Chapter 489: A Commoner Enters Taian City

The Imperial Capital.

Taian City.

Taian City, the towering hub of the world, is the most prosperous and flourishing place in the contemporary world.

A burly, tall fellow with white hair and a white beard stepped into Taian City and strolled along.

Looking around, one saw red towers and painted pavilions everywhere, the noise of people, carriages stopping, and horses racing. Among them were many martial artists wearing sabers and swords, yet there was not much arrogance or insolence. Under the Emperor's feet, who would dare to be presumptuous?

The burly fellow had been invincible in the world for sixty years, but he had also trapped himself in Wudi City for sixty years.

This time, heading to Taian City, given his foot speed, it would have taken only a day or two to arrive at full pace. He walked slowly along the way, appreciating the beauty between heaven and earth, finding scenery in every glance, and gaining new insights into heaven and earth, which was why he arrived a little late.

After casually admiring the scenery of the Imperial Capital, the burly fellow chose a tavern to stay in.

He found a secluded corner in the tavern, drank a few cups of light tea, and ate some food.

In the tavern, the voices were noisy. During these days, Taian, this city in the center of the world, was bustling to the extreme; several major events had occurred in succession, so everyone was naturally discussing them heatedly.

First, the family of Old Fuzi Song suffered a calamity, and their house collapsed almost overnight. Most people felt it was not worth it for Old Fuzi Song; he left behind memorials and secret texts to seek a name in history, and not only did he die of anger, but the Second Fuzi Song and the little chicks of the Song family were all swept away.

The whole family packed their bags and left the Capital; at that time, there were more than two thousand people seeing them off in a grand procession.

After the Song family lost power, what followed was the grand event of the Feudatory Kings entering the Capital according to custom.

Jiaodong King Zhao Sui entered the Capital first, followed by Huainan King Zhao Ying, and then the newly appointed Guangling King Zhao Quan, Jingan King Zhao Xun, and Yanchi King Zhao Bing. This kept the high officials of the Imperial Clan Office and the Ministry of Rites busy to the point of exhaustion; it is estimated they all lost several pounds of flesh.

But if one really wanted to talk about the greatest sensation, it would have to be the Second Princess of Beiliang and the White-Clad Military Saint entering the city.

These two both entered the Capital alone on horseback, one after the other, but the sensation they caused was far greater than the other five Feudatory Kings combined.

First was the Second Princess Xu Weixiong. Since the Beiliang King Xu Xiao had only entered the Capital more than half a year ago, it was expected that a younger generation would enter the Capital on his behalf this time.

Feudatory Kings entering the Capital are always of great significance, and those who come are almost all Feudatory Kings and the various Princes who will succeed them. The one who should have entered the Capital this time was that playboy called Xu Fengnian; how could a woman be sent? Was that crippled Xu Xiao so full that he wanted to push a woman to be the Beiliang King?

Furthermore, Xu Weixiong was incredibly talented; not only was she on the Martial Evaluation, but she also took the top crown of the Rouge List's supplementary list, making her very famous among the common people. Therefore, when she entered the Capital, she caused many people to stop and watch.

That Second Princess Xu Weixiong carried an ancient sword at her waist, stood tall with her head held high, and her gaze was sharp. Although she only had average looks, her bearing and demeanor were not inferior to any man in the world.

For a time, it was unknown how many men were conquered by her.

With such bearing and demeanor, even if her appearance were ordinary, she would still far surpass the vast majority of women in the world.

And then there was that Chen Zhibao, who was not a Feudatory King but surpassed the Feudatory Kings. In white clothes and on a white horse, with a single Plum Wine spear, even those long-time enemies of Beiliang who had only heard his name but never seen him, after seeing him with their own eyes, were deeply conquered by his demeanor as a peerless Confucian general.

It is rumored that on the day he entered the city, countless women on both sides of the main road screamed in a frenzy, and the shrewd flower peddlers earned purses full of money; regardless of whether they recognized the man in white, as long as they flattered him with a few good words, they were guaranteed to swindle silver from the hands of young ladies of noble families and daughters of the wealthy.

However, Chen Zhibao's trip to the Capital was not perfect; a small interlude occurred.

Well, this interlude might not have been small, and the subsequent ripples continue to this day.

That day, not long after the white-clad Chen Zhibao entered the city, before the crowd had dispersed, two more people drifted in.

They were a man and a woman, both with looks that could topple cities and states, and their appearances were eight or nine parts similar, yet one would never confuse them, because the two had vastly different temperaments and styles.

Especially that man in black, transcendent and refined, as handsome as a demon, combined with that peerless bearing, his lethality was incalculable. As his eyes swept across, the few women caught by his gaze, which seemed to contain spring breezes and autumn waters, actually fainted on the spot.

Consequently, the people who were originally watching the white-clad Chen Zhibao surged toward the city gate, nearly causing a stampede, making the radiance of that White-Clad Military Saint entering the Capital suddenly dim and become a supporting act.

And after the man and woman entered the city, they drifted away and disappeared, leaving countless women to sigh in sorrow.

Although those two did not state their identities, almost everyone guessed that they were the Murong siblings.

Except for this pair of siblings, I am afraid the whole world could not find another pair of siblings with such beauty that could topple cities.

And these two had no less popularity among the common people than Chen Zhibao.

