The First Lackey Under The Empress

Martial God Picture… Just hearing it sounds domineering… Zhao Du'an felt excitement in his heart.

However, when he saw the stone mural the size of a “screen” in the center of the first floor of the pavilion, his expression turned dull.

He turned his head to look at Eunuch Hai suspiciously:

“You said this is called a ‘painting’?”

In his heart, he seemed to be saying: Are you kidding me?

On the surface of the gray-white stone wall, there were only messy knife and sword marks, potholes, vaguely outlining the contours of mountains and rivers.

A matchstick figure the size of a palm stood on the mountain, looking at the sea of clouds depicted with simple lines in the distance, and a half-circle “sun”.

Well, if you want to give a vivid comparison, the level of this "Martial God Picture" is comparable to Zhu Zhishan's "Little Chicken Eating Rice Picture" in Stephen Chow's "Tang Bohu Points Autumn Fragrance"…

Eunuch Hai smiled and said:

“You question the Taizu's painting skills?”

“I dare not!” Zhao Du'an said ashamed when a big hat was put on him:

“The Taizu Emperor's paintings are unrestrained and unconventional, it's just that I have poor eyesight…”

Eunuch Hai waved his hand and smiled:

“Young people can't stand being teased. The Taizu Emperor's paintings are indeed ugly. His Majesty has also said it many times in private… However, the painting is not about beauty or ugliness, what is important is the ‘intention’ contained within!”

“Intention?” Zhao Du'an chewed on this word.

The old eunuch in python robe “En” sounded, and shook out a pill wrapped in yellow paper from his sleeve:

“This is the ‘Nourishing God Pill’. You should take it, sit cross-legged on the ground, and wait for the medicinal power to activate your whole body's energy and blood, and strengthen your soul. Then you can try to feel the ‘intention’ in the mural, enter meditation, and comprehend the Martial God inheritance…

Heh, if you have cultivated successfully and your soul is strong, you can comprehend it just by standing here, but your foundation is too shallow, and it will be easier with the assistance of pills.”

You are just indirectly calling me a weakling… Zhao Du'an did as he was told, and while waiting cross-legged, he asked curiously:

“What should I do after entering meditation later?”

Eunuch Hai said:

“The first time you visualize, you will have the illusion of entering the world of the painting, and stay in the painting for a short time. You don’t need to do anything, just watch.”

Mysterious… Zhao Du'an calmed down and stared at the mural.

Before long, his dantian became hot, and the energy and blood in his body gradually boiled, which was the effect of the medicinal power.

His mind became clearer, his brow felt swollen, and his six senses became sharp.

He vaguely heard the sound of wind, and the carvings on the stone wall in front of him also rippled like water.

“No matter what you see later, don’t be surprised. Remember that what you see in the painting is not real…”

The old eunuch's voice gradually weakened.

In a trance, Zhao Du'an seemed to sink into the deep sea, and all the calls from the surface were annihilated.

The light was also swallowed by darkness, and his body felt a strong sense of weightlessness, with nothing to grasp, and continued to sink towards the bottom of the sea.

The state of absolute darkness lasted for about ten heartbeats, and then the darkness was torn apart by a ray of bright morning sun.

The world was instantly bright.

Zhao Du'an found that he was no longer in the palace, and Eunuch Hai was no longer by his side.

He was standing on the top of a majestic mountain, and the endless verdant mountains in front of him were swallowed by the sea of clouds. The “whooshing” wind blew on him, his hair fluttering, and his clothes shaking.

Above the sea of clouds, the rising morning sun illuminated the earth, illuminating the entire world.

“This is the world in the Martial God scroll?”

Zhao Du'an was surprised. The world was so real that he subconsciously squinted his eyes to avoid the strong light.

He saw a middle-aged man standing in the center of the mountain peak in front of him. He was burly, with black hair draped over his shoulders, and had a strong martial artist temperament.

Suddenly, the man began to practice boxing, moving slowly.

