A Twenty-Year-Old Martial Saint Peak, Shocking the Court!

The Dragon Carriage slowly came to a stop before Taiji Hall.

Lin Changqing, Su Gan, and Sixth Ancestor stepped down from the Dragon Carriage in turn, with the officials lined up behind them.

Su Gan personally led the way, taking Lin Changqing through palace after palace and pavilion after pavilion while introducing the layout of the imperial palace and its legends.

Sixth Ancestor occasionally chimed in from the side with additions, and the atmosphere was fairly harmonious.

The three passed through the Gate of Supreme Harmony, went around the Hall of Supreme Harmony, and finally arrived before a side hall.

The hall doors stood wide open, and the banquet had long since been prepared.

Several hundred low tables were arranged in neat rows, laden with delicacies.

Spiritual fruits, fine nectar, rare treasures, and exotic beasts—everything was there.

At the same time.

In a pavilion some distance away from the side hall.

Su Wanqing stood by the window, gazing at the vast procession from afar.

She saw Father Emperor walking at the front, with Sixth Ancestor there as well.

And the young man between them should have been the legendary Evergreen Saint Venerable.

Su Wanqing froze for a moment.

That man... did not seem as old as she had imagined?

From afar, he looked tall and straight, with clear, handsome features. He appeared to be only a little over twenty.

But she immediately spat in her heart.

Martial Saint experts could preserve their appearance. What use was looking young?

For all she knew, he might have been older than her imperial grandfather's imperial grandfather.

At that thought, Su Wanqing felt another wave of discomfort.

She subconsciously squeezed the Age-Testing Bead hidden in her sleeve, but it showed no reaction.

The distance was too great, and Martial Saints all had protective aura around them. The Age-Testing Bead could not sense him at all.

Just then, footsteps sounded behind her.

An elderly eunuch with grizzled hair hurried over with several matrons and respectfully bowed before Su Wanqing.

"This old servant greets Princess Yunshu."

When Su Wanqing saw that it was Eunuch Wang, the personal eunuch who had served Father Emperor for decades, her heart skipped a beat.

Sure enough, Eunuch Wang continued, "Your Highness, His Majesty sent this old servant to remind you not to forget what happened last night."

"Today's luncheon is no trivial matter. Your Highness must perform well and catch Evergreen Saint Venerable's attention. There must not be the slightest mistake."

Su Wanqing bit her lip and said nothing.

She wanted to say she would not go, but the words would not leave her mouth.

Because she knew that Father Emperor had set his heart on it this time. Even if she cried and made a scene, she would not be able to change anything.

Seeing the redness in Su Wanqing's eyes, Eunuch Wang felt some pity as well.

But an imperial command could not be defied, so he still hardened his heart and waved at the matrons behind him.

"Come. Dress up Her Highness properly. You must make Her Highness radiant and stunning enough to outshine all others..."

Su Wanqing closed her eyes and allowed the matrons to press her down before the dressing table.

Inside the side hall.

The banquet officially began with Lin Changqing's arrival.

The sound of silk and bamboo instruments rose, and dancing girls swayed gracefully.

The Civil and Military Officials sat on either side, arranged in order of rank.

Su Gan sat at the seat of honor, while Lin Changqing and Sixth Ancestor occupied the most distinguished guest seats to his left and right.

This arrangement itself was a declaration—Evergreen Saint Venerable's status was equal to that of the Su Clan's ancestor.

Sixth Ancestor chuckled as he took an ancient wine jar from his Storage Ring and personally poured Lin Changqing a cup.

The instant the wine poured out, an incomparably rich fragrance filled the entire side hall.

Just smelling it made the Civil and Military Officials present feel lightheaded and dreamy.

"Evergreen Saint Venerable, this jar is a fine treasure I have kept for eight hundred years. It is called Drunken Immortal Brew."

"Fewer than ten jars remain in the entire Great Yu Dynasty. Even a Ninth-Rank Martial Saint can get drunk from drinking too much. Since today is such a joyous occasion, I have brought it out for Saint Venerable to taste."

Lin Changqing raised his cup and took a sip.

As the wine went down his throat, a warm current of Spiritual Power slid downward and dispersed within his abdomen.

It truly tasted good.

"Not bad. Pour me another cup."

Sixth Ancestor laughed heartily and filled his cup again.

Seeing this, the assembled officials rose one after another to offer toasts.

"Congratulations to Saint Venerable on entering the court!"

"Congratulations to His Majesty for gaining such a mighty expert!"

"We offer a toast to Evergreen Saint Venerable!"

Lin Changqing accepted all comers, drinking cup after cup.

