The charming widow of the Marquis's mansion: The stable boy carries the flag and raises the dra

Wang Long took a deep breath to suppress the shock in his heart.

Peak of the Ninth Rank...

In the entire Great Qian Dynasty, there are no more than five Grandmasters.

Although the emperor was not a grandmaster, his peak ninth-rank strength already placed him at the very top of the Great Qian Dynasty's pyramid.

Not to mention the giant dragon phantom behind him, which was clearly the royal family's national guardian beast or some kind of secret technique, exuding a terrifying aura comparable to that of a grandmaster.

The nobles all looked extremely grim; not long ago, the emperor was only at the mid-stage of the ninth rank…

The stronger the emperor, the less comfortable life becomes for these nobles.

The emperor spoke softly, his voice low but carrying an undeniable authority.

"I presume you all already know why I have summoned you all here today."

"I have been on the throne for more than 20 years and have always promoted martial arts and encouraged all families to cultivate talents. However, due to the constant fighting among noble families and nobles in the Grand Competition, the harmony has been damaged and the dignity of the court has been tarnished."

"Therefore, this year, I have changed the rules of this grand competition."

The emperor paused, his gaze sweeping across the entire room.

"In this grand competition, each household must substitute its servants."

"The servants fight amongst themselves, regardless of life or death."

After he finished speaking, the square fell silent.

The emperor continued.

"This move serves two purposes: first, to prevent the various factions from damaging their relationships due to the competition; and second, to—"

His eyes were piercing, and his voice suddenly rose in pitch.

"To select talented individuals for the imperial court!"

The entire audience erupted in uproar.

The nobles' expressions all changed drastically.

The emperor is openly trying to undermine them!

Although the servants were of low status, many of them were second- or third-rank martial artists, and some families even had fourth-rank masters among their servants.

If these people were recruited by the imperial court, granted official positions, and freed from slavery, wouldn't all the major families have lost the talents they had cultivated for so many years?

But no one dared to voice any objection.

The emperor is very powerful now.

No one dared to offend the emperor at this time.

Moreover, there is a Grandmaster presiding over the central palace, and a ninth-grade spirit beast guarding it.

In this imperial city today, the emperor is the only ruler.

The ambitions of many nobles to divide the imperial power were temporarily thwarted.

Crown Prince Murong Hao spoke at the opportune moment, his voice clear and melodious.

"Your Majesty is wise. This move can both prevent infighting among the families and select talented people for the court. It is a win-win situation, and I admire you."

With the Crown Prince speaking, how could anyone else dare to remain silent?

The nobles echoed their sentiments, their voices rising and falling.

"Your Majesty is wise!"

"Your Majesty is wise!"

"This is excellent, we are extremely grateful!"

They all wore smiles on their faces, but who knows what they were cursing in their hearts.

Wang Long stood in the crowd, listening to the flattering voices, and felt like laughing.

While these people were praising the emperor's wisdom, they were probably already cursing the emperor's ancestors for eighteen generations in their hearts.

Luo Hanyi's expression was also not good. Her gaze fell on Wang Long, and she hesitated to speak.

"Sister-in-law, what should we do?"

Qin Minglan appeared somewhat flustered.

If Wang Long loses, he will die a terrible death; if he wins, he will be granted an official position by the emperor and freed from slavery.

They cannot accept either outcome!

Luo Hanyi remained silent, her eyes slightly narrowed. Now, she could only wait and see.

Even the most powerful nobles dared not disobey the emperor, and the already declining Zhenbei Marquis's mansion had no choice but to submit.

Emperor Murong Yuan sat upright on the dragon throne, his gaze sweeping over the dark mass of servants in the square, and he nodded slightly.

Let's draw lots.

As soon as he finished speaking, the enormous golden dragon phantom behind him trembled violently!

With its head held high and eyes blazing like torches, the dragon let out a deafening roar!

"roar--"

The roar of the dragon echoed in the air above the square, causing the ground to tremble slightly.

The next instant, the phantom of a giant dragon rose into the air from behind the emperor, transforming into a golden streak of light that shot straight into the sky!

Golden light exploded in the sky, turning into countless tiny points of light that poured down like a meteor shower, precisely targeting every servant in the square.

Wang Long looked up and saw a golden light flying towards him at an extremely fast speed, arriving in front of him in the blink of an eye.

The light fell into his palm and transformed into a palm-sized token, entirely golden, with a number engraved on the front.

"one".

Wang Long looked at the token in his hand and was slightly taken aback.

Number one?

I was the first one to go on stage?

In the square, the other servants also received their tokens and looked down to check the numbers on them.

For a moment, whispers rose and fell.

"I am number seventeen."

"I'm number thirty-five."

"I'm number eight, who's number eight?"

"Me! I'm number eight! We're opponents in the first round?"

Wang Long held the token, his eyes scanning the surroundings, trying to see who was number one's opponent.

But after looking for a long time, he still couldn't find a second number one.

On the other side of the stands, several nobles were whispering among themselves.

"I heard that someone has set up betting odds for this year's competition?"

"That's right. The Marquis of Zhennan's mansion took the lead, and everyone could place bets, betting on how far their own servants would go."

"What about the odds?"

"Tie Xiong of the Zhennan Marquis's Mansion, a late-stage third-rank official, has the lowest odds, one to one."

"That swordsman from the Yongning Marquis's mansion is also quite good, a peak second-rank swordsman, one to three odds."

"What about the Marquis of Zhenbei's residence? What are that old man's odds?"

"One to one hundred in compensation."

"Haha, a 100-fold payout? Isn't that just giving away money?"

"That's right, that old thing doesn't even look like a first-rank official. Going up there would just be suicide."

Several nobles burst into laughter, their eyes glancing at Wang Long at the edge of the square from time to time, their eyes full of contempt.

Luo Hanyi remained calm upon hearing these sounds, though her fingers tightened slightly as she gripped the armrest of the chair.

Qin Minglan stood behind her, his face ashen, his hand already on the hilt of his sword.

"Sister-in-law, these people—"

"Minglan".

Luo Hanyi interrupted her, her voice calm.

"It's just barking, ignore it."

Qin Minglan gritted her teeth and swallowed back the words that were about to come out, but she couldn't suppress the anger in her eyes.

"Everyone else has already placed their bets, except for the Marquis of Zhenbei's residence, which hasn't made a move yet. May I ask, Madam Luo, would you like to place a bet as well?"

"The odds for betting on Wang Long, a servant of the Marquis of Zhenbei, are 1 to 100. If Madam Luo places a bet, she could make a fortune if she wins."

Seeing that Luo Hanyi made no move, the other nobles couldn't help but make sarcastic remarks.

"Of course, if Madam Luo feels unsure, she can choose not to place a bet, after all—"

Luo Hanyi took out a stack of gold notes from the storage ring on her fingertip and placed them on the armrest of the chair.

"Ten thousand taels of gold."

Her cool voice instantly silenced the assembled nobles.

Ten thousand taels of gold?

The surrounding nobles were stunned and turned to look.

Ten thousand taels of gold is no small sum.

The Zhenbei Marquis's mansion has been declining year by year, and its wealth has long been depleted. Where did Luo Hanyi get so much money?

Even if there were, would you bet on an old man with odds of 1 to 100?

Isn't this just giving away money?

"Ten thousand taels of gold, bet on Wang Long!"

Luo Hanyi's voice left no room for doubt.

The surrounding area immediately erupted in chaos.

"Ten thousand taels of gold? Has Luo Hanyi gone mad?"