76: Young Wu Kuang, Daqing Go Master! Fan Xian wants to make a comeback

Chapter 76: Junior Martial Champion, Great Qing Chess Saint! Is Fan Xian about to turn things around? (33, Please subscribe!)

A few days later, in the Imperial Study.

In the past few days, Li Chang'an had been Cultivating at full capacity, finally filling the acupoints in his body with True Qi.

Now, the amount of True Qi in Li Chang'an's body was forty to fifty times that of Hong Sixiang.

A Great Grandmaster like Emperor Qing possessed a hundred, even a thousand times the amount of True Qi as Hong Sixiang!

This was the terrifying aspect of a Great Grandmaster!

Ordinary Martial Artists store Qi in their Meridians, Li Chang'an could store Qi in his acupoints, and Emperor Qing could store Qi throughout his entire Physical Body.

He came to the Imperial Study today because an assassin had infiltrated the palace!

A seventh-rank upper-level assassin, attempting to assassinate Emperor Qing, was killed by Gong Dian in the Inner City.

At this moment, Emperor Qing was sternly reprimanding Zhu Ge, “Zhu Ge! What is wrong with your Supervisory Council?!”

“It's bad enough that assassins are becoming more rampant, but an assassin actually broke into the Imperial Palace!”

Zhu Ge's face twitched a few times, then he glanced at Li Chang'an out of the corner of his eye.

It seemed Li Chang'an had gotten ahead of him, successfully forcing the assassin into the Imperial Palace to be fed to Gong Dian, so Zhu Ge was the only one who could be scolded.

The Supervisory Council had many people, but Dragon Guard Manor had many experts, and Zhu Ge couldn't mobilize the experts from the Sixth Division.

Now that Chen Pingping was absent, Zhu Ge, who was temporarily in charge of the Surveillance Bureau, could only stand at the forefront and endure the scolding.

Today in the Imperial Study, there were only the Crown Prince, the Second Prince, Li Chang'an, Zhu Ge, and Ye Zhong; the scope was not large.

Name: Zhu Ge

Age: 42

Realm: Seventh Rank Lower

Talent: Espionage (Seventh Rank), Stratagem (Third Rank)

Abilities: Espionage (Ninth Rank), Management (Sixth Rank), Stratagem (Fifth Rank)

Affection: 50

Zhu Ge was not skilled in poetry and literature, but his affection for Li Chang'an was not low, indicating no hostility.

In the original drama, Zhu Ge insisted that the Supervisory Council should remain in the hands of the Imperial family to prevent it from becoming a tool for rebellion.

Therefore, although Zhu Ge was The Eldest Princess's person, he was not hostile to Li Chang'an, who was a Prince.

“Your Majesty, I am ashamed. I will thoroughly investigate the assassin's identity, uncover the mastermind, and bring all these audacious individuals to justice!”

Emperor Qing said coldly, “Do not relax and become complacent just because Chen Pingping is not here!”

“War is imminent, and the Supervisory Council's intelligence has had several errors recently. I do not wish for a next time!”

With a Northern Qi assassin entering the palace, once the truth was clear, it could be used as an excuse to start a war.

The course of events was developing as Emperor Qing had envisioned, so he was not truly furious.

After scolding Zhu Ge, Emperor Qing turned his gaze to Ye Zhong, who wisely knelt down promptly.

“Your Majesty, an assassin breaking into the Imperial Palace is the dereliction of the Garrison Division of the Capital!”

“The Garrison Division of the Capital patrols day and night, yet the assassin was so cunning that he still broke into the palace.”

“This is all my fault, I am ashamed!”

After Ye Zhong's profound self-analysis and reflection, Emperor Qing said nothing more.

When he turned his gaze to Li Chang'an, Li Chang'an immediately changed the subject.

“Your Majesty, with war imminent, the focus should be on uniting the people!”

“Our Great Qing was founded on martial prowess, abundant in martial virtue, and has awed the world.”

“Your younger brother humbly requests Your Majesty to reopen the Martial Assembly, to demonstrate Great Qing's martial spirit!”

Emperor Qing was stunned, then seemed to think of something, revealing a hint of a smile.

