Defeat the Enemy with One Sword [Please Subscribe, Please Vote for a Monthly Ticket!]

...Summon Liu Xuande to the hall?

Jiang Chen felt somewhat dazed as he listened.

It was as if he had returned to the Three Kingdoms era, where Emperor Xian of Han, held hostage to command the feudal lords, searched through the imperial genealogy and addressed him as Imperial Uncle Liu, while his previous alt account, Cao Mengde, stood beside him.

Jiang Chen carried the water tank into the Golden Hall.

The Empress Dowager, the princess, and even Yun Lanzi, the beast tamer, were all startled.

He had not even disguised himself...

He had merely changed his name and charged straight into the imperial palace.

Princess Ping'an immediately ran over to inspect the water tank. Aside from the swollen lump on their heads where they had been knocked unconscious, the two merfolk women had no other injuries, nor were there any restraints within their bodies.

Only then did she let out a sigh of relief and cry excitedly:

"Xiaobai, Feifei... wake up... it's me, Xiaochan!"

Xiaochan was acceptable enough...

Jiang Chen took a look.

The princess's eyes were red, and she was overwhelmed with emotion. If she was acting, she could compete for an Oscar Lifetime Achievement Award.

At that moment, Yun Lanzi also stepped forward to inspect the water tank, checking for injuries and whether the restraints inside their bodies had been damaged. Only then did he nod to the others.

"They are indeed the Twin Mermaids this junior released."

The emperor was overjoyed. Even if there was some conspiracy behind this, as long as it could help him form a Nascent Soul, who in Fireburn Kingdom could touch him?

The Empress Dowager remained impassive. Though she did not know what medicine Jiang Chen was selling from his gourd, she merely watched the show.

Elder Guo's gaze was piercing as he stared at Jiang Chen.

"May I ask where Fellow Daoist Liu came from, and where he obtained these merfolk women?"

This time, Jiang Chen did not intend to rely on Li Lingzhou's infamous reputation to throw his weight around and gain an advantage. Otherwise, he might frighten the old emperor into refusing to accept the merfolk women.

"I am a disciple of the Azure Mist Sect. A few days ago, I purchased a rare pair of Twin Mermaids at the black market. I came today because I heard that the princess likes merfolk women. I thought I could send them into the palace and sell them for a good price."

Everyone exchanged looks.

In the vast Golden Hall, not a single person believed Jiang Chen's nonsense.

But that was not important.

What mattered was making the emperor wonder: whose man was Jiang Chen?

Yu Wenshu frowned.

One of the Empress Dowager's people? She had always openly and secretly fought him. Having finally acquired Twin Mermaids, why would she hand them over so readily?

One of the Beast Taming Sect's people? The Beast Taming Sect had always maintained good relations with Fireburn Kingdom, exchanging disciples and imperial consorts, but it was ambitious and cautious in its actions. Why would it send the merfolk women in such a roundabout manner?

With that thought, he could not help looking toward Princess Ping'an.

She had suddenly rejected Yun Lanzi in such a setting and claimed that she would marry whoever rescued the Twin Mermaids...

He had watched Xiaochan grow up. Though this daughter of his was mischievous, she was not particularly scheming.

For her to make such a choice, either she already had someone in her heart, or she loved merfolk women as much as her mother did.

Perhaps she already knew that he had imprisoned three hundred merfolk women and was still lacking two Twin Mermaids... and wanted to exchange them for the throne?

Yu Wenshu examined Jiang Chen again. Not only was he striking in appearance, his bearing possessed a rare clarity.

Unfortunately, his talent was somewhat lacking.

He was tired of all the plots and schemes. As long as he obtained the Twin Mermaids, he would have a way to form a Dragon-Blood True Nascent Soul. Even if the Beast Taming Sect or the Empress Dowager plotted against him, so what?

He would break them with force!

"In that case, name your price. Return the merfolk women to Junior Nephew Yun Lanzi, and bring about a fine union between the Beast Taming Sect and my Fireburn Kingdom. How about it?"

"One hundred thousand spirit stones, and I'll return the merfolk women to the Beast Taming Sect!"

Yun Lanzi:

"You—"

Even if merfolk women were valuable, one hundred thousand spirit stones was outrageously expensive.

Elder Guo's expression turned cold as a faint pressure radiated from him.

Jiang Chen acted as if he did not see it.

The old emperor also stepped in to smooth things over, saying solemnly:

"I can afford one hundred thousand spirit stones, but these two merfolk women are, after all, betrothal gifts. Doing so may damage the Beast Taming Sect's reputation."

Elder Guo's expression darkened as his pressure spread.

"What if my Beast Taming Sect refuses to pay?"

To preserve the relationship between sect and kingdom, the old emperor said nothing.

But the princess feigned dejection and circled Jiang Chen, looking him over from head to toe.

"Then I can only marry this strange man."

Elder Guo's anger steadily rose. Since things had come to this, he might as well use the momentum to make a bigger issue of it. Spiritual pressure surged from him, enveloping the entire Golden Hall.

