434: Xu State

Xiao Zhuo looked up and saw four burly men, dressed in Jianghu attire, sitting down as if no one else was around. Their behavior was crude, and they completely disregarded Xiao Zhuo and the other two standing by the table.

“Waiter! Bring the menu!” one of them yelled, slapping his knife on the table. His gaze swept over Xiao Zhuo and the other two with undisguised mockery.

Xiao Zhuo and Li Jin, for convenience and to avoid drawing attention, were only wearing ordinary brocade clothes today, not any precious magic robes.

From their appearance, they indeed looked no different from a well-off family, so it was no wonder the other party was so blind and fearless.

The person who slapped the knife had a cultivation in the Foundation Establishment Early Stage, and his Aura was even slightly weaker than Xiao Zhuo's. The other three were all in the Late Stage of Qi Condensation, ranging from the seventh to ninth layers.

Judging by their attire and accent, they were likely Loose Cultivators from out of town who had come to participate in the Xu State Dao Competition.

A cultivation in the Foundation Establishment Early Stage indeed offered a chance to achieve a ranking in the Dao Competition. With good luck, they might even secure an official position in Xu State.

Li Jin’s young face had already darkened.

Uncle Wu, who was behind him, remained calm.

Although he was responsible for protecting Li Jin, he would not easily make a move.

Moreover, in his opinion, these few people were far from enough to threaten his Young Master and the Prime Minister's Residence’s sixteenth Young Master.

“Get lost! This table is ours!” The knife-slapping man squinted at Li Jin, his tone overbearing, and his spit almost splattered on the table.

Diners at nearby tables turned their heads, but seeing these fierce-looking men with weapons, they immediately lowered their heads, not daring to provoke them.

Li Jin’s cheeks flushed red with anger.

As the son of the Grand General who guarded the nation, when had he ever suffered such indignity in the capital city of Xu State?

Just as he was about to retort, Xiao Zhuo gently pulled his sleeve.

Xiao Zhuo showed no anger on his face; instead, he displayed a perfectly timed hint of timidity. He cupped his hands towards the knife-slapping man and said in a humble tone, “Brother, everything has a first-come, first-served rule. This table was ours first…”

“First-come, first-served?” The man sneered before Xiao Zhuo could finish, and slapped his scabbard again, producing a dull thud. “My knife is first-come, first-served! It was placed on this table first, understand? You little brat who hasn’t even grown hair, get lost quickly, don’t ruin our appetite!”

His three companions also burst into laughter, their eyes contemptuous, completely disregarding the two half-grown youths.

Li Jin clenched his fists in anger, the veins on the back of his hands bulging.

Uncle Wu remained silent behind him, only his gaze sweeping over the four men faintly, as if looking at a few senseless dead objects.

Xiao Zhuo’s “timidity” grew even stronger, and he even took a half-step back, as if genuinely intimidated by the other party’s Aura.

His appearance further fueled the arrogance of those men.

“Kid, at least you’re sensible!” The knife-slapping man, smugly, reached out to push Xiao Zhuo, “Now get out—”

Before he finished speaking, a sudden change occurred!

The sneer on the man’s face abruptly froze, replaced by an extreme terror.

He found that he couldn’t move!

His arm was firmly gripped by Xiao Zhuo’s seemingly small hand, sending waves of excruciating pain through him.

A chilling True Essence invaded his arm, instantly suppressing all the True Essence within his body!

Almost at the same time, his three companions, who had been laughing, also noticed something was wrong, and their laughter abruptly ceased.

The entire hall suddenly became so quiet that a pin drop could be heard.

All the diners stared with wide eyes, not understanding what was happening.

Only Li Jin’s angry expression instantly turned into a mischievous grin, mixed with excitement and the satisfaction of a prank well-executed.

The timidity and fear on Xiao Zhuo’s face had long vanished, replaced by a condescending cold indifference.

With a casual flick of his hand, the leading man was thrown directly out of the inn like a kite with a broken string!

Bang! Bang! Bang!

The man rolled several times after landing, knocking over several slop buckets by the roadside, getting himself covered in filth and reeking of foul odors.

