Chapter 95 - 90: The Martial Arts Exchange Begins! The First Match
"These Song Country peasants!"
"I can’t take it anymore!!"
Inside a great hall in the Government Office Tavern, the members of the Daliang Country delegation were gathered.
They could hear the insults of the commoners outside, which even closed doors and windows couldn’t block out.
A burly man suddenly slammed a blue-and-white porcelain vase onto the ground, where it shattered with a loud CRASH.
"Sooner or later, I’ll charge into Jiangnan Prefecture, kill all these men, and take their women!" the burly man vented furiously.
The others in the delegation, perhaps also angered by the insults, did not speak up to stop the burly man’s wild ranting.
"Quiet, Baili Xiong."
The one who spoke was a refined-looking, middle-aged man seated at the head of the table.
He was the leader of the Daliang Country delegation, the Daliang National Preceptor, and deeply trusted by the Daliang King.
Upon hearing this, Baili Xiong cupped his hands toward the National Preceptor. "My apologies, National Preceptor. It’s just that these peasants’ insults are too vile. I really can’t stand it."
The National Preceptor said, "Tomorrow night, you will naturally have a chance to vent your frustrations."
Baili Xiong was the son of Baili Hu, one of the five Supreme Generals of Daliang Country, and was one of the Blood Forging Realm Martial Artists competing this time.
"I have obtained the list of participants from the Prince’s Mansion for tomorrow’s Mid-Autumn Festival tournament."
"Pass this around and take a look."
"Know yourself and know your enemy, and you will never be defeated."
The National Preceptor took out a booklet and handed it to the person beside him.
Soon, the booklet was passed to Baili Xiong.
"Lu Changfeng? A Swordsman?"
"Heh heh, I love smashing these skinny Swordsmen to death." Baili Xiong quickly found the information on his opponent and couldn’t help but grin.
The Daliang National Preceptor said, "We must win this Martial Arts Realm exchange."
"If we win, then according to the divination results from the Astrology Saint Master, our Daliang can proceed with the next phase of our plan."
"If we lose, we’ll have to wait for the next divination, and who knows how long that will be. By then, Song Country might have already recovered from its civil strife."
"During the competition, even if it means death, you must find a way to win. Do you understand?"
A murderous aura emanated from Baili Xiong and the other eight as they answered in unison, "Yes!"
Meanwhile, at the Changle Martial Arts Hall, Lu Changfeng was also making his own preparations for the competition.
Zhisha, Teng Xiaofan, and Sikong Jue took turns sparring with Lu Changfeng, feeding him moves.
"Incredible. Hall Master, are you really in the Blood Forging Realm? I feel like after you advance to Tendon Transformation, I’ll be no match for you at all." Teng Xiaofan was filled with awe after their exchange.
Teng Xiaofan was no fool. After impersonating the Saint Master last time, he now knew Lu Changfeng’s true identity and regarded him with even greater reverence.
"Heh, you can step down. Sikong Jue, you’re up!" Possessing a Hero Talent, Lu Changfeng never tired of fighting!
The three of them had to take turns just to keep up with him!
Of course, Zhisha and Teng Xiaofan were still holding back, as their Realms were much higher than Lu Changfeng’s.
Sikong Jue, without a word, directly activated his Demon Fiend Bloodline to fight Lu Changfeng for real.
If he didn’t get serious, he would actually be defeated by the current Lu Changfeng...
Lu Changfeng possessed the [Longevity Sword Dao]Talent; the more he exchanged blows with an opponent, the stronger his Formless Tracing became.
Coupled with his cultivation at the Eighth Level of the Blood Forging Realm and his Heroic Root Bone, the combination was simply terrifying.
In addition, Lu Changfeng had already used up all the Tai Sui Meat that the Broken Moon Sect had found for him.
The Tai Sui Meat, supplemented by his Heroic Root Bone, had aided him.
Lu Changfeng’s progress was incredibly fast.
Unfortunately, he was still a hair’s breadth away, his cultivation stuck at the peak of the Blood Forging Eighth Layer.
As for his Bloodline Talent, the [Ancient Sword Bone Dragon] bloodline he had consumed last time had recovered to 0.5%.
Combined with his Realm at the peak of the Eighth Layer, he could freely use his bloodline in the upcoming Martial Arts exchange.
