The First Venerable of the Prosperous Age

Fu Rou's smile froze instantly, and she snapped, "If you want to die, then go ahead and die! I'll go get the money back tomorrow!" She threw the pen on the ground and stormed out of the kitchen.

Seeing her walk away, Ning Konglou said, "What she said is absolutely true. Do you really have such courage?"

Lu Xiaosan smiled arrogantly, "With a hero like Helai here, he naturally has the courage." After saying that, he was about to pick up the pen to sign, but the pen flashed green light and floated in the air.

Ning Konglou said coldly, "You can participate in the competition, but you have to agree to two conditions."

"What are the conditions?" Lu Xiaosan asked.

"First, in tomorrow's match, only one of you is allowed to play. The other person will play when the final is against Chunhu School."

“Okay, no problem,” Lu Xiaosan and Chang’an said at the same time.

Ning Konglou's face suddenly darkened. "This second point, and the most important one, is this: Remember, tomorrow your opponent is not the Xuanwu Sect, but... me!"

Lu Xiaosan and Chang'an were both shocked. "What... what kind of logic is this?"

Ning Konglou narrowed his eyes, a look of disdain flashing across his face. "I don't want to have any contact with those four from the Xuanwu Sect. He Lai alone is enough to handle those three little brats, and Zong Wanli can naturally deal with Heng Jiuzhou... as..."

"Wait, wait, wait, you're saying that Zong Wanli is on our side?" Lu Xiaosan exclaimed in surprise and anger.

Ning Konglou's expression was sharp. "That's right, it's Zong Wanli, who's determined to kill you."

Seeing Lu Xiaosan's moved expression, Ning Konglou pressed on, saying, "In this way, your teammates will be me and Zong Wanli, your enemies, while your opponents will be your savior and fellow villager. Why don't you... follow your heart and openly oppose me on the field tomorrow? That way, the Xuanwu Sect won't attack you, and I won't really attack you either. What do you say?"

Lu Xiaosan thought for a moment, then gritted his teeth and said, "I can't bring myself to defect on the battlefield!"

Ning Konglou sneered, "No, there is no such thing as defecting to the enemy in the face of battle. Your enemy should have been us. The only difference between you and the Xuanwu Sect is that you are fighting the enemy in your own way."

Lu Xiaosan chuckled self-deprecatingly, "A spy, huh? Heh."

Ning Konglou bent down, unusually getting a little closer, clearly making a huge concession. "How about it? Be my enemy, and I can save your life and ensure your safe arrival in Qiantang."

Lu Xiaosan retorted, "Since I've already sided with the enemy, how can you win? How can we safely reach Qiantang?"

Ning Konglou's face turned pale again. "I've said it before, with Helai here, this kind of fighting the enemy is not something you should be considering. Besides, if we really lose, I'll be free."

Lu Xiaosan retorted angrily, "What do you mean by 'losing is liberating'? You have no motivation to win the championship?"

Ning Konglou's face showed a hint of smugness. "We already won that damn championship three years ago, so this year we should do this and that."

Lu Xiaosan let out a long "oh," with an expression that said he finally understood everything. "So you wanted to drag me into this mess with you. If Helai can win, great; if not, we can just give him a break. That's not so bad."

Ning Konglou smiled faintly, neither confirming nor denying, but then asked, "So, will you agree to my request?"

"What if I don't agree?"

Ning Konglou slightly raised his finger, and the pen and paper returned to his hand at the same time. He said, "Don't you understand? I'm not discussing this with you. If you want to reach Qiantang safely, this is something you must agree to first."

After thinking it over for a long time, Lu Xiaosan finally said, "Alright, I promise you."

The two signed a life-or-death agreement, and thus the Kaiyuan Martial Arts Tournament forever etched their names into the annals of history.

Lu Xiaosan asked excitedly, "When are we going to train?"

"The spy doesn't need training. Just come to Zhexianlou early tomorrow morning and wait for me. Xiaomei can continue to run the business in the kitchen." Ning Konglou said this and left satisfied.

The next morning, on the main street, people from all over the country who had come to know the Tang Dynasty flocked there early in the morning.

