I Have A Martial Dao World

After the martial arts contest began, cheers and applause erupted continuously in the Qianqing Palace. The Imperial Guards on duty were itching with curiosity, but due to their responsibilities, they dared not leave their post.

The battles between the martial artists were surprisingly quick, often determining the victor after just one exchange, and any fight lasting over half a minute was considered rare.

Thus, the competition progressed very rapidly, and after 2 hours, it had already entered the final round, with the situation becoming quite clear.

The five victors from the Blood-Exchange Realm belonged to the Wudang Sect, Joyful Sect, Fahua Temple, and two officers of the Imperial Fist.

The five winners from the Innate Realm were somewhat special.

First were the three women, Bai Lu, Wen Qiaoqiao, and Miao Ruoxi; all having Great Grandmasters as their elders, their strong abilities were no surprise.

Second was Fu Fangsheng, who had extensive combat experience from years of leading troops, so his good results were also expected.

The last one turned out to be the Wudang Sect Leader Zhang Yunshu!

This Sect Leader Zhang, already somewhat greedy, shamelessly entered the fray for the Ice Jade, leveraging his cultivation of Innate + Izumo to defeat Ran Qingying, who had been quite hopeful.

Poor Ran Qingying, whom Lu Yao once commented had a "nice figure," missed out on the Ice Jade Ring by a hair's breadth, truly a bitter pill to swallow.

Meanwhile, the fellows from the Wudang Sect also felt somewhat embarrassed since their Sect Leader had used up almost all his tricks, short of using the magic artifact that Lu Yao had given him.

Even Zhou He felt that his senior brother lacked some restraint.

However, Zhang Yunshu himself didn't mind at all, looking at the Ice Jade Ring in the tray with delight, he said:

"This is a divine object that aids in Spirit Refining Cultivation, worthy to be inherited as a sect treasure; many Great Grandmasters would wish to enter the competition themselves."

He was right, anything related to Spirit Refinement was priceless, and the value of the Ice Jade Ring simply couldn't be measured by money.

At that moment, there was a muffled explosion from the arena, as Bai Lu executed the "Golden Hammer Strike" to blast Wen Qiaoqiao off the platform and win the final.

Thereupon, the audience erupted with cheers and applause like thunder, and someone shouted "the number one beauty of the martial world," which surprisingly met with an overwhelming response.

The onlookers hailed the tall and elegant woman continuously as the "number one beauty," and the raucous voices shook the sky.

In this way, Bai Lu had won the first place in the imperial martial display, and also gained the title of "the martial world's number one beauty," even though she wasn't very keen on it herself.

The other three candidates were somewhat dejected, especially Ran Qingying, who got nothing at all and felt like she had been massively shortchanged.

Next, she also had to watch as the Ice Jade Ring—a treasure of inestimable value—was placed on someone else's finger.

At this moment, the ten winners had already put the Ice Jade Ring on their hands.

Li Pei and her husband offered a few gentle words of encouragement, and Zhang Wenda along with Left Public also represented the Imperial Court in expressing their commendation.

By now, the sun had set behind West Mountain, and without realizing it, an entire day had passed, with all guests and hosts fully enjoying the imperial banquet. It was time for the event to come to an end.

But what nobody had expected was that there was still one more act to play!

Suddenly, Lu Yao stood up and declared in a loud voice, "The nation is indeed in need of capable people, I hope everyone here will strive onwards and ascend to new heights on the path of cultivation."

Having said that, his body was surrounded by soft blue electrical arcs, and his Divine Thought imbued with an Indestructible Will enveloped the entire arena, blessing all the guests with a strand of it.

None who were present were ordinary, and they instantly realized the immense boon they had received!

Wen Taiji, without any concern for his image, immediately sat down cross-legged on the spot, shutting out all external distractions to meditate and comprehend it.

