The First Lackey Under The Empress

Chapter 278: We pay our respects to… Grandmaster Zhang!

“Open the Heavens!”

The moment Zhao Du'an delivered this sword strike, time seemed to pause for an instant.

Under countless gazes, the ancient sword that had accompanied Emperor Tai Zu of the Great Yu Dynasty in his conquests six hundred years ago seemed to gleam with light.

The blade sliced through the air silently and unremarkably.

At the tip of the sword, a massive pillar of Qi, as thick as a raging python, was suddenly drawn forth, gathering and swirling the surrounding air.

It wasn't just the arena!

At that moment, in the sky above the plaza, the dense, block-like clouds were abruptly split apart by a thin line.

Just like the East Sea being cleaved in two by that sword, the sky full of dark clouds was also split down the middle.

Sunlight pierced through the gap, forming a dazzling golden line.

On the arena.

A sudden, violent gale arose, and an irresistible force struck Tianhai, who was in a state of "Divine Possession," squarely.

The Buddhist light gathered in the vertical pupil on his forehead was abruptly interrupted.

On the young monk's cold face, emotions of bewilderment, terror, and confusion, emotions belonging to a "human," emerged.

“How could this be…”

The moment this thought arose, the thick, massive torrent of sword Qi had already descended like Mount Tai.

Tianhai looked up, as if the sky was collapsing.

He instinctively mustered all his Dharma power, his body suddenly curling up, creating a illusory golden bell around himself.

However…

The solid, pure light shield only lasted for a single breath in the face of the immense sword Qi before collapsing with a bang.

The sword Qi slammed heavily into Tianhai's lower abdomen, and the young monk bent over like a shrimp, flying backward like a cannonball, his back crashing into the light shield at the edge of the arena.

Then, the violently shaking shield shattered for the second time with a "boom," stirring up a gale and chaotic turbulence.

“Pfft!”

Tianhai spat out a mouthful of blood in mid-air.

He was sent flying ten zhang, crashing heavily into the Shenlong Temple's viewing platform, causing chaos, broken tables and chairs, and flying dust.

The young monk, who had been awe-inspiring like a god, lay on the ground, the vertical pupil on his forehead closed, with traces of blood seeping out.

Due to the combined effects of "Vertical Pupil Backlash," depleted Dharma power, and the impact of the sword Qi, he had fainted.

A single strike, and he was defeated!

The dust settled!

It was only at this moment, after the barrier shattered for the second time, that the panicked crowd finally realized what had happened.

They stared at the storm, looked up at the split sky, the ray of sunlight that shone down, and the figure standing on the arena, holding a sword.

Silence!

The vast plaza was so quiet that a pin could be heard dropping.

The officials on the imperial court's side stood up in unison, unable to hide their shock.

The old eunuch in the python robe was stunned and lost in thought.

The Zhao family's female relatives sat down blankly, unable to recover.

Haitang, Zhang Han, and other colleagues from the Imperial Prison were bewildered and suspected they had seen things wrong.

“Brother Zhao…”

Gongshu Tianyuan was dumbfounded. Behind his broad body, Jin Jian, who had regained his ability to move after taking the medicinal pill, stretched his neck and poked his head out, looking particularly adorable.

Deep within the Celestial Master Mansion, the Empress and the Old Celestial Master, who were watching this scene through the water screen, were also slightly moved.

He won!

With a single sword strike!

Zhao Du'an, representing the Great Yu imperial family, secured the victory with this inspired sword strike!

Whoosh—

The crowd erupted in the loudest clamor since the start of the Dharma duel three days ago.

The common people didn't know much, and only judged based on instinct.

In their eyes, Jin Jian and Tianhai's Dharma duel paled in comparison to the scene before them.

This judgment was not wrong!

Because, from the moment Tianhai tore off the headband from his forehead, revealing the "Vertical Pupil," the power level of this duel, which should have been limited to the "Divine Seal" realm,

Had already entered the "Worldly" realm.

And the power level of Zhao Du'an's "Opening the Heavens" sword strike was even more clearly in the "Worldly" realm.

“Tianhai!”

Inside the Shenlong Temple, the monks were the first to react, exclaiming and rushing over to check on the injured, unconscious young monk.

The chief of the Disciplinary Hall in the temple, the de facto master of "Tianhai," was furious.

He leaped out with large strides, his white eyebrows shaking violently, his face flushed with anger, and the old monk roared at the arena:

“Zhao Du'an! How dare you break the rules of the Dharma duel?! Is this your confidence? Does my Shenlong Temple seem weak and easy to bully?!”

