Chapter 404: Chapter 225: Son-in-law, We Saw Gu Ziye
Lu Yuan replied, "Your Majesty, as for hand-to-hand combat, I know a thing or two."
"Ah, don’t be so modest. During the Northern campaign, you didn’t get to have a proper bout with the Daoists from the Celestial Dynasty Palace, did you? We happen to be on the Training Ground today. Why not have another match and let me see what you’ve got?"
The Emperor only knew that Lu Yuan had clashed with the Daoists from the Celestial Dynasty Palace; he was unaware that Lu Yuan had also saved King Yan’s second son, Gu Gaoxu, from the Beast Race.
Lu Yuan heard this and felt a wave of helplessness. ’He’s making it impossible for me to refuse. A bit tyrannical, isn’t he?’
Before Lu Yuan could reply, the Emperor waved a hand at the old eunuch.
The old eunuch took the hint and cried out, "Summon Elder Kong of the Celestial Dynasty Palace and Elder Qiao of the Le Shen Temple for an imperial audience!"
Two Daoists emerged from a nearby tent. Lu Yuan took one look and found one of them to be familiar—very familiar. He’d seen him on the Northern battlefield.
The other man, however, wasn’t just familiar—he was someone Lu Yuan knew all too well: the Grand Elder of Le Shen Temple.
Both Daoists were well on in years, of a similar age, and sported long, white beards.
From this, Lu Yuan deduced that Elder Kong must hold a position of immense authority within the Celestial Dynasty Palace, second only to a select few.
The Emperor said, "Elders, please be seated."
The Emperor was, by his standards, being quite courteous to the Elders of the Celestial Dynasty Palace and Le Shen Temple.
"Elders, what do you say we let Prefect Lu try his hand at today’s selection matches?"
The two Elders, holding their Dusters, cupped their hands in salute and said in unison, "We await His Majesty the Emperor’s command."
The Grand Elder of Le Shen Temple gave Lu Yuan a small smile and a nod.
Seeing this, Lu Yuan thought, ’Don’t exchange meaningful glances in front of the Emperor! It makes it look like we have some kind of secret understanding!’
After rising and bowing, Lu Yuan headed to the Training Ground, utterly bewildered. ’What selection?’
Lu Yuan rolled up his sleeves and glanced at the crowd outside the Training Ground. They were all guards from the Imperial Capital. ’It can’t be any of them,’ he thought.
’It must be the people in the tents. Besides the one the Elders from the Celestial Dynasty Palace and Le Shen Temple had been in, there were five others.’
Lu Yuan had no idea who was in those five tents, nor did he understand what today’s setup was all about.
Lu Yuan turned to look toward the Emperor’s position, his peripheral vision sweeping over the other tents.
In the tent where the Elders of the Celestial Dynasty Palace and Le Shen Temple had been, he spotted a familiar face that had left a deep impression on him.
It was the youngest Grand Celestial Master of the Celestial Dynasty Palace—the very same one he had briefly sparred with on the Northern battlefield.
Back then, Lu Yuan had come out with a slight edge, though he couldn’t rule out the possibility that his opponent hadn’t been using his full strength.
’Well, well, he’s here today too!’ Lu Yuan’s curiosity grew. ’What in the world is going on today?’
Outside the Training Ground, the Chief Eunuch bellowed, "A verbal decree from His Majesty the Emperor! The arena tournament will now commence! The top five with the most victories will be handsomely rewarded! Begin!"
When Lu Yuan heard this, a thousand curses galloped through his mind. In this scenario, he was the first Defender.
His mind raced, calculating. ’What should I do? How many matches should I win? Should I aim for a top spot? What if the reward is something good? Could this have something to do with the Emperor’s Multiplication Factor?’
While Lu Yuan was lost in thought, a Military General wielding Heavy Hammers leaped onto the Training Ground. He smashed the two hammers together and announced loudly, "Ma Liu, General Guangwei of the Left Guard Army."
As a General Guangwei, his rank was Senior Third Grade, two full grades higher than Lu Yuan.
Snapping back to reality, Lu Yuan replied, "Lu Yuan, Prefect of Dongchang."
Even if Lu Yuan hadn’t announced his name, everyone knew who he was; the Chief Eunuch had just bellowed it moments ago.
The reason Ma Liu, General Guangwei of the Left Guard Army, was the first to challenge Lu Yuan was simply because of his status.
What was Lu Yuan’s status? A mere Civil Servant. To a Military General, he should be a complete pushover.
Ma Liu raised his two Heavy Hammers and said, "You’re unarmed. I won’t take advantage of you!"
With that, Ma Liu tossed his Heavy Hammers to the ground, where they landed with enough force to gouge two shallow craters in the dirt.
Lu Yuan turned to the side and gestured with an open hand. "Since you’re on the platform, let’s see what you’ve got."
