After exchanging greetings, the two began their contest.
Yelü Nanxian's swordsmanship, like herself, was agile, flexible, and versatile. With her beautiful figure and striking appearance, even her swordplay sparring was a captivating spectacle, like a sword dance. In contrast, her volunteering husband was far less composed.
At first, the two fought back and forth for a few moves, but then Yelü Nanxian's speed increased and her angles became more and more tricky, and the young man began to have a hard time dealing with it. He couldn't even predict where Yelü Nanxian's next sword would come from, and could only be put into a passive defensive state.
After a quarter of an hour, the cheers and voices in the hall gradually disappeared. The young man, struggling to cope, finally realized that Yelü Nanxian was deliberately keeping him in suspense, waiting for him to admit defeat.
Defeated by a woman, especially a princess of the Northern Rong, the young man was naturally unwilling to accept it. However, he was already exhausted, while Yelü Nanxian seemed to be playing with ease. If the fight dragged on, he would only lose more miserably.
After a difficult decision, the young man suddenly stepped back, gritted his teeth, and made a gesture of admitting defeat: "Princess Yelü's swordsmanship is superb, I humbly admit defeat."
Seeing this, Yelü Nanxian didn't even look at him, but instead looked around at the others with her sword in hand: "Is there anyone else willing to let me witness the splendor of the Great Wei swordsmanship?"
She spoke politely, but her expression was disdainful.
The young men who had been eager to try were further aroused by her competitive spirit, and immediately more of them entered the game.
Just like before, he was quickly forced to admit defeat by Yelü Nanxian's unexpected and unpredictable swordsmanship.
After three men voluntarily conceded defeat, Emperor Cheng'an's face began to show signs of embarrassment. If the young master of Great Wei were to lose to a woman from the grasslands, what face would be left in the future?
Moreover, Yelü Nanxian was only in his early twenties, and those veterans couldn't participate yet. Even if they won, it would sound like bullying the younger ones, which wasn't a good look. Only if the young man won a game decisively could they save face.
Emperor Cheng'an's gaze swept over the young men in the room, and his voice was deep: "Is there anyone else willing to volunteer for battle, so that Princess Yelü can see the prowess of the men of my Great Wei?"
The young men who had been eager to try their luck all lowered their heads when his gaze swept over them.
Having witnessed the disastrous defeats of the previous three, everyone could see that this Princess Yelü possessed exceptional martial arts skills and was not a friendly visitor.
Emperor Cheng'an's gaze was fixed on the Crown Prince. Before he could speak, Princess Yelü pointed at the Prince of Qin and said, "This young man is quite pleasing to my eye. Would you be willing to come down and spar with me?"
Xue Shen, who was suddenly called upon, slowly raised his eyes to look at her and said, "I do not compete with women, for it would be unsportsmanlike to win against them."
He spoke lightly, but everyone assumed he was simply too afraid to fight. After all, no matter how outstanding the King of Qin's martial arts skills were in the past, that was all in the past. His leg had been crippled for so many years; even if it were healed, he would likely never be the same again.
If even the King of Qin loses, then this face will probably be lost forever.
One of the courtiers immediately said, "His Highness the Prince of Qin once suffered from a leg ailment and was unable to walk. He was only recently cured, so I'm afraid he will be unable to spar with the princess."
Yelü Nanxian looked surprised: "He is the Prince of Qin, the son of Emperor Taizong of the Great Wei? I have heard of Emperor Taizong of the Great Wei's reputation and admire him greatly. Now that you say so, I am even more eager to have a match with him."
She walked up to Xue Shen's seat and said, "If your legs are inconvenient, I can fight without moving my legs, using only my hands. How about that?"
Yelü Nanxian has already said so much; if the King of Qin does not respond, the situation will become very unpleasant.
Emperor Cheng'an's face was clouded with gloom. He slowly said, "Since Princess Yelü has so kindly invited me, Prince Qin shall have a match with her." After saying that, he turned to Yelü Nanxian with a magnanimous air and said, "However, Prince Qin's legs are afflicted. I hope the princess will show mercy."
With these words, even if they lost, it wouldn't be the Great Wei that would lose face. After all, the King of Qin had a leg ailment, so if anyone was to lose face, it would be the King of Qin himself.
Having finished their conversation, Xue Shen's moment had arrived. He calmly rose, casually drew a sword from a guard's waist, and walked into the arena, switching the sword to his left hand: "I have said before that I do not compete with women, for even if I win, it would be an unfair victory. However, since Princess Yelü insists on competing, I will only use my left hand to wield the sword, which will be fair."
After saying that, he indeed put his right hand behind his back and slowly nodded to Yelü Nanxian.
Compared to the previous people, his attitude was more relaxed and dismissive, showing no courtesy towards the foreign princess, and even displaying some arrogance.
Yelü Nanxian sized her up, quickly going through the rumors about him in her mind. Although she didn't know how skilled he was, she knew from his words that he was a smart man.
She has already won three games in a row. Even if the King of Qin wins one game, people will only say that the King of Qin is a man and that it is only right for him to win.
But now that he's made his intentions clear, he's only using his left hand to fight her. If he wins, it will be her who loses face, and it will be the entire Northern Rong that loses face.
Yelü Nanxian abandoned her playful attitude and suddenly drew her sword to attack him.
Xue Shen stood still, neither dodging nor avoiding. Everyone else who saw this gasped in shock and felt a pang of worry for the King of Qin.
Just as Yelü Nanxian's sword tip was about to pierce him, Xue Shen calmly and effortlessly parried her attack with his left hand. He gave Yelü Nanxian a cold smile, then easily deflected her sword with a backhand flick. Yelü Nanxian felt a sharp pain in her hand and had no choice but to retreat.
Her expression immediately became much more serious, and she said, "His Highness Prince Qin's moves don't seem like those of someone who has been ill for a long time."
Xue Shen did not answer, but only said, "One move."
Before Yelü Nanxian could understand his meaning, his sword was already upon her. She dodged to the side while simultaneously parrying with her own sword. The two swords clashed, producing a piercing screeching sound. Yelü Banxian was jolted back several steps by the immense force of his sword, nearly losing her footing.
Xue Shen deftly flicked his sleeve, the tip of his sword pointing to the ground, his tone remaining completely unchanged: "Two moves."
Yelü Nanxian realized she had underestimated her opponent, and a bad premonition had just formed in her heart when she saw Xue Shen's next attack arrive. Previously, she had been the one forcing her opponent to admit defeat with her swift and unpredictable attacks, but now she was the one being forced to retreat step by step.
But Yelü Nanxian was unwilling to admit defeat. She gritted her teeth and prepared to take the fierce attack head-on. However, Xue Shen only made a feint, turned around strangely, and suddenly changed his move, pressing the tip of his sword against her throat.
“Three moves,” he said calmly, looking at Yelü Nanxian.
Yelü Nanxian stared in disbelief at the blade at her throat, even feeling as if the sword would pierce her throat at any moment.
She sensed a strong killing intent emanating from Xue Shen—he was different from the other Wei people present; he genuinely wanted to kill her.
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