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"Quite interesting indeed..."

The Emperor, rubbing his fingers, stared intently at Chen Qing as he stepped into the arena from the crowd!

The intelligence suggesting that Chen Qing was likely not in Jiangnan had been obtained through massive bribes and the defection of countless scouts, and it coincided with the current situation in Jiangnan.

Half a year ago, during that duel, Chen Qing alone faced off against Siao Mingyue, who had been infected, but because of a force, he was rendered unable to see the outcome.

The end result was... Siao Mingyue died, and her body was returned by Jiangnan, while Chen Qing.

.. had not shown his face for the next half a year.

The information came from some high-ranking military officials in Jiangnan and feedback from children of magicians, which is why he had launched this probe.

As expected, Jiangnan reacted vehemently but increasingly exposed flaws. To cover for the fake Chen Qing, they even brought over Princess Ao Zhen from the West Sea, completely in line with that woman’s prediction.

Within the forces of the Dragon Palace, aside from the four Dragon Kings, there are not many who have the qualifications to become Dragon King level.

Princess Ao Zhen of the West Sea is one of them, holding immense prestige there.

The Western Sea Army and the Dragon Palace Forces within Chen Qing’s domain have not turned against each other yet, with Ao Zhen playing a significant role in mediating.

If Ao Zhen were to die in the Capital City, Jiangnan’s operations in the West Sea would collapse immediately. Should internal chaos arise, it would be the perfect opportunity for the Imperial Court to reclaim Jiangnan.

He did not believe all this was mere deception, risking Ao Zhen’s life and allowing his men to die in vain, just for an element of surprise?

Fixated on Chen Qing, the Emperor wondered where on earth this man had been for the past half year, and why he had surfaced here?

"The Emperor seems quite surprised?" The voice of the Empress Dowager suddenly rang out.

"Does the Empress Dowager know something?" The Emperor turned to look at the elderly woman.

Over the years, he had tolerated the Siao family’s old woman, after all, his own resources and power actually came from the Siao family.

The old woman held a high position there, and even though he now controlled other powers, he still did not intend to discard the Siao family’s clout, so he had not laid a hand on this old creature he actually detested.

Of course, that was provided she did not interfere with his plans.

"The Emperor thinks too highly of this old woman..." The face of the Empress Dowager remained unchanged: "With what you are all doing now, where would an old woman like me have the power to meddle?"

The Emperor frowned. The Empress Dowager indeed yet wielded some influence in the Capital City, but to claim a role in the current major events was indeed quite unlikely.

In the previous distribution of power within the Dragon Palace, the forces of the Empress Dowager were not even qualified to partake, which demonstrated the weakness of her power.

In public, everyone still paid respect to the last elder of the Siao family, but in reality.

.. when real interests were at stake, what the old one controlled was no longer sufficient.

With this thought, the Emperor withdrew his gaze: "I am indeed quite surprised, I had not expected that young scholar to really dare to come."

"He is the one who defeated Lumings, why wouldn’t he dare to come?"

"Then let’s just have a look," the Emperor smiled, "to see if he’s as good as his reputation claims he is!"

Siao Mingxue subtly glanced at the Empress Dowager beside her and felt an indescribable complexity within.

Many princes and princesses had viewed the old Empress Dowager in the court as nothing more than a stubborn old woman.

But now, it seemed that they had underestimated this elder.

Facing such a dangerous father, she was able to keep a straight face, her lies so natural and smooth that it just let the Emperor pass it over lightly.

And she did not stubbornly confront the Emperor as usual but retreated naturally and tactically, saving face and seizing the moment...

Perhaps... everyone had been wrong about this old lady.

"I am also quite curious," the Empress Dowager looked towards the Martial Arts Stage: "Three years ago, Imperial Concubine Siao briefed me, saying that scholar was a very smart man, highly suitable for Ming Xue, and that he would definitely treat Ming Xue well. Imperial Concubine Siao has always been against marrying her daughter into a Martial Family, always hoping to find a scholar. But unexpectedly, she misjudged and chose such an unruly young tiger. Hehe, I don’t believe he could defeat Lumings, but that he would personally come to fight this battle for Ming Xue shows the vigor of a man, at least not lacking. "

"It seems that the Empress Dowager is quite satisfied," the Emperor, watching Chen Qing step onto the stage, replied without turning his head: "What do you think, Mingyue?"

"My dowry has already been prepared. If my husband wins, I will go to Jiangnan with him."

The crowd: "...."

This eagerness to marry made people chuckle. The Emperor’s daughter, though she had awakened her bloodline, still seemed to have the demeanor of a little woman, not grasping the situation at all.

Chen Qing win with a mere nod?

Many of the older generation of warriors could tell that the current Wutu Gu would be a death sentence for three Lumings!

----------------------------

"I’m quite surprised you came!" Wutu Gu grinned, showing a very pleased smile, as he watched Chen Qing step onto the platform.

Chen Qing was different; his approach was plain without any grandeur, like a scholar going up to claim a position, displaying no indication that he was there for a life-or-death decision.

