Qin Shi Ambitious

Page 99

As for the north, there's a wooden wall. Behind that wall, in the ornately decorated halls and rooms, there's a palpable sense of human presence...

Sitting inside is the master behind the sword hall: Lord Ningling, Wei Jiu.

After pouring himself a cup of hot tea, he moved to the other side and sat down, silently counting down in his mind: three, two, one...

With a bang, as expected, the door to the secret observation room was pushed open, and Wei Bao angrily entered and sat down. He picked up the tea that had just been poured on the table, drank it all in one gulp, and then smashed the small white porcelain cup on the ground.

Debris was scattered all over the ground...

"Second brother, a loss is a loss!"

After saying this in a nonchalant manner, Wei Jiu gestured to a maid to kneel down and clean the floor with silk.

"Brother, Zhou Shi cheated! He prepared his sword strike beforehand! In a martial arts competition, there's no time for him to prepare!" Wei Bao said indignantly, picking up an empty cup and smashing it hard.

“You are a member of the royal family, not a wandering knight-errant. You should hold yourself to the standards of royalty.”

Wei Jiu shook his head and personally got up to remove the teapot and remaining cups from in front of Wei Bao, to prevent him from smashing them again.

"Don't consider Zhou Shi as your opponent. He is quite capable, and although he is of low status, he can be recruited as a subordinate."

"Your Majesty, someone has stepped up to challenge Mayor Zhou!"

The wooden wall separating the sword-fighting arena was covered with numerous tiny holes. Seven or eight maids, some kneeling, some sitting, and some standing, pressed their eyes against the holes, reporting the situation on the arena to those inside.

The challenger announced his name as "Lu Wei".

"The head of the Gonggong Hall of the Farmers is named Lu Wei."

A slightly ornately dressed maid standing on a row of bookshelves on the left side of the room took a scroll of bamboo slips from the top shelf of the bookshelf labeled 'Farmhouse'.

"Lu Wei, eighteen years old, a native of the State of Zhao."

"He is the most outstanding disciple among the rising generation of farmers."

"At the age of thirteen, after the incident involving the heir of Luqiu Pavilion, he temporarily took over as the head of Luqiu Pavilion."

"At the age of fourteen, he succeeded the position of chief steward after the previous two chief stewards of Gonggong Hall were successively dismissed and killed."

"At the age of seventeen, he succeeded the leader of the Gonggong Hall after the leader was assassinated."

"His martial arts skills are unknown, but his swordsmanship is superb. He defeated the renowned Chi You Hall Master Tian Hu within twenty rounds at last year's Farmers' Autumn Harvest Festival."

The major events in Master Lu's career were not difficult to uncover, and Wei Jiu and Wei Bao exchanged bewildered glances as they listened:

"How can someone like this still hold such power in the Farmer's Clan?" Wei Bao chuckled. "Anyone who stands in Lu Wei's way is going to get into trouble soon. Is the leader of the Farmer's Clan a fool? The murderer is too obvious!"

He stood up, swept aside the maids who were in his way, and stood in front of the small hole in the wooden wall, looking outside: "Let me see how capable this ambitious fellow really is!"

On the fencing stage, Zhou Shi continued to build up his momentum. He was waiting for his opponent to make the first move, and then he would launch a swift counterattack with the sword force he had been suppressing for a long time!

However, Hall Master Lu was in no hurry. Instead, he smiled and watched him gather his strength. The Devouring Sea Sword stood upright, motionless.

As the sword aura continued to condense on one side and expand on the other, it was Zhou Shi who finally lost his composure!

His ability to build up momentum has its limits. Once he reaches those limits, he must unleash his power and cannot wait for an opportunity to pressure and counterattack.

A strike delivered without any skill, relying solely on the momentum of the sword, cannot be dodged on this small dueling arena; one can only take it head-on.

In the previous match against Wei Bao, Zhou Shi forced Wei Bao to engage in a direct confrontation with him using the same method, and won the battle.

Lu Wei stared at the sword tip hurtling towards him, raised the Devouring Sea Sword horizontally, and lightly blocked it with the broad blade. With a clang, the sword energy surged and swirled as the two swords collided.

