Chapter 75: This Damn Competitive Spirit [Seeking Monthly Tickets]
Gong Cheng covered his face in pain.
"What can I do now that I'm a useless person!"
Guan'er grabbed his shoulders, her expression serious: "If you yourself think you're a useless person, then you really are! Yun Chi, look at me—listen, there's still so much you can do, don't underestimate yourself!"
Guan'er forced Gong Cheng to look into his eyes.
The powerful voice seemed to have a seductive power, penetrating Gong Cheng's eardrums and imprinting itself into his mind until his emotions gradually stabilized.
Gong Cheng's hands, which were hanging on his knees, gradually clenched tightly. His knuckles turned blue and white, and made a slight "crackling" sound.
The servant said, "Why don't you help me?"
Gong Cheng seemed to have heard something terrifying. He suddenly looked up at the maid, and after a long while, he stammered, "Weng Zhi, you—"
Guan'er swept away her hesitation and said firmly, "Yes, that's exactly what I mean! Yun Chi, we've known each other for many years, you should know my awkward position. The struggle within the Northern Desert royal family is no less cruel than that of the Central Plains countries, and may even be more so."
Gong Cheng said awkwardly, "Of course I know..."
It was precisely because he knew this that he took such good care of Weng Zhi.
The official pressed his advantage: "Who knows the hardships I've endured being sent here as a hostage for so many years? If the Xin Kingdom still existed, I could continue being a hostage in peace, but now that the Geng Kingdom has won, I can't stay, and I can't return to the Northern Desert either..."
Gong Cheng: "Why can't you go back?"
Guan'er said, "Which of my brothers is a good guy? They're all bloodthirsty themselves. If I join them and they want to divide up their power and status, they'll probably be the first to wish me dead! So—Yun Chi, I really need your help right now."
Gong Cheng was shocked and hesitant: "But..."
“Yun Chi! We’ve known each other for so many years, you know my character and temperament best. If my brothers were to take over the Northern Desert, they would show no mercy to the neighboring countries and their people, burning, killing, and looting without exception. But I’m different!”
The last sentence struck a chord with Gong Cheng.
He pointed three fingers to the sky and swore a solemn oath, enunciating each word clearly: "If I break this oath, may I, Tudege, be punished by heaven and my bones be utterly destroyed!"
He spoke of his original name in the Northern Desert, "Tudege," rather than the name he adopted in the Central Plains, "Wuyuan, courtesy name Wengzhi," demonstrating the solemnity of his oath. Gong Cheng was also shocked by his resolute attitude, and after a long while, he slowly uttered, "Why do you have to make such a poisonous oath?"
Guan'er, also known as Wu Yuan, smiled bitterly: "As long as the oath remains unbroken, no matter how poisonous it is, I have a clear conscience, don't I?"
Gong Cheng closed his eyes, his temples twitching intermittently, revealing the inner struggle and pain he was experiencing.
He had no difficulty making friends with Wu Yuan.
However, assisting Wu Yuan in controlling the Northern Desert...
To put it simply, the Northern Desert and the Geng Kingdom are alike. The latter, under the leadership of Zheng Qiao, massacred, burned, killed, and looted the people of the Xin Kingdom. When the rice harvest season arrives, the Northern Desert gathers its troops to harass the borders of the small countries that border it, plundering food and women before fleeing.
There is not much difference in essence.
but--
If Weng were in power, things might be different.
Perhaps I can borrow troops to take revenge.
Seeing Gong Cheng's brows gradually relax as he made up his mind, Gu Chi knew his choice. He curled his lips into a smile from an angle where no one was watching—a solemn oath is something that those who believe in it will naturally believe, but for those who don't, it's nothing but a tasteless piece of nonsense.
Clang!
Zhai Le's wooden sword was knocked away by Shen Tang and firmly embedded in the wooden door, penetrating three inches deep. He cried out in pain, "That's enough, I won't spar with you anymore! I've never seen anyone like you."
He didn't even need to look at his wrist to know it was going to swell.
Shen Tang performed a beautiful sword flourish, holding the sword on his back.
She exclaimed, "What's wrong with me?"
Zhai Le: "You're so mischievous and cunning!"
Shen Tang: "..."
Zhai Le seemed to have caught something off guard: "Your swordsmanship was completely disorganized before, even worse than mine. You managed to go toe-to-toe with me in just a few rounds. Wasn't that intentional? You let me win a few rounds first, then suddenly increased your attack when I was complacent and relaxed..."
The more he talked, the more convinced he became that his guess was correct.
Although Zhai Le didn't use a sword often and always considered his swordsmanship to be mediocre, it all depended on who he was compared to. Compared to a master swordsman, he would definitely be utterly crushed, but compared to a novice, he would naturally dominate and rout them! Shen Tang was that novice.
Unlike his fierce swordsmanship when he was drunk that night, Shen's swordsmanship in his normal state was still immature, relying mainly on speed and his monstrous strength to bully the weak. However, Zhai Le himself was a seventh-rank official, so he didn't need to use his martial courage, and Shen Tang's speed and strength were not at any advantage.
