Seeing this, Xie Lian couldn't help but reach out to touch it, asking, "What's wrong with this..."
Hua Cheng slightly moved to the side, avoiding his hand, and gave a hard slap on the knife handle, saying, "Nothing. Don't mind it."
The cursed blade, the scimitar E-Ming, feared by all heavenly gods, was struck by his slap, making a loud noise and trembling even more. At this moment, Xie Lian heard Feng Xin in the Spirit Communication Array saying, "How can Hua Cheng use the Shrinking Earth Technique in the Immortal Capital?! How do we open this door?!"
Shi Qingxuan said, "General Nan Yang! I, I, I think I know how to open it. When I was on duty with the Crown Prince, I suffered a lot from this trick by Hua Cheng. First, throw two dice at the door, then try opening it."
Xie Lian remembered that earlier, he had accidentally thrown two dice in the hall for fun. He and Shi Qingxuan had a chaotic escape from the Earth Dragon Cave and the wild spirits, still fresh in his memory. If they really opened the door, who knows what dangers awaited. He quickly said, "Hold on! Don't! Be careful!"
However, his voice didn't reach the Spirit Communication Array. Perhaps he hadn't had time to replenish his spiritual power while in the Immortal Capital, and now his power was depleted, allowing him only to listen, not speak. Even if he could speak, it might have been too late.
Feng Xin seemed to follow Shi Qingxuan's instructions without hesitation. How did he know? Because the next moment, Feng Xin burst out swearing in the Spirit Communication Array.
When he got excited, he cursed, and his curses were particularly unpleasant, so they won't be repeated here. All the gods were closely watching this matter, quickly asking, "General, what's wrong with you?"
Mu Qing's voice came through, also very surprised, "What is this place???" It seemed he had entered the door with Feng Xin. Shi Qingxuan said, "Be careful! The place you end up depends on the number you roll. What did you roll?"
Mu Qing said, "He rolled a four!"
Xie Lian heard a hint of panic and fear in Feng Xin's curses, worried they had encountered a very dangerous situation. Though he couldn't speak into the Spirit Communication Array, he remembered the master of this spell was right in front of him, so he asked urgently, "San Lang, what does one see when they roll a four and open the door?"
Hua Cheng said, "It's random. Whatever the dice roller finds most terrifying, that's what they'll see when they open the door."
As soon as he finished speaking, Mu Qing's cold voice came through, "You rolled us into a women's bath! Let me do it!"
Hearing "women's bath," Xie Lian covered his face with his hand.
Feng Xin had always kept a respectful distance from women, speaking of them as if they were a great danger. To him, a women's bath was indeed the most terrifying place on earth, more unfathomable than any tiger's den or dragon's pool. It sounded like Mu Qing successfully grabbed the dice, and Xie Lian breathed a sigh of relief. However, in no time, the two were shouting angrily again. Shi Qingxuan, exasperated, asked, "Generals, what did you see this time?"
There was no response from the other side, only a strange "glug glug" sound, as if both had fallen into water. Everyone held their breath, and after a while, Feng Xin suddenly spat several times, as if breaking through the water's surface, shouting, "Black Swamp Crocodiles!"
It turned out that just after escaping the steaming women's bath, Mu Qing's roll landed them in a swampy maze. The mud quickly rose past their waists, over their mouths, and as they struggled out, they were surrounded by dozens of incredibly long crocodile spirits.
These crocodile spirits, each over four meters long, had been eating humans for years and had developed human-like hands and legs. The scene was suffocating, making the two nauseous, half-buried in the swamp, fighting the crocodile monsters. Unable to bear it any longer, Feng Xin said, "Let me do it!
Give me the dice! You didn't roll it right either!"
Mu Qing, never one to admit defeat, released a burst of white light, saying, "Crocodile monsters are better; they're not as indecent as a women's bath. Who knows what you'll roll next. Give it to me!"
Feng Xin yelled, "Damn it, didn't I just give it to you?! Where are the dice?!"
The two completely forgot they were still connected to the Spirit Communication Array, blaming each other for their bad luck, and began fighting again, not knowing where the dice went. The gods in the Spirit Communication Array listened to their real-time bickering, finding it highly entertaining, unable to hold back their laughter, some even pounding their thrones in their own temples, wishing they could be there to cheer them on.
Though Feng Xin and Mu Qing seemed unlucky, they were both martial gods, and these wild spirits were at most a nuisance, preventing them from pursuing, not a real threat. Xie Lian hoped they would give up and free themselves soon, feeling a bit relieved that his earlier roll was just right, not summoning monsters, but Hua Cheng instead. As they walked, he asked, "I rolled a two earlier. Does that mean rolling a two lets me see you?"
As soon as he said it, he realized it sounded strange, as if he really wanted to see Hua Cheng, feeling a bit awkward. Hua Cheng said, "No."
Xie Lian felt a bit embarrassed, scratching his cheek, saying, "Oh, I got it wrong."
Hua Cheng, walking ahead of him, said, "If you want to see me, no matter what you roll, you'll see me."
Hearing this, Xie Lian's throat moved, forgetting what he was about to say.
