Zhang Ping and Meng Luo Gong shouted out loud, as their knives sliced through the air, creating layers upon layers of knife nets. Wherever the knives passed, the sound of wind breaking could be heard. A ray of sword light, which was almost illusory, sliced through the gaps in the net, breaking through the net before disappearing again.
"Damn it!" Both of them could feel the pressure as they unleashed their knives. Within a short period of time, the entire 37 stances had been used.
Pei Zi Yun, who had changed his position, swung his sword as a drop of blood dripped from his blade. His face was calm.
Zhang Ping and Meng Luo Gong's faces were ashen. Chen Ping's shoulder was bleeding, and there were traces of blood on the wound. However, the wound was not deep, and not much blood was flowing out.
Meng Luo Gong was in a worse state. His chest had been pierced. Although the wound was not deep, it was a vital point. If it had been any deeper, he would have died.
"The Shen family's 37 stances have all been mastered by me."
"Just now, I wanted to learn a few variations, and gave you a chance. But now, the game is over. This time, I will not limit myself to the Shen family's 37 stances. I will use my sword to kill you all."
"If you have any last words, speak them now." Pei Zi Yun's face was cold as his sword flashed.
Hearing these words, Zhang Ping and Meng Luo Gong's faces fell. Meng Luo Gong trembled slightly, while Chen Ping's face was ashen. He raised his knife and prepared to fight.
"Wait!" One of them spoke out as the cabin door opened. Two rows of soldiers walked out, all of them wielding long knives. Even though it was summer, they wore chainmail. Their skin was bronze in color, and their eyes were sharp.
The man in the middle was wearing a silver crown, and was dressed in a loose robe. His eyebrows were bright, but his eyes were filled with melancholy. This was the young master of Ji Bei Hou, Wei Ang.
"Senior brother, junior brother." The two of them greeted each other. Pei Zi Yun sheathed his sword and walked up to Wei Ang. Under Wei Ang's fierce gaze, he sat down opposite him.
Wei Ang waved his hands, and everyone started cheering. A serving maid came forward to serve tea. Wei Ang raised his cup and took a sip before smiling at Pei Zi Yun, "Junior brother, ever since you left last year, we haven't seen each other since. You're famous throughout the lands, and you've written many poems.
Pei Zi Yun raised his cup and took a sip of tea as well. He then looked at Pei Zi Yun and sighed, "Senior Brother has lost weight."
Wei Ang said, "Apprentice brother looks even more heroic. Fine, it looks like you're not used to drinking tea. Serve wine."
Another serving maid served them wine, along with two dishes. One was beef jerky, and the other was peanuts. Wei Ang personally poured the wine and spoke, "Capital city, Southern Kingdom, each and every one of us went sightseeing, and even composed poems."
As he spoke, he recited, "When the golden wind and jade dew meet, it surpasses countless things in the world."
At this point, he couldn't help but lament, "Junior Martial Brother is really a rare talent!"
Pei Zi Yun raised his goblet and drank the wine in one gulp. He then laughed, "I'm born with talent, and I'm destined to have a use for it. Even if a thousand gold is gone, it will come back again! I was originally a person who had nothing better to do. Now that the Emperor's grace has been bestowed upon me, I only want to cultivate, and ride the waves. But the tree desires peace, but the wind doesn't stop. I'm in a difficult position. "
As he spoke, he picked up a piece of peanuts, which smelled fragrant and crispy. He then drank another cup, "I see that not only has senior martial brother lost weight, but you're also filled with worry. Why is that?"
Wei Ang laughed bitterly as he poured himself a cup of wine and drank, "Living in this world, how can one not worry? People change. Do you know that when father retired, there were soldiers who were dissatisfied with him causing trouble. Father ordered me to suppress them, and so I led my troops. In one go, I killed more than a hundred soldiers who were causing trouble. It was a bloody scene. Whenever I close my eyes, I think of it."
When Pei Zi Yun heard this, he nodded his head, "You're quite righteous. I've been to both the north and south, and in these two years, I've killed many times more people than you have. In this world, if you want to live comfortably, freely, and luxuriously, who can escape from this?"
He then struck the bowl with his cup and recited,
"Ye's court has been set up, the family has lost its banquet.