Sixth Ancestor also personally lifted a cup, rose to his feet, and solemnly said to Lin Changqing, "Evergreen Saint Venerable, this cup is from me to you."

"Your joining Great Yu is a blessing for Great Yu and a blessing for the people of the realm. From this day onward, you and I are colleagues. I shall drink first in tribute."

With that, he drained the cup in one gulp.

For a Dynasty Ancestor to publicly toast Lin Changqing gave him more than enough face.

Lin Changqing also stood, raised his cup, and returned the toast.

Halfway through the banquet, when the atmosphere was at its liveliest.

A crisp chime of jade ornaments suddenly sounded outside the hall.

Everyone turned toward the entrance in unison as a young girl in a light-purple palace gown walked in from outside.

Her long hair was swept high into a coiffure, with only a few dark strands hanging beside her ears.

A golden phoenix hairpin with spread wings was tucked into her hair. The phoenix held a thumb-sized Night-Shining Pearl in its beak, which swayed gently with her steps.

A crimson plum blossom ornament was painted between her brows, making her delicate features seem like a painting.

Her cherry lips bore a faint touch of rouge, like peach blossoms in the third month.

Her long light-purple palace gown trailed along the floor, cinched at the waist by a white jade belt that outlined a waist slender enough to encircle with one hand.

Her collar was slightly open, revealing a stretch of snow-white collarbone.

The instant she entered the side hall, the entire hall fell silent.

The ministers who had been offering toasts forgot to lower the cups suspended in their hands.

The dancing girls stopped as well, and every gaze in the hall converged upon her.

Too beautiful.

So beautiful that she did not seem like someone of this mortal world.

Su Wanqing walked before the imperial seat and gave a graceful bow.

"Your Son greets Father Emperor."

Seeing his daughter dressed like this, a flicker of satisfaction passed through Su Gan's eyes.

He waved and smiled. "Wanqing is here. Come over. I will introduce you."

Su Wanqing obediently walked to Father Emperor's side.

Su Gan pointed to Lin Changqing and said to his daughter, "This is Great Yu Dynasty's newly appointed guardian offering, Evergreen Saint Venerable."

Then he smiled at Lin Changqing. "Evergreen Saint Venerable, this is my youngest daughter, Princess Yunshu Su Wanqing."

"She just turned eighteen this year. She excels in music, chess, calligraphy, and painting, and her temperament is gentle as well. Among all my daughters, she is the most outstanding."

Lin Changqing looked at Su Wanqing and nodded slightly.

It had to be said that Princess Yunshu truly was a beauty capable of toppling kingdoms and cities.

Su Gan gave his daughter a meaningful look. "Wanqing, go offer Evergreen Saint Venerable a cup of wine. Saint Venerable has come from afar, and as a princess, you should properly receive him on my behalf."

Su Wanqing answered softly, picked up a wine cup, and walked to Lin Changqing's low table.

Keeping her head lowered, she held the cup in both hands and said quietly, "Wanqing offers Saint Venerable a cup."

Her voice was soft and sweet, carrying a trace of barely perceptible nervousness.

Lin Changqing picked up the cup and drained it in one gulp.

Taking advantage of the moment, Su Wanqing quietly slipped the Age-Testing Bead from her sleeve into her palm.

Now that she was close enough, the Age-Testing Bead should be able to detect him.

She secretly lowered her head and glanced at the bead in her palm.

Then her entire body froze.

A line of words had clearly appeared on the Age-Testing Bead—twenty years old.

Su Wanqing rubbed her eyes and looked again.

It was still twenty years old.

Her mind went blank.

Twenty years old? A Martial Saint Peak at twenty years old? How was that possible!

The bead had to be broken!

Yes, it had to be broken.

She instinctively tested him again, but the result was exactly the same.

Su Wanqing was completely dumbfounded, standing rooted to the spot in utter confusion.

She even forgot to put down the wine cup in her hand.

Naturally, Lin Changqing noticed her strange behavior and little movements. He set down his cup and looked at her.

"What is wrong, Princess?"

Su Wanqing came back to her senses and hurriedly shook her head. "N-No, nothing."

But anyone could see that there was something wrong with her dazed, distraught appearance.

Sixth Ancestor frowned slightly, rose to his feet, and cupped his hands toward Lin Changqing. "Evergreen Saint Venerable, this child does not know better and has made a spectacle of herself. I apologize on her behalf."

Lin Changqing waved a hand. "No matter."

Sixth Ancestor called Su Wanqing aside and asked in a low voice, "Wanqing, what happened? Why did you lose your composure for no reason?"