But before the two sword styles could determine a winner, the swords themselves had already decided the outcome: with an unusual cracking sound, the tip of Zhou Wen's ordinary sword shattered!

It's just an ordinary standard-issue longsword; the tip is the sharpest part, but also the most vulnerable.

Under the combined assault of Zhou Shi's own concentrated sword energy and the sword aura of the Devouring Sea Sword, the point where the two swords clashed was constantly subjected to tiny, invisible shockwaves...

A half-smile crept into Lu Wei's eyes. He thrust his sword forward with his right hand, and with a clang, the sword in Zhou Shi's hand shattered completely.

Then, the Devouring Sea Sword swung towards Zhou Shi's neck and stopped an inch away.

Zhou Shi loosened his grip on the broken sword, letting it fall to the ground, his pupils filled with disbelief: he never imagined he would lose in such a way.

The sword's momentum was clearly not defeated...

“I lost… If the sword in my hand were the same as yours, I wouldn’t have lost.” Zhou Shi was very unwilling.

"You can't even perfectly wield the sword you already possess, and you've chosen an attack method that it can't withstand..." The sect leader, twirling his sword, sheathed it and turned around:

"A sword strike charged to its limit is so powerful that it can't even suppress my most ordinary sword energy. And you still have the mind to make excuses for failure?"

"You should step down."

Zhou Shi, feeling dejected, prepared to leave the sword hall just like Wei Bao. But as soon as he returned to the ground, a maid suddenly stopped him: "My master would like to invite you to the backstage for a chat."

"Who is your master?" Zhou Shi asked, his heart heavy, as he followed the maid down the stairs for a long time.

"You will see him soon." The maid suddenly stopped, stepped aside to make way for a door: "Please come in."

The identity of the sword-wielding academy's owner was both a secret and not a secret in Daliang City: everyone knew it was owned by the Wei royal family, but no one really knew which prince was in charge of it.

Pushing open the door and stepping inside, Zhou Shi looked at Wei Bao, whom he had defeated in the match two days before, who was smiling directly at him.

Before him, on a bronze sword rack, lay a longsword with a hilt engraved with flying bird patterns, its blade slender and sharp...

------

After defeating Zhou Shi, several more swordsmen quickly jumped up. Their eyes were shining, not because they thought Lu Wei was easy to bully, but precisely because they thought he was too strong, which is why they wanted to duel with him.

For a true swordsman, a highly skilled opponent can be considered his second 'lover' besides his sword.

In Shengzhou City, the Hall Master cleverly used the opponent's most proficient sword technique to destroy his sword, aiming to undermine his confidence.

He was equally dedicated to the remaining challengers: he demonstrated the Butterfly Sword Technique, the Maple Forest Sword Technique, and the Whale Drinking Sword Technique, defeating all challengers with his swordsmanship skills and winning them over completely.

After successfully obtaining the Long Sword, Master Lu left the sword hall with Ziwu without further delay.

"Did the Hall Master deliberately humiliate Zhou Shi because he wanted to subdue him?"

Ziwu watched as Lu Wei played with the long sword in his hand, and when no one was paying attention, he asked a question.

“Indeed, his strength is no less than yours.” Hall Master Lu nodded in acknowledgment: “After I broke his sword, I gave him the long sword he had been longing for. With a slight change in wording, I think Mayor Zhou would not refuse.”

Unaware that their goal had already been achieved by someone else, the two returned to the inn where they had initially stayed to rest. The next day, after lunch, they went to the sword hall together again.

However, the sword-fighting hall encountered a minor setback today, but it wasn't a big problem; it was just that the hall was demolished...

With a thud, a corpse was thrown out of the building and landed at the feet of the astonished hall master.

"Hmph, with such meager strength, you dare to call yourself a 'Sword Hall'!"

The troublemaker's voice sounded somewhat familiar to Lu Wei; he was certain he had heard the owner of that voice somewhere before.

With a clang, the disturbance continued as a giant sword cleaved the main pillar supporting the sword hall in two. The sword's hilt, connected by an iron chain, was swung around like a meteor hammer.

Under such a fierce and chaotic operation, the two-story building collapsed with a roar...