Lu Changfeng’s current status screen was as follows.
Name: Lu Changfeng
Root Bone: Hero (33%)
Talent: Supreme Talent [Longevity Sword Dao (Lifespan +3.8 years, Combat Power +0.9%)], High-Grade Talent [Flying Swallow], High-Grade Talent [Fist Martial Arts], High-Grade Talent [Saber Extremity], Low-Grade Palm Technique.
Bloodline Talent: [Ancient Sword Bone Dragon 0.5% (Ancient-level Demon Fiend Bloodline, can increase physical attributes by 30% upon activation), (Demon Fiend Skill ’Sword Bone Demon Rain’)]
Realm: Peak of Blood Forging Eighth Layer
Blood Forging Technique: [Fengtian Forging Body Saber Skill] Ninth Layer.
Martial Arts: [Blood Burst Step] Perfection, [Antelope Leaping Skill] Perfection, [Falling Leaves Saber Technique] Perfection, [Long-Armed Great Ape Fist] Perfection, [Blood-Drinking Frenzy Saber] Perfection
Martial Arts Insights: Storm Sword Intent (Intermediate Sword Intent) (Sword attack power increased by 215%), Falling Leaves Saber Intent (Basic Saber Intent) (Saber attack power increased by 55%)
Copy Interval: Fifteen days
During this time, aside from raising his Realm to the peak of the Blood Forging Eighth Layer,
Lu Changfeng had also learned another Swordsmanship technique for his [Longevity Sword Dao] to devour, which slightly improved both his Longevity Sword Dao and his Sword Intent.
In his spare time, Lu Changfeng had also cultivated the [Long-Armed Great Ape Fist] and [Blood-Drinking Frenzy Saber] to the Perfection Realm.
If he had enough time, he could try to condense an Intermediate Fist Intent and upgrade his Basic Saber Intent.
However, after witnessing Xuansha’s Advanced Martial Arts True Intent evolve into the [Dark Buddha Glazed Body], Lu Changfeng was more inclined to upgrade his Intermediate Sword Intent to an Advanced Sword Intent.
Relying on the terrifying comprehension granted by his Supreme Swordsmanship Talent, [Longevity Sword Dao], this was not a difficult task.
It just required time for consolidation and research.
All in all, Lu Changfeng’s preparations were going extremely smoothly. Barring any surprises, he was confident he could win the competition.
...
Amidst the bustling atmosphere in the streets and alleys of Jiangzhou, time quickly passed to the next day.
Today was the day of the Mid-Autumn Festival.
The streets throughout Jiangzhou were festooned with lanterns and colorful decorations.
Pedestrians on the road were all smiling, heading toward the Prince’s Mansion in high spirits.
Starting in the afternoon, the Martial Arts exchange with Daliang Country at the Royal Palace Square would be open to a portion of the public.
Therefore, the people of Jiangzhou Prefecture had gone to line up and save their spots early in the morning.
Early in the morning, Lu Changfeng, dressed in moon-colored robes, was escorted by the Royal Palace Guard to the Prince’s Mansion.
As a perk for being a contestant, Lu Changfeng had ten spots for family members to watch from the best seats.
Thus, Chunzhu, Sikong Jue, Zhisha, Teng Xiaofan, Hei Niu, and the Zhou Feng couple had all come to the event.
After having lunch at the Prince’s Mansion,
Lu Changfeng and the other eight contestants exchanged some pleasantries before taking their seats in the front row.
The nine contestants from Daliang Country also took their seats at the same time.
The two groups sat facing each other, dozens of meters apart, and the nine contestants from each side couldn’t help but start sizing up their opponents.
Lu Changfeng saw that his opponent was a brutish man with a broad build. The pair of golden hammers placed beside him must be his weapons.
’A Martial Artist who uses hammers, that’s rare. Judging by his appearance, he might have been a War General.’ Lu Changfeng accurately guessed Baili Xiong’s background.
As for Baili Xiong’s provocative and contemptuous gaze, Lu Changfeng simply ignored it. They were too far apart, so Lu Changfeng couldn’t use his interface to probe the information of the Daliang Country contestants.
’This won’t do.’ Lu Changfeng never fought a battle he wasn’t confident of winning.
As Lu Changfeng pondered a solution, he suddenly stood up and walked toward Chunzhu in the audience seats.
