Peace Order

The first under heaven...

They fought for two hours.

In the end, Li Guanyi could only muster all his strength and managed to land a slash on General Xue.

After that slash, the fear and oppression from before seemed to be completely torn apart.

A breath in his chest, exhilarating and satisfying!

The filter of "the first under heaven" in Li Guanyi's heart shattered.

What remained was like the frenzied battle of fierce tigers.

Then there was no more, as Li Guanyi experienced what it meant to be unrivaled in martial arts—experience points as well as the combat experience of being first under heaven, even if his own realm was suppressed, he was still a monster.

Dawn was breaking.

Li Guanyi rode his horse leisurely towards Guan Yi City; the horse belonged to the Xue Family. Li Guanyi had never ridden a horse before, and this one had a fiery temper, but it seemed to sense the Dragon and Tiger energy on Li Guanyi and was very submissive, going wherever he directed.

So docile and obedient.

Aunt had already arranged a separate courtyard for him at the Xue Family's front yard, so Li Guanyi naturally returned to the Xue Family.

He brought the horse back to the stable and brushed it down.

But then he heard a loud laugh, "Hahaha, Guanyi, you've come back at the right time." Li Guanyi turned around to see the familiar figure of Xue Daoyong striding forward, dressed in a blue long gown with a jade hairpin securing his hair, displaying a refined elegance that was absent in previous days. By his side stood Xue Shuangtao, still dressed as when they first met.

He had grown too accustomed to seeing the young girl with bow in hand and galloping on horseback.

Wearing a dress, hair clasped with a jade hairpin, a flower hairpin at her brow, and soft, gentle eyes, Xue Shuangtao appeared somewhat unfamiliar, her bright, clear eyes seemingly touched with light makeup, beautifying her beyond her usual appearance.

Xue Shuangtao noticed Li Guanyi's gaze, slightly lifted her skirt, and greeted him with a smile.

Rising.

She lightly kicked the young man's shin, not painfully, and said softly, "What are you looking at."

Li Guanyi smiled and said, "This is the Miss Xue I'm more familiar with."

Xue Changqing nodded again and again, "Right, right, a mother tiger!"

"Ow!"

"Grandpa, sister hit me!"

The young man stood there, smiling as he watched, and Xue Daoyong said, "A few days ago, a great scholar came to Guan Yi City, and today there's a grand literary meeting. Most scholars and notables from the entire Jiangzhou region will be here; it's the biggest such event in Chen Country for thirty years. Our Xue Family has received invitations, and Changqing here can't contain his excitement."

"Guanyi, come with me to the meeting," the elder said, patting his shoulder and laughing heartily, teaching them to know that our Xue Family also has a Qilin'er."

"This is your chance to make a name for yourself in literature across Chen Country and even the whole world."

Changsun Wuchou said with a smile, "Young brother Guanyi is talented in both the literary and martial arts; certainly, he won't disappoint."

"I too shall be attending this time."

He had already received a reply from Miss Xue. The handwriting on the letter was spirited, and it contained only one sentence—"If there are changes in Guan Yi City, protect him."

The biggest literary meeting in thirty years?

Li Guanyi suddenly thought of what Mr. Siming said about Literary Energy and Martial Energy, also considering the so-called opportune time and location.

He suppressed various thoughts and said, "Alright."

Then he also changed into a Confucian robe, with a leather belt at his waist. After some hesitation, Li Guanyi took his sword and bow along with two quivers of finely-made steel arrows with three-edged barbed hooks, hung them on the saddle hooks of the horse, mounted the steed, and with his youthful martial spirit and confident demeanor, he drew Changsun Wuchou's praise.

Old Mr. Xue and Changsun Wuchou led on horses.

Li Guanyi was about to catch up when he heard a tapping from a carriage nearby.

Li Guanyi reined in his horse, riding alongside Miss Xue's carriage. The young lady lifted the curtain and said,

"Remember to stay by my side at the literary meeting later."

Li Guanyi raised an eyebrow.

Xue Shuangtao said, "Otherwise, those noble sons and offspring of officials from Jiangzhou will come to bother me."

Li Guanyi replied with a smile, "So Miss Xue wants me to act as a shield?"

"That definitely comes with an extra charge."

Xue Shuangtao's hands were both rested on the window of the carriage, her chin placed on her fair-skinned backhand, tilted slightly to the side, her jewelry chiming softly.

