The First Lackey Under The Empress

Inside the study.

Zhao Du'an took two strides and arrived at the desk. He picked up the inkstick and swirled it twice in the inkstone before hurriedly taking up his brush and writing three lines of text on the paper:

First, the heart of a martial artist: be determined to make progress and not be afraid of failure.

Second, challenge all sides and integrate the strengths of various schools.

Third, do not dodge or evade; possess the courage of a reckless man.

"Hoo!" Finishing writing, Zhao Du'an put down his brush, exhaled a long breath, and stared intently at the black words on the white paper, lost in thought.

This was the teaching he had extracted today from being by Eunuch Hai's side.

"Eunuch Hai seems to lack a method, but in reality, these days, he has been leading me step by step to truly understand these things."

"Therefore, the key to breaking through the mental state and entering the Divine Chapter lies within these words."

Zhao Du'an looked at the first line. After pondering for a moment, he picked up his brush, crossed it out, and changed it to the words "Goal".

"The key to this line is not the heart of a martial artist, but ambition, which is to determine a goal.

The Great Yu Founding Emperor, who created the dynasty, was clearly not a crude man purely pursuing martial arts; he must have had the ambition to establish the world. Learning martial arts was perhaps just a means to achieve his goal."

"What is my goal? It is survival."

Zhao Du'an's gaze was firm.

To be enfeoffed as a marquis and appointed as a minister, becoming a leader of civil officials? To become a famous general of a generation? Or the head of powerful ministers? Or to reach the 'Human Immortal' realm?

Are these his goals? Never!

Then is it "deceiving the emperor"? Marrying the female emperor?

Also, no.

"My goal has always been to survive better, not having to live precariously, with my life in the hands of others.

In my previous life, I toiled to death for this. In this life, it is also to escape a situation fraught with crises... But in these past few months, as my status has risen, my sense of urgency has been decreasing... My pursuit of goals has also been declining..."

"If the steps towards the goal are not firm, it is destined to be impossible to achieve!"

Zhao Du'an suddenly woke up.

He looked at the second line, pondered for a moment, and also crossed it out:

"Learning from the strengths of various schools is what Old Xu and the lower-level martial artists of today should do. As for me, I have already obtained the Martial God inheritance, so there is no need to waste effort."

Finally, he lowered his eyes and stared at the third line.

In his ears, the words of the old man holding a bamboo pole, scolding the apprentices in the martial arts hall, echoed.

"That's right, I rely too much on my mind and others.

Whether it's Xu Junling sending people to challenge me or Chai Keqiao causing trouble, my first reaction is to use borrowed strength to suppress them... Because this has the least risk. I am instinctively avoiding risks, thinking that it is too stupid to have power and not use it, and to do it myself."

"But... this has damaged the core of martial arts..."

Before Zhao Du'an's eyes, it suddenly appeared.

In the painting, at the foot of the green mountain, the Great Yu Founding Emperor, covered in blood, lying in the afterglow of the setting sun, said:

"If you can't beat them, you have to fight even more."

His heart sea was difficult to restrain from turbulence, and he was恍惚失神.

"That's right! Zhenbao said a long time ago that if I want to go further on the path of cultivation, I can't always shrink back in the safe capital. I must face the wind and rain outside..."

"It's not to say that I need to do everything myself. Power can still be used, connections, backers, bodyguards, and guards can all be used..."

"But there is a premise, which is that I cannot be too reliant on these!"

"Once dependence becomes an addiction, I will gradually become timid, develop fear, and lead to no possibility of progress!"

Zhao Du'an suddenly woke up.

He realized that he had subconsciously wanted to hide his 'talent for cultivating the Martial God Diagram' and even the fact that he possessed the "Dragon Soul".

He wanted to "lie low" a little.

He was afraid of being discovered by the female emperor.

Wasn't this also a kind of timidity?

