The Empress's No.1 Lackey-Chapter 290 - 255. Target: Divine Chapter Realm

We, the Imperial Family...

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Inside the carriage, Xu Zhenguan silently stared at him for a while before he tactfully skipped the "slip of the tongue" and continued,

"The contest of Buddhist Tao and Magic has a long-standing history. It is a tradition for these two factions of magicians to compete for the title of top magician in the world, as well as to motivate both sides and prevent complacency.

They each send out disciples from the Divine Chapter Realm to compete. Such contests have historically drawn the attention of cultivators from all over the world.

Thus, it is traditional for the winner of the contest to accept challenges from observing cultivators. Ah, this is elegantly termed seeking guidance."

After a pause, Xu Zhenguan said somewhat wistfully,

"Six hundred years ago, the Grand Ancestor Emperor founded the nation, and at that time, the court had many strong cultivators.

The Grand Ancestor Emperor did not want these two factions to overshadow the Royal Family.

So, he commanded young cultivators to challenge the victors after the contests, to defeat them...

Thus, the Buddhist Tao contests once became a setting that showcased the depth of my Xu Dynasty, as at that time the ’Ten Eunuchs’ among the royal tributors were capable of competing with both the Buddhist and Tao factions."

Damn... was Xu that domineering, suppressing both factions so thoroughly...

Well, it’s not surprising after all, considering the nation was founded on martial valor... Zhao Douan looked wistful as he added,

"What happened afterward?"

Afterward... Xu Zhenguan sighed lightly and said helplessly,

"Unfortunately, the glory of our Royal Family did not last long before it declined. After the generation of the Grand Ancestor Emperor, the cultivators of the royal lineage, whether they were royals or tributors, continually declined.

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Over six hundred years, although there have occasionally been exceptionally talented individuals, none could match the glory of the past."

Hmm... Zhao Douan feigned a sorrowful, nostalgic expression.

It wasn’t surprising to him.

In his view, the method of "Martial God" inheritance was inherently outdated.

One relied on the royal bloodline, the other on nurturing tributors.

The former, a family organization, was naturally hard to maintain in continued prominence, especially with internal strife within the Royal Family and the focus on governance...

As for the tributors... selection was based primarily on "loyalty," not talent, and they were few in number.

This was inevitably no match for the Heavenly Master Mansion and the Divine Dragon Temple.

As a descendant of the Royal Family, Xu Zhenguan reminisced about his ancestors’ splendor and considered the increasing decline of the tributors today, inevitably feeling lament.

"Your Majesty, do you wish to restore the glory of our ancestors?"

Zhao Douan asked softly, eager to try,

"If I advance to the Divine Chapter before then, might I..."

The Empress chuckled somewhat amusingly at him,

"Do you perhaps also wish to represent the royal tributors and challenge the winners?"

Zhao Douan’s expression was earnest:

"I am willing to go through fire and water for Your Majesty, and die a thousand deaths without regret."

Xu Zhenguan’s heart suddenly warmed, his gaze softening:

"It’s good that you have this determination, but even though your talent is extraordinary, having just stepped into the Divine Chapter, you cannot match the geniuses of the two factions."

Zhao Douan certainly also understood that this was quite realistic.

Even within the Divine Chapter, there were levels.

Even though the Empress had once proudly claimed that the "Martial God" inheritance was the most powerful cultivation path in the world, dominating at equal levels, she harbored no delusions that Zhao Douan could make any significant achievements.

"So there’s nothing that can be done," Zhao Douan said with a face full of disappointment, acting to the hilt.

As a subordinate, he needed to seize every opportunity to show loyalty, especially when it was not necessary to actually do anything.

He also knew that this had nothing to do with him, but while there might be nothing he could do, he had to show his attitude.

Seeing his dejected appearance, the Empress found it amusing and casually teased,

"There’s not absolutely no chance... Ha, some genius magicians under extremely stringent conditions can summon deities to descend, temporarily obtaining power far beyond their current grade...

Although the Martial God is a martial artist, there is a similar magic door. The Grand Ancestor once refined a breath of Xuanhuang Qi into Dragon Essence, an embryonic form of his own Martial God. Every time there was a great battle, the Dragon Essence would fortify him, commanding all around him...