This angry roar immediately ignited the emotions of the monks.

For a moment, shouts like:

“Cheating!”

“Breaking the rules!”

boiling like a tide.

Even the monk Bianji beside him changed his expression several times, losing his gentle demeanor.

This sudden barrage of scolding and accusations drew the attention of the crowd, who were still shocked by the sword strike, back to the arena.

Especially the officials on the imperial court's side, their expressions changed in unison.

The celebratory shouts in their mouths were stuck in their throats, not expecting the Shenlong Temple to suddenly make trouble.

“Cheating?”

On the arena, Zhao Du'an, who had delivered the sword strike, slowly sheathed his sword, feeling the intense fatigue in his body, and was also a little surprised.

Although the vast majority of the power used in this "Opening the Heavens" sword strike relied on the originally hidden power within the divine sword,

As the wielder of the sword, the Qi in his Qi sea was now almost completely drained, and he could barely stand.

The old monk of the Disciplinary Hall, wearing a kasaya, with white eyebrows and a violent expression, angrily pointed and accused:

“The rules of the Dharma duel forbid using external force to win. This sword strike of yours is comparable to the worldly realm, and relies on the Tai'a Sword, mobilizing the Dharma power within the sword! Isn't this cheating!?”

The monk's voice was as loud as a bell, spreading far and wide, and many onlookers suddenly realized why Zhao Du'an was able to turn the tables.

It turned out he was relying on the Tai'a Sword.

“These bald donkeys!”

In the distance, Mo Chou also came back to her senses, suddenly realizing that the Shenlong Temple was trying to restore its reputation.

The Shenlong Temple had painstakingly prepared for this Dharma duel for decades, in order to surpass the Celestial Master Mansion, expand its power, and plot to annex the Western Regions' Buddhist ancestral court, completing the grand plan of East-West integration.

They had originally succeeded, but were interrupted by Zhao Du'an's sudden appearance.

Tianhai had suffered a crushing defeat, and if they didn't recover in time, not only would decades of preparation be in vain,

If it spread among the Jianghu people, the people wouldn't care so much, they would only remember:

The Shenlong Temple is no good.

And the next Buddhist-Taoist Dharma duel would be at least decades later!

The Shenlong Temple couldn't accept such a great loss of reputation!

Therefore, this old monk reacted quickly, taking the opportunity to clarify, counter-accusing, and preferring to offend the imperial court in order to recover their reputation.

“Fart your mother! Old bald donkey, you're good at backstabbing!”

Suddenly, on the Celestial Master Mansion's side, the chubby Gongshu Tianyuan, like a ball, sprang up and rushed out, holding a small loudspeaker in his hand, and began to curse:

“Who broke the rules first? Isn't Tianhai's vertical eye also in the 'Worldly' realm? You're allowed to break the rules, but Brother Zhao isn't?”

Behind him, the Celestial Master Mansion's officials also woke up as if from a dream, echoing and accusing the bald donkeys of backstabbing.

Beautiful!

The officials on the imperial court's side secretly praised.

The Celestial Master Mansion had already lost, so rather than handing over the reputation to their old rival, the Shenlong Temple, it was far better to let Zhao Du'an take it.

They also took the opportunity to accuse Tianhai of cheating, to make up for Jin Jian's defeat.

Seeing the sh*t pot being pinned on them, the white-robed Dharma Master, who had been silent and watching from the sidelines, couldn't sit still anymore.

Bianji frowned and said unhappily:

“Official Gongshu, your words are wrong. Tianhai's vertical pupil is a natural physique, not an external object. How can it be compared to weapons like the Tai'a Sword? Moreover, Tianhai didn't use it in the previous Dharma duel with Jin Jian.”

Gongshu Tianyuan didn't fall for it at all, rolling up his sleeves, looking like he was ready to fight:

“Bah! Stop twisting the concept! As expected of Bianji, you're good with words, but I won't fall for it! The eye is Tianhai's body, that's right, but dare you say that the Buddhist light in the eye is also his own?!”

Bianji said calmly: “Naturally, it was accumulated and cultivated by himself.”

“Haha! What a 'accumulated and cultivated'!” Gongshu Tianyuan laughed angrily:

“Tianhai accumulated Dharma power in that vertical eye day after day, and when he accumulated enough, he released it all at once, comparable to the worldly realm.

