Chapter 369: Shooting Down the Python Dragon Flag with One Arrow
Those who pass the liberal arts exam are called civil examinees, and those who pass the military exam are called military examinees.
Zhao Duan didn't know the origin of the name "Wu Ju Yi Zhan", but it didn't stop him from witnessing with his own eyes the sword with a murderous aura covering the surface of the river.
When Eunuch Hai drew out the Frost Sword, a thin layer of frost was already covering the blade.
When he flicked the sword with his fingers, the cold air that came out from the sword tip was three feet long.
The temperature on the river surface dropped suddenly, and the water droplets floating in the sky due to the swirling water snakes crystallized and shattered, turning into grains of snow.
The fight was in full swing, and Lang Shiba, who was gradually running out of energy, heard the name of a move being called out intentionally from behind, and suddenly drew up a breath of rich energy in his dantian.
With a loud roar, he used his broken tiger's mouth to tear the scimitar into a crescent-shaped brilliant blade!
This sudden and unleashed blow without any reservation tore Duan Shuiliu's sleeves into shreds, and also forced the rhythm of the attack of Senior Brother Qingshan to be interrupted.
Lang Shiba took the opportunity to tiptoe and retreated in the air, moving to one side. He landed on the water and stepped on the water with his feet, drawing a straight, thin line.
Take the opportunity to leave the battlefield.
Ji Yue under the water also felt the towering sword energy and the bone-chilling coldness on the thick river surface. He pulled hard with both hands, and the water snakes on the river surface collapsed and scattered.
Duan Shuiliu's pupils suddenly narrowed, and he felt threatened in an instant.
He stepped into the air, his grey robe lifted up behind him, revealing a body as solid as a rock. On his square face, his grey pupils reflected the cold air that spewed out from the tip of the sword on the official ship.
The sword energy was very thin, but once it was released, it attracted the water droplets in the sky to condense.
With the sound of "crackling", it froze into an ice bridge.
One end was stuck on the deck of the official ship, with the sword in Eunuch Hai's hand raised towards the sky, and the other end faintly condensed into an illusory dragon head, stabbing straight towards Duan Shuiliu.
Duan Shuiliu was suspended in the air, his feet still in the posture of walking on stakes, but he did not dare to be arrogant at all.
At this moment, he had no time to think, as his tempered body had already reacted a step ahead of time.
He put the five fingers of his right hand together to form a palm blade. Wisps of illusory "qi" that were almost like fireworks burned on the outside of the palm blade, causing the air around his palm to distort.
Duan Shuiliu slowly raised his knife. His movements were slow and clear. People on the two large ships and even the King of Huai'an who was watching the battle farther away could clearly see his movements.
But despite its slow speed, it strangely kept up with the rhythm of the sword energy.
Duan Shuiliu formed his right hand into a knife and chopped down solemnly.
"bite!"
Under the watchful eyes of the crowd, the palm blade and the thin line of sword energy collided with each other, making a crisp and pleasant sound.
Silently, the space became quiet.
Then, Zhao Duan and Xu Jinglong saw at the same time that, with the point where the two men had fought and collided as the center, the rolling river surface below had been covered with a thin layer of ice at some point.
At this moment, there was a "bang" sound on the thin ice, and cracks appeared, spreading wildly to both sides.
In the blink of an eye, the thin ice layer was cut in half, and it was not over yet. Then the unfrozen river water was also cut open.
Lang Shiba retreated in horror, unwilling to get closer to the cracks under his feet.
From the perspective of the sorceress with white eyes and red clothes who looked up from under the water, the river water sprinkled with skylight was separated by an invisible force.
“BOOM BOOM BOOM!!!”
The next moment, the separated river water healed again, colliding with a series of loud noises, and exploding into fountain-like waves in front of everyone's eyes.
Duan Shuiliu's palm was covered with frost, his face suddenly changed and his body shook, shattering the ice and he quickly retreated.
