The Empress's No.1 Lackey

Martial God Map... just the sound of it exudes an aura of dominance... Zhao Douan felt a surge of excitement.

However, when he looked at the stone mural the size of a "folding screen" at the center of the first floor of the pavilion, his expression turned to one of stupefaction.

He turned his head dubiously towards Eunuch Hai:

"You call this 'painting'?"

It was as though he was thinking: Are you kidding me?

All he saw were the grey and white surfaces of the stone wall, marred by disordered cuts of knives and swords, pockmarked and uneven, vaguely outlining the contours of mountains and rivers.

A stick figure the size of a palm stood atop a mountain, gazing at clouds sketched with simple lines far away, as well as a half "sun."

Well, if one were looking for a vivid comparison, the quality of this Martial God Map before him was on par with Mr. Xing's Little Chicken Pecking Rice Painting in Tang Bohu Points Qiuxiang that Zhu Zhishan had painted...

Eunuch Hai said with a smile:

"Do you doubt the painting skills of the Grand Ancestor?"

"Not at all!" Zhao Douan, seeing a big hat coming his way, admitted with embarrassment:

"The Grand Ancestor Emperor's paintings are unconstrained and inventive; it is only my eyes that are unskilled..."

Eunuch Hai waved his hand, laughing:

"Youths are prone to jest. Indeed, the Grand Ancestor's paintings are unsightly; even Her Majesty has mentioned this many times in private... However, the value of a painting lies not in its beauty or ugliness, but in the 'intent' it encapsulates within!"

"Intent?" Zhao Douan mulled over the word.

The old eunuch in python robes uttered an "en" and from his sleeve shook out a pill wrapped in yellow paper:

"This is a 'Nourishing God Pill.' Swallow it, and sit cross-legged on the ground. When the pill's power activates all the qi and blood in your body and your Divine Soul grows strong, you can try to sense the 'intent' within the mural, enter into meditation, and perceive the legacy of the Martial God...

Ha, if your cultivation is successful and your Divine Soul is powerful, merely standing here would allow you to perceive it, but your foundation is too shallow; it will be easier with the aid of pills."

Beating around the bush, calling me weak... Following the instructions, Zhao Douan sat cross-legged and while waiting, he asked curiously:

"After entering into meditation, what do I have to do?"

Eunuch Hai explained:

"For the first visualization, you'll feel as though you've entered the world of the painting and will briefly reside within it. You need not do anything—simply watch and that's fine."

Mysterious... Zhao Douan calmed his heart and stared at the mural.

Soon, his dantian warmed, and the qi and blood throughout his body slowly boiled—a result of the pill's efficacy.

His mind grew clearer, his brow felt a pressure, and his senses sharpened.

He faintly heard the whoosh of wind, and the carvings on the stone wall in front of him rippled like water waves.

"No matter what you see, do not be surprised; remember, what you see in the painting is not reality..."

The old eunuch's voice gradually faded.

In a trance, Zhao Douan felt as if he was sinking into the deep sea, all above water calls died out.

Even light was swallowed by darkness, his body experiencing a strong sense of weightlessness, with nothing to grasp onto, he kept sinking towards the sea bottom.

The state of absolute darkness lasted for about ten heartbeats, then the darkness was torn apart by a brilliant morning sun.

Light returned to the world in an instant.

Zhao Douan realized that he was no longer in the Imperial Palace, and Eunuch Hai was no longer beside him.

He was standing on the peak of a towering mountain, endless emerald mountain ranges vanishing into a sea of clouds—wind "whooshing" by, fluttering his hair and shaking his clothes.

Above the clouds, the rising sun illuminated the land, lighting up the entire world.

"Is this the world within the Martial God Painting?"

Zhao Douan was astounded, the world felt so real, he instinctively squinted to avoid the bright light.

He saw in front of him, at the mountain's peak, a burly man with black hair cascading down his shoulders, exuding the strong presence of a martial artist.

Suddenly, the man began to practice Fist Skill, his movements slow.

