The Empress's No.1 Lackey-Chapter 305 - 269, The Key to Breakthrough

"Come in," Zhao Douan collected his thoughts and said softly.

The door creaked open; his stepmother, wrapped in a wind-blocking coat, was holding a red lantern, with curls of hair hanging over her forehead as she looked at him and quietly said,

"I didn't want to disturb you, but your aunt worried when you came back without eating… She ordered the cook to make chicken soup."

Zhao Douan rose from his bed, cutting off his tangled thoughts with a smile,

"Where is the chicken soup? I'm actually quite hungry."

In a short while,

In the dining hall, Zhao Douan sat at the head of the table, holding a soup spoon and savoring a mouthful of soup, then heaped his plate with the tender, flavorful chicken and devoured it with gusto.

By his side, You Jinhua watched over him with a face full of relief,

"Take your time, there's more in the kitchen."

After his cultivation practice, Zhao Douan's appetite had grown to rival that of the Empress, but fortunately, the Zhao family had a large enough estate to sustain it.

You Jinhua had gotten used to always having food prepared in the kitchen, ready for her eldest son to partake.

After polishing off three pots, Zhao Douan finally felt his hunger recede and asked,

"Did anyone come looking for me this afternoon?"

You Jinhua nodded and replied,

"One of your subordinates from the government office came by, saying Lord Ma had taken responsibility for dealing with the aftermath and that you needn't worry about this matter further."

Hmm… Junior brother is still reliable, Zhao Douan thought, nodding,

"What else?"

You Jinhua continued,

"A little eunuch came, saying you need not go to the teahouse tomorrow, just stay at home and wait."

Wait?

What training is Eunuch Hai planning now… Zhao Douan mused, thinking to discuss his doubts with Mr. Hai tomorrow.

"Eldest son, is there something bothering you?"

You Jinhua, adept at reading emotions, timidly asked biting her lip.

"Not really, just the martial arts realm, I can't find the key to a breakthrough," Zhao Douan said as he ate.

Immediately, he felt it was unnecessary to discuss such a topic with You Jinhua, got up, wiped his mouth clean, and said,

"It's just a cultivation matter, aunt need not worry. I'm going back to rest."

Exhausted, all he wanted was a good night's sleep

—Interestingly, a full night spent in contemplation in the Imperial Palace didn't tire him, probably because the Empress had helped him adjust.

"It goes to show that the old saying 'men and women matched, work is not tiring' makes sense."

You Jinhua watched her stepson return to his room, holding back her words, always feeling that fighting and killing was too dangerous, that it was better to be safe and secure as a government officer.

On the other hand, Zhao Douan walked down the corridor to his room but suddenly stopped.

Using the dim light from the lanterns hanging underneath the corridor, he observed the fine drizzle outside.

He saw a wet leaf falling from a tree in the courtyard.

Suddenly, he extended his hand, flicked his finger, and hit a falling water droplet towards the leaf.

"Pop."

The droplet burst, and the leaf tumbled, landing in the puddle on the ground.

"I guess that won't do…"

He sighed softly, turned back to his room, and collapsed into sleep.

...

The night passed without incident, and the next morning arrived.

The rain had stopped, but the sky over the Capital remained far from clear.

Only a faint light peered through the gaps amongst the clouds.

After breakfast, Zhao Douan practiced a form of boxing in the courtyard, and then a servant reported that an old man was looking for him outside.

"Mr. Hai, how come you've come in person."

Zhao Douan walked out the front door, appearing pleasantly surprised.

Still disguised as a wealthy elder, the old eunuch in a python robe turned and walked away hands behind his back,

"Save the chatter, just follow me. Heh heh, today we won't watch the fight; I'll take you out in the streets to relax."

To relax?

I have no interest in relaxing with an eunuch… Zhao Douan grumbled internally, but politely beamed with a fawning smile and eagerly followed.

"What about you? Any insights from yesterday's cultivation?" walking down the street, Hai casually inquired.