Lu Yuan decided to just treat this as a warm-up. As for how many matches he’d win, he’d leave it to fate.
Ma Liu charged. Given his towering frame, the force of his rush was considerable—enough to topple an earthen wall.
Watching the somewhat clumsy Ma Liu, Lu Yuan knew he could easily dodge the attack.
But Lu Yuan clenched his right fist, wanting to test its power.
When Ma Liu saw Lu Yuan wasn’t dodging, he was ecstatic. He was sure to win this challenge.
When the general was just inches away, Lu Yuan unleashed a punch, its force several times stronger than before.
Ma Liu felt his massively muscled right arm go numb from the blow delivered by the scholar-like Lu Yuan.
His wild, bull-like charge was brought to a dead stop.
Lu Yuan himself was a little surprised. ’That punch had seventy percent of my strength. Normally, it would be enough to break bones and tear ligaments, putting him out of commission for at least a month.’
Ma Liu’s sheer muscle mass had acted as excellent padding, absorbing a great deal of the force.
From that single punch alone, those with profound Martial Arts knowledge could discern the subtleties at play.
Lu Yuan’s physical strength was terrifying.
After throwing the punch, Lu Yuan didn’t press the attack, but simply stood his ground.
After a long moment, Ma Liu shook his right arm, finally recovering from the waves of pain and numbness.
The Emperor, sitting in his tent, asked, "Elders, what are your thoughts?"
Grand Elder Qiao of Le Shen Temple replied, "Your Majesty, Lord Lu’s strength is extraordinary. I fear few could surpass him in terms of raw physical power."
Grand Elder Kong of the Celestial Dynasty Palace was also full of praise. "For one so young to have cultivated such physical fortitude is rare indeed, Lord Lu."
After all, Elder Kong had personally witnessed Lu Yuan shatter the Grand Celestial Master’s Duster with sheer force.
The Emperor listened, nodded, and went back to watching the show.
Ma Liu let out an enraged roar and charged forward again, refusing to believe that a mere Scholar could be stronger than his own body of corded muscle.
Lu Yuan used deft movements to parry and skillfully dodge every one of Ma Liu’s punches.
By now, Lu Yuan had gotten a good measure of his opponent’s abilities.
Furious and frustrated, Ma Liu yelled, "Stop dodging if you have any guts!"
The shout made Lu Yuan laugh internally. ’What on earth makes this brute think he can beat me?’
Lu Yuan stopped holding back. He ducked under a punch and drove his own fist into the general’s abdomen.
Ma Liu staggered back several steps, clutching his stomach and letting out a few pained groans.
"You... you actually..." Ma Liu was so angry he was speechless. It wasn’t as if his opponent had used any dirty tricks; he had simply fought back.
Lu Yuan spread his hands. "General, aren’t you ready to concede?"
"Concede? Do you have any idea how important this is to me?" Ma Liu forced himself through the pain, grabbed one of his Heavy Hammers, and swung it at Lu Yuan.
Inside the tents, many of the spectators gasped.
"Is General Ma a sore loser?"
"What happened to agreeing to a match of hand-to-hand combat?"
...
The spectators in the tents muttered amongst themselves. If the Emperor hadn’t been present, someone would have likely started booing or shouting for Ma Liu to get off the platform.
Of course, this was the Imperial Capital, and the attendees were all either rich or noble; they had to be mindful of their own status and decorum.
But General Guangwei Ma Liu, now seeing red, couldn’t care less about such things.
Seeing this, Crown Prince Gu Biao started to rise, intending to stop the fight, worried that Lu Yuan would be hammered into a bloody pulp.
Emperor Gu Yuanzhang raised a hand, stopping Crown Prince Gu Biao. "Biao, on the dueling platform, no one may interfere unless a fighter concedes!"
Crown Prince Gu Biao looked at the Emperor. "Father!"
"Say no more!" the Emperor barked. ’My son is just too soft-hearted.’
Lu Yuan retreated a few steps. "General Ma, there’s no need for this. Calm down."
He offered the advice gently, not because he was afraid of being hurt, but because he didn’t want the general to act so rashly in front of the Emperor.
Ma Liu, however, thought Lu Yuan was starting to chicken out.
Forced into a corner, Lu Yuan didn’t dodge. Instead, he met the twin hammers head-on, catching them to send a clear message: ’I’m much stronger than you. Don’t mess with me!’
He caught one hammer in each hand. The impact of the two Heavy Hammers was immense.
As he caught them, his feet sank two centimeters into the ground. An intense numbness shot through his hands, and a powerful shockwave coursed through his body.
This was the first time Lu Yuan had ever caught Heavy Hammers of such immense force with his bare hands.
If Su Liyan had been there to see it, she would have gone berserk with worry.
As Lu Yuan held the hammers aloft, his mother-in-law’s voice suddenly echoed in his mind, "Son-in-law, we’ve found Gu Ziye!"
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