Chapter 39

【The altar was majestic, deep and solemn.】

【The great ceremony resonated, solemn and respectful.】

【Under the smoke, the Emperor's pious face was reflected, offering incense to heaven and earth.】

【Praying for favorable weather, peace for the country and the people, and a long national fortune for Great Qing.】

【The hundred officials kowtowed!】

【You stood under the altar, looking up at the wisps of clear smoke rising straight into the clouds, drifting to an unknown destination, your heart slightly distracted.】

【A voice rang out, and you came back to your senses.】

【"Lu Shaobao, it's been many years, have you been well?"】

【The voice was rough and quite emotional.】

【You turned and looked, only to see among the envoys of the four countries, a man in casual clothes, although silently standing behind the crowd, that hidden majesty was hard to cover.】

【He must be a person of high position and great power to have such a temperament.】

【But he was also an acquaintance.】

【This person was the envoy who sought peace for Northern Wind in the past, and also the eldest son of Tuoba Tuoba Shuyi—Tuoba Tuoba Hongyan.】

【You narrowed your eyes slightly, examining this prince.】

【Although he was calm on the surface, he couldn't help but think of the legendary name of the Lu Family Army back then, and felt a chill in his heart.】

【In four years, Northern Wind was indeed terrified by that continuous war.】

【In several wars that were not against the Lu Family Army, victory was in sight, but when the Lu Family Army flag was raised on the opposite side, their own soldiers' morale collapsed again and again, ultimately leading to defeat.】

【Northern Wind was truly terrified of the Lu Family Army, terrified to the bone.】

【Since then, the North has been covered with Lu Family Army flags.】

【Tuoba Tuoba Hongyan had been familiar with you since he followed his father to conquer the North and South, and the more he looked at you, the more terrified he became, hurriedly saying: "I came with the Northern Wind envoys, and have already requested your Emperor!"】

【"The two countries are already allies, Lu Shaobao, don't ruin the harmony between the two countries!"】

【You narrowed your eyes and smiled, then remained silent.】

【Tuoba Tuoba Hongyan felt some regret in his heart; he shouldn't have provoked you, this was his father's instruction for this trip.】

【His father, Tuoba Tuoba Shuyi, was once the person closest to the Northern Wind throne, yet because of Lu Chen's sudden appearance, he fell short.】

【In that battle, Lu Chen shattered eighty thousand Northern Wind iron cavalry with the momentum of thunder and pointed his troops at Huang Long Prefecture.】

【The hardline faction in the court collapsed, and ultimately the Third Prince of the peace faction ascended the throne, and a decree of peace allowed him to withdraw his troops.】

【That battle also destroyed his father's ambition; afterward, he locked himself in his room all day, looking at the map of the North back then, trying to find the true winning move, replaying it again and again, deducing it again and again, but no matter how he turned and moved, there was only a dead end.】

【Because the person who played against him in the North back then used the way of leading troops and people like a ghost or god!】

【How can a person defeat a god.】

【In the past, when Lu Shen Zhou retired to Mount Zhongnan, at that moment, the royal family and generals of the North seemed to have unloaded a heavy burden.】

【Everyone said: "Great Qing's move is like letting a tiger return to the mountain."】

【At this time, Tuoba Tuoba Hongyan felt uneasy, but had to bite the bullet and say: "Lu Shaobao, Father has a word to tell me to convey to you."】

【You were curious, what words did Tuoba Tuoba Shuyi have.】

【"Father said, if you can survive Mount Zhongnan, he wants to compete with you again."】

【"He swears to defeat you once in this life, otherwise he will not die in peace."】

【There was another sentence behind, Tuoba Tuoba Hongyan really didn't dare to say it!】

【But remembering his father's majestic face, he hardened his heart and said.】

【"However, if you, Lu Shaobao, cannot walk down Mount Zhongnan alive, he will personally lead the iron cavalry to level your Lu family's nine clans and dig up the Lu family's ancestral grave to comfort your spirit in heaven."】

【You heard these words, but there were no waves on your face.】

【But your heart moved.】

【According to what you know, four years ago, the Third Prince of Northern Wind ascended to the supreme throne in that competition.】

