Chapter 90 We absolutely cannot let Xiaozao marry this kind of person!!!

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The title "Chief Escort" was emphasized.

This young barbarian speaks fluent Mandarin, but Zhao Xiao clearly sensed something subtle in those few words…

Hatred.

He hates him.

……Why?

Zhao Xiao frowned, his expression becoming even more sinister. His dark eyes stared at the thin, unfamiliar boy who barely reached his shoulder, scrutinizing him for a few moments. He noticed the black veil hanging from the hat fluttering in the wind, making the face hidden beneath it seem unfathomable.

After much thought, I still couldn't figure out what connection he could possibly have with such a callow youth. Besides, there are plenty of people who hate him; he's probably... the posthumous child of some enemy.

Anyone who dares to come on stage but doesn't dare to reveal their identity is a coward.

"You little paupers dare to come up on stage?" Zhao Xiao crossed his arms, glanced at her from head to toe, and sneered, "Be careful you don't come here alive."

Of course, only the two of them could hear what followed.

Jiang Ling'er gritted her teeth, a vein suddenly bulging on her forehead: "..."

We absolutely cannot let Xiaozao marry this kind of person!!!

Zhao Xiao tapped his chin lightly at the row of various weapons behind him, then turned away, not wanting to say anything more to him.

"Let's choose a weapon."

Zhao Xiao calculated in his mind that at most ten moves, no, only half a move, why waste time on such a callow foreign boy...

"No need."

The young man paused, turned around, and asked, "What?"

That blood-stained rainy day, the endless mocking laughter, the humiliation pressing on her neck that almost crushed her, her crimson eyes reflected in the muddy puddles... everything was like a dream, as if it had just happened yesterday, yet as if it were a lifetime ago.

Jiang Ling'er closed her eyes briefly, and when she opened them again, the spiderweb-like blood vessels in her eyes gradually disappeared, the chaotic images in her mind faded, her eyes became clear, and she opened her arms in a gesture. Without any wind, the black veil fluttered on its own.

His sharp gaze pierced through the black veil beneath the hat, staring directly at Zhao Xiao:

"Let's get started."

For the first time, Zhao Xiao looked directly at the boy who was barely shoulder-length in front of him, and even smiled:

"You've got guts, as you wish."

The smile vanished in the next second, and with the speed of a gust of wind, a white eagle claw struck straight at the boy's slender neck!

This is a direct and deadly attack!

No matter how ruthless Zhao Xiao may have been in humiliating people before, matters in the arena should be resolved through combat, and there is no reason to directly kill someone!

Yuan Wenkang could no longer contain himself and slammed his fist on the table, shouting, "Nonsense!"

The incident happened suddenly. The newly appointed chief镖师 (chief镖师) of the "Number One Escort in the World" acted ruthlessly and decisively. In the blink of an eye, whether on or off the stage, anyone with some martial arts skills could see that the barbarian boy was likely in grave danger. Some couldn't bear to watch and turned their heads away.

Ji Yunshu, the young master of Sun and Moon Fortress, sipped his tea with one hand and rested the other on the armrest of his round wooden chair. Two fingers rubbed a small golden dart between them. His long eyelashes were lowered, and he seemed indifferent to the commotion from the crowd. His beautiful yet dark peach blossom eyes swept coldly over the impending tragic scene below, as if looking at a dead object, his face expressionless.

Pei Xuan remained quietly observing the events unfolding on the field, his expression unwavering, even as Zhao Xiao's eagle claw gripped Jiang Ling'er's throat—

His deep phoenix eyes narrowed slightly, then his eyebrows twitched, and a very slight smile appeared at the corner of his mouth.

But Zhao Xiao's white eagle claws had already reached for the boy's neck, yet he withdrew his hand as if pricked by a needle! He staggered back several steps!

He stared at his trembling right hand, his face ashen. He slowly tightened his grip, raised his eyes to stare at the boy, looking at him with genuine concern for the first time. A cold smile crept across his lips.

I underestimated you.

The young man was Jiang Ling'er. She rubbed her wrist and said, "I..." She only managed to utter one word before she suddenly paused, coughed twice with her hand to her lips, and said briefly, "I advise the chief镖头 (chief镖头 is a person who is very skilled in martial arts) not to underestimate the enemy."

Nearly half of the people present were baffled, not understanding why this young chief镖头 (chief镖师) had always been decisive and ruthless in his actions, yet this time he had made a mistake. They even thought he was unusually soft-hearted and had let this young man off the hook because he was still young.

Only a few highly skilled individuals could discern the secrets.

