Having cultivated myself into an immortal, all I want to do is raise female disciples.

Inside the Blue Feather Heavenly Palace.

There was no one else in the vast and spacious area at this moment.

They deliberately chose a quiet place where no one would disturb them to have a match, firstly to make it easier to show their skills, and secondly to prevent those cultivators who were prejudiced against martial arts from witnessing their exchange.

Although they won't say much on the surface, they'll definitely have something to say about it in their hearts.

here.

Gu Tianren held a black iron silver sword in his palm, stroking the cold, narrow blade with apparent delight, casually twirling it a few times before looking at King Gu in front of him.

"Brother Wang, aren't you prepared with a sword?"

"No need."

King Gu shook his head: "I don't know how to use weapons, I'll just use my bare hands."

Gu Tianren narrowed his eyes slightly, then said, "You'll suffer losses if you do that."

"fine--"

King Gu smiled and said, "Let's try it out. It's just a friendly spar."

—In fact, it wasn't that Gu Wangjun couldn't use a sword, but he was worried that if he really used a sword, Gu Tianren might not even be able to last half a move.

The way he held the sword, his posture, the angle at which the sword was tilted—Gu Wangjun could tell from just a cursory glance that Gu Tianren's martial arts skills were terrifyingly low.

This basically falls into the stage where the child is still learning to speak.

However, Gu Tianren didn't take it seriously. He just gave Gu Wangjun a meaningful look, then gripped his sword with his right hand, channeled his spiritual energy into it, and shouted, "Then be careful, Brother Wangjun!"

After speaking, he used his self-created sword steps to rush towards Prince Gu.

……

After three moves.

Gu Tianren was unsurprisingly beaten to a pulp.

Completely unable to fight back, they were defeated in just a few breaths.

Even with Gu Wangjun deliberately holding back, lowering his cultivation level, and intentionally revealing five or six openings, Gu Tianren, the chief disciple from the Blue Feather Heavenly Palace, was still sent flying within three moves by Gu Wangjun.

In Gu Wangjun's eyes, his swordsmanship was like a three-year-old child waving a wooden stick around haphazardly. Not to mention that it was completely without any rules, each move was quite an eyesore, and even the movements could not be called standard.

Gu Tianren's sword never managed to touch Gu Wangjun. Gu Wangjun easily dodged the initial thrust, but when Gu Tianren tried to change his move, the trajectory of his sword was too straightforward. Gu Wangjun simply flicked his wrist and grabbed Gu Tianren's right wrist. As he leaned forward, his body crashed down like a small mountain.

Back and forth they went, Gu Tianren was knocked away three times by Gu Wangjun using similar tactics—and now he could barely hold his sword.

"Good...good skill."

Gu Tianren, his forehead dripping with cold sweat, looked at Gu Wangjun with a trembling heart: "Brother Wangjun truly lives up to his reputation as a body cultivator... It seems my swordsmanship is still too immature."

—Can you even call that swordsmanship...? Seriously, isn't that just wild swinging...?

While silently criticizing Gu Tianren's bizarre and chaotic swordplay, Gu Wangjun was unwilling to criticize the chief disciple of Lanyu Heavenly Palace: "Your swordsmanship... is not without its unique aspects."

"Really?" Gu Tianren's eyes seemed to gleam.

"I suppose so," King Gu could only say something that wasn't entirely true, against his conscience.

Starry Sky Girl, watching from the sidelines, sighed and rubbed her forehead. Her swordsmanship when she was seven years old must have been dozens of times better than the swordsmanship Gu Tianren was using now...

"Speaking of swordsmanship—"

Gu Tianren couldn't help but turn his gaze to Duan Xingchen beside him: "Young lady, do you know how to use a sword?"

"Me?" Duan Xingchen hadn't expected the topic to suddenly turn to him, and said blankly, "I know a little bit about it."

A look of excitement flashed across Gu Tianren's face, and he quickly said, "That would be great! I've always wanted to see a duel between swordsmen. I wonder if you could grant me this small wish?"

Duan Xingchen blinked and said, "Could it be... that I practice swordsmanship with you?"

"Do not."

This time, Gu Tianren shook his head mysteriously.

He tossed the black iron longsword in his hand to Gu Asan, who had a silly and simple-minded look on his face, and then said to his servant, "Asan, it's yours now."

"Huh?" Gu A-San was taken aback, his face full of surprise: "Give it to me?? What do you mean?"

"The literal meaning—don't think I don't know, Indian, you've been secretly practicing your sword all along, haven't you?"

Gu Asan was shocked upon hearing this: "How did you know?!"

"You still want to hide your affairs from me?" Gu Tianren smiled mysteriously, then bowed to Duan Xingchen and said, "I have witnessed A-San's swordsmanship, and it is certainly above mine. I hope that you can have a swordsmanship exchange with A-San."

Duan Xingchen and Gu Wangjun were stunned when these words were spoken.

Well, after Gu Wangjun beat up Gu Tianren, now it's Duan Xingchen's turn to take down Gu Asan—

Thinking about it this way, both Gu Tianren and Gu Asan, these two potential Martial Emperors, would get a good beating from them. Regardless of which one becomes the real Martial Emperor in the future, the fact that Duan Xingchen and his companion beat up their own teacher is already a foregone conclusion.

Duan Xingchen looked at Gu Wangjun with pleading eyes, thinking to herself, "Isn't this considered betraying my master and ancestors?"

However, Gu Wangjun gave his junior sister a faint smile and a thumbs up.

Duan Xingchen: "..."

