The Empress’s Gigolo

After everybody returned to the city, news about the Four-way Heaven Du Laoliu’s victory over Tu Yu and the duel between Tu Hong and Ren Baqian reached the ears of the court officials in Lan City.

Like a pebble dropping into a still pond, the ripples spread.

A Four-way Heaven expert beating a Kismet Heaven expert was something that had never been seen in all these years and was a surprising matter.

Plus, a duel between a Four-way Heaven expert and Cardinal Heaven expert had never occurred before.

No matter which aspect you looked at, there was no way to compare them.

A Cardinal Heaven expert could kill a bunch of ordinary Four-way Haven experts with his fingers, let alone in a duel.

Even though Ren Baqian had socialized with numerous winged cavalry warriors and people from the Ministry of Works, many of these people didn’t believe it when they heard the news. It was too absurd. When did Ren Baqian become so presumptuous?

This was the case even if they were just competing based on speed.

If they were competing in mathematics or with those unusual gadgets, most people believed Ren Baqian could win.

However, to compete in strength and speed, 100 Ren Baqians couldn’t even be compared to just one hand of a Cardinal Heaven expert.

On the contrary, the people who believed in Ren Baqian were the majority of the students in the academy. After all, they had learned many things in the academy and knew that Ren Baqian had various unusual gadgets. Therefore, they had confidence in him.

This was because Ren Baqian was representing their future!

“Do you think Yagui can win?” Many students were discussing this event after school.

“Even Du Laoliu won—Yagui shouldn’t lose, right?”

“However, the opponent is still a Cardinal Heaven expert after all!”

“Yagui has more ideas than anybody else—if he dares to bet, then he certainly won’t lose.”

“I initially thought so, but after hearing the opinions of other people, most of them aren’t optimistic about Yagui’s chances…

“Why bother with them? We don’t even know what capabilities Yagui has, let alone them. What do they know?”

“If Yagui wins, they will be greatly surprised and I can’t wait to see their expressions.”

“Someone is taking bets and giving ten to one odds for Yagui to win. I’m going to bet all my family assets on him to win.”

“Who organized it?”

“Hong Xian, Bai Shihu, and Liu Ruoyao.”

“Hey, that group of idiots isn’t with us, so I want to see their expressions when they lose their pants. I still have 22 taels that I’ll give you to place my bet.”

…

Three days passed by in a flash.

At the same time on the fourth day, Ren Baqian and the empress again went to the location where the duel from three days ago had been held.

Many people came to see the duel three days ago, but because the venue was so big, the crowd had seemed sparse and scattered.

This time, however, all the court officials in Lan City who were free had come here with their families.

Everyone wanted to see what gave Ren Baqian the guts to challenge a Cardinal Heaven level expert like Tu Hong.

Tu Yu’s loss was a disgrace to his elders. Not only was his betrothal dissolved, he became a laughingstock in Lan City due to his defeat at the hands of a Four-way Heaven expert.

This time, the face of Tu Hong was at stake on the gambling table. If he were to lose, the whole Tu family would become a laughingstock and even Tu Wan would look bad.

No matter what, he must go all out.

Therefore, the crowd assembled here to witness this competition.

Officials from the six ministries, secretaries, the Great Elder, and the Junior Elder were present.

“Yaozi, you put in all your wealth. Besides being the banker, you even bet 300 taels on that guy to lose.” In one corner of the venue, a bunch of male and female youths were joking with each other.

“This is such a good opportunity to make money, so how can I let it go?” Liu Ruoyao asked cheerfully.

There was no happier occasion than to see an enemy lose and make money from it at the same time.

“It has been so long, yet you still haven’t found out? That guy isn’t a fool. He’s much smarter than most of us,” Hong Xian remarked casually. “Otherwise, he wouldn’t have been able to sit in his current position given his low strength.”

“Indeed, but the important thing is that I don’t know what the empress sees in him,” Liu Ruoyao said unwillingly.

“You underestimate Her Majesty. Although I’m not intelligent, I know not to underestimate her ability to judge people,” another big guy said in a low and muffled voice.

“Yaozi, although my grandfather didn’t say it, I can see that he thinks highly of that man. You are blinded by your hatred.” Hong Xian’s words about his grandfather’s opinion of Ren Baqian caused many people to become disheartened.

Tu Yu stood a short distance away with no one beside him. He looked upset when he heard the words spoken by Hong Xian and muttered, “You can wait and see. We will not lose this time around.”

…

“Your Majesty.” The crowd stood up to greet the empress.

“Be seated.” From the carriage, the empress made a slight movement and appeared at the seat reserved for her, resting her head on her elbow as she waited for the duel to begin.

When Ren Baqian passed through the crowd, many people exclaimed in surprise.

Many of the spectators felt a pulling force that made their weapons rattle.

“What’s happening?” The pulling force was fleeting, but many people traced the force to a box that was being carried on the back of a guard who was following behind Ren Baqian.

At two meters in height, this box was huge, and even two people weren’t enough to hug it all the way around. The outside was made of wood, whereas what was inside remained unknown. It seemed like this was what Ren Baqian had prepared for the match.

The pulling force only disappeared when the guard arrived at the stage.

Those who were observant would have noticed that the guard didn’t wear anything metallic and that even the weapons that never left his waist were now absent.

Tu Hong was already waiting on the stage, and Ren Baqian only started to speak when he was facing him from ten meters away.

“As mentioned before, you have to put a piece of metal on your body. I also have to do as we agreed. If you can catch me within the time it takes to burn through an incense stick, then you will be considered the winner.”

Tu Hong looked at the box behind Ren Baqian and asked, “Is it in the box behind you? Give it to me. I will let you learn that your little tricks are useless against real power.”

The box could easily be carried by an Earth Wheel expert, so it shouldn’t be a problem for him. Furthermore, from the stance of his legs, the box didn’t seem to be heavy.

“Just wait and see.” Ren Baqian only said these same four words. He turned to take out a small box from the top of the box. His expression began to become strange as both his hands started shaking.

“Take the box away,” Ren Baqian whispered.

The guard quickly took the box away. Ren Baqian gradually relaxed and wiped the sweat from his forehead.

After putting the small box on the ground, Ren Baqian took out an iron hoop that was slightly bigger than a human waist and as thick as a human arm. It appeared to only weigh about ten kilograms

“This is the thing. Put it around your waist.” With the box in hand, Ren Baqian slowly walked toward Tu Hong.

Tu Hong was suspicious since this thing was too small.

He had assumed that Ren Baqian was going to put some heavy stuff on him to slow him down, but this thing was small and only over ten kilograms. After taking it, he found it to be even lighter than expected since it weighed no more than ten kilograms.

“If this leaves your body, you will be considered the loser,” Ren Baqian added.

“Hmph.” Tu Hong snorted coldly and took the hoop. He put it over his legs to his waist and found that it was slightly too big, but the hoop was equipped with some inflatable bags. Ren Baqian stretched his hand out and pulled on the bags to inflate them. The hoop now sat around his waist like a belt.

“It’s ready. Before you lose, do you have anything to say?” Ren Baqian smiled and asked after seeing him put on the hoop.

“Me? Lose? Haha! Hahahaha!” Tu Hong started to laugh upon hearing this. “Did you say that I will lose? I can’t wait to start!”

After he finished laughing, Tu Hong lowered his head, stared fiercely at Ren Baqian, and bared his snow-white teeth like an animal at Ren Baqian.

“I can’t wait to break your inexplicable self-confidence and let you see that the stuff you rely on won’t be able to withstand a single blow! I will teach you what real power is!”

“Rest assured—I will try to catch you as gently as possible.”