Chapter 344: The Emperor Arrives

It could be said that Yan Liqiang had seized complete victory in his trial. Not only did he clear his name, he even mercilessly counterattacked those who wished to harm him.

Today was also the day where all 35,000 copies of ‘The Great Han Times’ were completely sold out in the Imperial Capital for the very first time. All 35,000 newspaper copies were sold out on the same day. ‘The Great Han Times’ immediately opened up a new prospect in the capital city, putting an end to the loss incurred during the first issue as profit started rolling in.

The eighth day of the seventh lunar month could be considered as Yan Liqiang’s lucky day. The entire city was either discussing his trial or his newspaper.

If an ordinary person encountered such a thing, they might be so excited that they wouldn’t be able to sleep for three days. Yet, Yan Liqiang only had a meal with Lu Peien and Fang Beidou that day to introduce them to each other, then quietly returned to Deer Villa to focus on his training.

Under such rigorous training, he even gave up on his chance to go out once every three days. He stopped going to the newspaper print shop and instead left everything to Fang Beidou. At Deer Villa, he did nothing but cultivate. Li Hongtu and Ji Xiaoyao almost thought he was in some sort of shocked state because he was cultivating so hard.

However, Yan Liqiang wasn’t shocked at all. He merely sensed danger and simultaneously understood what it meant to quit while he was ahead and keep a low profile. As a lowly Yingyang Commandant, he was already attracting attention. If he still didn’t know when to stop after the trial, he might not be able to keep his head on his shoulders for long.

A Martial Master or a Martial Grandmaster might be considered impressive in Pingxi Prefecture, but they were certainly not in the Imperial Capital which was full of powerful cultivators. Not to mention, Yan Liqiang was still only a Supreme Martial Warrior.

After witnessing how the Banes of Heaven and Earth reaped souls like they were weeds, Yan Liqiang was very aware of his own strength. Although he was making rapid cultivation progress every day and possessed monstrous strength, he was still nothing compared to truly powerful experts like the Banes of Heaven and Earth. There was nothing to be proud of when you were merely an insignificant figure that could easily be eliminated.

Although he wasn’t that well known before, he had already attracted enough attention for Lin Qingtian’s nephew, Lin Zhe, to arrange for Xu Lang and the rest to eliminate him. After the trial, he suddenly became so famous that even the Minister of Justice was targeting him. Since fatal encounters and traps might appear at any moment, Yan Liqiang had to take precautions. Before danger could arrive, he decided to bury his head in cultivation, secretly improve his strength, and try to keep a low profile.

It would be ideal if those people forgot about him within these two or three years.

Unfortunately, even if Yan Liqiang wished to maintain a low profile right now, some people wouldn’t allow him to.

On the 18th day of the seventh lunar month, it had been only ten days since the trial.

It was an especially sunny day. In other words, it was an extremely hot day. The burning sun hung in the sky like a fireball since the morning, heating up the land. The sounds of cicadas chirping among the willow trees sounded like a flute choir. Goldie was panting with its tongue out under the shades of the courtyard since the morning. It was too lazy to even move around.

With such weather, cultivating under a waterfall became an extremely pleasant activity because it felt like taking a shower. When Yan Liqiang’s spear started shaking, a beautiful scene formed under the waterfall where the water mist and rainbow met.

The weather was so hot that even a lazy person like Li Hongtu couldn’t take it. He ran out from his thatched hut in only a pair of loose-fitting underpants, then dived into the pool to lower his body temperature.

Li Hongtu was a great swimmer. He laid under the water as though he was lying on a sofa. While rubbing mud on his body, he watched Yan Liqiang shaking his spear under the waterfall out of the corner of his eye and gave him some pointers from time to time.

…

“Don’t just shake it. Remember the most important advice I gave you before on where to focus while you are doing that…?”

…

“Your footwork has to be both alive and dead. When alive, be as rapidly-changing as quicksilver. When dead, be as unmoving as a dead tree root that won’t sway even when there is a landslide or if the land is divided. Draw the force from your feet, let your courage spill forth from the heart and let your soul control your hands…”

…

“The greater amount of strength you apply, the more skillful you need to be. Just being able to shake a spear isn’t enough. You will need to be able to make your spear roar like a dragon even if you are vibrating it with the distance of a needle tip. That’s the sign that proves you are perfecting the skill…”

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…..

