Prince Tian Tian was given a bye, while Shi Mu had a match in every round.

However, Shi Mu's matches were all very fast, making it impossible for anyone to discern his playing style.

Therefore, Cheng Huaijin also had to test Shi Mu's tactics first.

The match between the two was arguably the most exciting one so far. They were evenly matched, and there was no sign of either giving way or showing off their skills; it was a serious contest.

It's not that other people's matches weren't serious; it's just that in previous matches, there were evenly matched contestants, but none were as strong as the two of them.

The two were of similar height and build, but Shi Mu looked more rugged, while Cheng Huaijin looked more refined.

After the initial tentative steps, the two began to get serious.

Even the emperor watched with great interest, no longer offering his opinions on the people on stage to the empress, Gu Si, and Gu Yingxue.

"This is what a real martial arts competition looks like! Brother Yuanyuan, Shi Mu is really strong. Brother Yuanyuan, did you know about the Jiacang Kingdom before? I think Shi Mu has trained his subordinates very well. Also, Brother Yuanyuan, have you noticed that Shi Mu's style is a bit different from Prince Tianji and Princess Zhu's? His martial arts style is actually somewhat similar to that of our Great Zhou!" Gu Xin concluded after watching for a while.

“I can see that. His methods are indeed somewhat similar to ours. This person must have lived in the Great Zhou Dynasty, or he has someone from the Great Zhou Dynasty teaching him. I’ve heard of the Cang Kingdom before, but at that time our Great Zhou Dynasty was very lacking in navigation. We only knew that there were people on the other side of the sea, but we had never made contact with them,” Lu Zheng said.

“I also think he either lived in Da Zhou or had someone from Da Zhou by his side. Take the characters we saw before, for example. It’s absolutely impossible for him to have mastered them in such a short time, from Jiangnan all the way to the capital. Their Cangzhou script is crooked and twisted. If they were used to writing the square and upright script of our Da Zhou, it would definitely take them a certain amount of time to learn it,” Gu Xin nodded and said.

"It will be difficult for Xiao Jin to win this match; she can only manage a narrow victory," Lu Zheng said seriously.

“My brother will definitely win, even if it’s a narrow victory. After all, it’s not for anything else, it’s for Xue’er! Shi Mu is so dangerous, what if he really kidnaps Xue’er?” Gu Xin was convinced that Cheng Huaijin would win.

Gu Nian, who was sitting not far away, heard Gu Xin's words, and then looked at Cheng Huaijin on the stage, thinking to herself, "With you saying he can win, it's hard for him to lose."

Today, Gu Nian and Gu Hui, both heavily pregnant, also came. The sisters were tired of being cooped up at home every day, unable to practice martial arts or go into the laboratory. This lively martial arts competition was a good way to relieve their boredom.

The sun was quite strong, so the two of them sat on the outer edge, where there weren't many people around, so it wouldn't be too hot.

"Big sister, what do you think?" Gu Nian turned to ask Gu Hui.

“I think Xin Xin is right. Although Shi Mu has experienced extraordinary things to reach this position at his age, Xiao Jin’s will is also strong. I have a feeling he will be able to persevere to the end,” Gu Hui said.

Gu Nian was now completely convinced that Cheng Huaijin was going to win.

There's no way around it; their family has an older sister with incredibly accurate intuition, and a leading lady who seems to be God's favorite.

Both of them said that Cheng Huaijin was going to win, and it would be difficult for Cheng Huaijin to lose even if he wanted to.

The two sisters stopped talking and continued watching.