Martial Arts Master: The Lin Family Sword God, who swept through the Five Mountains and Four Sects

"coffin?!"

"A coffin! Nongyu, your husband's probably gone mad from the fever!"

Nongyu and Zinu were both stunned, thinking they had misheard; Gai Nie stood frozen in place, beads of sweat forming on his forehead.

Who has ever heard of someone dragging a coffin to court?

Lin Tian smiled but remained silent, his gaze sweeping over Han Fei and Zhang Liang—the two men smiled slightly, their understanding unspoken.

"The performance outside depends on your singing, understand?"

He then turned to Wei Zhuang and said, "Xiao Zhuang, keep a close eye on those two. Make sure nothing goes wrong."

"Rest assured, sir!" Wei Zhuang and Zhang Liang said in unison.

Han Fei clapped his hands and laughed, his eyes gleaming: "Brother Lin, you are truly unfathomable!"

Zi Nu and Nong Yu looked at each other, their brows furrowed, their minds filled with doubts. They hurried towards the gate of the mansion, determined to see for themselves what secrets the coffin Lin Tian had mentioned held.

The Palace of Xianyang.

Today, all the officials are present in the main hall, not one is absent. Civil and military officials stand in two rows, their hats and tassels like clouds, their armor gleaming.

Ordinary court sessions only require the presence of important officials; but today's session is a truly grand court ceremony.

Today's court assembly is the day to formally receive the envoys from the six countries and discuss important diplomatic matters.

Ying Zheng sat upright on the high platform, on the dragon throne behind the dragon desk. At this time, the dragon throne was not as majestic and towering as it would be in later generations; it was just a wide and solid rosewood armchair. The dragon desk was also low and simple, making it more solemn and less ostentatious.

The hall was bustling with noise, and the officials were whispering among themselves—all because a long, black lacquered coffin was prominently displayed in the center of the hall, in the "yang" position.

The coffin lid was open, and inside lay a set of imperial robes embroidered with dark blue and gold thread for the imperial advisor. Lin Tian stood beside the coffin, his eyes slightly closed, his breath calm, as if his soul had already drifted out of Xianyang Palace and was wandering beyond the nine heavens.

He was waiting for that sharp, drawn-out "Go to court," waiting for Ying Zheng to officially take the throne, waiting for all the officials to kneel and shout "Long live the King!"

Ying Zheng glanced at his teacher's appearance, and his mind immediately cleared.

He thought to himself, "The master has indeed come... Was his parting remark yesterday, 'Tomorrow at court, a play will be performed,' for this reason?"

As soon as the eunuch's shrill cry of "Attend court!" fell, Lin Tian suddenly opened his eyes, his eyelids twitching, and he almost yawned.

The officials prostrated themselves and kowtowed, shouting "Long live the Emperor!" Lin Tian merely clasped his hands in a slight bow, leaned back slightly, and responded with a single word—this was a unique courtesy he received, which he accepted without hesitation and didn't bother with formalities.

Before Ying Zheng could speak, a civil official stepped forward from the crowd, flicked his sleeve, pointed directly at Lin Tian, ​​and said sternly, "How dare you, Imperial Preceptor! The imperial court is a sacred place. How dare you bring a coffin into the hall? Is this not a contempt for the emperor's authority and a desecration of the ancestral temple?!"

Before he could finish speaking, another official stepped forward, still a civil official, and his tone was even more forceful: "Your Majesty, please be wise! These disrespectful and arrogant fools show no respect for heaven and earth, no respect for the law, and not even the slightest bit of courtesy befitting a subject! I request that they be immediately flogged two hundred times to set an example for the people!"

"I second that!" Lü Buwei suddenly bowed down, his forehead touching the ground.

"We second that proposal!"—Dozens of civil officials knelt down in unison, their robes billowing like waves, their shouts echoing like a tidal wave.

Lin Tian's lips curled into a slight smile, his gaze sweeping over the dark mass of backs, only three words coldly passing through his mind: "Sycophants."

The military officers, however, were completely silent. Everyone stood with their hands at their sides, their eyes vacant, as if they were detached from the situation.

Even Meng Tian remained expressionless, his gaze unfocused, as if he were wandering outside Hangu Pass, oblivious to the strife before him.

"Ahem... Imperial Advisor, do you have something to say?" Ying Zheng cleared his throat, his gaze steadily fixed on Lin Tian.

Lin Tian stepped forward, his back as straight as a pine tree, his voice as clear as a bell: "Your Majesty, please allow me to report! I have heard that today the envoys of the six states have come, not to discuss an alliance, but to coerce us—to use the power of the Vertical Alliance to suppress my Great Qin! Therefore, last night I ordered the craftsmen to work through the night to make this coffin, and placed the robes of the Imperial Preceptor personally bestowed by Your Majesty inside, to show: if Qin's humiliation can be tolerated, I would rather die than stand as emperor!"

"Oh? What do you mean?" Ying Zheng frowned slightly, his tone containing three parts doubt and seven parts calmness.