When we meet, we sing the praises of the Tumi, and leave the fan in sorrow.
Among the flowers, there are butterflies, and behind the curtain, there are two swallows.
When spring comes, I sit and regret the changes of beauty.
In my life, I care about you, and my past is worthless.
The heart of an old friend is eternal, but the one who loves me is gone. "
When Pei Zi Yun had finished reciting, he noticed that everyone was in a daze. He then laughed, "If life is like the first time we meet, it's better not to meet. But if you ask me, I feel that it's better to have met. Even if the fan laments the autumn wind, it's still fate."
Fans were used in the summer to drive away the heat. When autumn came, no one would care about them. They were supposed to love each other, but they ended up parting ways. Hearing this, Wei Ang was in a daze. He raised his cup and drained it in one gulp.
The two of them fell silent. Both of them were of similar age, and had different personalities. However, they had been friends for a long time, and felt an indescribable sense of familiarity with each other. But now, they could feel the changes and unfamiliarity in each other's hearts.
Wei Ang paused for some time before speaking, "These two men are from my family. I don't know how they offended my junior brother. For my sake, let them off this time. How about that?"
"I will listen to senior brother's words. But senior brother cannot bully me. This Zhang Ping is from your family, but this Meng Luo Gong isn't from your family right?"
"Oh, it looks like junior brother's determination to kill this man is very strong." Wei Ang laughed, "Then I have no choice."
Zhang Ping and Meng Luo Gong were both sect leaders or young sect leaders. They were wealthy and had hundreds of subordinates under them. However, they couldn't even make a sound, and could only watch as Pei Zi Yun laughed. Hearing these words, Meng Luo Gong's face turned ashen, while Zhang Ping heaved a sigh of relief. He then thought to himself, "A real man should be like this!"
Wei Ang then raised his head to look at Meng Luo Gong. He could see that Meng Luo Gong's eyebrows were furrowed and filled with killing intent. Meng Luo Gong had wounds on his body, and was still bleeding profusely. He looked at Pei Zi Yun, his expression was calm, "You are Top Scorer Pei. I wonder what I've offended, that you're here to kill me? Or perhaps you're acquainted with the Shen family?"
Seeing Meng Luo Gong in such a state, Pei Zi Yun sighed. This man's heart was vicious, and yet he was able to maintain his composure even in the face of death. Pei Zi Yun shook his head and said, "You have no ties with the Shen family, and you have not offended me. It's just that you have chosen to follow the wrong person."
"You followed the wrong person?" Hearing Pei Zi Yun's words, Meng Luo Gong mumbled under his breath, as if he had understood something. His face turned pale, and his eyes were filled with ferocity. He raised his blade and charged forward.
"Young Master, be careful." The soldier beside Wei Ang stepped forward to protect him. Seeing Meng Luo Gong charging towards Pei Zi Yun, he shouted out, "Eight Purities Sacrificial Art!"
The saber light shone brightly, and its power increased by several times. It turned into a dazzling arc of light. At the juncture of life and death, it also gave off the feeling of the wind and clouds changing without thinking.
"Breakthrough in battle? What a pity! " Pei Zi Yun said plainly. Even though he had cultivated the Shen family's Thirty Seven Techniques to the tenth level, he was still at the level of a Grandmaster. Pei Zi Yun felt that he could benefit from it, and hence decided to learn it. Now that he was able to unleash his full potential, he didn't think much of the eighth level of the technique.
Sword Qi burst forth, and in the time it took for a spark to fly off a flint, a shadow flashed past. In that instant, the shadow seemed to distort, as if he had lost his human form.
Amidst the whistling of the saber, the sound of metal clashing could be heard. The saber light dissipated, and the saber light dissipated. The whistling sound faded, and everything returned to normal.
Meng Luo Gong retreated to the side of the deck. His legs were in a mess, and he swayed unsteadily. His left arm hung limply by his side. Although his arm was not broken, the sword had pierced through it, and fresh blood splattered everywhere.
"It's a Dao technique, not my fault." In that instant, Meng Luo Gong had sustained two wounds. As soon as he finished speaking, he turned around and jumped off the boat. Pei Zi Yun dashed forward, and saw that Meng Luo Gong was in midair, and was about to fall into the water.