Eunuch Hai had no expression on his face and twisted his wrist lightly.
"Ping pong pong..."
The thin line of sword energy that connected the two sides like an ice bridge suddenly shattered into pieces.
Countless marrow-cleansing ice chips bombarded the iron-clad warship opposite like bullets.
A series of loud noises finally woke up the people who were stunned and speechless from watching the battle.
"ah--"
The exclamation broke the silence. The private soldiers of Prince Jing's Mansion raised their shields, and Xu Jinglong also retreated hastily to avoid the sword energy that was flying at him.
Duan Shuiliu retreated back to the deck, stepped back with his feet, took two steps back and suddenly lowered his waist, directing the tremendous force into the deck below.
The huge warship actually retreated several feet under the residual force of this sword.
Horrifying.
"The Imperial Palace Worshiper, Hai Chunlin!" Duan Shuiliu's gray eyes showed surprise, and he blurted out the name of the unprepossessing old man opposite him.
Sea offering?
How could Xu Jinglong not know about this eunuch who was hiding in the palace and had been in charge of the internal security during the previous emperor's time?
His cheeks twitched immediately. He didn't expect that when Zhao Duan went south this time, the empress would send such a legendary master to protect him.
Even though the current Eunuch Hai has long passed his prime and is no longer in his former glory, his solid foundation alone makes him incomparable to ordinary strong men in the world.
"Haha, you, the younger generation, actually recognize our family?" Eunuch Hai smiled.
Duan Shuiliu's expression was heavy, yet also mixed with a hint of excitement. He said in a cold voice:
"Although Hai Gongfeng has been in seclusion for sixty years, I wonder how many people still remember the story of how he left the palace to roam the world and venture into the mountains alone."
Eunuch Hai was quite pleased with being photographed, and said with a smile:
"How has Wu Xiankui been these years?"
Duan Shuiliu said lightly:
"If the worshiper wants to know, he can go to Qingshan and find out."
Eunuch Hai looked melancholy, and he tossed the sword in his hand with a dull look. It fell accurately back into the sheath, and he sighed:
"I'm old now, not what I used to be. I'm no longer a match for Wu Xiankui. But it's not difficult to teach his disciples a lesson."
Duan Shuiliu remained silent.
In the fight just now, although the two sides were far from fighting to the death, the strength of each other could be seen.
Duan Shuiliu thought to himself that if it was a one-on-one fight, with his current peak strength, he would not be afraid of the old priest who had already gone downhill.
But if we add Lang Shiba and Ji Yue who are watching closely from the side, we might really end up in disaster if we are not careful.
Naturally, the attempt to retrieve the armor was futile.
"Senior Duan..."
Xu Jinglong looked at him anxiously, his heart sinking slightly. Then he saw this martial arts expert who had a close relationship with his father shook his head, then clasped his hands together and said,
"I'll come back someday."
Then, this notorious ruthless man dropped his knees and fled away like a cannonball.
The man casually pulled out a wooden hairpin from his hair crown in mid-air and threw it into the water. He stepped on the wooden hairpin, which looked like a bamboo chopstick, with his cloth boots and used it as a boat to escape into the distance.
Ran away...
"Are all the masters of Donghai Qingshan so free from baggage?" Zhao Duan exclaimed in amazement.
Previously, there was Chai Keqiao who was captured for challenging the emperor and hid in the imperial prison to avoid the enemy and refused to leave.
Later, when he couldn't win, he turned around and ran away without any nonsense, cutting off the water flow.
"Aren't you afraid of being embarrassed if it gets out?" Zhao Duan wondered.
Eunuch Hai glanced at him and said indifferently:
"Otherwise, how do you think this man has the legend of being undefeated since he came down the mountain? Don't listen to the stories made up by teahouse storytellers. The real people in the martial arts world are very shrewd. After decades of hard work and cultivation, how could they be so foolish as to risk their lives for a few words of reputation?"
