Chapter 368: Martial Arts Examination
Chapter 368: Martial Arts Competition
Rumble…
The "city wall" suddenly rose up on the river surface, and spurred down dense rain of arrows.
This spectacular sight immediately caused the exclamations to stop and turned 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 great 'King Zhao' of 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 grey eyes revealed a fierce look:
"Your official robes may scare others, but I don't care at all."
Zhao Duan finally looked at the short-statured senior brother Qingshan Duan Liushui, who had mastered martial arts, smiled slightly, and shook his head:
"I have always been a man who knows what is happening. Unfortunately, this time I am here on behalf of His Majesty. It's okay for you 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 take action yet, when will you wait?"
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 clay bowl that was pinched by his fingers broke into pieces. He suddenly stood up, and as 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 that the swordsman held across his knee was not long, it could even 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.
"Yes!"
Lang Shiba uttered a short word, bent his waist and knees, and the deck under his feet made a "creaking" scream as if it could not bear the weight.
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 silently.
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 submerged in 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 beside him 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 thoughts.
A lot of words can be said in a very short moment.
Eunuch Hai recalled:
"This Lang Eighteenth, as you guessed, once served in the army. He was already a good martial artist at that time. He was a lieutenant general in the Jubei City Army. He was particularly good at swordsmanship. He once learned from an old swordsman in the Western Regions and integrated his martial arts with those of the Central Plains to form his own school. He was once nicknamed 'Blood Sword 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 after getting drunk. After he sobered up, he was worried that the incident would be exposed, so he threw his wife into a well.
After he returned to Jubei City and learned the news, he was furious and broke into the camp, killing his comrades with his own hands, and slashed to death all the officers who tried to stop him, and also killed many people in the army who helped to conceal the matter..."
“After killing someone, he knew that 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 fell down, but was unexpectedly captured by the shadow guards at that time.
At that time, the prince had gradually taken over the Shadow Guard. After learning about this man's experience, he secretly rescued him.
Because he had killed so many people, it was impossible for him to reappear in his true identity, so he was kept secretly in Houhu Lake and became the prince's death warrior. He turned a disaster into a blessing, broke through the realm, and took a step forward to enter the world... After the prince died, 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 as well? It doesn't seem like she was there, I saw she was in shackles..."
Eunuch Hai said leisurely:
"This young lady was originally a traitor from a sect on the Thousand Islands of the East China Sea. Ha, when the late emperor was old, he sent people to search for natural treasures that could prolong his life. One fleet went to the East China Sea and ran into this lady. There was a fierce fight and some people from the imperial court died before they captured her alive.
I wanted to use her life as a bargaining chip to force the outsiders on the island to hand over the good stuff, but I didn't expect to face a fierce counterattack. I realized that this woman was a traitor...
Later, he was brought back to the capital to report to the emperor, and imprisoned in Houhu Lake. With nowhere else to go, he also served the court.
Is this true?
Zhao Duan muttered, it sounds like they all have stories.
……
"Northern Blood Blade? He's not dead?"
On the warship, the commander of the private army of the royal palace 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 led by Lang 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 that sounded like a lion.
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 chopped straight through the air with the scimitar in one hand.
Just a gentle 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 power, making it seem real and harder than weapons forged from fine steel.
The sword energy that was forged through countless battles in the cold winds of the north brought a bone-chilling chill as soon as it appeared in the world.
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 scattered.
This contemporary Qingshan disciple 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 light!
"What the hell is this Northern Blood Knife? It's just a name-seeking and grandstanding move."
Duan Shuiliu looked down from above, extremely indifferent.
With a slight twist of his wrist, the scarlet blade energy, which was like frozen flames, emitted a metallic wailing sound. The next moment, with several bangs, it was broken abruptly by him!
Duan Shuiliu did not stop, and after breaking off the tip of the blade, he clenched his fist with one hand, pulled his elbow back, and then blasted out. He actually smashed the three-meter-long blade with his fist.
"Bang bang bang bang..."
