Qin Shi Ambitious

Page 213

Judging from its appearance, Wu Chen's sword was not an ordinary standard longsword. It might also belong to the category of famous swords, but its characteristics were not obvious. Lu Wei had several famous swords in his mind that might correspond to it.

However, that doesn't matter. Even the fifth-ranked sword in the sword manual, Gan Jiang and Mo Xie, cannot break Dian Qing's hard skill with just the sword itself.

For Dian Qing, Wu Chen's attack was so powerful that he didn't even need to make a symbolic attempt to block it. He simply charged forward, brandishing his two large swords with unstoppable force.

Wu Chen's swordsmanship was exquisite, dodging the opponent's attacks one after another. However, no matter whether his long sword pierced the opponent's arm, chest, or neck, it did not cause any harm to Dian Qing except for making his palm tremble due to the recoil.

As Dian Qing's attack speed increased, Wu Chen suddenly found himself in a precarious situation.

"What is the background of this general from Gonggong Hall?" Zhu Jia watched from the sidelines, dumbfounded. He knew Wu Chen's strength very well; his swordsmanship was sharp, and he killed people like flies. Yet now, he couldn't even cause any damage to the big guy from Gonggong Hall.

"It is Dian Qing, the former leader of the Armored Sect of Wei. I met him a few times in Daliang, but I did not expect him to be so powerful. He has even joined the Gonggong Hall. It is truly enviable."

Situ Wanli frowned and explained to his best friend Zhu Jia that he had never expected Dian Qing's armor-clad martial arts to be so strong, nor had he expected Dian Qing to join the Farmer's Clan.

If they had known this earlier, wouldn't Siyuetang have been able to recruit this talent before Gonggongtang?

“Dian Qing…” Tian Meng, who was standing to the side, remained silent upon hearing the introduction, while Tian Hu looked like he was gritting his teeth: although he could also defeat Wu Chen, he had always acknowledged the ferocity of Wu Chen’s swordsmanship.

Even Wu Chen, going all out, couldn't break through Dian Qing's skin. Although his Tiger Soul Sword Technique was more powerful, it was still difficult for him to achieve a better result than Wu Chen.

This shows that Dian Qing, the leader of Gonggong Hall, is of superior strength, even among the six hall masters of the Farmer's School!

"Gonggong Hall is truly full of talented people, while my Kuiwei Hall is pitifully lacking."

Tian Mi said in a sweet, coquettish voice, "This battle has undoubtedly further demonstrated the strength of the Gonggong Hall."

This has important guiding significance for the selection of Kuiweitang's team.

On the field, Wu Chen was in danger repeatedly. He had given his all, but he was still being chased and beaten by Dian Qing.

If it weren't for the bond between the six halls, the opponent would have deliberately slowed down their attack speed several times, and I might have been cut in half by that big sword several times.

Unwilling to give up, he gave the Bone Demon, who was watching him closely, a look while he was dodging. The Bone Demon immediately understood and kicked the Kuiwei Hall passerby who was fighting him out of the square, and then crawled to attack Dian Qing from behind.

The attack, swift and nimble as a snake, coiled around Dian Qing's back, while the bone demon's scythe mercilessly slashed towards Dian Qing's throat...

With a clang, it still didn't cut through...

Attacked from behind, Dian Qing roared and threw a large sword, smashing Wu Chen back. Then, he reached behind him with one hand. The Bone Demon, having failed to strike, crawled on Dian Qing's arm to dodge. He was of normal height, but compared to the burly Dian Qing, he was only about the length of the other's arm.

During the evasion, the bone demon slashed with its scythe several times, but only managed to produce a few sparks; Dian Qing remained unharmed.

This is the supreme hard skill of the Armored Sect, known for its "copper head and iron arms, unharmed in a hundred battles"!

Even if Lu Wei wielded the Devouring Sea Sword, it would be extremely difficult for him to injure Dian Qing. The strength of the others on the field was still far inferior...

Chapter 239 Fellow Disciples' Battle Ends with a Single Point

After dodging the attack, the Bone Demon retreated and positioned itself to the north and south with Wu Chen, using the Earthly Marsh Twenty-Four Formation to surround Dian Qing in the middle.

The softest bone technique and the hardest bone technique are two opposing extremes, but the Bone Demon's skill is far inferior to Dian Qing's, so he was severely hampered in the fight.

