The Empress's No.1 Lackey-Chapter 306 - 270, Magicians never contend, thus no one in the world can contend with them; Martial Artists must contend, thus they are unmatched in the world.

In the study.

Zhao Douan took two steps and reached the desk, where he picked up the ink stick and rotated it twice in the inkstone. He hurriedly picked up the brush and wrote three lines on the paper:

First, the heart of a Martial Artist, ever forward, unafraid of failure.

Second, challenge all sides, integrating the strengths of a hundred schools.

Third, do not dodge or evade, the courage of a rash man.

"Sigh!" After finishing writing, Zhao Douan took a deep breath and stared blankly at the black characters on the white paper.

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These were the teachings he had gleaned today, from being by Mr. Hai's side.

"Eunuch Hai seemed disorganized, but in reality, these past days, he was leading me step by step to truly understand these."

"Therefore, the key to breaking through to the divine chapter in the Heart Realm lies in these words."

Zhao Douan looked at the first item, pondered for a moment, then picked up the pen, crossed it out, and changed it to the word "goal."

"The key to this item is not the heart of the martial artist, but resolve, that is, setting a goal.

Great Yu Grand Ancestor founded the dynasty, certainly not as a mere brute chasing martial arts, there must have been a goal to conquer the world, and learning martial arts was perhaps just a means to an end."

"What is my goal? It is to survive."

Zhao Douan's gaze was firm.

To be ennobled, to become a leader among the ministers? To become a renowned general? Or the chief among the power holders? Or to reach the "Human Immortal" realm?

Is this his goal? It never was!

Was it to "deceive the Emperor"? To marry the Empress?

Neither was that.

"My goal has always been to live better, without worrying about the uncertainties of life and death being in others' hands.

In my previous life, I toiled till death for this, and in this life, it was to escape the crisis-laden situation... But these past months, as my status has risen, my sense of urgency has diminished... and my pursuit of goals has waned...

If the steps toward the goal are not firm, success is inevitably out of reach!"

Zhao Douan suddenly realized.

He looked at the second item and after a brief thought, crossed it out as well:

"Learning from a hundred schools is what Xu from the past and the lowly martial artists of today should do. Now that I have received the Martial God heritage, there is no need to waste effort."

Finally, he looked down at the third item.

In his ears echoed the words of an old man with a bamboo stick chastising apprentices in the martial arts hall.

"That's right, I rely too much on my intellect and others.

Whether it is Xu Junling sending people to challenge or Chai Keqiao looking for trouble, my first reaction is to use others' power to suppress... because it's the least risky, and I instinctively avoid risk, thinking it's stupid to act when one can use power."

"But... this has damaged the core of martial arts..."

Before Zhao Douan's eyes suddenly appeared an image.

In the painting, at the foot of a green mountain, the blood-soaked Great Yu Grand Ancestor, lying in the sunset glow, spoke these words:

"If you can't win, you should fight even more."

His heart couldn't contain the turmoil, and he was momentarily lost in thought.

"That's right! Zhenbao said a long time ago that if I want to walk farther on the path of cultivation, I can't always shrink back safely within the Capital, I must face the storms of the external world...

It's not to say I need to do everything myself; power can still be used, connections and protective escorts are still viable...

But this comes with the precondition that I must not rely on them too much!"

"Once reliance becomes addictive, it will gradually make one cowardly, foster a fearful heart, and lead to the impossibility of further progress!"

Zhao Douan suddenly awoke.

He realized that previously, in handling the 'talent in cultivating the Martial God Map' and even concealing the 'Dragon Essence,' he subconsciously wanted to hide.

To just "survive."

Afraid of being discovered by the Empress.

Wasn't this another form of cowardice?

This was a reflection of his character, whether in his previous or present life, mingling in the officialdom, accustomed to being cautious, interpreting words and expressions, and acting carefully... This helped him establish a foothold in Great Yu.

But it also became his prison.

"I understand now! This is the bottleneck preventing my breakthrough in the Heart Realm!"

At that moment, Zhao Douan had a sudden enlightenment, feeling as if everything was clear.

Having identified the problem, how to correct it?

Zhao Douan suddenly remembered a recent conversation with Eunuch Hai.

At that time, Eunuch Hai mentioned that the 'Martial God Map' and the cultivators in reality influence each other.

"That means... the solution lies in the Martial God Map! Yes, this is not only the complete cultivation technique of the Imperial Family, but could it possibly not include ways to break through the Heart Realm?"

Zhao Douan's eyes suddenly lit up, enlightened.

He slammed down the brush in his hand and strode to open the door of the study, loudly calling out:

"Uncle Zhao!"

Shortly after!

The Zhao family's "old steward," who had raised him, hurried over:

"My lord, what are your orders?"

Zhao Douan excitedly grabbed the old steward's sleeve, speaking rapidly:

"Uncle Zhao, take people to the bookstore, to the library... in short, I need all the books available in the market that record the travels of the Grand Ancestor Emperor in the past, including biographies! All of them! Buy them all!"

The old steward, stunned, nodded and immediately sent house servants scurrying out to make purchases.

In his later years, the Grand Ancestor Emperor personally recorded the various events of his life, and biographies were circulated.

Moreover, during his travels, he met many people.

Likewise, he was also remembered by too many people in Jianghu.

Those who had once fought against the Great Yu Grand Ancestor also left fragments of words scattered among many biographies.

"To grow stronger, the most effective way is to mimic the strong. The essence of the Martial God Map is to let me mimic Xu up close.

Not to learn his external appearance, but his mindset, his attitude, and thoughts towards cultivation...

And collecting as much information as possible can fill in the missing parts in the Martial God Map, helping speed up this process."

Zhao Douan stood with his hands behind his back in front of the study door, his eyes no longer filled with confusion.

This was the experience he summarized from learning in his previous life.

In this world, it still worked.

...

Soon, volumes of biographies were brought into the study by the Zhao Mansion servants.