"Does Your Majesty think my Beast Taming Sect has no one?"

A massive black eagle circled above the Golden Hall. With an eagle's cry, its call rang through the clouds.

"This..."

The old emperor was also in a difficult position.

"Elder Guo, please quell your anger. This disciple said earlier that whoever used the merfolk women to forcibly marry the princess must first ask whether my sword agreed.

"Since Fellow Daoist Liu has earned the princess's favor, why not have a sword duel with Yun? If you defeat me, I will let today's matter rest.

"Otherwise, my Beast Taming Sect will not let this go!"

So he still had to duel Yun Lanzi after all...

Jiang Chen was helpless.

How could he fail to see that Yun Lanzi and the princess had conspired to lure him in? Through a sword duel, they wanted to probe his true strength and thereby infer the Empress Dowager's plans.

After all, how could it make sense for a beast tamer to carry a massive sword on his back?

Fortunately, Yun Lanzi had only proposed a sword duel, not a contest of cultivation. Jiang Chen could still fight and would not necessarily lose.

Before Jiang Chen could reply, Princess Ping'an shouted angrily:

"What do you take me for, a prize for a sword duel?"

With that, she angrily opened the water tank, released the two merfolk women, and led them back to Pingxing Palace.

Seeing that matters were getting out of hand, the emperor finally spoke.

"Since things have come to this, it can only be decided through a sword duel.

"If Liu Xuande wins, he may take the two merfolk women, marry the princess, and become the imperial son-in-law. Junior Nephew Yun may marry the other princess.

"If Junior Nephew Yun wins, I will use the lives of the two merfolk women as leverage to force him to marry you... As for Liu Xuande, trafficking merfolk slaves is punishable by death according to the law. But in consideration of the fact that you rescued the princess's childhood friends, I will not pursue the matter."

Jiang Chen thought, if I win, I can only marry the princess. If I lose, I even have to hand over the merfolk women.

I choose the second ending!

Having made his decision, Jiang Chen no longer had any fear and showed the emperor no respect at all.

"Who wants your princess? I want one hundred thousand spirit stones!"

Rather than flying into a royal rage, the old emperor felt even more reassured by Jiang Chen. Stroking his beard, he smiled and nodded repeatedly.

"You have courage. As long as you can win, if you become my imperial son-in-law, the dowry will not be lacking!"

No, I want to be your father!

Jiang Chen sneered.

"I am at the Qi Refining Ninth Layer, while this senior brother from the Beast Taming Sect is at the Foundation Establishment Peak. Isn't that unfair to me?"

Yun Lanzi calmly said:

"I will suppress my cultivation to the Qi Refining Ninth Layer. The moment I use even the slightest trace of Foundation Establishment spiritual pressure, I lose."

Jiang Chen was still not at ease.

"I am not skilled in swordsmanship, and blades and swords have no eyes. What if you kill me with a single strike?"

The emperor smiled.

"Though I am old, I am still a Nascent Soul cultivator. Neither of you can kill the other.

"If either of you accidentally kills the other, both lose."

Only then did Jiang Chen relax slightly.

"Can we begin?"

"We can begin."

"Right here in the hall?"

"Right here in the hall."

Yun Lanzi answered confidently, as if he could swiftly defeat Jiang Chen within a few moves in such a confined space.

Jiang Chen casually drew the Five-Element Sword and slashed from two zhang away.

This strike was not fast. It even appeared casual.

There was no Five-Element spirit infusion.

No fusion of demon and fiend aura.

Nor did he use Li Lingzhou's Pure Yang Sword Aura.

It was merely a simple Resonant Sword Shock.

Accompanied by an unremarkable sword hum, it swiftly triggered a sharp tremor in the air and shot toward Yun Lanzi's neck.

The sword shock was slow at first, but it rapidly resonated with the air in the hall, with the spiritual energy, and with the dispersed spiritual pressure...

Layer upon layer, it merged into the sword shock!

It grew faster and faster, while the sword hum became increasingly shrill.

Yun Lanzi listened intently to the sound and sensed that this strike was extraordinary, but he had missed the fleeting chance to defend or evade at the start.

In the blink of an eye, the sword shock was upon him, impossible to block.

Yun Lanzi's eyes froze. There was nowhere to evade, and he did not even have time to draw his sword.

Even if he had managed to draw it now, with the same Qi Refining Ninth Layer spiritual pressure, Yun Lanzi did not believe he could block this strike.

He could only unleash his spiritual pressure to its limit and raise a hand to slap away the sword shock!

Smack!

The sword shock was knocked against an inner pillar of the Golden Hall, protected by Nascent Soul-level spirit patterns.

Clang—

A lingering tremor echoed leisurely through the Golden Hall.

The entire hall fell silent.

Yun Lanzi's face darkened, and he said nothing.

The resonance throughout the hall made everyone's scalps tingle, almost bringing them to a cranial climax.

Jiang Chen then sheathed his sword with a clang, stopping the lingering tremors filling the hall. Only then did he glance sidelong at Yun Lanzi.

"You lost."