Starry Night glanced at Gu Tianren, who was still bowing and scraping, and had no choice but to agree: "Alright, it's just a friendly spar, so I won't use my magic weapon."

She was afraid that she might accidentally kill the old rogue from before...

Gu Tianren smiled and nodded, then said to Gu Asan, "Asan, find another sword for Miss Duan."

"Ah... okay."

In just a few breaths, Gu Asan found a sword that was almost exactly the same—these swords all looked to be made by the same craftsman, so Gu Tianren might be a regular customer of that craftsman's shop.

Duan Xingchen gripped the rather crudely crafted longsword in his hand, swung it a couple of times to get used to its weight, and then looked at Gu A'san in front of him.

Suddenly, the honest-looking young man dressed as a servant turned somber, his eyes filled with a serious expression, sharp as a hunter in the jungle.

Is it because you don't want to embarrass your young master...?

Duan Xingchen could sense Gu Asan's intense focus at this moment. He clearly did not want to lose, or even if he were to lose, he did not want to lose too badly and embarrass Gu Tianren.

—Please make way for me.

As Duan Xingchen had this thought in mind, Gu Tianren had already charged forward.

Straight steps, an indomitable spirit, and a sword strike that, though flawed, was exceptionally powerful.

Duan Xingchen almost instinctively wanted to use his sword to exploit the opening, but he stopped himself from doing so, took a step back, and temporarily adopted a defensive stance.

Since neither of them was using their spiritual energy, it was a pure swordsmanship duel. However, Duan Xingchen's physique was particularly special, so he also needed to control his strength when swinging his sword.

She first took three steps back. Gu Asan's swordsmanship was wide and powerful, with an exceptionally fierce attack that came like a torrential downpour.

Sword shadows flashed before his eyes as Duan Xingchen calmly blocked Gu Asan's attacks, observing the somewhat unique swordsmanship.

Although the sword technique itself has many flaws, its general direction is particularly clear.

Constant suppression and relentless attacks, like a chariot that never stops, possess an extremely fierce and overwhelming advantage. Once a weakness is created by the suppression, the opponent's offensive becomes increasingly difficult to defend against.

Each sword strike was a heavy slash, and the sweeping blows seemed to wipe out an entire army. Although it was full of flaws, it still had its merits.

After several rounds of exchanges, Duan Xingchen thought that the time should be about right. In the blink of an eye, his sword pierced through the flaw in Gu Asan's sword move, and he stopped retreating and instead pressed forward.

Startled by Duan Xingchen's sudden counterattack, Gu Asan's sword steps became somewhat disordered. Before he could adjust his footwork, Duan Xingchen's sword attacked from an extremely tricky angle.

Gu Asan attempted to resist, but his intention to block was seen through. Duan Xingchen changed his move on the spot, and with a horizontal slash of his sword, he immediately flung the sword out of Gu Asan's hand.

The iron sword fell to the ground, and Gu Asan's neck was only a hair's breadth away from Duan Xingchen's sword tip.

The scene fell silent for a moment.

After a moment, the surprise on Gu Asan's face slowly faded, and he said helplessly, "I lost."

Duan Xingchen quickly sheathed his sword, a reassuring smile on his face: "Very good. This sword technique must be your own creation, right? Very interesting."

"It's alright..." Gu Asan scratched his head and chuckled.

clap clap clap-

Gu Tianren, watching from afar, couldn't help but applaud, his eyes filled with admiration as he looked at Duan Xingchen: "Miss Duan is truly a master swordsman. Even with such a swift attack from Ah San, you couldn't break through your sword's encirclement. I admire you."

Duan Xingchen blushed slightly upon being suddenly praised, thinking to herself that this praise was a bit too much.

She coughed twice and returned the sword to Gu Asan, then exchanged a glance with Gu Wangjun beside her.

now.

The two of them were almost certain that the future Empress Wu would very well be this Gu A-san.

In an era when martial arts were not understood by the world, the fact that one could achieve such a level of self-created swordsmanship was itself an extraordinary talent in martial arts.

Although the Martial Emperor is known as a simpleton on his path of cultivation, it doesn't mean he lacks talent in martial arts. He's just a bit slow, not stupid—he's different from a certain girl who is genuinely a bit slow.

"that……"

Duan Xingchen and Gu Asan exchanged a glance, both wanting to ask Gu Asan more questions.

It was at this time that...

"Senior brother, are you practicing your sword again?"

Suddenly, a slightly sarcastic voice reached everyone's ears.

A dark look appeared on Gu Tianren's face. He turned around and, unsurprisingly, saw the person he least wanted to see.

Behind the newcomer were two beautiful maids, both quite stunning, wearing pink robes and bare shoulders, serving him.

The young man wore a Taoist robe from the Blue Feather Heavenly Palace, the same style as Gu Tianren's. He was also quite handsome, but his eyes seemed to be afflicted with a strange disease, with no focus, making him look like a blind person.

Looking into the man's eyes, Gu Tianren felt a pang of guilt and murmured softly, "Junior Brother Lan..."

28. Mystery

Junior Brother Lan?

Duan Xingchen blinked and looked at the seemingly blind male cultivator from the Blue Feather Heavenly Palace, and couldn't help but curiously begin to examine him.

If I remember correctly, the master of the Blue Feather Heavenly Palace in later generations also had the surname Blue.

Moreover, according to historical records, the Blue Feather Heavenly Palace seems to have been dominated by people with the surname Lan since a very long time ago. Most people in the Blue Feather Heavenly Palace have the surname Lan, and it is said that the glory has continued from a certain palace master.