The First Lackey Under The Empress

The meeting place with the Green Mountain lineage was a small martial arts field within the Imperial City.

When Zhao Du'an and the other Imperial Clan's escorts arrived, they saw that the plaza was already crowded with Imperial Guards, unsure whether they were there to join the fun or to bolster the appearance of the event.

From afar, they spotted Eunuch Hai's bright red python robe, the white-haired old eunuch standing with his hands behind his back, calmly speaking with three people beside him.

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Seeing Zhao Du'an and the others arrive, a smile appeared on his ruddy face: "You've arrived."

When he caught sight of Mo Chou, who had come along out of concern, he simply nodded, and she returned the gesture with a salute.

"Greetings, Eunuch Hai." Zhao Du'an said, standing still and saluting, his eyes fixed straight ahead.

Behind him, a group of escorts and eunuchs, led by Tang Jinzhong and Song Jinxi, solemnly lowered their heads, this group of eunuchs seemingly transforming into cold-blooded killers at this moment.

Making people feel intimidated.

"Your subordinates greet you, Eunuch!"

Zhao Du'an raised his eyebrows slightly, thinking, 'Did you guys rehearse this? Why so serious and solemn? As if facing a formidable enemy?'

That's right, he had the 'Future Imperial Consort' buff, his position in the Martial Arts Hall was similar to that of a member of the Imperial Clan, and above him was only the Empress, without elders like the Old Emperor or Empress… so there wasn't much psychological pressure…

But for this group of eunuchs, whose status was that of 'servants,' if they were to lose in the contest against the Green Mountain disciples, it would be a major offense…

At the same time, the three people in the field also looked towards them.

Their gazes swept over the many eunuchs, pausing slightly on Tang Jinzhong, who was at the Worldly Realm, and then all focused on Zhao Du'an, who seemed out of place.

Chai Keqiao was still dressed as a mountain woodcutter, and seeing that not even the Emperor of a country could make him change into more appropriate attire, he smiled and said to him:

"Young Master Zhao, a scholar who has been away for three days must be looked at with new eyes. It has been several months since we last met, congratulations on your further promotion."

Beside him.

Xiao Ran, with her plain clothes, short, ear-length hair, beautiful face, and cold eyes, looked indifferent, her eyes filled with apathy.

Seven Nights, who was blindfolded with a black cloth, wore a black scabbard at his waist, dressed in clothes of the same color, and had a cold temperament, also 'looked' over.

Wait… why is there a blind person? Mo Chou, you didn't mention this… Zhao Du'an muttered to himself, matching the three people's identities according to the information, his face calm and smiling, he said:

"Brother Chai is too kind. I am in the capital, and I have also heard that Brother Chai has entered the Worldly Realm, congratulations."

Just looking at the conversation, the two seemed like friends, a scene that looked extremely strange to the Imperial Guards near the martial arts field.

Everyone in the Imperial City's Imperial Guards knew about Zhao Du'an mobilizing troops to suppress Chai Keqiao during last year's Buddhist and Taoist competition.

Eunuch Hai, with his white hair and bright red python robe, smiled as he introduced both sides in turn.

Then he said:

"His Majesty has said that, according to tradition, the Green Mountain disciples will stay in the Imperial City's other courtyard for half a month this time, discussing martial arts with the palace escorts. Since it's the first meeting today, it's not appropriate to fight, so how about briefly demonstrating what you've learned?"

"Since Eunuch Hai has said so, this junior dares not refuse."

Chai Keqiao was surprisingly respectful to the old eunuch, turning his head to the blind youth and saying:

"Junior Brother Seven Nights is skilled in swordsmanship, and is also among the best in the Divine Chapter realm. On Green Mountain, he draws his sword three thousand times a day, without stopping. His sword energy is sharp, and Xiao Ran and I are ashamed to be inferior. Let Seven Nights draw his sword to break armor as a gift."

For the six hundred years of the Yu Kingdom, there has long been a set procedure for both sides to issue a challenge before a martial arts competition.

The other party had obviously discussed it in advance.

"Break armor?" Zhao Du'an raised his eyebrows.

Mo Chou, who was beside him, explained in a low voice:

"This is also a tradition. At the first meeting between the two sides, it's not good to have a fight, as it would be too damaging to harmony. Often, breaking armor is used to show one's cultivation."

Oh… roughly similar to showing off muscles?

Zhao Du'an stood in the crowd with interest, and considering Mo Chou's previous request, he deliberately took two steps back, preparing to keep a low profile and slack off.

And muddle through this process.

Anyway, there were so many escorts present, it wouldn't be his turn, a 'Middle-Grade Divine Chapter,' to show off muscles.

