The High-Martial Great Tang

He's here!

Lu Changfeng's gaze flickered. He swiftly suppressed his stray thoughts and called out, "Please come in."

The door swung open. Without waiting to be shown in, Imperial Physician Director Zhang Shouzhuo strode into the courtyard with his hands behind his back.

His gaze flashed like lightning, swiftly sweeping over the three-story building before finally settling on Lu Changfeng with undisguised scrutiny and condescension.

"You are Lu Changfeng?" he asked coldly.

"I am."

Lu Changfeng cupped his hands in greeting, neither servile nor arrogant. "To what do I owe the honor of your visit, Imperial Physician Director Zhang?"

"I would hardly presume to instruct you."

Zhang Shouzhuo paced slowly, his tone flat. "I hear your medical skills are exceptional, Mr. Lu. You actually cured a case of 'neck syncope' with golden needles when even the Imperial Medical Bureau could not identify the condition. As the unworthy holder of the office of Imperial Physician Director, I naturally had to come meet such a gifted man."

Then his tone shifted, and his gaze stabbed at Lu Changfeng like a needle. "But medicine concerns human lives, and nothing matters more than the provenance of one's teachings. Your golden-needle technique is quite unusual. In all my decades of practicing medicine, I have never encountered it. May I ask which esteemed master taught you, Mr. Lu? From which medical classic does it derive?"

He paused briefly, the faintest sneer tugging at his lips, as though he were inspecting some inferior utensil. "After all, the streets and back alleys abound with crude remedies and unorthodox tricks unfit for respectable company. If they occasionally work, it is merely a blind cat stumbling upon a dead mouse! Such things have no place in distinguished halls, much less in the service of Phoenix Sons and Dragon Grandsons."

This was all but naked humiliation. Lu Changfeng narrowed his eyes.

Zhang Shouzhuo then leaned forward slightly and lowered his voice, filling it with unquestionable authority. "The Imperial Medical Bureau oversees medical affairs throughout the realm. We cannot neglect to investigate the origins of medical techniques. Since you have entered the Princess's Residence, Mr. Lu, it would be best to make your lineage... quite clear."

Lu Changfeng knew little about Tang Dynasty history. All he knew of Emperor Zhongzong, Li Xian, was that he was a king of cuckolds and a complete fool whose reign had been plagued by corruption. He knew none of the particulars, but now he had experienced them firsthand.

Those words actually came out of a fucking Imperial Physician Director's mouth!

Lu Changfeng sneered inwardly and could no longer be bothered to play along. "I cannot agree with you, Imperial Physician Director. Though my medical skills do not come from a prestigious school, they were honed through hundreds upon thousands of cases among ordinary people. I cured the eldest young master by treating his specific condition. Which school taught me hardly seems relevant... Just as some people, despite having renowned masters and classical texts at their disposal, lack skill and remain prisoners of their own narrow views. Whenever they encounter a difficult illness, they simply blame 'evil spirits.' Would that not be an even greater betrayal of their teachers' legacy, making them nothing but a laughingstock?"

"You!"

These words struck precisely at the sore spot of Zhang Shouzhuo and the Medicine King Valley behind him-they had previously misdiagnosed Xue Chongyin's illness as "evil spirit possession"!

Zhang Shouzhuo's expression darkened as the blunt retort choked off his words. He had never expected this youth to be so audacious. Rather than parrying his move, the boy had overturned the whole table!

Anger flashed through his eyes. Suppressing his fury, he said, "What a sharp-tongued brat! Chang'an is no rural backwater. A glib tongue and a little luck will not take you far!"

"Quite right, Imperial Physician Director."

Lu Changfeng answered calmly, the faintest curve at the corners of his mouth. "That is why one relies on genuine skill. Had luck failed me and I been unable to cure the eldest young master, my head would already have parted from my body. Without skill, the eldest young master would not be sitting comfortably now. Tell me, Imperial Physician Director-is that luck, or skill?"

Once again, he laid the result on the table, using an indisputable fact to block every one of the other man's doubts.

Repeatedly cut down by his retorts, Zhang Shouzhuo grew so furious that his hands trembled inside his sleeves. An invisible wave of force abruptly spread outward from him, bearing a crushing pressure straight toward Lu Changfeng-plainly, having lost the argument, he meant to reclaim his dignity through force!

Yet just as that true qi was about to strike him...

Qing Dai, who had been standing quietly beside him, seemed merely to take an idle half-step forward. Her skirt stirred as she positioned herself precisely half a foot in front of Lu Changfeng.

The surging pressure of true qi struck the space before her and vanished like a clay ox sinking into the sea. In an instant, it dissipated without a trace, failing to stir even a single strand of her hair!

Her eyes remained demurely lowered, as though she had simply grown tired of standing and shifted her posture.

Zhang Shouzhuo's pupils abruptly contracted. His seething fury felt as though a bucket of icy water had been poured over it.

He glanced at Qing Dai, inwardly alarmed. This woman was likely no ordinary maid, but one of the Princess's Residence's Plum Blossom Guards!

