Chapter 1593: New Competition

The entire courtyard erupted in an uproar. Almost everyone thought Zu'an was arrogant; those whose affiliations were somewhat similar merely grumbled internally, while those from openly hostile factions almost directly criticized him publicly.

A faint flicker of anger crossed Chu Chuyan's eyes. How could these people know how formidable Ah Zu was?

Back in the capital, she had personally witnessed Zu'an's swordsmanship and found him unfathomable.

Although Zhi Yin's cultivation was decent, it still couldn't compare to Ah Zu's. Ah Zu's statement wasn't a major mistake, but it severely offended the Li Hentian sect. It would be troublesome if Sect Master Guan got angry and sought him out for retribution.

In her opinion, although Zu'an was powerful, he was still somewhat outmatched compared to the older generation of Grandmasters. She worried internally, wondering what excuse she could find later to ask her master to intervene and stop Sect Master Guan.

Yan Xuehen, on the other hand, had a strange expression. Among so many people present, she was probably the only one who knew Zu'an wasn't boasting. Let alone a junior like Zhi Yin, even if Guan Chouhai personally made a move, he might not fare well.

Although Zu'an's cultivation hadn't reached the Grandmaster level, his combat power was exceptionally unusual and couldn't be measured by common sense.

Just then, a voice suddenly rang out in the courtyard: "Zhang Zijiang, Deputy General of the Imperial Forest Guard, seeks to spar with this gentleman on behalf of our Lord Zu."

As soon as these words were spoken, the previously noisy courtyard suddenly fell silent, all eyes turning to the general standing beside Zu'an.

Didn't this further confirm that Zhi Yin was unworthy of Zu'an's personal intervention, and so he was stepping in on Zu'an's behalf?

As expected of the Imperial Forest Guard, the Emperor's personal army, their perspective and confidence were truly... speechless.

Not to mention others, even Zu'an looked at Zhang Zijiang with surprise. His cultivation wasn't weak, but compared to the most outstanding disciple of Li Hentian, he was probably still a bit lacking. If they actually fought, his life might be in danger.

Seeing his gaze, Zhang Zijiang couldn't help but puff out his chest. He thought, 'Lord Zu was just in a difficult situation, the target of everyone's criticism. I've helped him out of it, and he must be very grateful now.'

That fellow Wang Bolin often looks down on me for flattering others. How would he know that flattery isn't so easy to do? It has to be just right. Furthermore, offering help in times of need is often far better than merely adding icing to the cake.

The only thing to worry about is that while I've helped Lord Zu in his time of need, it's like adding fuel to the fire for the Li Hentian sect.

The way those people over there are looking at me, it's as if they want to eat me alive. I won't... be beaten to death later, will I?

Although he considered himself skilled, he admitted he couldn't defeat the direct disciples of the Li Hentian Sect Master. The only reason he stepped forward was to flatter and risk everything.

Never mind, at worst I'll get some injuries. I just deliberately revealed my identity: I am a Deputy General of the Emperor's Imperial Guards. Would the Li Hentian people really dare to kill me?

Li Hentian was different from rebels like those from Shuanglong Mountain. Rebels were enemies of the court, so it was naturally a matter of life and death. But Li Hentian outwardly submitted to the court and would never dare to kill me. Yes, it must be so.

Zhi Yin glanced at Zu'an. Seeing that he had no intention of accepting the challenge, he merely glared at Zhang Zijiang instead and said, "You're not worthy!"

After speaking, he sat back down. He then suddenly realized his words seemed to echo someone else's. Annoyed, he drained the wine in the cup before him to relieve his frustration.

Zhang Zijiang was dumbfounded.

Although he had previously been worried about being beaten to death by the opponent, the opponent's blatant disdain enraged him. "What did you just say, you punk?" he retorted.

"I am a dignified imperial official, a Deputy General of the Imperial Forest Guard! How dare he look down on me like this?"

He let out a yell and was about to charge forward, but his subordinates quickly and wisely held him back.

Zhang Zijiang secretly breathed a sigh of relief. He thought, 'These guys still have good judgment. If they hadn't held me back and I actually charged out, it would have been hard to handle.'

On the other side, seeing Zhang Zijiang's furious expression, Zhi Yin felt slightly better. He pondered that he shouldn't let relations with the court deteriorate too much. So he instructed a gloomy young man nearby: "Ninth Junior Brother, go test this general's skills. It'll be good practice for the upcoming Sect Grand Competition."