Zhao Douan replied earnestly,

"I wanted to ask Eunuch, yesterday I had a vague enlightenment, entering into meditation, but then lost all trace of it…"

"That's normal, heh, it means you've brushed the edge but are still some distance from stepping over the threshold," the old eunuch wasn't surprised, "The Martial God Map, have you reached Martial Emperor City? Did you witness the Grand Ancestor storming the mountain?"

Zhao Douan answered honestly, "I did."

He then briefly described his experience in the Martial God Map where he accompanied the Grand Ancestor into Qingshan Town, witnessing the Grand Ancestor's repeated attempts and failures climbing the mountain.

"Not bad, you're progressing faster than I thought, eh, not surprising. You used His Majesty's seed, and your inner Qi expanded, raising your cultivation. Correspondingly, the progress in the Martial God Map also accelerated," Eunuch Hai nonchalantly revealed important information.

So, the progress in the Martial God Map isn't fixed... but interacts with the physical body? Zhao Douan was momentarily stunned.

He had been worried that he was progressing through the Martial God Map too quickly, which might have raised suspicions.

But now, it seemed he was overly concerned.

"Eunuch, is what's recorded in the Martial God Map real? When the Grand Ancestor Emperor was young, did he really go to the green mountain and was…" Zhao Douan asked curiously.

Eunuch Hai nodded, glanced at him, and chuckled,

"Of course, it's real. Otherwise, how do you think the Grand Ancestor Emperor combined martial arts with Magic?

He had to deeply understand both to merge them, right? The Grand Ancestor Emperor wasn't a genius who emerged out of a rock.

That lofty cultivation was earned one punch, one kick at a time. It's not strange for him to have been defeated when he was young."

He spoke with a tone of teaching a junior,

"The Grand Ancestor's strength wasn't in never being defeated, but in that heart of a true ruler.

"

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When he was young, he measured the nine provinces with his feet, traversed deserts and snowfields, and whenever he encountered a strong opponent along the way, he sought their guidance. It could be said that he faced defeat all along the way.

It was precisely because he had been defeated by people with different heritages and methods that he accumulated the experience necessary to create the 'Martial God' cultivation method."

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Zhao Douan paused, puzzled, and said,

"Grand Ancestor Emperor faced defeat all along the way? But in the Martial God Map, I haven't seen..."

Eunuch Hai said with a smile,

"The Martial God Map indeed records history that occurred, but our family never claimed it was all of history. When you entered, you merely skimmed the surface, did you really believe you experienced it all?"

In other words, what old Xu left in the Martial God Map was an "edited" version of the records, right...

The parts where he got beaten were all cut out... Only the victorious, show-off scenes were left...

No wonder from the desert to the East Sea, there was always an aura of strength... until he entered Martial Emperor City and suddenly got beaten into a pulp...

Zhao Douan had an old complaint with nowhere to voice it.

Old Xu, with his bushy eyebrows and big eyes, was also a secretly sentimental person!

Eunuch Hai continued,

"Unlike Magicians who are content to sweep only in front of their own doors, Martial Artists who wish to become stronger cannot avoid sparring with others.

Those who come out of Martial Emperor City will look for strong opponents to challenge all over the place.

At the same time, that green mountain standing by the East Sea has, for over a thousand years, accepted challenges from Martial Artists all over the world, time and time again. This is the tradition of Martial Artists.

Therefore, even if Chai Keqiao came knocking on our door, Your Majesty cannot convict him according to the law, just as when Grand Ancestor Emperor made a great name for himself in green mountain, the strong ones on the mountain would not bully the weak.

So, during the period of Buddhist Tao contention, weapons were not forbidden in the city, allowing people from all over to fight upon entering the Capital.

So, even if Chai Keqiao was beaten up by strong warriors from the military, as long as those from the Worldly Realm didn't intervene, it wouldn't be considered breaking the rules."

Zhao Douan paused again, realizing the old eunuch was giving him a hint on the side.