When there are no advantages, the disadvantages are naturally more obvious.
result--
After several rounds, Brother Shen's swordsmanship improved by leaps and bounds.
To defeat him, perfectly replicate his swordsmanship.
Is this... this beaver?
This is completely unreasonable!
The only explanation is that Brother Shen was pretending to be weak while actually being strong.
As a result, Zhai Le felt increasingly aggrieved; he felt he had been tricked!
Seeing Zhai Le's accusing expression, Shen Tang laughed heartily and said narcissistically, "Why don't you believe that I'm a martial arts prodigy who gets stronger when facing stronger opponents, with extraordinary talent, excellent physique, and a once-in-a-century talent?"
Zhai Le scoffed, "With that talent, what's the point of condensing literary spirit?"
It is still the ninth-rank lower-level literary talent.
Judging from these conditions, pursuing martial arts clearly offers a better future.
Shen Tang: "..."
How did she know that?
Furthermore, a homebody will never sit if she can lie down, never stand if she can sit, never squat if she can stand, and never walk if she can squat. Her WeChat step count is consistently in the hundreds, rarely exceeding a thousand. Compared to martial arts, which requires arduous training to improve, literary talent is much easier to cultivate.
Yes, that must be the reason.
Shen Tang stubbornly insisted, "Naturally, it's because I like to use my weaknesses to provoke others' strengths; it just sounds satisfying."
Zhai Le, seemingly provoked to challenge his strengths: "..."
He almost exploded and jumped up on the spot.
He drew his long sword and pointed it at Shen Tang, his aura menacing.
"Again!"
Because Shen Tang was a scholar, Zhai Le never used his martial prowess, relying solely on his physical strength to fight him. Strangely, Shen Tang improved rapidly, eventually knocking his wooden sword away in just three moves, the blade resting against his neck. In a real fight, that would have been fatal.
"Are you coming or not?"
Zhai Le gritted his teeth: "Come on!"
The result was naturally pleasing to the eye.
Shen Tang's sword was more than five times faster than before. Even with Zhai Le's exceptional eyesight, he could only catch a glimpse of the sword's afterimage.
"Swordsmanship isn't my forte; let's compete in something else."
Shen Tang asked, "What are we competing in?"
Zhai Le: "Move the stones!"
Shen Tang's lips twitched; she was somewhat resistant to the suggestion.
"Moving stones?"
"This is how I train in my home martial arts training ground,"
Actually, lifting a large tripod would also work.
But where in a farmhouse would they find a cauldron to play with?
After Qi Shan and the other two came out of the house after chatting happily, they carried the stones from one end of the courtyard to the other, stacking them on top of each other. At first, they carried them standing up, but then they changed to carrying them upside down, using their legs to hold them. They not only competed in the weight and number of stones they carried, but also in the speed at which they could carry them while upside down.
Qi Shan: "..."
Chu Yao: "..."
Zhai Le's cousin, Zhai Huan: "..."
In that instant, the same thought arose in the minds of the three of them—
This is so stupid, it definitely isn't mine.
_(:з」∠)_ The "翠微" in the previous chapter actually means "green mountains".
Tang Mei isn't bad at naming things; she just has a different aesthetic sense than most people.
In the early stages, Tang Mei had no intention of vying for power. This was somewhat difficult for someone who considered herself a homebody artist, and she lacked the ambition. Her temperament was more moderate (somewhat pacifist). She was different from Peng Peng, who actively stirred up trouble from the beginning, being a seasoned veteran. Tang Mei, however, was passive in the early stages. She was a homebody who loved to draw, had never killed anyone, and loved peace (in her own opinion). Her biggest goal was simply to establish a small village, cultivate the land, and shelter as many people as possible—a village roughly the size of a bandit stronghold. However, Qi Shan and Chu Yao were staunch troublemakers, waiting for the right opportunity, at least until the Geng Kingdom was in complete chaos and the court led by Zheng Qiao was unable to control the situation.
It was only then that Tang Mei realized the change, shifting from passive to active (her drunken state was actually closer to her true personality, and it wasn't really a spoiler; her treasure was the Imperial Seal, and collecting the Imperial Seal would inevitably require conquering various countries).
This story features an upgrade system for both literary and martial arts (Tang Mei is an exception; she is a max-level character who has been banned).
The rank of literary talent is fixed, but it can be improved through wisdom and skillful application.
In terms of martial prowess, everyone starts as a low-ranking noble, but their talent, aptitude, and training determine the speed of their improvement.
P.S.: Thanks to the new adorable author, Baise Ghost (I feel like I'll never be able to add more chapters).
PPS: I got a new gradient manicure (manicure accessories are so expensive!), and I'm in a great mood. I was originally planning to update twice, but I think I'll update three times instead, and finish the last update for the cute and tall main character.
(End of this chapter)
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