The Empress's No.1 Lackey

Qi Ye held the black-sheathed longsword horizontally in front of him, slowly unsheathing it. As the snow-bright blade emerged, the sword blade traced a semi-arc in mid-air, thrusting forward with an unremarkable posture.

This thrust was not earth-shattering, even somewhat excessively ordinary, yet Zhao Douan instantly squinted his eyes.

He keenly noticed a black line at the sword's tip slicing through the air, crashing towards the armor.

No!

That was not a black line, it was Inner Strength Qi Mechanism compressed to its extreme, this young man named Qi Ye had no flashy sword moves, only a single thrust.

Yet he had honed it to the ultimate in the Divine Chapter Realm, practicing drawing the sword three thousand times a day. Initially, the front of his wooden sword bore tiny holes, and when thrust, the wind would whistle through them; he achieved soundless sword drawing in three years, and this was just the beginning.

At the moment that refined fine line collided with the armor, a muffled armor-breaking sound resonated in the Martial Arts Arena.

"Bang," "bang," "bang," "bang"...

The sound of armor-breaking came in succession, in almost a blink of an eye, Qi Ye retracted his sword and returned it to the sheath.

Immediately, as many as twenty-three armor-clad dummies fell like wheat straw, and a military officer hurriedly stepped forward to check, exclaiming: "To report to the eunuch, twenty-three armors were broken!"

Twenty-three!

With just one sword, he pierced through twenty-three sets of fine iron armor! If on the battlefield, one sword could kill twenty-three elite Iron Cavalry!

A gasp spread across the Martial Arts Arena in spring, and the eyes of the imperial guards looking at the blindfolded young man changed.

As for the Tributor Eunuchs of the Martial Arts Hall, they almost simultaneously turned pale.

"Didn't you say, top-grade of the Divine Chapter was thirteen armors?" Zhao Douan was also stunned for a moment, softly inquiring Song Jinxi.

The latter showed no trace of flattery or humility on his face, sternly staring at the calm and composed Qi Ye in the field. This tributor eunuch, who seemed frivolous but actually excelled in talent, cultivation, and martial arts, looked as if he faced a great enemy, with a serious expression: "Limit."

"Limit?"

"Twenty-three armors, this means that this person nearly wasted none of the top-grade Divine Chapter's Inner Strength, all converged in this one sword... It's terrifying," Song Jinxi murmured, then his face suddenly changed: "Not good, for him to reach such a level, there's no one on our side in the Worldly Realm, we can't let the Worldly Realm make a move, yet within the Divine Chapter Realm, who can specialize to this extent?"

Zhao Douan was taken aback: "You can't beat him?"

Song Jinxi shook his head: "Fighting is another matter, I don't stand in awe of him, but if it's only about armor-breaking, I am not as good as him."

Even Mo Chou, who was beside, understood: "You mean to say, he has maximized the Divine Chapter Realm's power, and within the same realm, no one can surpass him?"

"Formidable," Zhao Douan sighed.

At this time, amid commotion, only Eunuch Hai still drooped his eyelids, no joy or sorrow, as if in the eyes of this legendary tributor, the bout among juniors was no different from childish play.

Chai Keqiao smiled and said: "My junior brother doesn't have many skills, but his swordsmanship is quite good. It's time for you all to give guidance."

He looked towards the multitude of tributors, and instantly, the discussions ceased, with no tributor stepping forward.

The strongest Tang Jinzhong was prohibited from making a move due to his great realm cultivation, and Song Jinxi admitted himself to be inferior, while the other tributors also lacked confidence.

With a blindfold on, Qi Ye, with arms crossed, slowly smirked with sarcasm, suddenly turning his head to "look" at Zhao Douan hiding in the crowd: "Won't Junior Guardian Zhao step forward?"

Swipe—

All eyes focused over, aligning with Mo Chou's whispered speculation with the grasshoppers on Zhao Douan's back that Qingshan might have intentionally trained such a disciple for this segment. Zhao Douan was momentarily stunned, then smiled: "You can see me?"

The cool, sword-hugging youth said coldly: "I am blind but not heartless. I heard long ago that Junior Guardian Zhao once defeated Tianhai of the Divine Dragon Temple in the grand competition of the Buddhist Tao, hailed as a genius. I came down the mountain this time to ask for advice in person, thus..."

He pointed to that row of armors: "Would Junior Guardian Zhao be willing to give some guidance?"

He paused, his mouth curving up provocatively: "I imagine with Junior Guardian Zhao's sword Dao, calling out the Taia Sword would not only cut through just these dozens of armors, but even a whole mountain, right? Or is it that Junior Guardian Zhao looks down upon our Qingshan line, unwilling even to impart some guidance?"

Provocation!

At this moment, even a three-year-old child could hear the intense provocation and sarcasm in Qi Ye's words.

Of course, the Taia Sword is strong, but if Zhao Douan really summoned the Taia just for armor-breaking, that would truly be a disgrace.

Moreover, those words seemed to flatter him, but were actually openly mocking him for vainglory.

Eunuch Hai glanced at him, silent, like an impartial judge.

Yet, on the side of the Imperial Palace, regardless of guards or tributors, their expressions had changed!

Mo Chou's face turned slightly pale, a heavy feeling sinking in her heart as the worst-case scenario she envisioned unfolded.

This rebellious swordsman, aligned closely with the small monk Tianhai, indeed seized this chance to publicly challenge Zhao Douan.

Moreover, the other party cleverly did not break any "rules," aiming to embarrass Zhao Douan face-to-face.

"You..." Mo Chou hurriedly looked at Zhao next to her, only to see him calmly composed, seemingly not the least bit angered, with a gentle tone he waved his hand and smiled:

"You flatter, Your Excellency. Back then, it was a fortunate victory, if it were a test of cultivation, I would certainly not compare. Today, having neither the depth of Your Excellency's cultivation, it would be unbecoming of me to show off."

Openly admitting? Retreating?

Mo Chou was taken aback, utterly surprised.

Not only him, Tang Jinzhong, Song Jinxi, and other tributors were also greatly astonished.

In almost everyone's perception, "Zhao Yan" was not someone with a good temper, prone to seeking revenge for the smallest grievance, not to mention if a royal dared disrespect him, he would immediately speak up.