On his way to the audience, Lu Changfeng managed to get within ten meters of Baili Xiong.
He successfully probed Baili Xiong’s Root Bone and Talent information.
Name: Baili Xiong
Root Bone: Middle A Class
Talent: Middle Grade Talent [Thunder Hammer]
Bloodline Talent: [Ancient Thunderbird Man 0.5%]
’A Bloodline Talent?’
’No wonder this guy is so arrogant.’
A Martial Artist with a Bloodline Talent was basically invincible among those of the same level.
’And looking at the names of his Martial Talent and Bloodline Talent, do they have the same attribute?’
’I’ll definitely have to be extra careful during the match.’
Lu Changfeng made a round trip, probed the information of his opponents, and returned.
By this time, over a hundred thousand commoners had already flooded into the Royal Palace Square, creating a clamorous scene.
Hidden among them were many Martial Artists from various Martial Arts factions of Song Country, who had blended in to gather intelligence.
Everyone knew that this Martial Arts exchange could very well become the flashpoint between Jiangnan Prefecture and Daliang.
If Jiangnan Prefecture were also plunged into chaos, many would be willing to come and take a large bite of this juicy piece of meat.
But if Jiangnan Prefecture remained peaceful and as impenetrable as an iron bucket, then no one would dare be the first to kick it.
Everyone was waiting for the right opportunity to act.
At the head of the square, Mansion Master Hong Ying and the Daliang National Preceptor were actually chatting and laughing, as if this were truly just an ordinary Martial Arts exchange.
Only among the eighteen contestants did the atmosphere grow increasingly heavy, as they already had a premonition of what was to come.
Lu Changfeng surveyed the vast square.
The square spanned several thousand square meters, a completely different concept from the hundred-square-meter arena at Five Horses Street.
With such an open field, Martial Artists had more room to maneuver.
For those skilled in Lightweight Skills, for example, a larger venue meant more space to move and evade.
DONG! DONG! DONG!
The time had come.
A melodious chiming spread throughout the Prince’s Mansion.
Prefecture Chief Constable Jin Changsong leaped into the center of the square.
He would be acting as the referee for this Martial Arts exchange.
"The auspicious time has arrived! The first match of the Martial Arts exchange begins now!"
"From Jiangnan Prefecture, Ding Yang!"
"From Daliang Country, Ye Xiri!"
From Lu Changfeng’s side, Ding Yang took a few long strides and leaped into the center of the field.
From the Daliang side, his opponent slowly walked onto the field.
"Then, let the match begin!" With the contestants in place, Jin Changsong immediately announced the start of the match.
The commoners in the distance erupted in thunderous cheers, shouting Ding Yang’s name.
Ding Yang hailed from the Pure Yang Sect, one of the Ten Great Sects of Jiangnan Prefecture, and his Pure Yang Fist Technique had already reached the pinnacle of perfection.
Perhaps influenced by the enthusiastic home-crowd atmosphere, Ding Yang activated his Fist Technique and was the first to attack Ye Xiri.
The information on Ding Yang’s Root Bone and Talent appeared in Lu Changfeng’s mind.
Name: Ding Yang
Root Bone: Middle A Class
Talent: High-Grade Talent [Fist Peak]
’With Ding Yang’s Talent, he has probably already mastered a Middle Grade Fist Intent.’
Lu Changfeng then pulled up Ye Xiri’s Root Bone and Talent.
’When I pretended to walk toward the audience just now, I had the interface copy the Root Bone and Talent information of all nine opponents.’
Name: Ye Xiri
Root Bone: Middle A Class
Talent: High-Grade Talent [Dark Assault], Middle Grade Talent [Light Body]
Lu Changfeng had a bad feeling. The field was so large that Ye Xiri, relying on his Light Body Talent, along with his High-Grade Talent for Hidden Weapons, could completely suppress Ding Yang.
Just as he expected, Ye Xiri had no intention of engaging Ding Yang in close combat.
He activated his Light Body Technique and began to run in circles around him.
A Light Body Technique at the Blood Forging Realm didn’t increase speed by much, but it was enough to run circles around a Martial Artist of the same Realm.
Ding Yang was sweating buckets chasing after him, but he just couldn’t catch up to Ye Xiri!
Strangely, however, Ye Xiri didn’t use any Hidden Weapons. He seemed to be waiting for something.