With her here, he could forget putting this brat in his place today. If he overstepped again, he might not even be able to extricate himself.

He shot Lu Changfeng a vicious glare, as though trying to carve that young, spirited face into his memory, and forced the words through clenched teeth. "Hmph! I hope your abilities measure up to your arrogance!"

In the end, he could only leave that feeble warning behind. He sharply flicked his sleeves and turned, stirring a gust as he strode out through the courtyard gate.

"I won't see you out."

Lu Changfeng's gaze gradually settled, with no trace of triumph.

He knew full well that satisfying as today had been, he had also made an enemy of the Imperial Physician Director-and even the Medicine King Valley behind him.

But that was all right.

When you're already buried in debts, what's one more!

He turned and gave Qing Dai, whose expression remained unchanged, a long look. His understanding of the hidden strength within this Princess's Residence had become much clearer.

Little did he know that Qing Dai's impression of him had changed considerably as well.

She had been ordered by the princess to attend him here, ostensibly to protect and monitor him. She had never expected to witness such a clash, each word meeting another like needle points.

What sort of man was Imperial Physician Director Zhang Shouzhuo? Even the Chief Secretary of the Princess's Residence had to treat him with considerable courtesy, and behind him stood the colossal power of the Medicine King Valley!

Yet this Mr. Lu...

It would have been one thing if he had not known that, but he did.

Qing Dai could not help recalling what he had just said. Neither servile nor arrogant, every sentence had struck a vital point. That final question in particular had rendered Imperial Physician Director Zhang speechless, leaving him no choice but to depart in anger.

Such quick wit and courage were utterly unlike the fawning, shrinking officials she usually saw within the residence.

"Qing Dai."

"Yes, sir."

Lu Changfeng rose and started back inside. "Lady Official Jinghong said that if I needed anything, I could ask you?"

"..."

At those words, Qing Dai's lowered lashes trembled slightly. "Her Highness has given her orders. I will naturally do my utmost to meet your needs within the bounds of propriety, sir."

Certain improper desires were plainly not included.

Lu Changfeng froze for a moment, then understood and chuckled despite himself. "You've misunderstood, Miss Qing Dai. I only wanted to ask-you dispelled Zhang Shouzhuo's pressure so effortlessly just now. Might I ask... what realm you have reached?"

Qing Dai visibly relaxed at his words, but then her delicate brows furrowed, revealing a hint of difficulty.

A martial artist's realm concerned the very foundation of their strength. How could she readily disclose it to someone else?

Choosing her words, she said, "Mr. Lu, my meager cultivation is truly not worth mentioning..."

Seeing that she was unwilling to answer, Lu Changfeng readily yielded and took another step back, asking the question that truly concerned him. "I was presumptuous. Then could you instead explain how the realms of martial artists are divided in this world? I have spent so long among ordinary folk that I know little of such matters."

Though this question also concerned the Martial Way, it no longer pried into her personal secrets and fell within the scope of common knowledge. Qing Dai felt that answering would not overstep her bounds, so she replied softly, "As martial artists progress from the mortal to the transcendent, they can broadly be divided into six realms."

"The first is body tempering. One tempers the muscles and bones and enriches the blood and vital energy. This forms the foundation."

"The second is Houtian. One opens the meridians and channels, generating internal energy. At this level, one may be considered a capable fighter."

"The third is Xiantian. One connects the twin bridges and condenses internal energy into force. One can then cross a river on a single reed and be counted among the first-rate."

"The fourth is Grandmaster. One comprehends an artistic conception and establishes a path of one's own, using manifestations of heaven and earth to influence others. Such people are honored guests whom every faction competes to recruit."

"The fifth is Great Grandmaster. Through Heaven-and-Human Resonance, internal energy renews itself without end. Its circulation forms a world unto itself. Such people stand at the pinnacle of the mortal realm, dragons whose heads may be glimpsed but whose tails remain unseen."

At this point...

Qing Dai paused briefly, a trace of reverence and longing passing through her eyes. "As for the sixth realm... it is called 'divine wandering,' and belongs to legend. Those who enter it can split great rivers with a palm strike and shatter mountains with a punch. With a single thought, their spirits can roam the boundless void, almost transcending mortality and entering sainthood. In the present age, only a scant few reclusive figures have touched this realm."

She spoke unhurriedly, explaining the characteristics of each of the six realms in turn, then fell silent.

Lu Changfeng committed them to memory, his understanding already clear.

The second realm, Houtian, involved opening the meridians and channels. That matched his current state perfectly: he had achieved full mastery of nine yin and opened all eight meridians, but had yet to connect the twin bridges of heaven and earth. In other words, he was at the peak of Houtian.

Zhang Shouzhuo was probably at much the same level. Since Qing Dai could dispel his force so easily, her cultivation was likely at least in the Xiantian realm!

Even a maid possessed such strength...

His understanding of this High Martial World deepened once more. The road ahead was indeed far broader than he had imagined-and far more dangerous.