If you say that doesn't count as breaking the rules, then our Celestial Master Mansion has talisman masters, and even more alchemy masters. I might as well let my junior sister tattoo a human skin talisman on her arm, and accumulate Dharma power in it when she has nothing to do, and then throw it out as a talisman when fighting, how about that?

Does it count as violating the rules?

This is not an external object, it's my junior sister's body!

Or perhaps, just swallow a few Divine-grade pills in my stomach and digest them temporarily… would that work?”

He gasped for breath and added:

“Also, when Tianhai fought my junior sister before, he didn't open his vertical eye. Was that because of his high moral character and humility?

Or was it because he knew in his heart that this thing had the suspicion of cheating, so he covered it up and tried not to use it? You bunch of hypocritical bald donkeys know it in your own hearts!”

Bianji's brows furrowed tighter and tighter. Seeing the surrounding people discussing and feeling that it made sense, he couldn't help but feel anxious.

He was about to speak to mediate when the chief of the Disciplinary Hall next to him had already turned his gun and started cursing at Gongshu Tianyuan.

Shenlong Temple stubbornly insisted that the magic power hidden in the Tai'a Sword was an external force, while the 'vertical pupil' was not an external force.

Gongshu Tianyuan insisted that the 'vertical pupil' was a foul, so Zhao Du'an's borrowing the power from the Tai'a Sword was a reasonable counterattack.

For a time, the two sides held their own opinions.

The onlookers were also divided into two groups, some thought the monks were wrong, and some thought Zhao Du'an was undoubtedly cheating.

The argument was endless.

…

“Where is Your Majesty? Zhaorong should report quickly.”

Da Qingyi Yuan Li also felt it was棘手 and looked at Mo Chou.

From the standpoint of the court officials, they should support Zhao Du'an, but this was a battle between Buddhism and Taoism, and the court was an outsider and an interested party. Without the Empress's approval, no one dared to express their position rashly.

Mo Chou shook her head and said bitterly, “I'm afraid it's too late…”

Xu Junling didn't say anything, his gaze cast on Zhao Du'an on the arena, thinking: How will you end this?

At this moment, Bianji saw that the wind direction was not good, sighed, and said:

“Who fouled first is still in dispute, but since Envoy Zhao has the means to overcome the enemy, why did he strike so hard? Could it be that defeating Tianhai is not enough, and he has to beat people like this?”

Gongshu Tianyuan was speechless for a moment, this was indeed a problem.

Zhao Du'an's attack was a bit too heavy. The sword just now clearly exceeded the scope of “reasonable”, and it seemed like he was trying to kill.

And the monks also turned their guns and denounced Zhao Du'an for using a poisonous hand.

“Venerable Bianji, you can't talk nonsense,”

On the stage, Zhao Du'an, who had not spoken just now, slowly spread his clear but tired voice.

He stared at the “chief steward” beside the Xuan Yin abbot, the “spokesperson” of Shenlong Temple, and said calmly:

“Others may not know, but with your cultivation, Venerable, you should have been able to hear my conversation with Tianhai through the罩子 before.

He said that once the vertical pupil is opened, there is no room for holding back, and I replied that I also cannot hold back.

Today is the first time I have held the Tai'a Sword, and I don't know how powerful the sword technique is. The mighty sword energy far exceeds the Divine Chapter, and it is not something I can stop.”

After a pause, he seemed to gasp for breath laboriously, and said calmly:

“If Venerable insists on thinking that I did it on purpose, then I have to ask in return, why didn't Tianhai stop after hitting three Buddha lights in a row, pushing me into a desperate situation?

It's just that I'm using his own methods to repay him.”

Using his own methods to repay him!

Bianji was speechless for a moment.

In fact, with his eyesight, he did see just now that when the sword energy swept across the arena, Zhao Du'an had already lost control.

How strong is “Opening Heaven”?

Or… to be more precise, how strong would it be to borrow the dragon soul in his body, step on the Tai'a Sword, mobilize the majestic power contained in the sword, and use “Opening Heaven”?

Zhao Du'an didn't know!

Just as he said, today was his first time holding the Tai'a Sword, and the “Opening Heaven” sword technique had only been practiced in his mind for two days.

Two days ago, on the night he broke through, he learned this sword technique in the Martial God Diagram.

Especially when he was sitting in a pile of books and paintings in the study.

When he was looking through the many biographies of Emperor Taizu that he had collected, he found that the book repeatedly recorded that Old Xu had repeatedly summoned his sword from afar in the past.