As a seasoned assassin who had roamed the martial world for many years, Wu Chen had encountered many targets who practiced hard skills before infiltrating the peasant family. However, those people's hard skills were far inferior to Dian Qing's.

Just now, under Dian Qing's pressure, Wu Chen only had time to defend himself. Now, with the help of the Bone Demon, he has calmed down and realized that he cannot break through Dian Qing's defense head-on. Naturally, he has the spare energy to start thinking about finding the opponent's weak point.

The weak point is the vulnerability of someone who practices external martial arts. Often, no matter how solid one's martial arts are, if the weak point is hit, ninety percent of one's power will be lost, or even all of one's martial arts skills will be rendered useless.

This duel was merely a friendly exchange among members of the Farmer's Sect. According to the rules of the martial arts world, if Wu Chen and Gu Yao could not break through the opponent's hard skills head-on and could not knock him off the dueling platform, they should have conceded defeat.

The practice of finding someone's weakness and crippling their martial arts is a method of revenge in the martial arts world, and should not appear in a farming family that values ​​"brotherhood".

Although Wu Chen was the head steward of Lieshan Hall, he never considered himself a disciple of the peasant school. He could simply say that his martial arts skills were ruined because he had no morals, and that others would always have morals.

Before going on stage, Bone Demon was instructed by Tian Hu to follow Wu Chen's orders, so he simply carried them out.

This former Taihang assassin was ugly and had an even worse reputation, but there was one thing that made Bone Demon at least qualified as a subordinate: he was very loyal and obedient.

In this respect, the bone demon, who is ruthless in killing, also possesses a chivalrous spirit of keeping his word.

Wu Chen of Lieshan Hall and Gu Yao of Chiyou Hall joined forces to fight against Dian Qing of Gonggong Hall with the Twenty-Four Earthly Marsh. Everyone had expected this scene before the battle started. On the other side, Fan Kuai and Zhang Er were already friends.

Situ Wanli didn't pay much attention to Zhang Er's past relationship with Lord Xinling, but Liu Ji of Shennong Hall had always held Lord Xinling in high esteem and even addressed Zhang Er as his elder brother.

Fan Kuai was a strongman whom Liu Ji met while drinking outside Daze Mountain. It is normal that Fan Kuai and Zhang Er had met several times before today, through this medium and the relationship between Shennong Hall and Siyue Hall.

Before the brawl began, both men received instructions from their respective leaders to act according to the situation.

Zhang Er, of course, understood Situ Wanli's opportunistic intentions. As for Fan Kuai, although he wielded a greatsword and appeared to be a Tian Hu-like figure, he was actually quite bold and meticulous in his daily life. Anyone who easily formed a "brute" impression of Fan Kuai based on his appearance would suffer a great loss.

In this martial arts world, very few people who can achieve a high status and possess excellent martial arts skills are truly reckless.

The two worked in perfect unison, moving to the edge of the arena while fighting, leaving the center of the stage to the other three.

The passerby from Kuiwei Hall who was kicked out of the arena wanted to apologize to his hall master, but before he even got there, Tian Mi gestured for him to leave with an indifferent look from afar.

After driving away the embarrassing thing, Tian Mi turned her gaze away and continued to chat with the hall masters with a smile:

"I've heard that the Armored Sect's hard skills are driven by internal energy. Even if they can't find the weak point, if they can slowly exhaust the target's internal energy, this big guy Dian Qing will have to surrender. Is that true?"

“That’s certainly good, but if we do that, the competition will go on until tomorrow.” Lu Wei nodded loudly: “It’s just a small competition between farmers. The outcome isn’t important. I don’t think Dian Qing will let the fight last that long.”

"So, Hall Master Lu is very confident that Dian Qing can end the battle quickly?" Situ Wanli looked at Zhang Er and Fan Kuai's actions with satisfaction and smiled.

Before Lu Wei could reply, Zhu Jia subtly sized up his close friend and said meaningfully:

"Gonggong Hall's strength is unfathomable, while we're all a bunch of unchanging old fogies here with Brother Lu. If Dian Qing couldn't take on five people at once, Brother Lu wouldn't have brought him along."

"I wonder what Brother Lu thinks of what I said~" Zhu Jia's mask behind his back turned into a smile. It's really good at disguising one's emotions.

