The First Lackey Under The Empress

Inside the private room.

Xu Junling, adorned in silk and satin, with a sweet smile and the demeanor of a perfect lady, asked with a smile.

Her tender, fair hand gently wiped the corner of her mouth with a silk handkerchief.

After bidding farewell to Zhao Du'an, she came here for a meal and sent people to keep an eye on the movements of the Zhao Yamen.

The last time Green Willow reported, the message was:

“All eight halls of the Zhao Yamen were defeated by Chai Keqiao, losing all face.”

Xu Junling was looking forward to seeing how the arrogant Zhao Yama would face this thorny problem.

“Princess… Princess… that Zhao fellow is fine.”

After entering the room, the maidservant closed the door behind her before speaking with a strange expression.

“Oh? Could it be that he has become a tortoise, hiding his head? No… judging from the information I have collected about this person, he is not the type to swallow his anger in silence, then it must be… Ma Yan is back?

Yes, Supervisor Ma Yan, as the chief official of the Zhao Yamen, is naturally the one to handle this matter.” Xu Junling analyzed calmly.

“…Ma Yan did not return early either.”

The maidservant's expression became even stranger.

Seeing the princess raise her eyebrows again, she hurriedly spoke, pouring out the information like beans from a bamboo tube, lest she use her imagination and guess wildly:

“Princess, after Zhao Du'an found out, he used his authority to mobilize a large number of Imperial Guards experts, joining forces to besiege and kill Chai Keqiao, injuring and capturing him before throwing him into the Zhao Prison. It is said that from beginning to end, he did not show himself, only directing from behind the scenes.”

Xu Junling was stunned, her delicate face frozen in shock.

This was a path she had never imagined.

“How… how could he command the various camps of the Imperial Guards…”

Xu Junling spoke halfway, then closed her mouth, sighing with a complex look in her eyes:

“I understand.”

Her expression was solemn:

“It seems that this pretty boy raised by the Imperial Sister has more weight in the army than we thought.”

The maidservant couldn't help but say:

“Princess, this person is really good at bullying others with his power. When he fought Lu Shi, he borrowed the hand of that Hai Offering. To capture Chai Keqiao, he sent strongmen from the army. Sure enough, he has the style of an official. It's a pity he's a martial artist, without any martial spirit. It seems his own strength is not very good.”

Xu Junling shook her head, objectively commenting:

“For an official, one should assess the situation and prioritize the mind. Neither Lu Shi nor Chai Keqiao are opponents that he can currently defeat. Borrowing strength to strike is a kind of skill.”

After a pause, she smiled again:

“However, although this person has brains and skills, judging from today, he is not a major threat.”

“Oh?” Green Willow asked, puzzled.

Xu Junling explained with a smile:

“Although this person has amazing talent, judging from his resume and actions, he has no ambition to become a civil official to govern the country, nor does he have the intention to enter the樞密院 and become a main general in the army.

What he is good at is handling matters for the Imperial Sister. In the final analysis, it does not exceed the scope of 'White Horse Supervisor Envoy'.

And if we talk about the path of cultivation, he, as a martial artist, does not have the courage and enterprising spirit of a martial artist, and is accustomed to borrowing strength to strike, he will inevitably not reach a high level in the martial arts.”

After a pause, she commented:

“Without becoming a minister, without becoming a general on the battlefield, without becoming a cultivator who transcends the mundane… If these three are not achieved, even if he is amazingly talented, being a very powerful strategist by the Imperial Sister's side, or participating in the army, will be his peak, and it will be difficult to become a person who truly influences the situation of the world.”

After Xu Junling finished her analysis, she believed that she had seen through Zhao Du'an's future achievements, feeling relieved, and then said:

“Give the order, no need to keep an eye on him anymore, turn to investigate the Buddhist and Taoist families.”

This Huai'an Princess, who was full of poetry and books, looked out the window at the autumn wind and said:

“The battle between Buddhism and Taoism… Whoever wins or loses will have a much greater impact on the game of the world than a Zhao Du'an.”

