Martial Arts: After ten years of sword-drawing, the Sword God must bow his head when he sees me

Chapter 191 The highlight

East of the city.

As the carriages entered the city gate, the three carriages slowed down.

"Young master, where are we going now?"

Shen Ping'an, inside the carriage, said softly, "Let's find a restaurant first!"

Upon hearing the gentle voice, Qu Feiyan immediately thought of the situation in Shanglin City and quickly understood Shen Ping'an's meaning.

Leaving aside Shen Qingshan, even Qu Feiyan had lived in the imperial city for more than half a year and was already very familiar with the situation of various restaurants inside and outside the imperial city.

Led by Qu Feiyan's carriage, the three carriages quickly entered Wangjiang Tower, where Cao Zhengchun had previously hosted a banquet for Shen Ping'an.

As Shen Ping'an and his companions stepped down from the carriage, the manager of Wangjianglou Restaurant immediately felt a chill when he saw Shen Ping'an enter. He quickly stepped out from behind the counter and went to greet them.

"This humble servant greets Young Master Shen."

Looking at the smiling, cautious shopkeeper in front of him, Shen Ping'an said with a smile, "It's been a long time. I hope you've been well, shopkeeper."

"I'm fine, I'm fine. Thank you for your concern, Young Master Shen."

As he spoke, the shopkeeper led Shen Ping'an and the others to the top floor.

After the manager left, Lianxing asked curiously, "Did you used to come to this restaurant often?"

Shen Ping'an shook his head and said, "The capital city is different from other places. The restaurants that can rank among the best in the capital city all have connections in the court. The Wangjiang Tower is backed by Cao Zhengchun of the Eastern Depot."

"When I was still in the capital, Cao Zhengchun invited me to this Wangjiang Tower for a chat. I suppose that's when the manager remembered me."

Lianxing nodded: "I see!"

Which restaurant owner in the capital city isn't a shrewd and resourceful person?

Even people with ordinary appearances can be remembered after seeing them once, let alone someone like Shen Ping'an, whose outstanding temperament and appearance make him unforgettable after just one meeting.

It's not surprising that the other party was able to recognize him immediately.

After pouring tea for everyone and settling them down, Qu Feiyan looked down at the bustling, crowded streets and couldn't help but say, "It's only been a year, but returning to the capital feels like time has passed."

Shen Qingshan, who was standing to the side, nodded in agreement.

During their time away from the capital, the group traveled to many different places.

He even personally witnessed the demise of the Divine Sword Manor, a top-tier power.

This year's experiences broadened Qu Feiyan and Shen Qingshan's horizons and made them more mature psychologically.

Looking back at the capital city at that time, even Shen Qingshan had many feelings.

"Eh?"

At this moment, Qu Feiyan seemed to have discovered something, and suddenly let out a suspicious sound.

Then, Qu Feiyan said to Shen Ping'an, "Young Master, I'll go down and take a look to see if there's any news."

Shen Ping'an nodded slightly in response.

Seeing that Shen Ping'an agreed, Qu Feiyan quickly handed Shen Ping'an's sword to Shen Qingshan and then turned and went downstairs.

Glancing at Qu Feiyan rushing downstairs, Yaoyue glanced at Shen Ping'an and said, "Aren't you worried about spoiling this girl?"

Upon hearing this, Shen Ping'an said gently, "Although Fei Yan is still young, she is not the type to bully the weak or cause trouble for no reason. Since that's the case, why should I restrict her too much?"

"Besides, they are people close to us, so what's wrong with spoiling them a little?"

"I prefer this girl to someone who is more lively than someone who is conventional and lifeless."

Upon hearing this, Yaoyue thought for a moment, then nodded and said, "That's not wrong."

As the saying goes, "One who stays near vermilion gets stained red, and one who stays near ink gets stained black." In the past, when Yaoyue was in the Yihua Palace, every disciple of the Yihua Palace would fall silent in fear whenever they saw her.

Where else can you find someone as lively and spirited as Qu Feiyan, chattering like a lark?
At first, when she was by Shen Ping'an's side, Yaoyue was a little uncomfortable with Qu Feiyan's liveliness.

But as time went on, Yaoyue found that having such a lively person by her side wasn't such a bad thing after all.

A moment later, as the waiter brought the delicious dishes to the table, Qu Feiyan, who had left earlier, ran back.

Upon returning, Qu Feiyan immediately took the Yixi Sword from Shen Qingshan before returning to her seat.

