Her footwork was extremely fast, but her sword strike was slow, meaning she wanted to give Cheng Sheng a little time to prepare. But for some reason, Cheng Sheng was still in the same stance, lost in thought. By the time he realized what was happening and tried to pull himself together to block the sword, Hua Chongyang's sword tip was pointing right at his face.
Bai Lu, who had a clear view from the side, burst into laughter and retorted sarcastically without holding back:
"Protector Cheng is much more appreciative of women than I am! Now that he's staring at our Lord in a daze, he's even risking his life?"
Hua Chongyang then got a clear look at the situation and saw Cheng Sheng standing in front of her, his deep wheat-colored face slowly turning dark red.
What's going on here?
Before Hua Chongyang could react, Cheng Sheng clasped his hands in a fist salute and was about to turn around:
"I have lost!"
The audience erupted in uproar.
Hua Chongyang was completely baffled.
Her main purpose in coming on stage was to test Cheng Sheng's martial arts skills, but she didn't expect him to leave without making a single move, which was really unexpected.
But what happened next was even more unexpected. Just as she sheathed her sword and was about to turn and leave, she heard a faint voice behind her:
"Master Hua, may I ask for your guidance?"
Hua Chongyang received the sword halfway through, but his hand suddenly froze.
Even if she were reduced to ashes and drifted through the world for another two hundred years, she would still recognize that voice.
It is Lan Wuxie.
60． Yanzu Valley...
The stage and the audience were completely silent.
Hua Chongyang was well aware of how many eyes were on them from below the stage, but she gripped her sword tightly in her hand, feeling her back stiff and unable to turn around.
Last year, she was the one who forced him to fight on stage. Only a year has passed, and she never imagined that Lan Wuxie would come to challenge her to a duel this year. Forcing himself to turn around, Hua Chongyang could feel the muscles at the corners of his mouth were as stiff as stone.
"Master Lan, what do you mean by this?"
"Standing on the dueling platform, naturally one must engage in combat."
Hua Chongyang couldn't utter a single word; she felt as if the veins in her forehead were about to burst. Lan Wuxie, sword in hand, looked at her expressionlessly and said again:
"Master Hua, why aren't you making a move?"
Having grown accustomed to Lan Wuxie's gentle, low voice calling her "Chongyang," hearing him calmly and composedly call her "Master Hua" was incredibly jarring.
In front of the entire martial arts world and half of Hangzhou, Hua Chongyang, shameless and gritting his teeth, was about to turn back:
"I'm sorry, I cannot accompany you."
Even if she wanted to fight, she couldn't bring herself to do it. At this moment, she had no idea what was going on. Was Lan Wuxie really going to end things, or was she just being stubborn? If it was the former, she would be the one who suffered in a fight. No matter how high her martial arts skills were, she was no match for Lan Wuxie.
If it's the latter, then there's even less need to take action—do you want to make a fool of yourself in front of the world?
But when she turned around, she could still hear Lan Wuxie say softly behind her:
"Didn't you say you wanted to cut ties? If you're going to cut ties, then cut them cleanly. The martial arts tournament is a place for competition, yet Master Hua isn't making a move. What does that mean?"
The sound wasn't loud, but in the completely silent venue, every word could be heard clearly, both on and off the stage.
He actually pressured her like that in front of everyone.
Hua Chongyang was somewhat angry. He stopped and turned around, about to speak, when Bai Lu, who had been below the stage, suddenly rushed back onto the stage with her sword in hand.
"Lan Wuxie! If you want to fight, I'm ready!"
Lan Wuxie didn't even glance at her:
"I don't bully children."
Bai Lu's expression changed, and she drew her sword with a swift motion, but Hua Chongyang stopped her.
"what you do?"
Bai Lu went berserk the moment she saw Lan Wuxie, raising her sword to strike him. Hua Chongyang grabbed her waist and pulled her back to block her, keeping a distance of about ten feet. She continued swinging her sword in mid-air while cursing angrily:
"You slut! There are so many women in the world, why did you have to provoke Chongyang! If you have the guts, come here and I'll chop you up! Don't think that just because you have a bewitching face everyone will like you! Do you think I don't know how many women you've been with! Slut! Let me tell you! Chongyang isn't fighting you because he thinks you're dirty--"
Lan Wuxie's expression changed.
Hua Chongyang was taken aback at first, then raised his hand and slapped Bai Lu across the face.
Bai Lu stopped cursing abruptly and slowly turned to look at Hua Chongyang:
"You hit me?"
Hua Chongyang slowly lowered his hand.
Bai Lu looked at her, her sadness and shock were all too clear:
"I was protecting you, and you actually hit me? My mother has never laid a finger on me in all my life, and you actually hit me?"
Hua Chongyang stood tall, coldly reprimanding her:
"Master Lan is a respected figure in the martial arts world; how dare you, a mere child, hurl insults at him? Who taught you to use such foul language?"
Bai Lu covered her face, threw down her sword with a clatter, and ran off the stage.
Hundreds of eyes were fixed on him from below the stage, but Hua Chongyang ignored her and turned to smile at Lan Wuxie:
"The brothel disciples are unruly; it's my fault for not disciplining them properly. Please, Pavilion Master Lan, don't hold it against her child."
Lan Wuxie didn't say a word.