Many passersby, seeing this, covered their noses and turned their heads away.

The remaining three, seeing their leader thrown out like trash, immediately realized they had run into a formidable opponent. They hastily grabbed their weapons from the table and retreated, their faces filled with panic.

After a moment of hesitation, one of them returned to help up the dazed and reeking man who had fallen hard.

The man struggled to his feet, his gaze at Xiao Zhuo filled with venom, yet he ultimately dared not utter a single harsh word. He pushed his companion away and stumbled away into the distance.

The hall remained silent. All the diners, looking at the two young men who had re-seated themselves, now had awe in their eyes.

“Original identity of the body! You’re quite the actor! If I had made a move, I would have crippled that claw of his!” Li Jin let out a sigh of relief, then pouted slightly with dissatisfaction.

Xiao Zhuo merely smiled faintly and said to the waiter, who was waiting respectfully and even fearfully, “Bring a few of your establishment’s signature dishes.”

After giving his order, he turned to Li Jin, his tone calm: “Those people clearly came to Xudu for the Dao Competition. A slight punishment is enough; if we had been too heavy-handed, it might have caused trouble.”

“With our status, are we afraid of a few Loose Cultivators?” Li Jin said dismissively.

“They certainly can’t do anything to us, but our families…” Xiao Zhuo stopped there, not saying more.

Li Jin was startled, then understood.

He was the Grand General’s sixth son. Although his mother was a concubine of considerable status, there was still the Madam above her.

Although Xiao Zhuo was the legitimate son of the Prime Minister's Residence, his mother had died young, and he had older siblings. The residence also had Madam Zhao, the new wife, and children from other concubines.

During the Dao Competition, severely injuring or even killing a participating Cultivator could be a major or minor offense.

The Prime Minister's Residence and the Grand General’s Residence would naturally protect them, but those “relatives” in the residence would never miss an opportunity to make an issue of it and suppress them.

Upon hearing this, Uncle Wu, who was behind Li Jin, subtly shifted his gaze towards Xiao Zhuo, a hint of imperceptible approval flashing in his eyes.

Soon, the waiter brought several exquisite dishes.

Xiao Zhuo, as usual, invited Uncle Wu to join them at the table, and Uncle Wu did not decline, indicating that this situation was not a first.

After eating and drinking their fill, the three rested for about an hour in the room Xiao Zhuo had booked earlier, then set off again for the Dao Competition Plaza.

At a quarter past three in the afternoon, the Dao Competition continued.

Xiao Zhuo and Li Jin mingled in the crowd, looking up at the projection of the spell techniques in mid-air.

More than a dozen floating arenas hung ten zhang high, each a hundred zhang square, with a barrier/boundary set up around them, enough for Foundation Establishment and even Golden Core Cultivators to fully display their abilities.

At this moment, many Foundation Establishment and Golden Core Cultivators were already engaged in fierce combat on the stages.

The Dao Competition was a traditional grand event of the Changfeng Imperial Dynasty and its subordinate states, aimed at selecting masters from among the populace and cultivation Sects to serve the imperial court.

The top three in the grand competition would be sent to the Changfeng Imperial Dynasty to participate in the higher-level Imperial Dynasty Grand Competition.

Most of the remaining top hundred would choose to serve in the various states—of course, those who achieved a ranking could also choose to only receive rewards and continue to live freely.

However, for many Cultivators from humble backgrounds, the Dao Competition was indeed an important opportunity to rise in status.

After all, in this world, the Imperial Dynasty’s rule was supreme, and imperial power transcended all cultivation Sects.

Rumor had it that in a more distant place, an Immortal Dynasty also existed.

Xiao Zhuo could clearly perceive the power of this world—even in a remote small state like Xu State, what permeated the heavens and earth was not Spiritual Qi, but a more refined and concentrated Immortal Qi.

This was precisely why his current body, even without awakened memories, was able to achieve Foundation Establishment at the age of fifteen.

If such Immortal Qi permeated a remote corner, how astonishing must the resources possessed by the Imperial Dynasty, which occupied the most spiritually rich lands, and even the legendary Immortal Dynasty, be?