This was a reflection of his personality. Whether in his previous life or this life, mingling in the officialdom, he was accustomed to caution, observing words and expressions, and acting carefully... This helped him gain a foothold in Great Yu.

But it also became his prison.

"I understand! This is the bottleneck that prevents my mental state from breaking through!"

At this moment, Zhao Du'an suddenly understood, feeling enlightened.

Having found the problem, how to correct it next?

Zhao Du'an suddenly thought of the conversation he had with Eunuch Hai not long ago.

At that time, Eunuch Hai mentioned that the 《Martial God Diagram》 and the cultivators in reality influenced each other.

"That is to say... the solution lies in the Martial God Diagram! That's right, since this is the complete royal family's cultivation method, how could it not contain a way to break through the mental state?"

Zhao Du'an's eyes suddenly lit up, feeling enlightened.

He threw down the brush in his hand, stepped forward and pushed open the study door, shouting:

"Uncle Zhao!"

Soon!

The Zhao family's "old steward," who had personally raised him, hurried over:

"Young Master, what are your orders?"

Zhao Du'an excitedly grabbed the old steward's sleeve and said quickly:

"Uncle Zhao, take people to the bookstores, to the bookshops... In short, I need all the books on the market that record the Taizu Emperor's travels around the world in the past, as well as biographies! All of them! Buy them all back!"

The old steward nodded blankly, hurriedly agreed, and immediately busily greeted the servants to go out and purchase.

In his later years, Emperor Taizu personally recorded his life experiences, and biographies were circulated.

In addition, he met many people when he traveled around in his early years.

Similarly, he was remembered by too many people in the martial world.

Many of those seniors who had fought with the Great Yu Taizu also left behind fragments of words, scattered in many character biographies.

"The most effective way to become stronger is to imitate the strong. The true meaning of the Martial God Diagram lies in allowing me to imitate Old Xu up close.

Not learning his appearance, but learning his thinking, his attitude and thoughts on cultivation..."

"And collecting as much information as possible can supplement the missing parts in the Martial God Diagram and help me accelerate this process."

Zhao Du'an stood with his hands behind his back in front of the study door, with no more confusion in his eyes.

This was the experience he had summarized from studying and getting ashore in his previous life.

In this world, it is still feasible.

...

Soon, volumes of character biographies were sent into the study by the Zhao family servants.

The old steward was extremely meticulous in his work, strictly following Zhao Du'an's orders. The books he bought back were piled up into a small mountain.

In most of these books, the paragraphs recording Emperor Taizu might only be a few sentences.

Zhao Du'an didn't mind at all and immediately started flipping through and chewing on them.

In a trance, it was as if he had returned to his previous life, frantically preparing for exams at home.

In the next few days, Zhao Du'an hardly left his house, declining all external work.

He did not look for Eunuch Hai again, and he also let go of the affairs in the yamen.

He spent all day reading and thinking in the study, eating and sleeping here.

As if he were crazy.

On the third day, Zhao Du'an called the old steward again and asked him to prepare a large amount of pen and ink.

Unexpectedly, he began to paint without warning.

Zhao Du'an had not specifically studied painting, nor did he intend to learn it. He just locked himself in the room, spread the paper, and splashed ink to outline it to his heart's content.

Soon, the painted papers piled up all over the ground, leaving no room to stand. He dumped them all out in one go.

"Mother, what's wrong with big brother? He suddenly locked himself up, reading and painting, and occasionally staring blankly in the room with his hair disheveled, staring at the air without moving.

Before, when I brought him food, he seemed to not even recognize me... Could it be that he is practicing and has become possessed?"

In the courtyard, under the gazebo.

The young girl, Zhao Pan, worriedly came to her mother's side.

From here, you could see the study not far away, with its doors tightly closed.

A week had passed since Zhao Du'an closed himself up.

The atmosphere of the entire Zhao family had also become somewhat heavy and oppressive.