Before he could ponder the meaning of those words, he suddenly heard someone in the Spirit Communication Array say in a deep voice, "I'll do it!"
After this person spoke, a dazzling white light streaked across the sky, followed by a thunderous metallic crash, blocking the path of Hua Cheng and Xie Lian.
As the white light gradually cooled and faded, Xie Lian finally saw that the object that had flown from the sky to block their way was a sword.
This sword was long and slender, slanting into the ground, its blade still trembling. It seemed to be made of black jade, deep and ominous, smoother than a mirror. If someone approached, they could see their reflection clearly on the blade, with only a thin silver line running through most of the sword.
The sword's name was "Fangxin."
A figure landed in front of the sword, saying, "This is your sword."
After the Fangxin National Teacher died, his sword was kept by the Crown Prince of Eternal Peace. The one who threw the Fangxin sword to block their path was Lang Qianqiu.
It seemed Feng Xin and Mu Qing had failed, but Lang Qianqiu had successfully rolled the right number. It's hard to say whether this was his luck or Xie Lian's misfortune. The only certain thing was that although both were Crown Princes, Lang Qianqiu's luck had always been better than Xie Lian's.
Hua Cheng stood with his hands behind his back, his expression unchanged, only his posture shifted slightly. As he moved, Xie Lian immediately raised his hand to stop him, saying softly, "Let me."
In the middle of the valley, Lang Qianqiu blocked the way, dragging his heavy sword, saying, "I just want to give it my all and fight you. No matter the result, even if you kill me, I don't need you to repay anything. I don't need you to ask the Emperor to demote yourself. You taught me swordsmanship; you may not be unable to defeat me. Why don't you want to fight me?"
Without Lang Qianqiu saying it, Xie Lian knew he would definitely give his all. But if he did, Xie Lian would have to respond seriously. In such a situation, any result would not be what Xie Lian wanted to see. But if he didn't fight him, Lang Qianqiu would never give up.
After a long time, Xie Lian slowly nodded, saying, "Alright."
He took a few steps forward, reaching the sword, pulling it from the rocks, and said softly, "You asked for this."
Hundreds of years later, Fangxin finally returned to its owner.
It let out a low hum in Xie Lian's hand. Not far away, Hua Cheng's eyes were lit up by the continuous sword song.
With the long sword in hand, Xie Lian swung it, the tip pointing to the ground, coldly saying, "In this battle, whatever the outcome, don't regret it."
Lang Qianqiu shouted, "I will never regret it!"
His scalp seemed to explode, gripping the heavy sword's handle with both hands, fully focused, holding his breath, his eyes locked on Fangxin's black jade-like edge, not daring to be careless.
Xie Lian shook the sword, charging forward. Lang Qianqiu's eyes narrowed, ready to counter, but suddenly his limbs stiffened, as if bound tightly, and he fell heavily to the ground.
Looking down, he realized he was indeed tied up. At some point, a snow-white ribbon had wrapped around him like a snake, binding him in countless loops!
Lang Qianqiu had been taught swordsmanship by the Fangxin National Teacher since childhood, holding deep respect for the teacher. Even after the bloody massacre at the banquet, this respect never faded. So when Xie Lian gripped the sword, he focused entirely on his opponent's every move, not noticing the white ribbon sneaking behind him, striking when he was fully engaged. How could such a shameful thing happen???
Seeing Ruoye succeed, Xie Lian's tense expression and mood relaxed instantly.
He let go of Fangxin, exhaling a long breath, thinking, "That was close, that was close."
Lang Qianqiu struggled on the ground, but the ribbon was strangely tight, binding him more the more he struggled. He shouted, "Teacher, what are you doing! Let me go so we can have a fair fight!"
Xie Lian wiped the sweat from his forehead, saying, "We were just having a fair fight. The thing wrapped around you is one of my magical tools. You've already lost."
"..." Lang Qianqiu said, "How can this count? I said I wanted a fair fight with swords! Be a man and use a sword; what kind of cowardly attack is this with a ribbon?"
He genuinely believed the sword was the king of all weapons, not thinking much of it, but it sounded like he was discriminating against male gods using ribbons as magical tools. But Xie Lian didn't care about being called unmanly; he'd worn women's clothes before and often joked about his impotence, so he wasn't bothered.
Xie Lian squatted beside him, saying, "You didn't think it through beforehand. You didn't say it had to be with swords, so I found a loophole. Who are you going to complain to?"
After a pause, he seriously said, "Yes, I ambushed you. So what if I ambushed you? I succeeded. Yes, I'm despicable. So what if I'm despicable? I won. If your opponent wasn't me but someone else, you'd be dead by now."
Hua Cheng stood not far from the two, silently smiling, looking away. Lang Qianqiu was stunned.
When this person was still the National Teacher of Eternal Peace, his teachings were always about being open and honest, charging forward, giving it your all. He never imagined that one day he would hear "Yes, I ambushed you. So what if I ambushed you? I succeeded. Yes, I'm despicable. So what if I'm despicable? I won" from his former teacher, leaving him dumbfounded.
After Xie Lian finished speaking, he stood up, saying, "Think about it carefully yourself. Next time, don't fall for someone else's trick like this."
Volume 1