【The first thing he did after ascending the throne was to place Tuoba Tuoba Shuyi, his former opponent, under house arrest in the Clan Mansion.】

【The second thing was to marry the Northern Princess, who was hardline, to Great Qing, becoming a tool for the alliance between the two countries.】

【With bold moves, Northern Wind had long since changed its team.】

【Reasonably speaking, with Tuoba Tuoba Hongyan's current status, he should have been a prisoner long ago and could not appear here.】

【And he brought you a sentence of "deciding the winner."】

【There is only one possibility!】

【Unless, Northern Wind has changed!】

【This Sixth Prince Tuoba Tuoba Shuyi has regained power.】

【Tuoba Tuoba Shuyi is not an ordinary person; before you met him, he had already swept the world.】

【If it weren't for the crime of war, he would have become the master of Northern Wind long ago.】

【As for the previous sentence, can't walk down Mount Zhongnan?】

【You are still thinking in your heart!】

【Mount Zhongnan praying for blessings, the twenty thousand forbidden troops heavily stationed here by Great Qing are all carefully selected soldiers, majestic and extraordinary.】

【And those internal experts of Ma Bao, as well as many military generals, are even more outstanding among martial arts experts, among whom there is no lack of grandmaster-level figures.】

【With such tight defense, who could make such an astonishing move on this Mount Zhongnan?】

【To kill him, this Great Qing Lu Shaobao.】

【Under such precautions, who can kill you?】

【And, the other party is certain.】

【Among them, there is no lack of a reminder.】

【You suddenly thought in your heart, could it be that a person above the grandmaster level has come to Mount Zhongnan?】

【Lu Yu sneered: "Want to hurt my brother, I see who in the world dares!"】

【Tuoba Tuoba Hongyan said no more and quietly retreated, hiding in the crowd.】

【Lu Yu looked at you, waiting for your decision.】

【You naturally understand Lu Yu's meaning, catch this person and you will know.】

【You have already made a calculation in your heart.】

【Tuoba Tuoba Hongyan's reminder, although only a few words, allows you to glimpse a clue.】

【However, you see that this person may only know the tip of the iceberg and not the true reason, catching him is also futile and easy to alert the enemy.】

【Thus, you smiled indifferently and said softly: "It's fine, let him go."】

【You looked at the altar faintly, and you had a premonition in your heart that something earth-shattering would happen today.】

【A bit of annoyance arose in your heart.】

【Tuoba Tuoba Shuyi specially sent his son to remind you!】

【Mount Zhongnan, there might be a change.】

【Apart from the Northern Wind envoys, you have had little dealings with the other three countries.】

【However, several of them are quite interested in you.】

【Especially the Li Qian Yuan envoys.】

【Li Qian Yuan has the most solid strength among the countries, but every time there is a change in imperial power, the struggle is the most intense.】

【Now, Li Qian Yuan has been in civil strife for ten years, but still hasn't been able to decide the winner, several princes and princesses are fighting for the throne, and the world is in chaos.】

【And, the most famous person in Li Qian Yuan over the years is a woman, the Sixth Princess of Li Qian Yuan, who leads one hundred thousand troops as a woman, and often wears a ghost mask when going to battle.】

【Between the countries, although there is covetousness, they have tacitly not dared to act rashly.】

【They know deeply that once external forces intervene, Li Qian Yuan's civil strife will quickly subside, and such a result is not what they want.】

【Therefore, they hope that Li Qian Yuan will be more chaotic, so that they can seek more benefits from it.】

【Several people in the Li Qian Yuan envoys have a great liking for you and want to talk to you, but you avoid them to avoid suspicion.】

【Since you want to stay away from the court, you must avoid these unnecessary social interactions and suspicions.】

【Time passes.】

【The second batch of teams entering the mountain has arrived!】

【Royal relatives, concubines in the deep palace, and the families of officials, one after another went up the mountain.】

【You looked up at the sky, the sky was high and the clouds were wide.】

【The trees want to be still but the wind won't stop!】

【Lu Yu laughed: "The wind is urgent and the sky is high, it is the time to kill!"】

【You just smiled.】

(End of chapter)