You Jinhua sat on the stone bench in the gazebo, with many of the sent-out paintings spread on the stone table in front of her.

The paintings depicted scenes of martial artists fighting, using extremely rough and clumsy techniques.

If Sea Offering were here, he would recognize them at a glance:

Each one depicted the real, fierce battles he had been leading Zhao Du'an to observe in recent days.

These accumulated experiences finally surged forth at this moment, propelling Zhao Du'an closer to that profound realm.

"Don't talk nonsense, how could Da Lang be entering a demonic state?"

His plump and shapely stepmother scolded, but the expression on her face was even more worried than her daughter's:

"Didn't that old gentleman from the palace come to our house before? He said everything was fine, so don't disturb Da Lang."

She was referring to Eunuch Sea.

The old eunuch in python robe had visited the house once during this period.

Upon learning that Zhao Du'an was secluded and acting strangely, a smile of satisfaction appeared on his face. Without disturbing him, he walked away with light steps.

Zhao Pan's autumn-water-like eyes flickered:

"But that old gentleman only took a look from afar, he didn't even enter the house."

You Jinhua bit her lip, also unsure of what to do. After thinking for a while, she urged her daughter:

"Why don't you go to the Imperial Bodyguard and find that Supervisor Ma, tell him what's happening, and see what he says."

As a woman, You Jinhua was not clear about Eunuch Sea's identity, only knowing that he was from "the palace", and didn't quite believe him.

But she had great faith in her stepson's supervisor in the Imperial Bodyguard.

Zhao Pan nodded and went there in a hurry.

The message she brought back was that Supervisor Ma listened to her carefully, smiled, and said:

"No need to disturb him, it's a good thing."

Thus, the uneasy mother and daughter had no choice but to suppress their worries and hope that Da Lang would recover soon.

...

Time passed by, drop by drop.

During Zhao Du'an's seclusion to refine his heart, the atmosphere in the capital could be described as "adding oil to the fire."

The date of the Dharma duel between Buddhism and Taoism was approaching little by little.

The city was also very lively, with almost all the inns in the capital fully booked, filled with outsiders coming to see this major event.

The Imperial Bodyguards, led by the Imperial Bodyguard, were extremely busy, working non-stop to deal with the conflicts that could break out in the city at any time.

As the heat increased, details about the upcoming Dharma duel between Buddhism and Taoism were gradually revealed.

People's attention naturally focused on the candidates for the battle.

Because the rules stipulated that it was a competition between young disciples in the Divine Chapter realm, with two thresholds of realm and age, the candidates were not difficult to guess.

On the Celestial Master Mansion's side, the biggest favorite was the Golden Tablet Divine Official.

Gongshu Tianyuan, as the senior brother, was not incapable, but the "Craftsman God" path he majored in was not good at Dharma duel rules.

The other disciples of the Old Celestial Master Zhang Yiyi did not meet the age and realm requirements, so they did not come back to join in the fun.

On the Divine Dragon Temple's side, the most watched was a young monk with the Dharma name "Tianhai."

...

Celestial Master Mansion, in the deepest part.

In a secluded courtyard.

Gongshu Tianyuan, wearing a dirty divine official robe, pried open the courtyard door.

Before him was a huge and mysterious banyan tree.

After autumn, the huge and lush canopy of the banyan tree turned golden overnight, shining like fire.

Yet not a single fallen leaf withered.

Under the tree, the tall Old Celestial Master with narrow eyes still leaned back in the rocking chair, holding the Heavenly Book Jade Slip in his hand, reading it for the unknown number of times.

"Master," Gongshu Tianyuan stood still and saluted respectfully, "I can't find Junior Sister."

Zhang Yiyi looked indifferent, seemingly not concerned about the Dharma duel related to the Celestial Master Mansion's honor, and smiled:

"What are you looking for her for?"