Combined with what he saw in his dream, he tried to summon the sword with the help of the dragon soul. At that time, he clearly felt the faint echo from the depths of the palace.

Therefore, today, he tried to imitate the records in the biography and summon the Tai'a Sword from the air on the stage.

Zhao Du'an didn't know if he could succeed, and he didn't know how strong the Tai'a Sword was, and whether it could make him strong enough to fight Tianhai.

He didn't even know what the scene would be like when “Opening Heaven” was unleashed.

So, he really couldn't stop.

Of course…

Even if he was misunderstood as trying to kill, he didn't care. If he cared about the opinions of outsiders, he wouldn't be “Zhao Yama”.

“Nonsense! You're clearly making excuses. Since you can control the Tai'a Sword, how can you not control its power?”

The old monk, the chief of the Disciplinary Hall, had a gloomy face:

“Who doesn't know that Tianhai's 'Compassionate Eye' can distinguish between good and evil. It must be because he saw that you are an evil person that the divine Ksitigarbha punished you, and Tianhai was unable to stop it. If you were a good person, would this happen!”

After saying that, the old monk seemed unwilling to argue any further, waved his hand, and said in a deep voice:

“Where are the disciples of Shenlong Temple? 'Invite' this Lord Zhao off the stage for investigation!”

Are you crazy? Bianji glanced at him in surprise, his expression sinking, and wanted to speak to stop him.

Within Shenlong Temple, there are also multiple forces that restrain each other.

The monks of the Disciplinary Hall are followers of the Dragon Tree Bodhisattva, and are not of the same faction as Bianji, who follows the Xuan Yin abbot.

“Stop!”

This time, the court could no longer sit still. Mo Zhaorong, who represented the Empress here, changed her face slightly and spoke to stop them.

Although she and Zhao were love rivals, she was happy to see him embarrassed.

But at this moment, she absolutely could not sit idly by.

Hai Gonggong and Xue Shence stepped forward at the same time, preparing to take action.

The monks of the Disciplinary Hall, holding Zen staffs and monk cudgels, swarmed onto the stage, approaching Zhao Du'an, who was already exhausted and unable to fight anymore.

Gongshu Tianyuan's face twitched, and he turned his head to look at the many senior officials beside him.

This matter was getting bigger and bigger, and it was no longer something that he, a Vermilion Point Child without real power but only status, could decide.

And at this critical moment.

Suddenly, a slightly old voice came from the distant Tianshi Mansion:

“Who dares?”

The first word “who” was still on the horizon, and the next word “dares” had already arrived.

Gongshu Tianyuan and the Golden Jian Divine Official's eyes lit up at the same time, revealing joy.

The wind suddenly rose.

On one side of the square, the numerous Tianshi Mansion Divine Officials suddenly bowed deeply forward in unison, in a posture of worship.

Like the many buildings in the city that surround the imperial city, it seems that even the secrets of heaven are being drawn.

An old man with a tall stature, narrow eyes, and wearing a black soft Divine Official robe floated over, as if he were a god.

The Old Celestial Master took a step without any worldly air, and stood next to Zhao Du'an, who was holding the sword and exhausted, gracefully with his hands behind his back, looking around at the monks with a calm expression.

“Disciples, pay respects to the Celestial Master!”

Many Divine Officials worshipped in unison.

On the Shenlong Temple side, Venerable Bianji's expression changed slightly, and the furious chief of the Disciplinary Hall beside him also stopped his clamor.

The monks put their hands together, lowered their heads and bowed:

“Amitabha, we have seen Celestial Master Zhang.”

On the court side, Mo Chou, Xu Junling, Yuan Li, Xue Shence… and even the proud Hai Gonggong, were all startled and saluted to show their respect.

“We have seen Celestial Master Zhang!”

“Paying respects to the Celestial Master…”

“Greetings, Celestial Master…”

In an instant, accompanied by Zhang Yanyi's arrival, everyone present hurriedly got up and saluted, and many of the tens of thousands of people even knelt down and worshipped the immortals.

Zhao Du'an's mind buzzed, he didn't expect the legendary Old Celestial Master to actually appear.

Not having time to think carefully, he subconsciously turned his head to look at the legendary face of Celestial Master Zhang, and was already pondering in his heart what kind of posture could please the big shot.

However, when he saw Zhang Yanyi's smiling face.

Zhao Du'an was completely stunned, opened his mouth, and swallowed the word “Celestial Master” in his throat, his eyes widened, as if he had seen a ghost:

“Old… Old Wang?!”

…

Next chapter will be updated before dawn

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