Heavenly Generals, which shows his high position.

Eunuch Hai said:

“This Thousand-Faced Divine Lord is good at disguise and meticulous in thought. His style of acting is very different from the reckless Frost Sword. This time, he also avoided the shadow guards' sight. We only know that he is heading to the capital, but his specific whereabouts cannot be found.”

Xu Zhenguan frowned:

“I have also heard of this person's reputation in the Jianghu. He is indeed difficult to deal with, especially skilled at disguising and hiding his aura. If he deliberately hides, I am afraid it will be difficult to search for him.”

Eunuch Hai nodded and said:

“Now that the new policy has just been implemented, the rebellious party will certainly not allow it to be promoted peacefully, and I am afraid that something will happen again.”

Something… … Xu Zhenguan suddenly thought of something, her face showing worry, and said:

“The rebellious party in the capital has been disrupted by Zhao Du'an several times, and their morale has been scattered. If the Thousand-Faced Divine Lord wants to do something, he will still have to rely on the rebellious party in the capital. Then it comes back to how to boost morale… … ”

Eunuch Hai raised his eyebrows:

“Does Your Majesty mean that you are worried that the rebellious party will attack Zhao Du'an again?”

Xu Zhenguan stood up, walked to the window, enjoying the warm evening breeze, her eyes sharp and compelling:

“It is very possible. The Kuangfu Society will not be unaware of Zhao Du'an's contribution to the new policy. Whether it is to establish prestige or to obstruct the court, it is very likely that they will attack him again… … Eunuch Hai, I want to entrust you with something. During this period, you must secretly protect him.”

Eunuch Hai was surprised: “Is it not necessary to tell him about this?”

The Empress shook her head, smiled in the warm breeze:

“He has already done so many things, I can't let the wind and rain fall on him again.”

… …

Outside the Imperial Palace.

Zhao Du'an left the Imperial Palace, riding his horse, clip-clopping back home.

At this moment, the sky was nearing dusk.

In the clip-clop sound, smoke curled up, Zhao Du'an was satisfied, feeling that life was going well.

Suddenly, he reined in his horse and stopped, narrowing his eyes, and found that in the blood-red twilight ahead, there was a handsome monk in white, smiling as he looked at him.

Bianji the monk!

… …

This chapter was locked in the small black room, and it was re-edited before it was released. .