"What’s so surprising?" Chen Qing replied with an amused look at his opponent: "You challenged me to a duel, were you hoping I wouldn’t come?"

"I very much hoped you would come!" Wutu Gu loosened his muscles and took off the greatcoat covering his body, revealing exorbitantly exaggerated muscles.

"It’s really you who’s come. Lumings was the War God of the Central Plains, the man who single-handedly killed the top masters of sixteen Southern Barbarian nations in my childhood’s stories, and he... he died at your hands."

"Only by truly defeating you can the Southern Barbarians rise again!"

Upon hearing this, Chen Qing couldn’t help but laugh.

"What are you laughing at?"

"The Southern Barbarians will never be able to rise again.

" Chen Qing looked coldly at his opponent: "From the moment you planted the Ghost Temple in the Southern Barbarians, you lost the right to say such words.

The leaders of the sixteen nations invaded the Central Plains, originally wishing to gain glory and land, to free their people from those impoverished lands and conquer the resource-rich Central Plains.

Although we were on different sides and they lost then, they could say it was for the rise of the Southern Barbarians and it would stand to reason. But what about you?"

"How dare you treat your own people as livestock, to feed to something else?"

His words turned Wutu Gu’s face exceedingly ugly, and at the same time, the Emperor on the viewing platform’s face also became slightly somber.

The Empress Dowager, however, let out a light laugh, "Well said!"

The Emperor: "....."

"Great achievements demand disregard for trivialities!" Wutu Gu sneered, "Dare you say, in creating today’s Jiangnan, you haven’t made some sacrifices?"

"I haven’t!"

Wutu Gu: "...."

The other party’s natural response left him momentarily unsure how to proceed.

"I would never sacrifice anyone, not in the past, not now, not ever....."

In this world, the meaning of sacrifice was different from his previous life, literally meaning the death of livestock, human sacrifices, in this world.....were shockingly common.....

He didn’t know if he could completely change this world, but one thing was his bottom line, he would never engage in any of this world’s inhumane vices, not even a bit!

"Hypocrisy!" Wutu Gu scoffed coldly, "Hypocrisy that makes one want to vomit."

"If a man can live a lifetime of hypocrisy, that’s not too bad..... Of course, you, a beast in human form, wouldn’t understand, now, shut up. If you want to fight, come on. I’m in a hurry today!" Chen Qing waved his hand impatiently.

Boom!

Without any warning, Wutu Gu made his move; the Southern Barbarians never had the Central Plains’ custom of saluting before a fight, and with such provocation, where was his mood to engage in niceties?

One moment he was about ten paces away from Chen Qing, the next, as if leaping through time, he appeared right in front of Chen Qing.

Nobody on the viewing platform could see Wutu Gu’s move clearly, not even a shadow, what remained was merely the afterimage and the spatial distortion caused by the excessively fast rush of wind!

All the warriors gasped, now they were certain, no matter how many Lumings came, none would be a match for this monster!

Yet to their greater surprise, Chen Qing saw the move clearly!

A delicate hand, clearly that of a scholar used to holding a writing brush, effortlessly caught the huge fist that came at him as if it were a hammer.

With a thunderous roar, the entire stage sank instantly, and the surrounding barrier shattered in a flash!!

All the warriors stood up in alarm, both amazed at the terrifying battle and angry because the Court Grand Sorcerer’s barrier appeared unable to block even the aftershocks—today, the masses of Capital City who were watching were likely in peril.

If today’s match resulted in a mass death among the Capital City populace, then Great Jin would have truly lost face completely!

Just as all the warriors were about to shout at the two to stop, a bizarre scene unfolded.

The sand and stones stirred by the terrifying force were like a storm at sea, yet not a speck spilled outside.

Realizing this, the magicians turned their gaze towards the Court Sorcerer responsible for the barrier.

"It wasn’t me....." The Grand Master trembled, pointing at the stage, "There’s a new barrier."

This odd scene brought the originally panicked citizens back to their senses, all bewildered, watching the unfolding events.

"Who is it?"

All the magicians breathed a sigh of relief, and the warriors relaxed slightly, eagerly looking around—who could that master barrier creator be at a time like this? Was it someone Chen Qing brought?

Amidst the dust, seeing Chen Qing casually catch his punch, Wutu Gu exclaimed with excitement, "You really didn’t disappoint me; I hope you’ll amuse me a bit longer."

"How much longer is ’a bit longer’?" Chen Qing frowned, "I really am in a hurry."

Wutu Gu’s smile stiffened; the disdain in the other party’s demeanor really frustrated him. As he was about to speak, he too noticed the situation outside, and said, "Brought a magician assistant with you?"

"Where do you see that from?"

"Isn’t that barrier of your doing?"

Chen Qing looked curiously at him, "Who do you think it is?"

Wutu Gu: "...."

He wanted to retort, but immediately he saw that Chen Qing’s other hand was unsealing a single-handed technique, clearly maintaining something.

Pairing it with the barrier around them that prevented even a speck of dust from escaping, Wutu Gu grasped the situation.

This guy..... was dealing with him while..... casting a barrier to protect the entire Martial Arts Field!