“Martial Assembly... it is indeed a good way to unite the people before a war.”

The so-called Martial Assembly was essentially a martial arts competition on a stage, followed by a ranking of martial prowess.

The Crown Prince was also stunned; he had originally intended to propose a Junior Martial Assembly to help Fan Xian gain fame.

Actually, the words of the Crown Prince and Guo Baokun had not spread, and this matter was entirely a coincidence.

Because Emperor Qing allowed Li Chang'an to expand the Shadow Guard, Li Chang'an took this opportunity to transfer some Net martial arts elites into the Shadow Guard.

Reopening the Martial Assembly would allow these individuals to reasonably display their strength and then join the Shadow Guard.

There was also another purpose: if these Net martial arts elites performed well, they would be recruited by the capital's nobles.

Anyway, he didn't lack dozens of experts, and being able to plant secret agents in the homes of nobles was also a good thing.

More than a decade ago, the Martial Assembly was held annually, but later, when Qing Kingdom's wars ceased, Emperor Qing focused on cultural development and suspended the Martial Assembly.

Emperor Qing thought for a moment, then said, “This is a good thing!

However, with war imminent, it would be a pity if some military youths couldn't participate.”

“How about we first open a Junior Martial Assembly… the age limit will be sixteen; those sixteen and under can participate, but those over sixteen cannot!”

Li Chang'an remained calm, but he also guessed that Emperor Qing was considering Fan Xian.

To extract Xiao En's secret about the Temple, Fan Xian had to be rapidly promoted.

In the original timeline, Fan Xian rose to prominence through poetry and literature.

Now, as long as Fan Xian had even a hint of a bright spot, Emperor Qing would help him unearth it.

All beneficiaries of connections, when being promoted, basically did this to silence public criticism.

Emperor Qing continued, “The Martial Assembly for those over sixteen will be held after the great victory.”

“Prince Yong, your people are skilled in martial arts, but there are too few of them. I will not deploy them.

The matter of the Martial Assembly will still be handled by those with leisure…”

As Emperor Qing spoke, he glanced at the Crown Prince, then at the Second Prince.

The Crown Prince regretted it immensely at this moment, wishing he could slap himself twice for trying to appear calm and speaking last.

If he had spoken first, he could have easily proposed this idea before Li Chang'an.

Now it seemed Emperor Qing was very pleased with the Martial Assembly proposal!

If it had been proposed by the Crown Prince, it would have surely earned him many points in His Majesty's heart.

“Father Emperor, your son is willing to undertake this matter!”

The Second Prince also dared not be slow, “Father Emperor, your son is also willing!”

Logically speaking, with the Crown Prince responsible for helping Fan Xian restore his reputation, assigning the Junior Martial Assembly to the Crown Prince would be most suitable.

But Emperor Qing said, “Li Chengze has been idle lately; you handle it!”

“Crown Prince, you quickly take care of your own affairs, and don't think about picking up your Uncle Prince Yong's ready-made ideas!”

The Crown Prince gasped, his molars aching from the chill; this time, he had suffered a huge loss!

Emperor Qing's meaning was, Li Chengqian, don't think of using someone else's idea to restore Fan Xian's reputation.

In other words, the matter of restoring Fan Xian's reputation through the Junior Martial Assembly was given to the Second Prince; you yourself think of other ways to help Fan Xian.

Li Chengze was beaming, extremely excited, “Father Emperor, your son will certainly not fail in his mission!”

Father Emperor had given him an opportunity to win over Fan Xian; Father Emperor was indeed still biased towards him!

Li Chang'an looked at Li Chengqian and Li Chengze, feeling a pang of sympathy for the two brothers, as he had watched them grow up.

That's not quite right, they grew up together.

Emperor Qing, this old geezer, played his sons like monkeys, instigating son against son, and also conveniently helped his illegitimate son.

His conscience was terribly bad!

...Li Chang'an returned to the Prince's Manor and told Jing Ni, Wang Qinian, and Xing Yusen about the Martial Assembly.

Jing Ni, hidden in the shadows, managed Net intelligence, Wang Qinian was the visible Shadow Guard Commander, and Xing Yusen was the Deputy Commander.

