Chapter 279: Fighting for Beauty
For Lu Changjing, there is nothing wrong with concubines and concubines competing for beauty, but they must be done in the right way as long as they do not cause chaos in the harem.

Although this is not encouraged, Lu Changjing also understands that such things are inevitable.

Moreover, these concubines and concubines did this to attract his attention, gain his favor, and even have a chance to become his lover.

In the final analysis, it was all for him, which made Lu Changjing unable to blame him.

If there is someone who can really impress him, Lu Changjing will not hesitate to give him a chance.

Just like what those lickspittles in the previous life often said, whether you love me or not has nothing to do with whether I pursue you or not. Even if you don’t love me, I can still pursue you.

Lu Changjing had a similar mentality at the moment. Since you insist on pursuing me like this and want to be my love, I can't refuse your pursuit. It's up to you as long as you don't go too far.

As for whether to agree or accept you, that depends on my mood.

Even though each of you is stunningly beautiful, stunningly pretty, and dexterous, with all kinds of talents, my heart is as hard as iron, and you are not easily moved.

He is not a casual person. He also has to practice and improve himself, save the human race and the land of China. How can he have so much time to accompany these loves?

Therefore, the subsequent standards for screening love will be more stringent, even for the concubines and those beautiful girls in the harem, not to mention the imperial servants in the Pink Palace.

With so many beautiful girls wanting to get into his bed, Lu Changjing would not just let them do it.

Maybe this is a bit cold and inhuman, but it is still much better than those bad women and men in the previous life.

At least Lu Changjing wouldn't keep them hanging on purpose, wasting their time and energy, or perhaps he was after other people's bodies and money.

If he doesn't want to, then he doesn't want to, no matter what, it won't work unless you can really do something to impress him and make him open a channel for you.

For example, Zhao Xiaotong!
She was one of more than 600 beauties. Although she was not in the top ten, she was ranked 16th.

The oval face has clear and smooth contours, a beautiful jawline, and delicate and small facial features, giving people an extremely fresh and refined feeling, with a special kind of dignity and elegance.

Lu Changjing also had some impression of her. Her appearance and temperament combined were definitely around 3,000 points, which could be described as stunningly beautiful.

However, her opponents were too strong, her figure was relatively petite, and her talents were not as good as Pan Min and others, so she ranked sixteenth.

But if it were in previous drafts, it would be possible to get first place.

The most important thing is that this girl, whose talent is barely one in a thousand, actually has an understanding that is beyond imagination.

It only took him a few months to comprehend the Dragon and Phoenix Secret Art thoroughly, and to achieve minor success in his practice. He even wrote a detailed explanation of up to one million words.

You should know that the total number of words in the Dragon and Phoenix Secret Art is only a few thousand, but Zhao Xiaotong wrote a detailed explanation of more than one million words, which almost analyzed this top-level secret art thoroughly, even more thoroughly than Lu Changjing understood it.

It is conceivable that Zhao Xiaotong's comprehension is amazing. She is only a mid-level warrior now, not even a master. Her mental power is limited, and she does not have the bonus brought by her soul.

As a result, he was able to achieve this level. If nothing unexpected happened, Zhao Xiaotong's comprehension was at least dozens of times stronger than Lu Changjing, or even more.

His talent and aptitude in this area can definitely be called that of a freak. And not just an ordinary freak.

However, Zhao Xiaotong did not know that the Dragon and Phoenix Secret Art that she had analyzed was a top-level mystical art, and Lu Changjing did not tell the concubines and concubines in the harem about this.

The secret technique of dragon and phoenix was passed down by Lu Changjing after much consideration several months ago, in order to select suitable candidates from the concubines and beauties in the harem, and also to prepare for love.

After all, they are his concubines and beauties in the harem, and openly their women. Lu Changjing should give them a chance to prove themselves.

If she performs well and can truly cultivate to perfection, Lu Changjing will most likely recruit her and make her his new love.

If he has no talent and cannot practice to perfection, he will most likely not be able to break through to the realm of gods and demons. In that case, there is no need for Lu Changjing to recruit him.

He didn't want to let love go so early. Instead of experiencing the pain of separation, it would be better not to get entangled in the beginning to avoid sadness in the future.

However, Lu Changjing did not expect that Zhao Xiaotong would be able to seize the opportunity so quickly. By explaining the Dragon and Phoenix Secret Techniques in detail and showing her extraordinary understanding, she won his favor, and Lu Changjing decided to give her a chance.

Looking at the detailed explanation of the Dragon and Phoenix Secret Technique in his hand, Lu Changjing began to read and comprehend it, and soon became immersed in it.

Then he discovered that there were many things he had not thought of before, especially regarding the later practice, there were many things he had not comprehended.

He couldn't help but become more and more shocked, and he admired Zhao Xiaotong more and more. He had basically made up his mind that he would never let go of this love.