At this time, the Imperial Guards nearby brought over several sets of half-body armor from the military depot, all made of refined iron, capable of withstanding arrows, knives, and swords.

The Imperial Guards also erected a large row of wooden stakes in the martial arts field, fixing the half-body armor onto them, immediately creating the illusion of dummies.

He silently counted, this row of dummies numbered as many as sixty or seventy, at a glance, dozens of armored dummies were quite imposing.

"Come." Zhao Du'an beckoned to Song Jinxi, curiously asking:

"So many, are they all prepared for him?"

The escort eunuch, who resembled a macaque and was adept at flattery, said with a wry smile:

"Young Master is joking, these are all exquisitely made armors from the military, not scrap metal. Ordinary knives and swords are difficult to break through. Even at the peak of the Mortal Realm, one can only break through three armors with a single breath of Qi infused into a weapon.

Even after entering the Divine Chapter, generally speaking, a Lower Grade can break through six armors, a Middle Grade nine armors, and an Upper Grade thirteen armors is already a formidable expert. These are set out for multiple people on both sides to use.

But generally speaking, the Worldly Realm will not take action in the armor-breaking segment. When you reach the Worldly Realm, you break dozens of armors… Uh, Young Master, your nose is bleeding again."

"…" Zhao Du'an hurriedly looked for a handkerchief, but couldn't find one for a moment. Suddenly, Mo Chou handed over a handkerchief:

"Use mine."

Tsk, you've improved, didn't you poison the handkerchief… Zhao Du'an looked at the "Female Prime Minister" in surprise, carefully took it, which made Mo Chou roll her eyes:

"Give it back to me if you don't want it, a donkey doesn't appreciate kindness."

Zhao Du'an chuckled as he wiped his nose. At this moment, the young swordsman wearing a blindfold stepped forward in the field and stood in front of a row of armor.

The surroundings suddenly quieted down, everyone holding their breath, and the wind no longer roared.

Seven Nights held the black-sheathed long sword horizontally in front of him, slowly drawing it out. As the bright sword blade left the sheath, the blade drew a semicircle in the air, and thrust forward in an unremarkable posture.

This thrust was not earth-shattering, and was even somewhat ordinary, but Zhao Du'an narrowed his eyes instantly.

He keenly noticed a black line tearing through the air in front of the sword tip, crashing towards the armor.

No!

That was not a black line, but an extremely condensed and compressed inner force. This young man named Seven Nights had no fancy sword moves, only a stab.

But he had practiced it to the extreme of the Divine Chapter realm. He drew his sword three thousand times a day. Initially, the wooden sword he used had tiny holes in the front end. When he thrust, there would be a whistling sound as the wind passed through the holes. He took three years to achieve silent sword drawing, and that was only the beginning.

The moment the extremely condensed fine line struck the armor, a muffled sound of armor breaking came from the martial arts field.

"Bang", "Bang", "Bang", "Bang"…

The sounds of armor breaking merged into a string, almost in the blink of an eye, Seven Nights sheathed his sword.

Immediately, the dummies with a total of twenty-three armors fell down like wheat stalks. Some soldiers rushed forward to check, exclaiming:

"Reporting, Eunuch, twenty-three armors broken!"

Twenty-three!

With just one sword, he pierced through twenty-three sets of refined iron armor! If placed on the battlefield, one sword could kill twenty-three elite Iron Floating Corpses!

A gasp was heard from the martial arts field in the spring, and the gazes of those Imperial Guards towards the blindfolded youth changed.

And the escort eunuchs of the Martial Arts Hall almost simultaneously changed color.

"Didn't you say that the Upper Grade Divine Chapter is thirteen armors?"

Zhao Du'an was also stunned for a moment, and asked Song Jinxi in a low voice.

The latter's face had lost its flattering humility at some point, and he solemnly looked at Seven Nights, who was calm and composed in the field.

This eunuch, who seemed frivolous but was actually among the top escorts of his generation in terms of talent, cultivation, and martial arts, was facing a formidable enemy, his face heavy: "The limit."

"The limit?"

"Twenty-three armors, which means that this person has almost wasted none of the total inner force of the Upper Grade Divine Chapter, and has all gathered it in this one sword… it's terrifying."

Song Jinxi murmured, then his face suddenly changed:

"Not good, he has reached this level, none of us can compare to him at all. We can't let the Worldly Realm take action, but within the Divine Chapter realm, who can specialize to this extent?"

Zhao Du'an was stunned for a moment: "You can't beat him?"