Zu'an was startled. What did he mean by "Sect Grand Competition"?

"Alright!" The young man nodded, then stood up and looked at Zhang Zijiang. "Cai Yu of Li Hentian, please enlighten me!"

Zhang Zijiang, on the other hand, grew a bit nervous. If he fought Zhi Yin, losing wouldn't be too embarrassing given Zhi Yin's reputation.

But now he was fighting a young boy. Winning wouldn't be anything to boast about, and losing would mean complete humiliation.

Just as he was in a dilemma, a surge of elemental energy suddenly erupted from deep within the prince's manor. Everyone present was a cultivator, and they instantly recognized it as the aftermath of a battle.

Following that, sounds of clashing weapons and fighting could be heard. Then a guard rushed over and whispered something to the Yan King, whose expression visibly darkened.

There were also Grandmasters present in the courtyard, and they keenly overheard the guard report, "An assassin has infiltrated the manor, and Sir Huo is pursuing her."

Guan Chouhai chuckled and said, "Your Royal Highness, it seems an uninvited guest has arrived. Would this humble one be of any assistance?"

"No need to trouble Sect Master Guan," the Yan King said with a forced smile. "Please continue, everyone. Someone in the manor is already handling this matter."

At this moment, Zu'an suddenly stood up and said, "Today, His Royal Highness is hosting. If we were to spar during the banquet, punches and kicks might not be careful, and it would be bad if anyone got hurt. How about we change the way we compete?"

"How do we change?" Zhi Yin suddenly looked up. He was worried the other party wouldn't participate, and since Zu'an had an idea, he definitely wanted to seize this opportunity to teach him a good lesson. "How about we see who can catch the uninvited guest who infiltrated the manor first? Whoever does, wins?" Zu'an said with a smile. It turned out he had just heard words like "Sir Huo," and a conjecture immediately popped into his mind, which he now intended to verify.

Zhang Zijiang was just worrying about what to do. When he heard this, he was overjoyed and hastily echoed, "Lord Zu's suggestion is excellent!"

A torrent of praise followed, making Zu'an a little embarrassed.

The Yan King frowned, about to refuse, but Zhi Yin nodded and said, "Alright!"

After speaking, he immediately rose and darted towards the direction of the battle fluctuations. Cai Yu followed closely behind.

Zhao Xiaodie, who loved watching excitement, also followed with a hint of eagerness.

Only then did Zu'an unhurriedly leave his seat. Zhang Zijiang also trotted after him, clearly still remembering his challenge with Cai Yu.

The Yan King could no longer object, so he simply said, "Then I shall trouble you all."

At the same time, he gave Sun Xun a look, signaling him to follow and monitor them, to prevent them from wandering haphazardly through the manor and seeing things they shouldn't.

Sun Xun nodded and silently disappeared.

"Young people are too impulsive and easily provoked. I hope Your Royal Highness will not take offense," Guan Chouhai said, directly blaming Zu'an and implying that it wasn't his disciple who was tactless, but rather that the other party had provoked them first.

The Yan King expressed understanding: "Let the younger generation sort out their own affairs, haha. Let's continue drinking."

He raised his wine cup and gestured to Guan Chouhai and Yan Xuehen respectively.

However, at this moment, Yan Xuehen was a bit distracted. What was that boy up to? Why did he suddenly become so eager to compete again?

No, he definitely wasn't going after Zhi Yin. He must have another motive.

After Zu'an left his seat, he began to extend his divine sense to search the manor. However, there seemed to be a special formation suppressing it in the prince's manor, causing his divine sense range to be significantly smaller than usual. Fortunately, he had the help of the Jade Cong.

Faintly detecting some clues, he found an opportunity to get rid of Zhang Zijiang, and then headed towards a certain courtyard.

The Jade Cong wasn't omnipotent. Many small animals have limited intelligence, and unless they happened to see something directly, they could only provide very vague information about what they had seen before. He only guessed that the assassin had roughly come to this area, but he still needed to search carefully for her exact location.

Arriving in front of a house, as he was about to push the door open, the door suddenly opened. A woman in black suddenly appeared, pressing a knife against his chest. "Don't make a sound, or I'll kill you!" she warned.