Hua Chongyang was still smiling:
"I was no match for Pavilion Master Lan anyway, but since you want to use me as a sparring partner, I have no choice but to oblige. I just hope you won't hold Bai Lu's childish temper against me."
She raised her hand and slowly drew her sword.
The emerald green scabbard was removed, its snow-white gleam shimmering in the sunlight. Standing behind the gleaming sword, he smiled at Lan Wuxie:
"Pavilion Master Lan, let's begin."
Lan Wuxie stared at her, his face pale, and after a long while, slowly spoke:
"You really want to fight me?"
Hua Chongyang was taken aback.
He was indeed acting out of spite.
Just as he was wondering what to do, Lan Wuxie smiled, flicked his wrist, and tossed aside the sword in his hand:
"Okay, okay. I admit defeat."
He turned around, slowly walked down the stage, and waved to Lan Cao without looking up as he passed one side of the arena:
"go back."
All the disciples of Lanying Palace followed.
Everyone on and off the stage was stunned. Before Hua Chongyang could recover, another woman jumped onto the stage and gracefully curtsied to him.
"Xing Yanshui, the Second Protector of Yanzu Valley, humbly requests guidance from Master Hua."
Hua Chongyang turned around and looked her over a few times.
Her hair was loosely styled, with strands falling to her cheeks. She wore a water-red dress with a light green bodice, and when she bent over, half of her breasts were exposed from under the low bodice. Even Hua Chongyang stared in disbelief: this Xing Yanshui was more than just charming; she was downright seductive. She had never seen anyone dressed like a prostitute before, yet she was competing on the martial arts stage. Why were all the people from Yanzu Valley so strange?
She drew her sword and braced herself:
"Protector Xing, please make your move."
After ten moves, Xing Yanshui was defeated. As she stepped off the stage, she gracefully and delicately bowed to Hua Chongyang.
"Thank you for your guidance, Master Hua."
Hua Chongyang was completely baffled.
Although she only used half her strength, she could still sense that Xing Yanshui hadn't used her full power either. Moreover, her every move was graceful and delicate, like a dance. As she stepped off the stage with her sword and returned to her seat, Huang San, who had appeared out of nowhere, immediately approached her:
"This guy surnamed Xing practices the art of seduction."
Upon hearing this, three drops of cold sweat immediately dripped down Hua Chongyang's forehead:
"Seduction techniques? She's a woman, and I'm a woman too, why is she bothering me?"
Huang San immediately sneered:
"Her true intentions weren't what they seemed. You might not see it from up there, but we in the audience saw it all clearly. From the moment she swayed her hips onto the stage to the moment she swayed her hips off, Hua Chongyang, the eyes of every man in the audience were glued to her! Even if you're prettier than her, nobody would even look at you!"
"The people of Yanzu Valley are a mixed bag," Hua Chongyang frowned. "Look at Cheng Sheng, he uses orthodox martial arts. Just look at his stance when he fought Bai Lu; you can tell his martial arts are solid and his internal strength is profound. The Second Protector, Xing Yanshui, practices seductive arts, and the Third Protector, Qing Ling, uses a mix of martial arts from various schools, including quite a few moves from the Flower Sword style."
Huang San frowned:
"I wonder who uses those maple leaf darts. It would be great if we could find out."
"These kinds of hidden weapons are usually used for self-defense by people who aren't very skilled in martial arts," Old Seven Ye interjected. "I bet it's a woman."
The group discussed for a few minutes but couldn't reach a conclusion, so they continued watching from the stage. The Shaolin and Wudang representatives went up one by one, with the last remaining person being Master Huide, the junior brother of Master Deyun of Shaolin Temple.
Everyone thought that once Lan Wuxie left, the martial arts tournament would lose its appeal. But then Rong Chenfei suddenly jumped onto the stage and challenged Hui De.
Ye Laoqi simply curled his lip:
"Rong Chenfei is simply overestimating himself. He beat Minghui last year and thinks he's a master? How could he possibly be a match for Huide?"
Unexpectedly, Rong Chenfei launched a fierce attack right from the start of the match. Shaolin's fighting style is steady and has a long-lasting momentum. They always use stability to overcome haste. If an opponent attacks aggressively from the beginning, their offensive will inevitably slow down after twenty moves. Thus, Shaolin can gradually curb the opponent's fierceness and eventually defeat them. However, Rong Chenfei's attacks remained swift and fierce. In less than an incense stick's time since the start of the match, he had already attacked Huide more than a hundred times, forcing Huide to the point of having no power to fight back.
Hua Chongyang found it increasingly strange:
"None of Rong Chenfei's moves are from Wudang."
"Moreover, his internal strength is already quite profound." Huang San stared intently. "Wudang martial arts have always been inclusive and diverse. Such profound internal strength, unless he had already started practicing his current skills on Wudang Mountain, it's a bit strange that he accumulated such profound internal strength in just one year, unless—"
"Unless what?"
"Unless," Huang San looked at Hua Chongyang, "Lan Wuxie taught him the Yellow Springs Martial Arts Technique."
61. Rong Chenfei...
Before the two could finish speaking, applause erupted around them. Hua Chongyang looked up and saw Hui De lying on the ground below the stage, a trickle of blood at the corner of his mouth. Rong Chenfei stood on the stage, displaying the posture of a victor, bowing to Hui De below the stage.
"You flatter me."
She sat bolt upright, almost unable to believe her eyes.