Su Wanqing hesitated for a moment before handing the Age-Testing Bead in her palm to Sixth Ancestor.

She lowered her voice to almost a whisper. "Sixth Ancestor, l-look at this. Just now, I used the Age-Testing Bead to test that Evergreen Saint Venerable's age..."

Sixth Ancestor lowered his head to look at the Age-Testing Bead.

The number displayed on it stunned even this old relic who had lived for over two thousand three hundred years.

Twenty years old.

His first reaction was that the bead was broken.

But after carefully examining it, he found that the spiritual patterns on the Age-Testing Bead were intact and functioning normally.

The bead was not the problem.

Sixth Ancestor fell silent.

He raised his head and looked toward Lin Changqing, who was still drinking at his seat, disbelief filling his eyes.

Twenty years old.

A twenty-year-old Ninth-Rank Martial Saint Peak.

Throughout the history of the Heavenly Martial Continent, a genius capable of breaking through to Martial Saint at three hundred years old was already a monster seen only once in a thousand years.

Twenty years old—what kind of concept was that?

This could no longer be described as monstrous talent. It completely overturned his understanding of cultivation!

Suppressing the shock in his heart, Sixth Ancestor walked back to Lin Changqing.

After carefully choosing his words, he cautiously said, "Evergreen Saint Venerable, this old man... has an impertinent question he wishes to ask."

Holding his wine cup, Lin Changqing glanced at him. "Ask whatever you wish."

Sixth Ancestor hesitated, but ultimately asked it.

"May I ask... how old is Saint Venerable this year?"

His voice was not loud, but every Civil and Military Official in the side hall heard it.

Everyone pricked up their ears.

They were also curious just how old this Evergreen Saint Venerable was.

Hearing this, Lin Changqing smiled carelessly.

"Twenty years old. Why?"

His voice was not loud, yet it was like a bolt of thunder exploding through the entire side hall.

Twenty years old.

Clatter.

A minister's wine cup fell to the floor and shattered into pieces.

No one went to pick it up.

Everyone stood frozen in place as though a binding spell had been cast upon them.

Martial Saint Peak.

Twenty years old.

Placed together, those two terms had already surpassed everyone's understanding.

Sixth Ancestor stood where he was, the expression on his face changing from shock to blankness.

The Age-Testing Bead was not broken.

Lin Changqing admitted it himself.

Twenty years old—an exact match for the number on the Age-Testing Bead.

He fell silent for quite a while before speaking again, his voice carrying a faint, almost imperceptible tremor.

"Evergreen Saint Venerable... you weren't joking with this old man, were you?"

Lin Changqing looked at him as though he found the question baffling, then set down his wine cup.

"What is there to joke about? Twenty is twenty. If you don't believe it, you can come examine me yourself."

The Sixth Ancestor hesitated.

A twenty-year-old at the Martial Saint Peak was simply too shocking. So shocking that he could not rest easy without verifying it personally.

Mustering his courage, he stepped forward and released a thread of perception, carefully probing toward Lin Changqing.

A martial artist's bone age could not be falsified. No matter how one's outward appearance changed, the traces of skeletal growth would faithfully record one's true age.

A few breaths later, the Sixth Ancestor withdrew his divine sense, utterly dumbfounded.

He really was twenty.

His bone age was crystal clear—exactly twenty years!

That meant... Evergreen Saint Venerable's youthful appearance was not forcibly maintained through cultivation at all. It was completely natural!

He truly was only twenty years old!

The Sixth Ancestor stood rooted to the spot, his expression spectacular beyond words.

A young man of twenty possessed a Martial Saint Peak cultivation base capable of looking down upon the entire Heavenly Martial Continent.

Yet this old fellow, who had lived for more than two thousand three hundred years, had cultivated all his life only to barely reach the Mid Martial Saint Stage.

The gap was so vast that it made him question his entire life!

Watching everyone's stunned expressions, Lin Changqing lifted his wine cup and took another sip.

His face was utterly calm, as light as drifting clouds and as gentle as the breeze.

"I merely encountered some opportunities on the path of cultivation that others could scarcely hope to reach. There's no need to be so shocked."

The moment those words fell, everyone present was even more stunned.

Breaking through to the Martial Saint Peak at twenty, and that was merely "some opportunities"?

Then should people like them, who had cultivated for centuries yet remained stuck at the seventh or eighth rank, just find a block of tofu and smash themselves to death?

The Sixth Ancestor drew a deep breath and slowly sat back down.

Despite living for so long, this was the first time he had ever been shocked to such an extent.

A twenty-year-old Martial Saint Peak.

If this news got out, the entire Heavenly Martial Continent would explode!