Lin Tian's heart stirred slightly, and he secretly praised, "A good partner." His face, however, instantly shifted to one of sorrow, his brows furrowed, and his voice trembled: "Your Majesty! Since Duke Xiao's reforms, when have the people of Qin ever bowed their heads? Shang Yang established trust in the marketplace, Duke Xian fought a bloody battle in Hexi, King Huiwen expanded the territory, King Zhaoxiang led an iron-fisted eastward campaign… Generations have gritted their teeth and shed blood, not for hegemony, but to stand upright and honorable among the world! Yet today, before the envoys of the six states even entered the palace gates, they threatened to arrive before the hall—do they want the people of Qin to kneel and listen to their lecture? Though I am not skilled in swordsmanship or archery, I am willing to use my clothes as a tombstone and my loyal bones as a monument, standing here to tell the world: The people of Qin will not kneel, nor will they tolerate humiliation!"

These words carried immense weight. Even the generals who had been lost in thought just moments before all raised their heads, their eyes wide, their Adam's apples bobbing, their blood surging as they listened.

Meng Tian clenched his fist quietly, silently giving a shout-out to his "drinking buddy" who had an amazing capacity for alcohol and an even more amazing tongue.

Lin Tian spoke with overwhelming force, his parallelisms resounding and his words passionate and stirring. In the end, however, he found himself at a loss for words—he was tired of hearing those clichés about "sacrificing one's life for others" and "being loyal to the end."

He raised his arm and roared out eight words, each one chiseled into the blue brick floor: "Valiant Qin, let us face the national crisis together!"

Meng Tian immediately stepped forward, his armor gleaming: "Your Majesty! The Imperial Preceptor is of utmost integrity; how can he be punished?"

Lin Tian was sighing inwardly when he suddenly saw an old general with white hair and beard slowly walking out from the left side—upon closer inspection, it turned out to be Wang Jian, whom he had not yet paid a visit to!

Wang Jian's voice boomed like a bell, causing dust to fall from the beams: "Your Majesty! The Imperial Preceptor, with his frail body, bears the weight of the nation. If he were to be flogged in court, what would become of the law? Moreover, scholars are physically weak; one stroke of the cane would likely break his spine on the spot!"

Lin Tian felt a surge of warmth in his heart and almost blurted out, "General, you flatter me too much—I really can't write calligraphy!"

"A mere scholar," "unskilled in martial arts"...

Ying Zheng, seated on the dragon throne, didn't even lift his eyelids. He merely twitched the corner of his mouth in a half-smile: "What the two generals say is absolutely right. All of you, rise!"

As soon as Lü Buwei straightened up, he glared fiercely at Lin Tian, ​​spitting out four words through gritted teeth: "Shameless brat!"

Lin Tian almost burst out laughing—Ha, the dignified Prime Minister, stuffing his own daughter into the palace to exchange for power, even using his bedmate as a bargaining chip at the gambling table, and he still has the nerve to call others shameless? It's truly the most ridiculous thing in the world!

He lifted his eyelids and retorted, "You old fool."

The turmoil was considered over. Immediately afterwards, Ying Zheng summoned the envoys from the six states to the palace. Leading the group was Bai Yifei—a man from Korea, how could he stand at the head of these six?

Lin Tianxin felt a chill: He had underestimated this Blood-Clad Marquis.

"Greetings, King of Qin!"

The six envoys from the six countries, along with Bai Yifei, knelt down in unison, bowing their heads in obeisance.

Unfortunately, Lin Tian's dark coffin was blocking the way in front of the hall. They had no choice but to kneel behind the coffin, and from a distance, it looked as if they were not paying homage to the King of Qin, but rather kneeling and kowtowing to the coffin.

Bai Yifei, in particular, had his knees just a step away from the coffin lid.

Lin Tian muttered to himself, "It should have been moved to another place a long time ago. It looks like someone just passed away and the whole court is coming to mourn."

Everyone stood up, and Bai Yifei raised his eyes and swept them over, his gaze as cold as a blade of ice.

According to etiquette, the envoys from the six states should step forward in turn to present their congratulatory gifts and read their letters of credence. After all, they had come from afar; how could they arrive empty-handed?

Before Bai Yifei could take even half a step, Lin Tian suddenly roared—

"Hey! How dare the mere Marquis of Han sow discord between Qin and the other six states, tearing apart the bonds of camaraderie among the seven kingdoms?!"

Bai Yifei was shocked. Before the words were even finished, they were like thunder in his ears, making his eardrums ring. Several elderly ministers were so shocked that they almost fell off their seats.

"What...did you say?!"

"Insolence! I am the Grand Preceptor of the Great Qin, the teacher of the King of Qin! How dare you address me as 'you,' showing no respect for your elders? This is contempt for the laws of the Great Qin, and even more so, disrespect for the King of Qin's majesty! If I am not severely reprimanded, how will I know the meaning of propriety and education? The people of Han truly do not know their place!" Lin Tian flicked his sleeves. "Drag him away and give him one hundred strokes of the cane, to uphold the discipline of my Great Qin!"