Qin Sirong looked coldly at Li Ling and questioned him again: "You say these two are spies, who can prove it?"
Li Ling declared firmly, "Let my century-old reputation as the proof be the fact that I, Yi Jifeng, dare to say this in front of all of you martial arts practitioners! My words are the evidence!"
Li Ling's words were powerful and resonant, and with the help of his strong internal energy, his voice echoed throughout the entire inn, making everyone present feel as if they were hearing it right next to their ears.
His powerful skills immediately made everyone's expressions solemn, and their eyes were filled with deep awe as they looked at Li Ling.
In this world, whoever is stronger has more say.
Qin Sirong, sitting opposite him, also sensed Li Ling's formidable skill, which far surpassed her own. Her heart sank, but she still refused to admit defeat: "Hmph, so you're saying that if your Famous Sword Manor's reputation is ruined, your words are worthless?"
Upon hearing these provocative words, the many martial arts practitioners around them couldn't help but jeer. They often traveled the martial world for a good show, and many of them were just looking for a spectacle.
As Li Ling glanced at the group, he snorted inwardly, looking down on this disorganized bunch. This group of guys was truly not presentable.
They were mostly useless and incompetent, the legendary "pig teammates." If it weren't for Yi Yun's instructions, he wouldn't have bothered attending this conference.
However, since he was already there, Li Ling had to maintain appearances. First, he needed to deal with Qin Sirong's troublemaking. He looked at her coldly and said, "It seems you've come here to cause trouble, young lady?"
Qin Sirong was stared at by Li Ling's cold gaze, and for a moment she felt an extremely powerful and icy sword intent envelop her, and she felt cold all over.
Under such immense pressure, she could no longer care about her initial plan. Taking a deep breath, she coldly snorted, "Hmph, your Famous Sword Manor is indeed quite imposing. I want to see if you are truly worthy of the title of leader of the martial arts alliance!"
As she spoke, Qin Sirong couldn't help but draw her sword and thrust it at Li Ling. The power and angle of her strike were perfectly controlled, and combined with her movement, it made many experts around her take notice.
"What amazing swordsmanship."
"Good timing."
Li Ling spoke softly, watching Qin Sirong's sword strike, but he had no intention of drawing his sword. He simply raised his right hand and, as Qin Sirong's long sword came in front of him, quickly flicked the tip of the sword.
Immediately, a clang rang out, and Qin Sirong's longsword trembled violently, almost causing her to lose her grip.
"Drink!" Qin Sirong snorted and quickly changed her move. Her figure flashed, and her long sword drew a circle in mid-air before she thrust it at Li Ling again.
"Young lady, please stop!"
Li Ling tapped the sword tip with his finger again. This time, however, instead of simply deflecting the sword as before, he unleashed a burst of true energy.
With a series of cracking sounds, Li Ling's true energy instantly shattered the longsword in Qin Sirong's hand into more than ten pieces, which fell to the ground.
Qin Sirong lost her grip on the hilt of her sword and it fell to the ground. At the same time, she was thrown back onto the table where she had started by the force of the impact.
"That's amazing!"
Seeing Li Ling's move, the onlookers were all taken aback.
They had all witnessed Qin Sirong's lightness skill and swordsmanship, which were absolutely brilliant, yet Li Ling had so casually flicked her sword and shattered it.
Now everyone knew that Li Ling's martial arts were definitely not to be trifled with. (The rest of the text appears to be gibberish and unrelated to the preceding text.)
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Chapter 167 The Unconventional Snake Demon
What is the martial arts world? It is a place where strength reigns supreme, where the law of the jungle prevails, and the strong prey on the weak.
If you are skilled in martial arts, you will have more prestige, your voice will be louder, and more people will believe you. Just like in modern society, money is everything, and if you have money, you are the boss!
Therefore, after witnessing Li Ling's formidable strength, everyone looked at the young man with newfound respect and a sense of fear.
The complaints about Li Ling's lateness had largely dissipated by now.
Standing tall, Li Ling seemed unaffected, ignoring Qin Sirong's solemn expression beside him, and continued to address the people around him: "There are so many heroes here. If every one of them wanted to test my martial arts skills like this young lady, it would probably take forever, and that would delay the important task of rescuing Marshal Yue."
Therefore, if you are all willing to follow my orders and travel with me, I welcome you. I will certainly remember your past assistance. If you think I am too young and inexperienced to shoulder great responsibilities, you are free to leave, and I will not stop you!
Hearing Li Ling say this, the martial arts practitioners in the inn were all a bit dumbfounded: "Damn, this kid doesn't play by the rules."
It shouldn't be that you vehemently persuade us with grand principles, then we feign modesty, you promise us all sorts of benefits, flatter us, and then we idolize you as our leader and follow you to rescue Yue Fei.
"No matter the outcome, we can at least earn the reputation of being loyal and righteous, which will make us more famous in the martial arts world in the future."
"If that treacherous minister Qin Hui were to blame us in the future, your Mingjian Manor would be there to take the fall. Why don't you play by the rules?"
In fact, Li Ling knew that whether Yue Fei could be rescued did not depend on his side, but on the emperor's current will.
Yue Fei, who commanded a large army, was about to march north and recapture the old capital. But at this critical moment, he suddenly raised the slogan of welcoming back the two emperors.
Now the current emperor has to think about it: with the two emperors back, who will be in charge of the court? Will he still be able to hold onto his throne?
The return of the two emperors is not a big deal, since I can still control the overall situation of the court. But Yue Fei holds a large army and will be able to recover the old capital. His prestige will be unparalleled. If he supports the two emperors, I'm afraid my throne will have to be moved.
Well, to put it bluntly, Marshal Yue was a highly capable commander, but unfortunately, he lacked emotional intelligence.
Any emperor would have such thoughts. Yue Fei, however, did not understand the intricacies of the matter. He was wholeheartedly devoted to the country, but this gave the pro-peace faction in the court a handle to use against him. They could say a few more words to the emperor, and throughout history, how many ministers whom emperors feared were slaughtered?
Moreover, Emperor Taizu of the Song Dynasty, Zhao Kuangyin, staged the Chenqiao Mutiny and was forced to wear the yellow robe. With this precedent as a warning, if you, Yue Fei, were to be forced to wear the yellow robe by your own men, wouldn't the Song Dynasty follow in the footsteps of the "Later Zhou Chai family"?
The Duke of Zhou feared rumors, and Wang Mang was humble before his usurpation.
Even the renowned Duke of Zhou feared rumors, and Wang Jian had to extort money to tarnish his reputation. With so many appeasement factions in the court constantly speaking ill of Yue Fei, it would be strange if the emperor didn't suspect him and wanted to kill him.
Therefore, the only way to rescue Yue Fei was to find a way to change the emperor's mind. Otherwise, if so many people went to rescue him in a high-profile manner, it would only confirm the emperor's suspicion that Yue Fei was plotting something, which would be counterproductive.
Finally, Li Ling thought of Chen Muyang, who had transmigrated into the Crown Prince. "In the end, we still have to see if Chen Muyang can deliver. If he has enough skill to keep Marshal Yue alive, and with the help I gave him, then perhaps he really has a chance to realize his idea of restoring the Song Dynasty."