"Brother Zhu's judgment is indeed sharp; Dian Qing can indeed take on five opponents at once." Lu Wei looked at the two figures rolling around on the field, who couldn't be hurt even with the blessing of the Earthly Strike Twenty-Four, and praised Dian Qing's strength without any modesty.

Upon hearing this, Tian Hu's face darkened even more. Was this really only referring to Dian Qing...?

"Since Master Lu is so confident, why not let Fan Kuai and Zhang Er join in and give it a try?" Tian Meng said in a deep voice, while looking at Tian Mi. Tian Mi, who was being looked at, hurriedly waved her hand: "That idiot has already been sent away by me. Besides, if he goes up there, he will only hinder the actions of the experts. It's better not to get involved."

"What do you two think?" Master Lu asked, turning the question to the Zhu family and Situ Wanli.

“Four against one, that’s not a good idea.” Situ Wanli was clearly unwilling: he didn’t want to offend Lu Wei, and even if the four experts won, there was nothing to be proud of; if they lost, it would be even more shameful.

Today's events will surely spread throughout Daze Mountain. Siyue Hall has only recently suffered a setback, and if Kuiwei Hall doesn't get involved in this mess, Situ Wanli is even less willing to let his subordinates lose face again.

If the Four Mountains Hall and the Kuiwei Hall are at the bottom of the Six Halls, and the Four Mountains Hall ends up being less prestigious than the Kuiwei Hall because of this incident, it will cause problems when recruiting new disciples in the future.

"Master Lu means he's willing, so why is Brother Situ backing down?" Tian Meng reached out and patted Situ Wanli on the shoulder, about to say something, but was interrupted by the Zhu family's laughter:

"Brother Fan Kuai, Brother Zhang Er, Hall Master Lu said that his Hall Master Dianqing is strong enough to take on all four of you together. Do you two want to verify this?"

Zhu Jia then turned the question back to the people on the field, his words quite provocative.

If Lu Wei's preparations today are inadequate, he will suffer for his arrogance. And if Dian Qing is truly that strong, the Four Halls will become stepping stones for the Gonggong Hall today.

Whether the Zhu family's actions were part of a power struggle or an attempt to help Lu, it's impossible to tell from their masked face.

With a clang, Zhang Er and Fan Kuai stopped after their swords clashed.

They heard what the Zhu family said, exchanged a glance, and hesitated. But before they could speak, Dian Qing, who had also heard the commotion, used his strength to break through the two-man Di Ze Twenty-Four, planted his two swords in the ground, and roared, "You, come at me all at once!"

Having been chosen by their opponent, Zhang Er and Fan Kuai's potential thoughts of retreat vanished. After nodding to each other, they drew their swords and, together with Wu Chen and Gu Yao, surrounded Dian Qing from all sides.

'The leader of the Armored Sect doesn't seem to have this kind of reckless personality.' Situ Wanli frowned, subconsciously glancing at the composed Lu Wei. If he were to call Zhang Er now, it would be a blatant disrespect to the Zhu family, which wouldn't do.

It seems we can only pray they win.

The situation on the field, with four sides surrounding one, is poised to unfold, but because two new players have been added, the twenty-four-point strategy can no longer be used.

Fan Kuai had only recently joined the Farmer's School and had not yet learned this formation. If the other three were to set up the formation, they would clash with Fan Kuai before even attacking Dian Qing, making it better not to use it at all.

None of the four were particularly strong; each of them was at most on par with Tian Hu. Such pressure was barely enough for Dian Qing to handle.

He wasn't worried about the four's attack, including Fan Kuai's giant sword. The problem was that Dian Qing himself was too big and not very agile, so defeating the four would be quite difficult.

The four players on the field exchanged glances and quickly formulated a simple strategy: Fan Kuai would use his greatsword to clash head-on with Dian Qing, the Bone Demon would use his ultimate softness to interfere with him, and Wu Chen and Zhang Er would look for each other's weaknesses.

Don't worry about anything else, you don't even need to exploit their weaknesses. Just find an opportunity to make Dian Qing lose his balance, then finish him off with a blow. After that, regardless of whether any actual damage was done, immediately put away your weapons to show that you 'concede'. That will count as a win for them.

The fewer rounds this process takes, the more likely you are to give the title of clown to the arrogant Gonggongtang!

