Chapter 268: Warriors Attack the Mountain

In the private room.

Xu Junling, dressed in silk and satin, with a sweet smile and manners that could be described as a model of a lady from a noble family, asked with a smile.

The soft little hands gently wiped the corners of her mouth with a silk handkerchief.

After saying goodbye to Zhao Du'an, she came here to have dinner and sent people to keep an eye on the movements at the imperial yamen.

The last time Lushui came to report, the news he gave was:

"All eight officials of the imperial court were defeated by Chai Keqiao and suffered a complete loss of face."

Xu Junling was looking forward to seeing how the domineering King Zhao Yan would deal with this difficult problem.

"Princess...Princess...that person surnamed Zhao is fine."

After the maid came in, she closed the door behind her and then said with a strange expression.

"Oh? Did he become a coward? No... Based on the information I've collected about this person, he's not the type to silently endure things. So... is Ma Yan back?

"Yes, as the head of the Imperial Court, it's only natural for Governor Ma Yan to handle this matter," Xu Junling analyzed calmly.

"...Ma Yan didn't come back early either."

The maid's expression became increasingly strange.

Seeing the princess raise her eyebrows again, she quickly spoke, pouring out the news like a bamboo tube pouring beans, to prevent him from making random guesses:

"Princess, when Zhao Duan learned of this, he used his authority to mobilize a large number of imperial guards to surround and kill Chai Keqiao. After injuring and capturing him, he was thrown into the imperial prison. It is said that he did not show up from beginning to end, but only directed the actions from behind the scenes."

Xu Junling was stunned, his delicate face expressionless.

This was a path she had never imagined.

"How can he... command the various battalions of the Imperial Guard..."

Xu Junling stopped talking halfway, then he closed his mouth and sighed with a complicated look in his eyes:

"I see."

Her expression was serious:

"It seems that the concubine that the emperor sister keeps is more important in the army than we thought."

The maid couldn't help but say:

"My Lady, this man is really good at bullying others by taking advantage of his power. When he attacked Master Lu, he used the hand of the Sea Consecrator to capture Chai Keqiao and sent strong men from the army to attack him. This is indeed the style of officials. He is a warrior, but he has no warrior spirit at all. It seems that his own strength is not that good."

Xu Junling shook his head and commented objectively:

"An official should assess the situation and prioritize intelligence. Neither Master Lu nor Chai Keqiao are his match at the moment. Using someone else's force to counter their own is a form of tactics."

After a pause, she smiled again:

"However, although this person has brains and skills, it seems today that he is not a serious threat."

"Oh?" Lu Shui asked in confusion.

Xu Junling explained with a smile:

“Although this man possesses astonishing talent, his record and actions show that he has no ambition to govern the country as a civil official, nor does he have any desire to enter the Privy Council or become a military commander.

What he was good at was doing things for the imperial sister, and in the final analysis, it did not go beyond the scope of the "White Horse Emissary".

As for cultivation, as a warrior, he lacks the courage and perseverance of a warrior. He is used to using the opponent's force to counter the opponent's force, so he will never reach a high level in the martial arts.

After a pause, she commented:

"If he doesn't become a minister, he won't be an official. If he doesn't serve as a general on the battlefield, he won't be able to become a cultivator who transcends the cage... If he doesn't have these three qualities, even if he is extremely talented, he can only be a powerful strategist beside the imperial sister or join the army. It's difficult for him to become someone who truly controls the world."

After Xu Junling finished his analysis, he thought he had seen Zhao Duan's future achievements clearly, and felt relieved. He turned and said:

"Give orders, stop watching him and investigate the Buddhist and Taoist sects instead."

The well-read Princess Huai'an looked out the window at the autumn breeze and said:

"The battle between Buddhism and Taoism...whoever wins or loses will have a much more significant impact on the chessboard of the world than Zhao Duan alone."

…

…

Zhao Duan rode his horse at full speed and returned home in the afternoon.

Leaving the horses to the servants to feed, he crossed the courtyard and said:

"Don't bother me if you have nothing to do."

He went straight into his room.

After closing the door, Zhao Duan threw away his outer robe, sat cross-legged on the bed, and tried to visualize the picture of the God of War.

In a trance, his mind was wavering, and he left the real house and appeared on a dilapidated official road surrounded by green mountains and clear waters.

Zhao Duan propped himself up from the horse's back, feeling sleepy and with red marks on half of his face.

“Da, da…da…”

The hooves of inferior horses clattered against the muddy dirt road. Taking a deep breath, my nose was filled with the strong smell of earth.

Zhao Duan raised his head and found that it had rained in his "dream" not long ago.

At this moment, I am riding on a horse, walking on the road leading to the green mountains of the East China Sea.

In front was the Great Yu Taizu, holding the reins with one hand, with messy hair and beard, a gourd hanging from his waist, striding forward.

"You're awake."

Old Xu didn't turn around, but his voice penetrated his ears.

Zhao Duan was stunned, surprised that Old Xu took the initiative to talk to him today.

Ever since he left the snowfield and headed towards the East China Sea, he had been on the road almost every time he meditated.

Compared to the scorching desert and the snowfields with constant blizzards, it must be admitted that this journey to the southeast was the most comfortable one for him.

"kindness."

Zhao Duan responded perfunctorily and began to try to feel himself, then his eyes became blank.

Something is wrong!

That feeling is gone!

The reason why he hurried home was that after watching Chai Keqiao's fight, he inexplicably felt an urge to enter the Martial God Diagram.

He fully believed that this was the so-called opportunity for a breakthrough in his "state of mind".

But after actually coming in, I found that the impulse disappeared without a trace.

"What's going on? Is this an illusion?"

Zhao Duan's cheeks twitched, unwilling to accept this cruel fact.

