The world of martial arts, the immortal swordsman in the mortal realm.

Chapter 182, page 197: Princess Lianrou: A Great Hero Should Have a Domineering Aura
Shen Shizhong.

Lu Chen and Dugu Feng boarded Li Xiuning's carriage and headed to the palace for a banquet.

As for Wanwan, she went out early in the morning to investigate Xu Kaishan.

The carriage crossed the Qingming Canal over a stone bridge, passed through several neighborhoods, and arrived at Zhuque Street, also known as the famous "Heavenly Street".

This street truly lives up to its name as the "Heavenly Street," being over forty zhang wide and stretching for more than ten li from the Zhuque Gate of the Imperial City to the Mingde Gate of the Outer City. Moreover, it is a straight avenue running north to south.

Drainage channels were also built on both sides of the street, and small bridges were built over the drainage channels at each intersection for easy passage. Tall green plants such as elm, juniper, and locust trees were neatly planted on both sides of the channels, like giant guardians protecting the street.

The fact that this street could be built so wide is also thanks to the grandeur of Chang'an.

Along the way, Li Xiuning spoke softly, introducing Chang'an to Lu Chen.

According to her, the city of Chang'an was started by Emperor Wen of Sui, Yang Jian, in the second year of the Kaihuang era. Even with the wealth of the Sui Dynasty and its terrifying mobilization capacity, it took a full thirty years to complete, finally being finished in the ninth year of the Daye era.

From its complete construction to its takeover by the Tang Dynasty, only a little over four years had passed. The Tang Dynasty could be said to have acquired a magnificent capital that was 99% new.

The entire city of Chang'an was more than seventeen miles long from north to south and nearly twenty miles wide from east to west. Even the city of Luoyang was only slightly more than half the size of Chang'an.

“Some of the larger wards within the city were even comparable in size to a small county town. The city was also full of vegetable gardens, orchards, and even small plots of farmland. For example, Chang Le Ward had a pear orchard owned by the government, which used to be a tribute of ‘pear blossom honey’ to the Sui Dynasty. Guang Zhai Ward had a government-owned vineyard, and Sheng Ping Ward in Le You Yuan even had a medicinal herb garden…”

The carriage moved steadily along the wide Heavenly Street, and Li Xiuning spoke softly and gently:

"Because of the layout of Chang'an City, which is surrounded by eight rivers, there are five major canals within the city: Longshou Canal, Yong'an Canal, Qingming Canal, Cao Canal, and Huang Canal, which bring water into Chang'an. Therefore, Chang'an City not only has no shortage of water, but there are also artificial lakes everywhere in the city. There are more than fifty named artificial lakes..."

Li Xiuning was beautiful and had a pleasant voice. She knew Chang'an like the back of her hand, and even Dugu Feng listened with great interest—she was actually a native of Chang'an, as the Dugu clan's old residence was in Chang'an.

However, Dugu Feng knew more about the East and West Markets of Chang'an. She knew which restaurants had the best food and wine, which gangs had real masters, and which famous figures lived up to their reputation.

As for the details of the city itself, her understanding is really not as good as Li Xiuning's.

After all, Li Xiuning was an expert in military affairs and had even participated in the attack on Chang'an. As a military commander, understanding the terrain was a must.

Chatting and laughing all the way, the carriage gradually entered the imperial city, passed through the imperial city, entered the palace city, and headed straight for the Taiji Palace where the Liangyi Hall was located.

Inside the Liangyi Hall.

Emperor Li Yuan of Tang had not yet arrived, but most of the guests had already arrived.

Crown Prince Li Jiancheng was having a lively conversation with Yun Shuai, the national teacher of the Western Turks.

Prince Qi, Li Yuanji, frequently struck up conversations with Yun Shuai's daughter, Lian Rou, boasting about his martial arts skills like a proud rooster, which amused Lian Rou so much that she covered her mouth and giggled.

Other subjects of the Tang Dynasty also whispered among themselves.

At the height of the noise.

A palace attendant announced the attendants' names at the entrance of the main hall:

"Princess Pingyang has arrived—"

After a pause, the announcement rang out again:

"Young Master Lu Chen, the Divine Swordsman, has arrived!"

The previous announcement was fine; the noise inside the hall only lessened slightly.

But when the next name was announced, the volume of voices in the hall suddenly decreased, and within a few breaths it became completely silent.

Then, all eyes turned to the main entrance of the hall.

Under the watchful eyes of everyone.

Dressed in a bright red riding outfit and draped with a red silk blouse that reached the ground, Princess Pingyang, Li Xiuning, was both heroic and graceful, leading a man and a woman into the palace.

Li Xiuning was radiant, and the girl among the man and woman was also a beautiful young woman with an extraordinary appearance and a captivating figure.

But everyone's gaze only swept briefly over them before landing on the man.

He was a tall, imposing man dressed in black, with broad shoulders, a narrow waist, long legs, and a sturdy build.

Judging from his appearance, one can only describe him as "heroic," unlike famous handsome men such as Hou Xibai, the "romantic young master" known for his good looks.