The Six Sword Slaves also belonged to the Net; Qingwen and Xiren were by Li Chang'an's side, and the remaining four served under Jing Ni.

“Jing Ni, among the Net strongholds across Southern Qing, how many individuals are sixteen years old and younger, with a cultivation of seventh rank and above?”

Jing Ni always had the Net's personnel situation memorized. “Those who can be mobilized should be around fifty.”

“Although their martial arts talent is good, they are still young. There are only three at eighth rank, and about ten at seventh rank upper.”

Li Chang'an said, “Then bring them all to the Capital and have them participate in the Capital's Junior Martial Assembly according to their respective identities.”

“The initial plan is for thirty of the fifty to join the Shadow Guard, and twenty to infiltrate various noble households.”

The elites transferred from various Net branches had all undergone espionage training and could directly serve as informants.

Wang Qinian said, “This Junior Martial Assembly, I estimate the top ten will all be our people.”

Li Chang'an smiled faintly, “No, the first place must be Fan Xian; we will not enter the top three.”

“Firstly, His Majesty is determined to promote Fan Xian. If our people perform too strongly, the Inner Court and the Supervisory Council will try to harm them behind the scenes.”

“Secondly, the top three of the Martial Assembly will be granted an audience with His Majesty and will undergo deep investigations into their backgrounds and martial arts origins. We have no need to create unnecessary complications.”

Wang Qinian said, “So, the Junior Martial Assembly is His Majesty's means to restore Fan Xian's reputation.”

“But for us, it is a means to bring our own people into the Shadow Guard.”

Li Chang'an continued, “Exactly. He has his purpose, and we have ours; they do not conflict.”

After assigning tasks to his subordinates, Li Chang'an continued to Cultivate, aiming for the Blue Level Futu.

Replenishing the Shadow Guard's manpower through the Junior Martial Assembly was not difficult and didn't require too much concern.

Because he had reached the fourth cycle, Yellow-level Floating Pagoda, Li Chang'an's True Qi surged.

Therefore, his Cultivation of the fifth cycle, Blue Level Futu, was truly progressing by leaps and bounds!

As a large amount of Bei Ming True Energy circulated through his Meridians and acupoints, Li Chang'an's Physical Body strength once again achieved a significant increase!

With the foundation of the previous four levels of Futu, Li Chang'an felt that a Breakthrough to Blue Level Futu was possible within three months!

News of the Junior Martial Assembly spread throughout Southern Qing, and young Martial Artists from all over gathered in the Capital.

Ten-odd days later, the Junior Martial Assembly began, and all the Net's elite youths also arrived in the Capital.

The stronger among these youths suppressed their cultivation during the competitions, so they all ranked after the tenth place, but within the top hundred.

Without the threat of the Net's young elites, Fan Xian indeed had no real opponents and ultimately won the top spot in the Junior Martial Assembly.

Imperial Study.

Eunuch Hou was beaming, recounting the process of Fan Xian winning the Martial Assembly championship.

“Your Majesty, you didn't see it, Young Master Fan's True Qi was simply too overbearing!”

“Opponents of the same seventh rank were no match for him in a one-on-one fight; he was truly formidable!”

“The Second Prince's eight generals were all present, and each one of them praised Young Master Fan endlessly!”

“Fan Jian also went to the last match and was smiling so much his eyes couldn't open!”

Emperor Qing let out a long sigh upon hearing Eunuch Hou's words. After all, he was his son, and he had something presentable.

If Fan Xian were truly neither good at literature nor martial arts, Emperor Qing would not dare to entrust him with important responsibilities.

“No matter how good martial arts are, it's ultimately a brute. I want him to manage the Imperial Treasury, not guard it.”

“But good martial arts at least provide a stepping stone for advancement. If other abilities are lacking, they can be slowly Cultivated later.”

As long as his martial arts were good, even in the military, there would be a reason to quickly give him a position.

This way, Fan Xian could participate in the escort team taking Xiao En back to Northern Qi.

Fan Xian's arrival in the Capital, the war between Qi and Qing, the ceasefire and peace talks, and the exchange of hostages—the entire storyline was a plan by Emperor Qing and Chen Pingping.