With each breath, golden flames like "morning light" flowed over his body, profoundly mysterious.

Zhao Douan, as if in a daze, felt his spirit pulled, instinctively mimicking the man's actions.

He imagined wisp after wisp of golden light enveloping him.

...

Deep within the Martial Arts Hall,

Eunuch Hai closed his eyes to rest after Zhao Douan entered meditation and fell into a deep sleep.

Based on his experience, there wouldn't be any changes for a first-time observer of the Martial God Painting, but soon, he opened his eyes in surprise.

"Eh?"

Eunuch Hai was astonished to see that Zhao Douan's breathing had become deep and long, his exposed skin turned red and scorching hot, and his bones made a 'crackling' sound like roasted beans popping.

Then, while still in meditation, Zhao Douan let out a muffled grunt, and sparks flickered over his body.

A pale golden ripple spread out from him as the center, vanishing in an instant.

Zhao Douan suddenly opened his eyes, disconnected from the painting, and felt a white energy coursing through his meridians in surprise:

"I… advanced a level?"

Eunuch Hai was slightly surprised as well but smiled and said:

"It seems the pill took effect. You were already close to a breakthrough, so with the help of the Great Pill, stepping into Middle Grade mortal status is not strange."

Mortal statuses are divided into Low, Middle, and High Grades, and Zhao Douan had been stuck in Low Grade for many years, but now he had abruptly advanced to Middle Grade.

"Is that so..."

Zhao Douan was in a daze. Although the other party's guess was logical, he had a vague feeling that the truth wasn't so simple.

Eunuch Hai asked with a smile:

"How was your first observation? How far away are you from that mountain?"

Zhao Douan hesitated and said:

"What do you mean?"

Eunuch Hai explained:

"This Martial God Painting records the journey of the Grand Ancestor Emperor on his path of cultivation; the Grand Ancestor followed the river, traversed the plains, and ascended the mountaintops...

For the observer entering for the first time, depending on their affinity with this legacy, they will appear at different locations... The more suitable they are for this path, the closer they will be to that mountain...

What you need to do is to follow the Grand Ancestor's footsteps through daily observation and climbing towards that mountain.

On this journey, if you carefully ponder those traces, you will gain a lot. When you eventually reach the mountain and come to the Grand Ancestor's side, you can receive his teachings and inherit his techniques...

Heh, at that time, even though you are a Martial Artist, you will hold 'Martial Skills' that are comparable to Magic...

The specific skills you can learn and how many you can master are unpredictable. Each Tributor learns different ones... This is quite similar to how magicians receive their spells from deities.

The difference is that magicians acquire Spells from deities, whereas we obtain them from the painting."

Ah, this... Zhao Douan opened his mouth wide, wanting to say that what he saw was quite different. He ventured to ask:

"May I ask, Eunuch, how far were you from that mountain at first?"

Eunuch Hai proudly smiled and said:

"In my early days, I was already at the foot of the mountain on my first observation. Only because of that was I able to reach my current level of cultivation and support three emperors."

It seemed as though this achievement was quite outstanding.

Zhao Douan paused and asked:

"What about Your Majesty? How far was she from the mountain top?"

Eunuch Hai praised:

"Your Majesty stepped in and was already halfway up the mountain on the first try."

Zhao Douan fell silent.

If one said that Xu Zhenguan, who was merely in her early twenties, had already entered the "Under Heaven" level and stood at the peak of this world's cultivators, that was all there was to it.

What did it mean for someone like him, who had just gone in and already stood at the mountaintop, next to the Grand Ancestor Emperor?

Moreover, he faintly felt that during his time in the painting, after following through with a set of Fist Skills, it seemed... he had already acquired some kind of "Martial Skill".

"Something's not right!... It makes no sense for an outsider like me to be more suited for this path than a member of the Imperial Family... Could it be that I am the illegitimate son of some royalty? This is bad, if that's the case, wouldn't it be incest if I wanted to marry the Empress..."

Zhao Douan's mind was in turmoil.

All roads lead to Rome, but what if he was born in Rome? This was quite urgent.