C17 Intentionally Letting Him down

As Cao Hexuan soared onto the platform, the other officials' children began whispering among themselves. Up on the steps, Yan Chen and Yan Nantian slightly furrowed their brows. Cao Yi was a former subordinate of Chen Dou, and they certainly weren't keen on seeing Cao Hexuan triumph in the contest.

Wang Xuanyang, seated nearby, seemed to read Yan Chen's mind, his eyes resting on his son, Wang Yuntian. Having only recently reached the Spirit Convergence Stage, Wang Yuntian facing ten palace guards would be quite the challenge.

On the platform, Cao Hexuan had already unsheathed his longsword, facing the ten palace guards who encircled him with icy stares.

"Cao Hexuan is no match for these ten palace guards," Chen Dutian murmured, shaking his head in resignation. He sensed that among the guards, two were formidable Fourth Heaven practitioners in the Spirit Convergence Stage, and with Cao Yi being a close confidant of Lord Protector Chen Dou, Yan Chen definitely did not want to see Cao Hexuan leading the Tiger Army.

As expected, shortly after Chen Dutian's comment, a flurry of swordplay ensued, and Cao Hexuan was swiftly defeated. A palace guard kicked him off the platform, causing him to cough up blood.

"With Cao Hexuan, at the Third Heaven of the Spirit Convergence Stage, defeated, we shouldn't go up there and make fools of ourselves!"

"I bet that skill was meant for Jiang Daochen. Who else could take down ten palace guards?"

"Don't be so sure. Ling Zechuan from the Wei Yuan General's Mansion is here too, and he's at the Fifth Heaven of the Spirit Convergence Stage. It's anyone's game."

After Cao Hexuan was carried off by the imperial guards, the officials' children resumed their buzzing chatter.

Chen Dutian's attention, however, was drawn to Wang Yuntian, who had stepped out from the crowd and leapt onto the platform.

"Cao Hexuan couldn't best those ten palace guards, and this guy, just having entered the Spirit Convergence Stage, thinks he can? He's asking for trouble," Pang Yuan commented with a roll of his eyes, his voice dripping with scorn.

"That's not necessarily true!" Chen Dutian sneered under his breath as he observed the ten palace guards who had just sparred with Cao Hexuan being switched out on the platform.

Wang Yuntian had only recently reached the Spirit Convergence Stage and stood little chance against the previous set of palace guards.

But the ten new contenders, with the strongest among them merely at the Ninth Heaven of the Awakening Stage, were clearly there to give Wang Yuntian an edge.

Chen Dutian wasn't the only one to notice the scheme; the high-ranking ministers seated on the steps saw it too, particularly a few Great Generals who frowned slightly, seemingly displeased.

Yet, in the presence of Yan Chen and Wang Xuanyang, they held their tongues.

The battle between Wang Yuntian and the ten palace guards was brief. As the Grand Preceptor's son, he had long trained in martial skills, and with his recent advancement to the Spirit Convergence Stage, he was out of their league. In less than the time it takes to drink half a cup of tea, and to the astonishment of onlookers, he had all ten guards downed on the platform.

"Wang Yuntian has successfully advanced!" the Minister of Rituals announced loudly. A eunuch in fine clothing quickly fetched a chair, inviting Wang Yuntian to take a seat at the edge of the platform.

"This... Wang Yuntian must have stumbled into some incredible luck, just entering the Spirit Convergence Stage and already defeating ten palace guards. So why did Cao Hexuan lose earlier?"

"I must be seeing things. Didn't Wang Yuntian use a martial skill just now? Could it be that the palace guards deliberately threw the fight?"

"Keep quiet! You do not want to cross the Grand Preceptor!"

Wang Yuntian, brimming with pride, took his seat, paying no mind to the murmurs around him. With his father's covert "assistance," the position of commander of the Tiger Army was as good as his.

Shortly thereafter, another ten palace guards took to the stage as the martial competition pressed on. The crowd speculated about when Jiang Daochen and Ling Zechuan would step up to compete.

Meanwhile, Chen Dutian's attention was drawn to one of the palace guards on the platform, a formidable Third Heaven expert.

"Bro, Yan Beichen seems to have his eyes on you. Could it be he wants you to join the martial competition?" Pang Yuan nudged Chen Dutian with his elbow and murmured.

Chen Dutian turned to look up the steps and indeed, Yan Beichen was smiling and nodding at him. After a brief contemplation, Chen Dutian smiled and stepped out from the crowd, heading straight to the edge of the arena.

"Chen Dutian wants to fight in the martial competition? Has he lost his mind?"

"The top playboy of the Imperial Capital, if he can take down those ten palace guards, I'll eat my hat!"

"Don't be so sure. The Antler Marquis, Qin Fan, met his end at Chen's hand. And Lee Huai'en, as arrogant as he was, still fell to Chen's sword!"

"That kid didn't even have a Power Node before. They say he received the Teachings of the Divine in a dream, but his strength is probably only at the Awakening Stage. Beating ten palace guards? No chance!"

While the crowd buzzed with comments about Chen Dutian, Yan Chen and Wang Xuanyang watched from the steps with a look of gravity.

Chen Dutian leaped onto the stage, surveyed the ten palace guards with his arms folded, and shook his head. "If you all were at the Third Heaven of the Spirit Convergence Stage, maybe I'd think twice about stepping up here!"

"Hmph, Mr. Chen, be warned. We don't pull punches in the arena!" A palace guard at the Third Heaven of the Spirit Convergence Stage scoffed and unsheathed his sword.

"Trying to cross swords with me? You're in over your heads!" Chen Dutian sneered, a taunting smile on his face. He channeled his Qi, letting it flow through his meridians, and with a light step, he sidestepped. The palace guard to his right suddenly winced in pain, looking down to find his sword now in Chen Dutian's possession.

"Sword Sweeping the Wind and Clouds!"

As the other guards closed in with their swords, blocking any retreat, the Third Heaven expert lunged at Chen with his blade aimed at Chen's chest. Chen Dutian bellowed, and a robust surge of spiritual energy burst forth, traveling down his arm and enveloping the sword.

A flash of the sword's shadow, and Chen Dutian soared into the air. A blinding chill radiated as the shadow of his longsword pierced through the chests of five Palace Guards in the Awakening Realm.

The God-Emperor himself had struck to kill!

In his past life, countless unparalleled warriors had fallen to his blade. Chen Dutian never once furrowed his brow, and dispatching these Palace Guards left him utterly unfazed.

The crowd gasped in unison at the spectacle in the arena. Before the grand facade of Cloudwatch Palace, a hush fell so profound you could hear a pin drop.

With a single stroke of his sword, Chen Dutian had slain five Palace Guards. When had this once-derided wastrel, scorned as nothing but a spoiled young master, acquired such fearsome power?