Song Jinxi shook his head:

"Fighting is another matter, this subordinate is not afraid of him, but if we only compete in breaking armor, this subordinate is inferior to him."

Mo Chou next to him understood:

"You mean, he has brought the power of the Divine Chapter realm to the extreme, and no one can surpass him in the same realm?"

"A fierce momentum." Zhao Du'an sighed.

At this moment, amidst the commotion, only Eunuch Hai remained with his eyelids drooping, neither happy nor sad. It seemed that in the eyes of this legendary palace eunuch, the competition between these youngsters was nothing more than child's play.

Chai Keqiao chuckled and said,

“My junior brother doesn't have many skills, but his swordsmanship is quite good. Now it's your turn to give him some pointers.”

He looked towards the group of palace eunuchs, and instantly, the sound of discussion disappeared. None of the eunuchs stepped forward.

The strongest, Tang Jinzhong, couldn't act because his cultivation was far too high, while Song Jinxi admitted he was inferior, and the rest of the eunuchs lacked confidence.

Seven Nights, with his eyes covered by a black cloth and arms crossed, slowly revealed a sarcastic smile. In the silence, he suddenly turned his head and "looked" towards Zhao Dou'an, who was hiding in the crowd:

“Young Guardian Zhao, aren't you going to step forward?”

Whoosh—

All eyes focused on him. Zhao Dou'an, who was whispering to Mo Chou behind him, guessing that the Qingshan group might be deliberately targeting this segment and had trained such a disciple, was stunned for a moment, then smiled:

“You can see me?”

The cool young man holding his sword said indifferently:

“My eyes are blind, but my heart is not. I have long heard that Young Guardian Zhao once defeated Tianhai of the Shenlong Temple in the Buddhist-Dao competition and was hailed as a genius. I came down the mountain this time to ask for your guidance in person, so…”

He pointed to the row of armor:

“May I ask Young Guardian Zhao to teach me how to break through these?”

After a pause, he raised the corner of his mouth, provoking:

“Presumably, with Young Guardian Zhao's sword skills, just summoning the Tai'a Sword would be enough to split open not just these few dozen sets of armor, but even a mountain, right? Or is it that Young Guardian Zhao looks down on my Qingshan lineage and is unwilling to even offer guidance?”

Provocation!

At this moment, even a three-year-old child could hear the strong provocation and sarcasm in Seven Nights' words.

The Tai'a Sword was certainly powerful, but if Zhao Dou'an really summoned the Tai'a Sword just to break through the armor, he would truly lose all face.

And the other party's words, seemingly flattering and polite, were actually blatantly mocking him for seeking fame and reputation.

Eunuch Hai glanced at him but remained silent, like an impartial judge.

However, on the imperial palace side, whether it was the Imperial Guards or the palace eunuchs, their expressions had changed!

Mo Chou's face turned slightly pale, and her heart sank sharply. The terrible situation she had anticipated had appeared.

This arrogant swordsman, who was close friends with the little monk Tianhai, had indeed taken advantage of this opportunity to publicly challenge Zhao Dou'an.

Moreover, the other party was very clever and did not break the “rules,” the purpose of which was to make Zhao Dou'an lose face in public and be utterly humiliated.

“You…”

Mo Chou hurriedly looked at Zhao, who was beside her, but saw that his expression was calm and composed, seemingly without any anger. He waved his hand in a gentle tone and smiled:

“You flatter me. I only won by luck back then. If we were to compare cultivation, I am naturally inferior. Moreover, I am not as strong as you are now, so I won’t make a fool of myself.”

He openly admitted it? He backed down?

Mo Chou was stunned, her eyes extremely surprised.

Not only her, but Tang Jinzhong, Song Jinxi, and the other eunuchs were also greatly surprised.

In almost everyone's perception, “King Yama Zhao” was not a good-tempered person. Not to mention being vindictive, he would dare to speak out immediately even if a member of the imperial family dared to disrespect him.

He dared to attack important figures repeatedly even when his power was still low, let alone now?

But this time, facing the provocation of this Qingshan genius, he actually backed down?

No one thought that Zhao Dou'an was “chickening out,” so they felt all the more strange. Only Mo Chou suddenly realized that her previous words must have had an effect.

Zhao Dou'an had promised her that he would back down and try not to give the Qingshan people a reason to cause trouble. Because he had promised, he did it.

“You are…” Thinking of this, Mo Chou's eyes suddenly felt a little ashamed, as if she had truly met him for the first time.

The blindfolded young man was also stunned, surprised by his reaction, and frowned:

“What do you mean by this, Young Guardian Zhao?”

Zhao Dou'an smiled and said, “Just what I said.”

