The reason is simple: Lian Jin was the number one swordsman in the State of Zhao, with unparalleled swordsmanship.
Although Li Yao was very strong, true martial arts skills cannot be achieved through brute force alone.
Clang!
Lian Jin drew his famous Golden Light Sword, came to the center of the hall, stood there with the sword in hand, and looked at Li Yao with a smile on his face.
Li Yao stood up, but came to the center of the hall empty-handed.
King Xiaocheng asked in surprise, "Your Highness, where is your sword?"
Li Yao smiled and said, "I came out in a hurry today and didn't bring a knife with me. I wonder if any of you here have a knife and would like to borrow it."
He didn't intend to take out his '40-meter' Embroidered Spring Blade, fearing it would frighten Lian Jin.
When everyone saw that Li Yao had not brought any weapons with him and had instead gone to borrow weapons from others, they were even more disappointed.
Originally, they were planning to watch a fight that wasn't particularly exciting, but was at least watchable.
Now, all they can do is watch how Lian Jin kills Li Yao with a single sword strike.
Chapter 46 Palace Martial Arts Competition: Lian Jin's Unspeakable Suffering
During the late Warring States period, the knife had not yet truly developed, and the main weapon for close combat was the sword.
It wasn't until the Han Dynasty, with the emergence of the ring-pommel sword, that swords truly began to become popular.
Therefore, King Xiaocheng ordered someone to help Li Yao borrow a knife, but they couldn't borrow it even after a long time.
Finally, the guard found a broken knife in some obscure corner and handed it to Li Yao.
This knife was not only very old, but also covered in rust.
King Xiaocheng was immediately embarrassed, not expecting that such a large palace would not even have a decent-looking knife.
King Xiaocheng said embarrassedly, "Your Highness, this knife is too worn out. Why don't you switch to a sword?"
Li Yao weighed the knife in his hand; it felt as light as a tree branch.
However, having a knife is better than not having one. He would rather find a tree branch to fight Lian Jin than compete with Lian Jin in 'cheapness'.
Li Yao smiled, flicked the broken knife with his finger, and said with satisfaction, "No need. Actually, this knife is quite good. I'll use this one."
Everyone was stunned, never expecting that Li Yao would actually use this rusty, broken sword to fight Lian Jin.
The golden sword in Lian Jin's hand is a rare and precious sword.
Even if Li Yao's swordsmanship was superb, it would be difficult for him to defeat Lian Jin, who was wielding a precious sword, with a broken sword.
This time, Li Yao is definitely doomed!
Lian Jin's mockery grew stronger. He ridiculed Li Yao for overestimating himself and daring to fight him with a broken sword, saying that he was simply courting death.
Very well, his duel with Li Yao this time was not to show off his swordsmanship, but to take Li Yao's head and claim credit from Zhao Mu.
Seeing Lian Jin's smug and obsequious expression, Li Yao suddenly asked in surprise, "Lian Jin, isn't your master's seat over here? Why did you come out from this side?"
He first pointed to Zhao Mu's seat, and then to the Wu family's seat.
Upon hearing this, everyone suddenly understood.
It turns out that Lian Jin was Zhao Mu's lackey.
No wonder Guo Kai and Lian Jin were acting in concert; they were both Zhao Mu's lackeys.
Zhao Mu, humiliated by Li Yao, secretly ordered Lian Jin to kill Li Yao in public during the duel and regain his face.
Because at this time, even if someone is killed or injured in a fight, no one will be held responsible.
Wu Shiluo, Wu Yingyuan, and other members of the Wu family looked even uglier. They never expected that their retainers would actually be Zhao Mu's lackeys. It was too shameful.
At this moment, Lian Jin's face was a mix of red and green.
His loyalty to Zhao Mu had not yet been made public, but Li Yao unexpectedly exposed it in public.
However, let it be exposed, since this matter was bound to be made public sooner or later anyway.
Since Li Yao has made his decision so bluntly, don't blame him for being ruthless.
Then, his eyes flashed with a chilling killing intent. He straightened his back and used the momentum to push forward with his hand. The golden sword shot out like lightning, swiftly stabbing the opponent's shoulder and rib acupoint with both accuracy and ruthlessness.
Immediately, thunderous cheers erupted from many seats.
Li Yao casually blew the dust off the broken knife.
He discovered that the shape of the knife at this time was very different from that of the knife in later generations, but it was extremely similar to that of the sword.
The difference is that a sword is double-edged, while a knife is single-edged.
Just as Li Yao was studying the shape of the knife, the golden sword arrived, radiating murderous intent.
Seeing that Li Yao was about to be stabbed to death by Lian Jin, many women at the scene screamed in fright. Even the timid ones turned their heads away, unable to bear to see the bloody scene that was about to unfold.