… …

… …

Zhao Du'an rode his horse and galloped, returning home in the afternoon.

Throwing the horse to the servant to feed, he crossed the courtyard, leaving a sentence:

“Do not disturb me if there is nothing important.”

Then he plunged into his room.

Closing the door, Zhao Du'an threw off his outer robe, sat cross-legged on the bed, and tried to visualize the Martial God Diagram.

In a trance, his mind swayed, and he left the real house, appearing on a dilapidated official road with green mountains and clear waters.

Zhao Du'an propped himself up from the horse's back, feeling a burst of drowsiness in his head, with a red mark pressed on half of his face.

“Da, da… da…”

The sound of the inferior horse's hooves beat on the muddy dirt road. Taking a deep breath, his nose was filled with a strong earthy smell.

Zhao Du'an raised his head and found that in the “dream”, there had also been a rain not long ago.

He was currently riding on horseback, walking on the road leading to the Martial Emperor City of the East Sea.

In front of him was the Great Yu Emperor Taizu, single-handedly holding the reins, his hair and beard messy, a gourd hanging from his waist, walking forward in large strides.

“You're awake.”

Old Xu did not turn his head, but his voice drilled into his ears.

Zhao Du'an was stunned, surprised that Old Xu actually took the initiative to talk to him today.

From the time he left the snowy plains and headed towards the East Sea, these days, he had been rushing on the road almost every time he visualized.

Compared to the hot desert and the snowy plains with constant blizzards, it must be admitted that this journey to the southeast was his most comfortable.

“Yeah.”

Zhao Du'an perfunctorily responded and began to try to feel himself, then his eyes became blank—

Something's not right!

That feeling disappeared!

The reason why he rushed home was because, after watching the fight between Chai Keqiao, a feeling of wanting to enter the Martial God Diagram arose in his heart for no reason.

He fully believed that this was the so-called “state of mind” breakthrough opportunity.

But after truly entering, he realized that the impulse had disappeared without a trace.

“What's going on? Could it be an illusion?”

Zhao Du'an's cheeks twitched, unwilling to accept this cruel fact.

“It's good that you're awake, we're almost there.”

Old Xu's voice was hoarse with excitement.

"Oh, I understand... Wait, what?!" Zhao Du'an was stunned.

The Great Ancestor of Yu, looking like a wild man after traveling through wind and rain, pointed ahead:

"Wudi City has arrived."

Zhao Du'an suddenly looked up.

After the rain in the empty mountains, the clouds and mist that shrouded the front slowly dissipated, revealing a verdant mountain rising abruptly at the end of the road.

The towering green mountain was extremely magnificent and appeared very abruptly. Perhaps due to some celestial phenomenon, a ring of clouds was coiled around the mountainside, reaching into the clouds.

Within the sea of clouds, more than a dozen mushroom-shaped, thick cloud pillars soared into the sky, then slowly fell and scattered, turning into wisps of wandering clouds.

"Are we in the East Sea? Where is Wudi City?"

Zhao Du'an murmured.

The Great Ancestor of Yu said:

"The sea is behind the mountain, and the city is below the mountain."

...

After traveling for several months in the Martial God Diagram, Zhao Du'an and the Great Ancestor of Yu finally entered Wudi City.

But the so-called "city" was slightly different from what he had expected.

Not only could it not be compared with the capital, but it was just a larger town located at the foot of the mountain.

"This is different from what I heard..."

Zhao Du'an led his horse and followed Old Xu through Green Mountain Town, muttering to himself.

After arriving here, Old Xu's "intelligence" seemed to have improved a bit, and he said:

"What's different?"

"Wudi City... should be a city."

Zhao Du'an explained stiffly, wondering how to express his disappointment.

Old Xu said calmly: "It will become a city."

Zhao Du'an was stunned for a moment, then suddenly realized that what was recorded in this scroll was Wudi City six hundred years ago.

And historical records stated that the name "Wudi City" probably appeared around that time.