Otherwise it would be a disintegration and waste.

If such evil is wasted, it will be struck by lightning from heaven.

To put it bluntly, Zhao Xiaotong should be the person with the highest understanding he has ever met since he traveled through time.

As Lu Changjing watched, he was already immersed in it. The Dragon and Phoenix Secret Art began to improve at a terrifying speed. The Dragon and Phoenix Secret Art, which had only achieved a small degree of success originally, was now soaring at an astonishing speed.

You should know that Lu Changjing had practiced the Dragon and Phoenix Secret Art for a long time earlier than Zhao Xiaotong, but he had only recently achieved minor success. Zhao Xiaotong had only practiced for a few months and had also spent a lot of time comprehending and writing this detailed explanation, as well as doing other things.

As a result, her progress has far surpassed Lu Changjing, which shows how good she is in this area.

If one can reach the Grandmaster level, his comprehension and understanding will increase, and he will definitely become more powerful.

If he could step into the realm of gods and demons, his power would at least increase several times. Even Lu Changjing couldn't predict how powerful he would be by then.

Although he is not as good as him in the state of enlightenment, enlightenment only happens occasionally. Under normal circumstances, Lu Changjing is definitely not as good as Zhao Xiaotong.

At this moment, Zhao Xiaotong's detailed explanation of the Dragon and Phoenix Secret Technique surprisingly led Lu Changjing into enlightenment again, saving him a lot of time in accumulation and practice.

This one thing alone makes it worth Lu Changjing's special care for her.

By the time his epiphany was over, his secret dragon and phoenix arts had already been mastered and were not far from perfection.

With the help of this detailed explanation of the Dragon and Phoenix Secret Technique, Lu Changjing will be able to reach the perfect level more quickly.

Feeling the mystery of the detailed explanation of the Dragon and Phoenix Secret Technique, Lu Changjing nodded with satisfaction and immediately summoned Zhao Xiaotong. Soon Zhao Xiaotong came to the imperial study and saluted Lu Changjing: "Your Majesty, long live the emperor."

Lu Changjing looked at Zhao Xiaotong, and his eyes lit up slightly.

She wore a light blue dress and a white gauze outer layer, which showed off her graceful figure to the fullest.

Her waist-length hair was flying in the wind, with a few strands playfully flying in front. There was no decoration on her head, just a light blue ribbon lightly tying a strand of hair.

She wore a purple crystal around her neck, which glowed slightly, making her skin look as white as snow, like a fairy descending to earth.

Hands are like catkins, skin is like creamy fat, collar is like grub, teeth are like gourd rhinoceros, gnat's head is moth eyebrows, smile is charming, and eyes are beautiful.

Her eyebrows are like emerald feathers, her teeth are like pearls, her waist is as white as a silk ribbon, and her sweet smile is enough to captivate the capital and the world. A sky blue bracelet casually lies on her wrist, making her skin look white, tender and shiny.

Her eyes are as pure as water, occasionally with a hint of melancholy, giving people a feeling of wanting to hold them in their arms.

Information about Zhao Xiaotong emerged in my mind. When she was a few years old, she was almost sold by her gambling-addicted father. Thanks to her mother who desperately protected her and took her away from her hometown.

After that, he wandered for a long time before he was taken in by a kind and wealthy family and had a place to stay.

Her mother helped others wash clothes and raised the young Zhao Xiaotong.

Fortunately, the girl was sensible and was able to help her mother at a very young age. She also secretly attended the teacher's classes and only studied occasionally. She was able to catch up with other students who concentrated on studying every day.

This amazed the wealthy family, so they promoted her to be a maid to accompany their daughter. With her help, the daughter's academic performance improved by leaps and bounds, and she became a famous talented woman in the county.

But the family knows that compared to Zhao Xiaotong, their daughter is nothing.

However, the family was not jealous. Instead, they cultivated her well and even sent her up during the talent show.

Unexpectedly, the girl made it through all the rounds of selection and finally made it to the 16th place, shocking the entire county.

The family also received a handsome reward for this. Of course, Zhao Xiaotong's mother also obtained a huge amount of wealth and treasures, and has now moved to Baiyujing.

Good deeds will be rewarded. The wealthy family that helped Zhao Xiaotong has now further improved its status and power. They have also become Zhao Xiaotong's family, and have a good relationship with Zhao Xiaotong's mother.

He already knew that Zhao Xiaotong was smart, sensible, and had a good understanding, but Lu Changjing had never expected her to be so good.

Looking at the girl who had gone through so much hardship in front of him, Lu Changjing waved his hand: "Come here."

"Yes, Your Majesty." Zhao Xiaotong hurried forward and stood obediently in front of Lu Changjing.

Lu Changjing pointed to the detailed explanation of the Dragon and Phoenix Secret Technique next to him and said, "Did you write this?"

