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The entire courtyard went crazy. Everyone present thought Zu An had lost his mind! Those who were somewhat closer to him silently cursed a bit, while those who were in the other camp and more hostile openly berated him.
A hint of anger appeared in Chu Chuyan’s eyes. These guys knew nothing about Ah Zu’s power! Previously, she had personally witnessed Ah Zu’s sword and realized that his skills were unfathomable then.
This Zhi Yin’s cultivation wasn’t bad, but he still wasn’t comparable to Ah Zu. On the other hand, while Ah Zu’s statement was true, it still meant he had fully offended the Heavenly Sorrow Sect. If the Sect Master got angry and wanted to get revenge against him, things would become troublesome.
As far as Chu Chuyan knew, no matter how strong Zu An was, he was still far from an older generation grandmaster. She was worried and wondered whether to ask her master for help in stopping Sect Master Guan.
Yan Xuehen had a strange expression. Out of those present, she was probably the only one who knew that Zu An wasn’t kidding. Forget about Zhi Yin alone, even if Guan Chouhai interfered, he wouldn’t necessarily have a good time. Even though Zu An’s cultivation hadn’t reached the level of grandmaster yet, his strength was very strange and unique. He couldn't be evaluated through normal means.
Suddenly, another voice called out from the crowd, “I am Armed Escort Division’s Zhang Zijiang! I will exchange pointers with this one in Sir Zu’s place.”
The previously noisy courtyard suddenly fell silent in the wake of the declaration. Those present focused their gazes on the general next to Zu An. Didn’t his challenge only prove that Zhi Yin was too strong for Zu An, forcing someone else to do it in his place?
Indeed, the Armed Escort Division was the emperor’s personal army. This degree of open-mindedness and faith really… left others with nothing to say.
Forget about everyone else, even Zu An gave Zhang Zijiang a look of surprise. His cultivation wasn’t weak, but compared to Heavenly Sorrow’s most outstanding disciple, he was still a bit inferior. His life could be at risk if they really fought.
Zhang Zijiang couldn't help but stick out his chest when he saw Zu An’s gaze. He thought to himself, Sir Zu was placed in such an awkward situation just now. He should be really thankful toward me for helping him out of this situation.
That Wang Bolin has always looked down on me for my bootlicking, but that guy has no idea that bootlicking isn’t so easily done! You have to bootlick in someone’s time of need, which is way better than just praising them when they’re already perfect.
Still, the one thing he really did have to worry about was that, while he had helped out Sir Zu, Heavenly Sorrow could end up directing their anger at him. When he saw Zhi Yin looking at him with the gaze of a hungry predator, he thought to himself, I’m not going to be beaten to death later… Right?
Even though he believed that he was quite talented, he didn’t think he could win against Heavenly Sorrow Sect Master’s personal disciple. The reason he had stepped forward was just because he had been going all out with his bootlicking.
Forget it, I’ll just take some injuries at worst. I deliberately shared my identity already. I’m a deputy general of his majesty’s personal army. Don’t tell me Heavenly Sorrow’s people would really dare to kill me?
The Heavenly Sorrow Sect was different from a rebel army such as the Twin Dragon Mountains. The rebel army was an enemy of the court, so of course they would fight to the death, but the Heavenly Sorrow Sect still bowed down to the court on the surface.
There’s no way they would dare to kill me. Yeah, that’s for sure.
Zhi Yin gave Zu An a look. When he saw that Zu An didn’t have any intention of fighting, he gave Zhang Zijiang a look and said, “You’re not qualified!”
Afterward, he sat down again. However, he suddenly realized that his words seemed to be an imitation. He was so angry that he drained his wine glass in a single gulp to eliminate his resentment.
Zhang Zijiang was stunned. Even though he had been worried about being beaten to death, he was still furious when the opponent looked down on him that way. He exclaimed, “Damn brat, what did you say?”
He was a glorious court officer, the Armed Escort Division’s Deputy General, and yet he was being looked down on like this? He shouted noisily and prepared to charge over, but his subordinates tactfully held him back.
Zhagn Zijiang sighed in relief, thinking, These guys still know what to do. If they hadn’t held me back and I really charged out there, who knows what would have happened?
