Chapter 368: Martial Arts Competition
Rumble...
The "city wall" on the river surface suddenly rose up, and a dense rain of arrows was shot down.
This spectacular sight immediately caused the exclamations to stop and turn into surprise and shock.
Zhao Duan stood on the deck, holding the railing, and watched the rolling wall of water. After three rounds of volleys, not a single arrow could break through the "shield" formed by the river water.
"What a 'King Zhao' of Hell in the capital, he is indeed just as the rumors say."
On the third floor of the warship, the middle-aged warrior standing beside Xu Jinglong with his hands behind his back spoke in a cold voice:
"I don't care who the armor belongs to. Since it's on you, I'll give it to you."
After a pause, his voice turned threatening, and his gray eyes revealed a fierce look:
"Your official robes may frighten others, but I don't care at all."
Zhao Duan finally looked at the short, martial arts-master Qingshan Senior Brother Duan Liushui, smiled slightly, and shook his head:
"I have always been very conscious of current events. Unfortunately, this time I am here on behalf of His Majesty. It's okay for you, a reckless man, to provoke me, but you shouldn't provoke the court."
After saying this, he waved his hand to stop the soldiers who were still about to draw their bows and arrows, glanced at the corner of the deck, and said:
"If you don't do it now, when will you do it?"
Along the way, he just took this opportunity to take a look at the quality of these two guards.
The moment he finished speaking, Lang Shiba, who was sitting cross-legged in a green shirt with black hair covering one eye, suddenly raised his head and poured a bowl of liquor known as "Shaodaozi" into his throat.
Then with a "pop" sound, the pottery bowl that he was holding with his fingers broke into pieces. He suddenly stood up, and when he took a step forward, he bumped into the huge green-skinned wine gourd beside him, causing it to shake like a tumbler.
Lang Shiba also quietly grasped the hilt of the knife with his right hand.
The sword across the swordsman's knees was not long, in fact, it could be said to be short.
Its shape is not the Central Plains style, but the "scimitar" style introduced from the Western Regions.
The scimitar was wrapped in a brown cowhide scabbard. Since leaving Beijing, Zhao Duan had never seen it drawn out.
"yes!"
Lang Shiba uttered a short word, bent his waist and knees, and the deck under his feet creaked as if it could not bear the heavy burden.
Then, the drunken swordsman flew towards the rumbling towering "city wall" on the river like a cannonball.
At the same time, the red-clothed female ghost Jiyue also walked out of the deck quietly.
When her legs fell, the red skirt was blown up by the wind, like a spreading red flower, revealing her pale and bloodless skin.
The river water below spread out into a whirlpool, and in the blink of an eye, she had dived into the river, with only a clump of seaweed-like black hair floating underwater.
"Boy, didn't you just ask about the origins of these two people?"
Eunuch Hai's voice suddenly came into Zhao Duan's mind.
He looked in surprise at the old priest who was not wearing a python robe. He had disappeared for so many years and his appearance was no longer known to the people in the martial arts world, so he was ignored by Duan Shuiliu.
I noticed that he was looking ahead with an expression of emotion, his lips not moving.
It turned out that he used the method of "transmitting sound into secret" to speak to him with the help of divine consciousness.
A lot of words can be said in a very short moment.
Eunuch Hai recalled:
"This Lang Shiba, as you guessed, once served in the army. He was already a good martial artist at that time. He served as a lieutenant general in the Jubeicheng Army. He was particularly skilled in swordsmanship. He once studied under an old swordsman from the Western Regions and integrated his martial arts with those of the Central Plains, forming his own school. He was once nicknamed 'Blood Knife of the North' and was considered a top figure in the army.
During one of his outings, another general among his comrades raped his wife while drunk. After he sobered up, he was worried that the incident would be exposed, so he threw his wife into a well.
After returning to Jubei City and hearing the news, this person was furious and broke into the camp, killing his fellow soldiers with his own hands, and slaughtering all the officers who tried to stop him, and also killed many of the soldiers who helped to conceal the matter..."
"After killing someone, he knew he had triggered military law and had no chance of survival, so he fled. Along the way, he killed several rounds of officers and soldiers who came to arrest him. In the end, he was seriously injured and collapsed, but was unexpectedly captured by the shadow guard at the time.
At that time, the prince had gradually taken over the shadow guard. After learning about this person's experience, he secretly rescued him.
Because he had killed so many people, it was impossible for him to reappear in his true form, so he was secretly kept in Houhu Lake and became the prince's death warrior. Even better, he turned a disaster into a blessing, breaking through the realm and stepping into the world... After the prince's death, he took the throne and pledged allegiance to His Majesty.
Zhao Duan was surprised. He didn't expect there was such a story. He asked curiously:
"What about Jiyue? Was she rescued too? It doesn't seem like it, I saw she was in shackles..."
Eunuch Hai said leisurely:
"This young woman was originally a traitor from a sect on the Thousand Islands of the East China Sea. Back then, when the late emperor was old, he sent people everywhere to search for treasures that could prolong his life. One of their fleets went to the East China Sea and encountered this woman. A fierce battle ensued, and several members of the imperial court died before they finally captured her alive.