It wasn't until the sun had completely set that this strand of Divine Thought slowly dissipated, and everyone awoke from their reverie.

~~~~~~~~~~~

Under the guidance of the eunuchs, the guests left the Imperial City.

Many were still in a daze, overwhelmed by the extraordinary events of the day, a magical scene they had never witnessed in their lives.

All were deeply impressed by the Royal Family's grand gesture, and they unanimously praised the visit as truly worthwhile.

The eunuch Zhang Jin personally escorted the more important guests.

Although he was only at the Blood-Exchange Realm, he was a confidant of Li Pei, and at the moment he engaged in conversation with a group of Innate Realm elders with ease, even the Great Grandmaster Wen Taiji spoke to him with warm words.

For a time, Zhang Jin's prominence was unlimited and he felt quite elated.

Fortunately, he remembered his duties and managed to send all the guests away from the Imperial City in an orderly manner.

However, this scene was coincidentally seen by another eunuch.

This person was the trusted aide of The Empress Dowager—Li Jinying.

He had brought the royal treasury to side with Li Pei, providing Lu Yao with complete versions of "Tathagata Divine Palm" and "Supreme Taiyi Thunderclap Hand."

Although Li Pei valued his talents and was fairly good to him, his status in the palace was much less than before.

Especially seeing Zhang Jin, a man far inferior to himself in every aspect, gaining power, Li Jinying felt increasingly bitter.

At that moment, he was in charge of receiving guests who were not very important, one of whom was the head of the Yushan Sect, Ran Qingying.

The Yushan Sect didn't have much of a background, but they had previously taken in many rescued girls through the "Sacred Heart Institute" affair, which gave them a bit of a connection to Lu Yao.

Li Jinying, upon seeing this enchanting and tall female sect leader who didn't lack martial prowess, felt his heart stir.

During the imperial feast, he was also serving at the Qianqing Palace; the eunuch's instincts had kept him attentive to the comings and goings of Li Pei and his wife.

He was certain that Lord Lu Tian had cast several glances at this woman!

Having tasted the flavor of power, those who had would not be content with obscurity, and Li Jinying purposely left Ran Qingying till last, approaching her when no one was around and softly said,

"Sect Leader Ran, please wait, I have a few words to say to you."

Ran Qingying asked in confusion, "What is it that Eunuch Li wishes to discuss?"

Li Jinying smiled amicably and said, "A matter of great fortune."

~~~~~~~~~~

Meanwhile, Zuo Gong and Zhang Wenda were walking side by side.

Both men wore a large "Ice Jade Bracelet" on their wrists, gifts from Lu Yao upon departure.

Along the way, Zhang Wenda expressed his feelings, "Turning hands into clouds, and another turn to rain. After today's banquet, I'm afraid the whole world will be abuzz with Lord Lu Tian's miraculous methods."

He then gave a cupped fist salute to Zuo Gong, "Brother Ji Cun, you have great discernment! I once ridiculed you for extremely defending this person, but now I see that I was the one being shortsighted."

Zuo Gong laughed and said, "Honestly, I had never imagined this day's grand occasion myself. It took only a few years to completely turn the situation around, and now we are about to conquer Izumo. All I can say is... there's always new talents in each generation."

Today was the first day of the lunar new year, and there were many people on the road paying new year's visits, all with glowing faces.

Suddenly, Zhang Wenda said,

"Wudang Sect Leader Wen Taiji suffered a big setback in Izumo, being too rash and heavily injured by two ninja masters joining forces. His return this time is to recover from his injuries and to request reinforcements."

He said this while casting a casual glance at Zuo Gong.

Zuo Gong nodded and said, "He, along with many old friends, has already sought my help. After the new year, I will petition myself to lead the campaign against Izumo."

When Zuo Gong was cured of his injuries with the help of Lu Yao, he let out a long howl that was heard throughout the Imperial City, and the outside world knew he had recovered.

Izumo had many skilled fighters and was not easy to defeat; numerous disciples and old friends asked Zuo Gong to come out of retirement.

Zhang Wenda saluted and said, "Then I wish Brother Ji Cun an auspicious start and swift success."

Zuo Gong said indifferently, "This is a war of annihilation, doesn't Wenda want to achieve unprecedented merit?"

Zhang Wenda stroked his beard and chuckled, "Brother Ji Cun knows me well, I don't like fighting and killing, and I practice martial arts only to fulfill my mentor's expectations."

This statement seemed boastful—reaching the Golden Body Realm just to satisfy his mentors?

But Zuo Gong knew that what he said was true.