Such a long-term plan would constantly encounter accidents, and the two would have to continuously reconcile them.

Fan Xian winning the Junior Martial Champion title finally allowed the plan to progress further.

“By the way, the Second Prince handled this matter very well. What is the Crown Prince doing?”

Eunuch Hou replied, “Both Your Highnesses are exceptional individuals, each with their own ideas.”

“Guo Baokun, under the Crown Prince, took Fan Xian to challenge the Capital's Chess Saints and won three consecutive matches!”

“After that, Guo Baokun proclaimed Fan Xian as the Great Qing Chess Saint, and then people challenged him every day!”

“Young Master Fan played matches every morning and chess every afternoon, and he never lost!”

“Guo Baokun even compiled all of Young Master Fan's victories into a book called 'Records of the Chess Saint'!”

Emperor Qing said with satisfaction, “Good, this boy's decade-plus in Danzhou was not wasted after all.”

“Li Chang'an is the Saint of Poetry, Calligraphy, and Painting; Fan Xian shall be my Great Qing Chess Saint!”

...Guangxin Palace.

Li Yunrui sighed faintly, “You and the Second Prince vied with each other to help Fan Xian restore his reputation.”

“His Majesty used both of your resources and connections to help Fan Xian gain a stepping stone for advancement; you two suffered a huge loss.”

The Crown Prince said resentfully, “If it weren't for the Second Prince's fierce competition, I really wouldn't want to help Fan Xian so diligently.

The financial power of the Imperial Treasury is still best kept in Aunt's hands.”

Li Yunrui smiled and said, “It doesn't matter. I've said it before, you do your thing, I do mine; we each go our own way.”

“Now that you two have made some progress in restoring Fan Xian's reputation, I here am also almost ready.”

The Crown Prince's expression brightened as he said, “Aunt, do you have a way to kill Fan Xian?”

“His Majesty values him exceptionally. If we are to make a move, it must be a single, decisive strike, with absolutely no room for error!”

“Currently, the Shadow Guard and the Supervisory Council are investigating very strictly in the Capital. It's still best to be careful.”

Li Yunrui said nonchalantly, “Don't worry, Aunt controls the Junshan Society; I have more methods at my disposal than you.”

“To kill Fan Xian, we cannot use people from our Qing Kingdom. We'll use people from Eastern Yi City, or from Northern Qi, which can also help His Majesty find an excuse to start a war.”

The Crown Prince said sullenly, “Uncle Prince Yong has already found an excuse for Father Emperor to start a war.”

Li Yunrui snorted coldly, “Forcing an assassin into the palace? What kind of small trick is that? I want to do something big!”

“When it comes to handling matters for His Majesty, you still have to look at me. Li Chang'an is still too green!”

“Isn't Fan Xian the Junior Martial Champion? I'll find him a few more opponents!

I guarantee he'll be dead as a doornail, hehehe…”

Prime Minister Lin's Manor.

Ye Ling'er, with her arm in a sling, her eyes nearly swollen from crying.

“Wan'er, I know Fan Xian fancies you!”

“But if you marry Fan Xian, I'll break off our friendship!”

Lin Wan'er didn't know whether to laugh or cry. She was already practically true husband and wife with Li Chang'an; what Fan Xian would she marry?

“Alright, Ling'er, I swear to heaven, I, Lin Wan'er, will never marry Fan Xian in this life!”

Seeing Lin Wan'er speak so solemnly, Ye Ling'er felt much better. “Last time at the Jing Wang Manor poetry gathering, for your sake, I exposed him.”

“Then, when I faced him in the Junior Martial Assembly, he actually broke my right hand! The Martial Assembly was clearly supposed to be 'point-to-point' (a gentle touch).”

“He deliberately struck with such force, it was just an opportunity to retaliate against me!”

Lin Wan'er had already heard Ye Ling'er say this many times.

“Ling'er, I'm very grateful that you helped me expose him last time.”

“This time... I'll help you get revenge!”

Ye Ling'er's round eyes widened. “You can't even kill a chicken, how can you get revenge for me?”