"This young man looks reckless and thin, but he is not afraid of Zhao Xiao's offensive at all. He is calm in the face of danger and can even assess the situation and use Zhao Xiao's strength against him in such a short time..." Gao Yang stroked his beard and commented, "Interesting."

Sitting beside Gao Yang, Ji Yunshu toyed with a golden dart in her fingertips without saying a word. Her dark peach blossom eyes swept over the boy's slender and tall figure, which was more slender than that of ordinary men. Her long, mountain-like eyebrows furrowed almost imperceptibly, and her eyes, hidden under her thick eyelashes, appeared even more gloomy and dark.

"This barbarian kid's move..." In the throng of people below the martial arts hall, Master Ma raised his elbow and nudged Master Lu's arm beside him, "Doesn't it remind you of your 'Thousand Buddha Acupuncture Technique'?"

"Yes." Master Lu was completely baffled, his brows furrowing like a mountain. "When the White Eagle Claw attacked, he not only didn't dodge, but even left his vital points exposed to the opponent. With his other hand, he used the momentum to strike the opponent's pressure points, not only relieving himself of his predicament but also causing trouble for Zhao Xiao. Killing two birds with one stone, what a clever kid!"

Master Lu Qingyuan narrowed his eyes and continued, "This technique does indeed have some resemblance to my Thousand Buddha Hands... Not to mention this technique, why does this figure look somewhat familiar to me?"

"Oh dear!" Old Master Ma slapped his forehead hard. "If you hadn't said it, I wouldn't have realized it. Now that you mention it... now that you mention it..."

Master Ma smacked Master Lu hard with his elbow: "I also feel like he looks familiar!"

"Hey, you big brute, go easy on me!"

--

Seeing that nothing of the sort had happened, Yuan Wenkang slowly sat back down.

"Little algae, don't be afraid."

He patted his daughter's hand beside him, but then noticed that Yuan Zao's gaze was fixed on the foreign youth in the arena, and he smiled:

"What, you've taken a fancy to that young man?" Yuan Wenkang paused, then said in a low voice, "Father won't force you to do anything. If you don't want to marry..."

"Father, I'm willing."

Yuan Zao interrupted Yuan Wenkang calmly, looked away, and stared down at the corner of her clothes that she was twisting with her hands, then said nothing more.

Seeing this, Yuan Wenkang sighed and said nothing more.

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On the martial arts arena.

Hearing the murmurs from the audience, Zhao Xiao's handsome face remained smiling, but his eyes were chillingly cold.

"I will no longer show mercy."

Jiang Ling'er scoffed coldly:

"That suits me perfectly."

As soon as they finished speaking, the two attacked each other at the same time. Within half an incense stick's time, they had exchanged a hundred or so moves and were evenly matched.

Cheers erupted from the audience, and many people began to cheer for the young man from Hu (a non-Han ethnic group).

After all, they were young at heart, and among them, the voices of the Seven Little Lingxiao were the most outstanding.

Gan Zishi shouted at the top of his lungs, practically wanting to jump on stage and cheer: "Good! Well done! Watch out for the left flank! Well done!!!"

Even the most composed of Lingxiao's eldest disciple, Wen Cheng'an, couldn't help but secretly cheer for the young Hu man.

--

Half an hour later, the young Hu man, despite Zhao Xiao's powerful attacks, not only did not suffer defeat or show any signs of weakness, but instead became more courageous with each setback.

This seemingly frail foreign boy was far more troublesome than expected.

Many people were already whispering among themselves about who this young foreigner was. Although he was dressed in foreign clothing, his every move was derived from the martial arts style of the Central Plains. Who was his master? Why had they never heard of him before?

Seeing that he couldn't break through after a long siege, Zhao Xiao gradually became impatient and resorted to more insidious and ruthless tactics.

"Young man, since you have the courage to come up on stage, why don't you dare to show your true face?"

Jiang Ling'er repelled Zhao Xiao's close-range attack with a single punch:

"It's none of your business."

A sudden gust of wind arose, lifting and lowering the black veil, revealing a delicate, fair profile that flashed by before disappearing back beneath it.

After a slight pause, Zhao Xiao's attack became even more swift! He initially aimed for the right side, but Jiang Ling'er turned her head to dodge. Unexpectedly, Zhao Xiao reversed his momentum and grabbed her veil, intending to lift it!

Jiang Ling'er was startled. She gritted her teeth, channeled all her inner strength into her palm, and the small veiled hat shattered into pieces in the hands of the two!

The entire audience erupted in uproar!

Pei Xuan watched intently from the sidelines, and upon seeing this move, he suddenly smiled.

