C54

As mentioned previously, Jiang Feng, Yan Kuo, and Xu Yuan, led by Lord Lu, rushed towards the north gate.

Xu Yuan was confused by the conversation between Jiang Feng and Yan Kuo. He asked in bewilderment, "Don't try to solve the riddle here. Who is this Lord Lu?" Yan Kuo coldly said, "Humph! You impetuous brat!" After hearing that, Xu Yuan was extremely displeased and scolded, "Tsk, it's fine if you don't say it, but what right do you have to say it? Do you want to fight? Let me tell you, I'm not afraid of you." Seeing that the atmosphere between the two had become tense, Jiang Feng hurriedly advised: "Please wait a moment, Big Brother Yan. I'm guessing that this Lord Lu should be the 'Heavenly Hunting Hawk' Lu Jian who defeated the 'Phantom Quick Blade' exhibition group back then, right?" Xu Yuan was shocked, "What? So he was the lousy constable that was in charge of hunting the exhibitors back then, and he even went so far as to capture them? "Pfft!" Yan Kuo coldly laughed, "What do you know about boasting?" Xu Yuan immediately said, "What do you know? If not for his dereliction of duty back then, how would I have lost to Jiang Feng in the last semifinals? " Jiang Feng could only smile bitterly. Yan Kuo then said, "On what basis are you calling Lord Lu? I can see that you can't even touch the hem of Zhan Qun's shirt." Xu Yuan could not hold it in any longer and was about to get angry when he heard Lu Jianfei roaring in front, "We're almost out of the north city gate now. Don't talk endlessly behind us, if we lose you, make the emperor anxious, be careful of your brains!" Xu Yuan gave a "Tch" and had no choice but to suppress the anger in his chest. Afterwards, the three of them increased their speed and followed Lu Jian out of the north gate, continuing to head north.

Jiang Feng thought to himself: Where is this Lord Lu taking us? Weren't they supposed to enter the imperial palace when they saw the emperor? Why did he have to leave the city? Suddenly, Xu Yuan shouted loudly, "Lord Lu, where is the emperor? "Why aren't you here yet?" Lu Jianfei turned around, his eyes glaring angrily as he shouted, "The emperor is currently waiting for the three of you in the military field at the north of the city. Hurry up and shut up! Follow him!" Yan Kuo was the first to catch up as he waved his horsewhip. Jiang Feng and Xu Yuan had no choice but to ride faster as well.

On the northern drill ground, Liu Shichen stood beside a man who looked a few years older than him. He wore a yellow dragon robe, a dragon crown, and dragon boots. With a single glance, he could tell that this person was the genuine Son of Heaven, the current Emperor. The Emperor stood up, bathed in the sunlight and the breeze, and said indifferently, "I spend my days at the palace reviewing memorials, handling national affairs, and occasionally taking a walk around the country. It is also a happy event in life. "Liu Aiqing, in a while, there will definitely be many wonderful competitions to watch." Liu Shichen lowered his head and said respectfully, "Of course, of course. But why haven't those three arrived yet? " The emperor waved his hand and said, "There's some distance for them to travel from the capital. It's understandable that they would delay us for some time. It's not a problem for us to wait a bit longer." Liu Shichen nodded and smiled, "Yes, yes. Your majesty is right!" At this moment, Liu Gongzi was standing not far from where he was, holding his breath. A gentle breeze caressed his clothes, but it didn't affect his expression.

After approximately half an hour, a imperial bodyguard came forward to report: "Reporting to Your Majesty, Lord Lu has brought three contestants here." When the emperor heard this, he was very happy. He said, "Look at this person. He came just like that. Haha, very good. He announced that they are here." The guard said, "This subordinate understands!" The emperor instructed another guard, saying, "Go tell those three friends to get ready, tell them that the experts we've invited have arrived and bring them here as soon as possible." The guard hastily replied, "Yes, Your Majesty. This lowly servant will go now." Finished speaking, he hurriedly went to a battalion at the back.

