LRAB Page 214
Page 214
"It's alright." Hu Hai smiled slightly, exuding elegance. "This prince has come on the orders of my father, the emperor, to propose marriage to the king. I hope the king will grant my request."
"Huhai! The King has already betrothed Princess Yinchuan to me; you must not interfere!"
Li Longji was secretly annoyed. If Hu Hai hadn't suddenly appeared, he would have already forced Li Dewang to agree to the marriage.
"Oh? I didn't hear the king agree?" Hu Hai raised an eyebrow, showing no sign of backing down.
A sinister-looking follower behind Li Longji shouted sharply, drawing his longsword with a chilling glint.
"Insolence! Who dares to be disrespectful to the Eighteenth Prince?"
The two Qin officials immediately drew their swords and stood in front of Hu Hai to protect him.
The three auras clashed suddenly, creating a powerful and oppressive force.
Caught in the middle, Li Dewang felt suffocated. The auras of these three people were all extremely powerful, and any one of them could kill him on the spot.
Just as he was secretly annoyed that the two great dynasties treated him like he didn't exist—
A man with a cold and hard face, leaning on an iron crutch, suddenly arrived, crossing his crutches, and tried to rescue Li Dewang.
However, Zhong Kui and his two companions had all reached the Celestial Realm, while the newcomer was only at the early stage of the Peerless Realm and was powerless to match them.
The iron crutch was shattered by three sharp bursts of energy as soon as it was inserted.
The strange man groaned, spat out a mouthful of black blood, staggered and fell to the ground, unable to get up again.
Seeing that the Western Xia envoy had been injured, Li Longji and Huhai, though still furious, remembered that their trip was to propose marriage. They exchanged a glance and each waved away their oppressive aura.
Li Dewang was drenched in sweat and was about to speak to ease the atmosphere when he suddenly saw a eunuch rushing into the hall in a panic.
"Your Majesty! Disaster has struck!"
The eunuch had a shrill voice and staggered to his knees.
"What's the panic?" Li Dewang tried to maintain his composure, but his voice trembled slightly.
"General Helian reports urgently! 100,000 Kheshig troops have been discovered in the northern border!"
The hall suddenly became dead silent.
"The Great Yuan Iron Cavalry?" Li Longji slammed his teacup down on the table.
Hu Hai narrowed his eyes and sneered, "This is an attempt to force me to abdicate."
The entire Western Xia army numbered less than 100,000, while the Kheshig was the imperial guard of the Yuan Dynasty. Li Dewang's knuckles turned white as he clenched his fists—could his mother Li Qiushui's formidable reputation truly withstand the Mongol hordes?
"If the ruler agrees to the marriage, the mighty Qin army will arrive within three days." Hu Hai played with the jade pendant, his words carrying a veiled sarcasm.
Li Longji scoffed, "My Divine Martial Guard is stationed at the border; they can arrive in a day."
Li Dewang gave a bitter smile. The three great powers were hesitant to act rashly, simply because they feared the Dowager Consort who was stationed in Lingzhou. He suddenly felt his mind clear, straightened his sleeves, and stood respectfully: "I understand what Your Highnesses are asking. However, my daughter has been pampered by the Dowager Consort since childhood, and her marriage..." He changed the subject, "ultimately, it requires Grandmother's approval."
"I can't make the decision about her marriage; it's up to Xiao Wang's mother."
Li Dewang simply brushed it off completely, since Li Qiushui and the others would never dare to provoke them.
Li Longji and Hu Hai exchanged a bitter smile, having long anticipated that Li Dewang would bring up Li Qiushui.
Indeed, to marry Li Qinglu, one must first get past Li Qiushui.
Otherwise, it would be tantamount to a complete falling out with the Azure Dragon Society.
"Very well, Your Majesty, please invite Empress Dowager Li over as soon as possible."
Li Dewang exchanged a few pleasantries, left the ministers to handle the situation, and then withdrew from the main hall.
He hurried to Li Qiushui's palace, and before even entering, he called out loudly, "Mother, Mother..."
"As the ruler of a country, how can you be so flustered?"
Li Qiushui, wearing a veil, was talking to a burly martial artist when she saw her son's appearance and couldn't help but frown and scold him.
Li Dewang looked at the martial artist with curiosity, his mind filled with doubt.
After her mother became a widow, in addition to practicing martial arts, she would occasionally keep male lovers.
But she had always preferred fair-skinned young men, and the man in front of her was tall, imposing, and exuded a powerful aura.
Although he was handsome, he was not the type his mother liked at all, and besides, he was not young; he looked at least thirty-five or thirty-six years old.
When did Mother change her taste?
"This is Qiao Feng, the leader of the 32nd Altar of the Azure Dragon Society, codenamed 'February 2nd'."
Li Qiushui noticed her son's confusion and calmly explained.
"The leader of the Azure Dragon Society!"
Upon hearing this, Li Dewang was overjoyed.
It’s really hard to find anything without wearing iron shoes!
Although his mother was not a member of the Azure Dragon Society, his aunt, whom he had never met, was the leader of the May Hall of the Azure Dragon Society.
Therefore, the Azure Dragon Society has some connection with his family, but not a direct one.
He was initially uneasy, wondering if the Azure Dragon Society would get involved.