The figure standing amidst the ruins was unmistakable: it was none other than Chen Sheng, the deposed former leader of the Farmer's Guild!

The giant sword in his hand: Juque!

At first glance, some characters were clearly etched on Chen Sheng's exposed upper body and face...

With his excellent eyesight, Lu Wei carefully examined the text and discovered that some of it contained the criminal script of the Zhao state, while some contained the criminal script of the Han state.

He had already escaped death row in two countries, meaning that at this time he was not called Sheng Qi but Sheng Er.

Perhaps it will be a three-game winning streak soon...

Pulling the eager Ziwu back to the back of the crowd, he noticed several squads of Daliang City guards, armed with long spears, had arrived and were about to surround Chen Sheng on the ruins.

The lord knows that today Chen Sheng will definitely be captured by these Wei soldiers and imprisoned in the Wei capital's death row...

But he will escape again soon!

This was the deliberate pursuit of this fanatical individual obsessed with finding out his brother's whereabouts...

Chapter 122 The Fall of Han

The Giant Sword, an absolute behemoth, is blunt, heavy, and incredibly hard, and is known as the 'Supreme Sword Under Heaven'.

Its killing effect was exceptionally bloody; the guards who charged towards Chen Sheng were almost all flattened or broken after the slightest collision with their spears...

This is before it even uses its sword energy. The greatest destructive power of the Giant Sword is not its heavy force, but the sword energy that is spontaneously generated when it is swung, which is domineering and rampant!

Often, the opponent only needs to 'touch' once, and the skin and bones are gone!

The twenty or so patrolling guards, all wearing half-armor, were quickly slaughtered without exception.

Hiding behind the crowd at a distance, watching Chen Sheng still standing on the ruins of the sword hall, carrying a greatsword on his shoulder, Lu Wei knew that the battle was not over yet.

The true essence of the sword-fighting hall lies on the fifth underground floor!

The danger lurks beneath this earth...

Chen Sheng clearly noticed this as well. He lowered his gaze and suddenly leaped up. At that moment, a surge of sword energy erupted from beneath his feet, chasing after him in mid-air and slashing towards him.

With a clang, the two swords clashed. Chen Sheng reacted quickly, parrying the attack and then swinging his giant sword in a semi-circle, slamming the attacker back to the ground.

He then landed and made eye contact with his opponent.

Wei Bao's Broken Serpent Sword was still trembling violently, making his tiger's mouth numb and his skin feel like it was about to crack.

"Coming to cause trouble at the sword-fighting hall? How dare you!"

With his sword and hands behind his back, the young nobleman of Wei was furious. After the first tentative exchange, despite it being a sneak attack, he had still suffered a great loss.

"If you had shown up earlier, this building might not have collapsed." Chen Sheng sneered, his voice carrying a deeper sense of age than it had in previous years.

"The Giant Sword? It seems you are that traitor of the peasant clan." Wei Bao ignored the other party's words. He carefully examined the giant sword in the hand of the burly man in front of him. He could tell the other party's identity at a glance. The conspicuous shape that matched the title of 'Supreme Sword' was the best explanation.

Upon hearing the word "traitor," Chen Sheng's initial desire to duel the young man vanished. Without explanation, his gaze sharpened, and he said no more. He gripped the iron chain on the hilt of the giant sword and suddenly hurled it with tremendous force!

Wei Bao wanted to make a few more sarcastic remarks, but when he saw the enemy launch an attack, he retreated in shock, but Ju Que pursued him relentlessly.

At this moment, the third sword aura on the field seemed to awaken as if it had been revived.

"This is..." The hall master instantly recognized the owner of this aura. He had fought with this person yesterday and experienced the opponent's supreme sword aura.

The loud bang resounded once again, and Zhou Shi emerged from the ruins, his position exactly on the route Ju Que took towards Wei Bao.

Today he held a special rapier. Apart from the bronze-colored hilt with bird feather patterns, its deadly blade was a rare bright red, exquisite yet deadly!

"The Yanzhi Sword, as famous as the Broken Serpent Sword, has Zhou Shi joined Wei Bao's forces...?" Lu Wei recognized the identity of this extraordinary sword, remained calm, and continued to observe the battle.