The area in front of Ziwei City was packed with people, with the streets deserted as the highly anticipated semi-final was finally about to begin.

Wen Ying and Tian Gao squeezed through the dense crowd and finally managed to reach the front of the Ziwei Palace, which was the envy of thousands.

The first thing you see is Yingtian Gate, known as the "Number One Gate Under Heaven".

Yingtian Gate is a massive "U"-shaped architectural complex consisting of a gate tower, side towers, east and west gate towers, and corridors in between. It stretches over forty zhang from east to west, with the side gate towers being ten zhang high. The gate has two layers of pavilions, inscribed with "Ziwei Pavilion". There are five towers, resembling five phoenixes, hence it is also called "Five Phoenix Towers". There are three passageways under the gate tower, with the central one being the imperial path, and the left for entry and the right for exit. In front of the gate are two-way triple gate towers symbolizing imperial majesty, with a total of twelve gate towers on the east and west sides. This represents the highest level of ancient city gate construction and the highest level of etiquette enjoyed by the emperor.

Yingtian Gate was also the venue for the imperial court to hold grand ceremonies such as enthronement, changing of reign title, general amnesty, and banquets. It was also the place where the court received envoys from Japan to the Sui and Tang dynasties and other foreign countries.

Thirty years ago, Empress Wu Zetian ascended the throne here and changed the dynasty name to Zhou. Three years ago, the current emperor also received the most famous envoy to Tang Dynasty history, Abe no Nakamaro, here.

The two Sams entered Yingtian Gate and saw the main hall of the Ziwei City: the Wanxiang Divine Palace.

This Wanxiang Divine Palace, also known as Mingtang, or "Hall of Bright Governance and Religion," was an important ritual building used by ancient emperors for governing and worshipping. It was also a landmark building in Luoyang, the capital of the Tang and Wu Zhou dynasties. About twenty-five years ago, Mingtang was burned down, but fortunately it was rebuilt the following year.

The Mingtang (Bright Hall) is approximately three stories high. The first floor is square, symbolizing the four seasons. The middle floor is a dodecagon, representing the twelve two-hour periods of the day, topped with a round canopy supported by nine dragons. The upper floor is a twenty-four-sided structure, representing the twenty-four solar terms. The top floor houses a golden phoenix, with a massive tree ten spans in circumference in the center, connecting the upper and lower levels.

The two women were amazed by this spectacle when they suddenly noticed a furtive figure emerging from a secluded house in a corner.

And that figure was all too familiar to Tian Gao.

"Sister Furou!" Sweet Cake called out.

The figure was extremely well concealed. Upon hearing Tian Gao's shout, the figure trembled violently and immediately stepped forward, hissing, "What are you shouting for? What are you shouting for? Ah!"

It was indeed Fu Rou, who was dressed and made up very conservatively.

Upon seeing Wen Ying beside her, she immediately changed her tune and said with a smile, "Oh my, isn't this Miss Wen? You've become even more beautiful since I last saw you."

Wen Ying smiled sweetly, "Sister Fu Rou is the same."

The two girls chatted and laughed happily, but Tian Gao looked at Fu Rou, then at the hidden house, and couldn't help but ask, "Sister Fu Rou, did you go gambling again?"

Upon hearing this, Fu Rou's face froze instantly. She scratched her head and laughed awkwardly, "Where...where? Hehehe."

Sweet Cake glanced at the house sideways and said, "Really? Then I'll go in and take a look."

"No, no, no." Fu Rou grabbed her arm. "Okay, okay, I'll tell you. I went there to get my money back."

"A refund?" Sweet Cake and Wen Ying asked in unison.

"Yes, I originally bet a lot of money that Shangyangmen would win, but Ning Konglou insisted on letting those two brats participate! The odds of winning changed immediately. So I went in and got all my money back." As she said this, Fu Rou started gritting her teeth in hatred again.

“Although you did nothing wrong, I still think Brother Lu and his team can win,” Wen Ying said confidently.

Fu Rou immediately smiled apologetically, "Miss Wen, I didn't mean your little husband is no good, I..."

“Look, who are they?” Sweetie said, pointing in the direction of the hidden house.