Now, even Chai Keqiao and Xiao Ran cast surprised glances.

The blindfolded young man frowned even deeper:

“Is Young Guardian Zhao surrendering without a fight? Or admitting that you are just seeking fame and reputation?”

Zhao Dou'an smiled and said, “Just consider me afraid, haha, I'm also afraid of losing face.”

Such a good temper? Has King Yama Zhao changed his nature?

The surrounding Imperial Guards looked at each other, even suspecting that the Zhao Dou'an in front of them was a fake.

When has the Zhao, who kills without blinking an eye, been so easy to talk to?

The blindfolded young man was momentarily speechless, as if his punch had landed in thin air.

Chai Keqiao narrowed his eyes and suddenly smiled, trying to smooth things over:

“Since Lord Zhao is unwilling to take action, Junior Brother Seven Nights, there is no need to force him any further.”

He turned his head to look at Hai Chunlin, who was sitting there calmly, not caring about the atmosphere in the arena:

“Eunuch Hai, if your side is not good at breaking armor, let's just call it a day.”

Back then, when he broke into the capital alone, he could kick the martial arts halls without restraint.

But this time, he led the team here, shouldering responsibilities, and prepared to stop when he saw an advantage.

The old eunuch in the python robe nodded slightly and said:

“In that case, very well.”

The nearby Imperial Guards, having received the signal, stepped forward rather aggrievedly, preparing to remove the armor.

A nameless disciple from Qingshan had forced the huge imperial palace to a point where no one dared to accept the challenge. This was undoubtedly a humiliation.

“Hold on…”

Song Jinxi gritted his teeth, preparing to step forward. He had no confidence in winning, but if no one accepted the challenge, the entire Martial Arts Hall would be punished when His Majesty found out.

However, just as he took a step, Zhao Dou'an held him back. Song Jinxi turned his head in surprise and saw Zhao Dou'an shaking his head:

“Forget it, they came prepared. If His Majesty punishes us, I will intercede.”

The young eunuch was stunned and retreated.

Zhao Dou'an then beckoned the other eunuchs to walk back together.

“Is there not a single man in the vast imperial palace? Heh, no wonder they are a group of castrated yin-yang people.”

Seeing that the group of eunuchs was really retreating, suddenly, the blindfolded swordsman's cheeks twitched and he mocked loudly.

Chai Keqiao frowned and scolded, “Seven Nights!”

He felt that this junior brother was not showing enough tact.

Xiao Ran, however, responded with a look of excitement.

All the eunuchs stopped at the same time, their expressions changing again and again, as if a thorn had pierced their hearts.

Zhao Dou'an also stopped, the warm smile on his face gradually fading.

Seeing that it was effective, the masked young man ignored Chai Keqiao's reprimand and sneered:

“Oh, I misspoke. There is still one intact eunuch, but he looks no different from the rest.”

Mo Chou hurriedly reached out and grabbed the corner of Zhao Dou'an's clothes, whispering:

“He's deliberately trying to provoke you…”

Zhao Dou'an nodded: “I know. Let's go.”

The masked young man said loudly:

“Young Guardian Zhao, a coward does not deserve such a great reputation in the martial world. If you still care about your face, you should publicly return the victor of the Buddhist-Dao competition to Tianhai…”

Zhao Dou'an stopped again. He had already walked to the other end of the rows of armored dummies, next to a group of bewildered Imperial Guards.

Without turning his head, he wiped the blood flowing from his nose and suddenly said:

“Eunuch Hai, I can't hold back any longer.”

Hai Chunlin smiled slightly: “Why hold back any longer?”

Zhao Dou'an smiled brightly, his face covered in the red of blood from his nose. In full view of everyone, he suddenly turned around, strode to an Imperial Guard, and, amid the latter's surprised gaze, reached out and pulled out the other's saber from his waist.

“Clang!”

The saber was unsheathed, Zhao Dou'an raised his hand and slashed. His face was ferocious and stained with blood, like a Shura demon.

The vast inner strength, having swallowed countless natural treasures and pent up for a month, almost bursting his Qi Sea, shattered the saber in an instant, and a magnificent and dazzling saber light lit up the martial arts field.

“Damn it, you don't know what's good for you, do you?! I won't use a sword, only one saber, to break through the armor!”

Boom—

A thunderous roar echoed in everyone's ears. Under the destructive saber aura, the entire row of refined iron armor shattered into pieces!

The saber aura swept through the drill ground, cutting people's faces with a burning pain.

With one slash, Zhao Dou'an broke through fifty-six sets of armor!!

—

Typos will be corrected later.

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