Pei Zi Yun kicked the ship's anchor, and it flew out. With a 'pu' sound, it landed heavily on Meng Luo Gong's back, and pierced through his chest.
Pei Zi Yun then kicked the wooden plank, causing it to fall onto the surface of the water. The sword light flashed, and Meng Luo Gong's head flew into the air. Pei Zi Yun then reached out to grab his hair, and held onto the head. He then leapt off the plank and landed on the shore.
He then turned around and smiled at Wei Ang, "Senior brother, I'm leaving now."
"What do you think of my junior brother's martial arts?" Wei Ang looked at Pei Zi Yun's disappearing silhouette and turned around to ask.
The cabin door opened once more, and a man walked out. He was a eunuch dressed in a sixth ranked official robe. His skin was fair and clean, and his mannerisms were gentle and refined. It was obvious that he was a scholarly official. The eunuchs within the palace were all ranked, and had all been taught by the Imperial Academy.
Moreover, there were a few foreigners wearing pointed hats, green clothes, and white leather boots following behind him.
Under the system of the Xu Dynasty, the highest ranking eunuch was the eunuch. The eunuch was only a fourth ranked official, while the sixth ranked official was the assistant eunuch of the Imperial Palace. This eunuch's authority was not small. He revealed a serious expression as he spoke in a sharp voice, "He's indeed very powerful. No wonder he could kill the black robed guards, and spoil King Lu's plans."
He then continued, "I've heard that this person went to the palace hall to meet the Emperor. The Commander of the Palace Hall spoke to the Grand Princess about this. He said that a person like this isn't suitable to meet the Emperor, and that the Grand Princess wouldn't be happy about it."
"From what I've seen, the Commander of the Palace Hall wasn't making a big deal out of nothing."
From his tone, it seemed that this eunuch was King Lu's subordinate. That was even more rare. Kings could have eunuchs, but they couldn't be higher than the fifth ranked. This sixth ranked eunuch was his assistant.
Wei Ang had a look of suspicion on his face, "Is he really that strong?"
The eunuch nodded his head, "Yes, he's very strong. Just based on his martial arts, he's one of the best in the world. There are only a few people in this world who are as strong as him. Combined with his Dao arts, he's invincible."
"Eunuch, I've received orders from my father to lead an army. There were many highly skilled fighters in the army, but when the army charged at them, they were immediately defeated. Why is eunuch praising him so highly?"
The eunuch shook his head, "I've seen many highly skilled fighters in the army, and they couldn't even be compared to Pei Zi Yun. The only difference is that they're within a few feet of each other. I wonder if the soldiers would be able to defend against an ambush."
"Of course, there's a limit to a person's strength. If it were purely martial arts, there's no need to worry too much. However, there are some Dao arts that I know of that can break through the enemy's formation in an instant."
"I've seen a Daoist priest use Dao arts to blind the enemy, and break through the enemy's formation. In the end, the Daoist priest had to use a crossbow to shoot the enemy to death."
"Pei Zi Yun's Dao arts and martial arts are both top-notch. When combined, it's terrifying."
"If it weren't for the fact that the Dao arts couldn't be used on the noble, I'm afraid the noble wouldn't even be able to sleep."
Wei Ang saw that the eunuch was being frank, and nodded his head, "So that's how it is!"
The eunuch then continued, "The rarest thing is that not only is this person's Dao arts and martial arts skills top notch, even his literary works have the demeanor of a great scholar. It's been said that when Han Lin read his essays for the Imperial Examinations, he said that the Grand Scholar was only so-so."
"As for his poetry, his name is known throughout the world. He's the best under the heavens."
"What's even more shocking is that he understands politics as well. His Strategy to Exterminate the Pirates was very effective. It's very easy to learn and master, and it doesn't cost much. He has the demeanor of a high ranking official."
"That's why many people are interested in him. I'm not the only one who's investigating him. According to what I know, there's also the Crown Prince and the Grand Princess."
The eunuch paused for a moment before instructing, "Send someone to investigate why Top Scorer Pei has his eyes on Meng Luo Gong. Who's the mastermind behind this?"
"Yes!" Fan Zi replied.
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