The tradition of Martial Artists, huh...

At that moment, he gained a deeper understanding of the challenges he faced yesterday.

It was, in his view, an archaic and puzzling "Jianghu rule" that had nonetheless preserved the flourishing of martial arts for a thousand years.

By this time, the two arrived outside a tavern.

They heard a group of Martial Artists from afar talking, eating meat, and drinking wine inside.

Zhao Douan immediately noticed among them one person, who was the third-rate Swordsman defeated on the "stage" outside the teahouse yesterday.

The Swordsman's wounds were still bandaged, yet he was still holding his sword, drinking in silence.

Across from him, an older Swordsman came over and snatched the bowl of wine from his hand, scolding him,

"So what if you were defeated? Is that enough to make you so disheartened? Don't you know to abstain from alcohol while healing?"

The young Swordsman looked dejected and said bitterly,

"Master, I have trained so hard over the years, yet I still couldn't beat him. Now that I've broken bones, it will be difficult to recover..."

The old Swordsman pulled open his clothes to reveal a terrifying scar on his chest and cursed,

"Nonsense! Your master was almost cut in half back in the day, so what?

I went off to the icy snowfields of the snow plains and chopped for ten years, honed for ten years, while my old rival was soaking in the warmth of Jiangnan, enjoying himself for ten years.

When we met again, wasn't he the one I chopped down?

You lose your will after one defeat, are you still learning to wield the sword?

What martial arts are you practicing? Pah!"

He turned and left, leaving the young Swordsman stunned.

"Let's go."

Eunuch Hai said calmly, leading the equally stunned Zhao Douan away from the tavern.

They then weaved through the crowded streets.

Every time they stopped, they witnessed some Jianghu people who, despite their meager strength, showed unyielding resilience.

Such scenes were hard to find in the past.

But now, during the period of Buddhist Tao contention, there were far too many similar scenes in the Capital.

Zhao Douan saw a Swordsman hiding in an alleyway, holding his head and crying.

Spotted by a vicious dog, he instantly stopped crying and bared his fangs.

He saw a Jianghu man with a lame leg, swinging his fists repeatedly in the air, the determination clear in his eyes.

He saw a female hero of Jianghu being teased, pulling out her dagger to chase and slash at someone along the way, as fierce as ever, even when confronting a government officer.

Unconsciously, the two arrived outside a dilapidated courtyard in an alley.

It housed a small martial arts school, where young students were practicing their horse stances with stone weights hanging from their arms.

An old man with a bamboo stick in his hand paced back and forth, occasionally lashing out and leaving bloody marks on the bare backs of the young trainees.

The old man said coldly,

"When learning martial arts, what's the most important thing? Physique? Innate talent? Whether your family has money? Or secret Cultivation Techniques? None of those are important!

What's crucial is the heart, the heart of a Martial Artist!

If you're fearless in your heart, you'll dare to throw a punch even at a ferocious tiger! Even if you're defeated, you'll keep pressing on, unflinching and unyielding!

You also need brains; a fool without brains will never achieve greatness!

But if you only have brains, if you're too clever, you won't make it either! Craftiness and deceit, without the heart to face and endure, will leave you only half made! Do you hear me?"

The students in the courtyard were silent, not daring to breathe a word.

Suddenly, the old boxing master in the school turned his head and looked toward the entrance.

Seeing Eunuch Hai at the door, he changed his expression and prepared to bow respectfully.

Eunuch Hai shook his head, and the old man stopped.

"Let's go."

Mr. Hai said indifferently, turning to leave.

Zhao Douan, however, stood still, his eyes growing brighter. An epiphany shone through them, and he suddenly said,

"Eunuch, let's stop here for today."

The old eunuch in the python robe smiled, "Alright."

Zhao Douan turned around and sped off to his home as fast as his horse could carry him.

...

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Back at the Zhao family home, Zhao Douan pushed open the door to his study in one motion.

He knew he had grasped the key inspiration.

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