“…Alright.”
At this time, as the water flow receded, the heavy atmosphere of confrontation between the two sides began to ease.
Everyone understood that the fight was over.
"Your Highness..." The private army commander couldn't help but speak.
Xu Jinglong's face was grim, but the scene before him was not completely beyond his expectations. He said coldly:
"Give the order to sail back."
"yes!"
However, as the warship was about to leave, Zhao Duan's voice came over again, and he said with a smile:
"Your Highness is leaving now?"
The first sentence was still smiling, but the second sentence turned cold:
"Xu Jinglong, did I let you go?"
On the third floor of the warship, the prince, who was about to turn back to the cabin, froze and slowly turned around. A face on his fox fur-wrapped neck was slightly red, perhaps from anger or the cold wind.
"Zhao Duan! Don't push your luck!"
Zhao Duan said calmly:
"Xu Jinglong, I have no desire to engage in a verbal battle with you. You can blame Duan Shuiliu for today's incident, and I'm too lazy to argue. But you come and go as you please, which is disrespectful to His Majesty."
Xu Jinglong suppressed his anger and said sternly, "What do you want to do?"
"Don't do anything," Zhao Duan said quietly, "It's impolite not to reciprocate."
He suddenly opened his right hand and said, "Give me the bow."
Before everyone could react, the quick-witted Chen Juan had already stepped forward and presented the yellow pear wood bow in his hand.
This bow is not so good... Zhao Duan took it with some regret, bent the bow and put the arrow on it skillfully, raised it, and aimed at the third deck of the huge warship with an exclamation.
Then, without giving the other party time to react, the bowstring vibrated with a "whoosh" sound!
At the top of the warship, the yellow and black python dragon flag of Prince Jing's private army that was fluttering in the wind suddenly broke!
The flag fell and landed in the river in full view of everyone, creating a cluster of waves.
Zhao Duan dropped his wooden bow, laughed heartily, and looked very excited:
"Go away, go back and tell the prince I'll visit him in person later!"
Xu Jinglong's face looked extremely ugly, and all the private soldiers of Prince Jing's Mansion changed color!
The general was beheaded and the flag was broken. They lost all face in this show of force.
"Return!" Xu Jinglong bit out these two words from between his teeth and immediately walked back to the cabin.
Soon, the huge ironclad warship broke through the waves and sailed away. It was majestic and towering when it came, and fled in panic when it left.
…
…
The mountainside in the distance.
On that towering "observation deck".
The wealthy Prince of Huai'an, known as the "foodie prince," slowly took off the lens and exclaimed in amazement:
"This time, the lake pavilion is starting to get lively."
Xu Qian, who was also a "prince" but had a very different personality from Xu Zudi and Xu Jinglong, frowned and said:
"Is Zhao Duan really that arrogant? Shooting down the python dragon flag with one arrow is already an insult."
Xu Junling walked gracefully to his father and brother, feeling a little proud.
"I've already said that if Xu Jinglong insists on staging this, he will only bring humiliation upon himself."
"Not necessarily," Huai'an King Xu An rubbed his face, which was stiffened by the river wind, with a thoughtful look in his eyes.
"Let's go, we've finished watching the first half of the show, it's time to go back and rest and wait for the second half."
Xu Junling looked at his father and asked tentatively:
"You mean Prince Jing's reaction?
Xu Jinglong was defeated, but the matter was not over yet. Once Zhao Duan came ashore, he would inevitably have a confrontation with Prince Jing.
Well, the many guests invited on Xu Jinglong’s ship today are all children of local nobles who stand in opposition to Prince Jing’s Mansion, or in other words, stand in opposition to the imperial court.
He brought this boatload of people with him, not only to find an excuse for a chance encounter during an outing, but also to show it to Zhao Duan and to those forces in Huting City that hadn't yet expressed their stance and were hesitant...
