This martial arts competition, starting from Situ Xiao breaking the door, lasted for a whole day.

Under the influence of Situ Xiao and Zhao Changhe's family, the rules of the competition became completely irrelevant. Everyone who appeared afterwards fought with whoever they wanted, whether they wanted to suppress their strength and spar with someone of the same level, or test their absolute strength against others. It was all about freedom and spontaneity.

The rule of determining rankings based on victories would easily become irrelevant without someone responsible for keeping count. People would forget who won how many matches.

So even this rule was abandoned. Besides Zhao Changhe, others weren't as envious or eager for the treasure.

They were not the bottom of the martial world. Those who could enter the Qianlong List were all exceptionally talented individuals. Apart from a certain Zhao Changhe, who was troubled by his meridians, who else would be concerned about it? If there were any significant changes in the meridians, maybe everyone would be interested, but otherwise, they weren't very interested.

What people truly cared about was the battles themselves.

This was the true meaning of mutual confirmation, sparring, and honing, without any utilitarian or purposeful motives, the significance of martial arts for young people.

Situ Xiao couldn't help but participate again, creating a lively scene. In the end, everyone gathered for a banquet and got drunk.

Zhao Changhe sighed regretfully.

He really wanted to participate, perhaps more than anyone else. It had great value for experience, and he could also review the battles with the Heavenly Book. Unfortunately, he couldn't participate and had to give up even the rewards that were important to him.

Xia Chichi didn't participate in the banquet and left early.

Everyone had their limitations and couldn't do whatever they wanted without any constraints.

Zhao Changhe sat there drinking alone. Wang Zhaoling approached him with a wine jug and poured him a cup. "Want to chat?"

Cui Yuanyang perked up her ears beside them.

Wang Zhaoling glanced at her without giving her any face and continued speaking to Zhao Changhe, "Just the two of us, want to go out for a walk?"

Cui Yuanyang tried to follow.

Wang Zhaoling helplessly said, "If you want to keep pretending to be distant in front of others, then continue pretending. Don't disappoint your father's efforts. The Wang family may see through it, but others may not. In a sense, this is also Uncle Cui's encouragement to Brother Zhao. Although I don't think Brother Zhao needs this kind of encouragement, you should understand Uncle Cui's intentions..."

Cui Yuanyang: "..."

"You shouldn't have participated in the martial arts competition in the first place, but..." Wang Zhaoling looked at the palm of his left hand, shook his head and smiled, "Since you have this ability, it's only right. A child needs fame, and wine needs to be drunk. Learning martial arts should be shown to the world. Otherwise, what's the point of all the hard work since childhood?"

Cui Yuanyang said, "Hey, why are you talking about teaching now?"

"I just feel that today is boring... Maybe it's interesting for others, but I'm just a clown." Wang Zhaoling smiled, "Look, even now, Situ Kuan is singing and drinking, and Xuan Chong is laughing loudly. What are we doing? It's boring, really boring. Suddenly, I understand why Brother Zhao refuses to acknowledge his identity."

Zhao Changhe finally said, "But you still have things to do, right?"

Wang Zhaoling was silent for a moment, then made a gesture of invitation. "Shall we go?"

"Okay." Zhao Changhe stood up, and this time, Cui Yuanyang pouted and didn't follow.

The summer night was hot, but the Wang family was cool.

Artificial streams surrounded the surroundings, waterfalls cascaded down the rockery, splashing water droplets, and pavilions scattered around, exuding a refreshing dampness. Zhao Changhe felt like he had returned to the water pavilions of Suzhou, not the land of Qi Lu.

The noise of drinking in the banquet hall gradually faded away, as if it belonged to another world.

Even the intense battles just now and the cool pavilion and lotus leaves in front of him seemed worlds apart.

Wang Zhaoling leaned against the railing of the pavilion, looking at the lotus leaves in the pool below, and after a while, he said, "Have you ever thought that many of the problems today are caused by the emperor himself? If we change to another dynasty, the so-called chaotic times might end quickly."

Zhao Changhe said, "Maybe. But can I ask Brother Wang a question?"

"Please.""With His Majesty's strength, he had to rely on the cooperation of all families in the beginning, which eventually led to the large clans and major sects each controlling a region. I don't believe that someone like him wouldn't want to suppress everything, but he just couldn't, right?"

"Of course. There are always things that require compromise, not everything can be decided by personal martial power."

