Chapter 14: The Sixteen Marquises

  Silence, deathly silence!

  In the great camp of the Imperial Forest Army, it suddenly became a dead silence!

  The high and wide ring had collapsed in seven or eight places, with smoke and dust flying everywhere. But amidst the smoke and dust, a figure slowly emerged.

  Although the figure was tall and large, his footsteps were staggering. Everyone could see that he was very tired. Everyone also saw that his back was straight, and his footsteps were exceptionally firm!

  There was a noticeable wound on his forehead, although it had already scabbed over at this point, but anyone could see the bloodstains all over his face.

  Tang An's clothes were tattered and worn out, making him look disheveled, but the sword in his hand still shone brightly as usual.

  The scabbard is made of dark green jade, cold and chilling!

  Yu Wanli watched the approaching figure with a tense gaze, he had already sensed it, this person's aura was so familiar, absolutely not that Western Kunlun Great Sword Saint! Only, he wasn't quite sure yet. The sword just now was clearly more fierce than yesterday's Tiger Leopard Great Camp, and the killing intent was even closer to perfection.

  At last, he saw through the dust that slightly immature face, and he suddenly became excited and shouted loudly: "It's Tang An! He won! He won! Damn it, this kid actually won!"

  Yuan Wanli was already somewhat incoherent, he thought Tang An would lose, after all, he had just entered the Heavenly Boundary, while his opponent was a strong man who had been in the Heavenly Boundary for over ten years. The gap between them should be quite obvious.

  But Tong An won.

  Yes, he won!

  Yu Wanli rushed over to Tang An's side. Only then did the Great Yan side react, suddenly bursting out in a wave of cheers!

  The three thousand soldiers of the Imperial Forest Army shouted in unison: "General, you are mighty!"

  The sound of mountains and seas made many ministers who did not understand Tang An's identity think that this young man was a small general of the Imperial Guard.

  Some ministers had just crawled up from the ground, and were blown away by the strong wind just now. They were in a sorry state, but as soon as the wind stopped, they hastily picked up their official robes and hats. Losing decorum in front of the emperor was a serious matter.

  But as soon as they stood up, the loud shout of the army made them feel like their hearts were about to jump out. They were stunned and looked up to see Yuan Wanli running over while shouting loudly. Suddenly, some doubts arose, "Did we win?"

  Then, they turned back to look at the entire Xiongnu delegation with their mouths agape, incredulous yet defeated expressions on their faces, and only then did they dare confirm that this sixteen-year-old young man had actually defeated the great sword saint of the Xiongnu!

  They immediately showed a smile on their faces, stroking their three-inch beards, and became complacent. Their mouths still murmured: "Children can be taught, children can be taught..."

  These words left the soldiers on one side completely bewildered, and they all looked at these old masters in doubt, really unable to understand.

  "Tianjian has won, what does it have to do with you? Can a child be taught? With this group of sour scholars like you, can you teach out a Tianjian?" Ridiculous!

  The Prince of Rongdi saw Tang An stumbling down from the stage, and suddenly his mind was dazed. He felt as if the sky above his head was about to collapse. He was stunned for a while before regaining consciousness. As soon as he came back to himself, he rushed towards the stage like a madman. When he saw Guroba's corpse, he felt that he couldn't even stand up straight and knelt beside the body, wailing in grief.

  He felt inexplicable sorrow in his heart and let out a mournful cry.

  Grobba was his teacher, but he was more affectionate than his father. King Rongdi had thirteen sons, but Grobba only had him as a disciple. Although he was extremely strict with him, he became even more respectful of this master. However, he also knew that when a swordsman picks up his sword, it's either someone else who dies or himself.

  He was heartbroken, lifted his head, and his eyes were filled with tears.

  But her tearful eyes were fixed on Tang An's back.

  "Heavenly Sword Tang An? I remember!"

  The Prince of Rongdi slowly walked down from the stage with Guluoba's body in his arms. As he passed by Tang An, he suddenly stopped and turned around, staring at Tang An.