Gongshu Tianyuan said worriedly:

"This disciple has tried to find out about the situation on the Divine Dragon Temple's side, knowing yourself and your enemy is the key to victory. As a senior brother, I should contribute, but unfortunately, I am not good at Dharma duels. There are restrictions on the number of magical artifacts that participants can carry in each Dharma duel.

Unfortunately, I can't even bring up my treasures... so I can only give Junior Sister more advice."

After he rambled for a while, he mysteriously said:

"This disciple heard that the little monk Tianhai can already step into the Mortal Realm, but he is deliberately suppressing it, which is very poisonous. He is obviously waiting for us."

Zhang Yiyi said in exasperation:

"How many times have I taught you that the Great Dao never has the concept of competition. Only martial artists like to fight. We, the Taoist priests who seek the Dao, want to go far, so don't put your mind on others. Only focusing on yourself is the most powerful 'competition'."

He raised his hand and drew two lines on the ground, one long and one short, but not intersecting, but parallel, and said:

"The Buddhist and Taoist families are like these two lines. If you want to be long, focus on cultivation to surpass others."

Gongshu Tianyuan didn't say anything, and quietly stretched out his boots to shorten the long section, muttering:

"This disciple thinks this is more effective."

"...Get out."

Zhang Yiyi said angrily.

"Oh." Gongshu Tianyuan ran away happily.

After he left, the golden canopy of the huge banyan tree swayed, revealing a vague human face.

A illusory voice echoed:

"Don't get angry with the younger generation. When he gets older, he will naturally understand this principle."

"For it is precisely because he does not contend that no one in the world can contend with him."

Zhang Yiyi suddenly recited a sentence he had remembered while chatting with Zhao Du'an.

He said with emotion:

"Zhao小子 is even younger, but he can already say these words. Unfortunately, he has cultivated for too short a time, and he has gone to practice martial arts, which has delayed his talent."

The golden banyan tree rustled and laughed:

"Martial artists must not avoid or evade when moving forward, but compete with others.

This is contrary to the Taoist emphasis on tranquility and non-contention. Do you think he is a competitive or non-competitive person?

Since Zhao Du'an is walking with Gongshu Tianyuan, the two must have something in common."

Zhang Yiyi was silent for a while, then sighed:

"I understand, he may not be suitable for the path of a Taoist priest, but... forget it."

The Old Celestial Master closed his eyes.

The Dharma duel between Buddhism and Taoism is just around the corner, and he has no time to think about other things.

...

Inside the Imperial Palace, in the Empress's bedroom.

Xu Junling entered the palace again today to play with her imperial sister.

Xu Zhenguan took the time to play Go with her in the room to relieve boredom.

"Imperial Sister, what about that little monk Tianhai of the Divine Dragon Temple? Although I have heard of him, I don't know much about him. I just feel that his reputation is not great."

Xu Junling asked curiously:

"According to rumors, he was born with a vertical eye between his eyebrows. Because he frightened his parents, he was abandoned outside and picked up and raised by the monks in the temple. Later, a Divine Dragon Temple mage who passed by noticed that he had extremely strong wisdom roots and brought him back to the Divine Dragon Temple.

Abbot Xuanyin also attached great importance to this young man, calling the vertical eye between his eyebrows a 'compassionate eye', saying that the young man was born to be able to distinguish between good and evil in people's hearts.

It is said that this young man's personality is also different from other monks. He is quite perverse, dislikes sitting in meditation, and walks around outside all day, punishing evil and promoting good. He often uses force to punish evil people... He has a lot of lives on his hands, and he doesn't have a good reputation in Buddhism."

Opposite her.

Xu Zhenguan, dressed in casual clothes, sat casually, but had an aura of an emperor, with a clear contrast in aura with the little princess.

The Empress with three thousand strands of black hair and picturesque eyebrows smiled.

Holding a chess piece, her eyes drifted to the Divine Dragon Temple:

"How would I know?"

——

Laying the groundwork, breakthrough in the next chapter

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