Zhou Jinghuan stared at Zhao Cheng's injuries and said in a daze, "You're so ruthless to yourself, are you fucking crazy?!"

Mu Shanyue was still skeptical. He reached out and touched Zhao Cheng's upper body, asking doubtfully, "There are so many martial arts in the world, why would you choose to practice this...strange one?"

Zhao Cheng said solemnly, "If I, Zhao Cheng, decide to practice martial arts, then I will do it in a unique way! After all, very few people practice this kind of martial art. Given time, I may very well become a master of the Seven Injury Fist!"

“Having ambition is good…” Mu Shanyue thought for a moment and asked, “Since it wasn’t Zhou Jinghuan who did it, do you genuinely agree to this marriage alliance?”

Zhao Cheng picked up his clothes and put them on, saying, "That's right, Elder Mu, to be fair, a marriage alliance between Da Jing and Nan Zhou would be more beneficial than harmful to Da Jing at present."

Mu Shanyue looked disappointed, shook his head, and walked towards Yuan Xiu, saying, "Your Majesty, what do you think..."

Mu Shanyue didn't continue speaking because he saw Yuan Xiu's body trembling.

Besides his body trembling, Yuan Xiu also pursed his lips, rolled his eyes upwards, and looked very uncomfortable.

Mu Shanyue suddenly realized that His Majesty's trembling wasn't from fear, nor from illness, but rather...

Try not to laugh so hard you'll shake!

Mu Shanyue, who had spent his entire life in officialdom, suddenly couldn't understand it.

You, the Emperor, are clearly reluctant to let your own sister marry abroad. Now Zhou Jinghuan is pressuring you, and Zhao Cheng is echoing him. Your Majesty, you should be angry! You should be furious! Why are you trembling?

What's so funny?!

Little did Mu Shanyue know that when Zhao Cheng took off his shirt and said he was practicing the Seven Injury Fist, Yuan Xiu had already lost his temper.

If he were in the Imperial Study, his laughter would probably have lifted the roof off. But there were too many people around. He felt good laughing out loud, but he was afraid that people would misunderstand him.

But this is so uncomfortable...

I'm so frustrated I could burst!

Wei You understood the reason and knew that the emperor was feeling unwell, so he quickly asked, "Your Majesty, are you feeling unwell?"

Yuan Xiu nodded quickly.

Wei You immediately said cleverly, "His Majesty has a stomachache and needs to relieve himself!"

Upon hearing this, all those who had stepped forward withdrew, bowing their heads as if something momentous was about to happen.

In an atmosphere of collective 'mourning', Wei You and Lü Lu helped Yuan Xiu walk towards Yongshou Palace.

Hahahahahahaha—

After Yuan Xiu entered Yongshou Palace, those nearby seemed to faintly hear laughter.

Zhao Wu said, "The emperor is having a really good time taking a dump!"

Zhao Cheng: "..."

Perhaps deliberately trying to avoid the matter of the marriage alliance, Yuan Xiu took a long time to relieve himself this time. By the time he returned, it was already afternoon, and a good portion of the people were already quite drunk. The atmosphere in the room had returned to the same level as yesterday.

Yuan Xiu didn't give Zhou Jinghuan a chance to speak, and immediately said after arriving, "These past two days, you all have truly broadened my horizons!"

"First, there was Zhou Nuo's arrow piercing the copper heart from two hundred paces away; then Zhou Chuan and Chen Chong broke the Star Gazing Platform with a single sword strike; and today, I have witnessed Zhao Cheng's Seven Injury Fist. Even I am tempted to learn martial arts!"

Chen Changyun immediately flattered, "If Your Majesty were to practice martial arts, you would surely be a grandmaster!"

Yuan Xiu sat down on the dragon throne and waved his hand, saying, "There aren't that many people with extraordinary talent. Although I don't practice martial arts, I know that the level of achievement in martial arts depends on diligence and hard work."

