Chapter 1598: New Competition

The entire courtyard erupted into an uproar. Almost everyone thought Zu An was arrogant; those with slightly closer affiliations merely grumbled internally, while those from already hostile factions openly criticized him.

A hint of anger flashed in Chu Chuyan's eyes. These people had no idea how powerful Ah Zu was.

She had personally witnessed Zu An's sword skills back in the capital. At the time, she only felt he was unfathomable.

Although Zhi Yin's cultivation was good, he still couldn't compare to Ah Zu. Ah Zu's words weren't entirely wrong, but saying so severely offended the Lihentian sect. It would be troublesome if Sect Master Guan got angry and sought him out.

In her opinion, while Zu An was formidable, he was still somewhat outmatched compared to these older grandmasters. She worried, wondering what excuse she could find later to ask her master to intervene and stop Sect Master Guan.

Yan Xuehen, on the other hand, had a strange expression. Among so many people here, she was probably the only one who knew Zu An wasn't exaggerating. Let alone a junior like Zhi Yin, even if Guan Chouhai himself made a move, he might not fare well.

Although Zu An's cultivation hadn't yet reached the Grandmaster level, his combat ability was exceptionally peculiar and could not be measured by common sense.

Just then, a voice suddenly rang out in the courtyard: “Zhang Zijiang, Deputy General of the Imperial Forest Guard, wishes to spar with this gentleman on behalf of our Lord Zu.”

As soon as these words were spoken, the previously noisy courtyard suddenly fell silent. All eyes turned to the general beside Zu An.

Didn't this further confirm that Zhi Yin was unworthy of Zu An's personal attention, and therefore, he would act on Zu An's behalf?

The Imperial Forest Guard truly lived up to its reputation as the Emperor's personal army. Their vision and confidence were truly... beyond words.

Not to mention others, even Zu An looked at Zhang Zijiang with surprise. Zhang Zijiang's cultivation wasn't weak, but compared to the most outstanding disciple of Lihentian, he was probably still somewhat lacking. If a real fight broke out, his life might be in danger.

Catching his gaze, Zhang Zijiang couldn't help but puff out his chest. He thought, 'Lord Zu just found himself in a predicament, being the target of public criticism. I've helped him out, and he must be very grateful to me now.'

'That fellow Wang Bolin often looked down on me for flattering others. How could he know that flattery wasn't so easy to deliver? It had to be done just right. Furthermore, a helping hand in a crisis was far more valuable than a mere embellishment during prosperity.'

'The only thing to worry about is that while I'm providing help to Lord Zu, it's essentially adding fuel to the fire for the Lihentian sect.'

'The way those people over there are looking at me, it's as if they want to devour me. I won't... get beaten to death later, will I?'

Although he considered himself skilled, he knew he couldn't defeat the Lihentian sect master's personal disciple. The only reason he stepped forward was to flatter Zu An, throwing caution to the wind.

'Never mind, at worst, I'll just get a bit injured. I just deliberately revealed my identity as a Deputy General of the Emperor's Imperial Guard. Does the Lihentian sect truly dare to kill me?'

'Lihentian is different from rebels like those from Shuanglong Mountain. Rebels, being enemies of the court, naturally fight for supremacy and even life or death. But Lihentian outwardly submits to the court, so they would never dare to kill me. Yes, that must be it.'

Zhi Yin glanced at Zu An, and seeing that the latter had no intention of accepting the challenge, he could only glare at Zhang Zijiang and say, “You're not worthy!”

After speaking, he sat down again. Suddenly realizing that his words seemed to be borrowing someone else's phrase, he angrily drained the cup of wine in front of him to dispel his frustration.

Zhang Zijiang was taken aback.

Although he had previously worried about being killed by the opponent, being looked down upon like this enraged him: “What did you say, you brat?”

'How dare a dignified imperial official, a Deputy General of the Imperial Forest Guard, be looked down upon like this?'

He roared and was about to charge forward, but his subordinates, understanding the situation, quickly held him back.

Zhang Zijiang secretly breathed a sigh of relief. He thought, 'These guys still have good judgment. If they hadn't held me back and I'd really charged out, it would have been hard to resolve the situation.'

Meanwhile, seeing Zhang Zijiang's furious expression, Zhi Yin felt slightly better. Considering that he shouldn't worsen relations with the imperial court too much, he instructed a gloomy-looking young man nearby: “Ninth Junior Brother, go and learn from this general's martial arts. It'll be good practice for the upcoming Sect Grand Competition.”