I wanted to use her life as a bargaining chip to force the outsiders on the island to hand over valuables, but I didn't expect to be met with a fierce counterattack. I only then realized that this woman was a traitor...
Later, he was brought back to the capital to report and imprisoned in Houhu Lake. With nowhere else to go, he also served the court.
Is that so...?
Zhao Duan muttered, it seems like they all have stories to tell.
…
"Northern Blood Blade? He's not dead?"
On the warship, the commander of the royal private army behind Xu Jinglong was surprised and recognized the identity of the swordsman who was attacking against the trend.
Xu Jinglong didn't care about the bloody knife. He held the railing with both hands and stared at the battlefield.
Under the watchful eyes of the crowd, eighteen people flew out of the official ship, put their hands in front of them in mid-air, and suddenly drew their swords!
A stream of bright silver light like moonlight flowed out from the scabbard.
Lang Shiba held a sharp scimitar in his hand, his black hair dancing wildly in the wind. He let out a low roar, which sounded like a lion's roar.
A swipe of the sword!
"boom!!"
In an instant, the water wall that was dozens of feet high broke and collapsed under this knife, just like the withered yellow grass in the north in the dead of winter being cut off.
"Ah!" Amid the screams of men and women on the warship, Lang Shiba tore through the water wall with a single blow, and slashed straight through the air with the scimitar in one hand.
Just a light chop!
Suddenly, violent energy enveloped the scimitar, and extended out a three-foot scarlet blade energy!
A swordsman at the worldly level can perfectly control the sword energy and transform it into a strong force, making it seem as if it were real and harder than weapons forged from fine steel.
The sword energy that was forged through countless battles in the cold wind of the north brought a biting coldness as soon as it appeared.
Before the person arrived, the sword energy had already extended with great momentum, slashing towards Duan Shuiliu!
"Hmph." Duan Shuiliu showed disdain on his face, but he was still worried that the aftermath would hurt the prince behind him. He stepped forward with his short and sturdy body, blocking in front of Xu Jinglong, and his fluttering gray robe suddenly spread out.
This contemporary disciple of Qingshan has no weapons in his hands, his hands are his weapons.
Duan Shuiliu stretched out two fingers like lightning, and clamped the almost scarlet blood-red blade light with his two fingers as if it were a piece of cake!
"What's this Northern Blood Blade? It's just a name-seeking and grandstanding gimmick."
Duan Shuiliu looked down from a high position and was extremely indifferent.
With just a slight twist of his wrist, the scarlet blade energy, as red as frozen flames, emitted a metallic whining sound.
The next moment, with several bangs, it was broken!
Duan Shuiliu didn't stop. After breaking the tip of the blade, he clenched his fist, pulled his elbow back, and then blasted out. He actually smashed his fist into the three-meter-long blade.
"Bang bang bang bang..."
Duan Shuiliu threw a punch, destroying the sword energy section by section like a hot knife through butter. Lang Shiba's heart trembled, and his body actually retreated against inertia, using the force to destroy one section and then spitting out a new section to make up for it.
In the blink of an eye, Duan Shuiliu had left the warship and arrived above the wide river surface in the middle of the two ships.
“Now!”
Lang Shiba suddenly roared.
Below the two of them, in the depths of the icy river water, Ji Yue, who looked like a ball of blood, suddenly stretched her body like a mermaid and raised her bloodless face.
Behind her head, her long black hair floated like waterweed. Under her light eyebrows, a pair of "white pupils" that almost filled the whites of her eyes stared silently at the bright water surface above her head.
Ji Yue clasped his hands together, moved his lips, and chanted a spell in the water.
The river surface within a mile radius seemed to be boiling, and accompanied by the sobbing of a giant whale in the deep sea, the river surface exploded with waves.
The vast river water rose up and vaguely condensed into a "water snake" larger than the official ship.
The water snake was surging like a river and suddenly leaped up and crashed into the broken water flow in the air!
At this moment, Zhao Duan, standing on the deck, had the illusion that he was witnessing a giant whale leaping out of the water.
"Water sorcerer?" Duan Shuiliu, who had a square face, a big nose and gray eye sockets, raised his eyebrows slightly. His fist that was hitting Lang Shiba did not move, and his other free hand was raised up like a palm knife.
He slashed at the huge water snake fiercely!
“Woo—”
There was a faint sound of mournful weeping between heaven and earth, and a thin golden line appeared between the eyebrows of the giant water snake. Then, it was as if cut in half by a sharp knife, and crashed into the river along the side of the broken water flow.
Ji Yue's hand gestures under the water changed.
The cut water snake simply split into two, becoming two slightly smaller ones that circled around the two of them, occasionally spitting out violent water arrows.
Lang Shiba released his sword energy, and fell downwards, drunken but with a clear gaze. Suddenly, a water snake rose up from under his feet, lifted him up and turned him in the air.