Dian Qing was much older than his four opponents, and his gray hair was a testament to the passage of time. In terms of combat experience, this armored leader of the Wei Wu Zu was no less experienced than any of them who had been in the martial arts world.

He understood the cooperation strategy his opponents would choose. In today's battle, Hall Master Lu had specifically instructed him to use victory to establish the prestige of Gonggong Hall. Therefore, although Dian Qing had held back when fighting Wu Chen, he was now going all out to defeat one of them as soon as possible!

Fan Kuai's giant sword posed the greatest threat, followed by Zhang Er and Wu Chen's opportunistic attacks, and the bone demon's harassment was, if I had to describe it, the most disgusting...

With a goal in mind, Dian Qing drew two bronze swords and pretended to sidestep, using the Iron Mountain Leaning technique to deliberately bump into Fan Kuai.

Fan Kuai's height, calculated by later standards, exceeded 1.9 meters, but he still looked like a child next to Dian Qing, who was over 2.5 meters tall and incredibly burly. If this collision had occurred, the consequences would have been unimaginable.

Concentrating intently, Fan Kuai gripped his sword with both hands, ready to meet his opponent's attack.

On the other side, the Bone Demon pushed off with its hind legs, quickly closing in to climb onto Dian Qing and restrict his movements. Wu Chen and Zhang Er also moved at the same time, raising their swords and aiming directly at Dian Qing's legs.

However, to everyone's surprise, Dian Qing, who was blindfolded, seemed to have foreseen the future. His powerful charge, using the momentum of his sheathed greatsword, allowed him to change direction and collide head-on with the charging bone demon...

Even though Wu Chen and Zhang Er's swords struck him first, they neither caused any wounds nor changed the direction of Dian Qing's attack...

------

"Remember, first spread the rumor that Senior Dianqing of Gonggong Hall defeated the combined forces of the other five halls single-handedly in just a few moves. Once everyone knows about it, then we will refute the rumor."

In the Gonggong Hall, Ji Yan, with a stern face, patiently instructed his disciples: "The clarification is: Senior Dian Qing did not defeat the combined forces of the five halls; he only defeated the four halls excluding the Kuiwei Hall."

"Yes, I understand." The disciple withdrew knowingly.

The next day had passed, and the meeting in Xiazhi Village was still not over. But after Dian Qing knocked the Bone Demon away in the martial arts arena and withstood Fan Kuai's thunderous sword strike when he had recovered, nothing else mattered.

In martial arts competitions among fellow disciples, the principle is to stop when the point is reached. The outcome can usually be determined by some reason, unless it is truly a matter of life and death.

The individual strength of Dian Qing and Lu Wei means that, in the eyes of those still vying for the title of Heroic Leader, the competition cannot be decided by force. Even if the Five Halls were to unite, they would have to find other ways to squeeze Gonggong Hall out... perhaps... a vote in the Yan Emperor's Decree?

Voting is easy; just have a few hall masters stand together.

The challenge lies in getting the increasingly powerful Gonggong Hall and its own disciples to accept the voting results.

This is something Zhou Wen needs to worry about; the Luo Wang organization needs him to produce results as soon as possible.

If Zhou Wen wants to climb higher in the Luo Wang organization, he needs to achieve more merits. He needs a reason to incite the various halls to oppose the Gonggong Hall under his 'incitement'. At the very least, he needs to be seen as a true traitor to the peasantry in the eyes of the Luo Wang organization.

There are Luo Wang disciples in Daze Mountain who are specifically responsible for monitoring his actions as a fake Tian Meng. There is no opportunity and no risk of being exposed to discuss anything with Lu Wei again, including the matter of Xia Kui. Zhou Wen believes that the two of them must know some special secrets that they can talk about.

Aside from Lieshan and Gonggong, among the other four halls, Tian Hu is very obedient. Tian Mi can command him with her net, so he's not afraid of her causing any trouble. The Four Mountains Hall is full of opportunists, and the problem lies with the Zhu family.

However, Zhu Jia also has his own secrets, and his attitude towards Tian Meng's plan is ambiguous, appearing and disappearing.

The good news is that no contact has been found between the Zhu family and Lu Wei so far, and Lu Wei certainly won't make any private contact with the Zhu family to affect the plan. To get the Zhu family to stand on his side, the Zhu family probably needs to "consciously" realize something.