After all, the Nine Provinces are in turmoil, and the Azure Dragon Society's peripheral forces are under attack, so they may not be able to spare any help.
Moreover, they have no obligation to stand up for themselves.
Chapter 160 Beggars Gang
Qiao Feng's appearance as the leader of the Azure Dragon Society clearly represents the Society's stance.
"I have long admired Master Qiao's name."
"Wait, could you be Qiao Feng, the leader of the Beggars' Sect of the Song Dynasty?"
Li Dewang first exchanged pleasantries, then suddenly remembered the other party's identity.
"I don't deserve such praise; that's all in the past."
Qiao Feng waved his hand, his tone calm.
Qiao Feng came here on orders from the Great Dragon Chief to bring back Li Qinglu and Fang Ritu.
"Empress Dowager Li has already agreed. I wonder what Your Majesty's opinion is?"
"Is the Great Dragon King going to marry my daughter?"
Li Dewang was initially surprised, but then overjoyed.
Although there are many talented people in the world, who can compare with the Great Dragon Head?
"That's naturally a wonderful thing! But..."
He suddenly remembered the 100,000 Kheshig troops stationed in the northern border, as well as Li Longji and Huhai inside the palace.
"Just what?" Qiao Feng asked calmly.
"The Yuan Dynasty has dispatched 100,000 cavalry to approach the border in order to propose marriage. In addition, Li Longji of the Tang Dynasty and Huhai of the Qin Dynasty are also in the palace at this moment."
Qiao Feng smiled proudly.
"I will go and negotiate with them, and make them back down."
"No one dares to stop the Azure Dragon Society from taking what it wants."
Before he finished speaking, he had already leaped towards the main hall.
"Mother, will they take action?"
Li Dewang looked at Qiao Feng's retreating figure and asked with a worried expression.
His strongest warrior was Duan Yanqing. However, Duan Yanqing was defeated before he even made a move. What if Qiao Feng were no match for him?
"Silly boy."
Li Qiushui gave a light rebuke.
"Even my master is in the Azure Dragon Society. Do you think they're easy to deal with?"
"This person's strength, even if it is not as good as mine, is probably not far off."
"If we really fight, I might not be able to defeat him."
"So you can rest assured."
After saying that, she turned and left, leaving Li Dewang standing there in a daze.
"Even the Empress Dowager is no match for him?"
Li Dewang was shocked, then overjoyed.
Li Qiushui, as the top martial artist in Western Xia, has already reached the mid-stage of the Land Immortal realm. If Qiao Feng were even stronger, wouldn't the arrogant Li Longji and Huhai have suffered greatly?
As Li Dewang's mind raced, he once again lifted the hem of his robe and hurriedly ran towards the main hall.
Such a spectacular scene should not be missed.
303 Soaring Ambition
Li Dewang's martial arts skills were hardly considered high.
The emperor, by nature, does not need extraordinary martial arts skills.
Therefore, when he rushed from the Empress Dowager's palace to the main hall,
The exciting duel has come to an end.
The face of Zhong Kui, the Heavenly Master of the Tang Dynasty, now appears even more ferocious.
His precious sword was deeply embedded in the plaque of the main hall.
The two Qin Dynasty retainers were equally disheveled.
He sat cross-legged in the square in front of the hall, practicing his internal energy and regulating his breathing; his face was as white as gold.
The previously arrogant Hu Hai, and the smiling tiger Li Longji.
At this moment, they all surrounded Qiao Feng with smiling faces.
"Master Qiao, Chief Qiao, these are all Father Emperor's wishes..."
Seeing that his own ancestor had been subdued in one move, Hu Hai had no choice but to invoke the name of Qin Shi Huang, Ying Zheng.
Before he could finish speaking, Qiao Feng coldly interrupted him:
"I, Qiao, have come on the orders of the Great Dragon Head. If Ying Zheng is dissatisfied, he may ascend to the Azure Dragon Peak to confront the Great Dragon Head!"
If we can find the location of Azure Dragon Peak, why bother with this?
Let alone going to confront that powerful leader!
Hu Hai secretly lamented his predicament, helpless against the stubborn Qiao Feng.
"Chief Qiao, even if you possess unparalleled martial arts skills, it will be of no use."
"The Yuan dynasty's 100,000-strong Kheshig army is now stationed on the northern border of Western Xia."
"I wonder how many men the Azure Dragon Society can mobilize to aid Western Xia?"
Li Longji did not mention Wu Zetian, but instead brought up the military might of the Yuan Dynasty.
Finally, he even asked Li Dewang, who arrived a little late, a question.
Currently, various forces are besieging the outer perimeter of the Azure Dragon Society.
Where would the Azure Dragon Society find the resources to aid the Western Xia?
If he couldn't protect Western Xia, would Li Dewang be willing to offer his beloved daughter to the Azure Dragon Society?
As long as he refuses, there is still room for negotiation.
Li Dewang also frowned upon hearing this.
I was just so happy that the Azure Dragon Society had intervened.
But they forgot to ask Qiao Feng how many men he had brought.
"Um... I wonder how many experts the Azure Dragon Society has brought this time?"
Despite feeling embarrassed, Li Dewang still forced himself to speak.