"So... in this current era, Wudi City is just a small town... Six hundred years later, it will become a real city."

Zhao Du'an smacked his lips, his logic now consistent, and then asked: "What's next? Are we going up the mountain?"

Old Xu looked at the towering mountains in front of him and said: "You stay in the town, I'll go up the mountain."

...

Next, the two stayed in an inn in the town.

As expected, Old Xu left Zhao Du'an to watch the house, going out every morning and returning only when it was dark.

It was said that he went up the mountain to challenge the experts of the Wudi City lineage.

He had wanted to follow him up the mountain, but Old Xu stopped him, roughly meaning:

If you're weak, practice more.

Zhao Du'an suddenly realized that, from beginning to end, this journey of walking across the world was Old Xu's path of cultivation alone.

He was just fortunate enough to follow along for a journey after journey.

He could still experience the desert and snowfield with Old Xu.

But at this moment, when the two of them had walked thousands of miles together and arrived at the end of the Martial God Diagram, it was like a painting scroll, unfolding and flattening to the end.

Zhao Du'an was no longer able to participate, only to watch.

On the first day, Old Xu climbed a hundred feet up the mountain without any injuries.

On the tenth day, Old Xu went up another level, returning to the inn covered in bruises.

On the thirtieth day, at sunset, Old Xu dragged his tired and pale body back, falling asleep in the inn for two days.

On the fiftieth day, Old Xu went out early in the morning, and Zhao Du'an waited until dark without him returning.

Zhao Du'an asked a martial artist who came down the mountain at dusk—

—there were many foreign martial artists in this town, challenging the mountain like Old Xu.

During this period, although Zhao Du'an didn't leave his house, he learned through listening to these people's conversations that Old Xu had made a great name for himself.

He fought all the way from the foot of the mountain to the mountainside, and several direct disciples of the current "Celestial Being" Martial Emperor were defeated by Old Xu.

His reputation soared.

He also learned that above Green Mountain, there was a seaside cliff, and every "Celestial Being" of the Martial Emperor lineage would sit on the cliff all day to watch the sea.

He thought that the Martial Immortal leader six hundred years later should also be like this.

"It seems that the Great Ancestor of Yu, recorded in the Martial God Diagram, has not yet stepped into the 'Celestial Being Realm' after just finishing his cultivation path."

Zhao Du'an made a judgment.

He asked the martial artists who came down the mountain one by one, but none of them knew about Old Xu's situation.

Everyone said that Old Xu's climbing height had far exceeded all of them, and he had entered the clouds.

Just as Zhao Du'an gritted his teeth and prepared to climb the mountain by lamplight to see if he could find Old Xu.

The Great Ancestor of Yu, covered in blood, dragged his heavy steps and stepped into the town with the last ray of sunset.

With a "plop," he fell to the ground.

Zhao Du'an was in a panic. He laboriously unscrewed the gourd, gave him some water to drink, and asked:

"If you can't beat him, why do you have to fight? Wouldn't it be better to wait until you get stronger and then flatten Green Mountain?"

Old Xu lay on the ground, glanced at him, and a certain light flickered in his eyes:

"If you can't beat him, that's why you have to fight."

Zhao Du'an was stunned, as if he had realized something.

...

Zhao Mansion.

Inside the room, on the bed.

Zhao Du'an finished his visualization and opened his eyes, feeling only mentally exhausted.

Visualization and cultivation consume a lot of energy, so he can only cultivate for one or two hours each day before needing to rest.

The light in the room was dim, and the rustling sound of fine rain could be faintly heard outside the house.

It was already dark.

"Gurgle..." In his abdomen, a strong sense of hunger struck, interrupting Zhao Du'an's thoughts.

He vaguely felt that the last part of the Martial God Diagram contained the key to advancing to the Divine Chapter.

"Knock knock." A knock sounded on the door, followed by You Jinhua's cautious voice:

"Darl..."

— — — — — —

Next is the advancement plot. I feel that if I want to write this part well, I need to do more foreshadowing.