Between breaths, there was a golden, flame-like “morning glow” flowing on the surface of his body, which was extremely mysterious.

In a trance, Zhao Du'an's mind was drawn in, and he almost instinctively imitated the other party's movements.

Imagining strands of golden rays swallowing him.

…

Deep in the Martial Arts Hall.

Eunuch Hai closed his eyes to rest after Zhao Du'an entered meditation and fell asleep.

According to his experience, there would be no change in the first visualization of the Martial God Picture, but soon, he opened his eyes.

“Huh?”

Eunuch Hai was surprised to see that Zhao Du'an's breathing became low and long, his exposed skin was red and hot, and his joints made a “crackling” sound like popping beans.

Immediately, Zhao Du'an, who was in meditation, groaned, and electric light flickered on the surface of his body.

With him as the center, a circle of light golden ripples rippled out, fleeting.

Zhao Du'an suddenly opened his eyes, broke away from the scroll, and was surprised to feel the white energy flowing in his meridians:

“I… have I advanced?”

Eunuch Hai also looked slightly surprised and smiled:

“It seems that the pill has worked. You were already close to breaking through, and with the assistance of the great pill, it is not surprising that you have entered the middle rank of the mortal body.”

The mortal body is divided into lower, middle, and upper three ranks. Zhao Du'an had been stuck in the lower rank for many years, but now he has advanced to the middle rank in one fell swoop.

“Is that so…”

Zhao Du'an was stunned. Although the other party's guess was logical, he vaguely felt that the truth was not like this.

Eunuch Hai smiled and asked:

“How was the first visualization? How far are you from that mountain?”

Zhao Du'an hesitated and said:

“What do you mean?”

Eunuch Hai explained:

“This Martial God Picture records the scenes of the Taizu Emperor walking and practicing. The Taizu walked along the river, passed through the plains, and climbed to the top of the mountain…

The first time a visualizer enters, based on the degree of suitability for this inheritance, they will appear in different positions… The more suitable you are to walk this path, the closer you will be to that mountain…

What you have to do is to follow the Taizu's footsteps and climb towards that mountain through daily visualization.

Along the way, you will gain a lot by paying attention to and comprehending those traces. When you climb the mountain and come to the Taizu's side, you can receive his guidance and obtain the Taizu's teaching…

Heh, at that time, although you are a martial artist, you can also master ‘martial skills’ comparable to spells…

As for which one you can learn, and how many martial skills you can learn, there is no fixed number. What each worshiper learns is different… This is similar to the inheritance of warlocks.

The difference is that warlocks obtain spells from gods, and we obtain them from scrolls.”

Ah, this… Zhao Du'an opened his mouth, wanting to say that this was not the same as what he saw. He tentatively asked:

“May I ask, how far were you from that mountain back then, Eunuch?”

Eunuch Hai smiled proudly:

“Back then, when this old servant first visualized, he was already standing at the foot of the mountain. That's why I have my current cultivation level and assist the three emperors.”

In his words, it seems that this achievement is already extremely excellent.

Zhao Du'an was stunned for a moment and asked:

“What about His Majesty? How far is he from the top of the mountain?”

Eunuch Hai exclaimed:

“His Majesty was already halfway up the mountain when he first entered.”

Zhao Du'an was silent.

If Xu Zhenguan, who is only in his twenties and has already stepped into the "World" realm and ranks at the peak of cultivation in this world, is only like this.

Then what about him, who just went in and stood directly on the top of the mountain, next to the Taizu Emperor?

Moreover, he vaguely felt that he had just finished a set of boxing techniques in the painting, and it seemed… that he had already obtained some kind of "martial skill".

“Something's not right! …There's no reason why an outsider like me is more suitable for this path than the royal family… Could it be that I'm an illegitimate son of some royal family? Crap, in that case, if I marry the Empress, wouldn't it be a mess…”

Zhao Du'an's mind was a little confused.

All roads lead to Rome, but he was born in Rome. What should he do? He's quite anxious.