Yan Liqiang trained the entire morning away under the waterfall until he finally returned to his small courtyard with his exhausted body.

The servant who had been delivering his meals was already waiting outside his residence politely with the food basket.

A few days ago, Yan Liqiang gave the servant a ‘discarded’ warbow with a bowstring that had been exposed to moisture. At the same time, he also gave him a new bowstring set and briefly taught him some archery basics to teach his son. In just a few days, the servant who always delivered Yan Liqiang’s meals became his first die-hard fan in Deer Villa.

Yan Liqiang was only halfway through his lunch when Goldie, who had been gnawing on its bone, started barking outside to alert Yan Liqiang that he was getting a visitor. Not long after that, Little Li’s anxious voice rang out from outside the courtyard. “Commandant Yan! Commandant Yan, are you in?”

Yan Liqiang exited his room and saw Goldie had already scurried to the courtyard’s entrance, baring its fangs at Little Li who was sweating bullets and panting hard. He was craning his neck at the entrance, trying to see inside the courtyard while also looking at Goldie in fear. He didn’t dare to go inside because he was afraid that Goldie would attack him.

“Go back to your food!” Yan Liqiang ordered Goldie, who immediately ran back to continue gnawing on its bone. Only after that did Yan Liqiang finally shift his gaze toward Little Li with a smile on his face. “How may I help you, Eunuch Li? Why are you in such a hurry?”

“His Majesty has come to Deer Villa and is making his way to the archery range. Eunuch Liu requests for your presence there at once…!”

“Ah, the Emperor is here?!” Yan Liqiang was shocked. “Why is His Majesty here? There was no announcement from Eunuch Liu yesterday…”

“Eunuch Liu only knew about it upon His Majesty’s arrival too. The Emperor seems to suddenly be in the mood to come practice his archery at Deer Villa…!”

“Ah, should I change my clothes?” Yan Liqiang lowered his head to look at his own casual training attire.

“We won’t make it in time! Let’s hurry over there now. We cannot afford to keep His Majesty waiting…!”

“Alright then, let’s go…” Yan Liqiang seemed to suddenly remember something. “Wait…” He turned around, rushed back into his house, then came back out again ten seconds later.

“Commandant Yan, you were…?” Little Li looked at him curiously.

“I was in the middle of my meal just now. I went back to take a swig of tea to rinse my mouth to avoid any embarrassment…”

In his previous life, a buddy of his ran into their chairman in the elevator after lunchtime. He gave the chairman a smile, but some oily vegetable was stuck between his teeth. This caused everyone else in the elevator to burst out laughing. This incident later became the most classic joke in his company. Since Yan Liqiang didn’t wish to become a joke during his first meeting with the Emperor, he figured it was better for him to rinse his mouth with tea beforehand.

“Alright, alright, let us hurry…”

“Let’s go…!”

Yan Liqiang and Little Li quickly ran to the archery range. By the time they arrived, they noticed the area was already surrounded by a group of unfamiliar-looking imperial guards. After Yan Liqiang made his identity known, the imperial guard outside the archery range checked his body to ensure that he didn’t have any weapons on him before Yan Liqiang was led inside the archery range.

When Yan Liqiang entered the place, he saw a tall and powerful figure dressed in a gorgeous dragon robe. The person stood at the shooting line with his bow drawn and arrow aimed at a target five hundred meters away…

At the twang of his bowstring, the target in the distance immediately fell with a plunk. Eunuch Liu stood behind the man in the dragon robe, clapping loudly with a humble and kind smile that Yan Liqiang had never seen before. “Excellent! Your Majesty’s arrows didn’t miss their mark! Your bowmanship has improved yet again…!” Eunuch Liu exclaimed while he made a signal to Yan Liqiang with his eyes…

“Greetings from Yingyang Commandant Yan Liqiang, Your Majesty…!” Yan Liqiang straightened up, lowered his gaze, cupped his fists, and bowed to the man.

“So you are Yan Liqiang…” A mellow and majestic voice reverberated in Yan Liqiang’s ears. “We have heard of your name since long ago. No need for formalities. Raise your head!”