Especially Murong Tonghuang, who was the unprecedented Murong Twin Peaks, number one on the Martial Evaluation and number one on the Rouge List.

Not to mention anything else, that face alone was enough to make countless women in the world go crazy for it.

It was precisely because of this that the entire Taian City set off a "Search for the Peaks" craze.

It is a pity that, so far, no one has been able to find the residence of the Murong Twin Peaks.

And because of that fleeting appearance, I don't know how many noble ladies and young girls in Taian City were heartbroken, leaning against windows all day long, sighing in vain.

Fortunately, many people had seen Murong Tonghuang's appearance that day, and there was no shortage of keen-nosed merchants and skilled painters in Chang'an City.

Thus, not long after this disturbance, fans and paper fans featuring portraits of the Murong Twin Peaks were released, and for a time, fans in Taian were expensive. The storytellers were not to be outdone, telling the stories related to Murong Tonghuang over and over again, and each time they could earn a fortune.

The Imperial Court also turned a blind eye to this; after all, Murong Tonghuang was in Taian City, and the deterrent power of the Martial Emperor was no less than that of the True Dragon Emperor on the Golden Throne.

Hearing the people around him talking freely, the burly fellow smiled faintly and continued to deal with the food in front of him.

Of course, the bustle of the Capital did not stop there.

Someone at the next table said, "Brother Wang, you just arrived in Taian City, do you know who the most eye-catching swordsman in the Capital is?"

"That pair of long-time rivals, the Capital First Swordsman Qi Jiajie and Bai Jiangshan?"

"Wrong, guess again."

"Chen Yu, the third on the Rouge List, known as 'Beauty like jade, sword like a rainbow'?"

"That's old news, guess again?"

"I won't guess, I won't guess, tell me quickly, don't keep me in suspense."

"It's a wandering swordsman named Wen Hua who had no reputation before. This person first sought out the Wu Family Sword Crown Wu Liuding, seemingly picking a soft persimmon to squeeze, bypassing Wu Liuding to challenge his female sword attendant, but unexpectedly, both became famous in one battle."

"That sword attendant named Cuihua used the Old Sword God Li Chungang's Two Sleeves of Green Snakes, and the wandering swordsman only used two swords, but they were quite extraordinary. Later, he fought Qi Jiajie and Bai Jiangshan; although he lost both, it was a glorious defeat. Every time it was two swords, and those in the know say those two swords can be called the peak of Sword Dao."

"This wandering swordsman named Wen Hua is going to challenge the female Sword Immortal Chen Yu to a duel in two days. Now, gambling houses have opened odds to bet on whether that Wen Busheng will still lose after only two swords this time."

"Haha, interesting, I'm free in two days, let's go watch it together then."

"Two swords?" The burly fellow pondered for a moment and sighed, "Although I don't like that fellow Huang Longshi, he introduced Luck into the Edo back then, and indeed many experts have emerged in the Edo over these years, and this little fellow named Wen Hua is most likely related to Huang Longshi."

Although it was only a few words, this World's Second could tell that those two swords were about simplifying the complex, melting thousands of sword moves into one furnace.

If he could further condense the two swords into one, then he would truly be considered a top swordsman; no matter who he faced, it would be one sword, one sword to decide victory or defeat, to determine life or death.

And such a sword, I am afraid not many in the world could receive it.

Entering the Dao from the devious, it feels a bit like Huang Sanjia.

Of course, this was only the burly fellow's guess; he had never truly seen Wen Hua's sword, and perhaps he was just a fellow with a false reputation.

At this moment, someone hurried into the inn and whispered, "Have you heard? The Imperial Academy students have gone to cause trouble for the Beiliang Second Princess."

"Oh? How so?"

"Beiliang has never been popular. This time, when entering the capital to meet the Emperor, the various Feudatory Kings came in person, and even brought their Princes along. Yet, those Beiliang barbarians only sent a woman; it is simply extremely rude. The Emperor is magnanimous and does not fuss over it, but the Imperial Academy students are incensed, believing that Beiliang does not observe etiquette or rules, and they are currently going to find the Second Princess to reason with her."

"You have no idea, there are hundreds or thousands of them, a massive crowd; I fear more than half the people from the Imperial Academy have gone. It is just a pity that the Imperial Academy students blocked the Imperial Road directly after the court was dismissed, otherwise we would have had some excitement to watch."

"Tsk tsk, I have heard that the Second Princess is not like that good-for-nothing Prince Xu Fengnian; her literary talent and martial arts are both extremely impressive among the younger generation. Even a brute like me knows the line, 'Green ant New Brewed Wine, Red Mud Small Fire Stove'."

"Heh, what is there to fear? In public, surely she wouldn't dare to kill anyone, would she? And with several thousand students, she only has one mouth; no matter how capable she is, she cannot argue against them."

"I heard that Murong Tonghuang has a very good relationship with Beiliang, and he is currently in Taian City. Is the Imperial Academy not afraid of provoking this Murong Wudi?"

"Heh, who knows? These students have always been lawless; last time..."

"Shh, be quiet."

The burly man felt a stir in his heart upon hearing this, shoveled down two more mouthfuls, paid the bill, left the shop, casually inquired about the way to the Imperial Palace, and headed in that direction.