Chapter 17: Zhuang Zhou discusses the Dao, the division of realms!

Many years ago, after the battle of Baiyue ended.

The former Crown Prince of Baiyue, Tian Ze, known as the "Red-Browed Dragon Snake," died at the hands of Lady Mingzhu's cousin, the Blood-Clad Hou Bai Yifei. But in reality, this was merely the official story; the real Tian Ze did not die. Instead, he was imprisoned by his cousin Bai Yifei, who then left something inside Tian Ze's body to restrain him... for use at a later date.

The thing her cousin used to restrain Tian Ze was precisely... a Gu!

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

"What a truly brilliant method!"

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

"It can't be helped. Since you people have too many schemes, I can only use this method to let you know how formidable I am!"

As he spoke indifferently, he ceased urging the energy he had left inside Lady Mingzhu's body.

The sharp pain in her chest gradually eased, but even so, Lady Mingzhu's forehead remained covered in sweat.

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

She no longer dared to speak wildly in front of him.

At the very least, before her cousin returned and removed the Gu poison from her body, she dared not act with any insolence in Su Xuan's presence. She even had to feign compliance to curry favor with him, preventing him from triggering the Gu poison.

"What exactly do you want?"

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

"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 for you at any time to serve you!"

Even if this man coveted her beauty, Lady Mingzhu was not yet prepared to sacrifice herself 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 favorite concubine of the Han Wang, but in reality, even the Han Wang himself did not know that he had never touched her. For all these years, the short nights of pleasure 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!"

As Su Xuan spoke, he looked 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 must know the current classification of martial arts realms in the world, right?"

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

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

"Someone like you doesn't know the classification of martial arts realms?" Lady Mingzhu asked Su Xuan.

Su Xuan laughed: "I won't hide it from you, my lady. I have cultivated in the deep mountains for many years, and what I cultivate 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 arts realms in the world."

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

Lady Mingzhu's eyes flickered with a strange light; she had not expected to receive such an answer from Su Xuan.

However, she still gave Su Xuan an answer.

"The world is vast, the Hundred Schools of Thought contend, and there are various sects and factions. Their cultivation methods are not the same, so each sect has its own way of classifying the many realms."

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

"Beginners in martial arts, whether they are those who cultivate external techniques like the Armor-Piercing Sect of the State of Wei, or those who cultivate internal true qi like the Daoist School or the Yin-Yang School, are uniformly 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 release their internal force, are 'Innate'!"

"After the Innate Realm, 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 Innate Realm, let alone realms above the Great Grandmaster..." ===== CHAPTER 19 =====