All Heavens: From Joy of Life to The Great Feng Night Watchman

Page 126

At a critical juncture when the nation was about to be destroyed by barbarians, he used his personal bravery and fighting prowess to assassinate most of the members of the barbarian primitive council.

Some people with special talents may also demonstrate great gift in art or intellect.

For example, the Western monk Bohr, who died only three hundred years ago, and his wife, the playwright Bo.

Therefore, many people have secretly linked Li Chang'an's extraordinary artistic talent to the Celestial Vein.

The group settled down in the front hall of the Qing Temple, where eunuchs and palace maids served vegetarian wine and dishes, but Emperor Qing was nowhere to be seen.

Not long after, Eunuch Hou hurriedly delivered an imperial edict: "Upon hearing the news of the divine descent and the issuance of a divine decree, I will suspend court for three days and receive the decree on behalf of Daqing."

"I wish to thoroughly study the divine oracle. Today, I will hold a farewell ceremony for the delegations from both countries, presided over by the Crown Prince."

After Eunuch Hou left, the farewell banquet was held as scheduled, and the Crown Prince was relieved to hear the imperial edict.

The Northern Qi delegation ate the meal with great anxiety, each of them worried about how to explain things to the Empress Dowager and the Emperor upon their return.

As the banquet was nearing its end, a boy of about fifteen or sixteen years old suddenly stepped forward from the Northern Qi delegation.

The young man had a youthful face, held a long sword in his hand, and had a dignified arrogance between his brows. He was none other than Wang Xi, who was using the alias Tie Xiang.

He cupped his hands and addressed the Crown Prince, who was seated in the main seat, saying, "Your Highness, I am Tie Xiang, the close disciple of the Great General of Qi."

The people of Nanqing were somewhat puzzled by this suddenly appearing young man.

"Uesugi Tora's last disciple?"

"Uesugi Tora is a ninth-rank master!"

"So what if he's a ninth-rank master? He was still defeated by the Daqing Iron Army!"

The Crown Prince asked, "Prime Minister Tie, you have been accepted as a disciple by General Shangshan Hu, which makes you a young hero. Do you have anything to say?"

Tie Xiang replied, "I have been learning from my master for six years, and I am virtually unmatched among the young men of the Great Qi."

"I have long heard that the Qing Kingdom was founded on military strength, and in the early years there were even military discussions in the palace."

The streets were filled with people dueling, and the foreign officials greatly admired this martial spirit.

"I heard that your country held a youth martial arts competition this year, which produced a young martial arts champion. I wonder if that's true?"

Fan Xian was eating melon when he suddenly paused upon hearing this. This kid was coming for him.

In the past few months, under Wu Zhu's guidance, Fan Xian has successfully broken through to the eighth rank.

His domineering true energy is quite powerful; even if he unleashes his full power at the initial stage of the eighth rank, he might not necessarily lose to someone at the upper stage of the eighth rank.

In the original series, he had just broken through to the eighth rank when he defeated Cheng Jushu, who was at the peak of the eighth rank.

Although the domineering true energy has side effects, it is far from being ready to unleash its full potential.

Fan Xian is quite confident in dealing with his peers.

When the Crown Prince heard what the Prime Minister said, he roughly guessed the other party's intention.

"Prime Minister Tie, this matter is known throughout the entire Qing Kingdom. The young martial arts champion is none other than Fan Xielu."

As he spoke, he pointed to Fan Xian and Fan Xian waved back at Tie Xiang.

Tie Xiang continued, "I am also only sixteen years old."

"I'm just not convinced by Fan Xian's title of 'Young Martial Arts Champion'."

"Fan Xian is the best martial artist among the youths of Qing Kingdom, so why doesn't he dare to have a match with me?"

Could it be that they're afraid of tarnishing Qing Kingdom's reputation as a nation founded on military might if they lost?

Fan Xian sat calmly and replied lazily, "No, that's not it. I just don't want to bully children."

Provoked by Fan Xian's words, Tie Xiang said coldly, "Don't talk big. Just follow the rules of the martial arts meeting in front of your Southern Qing Palace!"

"Either you fight it out, or you admit defeat, kowtow, and admit your cowardice, thus shedding this arrogant title of young martial arts champion!"

Officials in the Northern Qi delegation also chimed in, "One is the number one young man in Qi, and the other is the young martial arts champion in Qing. Why don't they have a competition!"

"That's right. The Qing Kingdom has always valued martial arts. How come someone came to challenge them, but they didn't dare to step in?"

"What's there to be afraid of? Let's have a fight and see what happens. It'll also add some excitement to the banquet!"

Fan Xian was somewhat irritated; he had never liked being coerced by others.

However, he obtained his official position precisely because of his status as a young martial arts champion, representing the strongest among the youths of Nanqing.

Guo Baokun said solemnly, "Brother Fan, I have always had a good eye and I'm very good at judging people!"

"I think that guy named Tie Xiang is too weak and frail; he's no match for you!"