However, after the Grand Ancestor’s passing, the Dragon Essence also dissipated, and perhaps it transformed into ’Martial God’ too. If you can summon it, it should have a similar effect."

Dragon Essence... Zhao Douan’s heart skipped a beat, forcibly suppressing the urge to internally inspect his Dan Tian.

Thus, the Empress really did not know about the existence of Dragon Essence.

Nor did she know that it had been accidentally swallowed by him.

"Heh...Your Majesty, you jest."

Mr. Zhao did not know with what expression to respond.

Luckily, Xu Zhenguan had not noticed, and chuckled teasingly,

"Moreover, if you could gain the approval of the Grand Ancestor’s true martial spirit, you might be able to wield the Grand Ancestor Emperor’s sword from years past, barely managing to stand a chance in battle. It is kept within the Imperial Palace.

But such a divine weapon is extremely difficult to recognize its master.

Even members of our Xu Royal Family rarely manage to lift it, unless they are prodigies of exceptional brilliance or each reigning Emperor.

Among the tributors... even Eunuch Hai has not managed to lift it. Would you like to try?"

The Grand Ancestor’s Sword... the weapon held by Xu Zhenguan, who once was the Third Imperial Princess, during the Xuan Sect coup... It was precisely with this divine weapon that she swept through thousands of troops...

Mr. Zhao swallowed hard and bowed,

"Your Majesty, please do not make fun of your servant."

The Empress smiled coyly, no longer scaring the fellow.

She waved her hand to stop the carriage, saying,

"In any case, focus on breaking through your heart realm and strive to step into the Divine Chapter Realm soon. It is no longer convenient from here, you should head back on your own."

So, she’s not sending me back or inviting me to stay in the palace for the night... oh well, I’m just being ridiculous... Mr. Zhao respectfully exited the carriage.

A eunuch following behind with a horse handed over the reins, smiling,

"Mr. Zhao, please."

Hmm, so they had prepared the mount for me from the beginning... Mr. Zhao silently exhaled.

Thinking about the events of tonight, he smiled,

"Thank you."

...

...

The crossroads.

Mr. Zhao watched as the Empress’s carriage returned to the Imperial Palace and rode alone clattering towards his home.

At this moment, the night had deepened, and the streets were exceptionally silent, only the bright moon kept him company.

Mr. Zhao turned a street corner and suddenly noticed a commotion ahead.

It was a large group of imperial guards slowly escorting a group of people along the long street.

The armored imperial guards held torches, exuding a murderous aura.

They happened to face Mr. Zhao, who was riding alone.

The leading imperial guard shouted loudly,

"Who goes there?! Halt immediately! I command you to stop!"

The other imperial guards also drew their swords, clanging continuously, creating an atmosphere of dire tension and austerity.

Mr. Zhao did not stop, and directly rode through, entering the range of the torchlight; his eyelid drooped slightly as he casually tossed his waist card:

"Under whose command are you?"

The leading imperial guard, recognizing his face, paused.

He instinctively caught the flying token and then his complexion changed drastically.

He frantically waved his hand, signaling his men to sheath their swords, while he put on a smile, holding up the token with both hands:

"Mr. Zhao, it’s me, we met in the hall not long ago."

"Oh, you’re that Deputy General Ma from the Imperial Guard..." Mr. Zhao nodded, curiously asking,

"What is going on here?"

Deputy General Ma smiled, "We are ordered to arrest traitors in collusion with the enemy..."

He quickly explained the situation; previously, a spy had named several individuals.

Xue Shence immediately mobilized troops for an urgent arrest.

Coincidentally, Deputy General Ma’s target was one of the young officers who had been expelled from the Divine Mechanism Camp along with "Young Master" that day.

Somehow, instead of keeping a low profile, this person had conspicuously surfaced, clearly ignorant of the principle that "the darkest place is under the candlelight."

"Tonight, ’Young Master’ happened to gather these people for a drink, and we simply arrested them all at once to slowly interrogate later," Deputy General Ma explained in a low voice.

Mr. Zhao was taken aback, "What’s happening?"