"I have a deep longing for the martial world and I value those who practice it highly. Therefore, I thought about it all night and decided to hold a martial arts examination after the state banquet!"

As he spoke, Yuan Xiu looked at Zhou Chuan and his sister, then glanced at Chen Chong, and said, "The Jingguo Martial Arts Examination does not restrict nationality. Anyone who is willing to serve the Great Jingguo and has real skills can be granted high-ranking official positions and generous salaries by me!"

Upon hearing this, everyone was taken aback.

The faces of the civil officials, in particular, darkened.

Martial arts examination!

Like the imperial examination system, open selection of talent from the general public is indeed a good thing for the country. However, this will change the political landscape of the court, both civil and military.

The civil officials were all speculating that Yuan Xiu's move was an attempt to elevate the status of military officers.

Everyone has a different identity, and therefore a different attitude towards the martial arts examination.

In Zhou Jinghuan's eyes, this was undoubtedly a bad sign. The Great Jing had just won its Northern Expedition, and Yuan Xiu, having tasted the sweetness of war, wanted to vigorously develop the military.

Now that the north of Dajing is no longer a threat, why is it still vigorously developing its military?

Isn't it because they came here for Southern Weekly?

In that case, the marriage alliance is likely to fall through.

The military examination was seen in one way by the civil officials and Zhou Jinghuan, but it had a different meaning in the eyes of the people who recruited Zhou Chuan and his sister last night.

Yongshou Palace was the emperor's domain, filled with palace people, offering him virtually no blind spots.

The emperor must know what they did last night.

But they weren't worried, because even if they recruited Zhou Chuan and his sister, it would be ostensibly for them to serve the country, and the emperor wouldn't be able to say anything.

But they seem to have overlooked one issue: they all want to recruit Zhou Chuan and his sister, but doesn't the emperor want to as well?

Since we're all serving the court, it's better for me to stay by your side than by yours!

But now that the martial arts examination has been held, all the masters who want to rise to the top can just participate in the examination in a proper manner.

If powerful figures were to arbitrarily recruit them at this point, it would affect national policy.

Wenhu and Wentai exchanged a glance, thinking to themselves that the emperor had made a ruthless move!

Yesterday, Wen Hu told Zhou Chuan that if Zhou Chuan wanted to find a powerful force to rely on, no one in the world was more powerful or had a better future than the Maoshan Sect.

But what about now?

Through the martial arts examination, one can rise rapidly in rank. The emperor used his own way to tell all the masters in the world that he was the most powerful force!

Zhao Cheng couldn't help but nod and said, "Your Majesty's use of national policies is brilliant."

He suddenly thought of something, immediately turned his head, exchanged a glance with Zhou Chuan from afar, and nodded slightly.

The next moment, just as Zhao Cheng had expected, Yuan Xiu looked at Zhou Chuan and said, "Great Hero Zhou, do not disappoint me in the martial arts examination of Dajing."

Zhou Chuan stepped forward and said, "This humble citizen will participate."

Yuan Xiu nodded and said, "You and your sister have rendered meritorious service to the country, so you can skip the preliminary test!"

"yes!"

Seeing this, those who had hoped to recruit Zhou Chuan and his sister sighed inwardly, realizing that all hope was now lost.

After the announcement of the military examination, Zhou Jinghuan jumped out again and shouted, "Emperor Jing, on behalf of Southern Zhou, I extend my greetings to the Great Jing Alliance..."

"Alright, alright!! I understand!!!"

Yuan Xiu interrupted Zhou Jinghuan, his temper softening considerably. Seemingly weary, he patiently said, "Prince He, you all know that I only have one elder sister, the Eldest Princess, so it's normal that I'm reluctant to part with her. But frankly speaking, peace between our two countries and the well-being of our people are far more important than the pain of parting from a sibling..."

Zhou Jinghuan asked in surprise, "Has Emperor Jing agreed?"