179: The Northern Liang envoy arrives, and the marriage certificate arrives in Beijing

And how, with a single sword strike, did he shatter the Dao Heart of the Wine Sword Immortal, who had roamed the Jianghu for a hundred years and was revered as a Living Immortal, forcing him to submit?

These stories, embellished by storytellers and Jianghu figures, had long become mythical.

Some said that The New Emperor was the Reincarnation of an ancient Immortal, born with boundless Divine Power.

Others said that during the years he was deposed, he obtained an Immortal Legacy in the deep mountains, learning true “Immortal Arts.”

Opinions varied, and no consensus was reached.

But one thing was universally acknowledged by all Jianghu people:

That is, within the current Chang'an City, upon the Kaiyuan Emperor Li Chengqian, lay the secret to the most pinnacle power of this era.

For a time, countless Jianghu figures, who considered themselves masters, turned their gaze towards that majestic imperial capital.

Some wished to pledge allegiance to The New Emperor, hoping for a future of wealth and status.

Others sought to challenge authority, aiming to achieve fame by stepping on the Emperor's name in battle.

But even more people, like those rumors suggested, wanted to go to Chang'an to explore the mysteries of the “Immortal Arts”... On the shores of the East Sea, in Martial God City.

A figure in white, with an exquisite, androgynous appearance, stood on the city wall, gazing westward.

On her back were two blades, one named “Embroidered Winter” and the other “Spring Thunder.”

Her face always carried an aloofness that kept strangers at bay, as if nothing in this world could stir her.

She was Nangong Pu She.

Revered as the “Most Beautiful Woman in the World,” and also known as “White Fox Face.”

She was also recognized as the most supreme blade master among the younger generation of the Jianghu.

Her goal was singular:

To become the true number one under heaven.

For this goal, she could sacrifice everything.

Over the years, she had read through all the martial arts in Martial God City and challenged countless established masters.

Her blade grew faster and sharper.

Her cultivation had also touched the threshold of the legendary “Living Immortal.”

Yet, she always felt something was missing.

What was the ultimate end of martial Dao?

Was it merely to be like Wang Xianzhi of Martial God City, presiding over a city, proclaiming himself undefeated, and then slowly growing old through the long years?

No.

Nangong Pu She did not want such a “number one under heaven.”

What she desired was the true, transcendent, supreme Dao that overlooked all Mortals.

Until those rumors about Chang'an reached her ears.

“A single sword strike, shattering an Immortal's Dao Heart?”

When Nangong Pu She first heard this rumor, her initial reaction was disbelief.

She had also heard of the Wine Sword Immortal's reputation.

He was an existence who truly stood at the pinnacle of martial Dao in the Mortal world.

Even her father, the former number one under heaven, would likely not gain any advantage before the Wine Sword Immortal.

And Li Chengqian, a young man in his early twenties, a Mortal emperor.

How could he, with a single sword strike, defeat such an existence?

There must be an element of exaggeration in this.

However, there is no smoke without fire.

For the entire Jianghu to be abuzz with such rumors, there must be some truth to it.

Nangong Pu She's heart stirred.

She felt that the answer she had been desperately seeking, one that transcended the limits of martial Dao, might just be in Chang'an.

It might be with that mysterious Kaiyuan Emperor.

“Immortal Arts...”

Nangong Pu She softly uttered these two words.

In her cool, clear eyes, for the first time, a flame named “desire” ignited.

She no longer hesitated.

She leaped from the high city wall, her figure like a white feather, gently floating to the ground.

Not a speck of dust was disturbed.

She did not bid farewell to anyone, including the Martial God City Lord who had raised her and taught her martial arts.

She simply set her sights on the west and walked, step by step.

Each step was steady.

Each step made the twin blades on her back resonate more perfectly with her heartbeat.

She was going to Chang'an.

Not to pledge allegiance, nor to challenge.

She wanted to see what these so-called “Immortal Arts” truly looked like.

Then, she would learn it.

And then, she would use it to surpass that high and mighty Emperor.

To become the one and only, the number one under heaven in this world!

This was Nangong Pu She's Dao.

A path to Dao that was purer and more solitary than anyone else's.

The autumn wind was bleak, and outside Chang'an City, on the official road, a convoy of carriages slowly approached.

This convoy was distinctly different from ordinary merchant caravans.

There were no noisy hawkers, no weary coachmen.

Only dozens of knights, clad in black iron armor, with Northern Liang blades at their waists and eyes as cold as ice, silently guarded the seemingly unluxurious carriage in the middle.

From their bodies emanated a fierce Evil Qi, forged only from mountains of corpses and seas of blood.

The faces of every man were etched with the pride and ferocity characteristic of the Northern Liang Iron Cavalry.

When this contingent appeared at the gates of Chang'an City, it immediately drew the vigilance of the city's garrison.

“Halt! Who goes there!”

A commanding officer of the city guard, leading a squad of Shence Army, immediately stepped forward and blocked their path.

The leading Northern Liang knight slowly reined in his horse.

From his bosom, he produced a black banner with golden characters and a document sealed with the Northern Liang King's seal.

“The Northern Liang King's envoy, by order of my King, has come to pay respects to His Majesty the Emperor of Great Tang.”

His voice was not loud, yet it carried a resonant pride befitting a battle-hardened warrior from the frontier.

The city guard officer took the document, inspected it carefully, and after confirming its authenticity, the vigilance on his face eased slightly.

But he did not immediately grant passage.

“Wait here.”

Leaving these words, he immediately dispatched someone to ride swiftly into the city to report to the palace.