Therefore, every move of Zhao Duan and Prince Jing will affect the success or failure of the court's opening of the market."
Xu Qian stared blankly at his sister who was talking freely, with a confused look on his face:
"Huh? Is it that complicated?"
Xu Junling was too lazy to pay attention to him. The elegant princess looked at her father quietly and said:
“How should we express our stance?”
The pot-bellied Prince of Huai'an put away his mirror tube. His small eyes on his slightly plump face were shrewd.
"If I don't do anything, people will say I'm a fence-sitter, that people like me are most likely to get into trouble, and that no matter which side wins, they'll have to settle accounts...
Haha, these people who only read words but refuse to use their brains to think about why, among the nine provinces and eighteen prefectures of Dayu, it is either the local royal palaces that suppress the aristocratic families, or vice versa...
Only in this place, the Huai River Road, can your father live in peace with the various noble families?"
Prince Huai'an said this without explaining. Instead, he turned around, put his hands behind his back, and walked down the stairs slowly.
"Let's go. Jun Ling, prepare some things and bring a small gift. I'll meet Zhao Duan privately later."
"Daughter understands." Xu Junling nodded slightly.
beside.
Xu Qian continued to be confused. He reached out and grabbed his sister's sleeve, hesitantly saying:
"What did you two just say? The wind was so strong that I couldn't hear clearly."
Hehe...Okay, the wind is too strong...
Xu Junling looked at his silly brother with a doting look:
"Go downstairs and talk slowly when you get home."
"profound."
…
…
On the official ship.
Zhao Duan watched the warship leave, waved his hand, and ordered the ship to continue moving forward.
He turned around and walked back to the cabin. The moment he entered the cabin, all the fake expressions on his face disappeared, and he looked at the old priest seriously:
"Father-in-law, I just noticed someone snooping."
Haitang looked surprised: "Really?"
She didn't sense it at all.
Eunuch Hai nodded and said, "On the shore, on the mountainside."
Zhao Duan asked, "Do you know who it is?"
Eunuch Hai glared at him angrily: "Do you think I'm a clairvoyant? Or a sorcerer proficient in exploration?"
I'm just asking... why are you so anxious... Zhao Duan complained in his heart and asked:
"What is the strength of Duan Shuiliu? Why didn't he stay just now, or why can't he stay?"
Eunuch Hai wanted to show off and say it was the former, but in the end he sighed:
"I'm old. Warriors are different from sorcerers. Sorcerers get stronger as they age, but warriors, after reaching their peak, are on a downward slope."
The tone was dull.
Haitang was not surprised. It was the natural law of nature that people would grow weaker as they grew older. Eunuch Hai had lived for over a hundred years and still had the strength to reach the Great Perfection of the World Realm. This was enough for him to be proud of.
She said seriously, "If you humiliate Xu Jinglong like this, I'm afraid Prince Jing won't let it go after you come ashore."
Zhao Duan just chuckled, revealing his sinister nature:
"Want to make a bet?"
"What's the bet?"
"I bet Prince Jing won't dare do anything, well, at least for the next few days. I can't guarantee anything more than that. I bet I'll wash his underwear for a month."
"Okay... wait,"
Haitang immediately realized something was wrong and said unhappily:
"Can't you be more serious? Aren't you afraid that this will reach His Majesty's ears?"
Zhao Duan laughed, glanced at the old priest who was pretending to be hard of hearing and was too lazy to pay attention to the younger generation's bickering, and said with a smile:
"Then it depends on whether the eunuch will tell on you. But considering how much the eunuch loves you, he certainly doesn't want you to be remembered by His Majesty for something like this, right?"
The old eunuch in a dragon robe sat in the cabin, looking at the busy Huting Wharf on the river outside, with a slight smile on his lips.
It’s great to be young.
——
Next chapter will be updated before midnight
Thanks to grapeforest for the 500-point reward
(End of this chapter)
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