Chapter 422 Do you know what I'm best at?
Shangguan Yi's voice wasn't loud, but the sarcasm in his words was quite obvious.
The officials of the Great Wei were immediately embarrassed.
It's incredibly painful to be looked down upon and ridiculed like that.
The Longqing Emperor, in particular, felt utterly humiliated, and his gaze toward the cabinet scholars was like that of a dagger.
"How did you choose the candidates? What about the backup candidates?"
The Grand Secretaries of the Cabinet all looked at Vice Minister Chen.
Chen Cifu forced a smile and whispered, "The candidate is the deputy commander of the Imperial Guard, he..."
Emperor Longqing looked at the pale-faced deputy commander of the Imperial Guard beside him, "Are you confident you can defeat him?"
The deputy commander of the Imperial Guard secretly groaned inwardly.
He was only a temporary replacement, and his martial arts skills were not even as good as those of Commander Gao Jie. How could he possibly defeat the number one expert in Southern Yue?
He knew the gravity of the situation and dared not boast, so he honestly shook his head.
Emperor Longqing's face immediately darkened.
Shangguan Yi stood on the dueling platform, impatiently tapping the ground with his long sword.
“Your Majesty the Emperor of Great Wei, if you do not have a suitable person to fight, it would be a matter of style to simply admit defeat.”
"Who says our Great Wei doesn't have suitable people to fight?"
A deep, cold voice sounded from behind.
Everyone turned to look, and saw Pei Yuan, dressed in black and holding a jade fan, striding towards them.
He walked quickly and steadily, yet he seemed like a beam of light, instantly catching everyone's attention.
As if they had suddenly found a pillar of support, everyone stood up.
"Prince Rui".
The Longqing Emperor frowned deeply. "Sixth Prince, you want to go on stage? Your injuries..."
Shangguan Yi chuckled and glanced sideways at Pei Yuan from head to toe.
"Your Highness, if you are injured, you should stay home and recover. I don't fight with injured people."
"To avoid others saying I won unfairly, or asking if my Great Wei couldn't find anyone else?"
Pei Yuan smiled faintly.
"Since your country attaches such importance to this competition and has dispatched your top expert, it would be disrespectful for our Great Wei to send just anyone to deal with you."
That's why I've decided to personally experience your superior skills. As for my injuries..."
He swiftly opened the jade-bone fan, slightly raised his chin, and spoke with an air of arrogance.
"When fighting you, I don't need to use my full strength; it doesn't matter if I get injured."
A collective gasp filled the air.
Shangguan Yi stroked his chin, and his longsword twirled in the air.
"Such arrogance! Then let me experience Your Highness's skills."
His movements were peculiar; in the blink of an eye, the longsword in his hand was aimed at Pei Yuan's eyes.
Pei Yuan calmly dodged to the side, the long sword gliding past his eyes before quickly spinning back and thrusting at him again.
The two sides went back and forth, and dozens of meetings passed in the blink of an eye.
Shangguan Yi's movements were agile and swift, each move ruthless, aimed directly at Pei Yuan's face.
Pei Yuan used his fan as a sword, becoming one with the fan, calmly and unhurriedly countering each move.
The onlookers watched the scene intently, each one holding their breath in suspense.
Li Chengxuan was half-lying on the seat, holding a soft pillow in his hand, his face full of tension.
He was flogged twenty times by the Longqing Emperor yesterday for trespassing into the imperial prison.
His buttocks were now a bloody mess, but he endured the pain and lay there watching the martial arts match.
He glared at Shangguan Yi with hatred.
"It's been almost half an hour already. Damn it, is Shangguan Yanyan made of iron? Doesn't he get tired?"
Ling Ce stared intently at Pei Yuan's figure.
“I don’t know if he’s made of iron, but I know His Highness is definitely not. His Highness’s movements are starting to slow down, and I’m worried he won’t be able to hold on for much longer.”
Li Chengxuan looked closely and indeed saw that Pei Yuan's footwork was not as agile as before.
He noticed with his sharp eyes that there were damp marks on Pei Yuan's back.
"Oh no, Your Highness's back wound has reopened."