Meanwhile, when Zhi Yin saw how angry Zhang Zijiang was, he felt a bit better. He thought to himself, I can’t let our relationship with the court get too messy, and thus ordered the gloomy-looking youngster next to him, “Ninth junior brother, you should exchange some pointers with this general. It’ll be good training for the Great Sects Competition.”
Zu An was stunned. What was the Great Sects Competition Zhi Yin was talking about?
“Sure!” the youngster replied with a nod, then stood up. He looked at Zhang Zijiang and said, “Heavenly Sorrow’s Cai Yu requests an exchange!”
Zhang Zijiang now became a bit nervous. If he went up against Zhi Yin, it would be fine even if he lost, as the other guy still had a certain amount of reputation. However, if he fought against a youngster, he couldn't really brag if he won, and he would lose everything if he lost.
He was at a loss for what to do, but suddenly, a burst of ki erupted from the depths of the king manor. Everyone present was a cultivator, so they instantly deduced that it came from a battle. Soon after, the sounds of fighting and weapons clashing filled the air.
A guard rushed into the room and hurriedly spoke to King Yan. King Yan’s face visibly darkened. The grandmasters present keenly picked up on the guard’s report: An assassin had infiltrated the area, and Sir Huo was giving chase.
Guan Chouhai chuckled and said, “King, it seems there has been an unexpected guest. Should this one lend a hand?”
“There is no need to trouble Sect Master Guan,” King Yan said with a forced smile, “All of you can continue; there is already someone taking care of things.”
Zu An suddenly stood up and said, “The king is acting as the host. A fight here would be truly uncivilized, and it would be bad no matter which side got hurt. Why not change the method of competition?”
“How so?” Zhi Yin asked, suddenly raising his head. He wasn’t scared of a challenge; he was only scared that Zu An wouldn’t accept. As Zu An had come up with an idea, Zhi Yin had to take the chance to properly discipline him.
“Why don’t we see who can capture this uninvited guest first, and consider that person the winner?” Zu An asked with a smile. He had also noticed the mention of Sir Huo, giving rise to a suspicion he was planning to confirm.
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Zhang Zijiang had been feeling annoyed already. When he heard that, he quickly became excited and agreed, saying, “Sir Zu’s suggestion is wonderful!” Then, he showered him with praise, leaving even Zu An a bit embarrassed.
King Yan frowned. He was about to refuse when Zhi Yin nodded and said, “Fine!”
Then, Zhi Yin got up and moved toward the direction of the fight. Cai Yu followed close behind. Zhao Xiaodie seemed to be the one who was most excited about some action happening. She also went after them.
In contrast, Zu An got up leisurely, while Zhang Zijiang also followed behind him like an obedient child. He clearly still remembered the thought of competing against Cai Yu.
King Yan couldn't really stop them now and could only say, “Then I’ll have to trouble all of you.”
At the same time, he gave Sun Xun a look, indicating for him to go and monitor the situation so as to prevent all the guests from starting a huge mess and looking at things they weren’t supposed to look at. Sun Xun nodded and silently disappeared.
“The young are too impulsive, and cannot refuse a challenge. I hope that the king does not take offense,” Guan Chouhai said, quickly deflecting the blame onto Zu An; his implication was that his own disciple was just adapting to the situation and that Zu An was the first to act.
King Yan expressed his understanding, saying, “We should just let the juniors settle their problems. Haha, let us continue drinking.” He picked up his wine glass and raised it toward both Guan Chouhai and Yan Xuehen.
However, Yan Xuehen was a bit absent-minded. What is that kid doing? Why did he suddenly want a battle?
No, he’s definitely not after Zhi Yin and has another objective.
…
Meanwhile, after Zu An left his seat, he began to spread his divine sense throughout the manor. However, this manor seemed to have some special formation in place that made his divine sense’s range much smaller than usual. Fortunately, he still had the jade badge’s help, allowing him to pick up some vague clues. He found a chance to send Zhang Zijiang away, then headed toward a certain courtyard.
The jade badge wasn’t omnipotent, after all, and the intelligence of smaller creatures was often limited. Unless they just happened to have seen something, they would only have very vague information about things they had seen before. He only suspected that the assassin had gone to that area, but he had to investigate carefully to find out exactly where they were.
Thus, Zu An arrived in front of a room. He was about to push open the door when it suddenly opened. A black-clad woman suddenly appeared, holding a blade and pressing it against his body. She hissed, “Don’t make a single sound, or else I’ll kill you!”