"Yes, after I comprehended the secret arts of dragon and phoenix, I saw that many sisters found it difficult to comprehend and practice, so I wrote this detailed explanation to help my sisters practice as quickly as possible." Zhao Xiaotong explained.

Lu Changjing smiled slightly: "It's well written. With this detailed explanation of the Dragon and Phoenix Secret Technique, many concubines in the harem will be able to understand it, and their cultivation progress will be faster. Even I have benefited a lot from it. In the future, there should be many techniques and classics that require your help in consultation."

"I am terrified." Zhao Xiaotong bowed in surprise and joy.

Lu Changjing smiled and pulled her up: "Your understanding is extremely good, the best I have seen in these years. Just based on this detailed explanation of the Dragon and Phoenix Secret Technique, you deserve the position of Zhaoyi."

Zhaoyi was one of the concubines in the harem. She was a concubine with a title, ranking third rank, and was the first among the concubines of the third rank.

Above them are the concubines of the second rank, the noble concubines of the second rank, and the wives of the second rank.

Above the Madam are the eight concubines of the first rank. Now the positions of Madam, Noble Concubine and Concubine are all vacant. If Zhao Xiaotong makes more contributions in the future, she can continue to move up and may eventually be listed as one of the eight concubines.

At this moment, Zhao Xiaotong was just a subordinate of the eighth rank, which was equivalent to being promoted sixteen levels to the position of Zhaoyi of the third rank.

Even Zhao Xiaotong couldn't believe such a favor. She was stunned for a long time before she came to her senses. She knelt on the ground with red eyes and said, "Thank you, Your Majesty. Long live the emperor. I am terrified."

Grabbing her hand with a smile, Lu Changjing wiped away her tears: "This is what you deserve. I heard that my mother-in-law has worked hard all these years to cultivate a talent like Zhao Zhaoyi. She has made great contributions and worked hard, so she deserves a reward. I will confer her the title of Sixth Rank Imperial Lady, and she can be a county lady. In addition, I will reward her with a Dingyan Pill, a thousand pieces of cloud brocade, and a hundred thousand-year-old ginsengs..."

Hearing this, Zhao Xiaotong burst into tears of gratitude, even more excited than when she was conferred the title of Zhaoyi. She wanted to kneel down and kowtow, but was stopped by Lu Changjing.

Then she threw herself into Lu Changjing's arms, covered her mouth and cried, "Thank you, Your Majesty. I will serve Your Majesty in the future. I will do whatever Your Majesty asks me to do."

Her biggest wish for participating in this talent show was to allow her mother to live a good life and have status and identity. Now that she has been conferred the title of Sixth-Rank Lady, her wish has basically been met. How could she not be grateful?

Lu Changjing also understood this, which is why he conferred the title of Sixth-Rank Lady on Zhao Xiaotong's mother and gave her generous gifts.

He held Zhao Xiaotong in his arms and comforted her softly, waiting until her emotions stabilized before sending her back to her residence.

As a Zhaoyi of the third rank, her status was naturally different. Her residence and treatment were all improved. She also lived in Jingren Palace and had an independent palace.

In the future, Lu Changjing would probably visit her often and ask her to help him comprehend many martial arts manuals and the like, but before that, Lu Changjing would first improve her cultivation level.

He specially gave her a set of low-level magic skills system, which was also the Water Source Magic Skills system that Pan Min had practiced before, including two parts: refining Qi and refining spirit. There was also a Yunhu True Body Strengthening Magic Skill, which had many similarities with the Water Source Magic Skills system.

If the three are practiced at the same time, they will have a complementary effect. Lu Changjing plans to wait until Zhao Xiaotong has understood it, and then he will start to help her improve as quickly as possible by removing hair and cleansing marrow.

Only in this way can he further enhance his spiritual strength, understanding, etc., and help him better comprehend various martial arts classics.

Although Zhao Xiaotong's talent and aptitude are a little lacking, she should be able to improve quickly with the help of hair removal and marrow cleansing. By then, once her shortcomings are made up, Zhao Xiaotong's future will probably be brighter than that of other concubines.

Zhao Xiaotong did not disappoint Lu Changjing's expectations. It only took her more than half a month to thoroughly comprehend the Water Source Magical Skills system and Yunhu's true body, and she was ready to face the upcoming hair removal and marrow cleansing.

Lu Changjing also told her about this matter in advance, explained to her the things that needed attention, and let her comprehend the relevant parts of the marrow cleansing secret technique.

After confirming that Zhao Xiaotong was ready, Lu Changjing specially called her to the secret retreat room in the imperial study and began to help her shave her hair and cleanse her marrow.

Everything has been prepared in the secret retreat room, even a variety of spiritual fruits and medicines have been prepared, including magical medicines, so that the best effect can be achieved.

(End of this chapter)