  Yuan Wanli furrowed his brow and immediately shielded Tang An behind him. Tang An was already exhausted, Yuan Wanli saw that the Rongdi prince's emotions were not right, and moreover, the Rongdi side had a mysterious artifact, which might hurt Tang An.

  Yu Wanli's eyes were fixed on Prince Rongdi, his whole body tense, ready to kill this laborer prince at any moment if he found anything wrong.

  However, the king of Rongdi only took a glance at Tang An, saw his face clearly, and then turned around and left.

  He went into his own camp, simply waved his hand and said: "Let's go." His voice was so helpless, and the Rongdi messenger team followed him out of this helplessness.

  And on the side of Yan, watching the Rongdi envoys leave in dejection, they cheered once again.

  The Great Yan was rich and powerful, but it was helpless against the Xiongnu.

  Because the Xiongnu are not only no less powerful than Great Yan, but their national aggression is even stronger. For a hundred years, Great Yan has been on the defensive. Although they won on the front battlefield this time and temporarily occupied most of Yunzhou and Yanzhou, Great Yan also understands that its foundation is not there, and as long as the Xiongnu can spare some effort from their battle with Huoluoguo in the west, these two states will be lost at any time.

  The Great Yan did not want to fight with the Rongdi again, and the Rongdi did not want to fight with the Great Yan either, because their interests in the west were greater. Therefore, both sides tacitly chose to stop fighting and negotiate a peace treaty. However, after the ceasefire, both parties wanted to retain their own interests in the land of Yan Yun. That's why this competition arose.

  At this moment, the ministers of Yan did not care how hard Tang An and Groba's battle was. They only knew that they won this duel, which was enough for them.

  But they also have some feelings. This matter concerning morale, national prestige, border interests, national self-esteem and so on... everything that originally seemed very complicated and heavy, was actually solved by Tang An's one sword in the sky... This made those ministers who were well-read in poetry and books, and governed the country with Confucian ideas, feel unbelievable.

  Emperor Zhao Yuanhao looked at Tang An from a distance, his expression complex.

  "At sixteen years old, he has already achieved so much, his swordsmanship is so overbearing, his temperament is so firm and resolute, and his methods are also extremely ruthless. This Tang An, is truly not easy to control."

  However, Emperor Zhao Yuanhao seemed to have thought of something else and his face began to fill with a smile.

  The emperor's strategy is to use both kindness and authority. Tang An has already entered the heavenly realm, who dares to intimidate him with authority? Unable to show authority, one can only show kindness and treat him with sincerity.

  The emperor looked at Yue Wu with one eye, and Yue Wu understood, immediately stepped forward, bowed his head and said: "Your Majesty has any instructions?"

  The Emperor looked at Tang An and smiled at Yue Wu: "I want to make Tang An a marquis, what do you think?"

  Yue Wu was not a pedantic person, of course he knew the reason why the emperor wanted to win over Tang An. It wasn't because Tang An had exceptional talent, nor was it because this time's martial arts competition would bring glory to the country, but rather because of the secret technique that condensed the Azure Dragon Law Appearance on Tang An's body.

  However, looking at Tang An's immature face, Yue Wu glanced at Yuan Wanli and Nian Wushuang beside him. Yuan Wanli and Nian Wushuang had fought for the country and guarded the border for over a decade, with countless military achievements. Nian Wushuang was only enfeoffed as a marquis this year, while Yuan Wanli was merely a baronial officer. Compared to Tang An, these two were really too humiliated.

  However, Yue Wu understood the emperor's mind and naturally wouldn't dwell on this aspect anymore. He only said: "Being enfeoffed as a marquis at 16 years old, isn't that too young? Moreover, if it's just based on today's martial achievements to be enfeoffed, it would be hard to justify to the people of the world. There has never been a case where someone was enfeoffed just because they won in a martial competition and brought glory to the country. I'm worried that the common people, especially the scholars, wouldn't accept this. This empty honor, isn't it too easily obtained?

  The emperor's face had already turned slightly cold, and he waved his hand to interrupt Yue Wu, saying: "Don't say any more, my mind is made up! Announce it to the world!"

  The emperor finished speaking and immediately turned his sleeve, changing his expression, smiling and walking towards Tang An.

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