"Go and beat him up! Who told him to act so arrogantly in Daqing!"

Clearly, the officials of Nanqing all hoped that Fan Xian would take action, since Nanqing was known for its martial spirit.

The Crown Prince, with a serious expression, said in a low voice to Li Chang'an, "Uncle Yong, what do you think?"

Li Chang'an sat upright, "I will watch from here."

"Oh, sit and watch." The Crown Prince chuckled ingratiatingly, then asked Li Yunrui, "Aunt, what do you think?"

Li Yunrui said, "Northern Qi lost the war and now it's obvious they want to save face. Prime Minister Tie must have come prepared."

"Fan Xian is highly trusted by His Majesty, so we must be extremely careful and absolutely prevent anything from happening to him."

The Crown Prince was certainly aware of the stakes, but if the Southern Qing, a nation founded on military might, were to back down, he would likely be reprimanded and punished by Emperor Qing.

Li Yunrui dared to say that because he knew Fan Xian had no choice but to fight, and the Crown Prince dared not lose face for the country.

As expected, the ministers of the Qing Kingdom urged Fan Xian to go into battle.

"Fan Xilu, your true qi is domineering, and you've even recently advanced to the eighth rank! Beat him up!"

"Fan Xilu, before you broke through to the eighth rank, even Cheng Jushu, a peak eighth rank cultivator, couldn't kill you. What are you afraid of!"

"Fan Xielu, what weapon do you need? I'll lend it to you!"

Xin Qiwu clenched his fists, his eyes bloodshot. "Lord Fan, that brat must be taught a lesson!"

"Don't worry about fighting him, I'll cheer you on!"

Fan Xian sighed. Once you enter officialdom, you lose your freedom.

"Iron Minister, if you want war, then let's fight!"

Fan Xian stood up and stood opposite Tie Xiang, both of them exuding youthful arrogance.

The Crown Prince breathed a sigh of relief when he saw Fan Xian step forward. "Fan Xielu, you must uphold the prestige of our Great Qing Kingdom!"

The second prince called out, "Wait!"

"Iron Prime Minister uses a longsword, while Fan Xian is empty-handed. That's a bit unfair!"

"My personal armor is impervious to divine weapons; you may borrow it!"

As they were talking, the second prince was about to take off his clothes.

Fan Xian quickly turned around and waved his hand, "Thank you for your concern, Your Highness. I have a weapon!"

He did not want to get involved in the struggle for the throne and was confident in his own abilities.

So he stopped Li Chengze from taking off his clothes and then took a dagger out of his boot.

The shadowy figure, hiding in the shadows, was also watching the situation in the main hall. Knowing that there was a young master in the Northern Qi delegation, Chen Pingping asked the shadowy figure to come and check, just in case.

Tie Xiang said, "Swords have no eyes; we can't fight here. Let's go outside!"

After saying this, Fan Xian and Tie Xiang leaped out of the main hall and began fighting in the wide square.

Tie Xiang did not use the Four-Looking Sword Technique. Those who have mastered sword intent can long ago be free from being bound by a certain sword technique.

Li Chang'an's martial arts skills are now vastly different from before. After fighting with Wu Zhu, he has gained a deeper understanding of martial arts.

He discovered that Fan Xian's domineering true qi was indeed extraordinary; with his cultivation at the lower eighth rank, he was actually able to fight back and forth with Tie Xiang, who was at the peak of the eighth rank.

Moreover, he was skilled in assassination, and his movements were incredibly fast, often catching people off guard.

Ironclad's longsword couldn't gain the upper hand against Fan Xian's short blade for the time being.

His swordplay was so fluid and precise that the square was filled with countless sword shadows, yet Fan Xian always managed to parry them accurately.

"Clang! Clang! Clang!" In the blink of an eye, the two had exchanged dozens of blows!

Fan Xian seized the opportunity, using his short sword to deflect the long sword, and channeled his domineering true energy into his right fist, smashing it into Tie Xiang's chest.

Tie Xiang retreated continuously, and a faint wisp of smoke suddenly appeared between the two of them.

Amidst the toxic smoke, silver light glittered as several silver needles simultaneously shot towards Tie Xiang's chest.

"Tuk Tuk Tuk!"

The silver needle struck Tie Xiang in the chest but did not penetrate, indicating that he was wearing precious armor.

Meanwhile, Fan Xian noticed that Tie Xiang had his mouth and nose tightly closed, indicating that he was already on guard against the poisonous smoke.

Fan Xian had never used the method of using silver needles and poisonous smoke when he was a young martial artist.

But now it seems that his opponent was prepared for all of these trump cards.

Tie Lianxiang retreated several feet, emerging from the poisonous smoke. "No wonder he came from the Oversight Council; his methods are ruthless!"

Zhu Ge had already revealed Fei Jie's methods to Li Yunrui, who then passed them all on to Zhuang Mohan, so Tie Xiang was naturally prepared.