The sharp scimitar suddenly became as violent as a storm and slashed towards Duan Shuiliu.
Duan Shuiliu faced two enemies alone, standing in the air and taking steps like a walking stick.
Every time he took a step, the river water under his feet would explode into a ball of water. He punched and slapped, using the palm knife and the scimitar to clash, and bombarded Ji Yue with boxing.
It was clearly a pair of flesh palms, but when they collided with the scimitar, a metallic thunder sound was emitted. The recoil force made Lang Shiba's palms numb, and cracks appeared on them.
Occasionally, he would suddenly punch downwards, and the force of the punch would slam into the river water. Ji Yue, who was lurking under the water, would spit out a mouthful of blood like a goose hit by an arrow, and dive a few more inches deeper.
One against two, he still had an undisputed advantage.
Everyone could see that if this continued, it would only be a matter of time before the broken water flow broke through the encirclement of the two men and they would step onto the official ship.
…
"Well, you are worthy of being the eldest disciple of Qingshan and the disciple of Grandmaster Wuxiankui." Xu Jinglong laughed.
On the second floor, although most of the men and women came from wealthy families, how could they have the opportunity to witness such a fighting scene?
Everyone stared with wide eyes.
The men's blood boiled, the women were dazzled, and some bit their lips worriedly and whispered:
"Now that Mr. Zhao from the capital is in trouble. Is he really going to offer that precious armor?"
In their opinion, although Zhao Duan was very popular, it was already a very high standard for him to be protected by these two powerful men in the world realm.
In the entire Great Yu Dynasty, how many masters of the world realm are there? They can be counted by name.
How many of them are willing to work for the court's lackeys?
No one, including Xu Jinglong, knew how many experts were with Zhao Duan on this trip.
She didn't even recognize that Hai Gongfeng, who had been hiding in the deep palace for so many years and whose true appearance was only seen by very few people, was standing next to Zhao Duan.
In other words, Xu Jinglong deliberately came to cause trouble today, and one of his unknown purposes was to find out Zhao Duan's background.
See how many experts he has around him and how many hidden cards he has.
"It seems that you are not as favored as I imagined."
Xu Jinglong said softly, then raised his voice, looked down and laughed, and said:
"Zhao Duan, it looks like your guards can't hold out for much longer. This prince advises you to hand over your armor immediately. I have some friendship with Senior Duan Shuiliu, so perhaps I can put in a few good words for you, so you don't get hurt before you even get ashore, haha."
He felt refreshed and had a good feeling of letting out the frustration he had just felt.
The private army of Prince Jing's Mansion also let down their guard and watched this battle between powerful men at their leisure.
When a master cultivator faces elite infantry, those below the Heavenly Man Realm can only defeat a hundred people, because the energy and magic power in the body will be exhausted. As long as they fight to the death, even thousands of troops can kill a god.
There are hundreds of elite soldiers beside Zhao Duan. By the time Duan Shuiliu defeats Lang Shiba and Ji Yue, his internal strength will be greatly depleted, and it will be quite difficult to kill Zhao Duan.
But if all the troops from Prince Jing's Mansion were to move out together, there would be a chance of killing him on the river.
Should he kill him? Xu Jinglong couldn't help but have this thought, but he suppressed it in an instant.
The time is not yet ripe, and such a major event is not something he can decide. Only Prince Jing can give the order.
"grown ups……"
On the official ship, hearing the laughter coming from the opposite side, Hou Renmeng and others looked ugly and were ready to take action, and they once again had the urge to draw their bows and shoot.
However, when Lang Shiba and Duan Shuiliu got mixed up, they were worried about any accidental injuries.
Haitang looked at her great-grandfather beside her without saying a word.
Zhao Duan was amazed and whispered:
"This water flow is quite strong. Can't you stop it?"
The old priest was not surprised at all, and said with a smile:
"Big Brother, who came down from Qingshan, if you can defeat him with just these two guards, then Wu Xiankui should just run into a wall and die. Where does he get the confidence to compare himself with our royal 'Martial God' lineage?"
He sighed, "I've almost figured out this guy's strength. Well, that's assuming he's not hiding it. Eunuch..."
The old worshipper smiled and said:
"It's time for me to stretch my muscles. How about borrowing the Frost Sword from your waist? Haha, I'm old now. If I were young, I wouldn't need a weapon to beat this Duan Shuiliu."
Zhao Duan looked at him with admiration and presented the Frost Sword at his waist with both hands.
He was once famous in the martial arts world, but disappeared for sixty years. In the last hundred years, he represented the royal family of Dayu to fight and accepted the challenge with Qingshan. At his peak, Hai Chunlin, who had entered the pseudo-celestial realm, drew his sword and flicked the blade with his fingers.
"Buzz!"
The sword rang, and the temperature between heaven and earth dropped sharply, as if it was the dead of winter!
Hai Chunlin thrust out his sword and, smiling, recited the name of his famous skill:
"A martial arts competition with one cut."
(End of this chapter)
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