The Northern Liang envoy had arrived.

This news, like a stone thrown into the seemingly calm lake of Chang'an City, instantly stirred up a thousand ripples.

Northern Liang!

That Northern Liang King Xu Xiao, who was entrenched in the northwest, nominally a vassal of the Great Tang, but in reality, had long become a self-governing state, whom even Emperor Taizong could not subdue!

He actually sent an envoy to Chang'an?

Moreover, it was at this sensitive moment, with The New Emperor's ascension and his Foundation still unstable.

What did he want?

Was he here to demonstrate power? Or to probe the situation?

For a time, undercurrents surged within Chang'an City.

Countless eyes fixed on the Northern Liang envoy at the city gate, emanating an aura that kept strangers at bay... Taiji Hall.

Li Chengqian sat high on the Dragon throne, listening expressionlessly to Li Junxian's report from below.

“Reporting to Your Majesty, the Northern Liang envoy has arrived outside the city. The leader is Song Dongming, the Chief Scribe of the Northern Liang King's manor.”

“Song Dongming?”

Li Chengqian uttered the name.

He knew this person.

One of the two great strategists of the Northern Liang King's manor; although his reputation was not as resounding as Li Yishan's, he was still a resourceful individual.

Xu Xiao sending him indicated he came with full sincerity.

“Summon him.”

Li Chengqian spoke only one word.

“Yes.”

Soon, led by an attendant, a middle-aged man in a green official robe, with a refined appearance more akin to a scholar, slowly walked into the Taiji Hall.

It was Song Dongming.

As soon as he entered the hall, he felt a stifling majesty, distinctly different from that of the Northern Liang King's manor.

The cold aura emanating from the Bad People standing like statues on both sides of the hall made even him, a man accustomed to battle-hardened soldiers, feel a trace of trepidation.

And the Emperor on the Dragon throne, who was excessively young, made him lack even the courage to look him directly in the eye.

He merely sat there quietly, yet he seemed to be the sole center of this world.

That invisible imperial Qi, a Fusion of iron-bloodedness, dominance, and the Power Of Will of the populace, pressed down on him, almost suffocating him.

Song Dongming's heart was stirred by a colossal wave.

Before coming, the Prince and Mr. Li had repeatedly warned him that this new Emperor of Great Tang was unfathomable, by no means a Mortal.

At the time, he had been somewhat dismissive.

He thought, how formidable could a young man in his early twenties, who ascended to power through a coup, possibly be?

But now, he believed it.

And he believed it without a doubt.

This Kaiyuan Emperor was a hundred times more terrifying than the Prince and Mr. Li had described!

He forcibly suppressed the shock in his heart, walked to the center of the main hall, and bowed deeply to Li Chengqian on the Dragon throne.

“Your humble servant of Northern Liang, Song Dongming, greets Your Majesty. Long live, long live, long live my Emperor.”

He referred to himself as “Your humble servant” rather than “foreign minister.”

This single word difference already indicated Northern Liang's stance.

On the Dragon throne, Li Chengqian's gaze fell upon him, calm, yet seemingly capable of seeing through everything.

“Rise.”

“Thank Your Majesty.”

Song Dongming straightened his body, still keeping his head bowed.

“Northern Liang King, what is your purpose in sending you here?” Li Chengqian asked directly.

Song Dongming took a deep breath, and from his bosom, produced a gilded marriage contract encased in a brocade box.

He held it high, his voice like a resounding bell.

“Reporting to Your Majesty!”

“My King Xu Xiao, grateful for Your Majesty's divine might and aspiring to Your divine transformation, knowing that Your Majesty has ascended the great throne and is creating an unprecedented eternal Legacy, has specially dispatched this humble servant to offer congratulations.”

“My King states that Northern Liang shall forever be a shield for the Great Tang, and the three hundred thousand Northern Liang Iron Cavalry are willing to guard the national borders for Your Majesty, resisting Northern Mang!”

“To show sincerity, my King is willing to marry his beloved pearl, the Second Princess Xu Weixiong, to Your Majesty, to serve by your side, to forge a bond of lasting amity!”

“This is the marriage contract personally written by the Northern Liang King; please, Your Majesty, peruse it!”

Boom—!

As these words were uttered, the entire Taiji Hall instantly erupted!

The influential court officials standing on both sides, such as Wei Zheng, Fang Xuanling, and others, all widened their eyes, their faces filled with disbelief.

A marriage alliance?!

Northern Liang King Xu Xiao, that unruly “Butcher,” actually wanted to form a marriage alliance?!

And he wanted to marry his second daughter, Xu Weixiong, who was said to be unparalleled in wisdom and hailed as “Zhuge Liang among women,” to His Majesty?!

This... did the sun rise from the west?!

Everyone's gaze simultaneously turned to Li Chengqian on the Dragon throne.

They did not know how this Emperor, whose thoughts were deeper than the sea, would respond to this sudden, enormous “windfall.”

Would he accept? Or refuse?

If he accepted, he could, without a single soldier, bring the fierce tiger of Northern Liang into his fold, completely stabilizing the northwestern frontier.

But Xu Xiao was a man of wolfish ambition; who knew what he was truly plotting?

Could this be a massive conspiracy?

But if he refused... that would undoubtedly push Northern Liang directly into opposition.

With the domineering nature of The New Emperor, would he tolerate a disobedient vassal king?

At that point, a great war would likely be unavoidable.

For a moment, the entire hall fell into an eerie silence.

Everyone's hearts were in their throats, awaiting The New Emperor's judgment.