"Just wake up, we'll be there soon."

Old Xu's voice was hoarse but revealed excitement.

"Oh, I get it... Wait, what?!" Zhao Duan was stunned.

Because of the hardships along the way, the slovenly-looking Taizu of Dayu pointed ahead:

"arrive."

Zhao Duan suddenly looked up.

After the rain in the empty mountains, the clouds and mist in front slowly dispersed, revealing a green mountain rising from the ground at the end of the road.

The towering green mountains are extremely magnificent and appear very abruptly. Perhaps it is due to some astronomical phenomenon that a sea of ​​clouds is coiled around the towering mountainside.

In the sea of ​​clouds, there are more than a dozen thick mushroom-shaped cloud pillars rising into the sky, then slowly falling and dispersing, turning into wisps of floating clouds.

"Are we in the East China Sea? Where is it?"

Zhao Duan murmured.

Dayu Taizu said:

"The sea is behind the mountain, and the city is below the mountain."

…

After walking in the Martial God Map for several months, Zhao Duan and Dayu Taizu finally arrived at the Qingshan area.

But the so-called "Qingcheng" is slightly different from what was expected.

Not only can it not be compared with the capital, it is just a larger town located at the foot of the mountain.

"That's different from what I heard..."

Zhao Duan led the horse and followed Lao Xu in Qingshan Town, muttering to himself.

After Old Xu came here, his "intelligence" seemed to have improved a bit. He said:

"What's the difference?"

"Qingcheng... should be a city."

Zhao Duan explained stiffly that he was wondering how to express his disappointment.

Old Xu said calmly, "It will become a city."

Zhao Duan was stunned for a moment, then suddenly realized that what was recorded in the scroll was Qingcheng six hundred years ago.

According to historical records, the name "Qingcheng" probably appeared at that time.

"So... in this era, Qingcheng is still just a small town... It will become a real city six hundred years later."

Zhao Duan smacked his lips, his logic becoming self-consistent, and then said:

"What to do next? Go up the mountain?"

Old Xu looked at the towering mountains in front of him and said:

"You stay in town, and I'll go up the mountain."

…

Next, the two stayed in an inn in the town.

As expected, Old Xu left Zhao Duan to look after the house. He went out early in the morning every day and came back after dark.

It is said that he went up the mountain to challenge the masters of the Qingshan lineage.

He once wanted to follow him up the mountain, but was stopped by Old Xu, who probably meant:

Practice more if you are good at cooking.

Zhao Duan suddenly understood that from the beginning to the end, this journey across the world on foot was Lao Xu's path of cultivation.

He was just fortunate enough to follow it one step at a time.

He can also experience the desert and snowfield with Lao Xu.

But at this moment, when the two of them walked thousands of miles together and arrived at the end of the Martial God Map, it was like a scroll, unfolding and spreading to the end.

Zhao Duan was no longer able to participate and could only watch the battle.

On the first day, Lao Xu climbed a hundred feet without any injuries.

On the tenth day, Lao Xu climbed to the next level, and when he returned to the inn, his body was covered with bruises.

On the 30th day, as the sun was setting, Old Xu returned dragging his exhausted and pale body. He collapsed in the inn and slept for two days.

On the fiftieth day, Old Xu went out early in the morning, and Zhao Duan waited until dark but he still didn't come back.

Zhao Duan looked for the warrior who came down the mountain at dusk.

——In this town, there are many foreign warriors who, like Lao Xu, climb mountains to challenge.

Although Zhao Duan had not left his house during this period, he learned from listening to the conversations of these people that Lao Xu had already gained a great reputation.

Fighting all the way from the foot of the mountain to the mountainside, several direct disciples of the contemporary "Tianren" were defeated by Lao Xu.

Become famous.

He also learned that there was a cliff facing the sea on top of Qingshan Mountain, and that every "celestial being" of the Qingshan lineage would sit on the cliff all day long and watch the sea.

He thought that Wu Xiankui six hundred years later should be the same.

"It seems that the Great Yu Ancestor recorded in the Martial God Map, who had just completed his cultivation path, is still far from entering the 'Heavenly Realm'."

Zhao Duan made a judgment.

He asked every warrior who came down the mountain, but none of them knew about Old Xu's situation.

Everyone said that the height that Lao Xu climbed was far higher than any of them, and he walked into the clouds.

Just as Zhao Duan gritted his teeth and prepared to climb the mountain with a lantern to see if he could find Old Xu.

Covered in blood, Emperor Taizu of Dayu dragged his heavy steps and stepped into the town in the last rays of sunset.

With a "thump", he fell to the ground.

Zhao Duan's head was as big as a bucket. He unscrewed the gourd with great effort, gave him some water, and asked:

"Why fight if you can't win? Wouldn't it be better to flatten the mountains and rivers when you become stronger?"

Old Xu lay on the ground and glanced at him, a certain brilliance flashing in his eyes:

"I have to fight because I can't win."

Zhao Duan was stunned, thinking about something.

…

Zhao Mansion.

In the room, on the bed.

Zhao Duan finished his visualization, opened his eyes, and felt mentally exhausted.

Visualization practice is mentally exhausting, so you can only practice for one or two hours a day before taking a rest.

The light in the room was dim, and the rustling sound of light rain could be faintly heard outside.

It's getting dark.

"Gurgle..." A strong feeling of hunger hit his stomach, interrupting Zhao Duan's thoughts.

He vaguely felt that the last section of the Martial God Diagram contained the key to advancement to the Divine Chapter.

"Knock knock." There was a knock on the door, followed by Eugene Hua's cautious voice:

"Da Lang..."

——————

Next is the promotion plot. I feel that if I want to write this part well, I need to do more preparation.

(End of this chapter)