“I'm coming!”
“Let me try too!”
......
“All of you, scram! This martial arts merit is mine for the taking!”
“Swish! Swish! Swish!”, From the endless black armor, suddenly twenty to thirty silver-robed Zongqi rushed out, each with an excited expression, looking at Ning Yue as if he were prey waiting to be slaughtered.
Xue Youwei's originally gloating expression was somewhat distorted; things seemed to be getting out of control!
Xue Ren covered his face, his voice filled with both emotion and a hint of worry, “Damn it, I really didn't expect this kid to be so popular!”
Xie Yanming's eyes also held surprise. Looking at this situation, it seemed... it didn't require his family's arrangements. Ning Yue's position as Zongqi wouldn't be stable either.
“Hehehe, Xue Zhenfu, your son's soldier seems very 'popular'. But looking at this current lineup, even a Baihu would probably have to kneel.” Mo Zhenfu said with a hidden dagger in his smile.
“I don't think so. Ning Yue has always been sharp-tongued. Maybe if he humbles himself and begs everyone, he might even be able to coax them into changing their minds!” Xie Zhenfu said, smiling as he took over the conversation.
Xue Zhenfu raised an eyebrow slightly and retorted, “Young people are full of vigor and vitality; it's inevitable that they speak and act unreliably, offending people without even realizing it.”
He sighed and continued, “On the other hand, Young Master Xie is mature and steady. I heard that a while ago, at my daughter's Linglong Pavilion, he was cornered and couldn't get off the stage, but he managed to find a way to gracefully retreat. That is truly... mature, he will surely achieve great things in the future!”
Xie Zhenfu stopped smiling.
Being mature and steady, for a young man in his twenties, could by no means be considered a compliment. As for achieving great things in the future, that was Xue Chengwu, the old fox, secretly calling his own son useless, and how could he not understand that?
“Hmph! A prodigy in childhood does not necessarily guarantee greatness in adulthood!” Xie Zhenfu turned his head to look at the stage.
And Xue Zhenfu then looked at Mo Zhibai beside him, “Oh? I've always heard that this kid doesn't get along with Young Master Mo, but why didn't I see him go up on stage just now? Yet now he's standing out, tsk tsk tsk—”
“What a pity!”
Mo Zhenfu's pupils constricted again and again, and he finally couldn't help but say, “Xue Ren has Dragon Tendon Tiger Bone, and he also luckily broke through to the Forging Bone Realm. My son was a step slower, but a steady approach is fine. However, not just anyone can be a Zongqi in the army!”
“However, this Ninth-Rank Zongqi is not so easy to be! Ning Yue is arrogant and overbearing, but if he goes up against my Ying Shuo, I'm afraid within ten moves, the victor will be decided, and the fierce tiger will turn into a sick cat!”
Xie Zhenfu narrowed his eyes and added another jab, “A small pond wants to raise a Dragon dragon?! Xue Zhenfu, just wait and see, don't get too complacent too early!”
Before he finished speaking, Mo Yingshuo indeed leaped out, his feet touching the ground like a flying swan, and with a flash of his figure, he ascended the high platform!
Mo Yingshuo held his long saber, drawing all eyes to himself. He opened his mouth and said, “What's all this ruckus? I'm going first. Does anyone object?!”
The stage was silent. Mo Yingshuo's record of being among the top thirty in the army's grand competition was enough to suppress most challengers. What's more, he had the status of a direct descendant of an aristocratic family, and he was also Xue Ren's old rival.
Thinking of all this, everyone put their sabers down and held back, giving him some face to varying degrees.
But one person advanced with a large halberd, his face showing no fear.
Seeing this, Xie Yanming tightly pulled Zhu Qimo's sleeve and whispered, “Chief Zhu, please bear with it for now. I imagine Chief Mo's intervention is already enough. The things I promised you will not be lacking in the slightest!”
Thus, the halberd stopped in place.
“Cousin, did we really not arrange anyone? I don't think Ning Yue can necessarily hold his own!” Xue Youwei couldn't help but ask.
Xue Ren's gaze was solemn, “This round, I'm afraid he can only bear it himself. I've arranged for someone to appear in the second round, so even if he runs out of strength later, he can still hold this Zongqi position firmly and it won't affect his future promotions...”
Xue Youwei's tightly furrowed brows still hadn't relaxed.
Standing on the stage was Mo Yingshuo!!
The direct descendant of the Mo family, who had eaten spiritual materials as food since childhood, used precious medicines for baths, and had countless divine techniques and secret manuals at his disposal for cultivation. Who knew what trump cards he would reveal today?
Although Xue Youwei had great confidence in Ning Yue, seeing his cousin's old rival condescend to deal with a newly promoted Xiaoqi official, his heart inevitably felt heavy!
His gaze was fixed on the young man silently holding the saber on the stage, but he heard Xue Ren's final reassurance in his ear: “Don't worry, I remember Ning Yue is skilled in finger techniques.”
On the high platform, Ning Yue straightened his clothes and rose, his silver robe fluttering, like wings spread in the sky!
There wasn't even a single superfluous word between the two sides. The long saber swung, and they collided.
“Clang!” The sound of top-grade sharp weapons clashing echoed throughout the entire training ground!
“I can't beat Xue Ren, but I can't deal with you?!” Mo Yingshuo swung his saber, stirring up wind and clouds. Thus, a strong wind suddenly rose, layers of air currents wrapping around the long saber, also rubbing against it, producing crackling sounds!
The sound of air explosions was incessant.
Mo Yingshuo slashed diagonally with his saber, a blue cloud group flashing under his feet and disappearing in an instant. The distance between the two of them closed again, and an extremely sharp edge emerged from within, like an awl piercing through a bag, its sharpness already revealed!
Earth-grade saber technique—Hidden Sky Saber!
Mo Yingshuo's fierce gaze instantly collided with the calm eyes that descended from above.
“Do you even deserve to be an official in the same army as me?!” Mo Yingshuo was clearly genuinely enraged, roaring out, also voicing the thoughts of dozens of challengers below the stage.
Others were one thing, but an unknown Xiaoqi official, who usually relied on Xue Ren's favoritism, extorted and exploited, and was solely interested in profit. Anyone who had interacted with him a few times knew Ning Yue's nature of being greedy for money as if his life depended on it!
He had only achieved some meager military exploits in the past two months, yet he wanted to be on equal footing with everyone. Did he not look at those who dared to fight today, which one wasn't battle-hardened, which one wasn't scarred?
How many demon races had Ning Yue killed, how many enemy chieftains' heads had he cut off?!
Ning Yue could sense everyone's hostility, and naturally understood their unwillingness.
But he also understood the logic of being an official in the military: a soft persimmon deserves to be crushed, while the strong should be respected!
Xue Ren said, pay attention, but don't hold back.
Zhao City Lord said, be careful.
But no matter what was said, Ning Yue only found it verbose.
At this moment, he wanted to reply: My saber is not necessarily dull either!