Very quickly, Lord Lu brought Jiang Feng and the other two to the battling field. The three of them knelt very far away, while Lord Lu stepped forward and said: "This humble subject, Lu Jianfei, pays his respects to Your Majesty. May our Emperor live for long, long live the emperor!" The emperor personally went up and helped Lu Jianfei up as he said with a smile, "The sword is fast, and it's been a long journey. The three warriors are also equal." Lu Jianfei thanked the emperor and stood up, followed by Jiang Feng and the others. The three of them were very clear that they had to be extra careful in front of the emperor. Otherwise, if they weren't careful, they might get killed. Jiang Feng stole a glance at the emperor. This glance gave him a great shock. He couldn't help but cry out, "Didn't you …" Before he could finish, he was interrupted by Liu Shichen, who scolded him, "How dare you! You dare to point your finger at the current emperor!" The emperor smiled as he stretched out his left hand, signalling Liu Shichen not to criticize Jiang Feng any further. Then, he said, "This little brother, what a coincidence. We meet again!" Once these words came out, everyone except for Jiang Feng was baffled. Jiang Feng was so frightened that he quickly kneeled down and said, "This humble one will die for this crime!" The Emperor didn't seem to have any intention of punishing him. Instead, he calmly said, "Little brother, you don't have to do this. As the saying goes, those who don't know are innocent. It turned out that the current emperor was the merchant that Jiang Feng had accidentally saved the last time.

Only now did Jiang Feng dare to slowly stand up. He used his eyes to glance to the side and quickly discovered that the retainer who protected the emperor that day was now wearing a cinnabar colored guard uniform and was standing at the side. When Jiang Feng's gaze fell on Liu Gongzi, Liu Gongzi also smiled and nodded at him. Although Xu Yuan was usually fearless, he suddenly felt an unprecedented pressure enveloping him, causing him to not even dare to breathe.

Lu Jianfei reported, "Reporting to Your Majesty, we have brought all of the top three rankings for this year's Martial Conference." The emperor laughed. "Haha, that's great. Flying Swords must have had a hard time!" Lu Jianfei quickly said, "To be able to serve Your Majesty is this humble subject's good fortune. Why must you suffer?" The Emperor ordered Lu Jianfei to stand to his right, while Liu Shichen stood to the left of the Emperor without saying a word.

Xu Yuan saw that the emperor kept smiling and looked very friendly. The oppressive feeling in his heart lessened a little as he said, "Your majesty, this subject has something to ask." The Emperor looked at Xu Yuan and saw that he was able to enter the top three at such a young age. He was extremely happy in his heart and said, "Oh? This little brother has something to ask, so feel free to tell me. " Xu Yuan rubbed his nose and asked with a face full of smiles, "Your majesty, it wasn't easy for us to enter the top three. Have you prepared any rewards for us?" These words made the emperor laugh. He pointed at Xu Yuan and said, "Liu Aiqing, this little brother is very interesting." Liu Shichen smiled, "Indeed." The Emperor placed his hands behind his back and said, "Hahaha, of course there's a reward. Moreover, I spent a year specially prepared for you guys." However, this big gift has cost me quite a bit of thought. If you want to take it away, you must have some skill to be able to convince the masses, don't you think? " Xu Yuan was still a youth after all, so his curiosity was already high. After hearing what the emperor said, he became even more excited and said, "So it's because the emperor wants to test our martial arts. No wonder he wants to meet us here." Yan Kuo, who didn't like to talk too much, spoke up at this moment, "May I ask your majesty what method you wish to use to test the strength of the three of us?" The Emperor walked back and sat on the Dragon Throne, saying, "I've sent people to invite three experts from outside the pass. They'll be sparring with you later, and if your performance can satisfy me, I'll give you this great gift." When Xu Yuan heard that an expert had come to spar, he was overjoyed. He said, "Your majesty, your idea is really great. I was just worried that no good opponent would be able to fight them to their heart's content." When Jiang Feng heard that it was an expert from outside the pass, he was a bit excited and asked, "May I ask, Your Majesty, where are the three experts from outside the pass at this time?" The Emperor said, "Little brother, don't worry. Come, let's invite those three friends out." The two guards obeyed and entered the rear camp.

Not long later, the three guards (and the one who had gone before) arrived at the arena with three men. The leader was about thirty-two years old, with a beard, a broad face, and a strong body. He was dressed in red and white sect clothing, and in his hand was a weird long blade. The second was about twenty-five or twenty-six years old, and he was dressed in a dark blue suit. He could be considered handsome, but he was still a bit inferior to Young Master Liu. The third person was about twenty-three or twenty-four years old. He was dressed entirely in black and held a black cherry spear. The body of the spear was made of black iron and was dark black in color. Jiang Feng paid close attention to this person as he thought to himself: Is this person also a spear user? That's really interesting. The man also glanced at Jiang Feng. The two of them were in complete contrast today.

What about later?

And then we'll see how it breaks down in the next round.