Shi Chengtian had lost.

He had completely lost and could only stand two attacks from barbarian expert Moragu.

When Moragu showed signs of unleashing a third attack, Shi Chengtian had chosen to flee.

He did not want to flee either. After all, this would mean that his fame that had lasted for several decades and his honor as the "Invincible Iron Fist" would completely disappear.

However, he had no choice.

Moragu was far more terrifying than he had expected!

He was already unable to endure Moragu's first attack, but Moragu's second attack was even more powerful. As a result, he was almost unable to resist at all. He was simply pressed and rubbed against the ground, resulting in severe injuries that made it difficult for him to continue.

However, he never thought that Moragu would still be able to unleash a third attack!

Furthermore, this third attack gave Shi Chengtian an extremely terrifying feeling!

He had not sensed this feeling ever since he became a grade-9 master.

There was no doubt that if he waited for Moragu to unleash his third attack, he would definitely die!

Thus, between moral courage and his life, Shi Chengtian chose his life.

These two barbarian experts would not be particular about combat morals and hold back during crucial moments.

If he could not block Moragu's sword aura, he would die. There was no choice.

Now, the Grand Xia Dynasty was facing problems both domestically and abroad, and their national power was very weak. Thus, they were utterly helpless when the northern barbarians repeatedly invaded their borders and could only continually withdraw.

As a result, when the barbarian envoys entered the capital, even though the Grand Xia Dynasty had the strength to suppress them, they did not dare to actually kill them.

For example, six years ago, Bo Ri came to the capital in the name of a martial-arts exchange. Even though he forcibly killed two grade-8 masters in the arena, he eventually left alive.

Meanwhile, if the experts in the Grand Xia Dynasty were no match for the barbarians and were beaten to death, then so would it be. They deserved it.

However, Shi Chengtian never expected this. He had thought that agreeing to come out of seclusion and resisting the barbarian envoys on behalf of the imperials would be a very easy task. After all, even if the barbarians had grade-9 masters, they were not enough to scare him and could not possibly be a match for him.

Who would've thought…?

"In the end, I underestimated the heroes in this world!"

Shi Chengtian thought about this with extreme grief, indignation, and shame.

Not only had he humiliated himself in front of everyone else, he had also embarrassed himself in front of his pupil.

It seemed like his pupil also wanted him to deal with some grade-9 master in the imperial compound. He had said that he would think about it, but he did not want to take up the task.

Now, even if he wanted to take up the task, he could not do so.

He could deal with the mysterious expert in the imperial compound. However, if these two grade-9 masters did not leave, he would have no face to appear once again.

…

…

"How is this possible?!"

Opposite Xiangmanlou, General Who Stabilizes the North Xie Feihong watched as his master fled and rapidly disappeared, with disbelief. His face turned ghastly pale at the sight of this.

Just now, he had even boasted to Eastern Depot Superintendent Feng Bao that his master would definitely be able to win against Moragu. In fact, if his master used all his strength, he would not even need five minutes.

In the end…

Indeed, the fight took less than five minutes and lasted only two attacks.

However, his master had not won. On the contrary, he had completely lost!

"General, what should we do next?" Feng Bao asked.

He did not gloat over Xie Feihong's misfortune. Instead, his expression was serious.

Invincible Iron Fist Shi Chengtian had lost in the hands of the barbarians, while Sword Sovereign Dugu Xiong, who Feng Bao had racked his brains trying to invite, had also fled in defeat! Furthermore, at the very least, Shi Chengtian had still won against one person. Meanwhile, Dugu Xiong was almost killed in a matter of seconds.

Now, he had to think about what to do.

The two grade-9 masters of the Grand Xia Dynasty had both lost in battle and fled in haste. How were they supposed to justify themselves in front of the Emperor?

If the barbarian envoys entered the imperial compound tomorrow and launched an attack, what should they do then?

When Feng Bao and Xie Feihong thought about this, it was as if there was a massive one-tonne boulder on their hearts. This burden was extremely heavy.

Who else could assume this important position in the enormous capital?

Who else could resist these barbarian experts?

…

…

In the Imperial Study Room.

Very quickly, the Emperor heard the news from the battlefield.

When the joyous Emperor heard the news that Shi Chengtian could not even stand three attacks and fled with severe injuries, he simply pushed all the memorials1 on his table to the floor and flew into a rage.

"Pass on the message! The General Who Stabilizes the North and Manager Feng are to present themselves before me immediately!"

The Emperor's hands and sleeves were covered in ink, but he did not care about them at all. He simply roared angrily as his entire face flushed in anger.

As compared to the weight in the hearts of Feng Bao and Xie Feihong, the Emperor's worries far surpassed theirs!

After all, he was not just worried about the possibility that when the barbarians entered the imperial compound tomorrow, they might launch an attack that no one could stop.

What the Emperor was even more worried about was that…

The two grade-9 barbarian masters were this strong, to the point that the Grand Xia Dynasty could not find anyone who could suppress them. This would allow the barbarians to know that his imperial court was extremely weak and that they could not find anyone to fight!

When the envoys returned and reported what had happened in the capital, the barbarians might become even more unbridled in their actions and infiltrate the territory of the Grand Xia Dynasty even more.

When that time came…

It would not be as simple as losing face. The Grand Xia Dynasty would face the danger of destruction!

This was the reason why he had obsequiously visited the Changmen Palace and put himself down to seek Chun Fei's forgiveness out of his own initiative. This was also the reason why he tolerated a malicious woman like Xie Feiyan and continued to allow her to maintain her position as the Empress even after knowing the secrets behind Senior Concubine Li's death back then!

"Trash! Trash! All of them are trash!

"None of them can fight! None!"

The Emperor's furious roar echoed throughout the empty Imperial Study Room.

Meanwhile, the other eunuchs were so afraid that they were crawling and kneeling on the ground while trembling in fear.

They were afraid that once the Emperor was unhappy, he would kill them if he was not pleased with them.

Only the Emperor's favorite, Little Guizi, plucked up the courage to approach the Emperor after seeing the Emperor vent his anger for a while and forcibly suppress some anger. "Your Majesty, I'm afraid that we have to make new plans for tomorrow. Even if you call the General Who Stabilizes the North and Manager Feng here, they might not have any good solutions."

Veins could be seen on the Emperor's forehead as he said in a low voice, "If they have no solutions, then they will go to the arena tomorrow and exchange blows with the barbarian envoys!"

Little Guizi shook his head and said, "Even though Manager Feng is about to break through to the grade-9 realm, in the end, he still has not broken through. Thus, his strength is still a far cry from that of a grade-9 master. Meanwhile, the strength of the General Who Stabilizes the North is no match for even Manager Feng. If the two of them go to battle, I'm afraid that they might not even be able to endure one attack."

"If they can't endure the attacks and die in the arena, then they deserve it!" the Emperor shouted in a cold voice.

Little Guizi did not reply. Instead, he suggested, "Even if the General Who Stabilizes the North and Manager Feng die, it will not be of any help. Why not find another two grade-9 masters to fight? Even if they lose, if they can just exchange two blows with the barbarians, it will reflect slightly better of us…"

"I want to find another two grade-9 masters as well! However, during times like this, where would I find grade-9 masters?" the Emperor asked in an angry tone.

Little Guizi hurriedly lowered his head. However, he still plucked up his courage and said, "The grade-9 master from Changmen Palace still hasn't appeared. Even though this mysterious master cannot possibly match up to the barbarians, we should try everything in this desperate situation. After all, having an expert is better than not having any."