As soon as he finished speaking, a ripping sound was heard.
The long sword in Shangguan Yi's hand slashed through Pei Yuan's left arm.
Pei Yuan stumbled and hurriedly dodged backward.
With his chest exposed, Shangguan Yi's spirits lifted, and he immediately withdrew his sword and thrust back.
The long sword pierced straight into Pei Yuan's chest.
Everyone's expression changed drastically, and they all stood up in shock.
Even the Longqing Emperor couldn't help but grab the armrests of the dragon throne with both hands, almost tearing the bright yellow soft cloth on it.
Pei Yuan smiled at Shangguan Yi and grabbed the exposed part of the sword with one hand.
Shangguan Yi's pupils contracted slightly, and he realized something was wrong. He wanted to retreat, but it was too late.
The sharp blade at the other end of Pei Yuanyu's bone fan plunged viciously into his abdomen.
Then he quickly exerted force with his feet, forcing him to retreat to the edge of the stage.
Pei Yuan kicked him in the chest.
Shangguan Yi was kicked off the stage in a disheveled state. He tried to jump up again, but the pain from his abdominal wound caused him to fall to the ground once more.
Pei Yuan stood on the platform, looking down at him with a mocking expression.
"I said it doesn't matter if I'm injured. The number one expert in Southern Vietnam? Tsk, nothing special."
So what!
These four words were like sharp swords, piercing his heart and striking his face.
This caused Shangguan Yi's face to instantly turn a deep liver color.
He was as embarrassed as he had been when he mocked the Great Wei.
But there's no limit to how awkward it can get.
Pei Yuan looked down at him. "Do you know what I'm best at?"
Shangguan Yi looked bewildered. "What?"
Pei Yuan smiled mysteriously and slowly uttered three words, "Cut potatoes."
Having said that, he drew Shangguan Yi's sword, ignoring the bleeding wound on his chest, and threw it down from the stage with lightning speed.
Shangguan Yi instinctively shrank back.
The longsword was stuck straight into the ground between his legs, the blade wobbled a few times, and just barely grazed his crotch.
Shangguan Yi's face turned pale with fright.
This potato is not that potato. So when he said he was cutting the potato, he meant cutting him?
Pei Yuan smiled faintly, "Don't be afraid. In our Great Wei, martial arts competitions are always just a matter of touching the target and will not cause any death."
The Great Wei is a land of etiquette, so it has this much manners. We will send the best imperial physicians from the Imperial Medical Academy later.
Not only can I treat your external injuries, but I will also brew some calming and nourishing medicinal soups for you to take.
Is this an insult implying that he was intimidated?
Shangguan Yi said with a dark face, "No need, we have doctors in our delegation."
He then turned to his servant and ordered, "What are you all standing there for? Help me back to the meeting hall."
The servants quickly came over and helped him down.
In today's competition, the Great Wei won two matches. The Southern Yue delegation felt humiliated and left in a sorry state after exchanging a few pleasantries.
As soon as the Nan Yue people left, the entire arena erupted in an uproar.
Li Chengxuan was the first to wave his arm and shout, "Your Highness Prince Rui has truly brought honor to the people of Wei!"
The ministers couldn't help but stand up and praise him.
"Your Highness Prince Rui is mighty!"
"That was so satisfying! Shangguan Yi was so arrogant, but he still got beaten to the ground by our Prince Rui."
"He was almost scared to death by His Highness Prince Rui's comment about cutting potatoes. He was afraid of getting cut up."
Emperor Longqing couldn't help but smile with satisfaction.
"Sixth Prince, you did well today. Go back and rest well. I will reward you."
Pei Yuan's face was a little pale, and his body swayed slightly.
Only he himself knew that if Han Feng hadn't used acupuncture to stimulate his inner potential during the battle with Shangguan Yi, he would not have been able to win at all, given his injuries.
Now that he's relaxed, he feels completely drained.
"Father."
He forced himself to kneel on the ground, "Your subject doesn't want any other rewards, I only wish for you..."
"Your Majesty, something terrible has happened!"
The eunuch panicked and scrambled in.
"The death row cell is on fire! It's huge, a really big fire! Lord Shen is still inside."
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