Zhao Changhe said, "Being the best in the world may not be able to decide everything, but it can deter a lot of things. If he were to go all out and try to take Maitreya's head, I think Maitreya would most likely not be able to withstand it. The barbarian shamans dare not enter the pass, not because they fear the Yanmen guard, but because they fear him. Many loyal ministers and good generals are still serving with their lives, also because they still have expectations of him. The curtain of chaos has not been fully drawn, not because of how effective the Tang chancellor's efforts are, but because he is still alive."

Wang Zhaoling said, "Yes."

Cui Wenjing had also educated Cui Yuanyang in the past. Did she really think that the emperor didn't care about anything and Tang Wanzhuang was single-handedly supporting the mansion? Was she reading a storybook?

"Your father is only tenth on the Heavenly List, even if he's hiding his strength, it's unlikely that he can defeat the barbarian shaman. Now, I don't think even the Wang family can defeat the Cui family. You've been tolerating all kinds of provocations from the Situ, not daring to turn against the Shenhuang Sect. You're so frustrated, if you guys really succeed, wouldn't it be another situation of the strong oppressing the weak? I don't think it's necessarily better than him who's rumored to have messed up."

Wang Zhaoling shook his head slightly, "Brother Zhao, you're assuming too much. The affairs of the court are not calculated like this. As for my performance, I'm afraid you've misunderstood a bit - in our eyes, no matter how strong a sect is, it's still a commoner. Economics and military affairs have nothing to do with them. I'm not afraid of Situ, and my father is not afraid of Li Shentong. Rather than saying I dare not offend Situ, it's better to say that I'm taking advantage of the situation, and Situ has actually helped me achieve what I want."

"Alright..." Zhao Changhe paused for a moment, then suddenly asked, "But why are you guys in such a hurry?"

This time, Wang Zhaoling fell silent and did not answer.

A wise man knows when to stop, so Zhao Changhe didn't continue.

To read the uncut version, go to pawread dot com.

No matter from which angle, the Cui family's approach is more in line with the thinking of a real noble family. The Wang family's move is quite inexplicable. Even if they really want to replace Xia, why can't they wait a few years? There must be a reason behind it. If they really take over, whether the chaos will end sooner or cause more waves is still unknown.

Of course, right now they are only in the first stage of testing the world. Whether they will take the next step is still unknown. It's precisely because it's only this stage that Wang Zhaoling is willing to talk to Zhao Changhe, trying to win his favor. Once they reach the stage where their intentions are revealed, Zhao Changhe probably wouldn't dare to set foot in Langya.

In other words, the Wang family's actions could possibly stop. Zhao Changhe had a bit of a desire to try, he felt that Wang Zhaoling wasn't too bad...

But then he heard Wang Zhaoling slowly say, "Who wouldn't want a great land? Whether it's slow or fast, there's a reason for it, no need to say more. I know what you're thinking, Brother Zhao, but there's no need to say it. Although I was just stirred up by the martial spirit, that was just a moment, the position of the crown prince, if you don't want it, I do."

Zhao Changhe: "..."

Oh right, if the Wang family succeeds, this guy would indeed be the crown prince.

"Everyone has their own ambitions, that's all." Wang Zhaoling suddenly laughed, "Hey, do you think I'm qualified?"

Zhao Changhe nodded, "Aside from anything else, your demeanor is quite good."

Wang Zhaoling laughed, "For that comment, I'll give you a heads up. Actually, my family has discussed whether or not to assassinate you, as long as it doesn't leak that it's the Wang family's doing... The consensus so far is to try to win you over first, but given your performance today, I'm afraid we're likely to become enemies, and possibly the kind that won't stop until one of us is dead."

Zhao Changhe found it interesting, "And you're telling me this?"

"Even if I tell you, you have no evidence that it was my family's doing, right? Are you going to run to Cui Yuanyang and cry?" Wang Zhaoling laughed, "As for why I'm telling you... you can consider it a habit of our noble families, to create some good karma. If things go south in the future, could you spare me a line of descendants?"

Zhao Changhe widened his eyes, "You think so highly of me? What the hell can I decide in this matter?"

"This is called investment, whether there's a return or not, besides judgment, it also depends on luck." Wang Zhaoling patted Zhao Changhe's shoulder, "That treasure for expanding meridians, I'll give it to you as a gift. I'm giving you this favor, why should I give it to Xia Chichi and Cui Yuanyang?"