The girl's face was beautiful.

Under the gentle morning light, she said with a light smile,

"So, shall we see how much your bow, arrows, horse, sword, and pills are worth?"

"My Great Minister, Sir?"

Li Guan Yi coughed and turned away, saying without looking sideways, "Give them to me later."

The girl couldn't help but laugh.

The morning light was faint, the shops on both sides had just opened not long ago, the traces of rainwater on the bluestone slabs were not yet dry, leaving some water stains; as the carriage advanced, the crowd surged, the girl dressed up and smiling gently, her hairpin adorned with jade swaying lightly; the boy riding a horse, avoiding eye contact, serene in the passage of time.

The sound of the horse's hooves clattered rhythmically.

The Literary Meeting was, to their surprise, held in a royal villa in Guan Yi City; by the time the Xue Family arrived, carriages were already lined up on the avenue, and gifts piled up on either side of the gate, resembling two walls, each gift adorned with a red satin ribbon, which was also a kind of spendable currency.

Li Guan Yi said, "So it turns out that renowned scholars are this wealthy?"

Changsun Wuchou replied, "The great scholars are."

When the elder dismounted, numerous officials and nobles already crowded forward with respectful and polite expressions; the elder smiled generously, and Changsun Wuchou, well-accustomed to such events, handled everything steadily and calmly.

Li Guan Yi, bored to tears, looked up; something about the bronze tripod's Pupil Skill made him feel uneasy.

However, without the Qi Observation Skill of the Yin Yang Family, he couldn't see it clearly.

He noticed that young nobles had already gathered around Miss Xue's carriage.

Indeed, her family was among the richest merchants in the world, her aunt was the emperor's favorite noble concubine, and her grandfather was a first-rate powerhouse; in terms of wealth, they had countless fortunes, and in terms of family lineage, they were descendants of Duke Xue, the world's foremost general from five hundred years ago.

She was exceptionally graceful, skilled at playing the zither, archery, and numerology.

A real catch in the eyes of the sons of noble families.

Li Guan Yi heard a series of soft thuds from the carriage wall.

He paused, seemingly a bit annoyed as he increased his strength, and there was also the sound of the girl's cough.

Li Guan Yi spurred his horse on.

The noble sons were still introducing their family backgrounds; even the girl's gentle voice attempting to persuade them to leave was of no use.

Just as they were about to push forward, suddenly there came a horse's whinny, followed by a nasty gust of wind; an all-red horse reared up, and upon landing, parted the crowd of noble sons, startling them into a pallid complexion.

They cursed loudly, irritably staring at this scene.

They saw a youth with a saber hanging at his waist, reins in hand, his brows spirited, the somber Cloud Pattern Confucian Robe unable to conceal his outstanding martial vigor, and hanging from his waist was a tablet that indicated he was a Ninth Grade Military Officer; this rank was not high, but coupled with his young age, it was somewhat shocking.

Li Guan Yi, seated on his horse, smiled and said, "Gentlemen, please return."

The noble sons asked, "And who are you?!"

Li Guan Yi didn't answer, simply turned and dismounted smoothly.

He held the horse's reins with one hand and extended the other; then the curtain of the carriage was drawn aside, and the girl in a dress reached out her hand. When a noblewoman disembarked a carriage, she was usually assisted by her handmaidens; this time, Xue Shuangtao lightly placed her fingers on her friend's wrist as she stepped down.

Surrounding them was a moment of silent stillness.

Elder Xue was already laughing with a scholar, roughly in his thirties, pointing at the spirited young man and exclaimed,

"How about it, Mr. Wang Tong, isn't my Qilin'er something?"

...

At the gate of the city, Mr. Siming of the Yin Yang Family, who was waiting there, looked up; the old man watched the sky.

The most grand Literary Meeting in Chen Country in thirty years, the gathering Literary Energy soared to the heavens.

The elder murmured, "It's beginning."

Meanwhile, Yue Qianfeng, representing Martial Energy, stood ten miles outside the city gates.

Literary Energy and Martial Energy, like Yin and Yang, were rising to the heavens, circulating like the Yin Yang Fish, on the cusp of convergence—

Li Guan Yi briefly faltered in his movements.

A searing sensation surged in his chest.

The bronze tripod, as if sensing something, suddenly buzzed intensely.