The two engaged in a battle-like contest until dawn broke and the branch in his hand snapped.

Pei Xuan was somewhat surprised. He hadn't expected Jiang Ling'er to copy his moves from last night so perfectly after only seeing them once... It seems she's not completely hopeless after all.

The young Taoist priest's previously tense shoulders finally relaxed a bit, and he lazily resumed his unsteady stance, arms crossed, leisurely watching the competition unfold.

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On the martial arts arena.

The force of the sudden rupture of the veil forced Jiang Ling'er and Zhao Xiao apart, and the two almost fell off the martial arts arena!

This move is no small matter.

Even Yuan Wenkang, the head of Xuanwu Hall, clapped and cheered from the high platform!

Dust rose and fell, and after a gasp from the crowd, Zhao Xiao immediately looked up in the direction of the foreign youth. He saw that although the youth had lost his veil, a thick cloth was still wrapped around his face, obscuring half of it. Disappointed, Zhao Xiao sneered:

"They're covered up quite well."

However, this action only proves that this person has something to hide.

Although it was a draw, to fight to a draw with such an unknown foreign boy, and almost fall off the martial arts arena, was tantamount to losing face in front of the whole world.

Could the head of the world's number one镖师 (bodyguard/escort) be no match for a mere foreign boy?

...No, he might not even be a kid yet.

A shadow of malice flashed across Zhao Xiao's dark eyes; he was determined to tear off this person's mask!

Zhao Xiao narrowed his eyes, wiped his face roughly, and stood up. A murderous aura seemed to tangibly leap from his handsome face. He strode towards the foreign youth against the light, casually drawing a longsword from the weapon rack beside him.

With a clang, the scabbard fell, the cold glint of the blade flashing across his sinister and twisted handsome face. The sword tip hovered above the gravel in the martial arts arena, each step carrying a palpable killing intent, as if a demon had descended to earth.

A disciple from the White Tiger Hall exclaimed in surprise:

"Master... Bah! The Chief Escort has drawn his sword, and he's serious!"

Zhao Xiao drew his sword, executing a beautiful sword flourish with one hand. His eyes sharpened, and just as he was about to leap and stab the boy, the foreign youth suddenly raised one hand:

"Wait."

Zhao Xiao: "..."

With so many eyes watching, Zhao Xiao had no choice but to stop. His sword-wielding steps froze, his momentum halted, and he staggered two steps, almost falling over.

Still somewhat embarrassed, Zhao Xiao could only almost roar:

"What are you doing halfway through?!"

Everyone was puzzled. The boy coughed twice, as if he had been choked by the sand.

Then I brushed the sand off my clothes; they were borrowed, and I would have to pay for them if they got dirty.

Then she carefully tied the cloth behind her neck in a knot...

Zhao Xiao was already impatient; a vein bulged on his forehead.

"When are you finally going to finish?"

"Right away, right away."

After tidying himself up, the boy suddenly bent down and untied the cloth strips and sandbags on his left and right ankles.

The sandbag landed and suddenly created a deep crater!

Zhao Xiao's brow twitched suddenly, startling everyone. For a moment, they were speechless, and the entire room was so quiet you could hear a pin drop.

Before it was over, countless eyes in the audience stared in disbelief as Jiang Ling'er removed the weights from her ankles, and then the weights from her wrists.

Strips of cloth hung down in circles, and whatever was inside the sandbag landed on the ground, raising dust and creating small craters of varying depths!

It was unexpected that the boy could be carrying such heavy sandbags on his hands and legs, yet still move so nimbly and agilely!

These sandbags were usually only removed before bedtime, and sometimes she would even wear them while sleeping. Now that her hands and legs were free, Jiang Ling'er moved her limbs, quickly raising her arms to a stance. Her almond-shaped eyes, no longer covered by the black veil, were clearly exposed, and deep within them seemed to burn two flames, staring directly at Zhao Xiao:

"Again."

Seeing the cloth strips and sandbags lying on the ground, and the boy's pair of cold almond-shaped eyes, Zhao Xiao realized something and his face turned pale in an instant, then twisted, and then his face became extremely ugly, faintly ashen.

Pei Xuan crossed his arms and smiled faintly, his phoenix eyes filled with a gentle smile.

On the high platform, a woman holding a guqin rested her chin on her hand, lost in thought:

"This is finally getting interesting."

At the same time, Ji Yunshu, the young master of Sun and Moon Fortress, trembled violently with his long eyelashes. A golden dart embedded itself in his palm, and the tea was spilled on the ground. Almost losing his composure, he suddenly stood up from his seat!

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Author's note: There's another 10,000 words to be updated today.