But he possesses a strange charm that makes people admire and yearn for him involuntarily—well, although Lu Chen has high moral character, he can control it well and does not use his spiritual power to create a special charm.

He always presents his most authentic self to the world.

Therefore, the essence of his admirable and inspiring charm is simply "strength".

And admiring strength is one of the human instincts.

Despite the attention of the guests, Lu Chen remained calm and followed Li Xiuning into the hall. He sat down in the seat next to Li Xiuning, while Dugu Feng sat down in the seat next to him.

Because he is not good at socializing with strangers, he kept a straight face throughout to hide his slight social anxiety. To others, he appeared to have a cold and unapproachable aura.

Furthermore, given that they couldn't quite grasp his personality and the rumors that he had beheaded Li Mi in a fit of rage simply because the waterside pavilion had been destroyed, the guests were all worried that they might offend him with a careless word and cause him a big trouble. Therefore, for a while, no one dared to approach him to talk.

Even the atmosphere in the entire banquet hall turned much colder because of his arrival, as if he were a mood killer.

Li Jiancheng really wanted to strike up a conversation with Lu Chen.

Of course, it wasn't that he was overestimating himself and wanted to recruit him—the Tang Dynasty was just a separatist force, surrounded by enemies on all sides. Even the Tang emperor could only send gifts to appease Lu Chen and dared not easily open his mouth to recruit him, lest he offend him. How could Li Jiancheng dare to do so?

So Li Jiancheng just wanted to get close to him, become familiar with him, and then try to give him some gifts to curry favor.

However, Lu Chen's aura was too cold and hard at this moment, which made Li Jiancheng a little scared, and he really didn't dare to go over and speak.

Of course, not everyone was afraid to talk to Lu Chen.

A young woman from a Western Regions-style dress, with long legs, a slender waist, a tall and straight chest, chestnut hair, and bright brown eyes that held a hint of wildness, with slightly upturned pink lips beneath her delicate nose, exuding an air of innocent mischief, rose from her seat and came to Lu Chen's table. She looked at him curiously and asked:

"Are you the legendary strongest hero in the Central Plains?"

Li Xiuning introduced in a low voice from the side:
"This is Lian Rou, the only daughter of Commander Yun. She was adopted as a goddaughter by the Western Turkic leader Yabghu Khan, and therefore also has the title of princess."

Lu Chen nodded slightly and said to Lian Rou:

"So it was Princess Lianrou. There are many exaggerated rumors; I am not the strongest in the Central Plains."

Before fighting Ning Daoqi, Song Que, and Shi Zhixuan, Lu Chen would not boast that he was the strongest.

Lian Rouyan said:
Is this the humility of the Central Plains?

Lu Chen's tone was indifferent:

"That's true." "Then... were the hammers Young Master Lu using really two Five Thunder Hammers, each weighing 1,200 jin?"

"No way. I can't swing a hammer that heavy."

It's too heavy to swing now. Once the body's "muscles and bones are fully tempered," it will be barely possible to swing it, but it still won't be usable in actual combat. At most, it can be used for physical training. The sword body needs to be tempered to a deeper level before it can be used as a regular weapon.

"Then, is Young Master Lu truly invulnerable to swords and spears, and indestructible?"

"fake."

Although the "Tempering Bones and Muscles" cultivation of the sword body has covered several vital points such as the crown of the head, temples, neck, back of the head, and heart, there are still weak points in the body. It cannot withstand the heavy blows of a master like Li Mi, let alone the attacks of three grandmaster-level experts.

Lianrou covered her lips and smiled:
"People just know... You're tall, but you have long arms and legs, and you're agile. You should move with lightning speed, not like a big, strong man. How could you possibly swing such a heavy hammer? Your skin is also so smooth. You don't look like someone who has practiced external martial arts. The rumors are indeed exaggerated."

Lu Chen nodded politely.

"Princess Lianrou is right."

Lian Rou asked in surprise:
"Hey, you're so gentle and easy to talk to? You don't seem like the legendary hero who swept across the battlefield, killed without hesitation, and was as fierce and majestic as a demon god."

Although Lianrou and her father were Persians, she grew up in the Western Turkic region and was accustomed to the Turkic people's style of respecting the strong. She believed that the strong should be domineering and fierce, and heroes should also have the temperament of a tyrant. Gentleness and humility were not the demeanor that strong heroes should have.

"The rumors are exaggerated..."

Just then, Lu Chen suddenly sensed a gaze that contained hidden hostility.

Looking to the side, one could see a tall, imposing young man with thick arms and large hands, dressed in luxurious clothes, but with a somewhat ugly appearance.

When Lu Chen looked at the young man, the young man did not meet his gaze, but lowered his head as if drinking wine, avoiding his eyes.

However, the moment their eyes met, Lu Chen still sensed the ugly young man's resentment, and even his hidden hostility.

Seeing Lu Chen suddenly look to the side, Lian Rou followed his gaze and smiled:

"That is Prince Qi, Yuanji. He is said to be a master with superhuman strength. He told Lianrou that his weapon is a spear made of black iron and weighing 120 jin."

Lu Chen had already heard Dugu Feng and Li Shimin talk about the Split Horse Spear.

