Chapter 11

Many years ago, after the end of the Battle of Regarding Baiyue.

The former Crown Prince of Regarding Baiyue, Tian Ze, known as the "Red-Browed Dragon Snake," died at the hands of the Blood-Clad Marquis Bai Bai Yifei, the cousin of Lady Mingzhu. In reality, however, this was merely the official story; the true Tian Ze did not die, but was imprisoned by his cousin Bai Bai Yifei. Furthermore, Bai Bai Yifei left something inside Tian Ze’s body to keep him in check... for future use.

The thing his cousin used to keep Tian Ze in check was precisely... a Gu!

Lady Mingzhu herself was a master of Gu-making, so the moment she heard Su Xuan’s words, she immediately thought of Gu.

"What a brilliant method!"

Enduring the intense pain in her body, she gritted her teeth and said to Su Xuan.

"I have no choice. Since you people have too many schemes, I can only use this method to let you know how formidable I am!"

He spoke indifferently while ceasing to urge the Qi he had left inside Lady Mingzhu’s body.

The sharp pain in her chest gradually subsided, yet even so, Lady Mingzhu’s forehead remained covered in sweat.

After this encounter, she already knew how formidable Su Xuan was.

She dared not speak wildly in front of Su Xuan anymore.

At the very least, before her cousin returned and removed the Gu poison from her body, she dared not act presumptuously in front of Su Xuan. She even had to feign compliance and curry favor with him to prevent him from triggering the Gu poison.

"What exactly do you want?"

Lady Mingzhu asked Su Xuan again: "Wealth? Or beauty?"

"Didn't I already say what I want?" Su Xuan replied.

A somewhat stiff smile appeared on Lady Mingzhu’s face as she said: "You are joking. If you are fond of beauty, I can find dozens of beauties to come and serve you at any time!"

Even if this man coveted her beauty, at the very least, for Lady Mingzhu, she was not prepared to sacrifice herself to him just for the antidote.

Although she appeared wanton on the outside, she cared immensely about her own body.

Having been in the palace for many years, she appeared to be the King of Han’s favorite concubine, but in reality, even the King of Han himself did not know that he had never touched her. For all these years, the nights of passion he thought he experienced were merely dreams created by illusions combined with hallucinogenic incense.

"That sounds quite nice, but how could those mediocre beauties compare to you, my Lady!"

Su Xuan said this while looking Lady Mingzhu up and down with an appreciative gaze.

Feeling Su Xuan’s gaze, Lady Mingzhu felt her hair stand on end; it was extremely awkward.

After teasing Lady Mingzhu for a while, Su Xuan withdrew his gaze and asked her a question: "Since you are well-versed in martial arts, you should know the classification of martial arts realms in the world today, right?"

Lady Mingzhu was stunned; she had not expected Su Xuan to ask such a question.

This was because this question was completely unrelated to the content of their previous conversation.

"Someone like you, do you really not know the classification of martial arts realms?" Lady Mingzhu asked Su Xuan.

Su Xuan smiled: "I will not hide it from you, my Lady. I have cultivated in the deep mountains for many years, and what I practice is different from any cultivation system in the world today."

"Now that I have entered the world, I am very curious to know the specific classification of martial artists' realms in the world."

"So that I can determine what level I belong to!"

Lady Mingzhu’s eyes flickered with a strange look; she had not expected to get such an answer from Su Xuan.

However, she still gave Su Xuan the answer.

"The world is vast, the Hundred Schools of Thought contend, and there are various sects and factions, each with different cultivation methods. Therefore, each sect has its own way of defining the various realms."

"However, since the madman Zhuang Zhou of the Daoist school debated the Hundred Schools at the Jixia Academy a hundred years ago, the various sects in the world have gradually reached a unified consensus on the classification of martial arts realms."

"Those who are just beginning to practice martial arts, whether they are like the Armor-Piercing Gate of Wei Guo practicing external techniques, or sects like the Daoist or Yin-Yang schools that practice internal true qi and use qi to control techniques, are all collectively called 'Unranked'!"

"Those who have achieved initial success in external techniques or internal qi are called 'Post-Heaven'!"

"Those who have connected the internal and external and can project their internal power are 'Pre-Heaven'!"

"After Pre-Heaven, there is the 'Grandmaster'!"

"And above the Grandmaster, Zhuang Zhou named it—'Great Grandmaster'!"

"To climb high without trembling, to enter water without getting wet, to enter fire without feeling heat—this is the Great Grandmaster!"

"As far as I know, there are realms above the Great Grandmaster, but because ordinary people in the Jianghu can barely reach the Pre-Heaven realm, let alone anything above the Great Grandmaster."

Even so, it was Su Xuan who asked, and it was merely a classification of martial arts realms. Even if Su Xuan hadn't asked her, given Su Xuan’s current status and the King of Han’s favor toward him, it would be an easy matter for Su Xuan to find this out.

Lady Mingzhu then spoke a few more words to Su Xuan, such as how Zhuang Zhou’s debate, while allowing the Hundred Schools of Thought to reach a temporary consensus on the preceding cultivation realms, still left each sect with its own terminology after the Great Grandmaster realm.

For example, the Daoist school calls it "Heaven-Man," the Yin-Yang school calls it "Taiji Mysterious One," and the Confucian school calls it "No-Constraint"!

In any case, the Hundred Schools of Thought all looked down on each other. If it weren't for that madman Zhuang Zhou appearing a hundred years ago and suppressing the world, it is likely that these preceding realms would not have had a unified definition, and each sect would still be using its own set of classifications.

And even if they were unified.

This set of classifications is actually not that accurate.

For example, an external martial arts expert who has not reached the realm of projecting internal power, but has cultivated their body to the point of being invulnerable to blades and spears, can punch an expert who can project internal power to death. Should such a person be called "Post-Heaven" or "Pre-Heaven"?

In short, the classification of realms is only a reference.

For people in the Jianghu, who is strong and who is weak can only be known after a fight.

PS: Seeking flowers!! Seeking evaluation tickets!!