Li Yao remained calm and took a step back to the right, twisted his body, and used his broken knife to parry the golden sword.
His strength was astonishing; the golden sword could not withstand it and was immediately deflected.
Immediately, the Wu family erupted in cheers.
Their cheers were not for the traitor Lian Jin, but for the amazing Li Yao.
The others were also incredibly surprised, never expecting Li Yao to be so agile, easily deflecting Lian Jin's fatal blow.
Even Lian Jin hadn't expected Li Yao to be so skilled. Fearing that Li Yao would take advantage of the situation to pursue him, he twirled his golden sword and returned to guard the empty gate.
He noticed that Li Yao had turned around, his broken sword slightly raised, as if he was about to attack, which startled him and made him take a step back.
Just then, the broken knife in Li Yao's hand trembled slightly and deviated a little, revealing an opening in his face.
Lian Jin was overjoyed, thinking to himself that this kid had already shown signs of fatigue in the second move.
Without hesitation, he swiftly raised his sword and slashed straight down, seemingly aiming at Li Yao's broken blade. However, as he got closer, he lowered and extended his wrist, changing the slash into a horizontal thrust, aiming diagonally at Li Yao's face, determined to kill Li Yao in one move.
His movements were swift and fluid, exuding a murderous aura that left everyone speechless and worried for Li Yao.
Li Yao calmly watched the golden sword, which was as fierce as a poisonous dragon, and quickly moved to the side. He swung his broken blade backhand and struck the golden sword heavily.
With a 'clang', the golden sword was deflected once again.
The audience watched with rapt attention, erupting in cheers.
They originally thought that Lian Jin could kill Li Yao in one move, but Li Yao was as agile as lightning and easily deflected Lian Jin's fatal blows twice.
Such a spectacular fight is truly a rare sight.
Although Lian Jin's wrist went numb from the shock, Li Yao's excellent control of his strength led Lian Jin to believe that Li Yao was at his limit and was only able to block the golden sword by relying on his agility and strength.
Then, Lian Jin let out a long laugh and unleashed a dozen sword strikes in quick succession, each one powerful and sweeping, forcing Li Yao to fight him head-on.
Li Yao smiled faintly. Lian Jin had abandoned his exquisite swordsmanship and was actually trying to outmuscle him; he was simply asking for trouble.
However, in order to satisfy Lian Jin, Li Yao controlled his strength to be equal to Lian Jin's, and the two remained locked in combat.
Of course, Li Yao's main goal was to fleece Lian Jin completely and extract every last drop of value from him.
The two fought back and forth, making for a very exciting match.
Everyone held their breath, completely captivated.
The two appeared to be evenly matched, but in reality, Lian Jin was suffering in silence, unable to express his grievances.
Lian Jin was exhausted by Li Yao and wanted to withdraw, but Li Yao held on tightly, making it impossible for him to escape.
Unaware of Lian Jin's predicament, the crowd cheered and applauded.
Li Yao saw that Lian Jin's attributes had been almost completely drained.
Then, his eyes widened, flashing with fierce light, and he seemed to have been reborn, exuding an invincible heroic aura.
He laughed coldly, "You are no longer of any value!"
As soon as he finished speaking, he took half a step forward, let out a wild shout, and swung his knife at the other man's head.
The wind howled, sharp and piercing!
What's even more astonishing is the momentum unleashed by this strike, which is like the grand momentum of ten thousand horses and thousands of soldiers fighting on the battlefield.
Instantly, Lian Jin stood there, a gruesome bloodstain appearing on his body from top to bottom.
The tidal wave of cheers and applause abruptly stopped.
This change is so unexpected.
Many people, including King Hyoseong, stood up unconsciously.
Chapter 47 First appointed Grand Tutor, then bestowed the title of God of the Blade
With a thud, Lian Jin fell straight down.
Wu Tingfang, who was sitting next to Wu Shilu, screamed "Ah!" and fell into her grandfather Wu Shilu's arms.
Zhao Ya, the sister of the King of Zhao, also screamed, covering her mouth with her hands in shock, her face turning pale. It should be noted that Lian Jin was also one of her male lovers.
The two Mohists brought by Li Yao exchanged bewildered glances, their expressions filled with excitement. They hadn't expected their leader to be so powerful.
Everyone else stared wide-eyed, mouths agape, utterly shocked.
King Xiaocheng stood up in surprise.
With a clang, Li Yao threw the broken knife in his hand next to Lian Jin's corpse.
Then, he said with a regretful look, "I'm sorry, I tried my best to control my strength, but I still hit too hard."
Then, his gaze swept across the ground.
"Ding! Successfully picked up 'Luck Point', Luck +31!"
"Ding! Successfully acquired the 'Physique' attribute, Physique +18!"
...