Zu An was taken aback. What did he mean by 'Sect Grand Competition'?

“Alright!” The young man nodded, then stood up and looked at Zhang Zijiang. “Cai Yu of Lihentian, I await your instruction!”

Zhang Zijiang, on the other hand, became somewhat nervous. If he were to fight Zhi Yin, it wouldn't be shameful to lose, as Zhi Yin had a reputation.

But fighting a young boy now, winning wouldn't be anything to boast about, and losing would mean utter humiliation.

Just as he found himself in a dilemma, a wave of vital energy suddenly erupted from deep within the prince's mansion. Everyone present was a cultivator, and they instantly recognized it as the aftermath of a battle.

Immediately after, sounds of clashing weapons and fighting could be heard. Then a guard rushed to Prince Yan's side and whispered something. Prince Yan's expression visibly darkened.

Among those present were also Grandmasters, who keenly overheard the guard report, “An assassin has infiltrated the mansion, and Mister Huo is pursuing her.”

Guan Chouhai chuckled and said, “Your Highness, it seems an uninvited guest has arrived. Would you like this one to lend a hand?”

“No need to trouble Sect Master Guan,” Prince Yan said with a forced smile. “Please continue, someone in the mansion is already handling this matter.”

At this moment, Zu An suddenly stood up and said, “Today, His Highness is hosting. If we were to spar at the banquet, fists and feet have no eyes, and it would be bad if either side got injured. How about we change the way we compete?”

“How do we change it?” Zhi Yin looked up abruptly, afraid that Zu An wouldn't participate. Since he had an idea, Zhi Yin had to seize this opportunity to teach him a good lesson. “How about we see who can capture the uninvited guest who broke into the mansion first? Whoever does, wins.” Zu An said with a smile. He had just heard words like 'Mister Huo' and a guess immediately popped into his mind, which he now intended to verify.

Zhang Zijiang was just worrying about what to do. Hearing this, he was overjoyed. He quickly chimed in, “Lord Zu's suggestion is excellent!”

This was followed by a barrage of flattering words, which made Zu An somewhat embarrassed.

Prince Yan frowned, about to refuse, but Zhi Yin nodded and said, “Good!”

After speaking, he immediately stood up and darted in the direction of the vital energy fluctuations. Cai Yu followed closely behind.

Zhao Xiaodie loved a good spectacle, and with a slight stir of excitement, she also followed.

Only then did Zu An unhurriedly leave his seat. Zhang Zijiang also scurried after him, evidently remembering his challenge with Cai Yu.

Now Prince Yan couldn't object. He could only say, “Then I shall trouble you all.”

At the same time, he gave Sun Xun a look, signaling him to follow and monitor them, to prevent them from wandering around the mansion and seeing things they shouldn't.

Sun Xun nodded, and silently disappeared.

“Young people are too impulsive and easily provoked. I hope Your Highness won't mind,” Guan Chouhai directly shifted the blame to Zu An, implying that it wasn't his disciple who lacked judgment, but rather that the other party had provoked first.

Prince Yan expressed his understanding: “Let the juniors handle their own affairs, haha. Let's continue drinking.”

He raised his cup, signaling to Guan Chouhai and Yan Xuehen in turn.

At this moment, however, Yan Xuehen was somewhat distracted. What was that boy up to? Why had he suddenly become so keen to win?

No, he definitely wasn't going after Zhi Yin. He must have another objective.

Now, after Zu An left the banquet, he began to release his divine sense to search the mansion. However, there seemed to be some special formation in the prince's mansion that suppressed it, causing his divine sense range to be much smaller than usual. Fortunately, he still had the help of the Jade Tablet.

He vaguely found some clues. He found an opportunity to send Zhang Zijiang away, and then walked towards a certain courtyard.

The Jade Tablet was not omnipotent. Many small animals had limited consciousness, and unless they happened to see something, they could only provide very vague information about things they had seen earlier. He merely guessed that the assassin had roughly come to this area, but he still needed to search carefully for the exact location.

Arriving in front of a house, he was about to push the door open, when the door suddenly opened. A woman in black suddenly appeared, pressing a blade against his chest: “Don't make a sound, or I'll kill you!”