Following the sound, two men, both dressed as eunuchs, walked out side by side. Behind them followed a large group of servile lackeys.

The three eunuchs, beaming with satisfaction, all wore wicked and sly expressions. They boarded the same carriage and leisurely drove into the inner city.

Sweet Cake wondered, "How can an imperial eunuch be frequenting such a gambling den?"

Fu Rou snorted, then couldn't help striking a seductive pose. "You're so ignorant, aren't you? Of these three eunuchs, the ugliest one is the Itchy Eunuch. The ugliest one is the Knocking Eunuch, and the bald one who looks like a condom seller is called Eunuch Wang. They are all commentators for this Kaiyuan Martial Arts Tournament, and they're also avid gamblers."

Sweet Cake snorted, "Three dead eunuchs."

Fu Rou said to Tian Gao, "Sweet Gao, you've only been in Luo City for two years. There's still a lot you don't know. I have to hurry back to Zhe Xian Lou now."

"See you next time, Miss Wen." With that, Fu Rou disappeared into the huge crowd and could no longer be found.

Wen Ying couldn't help but ask, "Sweet Cake Girl, did you only come to Luo City in the last two years?"

Sweet Cake nodded. "Just as I said in the lake before, I have someone I must protect. I've always been by his side. I came to Qiantang for certain reasons."

Upon hearing about those embarrassing things about the lake, Wen Ying quickly changed the subject, "Oh...oh, then...what do you think of what Sister Fu Rou said?"

Sweet Cake watched Fu Rou disappear into the distance and snorted, "She didn't come to get a refund. There's no such thing as a refund when gambling. She just spent even more money to bet on Xuanwu Gate to win."

Wen Ying was slightly surprised. "Eh, really?"

Sweet Cake turned around and smiled at Wen Ying, "Miss Wen, let's go first, the competition is about to begin."

The Ziwei City has eleven city gates and three main halls. It can be divided into seven smaller cities. The central city is Luocheng, which is where the emperor lived and conducted state affairs. It is the celestial pivot. The four cities on the left and right are the four auxiliary stars. The two cities on the north side are where the imperial guards were stationed. These seven smaller cities are opposite to the Big Dipper, hence the name Ziwei City or Ziwei Palace.

The two followed the crowd through the palace and halls, arriving at the place where the city's candidates took their final exams: the Luocheng Hall. Inside, there was a huge circular arena, and the edges of the arena were filled with stones that shimmered with colorful spiritual light.

The area around the venue was packed with people, with thousands of seats filled, all waiting for the triennial event to begin.

Under the cover of the sweet cake, Wen Ying made her way through the bustling crowd and found two places with relatively good views to sit down.

There were pastries, snacks, and water laid out in front of each person, indicating that the imperial court attached great importance to such a grand event.

After a long while, a man in official robes suddenly walked out from the center of the arena. He placed the spirit stone in his hand to his mouth, and his loud voice instantly resounded throughout the arena, "This year's Kaiyuan Martial Arts Tournament officially begins!" With the sound of three war drums, the entire arena instantly erupted in enthusiastic cheers.

Once the audience had quieted down, the official pointed to the four people sitting on the sidelines and said, "First of all, let me introduce our four commentators."

"The imperial court sent Eunuch Itch, Eunuch Ke, and Eunuch Wang!"

The three eunuchs sat motionless, waiting for the audience to shower them with compliments. But to their surprise, the entire venue, filled with a thousand people, was completely silent, turning the three eunuchs' pale faces green with anger.

The official smiled awkwardly and said, "Next up is our Mr. Jingyu."

After speaking, the person sitting at the very end stood up and waved to the audience. But despite waving, his square face remained completely expressionless.

The audience erupted in cheers for him. After Jingyu took his seat, the three eunuchs beside him couldn't help but sneer and mock him: "Mr. Jingyu, what an air of official power you have."

Jingyu glanced at the three eunuchs but did not answer. He picked up a spirit stone from the table and put it to his lips. With a stern face, he coldly said to the audience, "You may choose any three of these: eat well, drink well, or enjoy the show. Thank you for your support."