Duan Shuiliu threw a punch, destroying the sword energy piece by piece like a hot knife through butter. Lang Shiba's heart trembled, and his body actually went against inertia and used the force to retreat. After destroying one part, he would spit out a new one 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.
"It's now!"
Lang Shiba suddenly roared.
Below the two men, in the deep cold river water, Ji Yue, who was like a ball of blood, suddenly stretched his body like a mermaid and raised his bloodless face.
Behind her head, her long black hair floated like water plants. Under her light eyebrows, a pair of "white pupils" that were almost filled with 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" that was larger than the official ship.
The water snake was like a raging river and sea, and suddenly leaped up and crashed into the broken water flow in mid-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. He bombarded Lang Shiba with his fist without moving it, and raised his other free hand to make a palm knife shape.
He chopped at the huge water snake fiercely!
"Woo——"
There was a faint sound of weeping between heaven and earth, and a thin golden line appeared between the eyebrows of the giant water snake. Then, it seemed as if it was cut in half by a sharp knife, and it rushed into the river along the side of the broken water flow.
Ji Yue's hand gestures under water changed.
The cut water snake simply split into two, becoming two slightly smaller ones that circled around the two of them, occasionally alternating in 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 the broken water flow.
Duan Shuiliu faced two enemies alone, standing in the air and taking steps like a walking stake.
Every time he took a step, the river water under his feet would explode into a ball of water. He punched and palmed, using the palm knife and the scimitar to fight, and using boxing to attack Ji Yue.
It was clearly a pair of flesh palms, but when they collided with the scimitar, a metallic thundering 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 his fist would slam into the river water. Ji Yue, who was lurking under the water, would spit out blood like a goose hit by an arrow, and dive a few more inches deeper.
One against two, and still in an undisputed advantage.
Everyone could see that if this continued, it would only be a matter of time before the water broke through the encirclement of the two men and they boarded the official ship.
……
"Well, you are worthy of being Qingshan's disciple, the disciple of Grandmaster Wuxiankui." Xu Jinglong laughed.
On the second floor, although those men and women came from wealthy families, how could they have the chance to witness such a fighting scene?
Everyone's eyes widened.
The men's blood boiled, the women were dazzled, and some bit their lips in worry, whispering:
"Now that Mr. Zhao from the capital is in trouble. Is he really going to offer the precious armor?"
In their opinion, although Zhao Duan was very popular, it was already a very high standard for him to have these two powerful men in the world realm as his guard.
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 imperial court?
No one, including Xu Jinglong, knew how many experts were with Zhao Duan on this trip.
He 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 with a big laugh, and said:
"Zhao Duan, it looks like your guards won't be able to hold out for much longer. This prince advises you to hand over your armor immediately. This prince has some friendship with Senior Duan Shuiliu, so maybe he can say a few good words for you, so that you don't get hurt before you even get ashore, haha."
He felt refreshed, and felt happy to have let out the frustration he had just felt.
The private soldiers of Prince Jing's Mansion also let down their guard and watched the fight between the powerful men at their leisure.
When a master of cultivation 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 damaged, 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 I kill him? Xu Jinglong couldn't help but have this thought, but he put it off 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 grim 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 were mixed together, they were worried about accidental injuries.
Haitang looked at her great-grandfather beside her and said nothing.
Zhao Duan was amazed and whispered:
"This water flow is quite strong, can't you stop it?"
The old worshipper was not surprised at all, and said with a smile:
"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. How can you be so confident as to compare yourself with our royal family's 'Martial God' lineage?"
He sighed, "I've almost figured out this guy's strength, well, provided he doesn't hide it. Eunuch..."
The old worshipper smiled and said:
"It's time for me to stretch my muscles. How about I lend you the Frost Sword on 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 admiring and handed over the Frost Sword at his waist with both hands.
He was once famous in the martial arts world, but disappeared for a century. In the last century, he fought on behalf of the Dayu royal family and accepted the challenge to fight 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 drastically, as if it was the dead of winter!
Hai Chunlin held out a sword and smiled as he recited the name of his famous skill:
"A martial arts show with one cut."
(End of this chapter)