“That is Yishui City, the domain of the peerless sword prodigy, Sword Sage Tan Congye?”
Nian Zheng and Hua Qianmi exchanged glances, both seemingly weighing the identity of this sudden newcomer.
Ji Tingzhong leaned in close to Ying Laixian, asking in a low murmur, “Do you know this person?”
Ying Laixian remained silent, instinctively searching his memories, yet the presence of this unexpected arrival felt entirely unfamiliar.
He did not know him.
In past lifetimes, he had encountered similar situations more than once; after all, he tended to die rather quickly with every rebirth, which was why he didn’t bother keeping this person in mind. Even Zhong Xiwu had undergone certain changes, so other deviations were hardly surprising. At any rate, the pivotal events never changed, that much remained certain.
“For all your high-sounding talk, Your Excellency is surely here for the treasure yourself,” Nian Zheng remarked. “There’s no need to put on such an aggressive act. Why don’t we join forces and take down this Liuyu Shouxue together?”
The young man chuckled. Turning back to look at Ying Laixian, he exclaimed, “So you’re the legendary Liuyu Shouxue! Goodness, I always thought the martial world rumors were exaggerated, but seeing is believing. I actually get to lay eyes on the greatest beauty under heaven, that’s something I can brag about for ages.” Mid-sentence, he whipped his head back to glare at Nian Zheng. “What treasure? The two of you are women ganging up on a man with no power to truss a chicken. Don’t think I don’t know what you’re really plotting. Leave the damsel-in-distress rescuing to me!”
Ji Tingzhong muttered under her breath, “I believe you now when you say you don’t know him.”
Nian Zheng finally lost her patience. “Then allow me to test Your Excellency’s skill!”
No sooner said than done, she drew her sword and lunged forward.
Unflustered, the young man watched Nian Zheng close the distance, then simply sidestepped. Before anyone could even blink, he had already vanished from his spot. Yet Nian Zheng spun around as though anticipating the move, her sharp blade thrusting straight for him. With a single bare hand, the young man clamped down and locked the sword in place, rendering all of Nian Zheng’s attempts to pull it free completely useless.
“What?” Jiang Ni gasped in awe. “Nian Zheng is a second-rank swordsman, yet he blocked her with just one hand.”
Compared to their shock, the young man appeared remarkably relaxed, even finding the leisure to mock her. “Is that truly all the skill Crane Manor has to offer? You can’t even beat a nobody like me. If you ask me, you might as well rename yourselves ‘Laughing Manor’.”
“Shut up!” Nian Zheng vaulted backward to put distance between them.
With a flash of steel, a howling gale forced the young man to blink against the pressure.
Nian Zheng’s swordsmanship was fast and vicious, every single stance steeped in lethal intent. Driven by surging sword qi, though the blade never touched the young man, the sheer murderous momentum forced him to retreat step by step.
Seeing this, the young man dropped his frivolous grin. Unarmed, he relied solely on his bare fists and bizarre, agile footwork to exchange over a hundred blows with Nian Zheng.
Yet whenever Nian Zheng’s longsword drew close, it seemed to encounter an invisible, yielding barrier that slowed the momentum of her strike. The young man moved with blinding agility, but as the prolonged engagement wore on, even he began to struggle against her sustained onslaught. Though no victor had emerged, his offensive tempo had clearly slowed.
Observing the young man’s every move, Ying Laixian quietly arrived at a conclusion. “That’s the Paper Hall’s Passing All Sails, training the body’s flexibility and conditioning to its absolute limit, then combining it with internal breath cultivation to minimize the impact of enemy attacks.”
The flaw, however, was its excessive consumption of internal energy. Against an opponent whose strength vastly surpassed his own, sustaining a prolonged battle would prove exceedingly difficult.
“Jiang Ni.”
As Ying Laixian’s voice fell, Jiang Ni had already stepped into the fray. Forced to fall back, Nian Zheng had to maintain her guard against Ji Tingzhong, who had yet to make a move, though it was clear Ji Tingzhong had no spare attention for her, given that Hua Qianmi was still standing on the field.
“Gentleman Liuyu’s luck is always so absurdly good,” Nian Zheng gritted her teeth. Unreconciled though she was, she had no choice but to make a tactical retreat. “I only hope your luck holds out in the days to come. I will take my leave.”
“Hey!” the young man shouted after her. “We haven’t decided the winner yet! What are you running for?”
Realizing the situation had slipped beyond her control, Hua Qianmi chose to cut her losses and dropped the offensive. “Gentleman Liuyu, the martial world is vast, and those you meet next may not be as soft-hearted as I am. We have a long road ahead of us; we’ll meet again.”
The young man dusted off his hands and sauntered over to Ying Laixian. Ignoring Jiang Ni’s murderous glare, he resumed his earnest, unblinking inspection of Ying Laixian, continuing to marvel under his breath.
“As expected of Liuyu Shouxue. Goodness, brother, how can any man be this drop-dead gorgeous? Oh, by the way, do you know who I am?”
Ying Laixian: “What does Your Excellency think?”
Sheepishly, the young man dragged his gaze away. “Apologies, you’re just a bit too easy on the eyes. Now, where was I? Ah, right, those two, bullying people with sheer numbers! I happened to be passing by today, and I’m definitely stepping in to manage this business!”