A 120-pound Xuan Iron spear... I wonder if the Xuan Iron from the Twin Dragons world is the same as the Xuan Iron from the Legend of the Condor Heroes world...

Want to borrow it to play with?

During the Battle of Mangshan, Lu Chen felt that the heavy hammer weighing over 300 jin was causing excessive damage to soldiers and even ordinary generals.

Even if you want to deliberately create a bloody and terrifying killing scene to destroy the enemy's morale, the 120-pound Xuan Tie spear is more than enough. Its attack range is wider than that of the hammer, and it is more flexible to use.

It can also fulfill his little wish to ride a horse and fight – charging on horseback, trampling through enemy lines, isn't that much cooler than running on foot with a sledgehammer?

Just as she was pondering this, Lianrou noticed that he was actually lost in thought, and couldn't help but puff out her pink cheeks slightly.

With her beauty and charm, coupled with her noble status as the only daughter of the Western Turkic national teacher and the adopted daughter of the Great Khan, she attracted attention wherever she went, and was always the center of attention.

Just now, Prince Qi, Li Yuanji, couldn't help but show off his feathers to her like a male peacock. Now that she has taken the initiative to talk to Lu Chen, he is actually distracted.
Even though Princess Xiuning, who sat next to him, and another girl beside him who was said to be the eldest daughter of the Dugu clan, were both rare beauties, Lianrou still felt that Lu Chen was going a bit too far.

Beautiful women, as the people of the Central Plains would say, the more the merrier!
As a great hero and powerful figure praised and revered by all, how could one or two beauties by his side be enough?

The strong should possess more.

Unless one prefers male homosexuality, one could have ten, eight, or even a hundred beautiful women without ever finding too many.

How come Lu Chen has absolutely no possessiveness when faced with a beauty like her?
"Master Lu!"

Lian Rou called out to Lu Chen in a crisp voice, not hiding the dissatisfaction in her tone.

When Lu Chen finally came to his senses and looked at her, she puffed out her chest, which was no less impressive than Dugu Feng's, and said bluntly:
"Do you have a preference for men and dislike women?"

"?"

Lu Chen looked puzzled.

Weren't we just talking about strength, martial arts, and my 120-pound Xuan Tie Spear?

How did the topic suddenly veer so far off course?
Just as I was wondering what was going on, a soft and pleasant male voice rang out:

“Young Master Lu, my daughter Lianrou is naturally mischievous. If she has said anything offensive, I hope you will forgive her.”

The speaker was a tall, middle-aged man with a neat mustache. Although he had an exotic appearance, he was dashing and approachable.

It was none other than Lian Rou's father, Yun Shuai, the national preceptor of the Western Turks.

Seeing that Commander Yun was not only gentle and polite in his words, but also had eyes full of appreciation and respect, and even bowed to him with his hands clasped, Lu Chen, who was always polite, did not sit and accept the greeting casually. Instead, he stood up and returned the greeting.
"You flatter me, Imperial Preceptor. Princess Lianrou is naturally straightforward; I would never take her words seriously."

Commander Yun smiled slightly:
"Young Master Lu's magnanimity is truly admirable."

Although he didn't believe the rumors that Lu Chen wielded two 1200-pound "Five Thunder Hammers" and could smash men and horses within three zhang with a single blow, and withstand Li Mi's heavy attack on the throat unscathed, he knew that since Lu Chen had the record of killing Wang Pojun twice, then regardless of how he actually achieved those records, Lu Chen's martial arts and wisdom were definitely among the best in the world.

Such a heroic figure should naturally be befriended; one must never offend him.

Furthermore, it is said that Lu Chen disliked the foreigners causing trouble in the Central Plains, and for this reason, he killed Ba Feng Han and Qu Ao.

On the matter of fighting against the Turks, Commander Yun felt that the two sides should have a lot in common.

After all, the Turks were known for causing trouble in the Central Plains.

They frequently raid southwards, and a few years ago they even sent a large army to besiege Emperor Yang Guang of the Sui Dynasty. Now they are supporting the princes of the Central Plains everywhere and interfering in the struggle for power in the Central Plains.

The disciples of Martial Venerable Bi Xuan often went to the Central Plains, leading their cavalry to roam freely as if they were in an empty land. Given Lu Chen's personality, he must have long disliked the Turks.

Yun Shuai's face was full of a gentle and friendly smile. He was about to talk to Lu Chen about the Turks when the eunuch's distinctive high-pitched and sharp voice rang out:

"Your Majesty is here!"

Emperor Li Yuan of Tang has arrived.

The guests in the hall rose one after another, and Commander Yun and Lian Rou also turned to face the throne.

Since Lu Chen had already stood up, he didn't sit down and put on airs.

Li Yuan still gave him face.

Not only did he give him the Feishuang Hall and Jiulong Hall, the best hot spring palaces in the Lishan Palace, but he also specially appointed his most trusted daughter, Li Xiuning, as the supervisor of the Lishan Palace to show his importance. Lu Chen naturally had to reciprocate and give Li Yuan some face.

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(End of this chapter)