After downing the tea in her cup in one gulp, Qu Feiyan finally spoke: "Young Master, I've heard that the Imperial Palace has issued a regulation that on the night of the full moon, martial artists from all walks of life who wish to watch the battle can enter the Forbidden City to witness the duel between Ye Gucheng and Ximen Chuixue up close. However, the number of people allowed is limited; only one hundred will be permitted to enter the Imperial Palace."

"For this reason, the palace specially made one hundred gold silk ribbons from Persia as proof."

Upon hearing the news that Qu Feiyan had gathered, Shen Qingshan suddenly realized and said, "No wonder I saw some martial artists carrying a silk ribbon along the way. It turns out that these silk ribbons are credentials for entering the palace."

However, as soon as he finished speaking, Shen Qingshan said with a puzzled look, "That's not right! Ye Gucheng and Ximen Chuixue are both top swordsmen among the younger generation. Their duel is not like the duel between Xie Xiaofeng and Yan Shisan before, where it was unclear where the duel was taking place."

"With records in the 'Chronicles of Jianghu' of Baixiaoge, there are no fewer martial artists heading to the capital to watch the final battle."

"The palace only provides one hundred spots, what about the other martial artists who come to watch the battle?"

Zhang Sanniang said, "After all, the two chose to fight in the Forbidden City, a very important place in the imperial palace. How can we allow all martial artists to enter the palace at will? It is already difficult enough that His Majesty agreed to let the two fight in the Forbidden City and allowed a hundred people to enter the palace to watch the fight."

"As for the others, we can only say that they will not have the chance to witness this decisive battle."

At this moment, Shen Ping'an suddenly spoke up: "That's not necessarily true. After all, the Azure Dragon Society was behind the decisive battle between Ye Gucheng and Ximen Chuixue this time."

After a moment's thought, Zhang Sanniang asked, "That's true. Since the Azure Dragon Society has chosen the palace as the location for the decisive battle, they must have other plans. If everything is as secure as the court has arranged, how can the Azure Dragon Society take advantage of the chaos?"

"But there are several Celestial Realm experts guarding the palace. Even if the Azure Dragon Society had faced these Celestial Realm experts in the palace thirty years ago, they wouldn't have been guaranteed a victory, let alone now?"

The Green Dragon Society is indeed infamous.

However, the Azure Dragon Society was also severely weakened by the battle thirty years ago.

Even if he were to make a comeback now, his foundation and strength would likely be no match for what he had thirty years ago.

Otherwise, why bother with such slow and deliberate planning?
Shen Pingan said softly, "Often, the strongest fortresses are the ones that start having problems from within."

Yaoyue, standing to one side, asked, "You mean Zhu Wushi and Cao Zhengchun?"

Shen Ping'an nodded slightly and said calmly, "To repel external threats, we must first secure internal stability. But when internal problems have already arisen, how can we talk about repelling external threats?"

"Zhu Wushi and Cao Zhengchun should be the key to the Qinglong Society's scheme against the imperial court this time."

At this point, a smile curved his lips as he said, "However, the Iron-Blooded Marquis in the imperial court is not an honest man who is willing to be subservient to others or do favors for them."

"Given Gongzi Yu and Bai Xiaosheng's intelligence, they couldn't possibly be unaware of the cost of negotiating with a tiger."

"Compared to the Azure Dragon Society joining forces with Zhu Wushi to deal with those Celestial Realm experts who were offering sacrifices to the imperial court, I am more curious about something else."

After learning that Cao Zhengchun and Zhu Wushi were both members of the Azure Dragon Society, Shen Ping'an could almost guess how the Azure Dragon Society would deal with the offerings in the palace.

It's nothing more than a coordinated attack from within and without, leaving those Celestial Realm experts in the palace vulnerable from both sides.

To be on the safe side, Gongzi Yu had already poisoned the experts in the Celestial Realm in the palace beforehand.

In Shen Ping'an's view, the real highlight would be after the Heavenly Realm cultivators in the imperial court were dealt with.

At that time, Shen Ping'an was also curious about what tricks Zhu Wushi and Gongzi Yu would have up their sleeves to deal with the opponent.
As Shen Ping'an revealed this, Yaoyue's eyes flashed.

"That does sound interesting."

Not only Yaoyue, but also Zhang Sanniang and Lianxing were intrigued by Shen Ping'an's analysis.

(End of this chapter)