Chapter 383

Swish! Swish!

"What a fine Hanguang Sword; I have lost."

The Court Sword Master looked at the Hanguang Sword, which held its edge without revealing it, now pressed against his throat. A complex expression appeared on his face, and he slowly withdrew his blade, saying with some reluctance.

"Clap, clap, clap!"

"Master Yan Lu, excellent sword technique. The blade is hidden without being revealed, and the sword art is so airtight that it makes it difficult for others to attack."

Fusu's discernment was not low; the sword duel between the two was the most pure, but also extremely dangerous.

Yet, his Court Sword Master had been attacking the entire time without any effect, as everything was blocked firmly.

"I have let the Young Master see a joke."

Yan Lu responded calmly, without any expression of joy, appearing neither elated by gain nor saddened by loss. This disposition was truly worthy of admiration.

One win and one loss; the next match would be the most critical.

For the Little Sage Virtuous Manor, it would undoubtedly be Fu Nian, while Su Fan was curious whether it would be that Xiaomeng of the Heavenly Sect.

Sure enough, before long, she did appear; it was indeed Master Xiaomeng of the Heavenly Sect.

"Young Master, the first two matches were both martial duels. How about we change this third match into a literary duel?"

Fu Nian glanced at Xiaomeng; he saw through her cultivation at a glance. Although she had reached the Profound Mastery realm, there was still a gap of several decades in their ages.

Truly speaking of cultivation, she was inferior to him.

Therefore, Fu Nian did not intend to take advantage, so he simply proposed it.

Everyone present was very intelligent and instantly understood Fu Nian's intention, so they all nodded and looked toward Xiaomeng.

After hearing the other party's words, Xiaomeng's face remained neither happy nor sad, and she said calmly: "Since Manor Master Fu Nian wishes to compete, then we shall follow his wishes."

Although her tone was so indifferent, it was filled with boundless dominance; that was confidence in her own strength.

"How shall we have a literary duel?"

Fusu asked.

"Since it is a competition of sword Dao, then let us display it through sword technique."

Fu Nian stood up: "I invite the Young Master to move."

"Good!"

Fusu naturally had no objections, and he was also very curious about how Fu Nian intended to conduct a literary duel.

However, Su Fan and the others all understood that a literary duel was not that quiet; a literary duel was a competition of their sword Dao cultivation, the realm of their sword Dao, and their understanding of sword Dao.

This involved the level of spirit and soul, and it was no less intense than the previous two matches.

The crowd soon moved to the side of the lake pavilion. With the pavilion paved with white marble and the paths built of bluestone, a large group of disciples had already gathered around the lake pavilion. Clearly, these Confucian disciples of the Little Sage Virtuous Manor had all heard that Fu Nian was going to compete in sword Dao with Master Xiaomeng of the Heavenly Sect.

One by one, they swarmed over.

At this moment, Su Fan also saw the sneaky Tianming and Xiang Shaoyu, both dressed in Confucian attire, hiding to one side.

The other party clearly also saw Su Fan, and their eyes instantly began to dodge.

Su Fan smiled at them.

"Shaoyu, we've been discovered."

Tianming pulled Xiang Shaoyu behind the other disciples and whispered, pointing at Su Fan.

"What?"

Xiang Shaoyu had not noticed Su Fan at first, but once Tianming pointed him out, he instantly saw Su Fan's figure, and his scalp went numb.

Clearly, he already knew Su Fan's identity; after all, Su Fan of the Ministry of Agriculture was now known to everyone under heaven.

The Mohist School also paid much attention to him.

"What should we do?"

Tianming scratched his head. Regarding Su Fan, Tianming was still very grateful in his heart, but now they were already wanted criminals of the Great Qin Empire, while the other party was a high-ranking official of the Empire. He did not know what kind of official position the Ministry of Agriculture was.

But anyway, he heard from those people in the Mohist School that the other party was a very, very big official of the tyrannical Qin.

He also did not know if the other party would betray them now.

"Hmm! Let's go back quickly and notify Master Ban and the others."

Xiang Shaoyu also felt that they were in trouble now; their identities were exposed, so wouldn't that mean the others were exposed too?

The most important thing now was to hurry back, notify the others, and see if they had any solutions.

The two left sneakily, and no one else noticed, except for Su Fan and Zhang Liang.

Especially Zhang Liang; seeing Su Fan's gaze, his heart sank. He knew that Su Fan recognized Tianming and the others.

"Second Senior Brother, I have something to attend to here, I need to leave for a moment."

After thinking about it, Zhang Liang decided to go over first and discuss it with those people from the Mohist School. Tianming and Xiang Shaoyu were both wanted criminals of the Empire, yet they had become disciples of the Little Sage Virtuous Manor.

If this matter was not handled well, it would also be a troublesome thing for the Little Sage Virtuous Manor, especially at a time when the Young Master had come to give them a warning.

"What's wrong?" Yan Lu asked after hearing this, glancing at Zhang Liang. To suddenly leave at this time must mean something very urgent.

"It's nothing! I can handle it. I'll leave this place to you, Second Senior Brother."

Zhang Liang also knew Yan Lu's concern, but he did not want to involve his Second Senior Brother. Even if he wanted to restore the country, he did not want to involve the Little Sage Virtuous Manor.

After all, he himself understood that restoring the country was very difficult; if something went wrong, it would cause great consequences that the Little Sage Virtuous Manor could not bear.

Taking Tianming and Xiang Shaoyu into the sect was because the two were still children and posed little threat to the Empire. Even if they were discovered in the future, the Little Sage Virtuous Manor would absolutely not have any major problems, at most just a little bit of trouble.

But involving the restoration of the country was different; it was equivalent to rebellion, and the crime would be great. The Little Sage Virtuous Manor could not withstand it.

"Alright! Be careful. If it really doesn't work out, remember that you still have us."

Yan Lu nodded and patted the former's shoulder. In fact, although he had not seen Zhang Liang's actions with his own eyes, he had sensed some of them. Like the Eldest Senior Brother, they were also turning a blind eye.

After all, there was the affection of fellow disciples for so many years.

It was just that they also knew that Zhang Liang's business was no small matter, and they could not provide any help; everything could only depend on themselves.

Just like the matter of taking in Tianming and Xiang Shaoyu, did Fu Nian not know?

As the largest clan in the Qi-Lu land, the Little Sage Virtuous Manor had a very wide reach and many sources of information.

Fu Nian had long known the identities of the two little fellows, but he did not say anything. He could not openly protect those people from the Mohist School, but for these two children, it was no big problem for the Little Sage Virtuous Manor to protect them a little.

As for other matters, he would just pretend to know nothing at all.

The three of them could be considered to have a tacit understanding.

After Zhang Liang nodded toward Yan Lu, he left quickly. His departure did attract the attention of Fusu and the others.

After all, as the Third Master of the Little Sage Virtuous Manor, Zhang Liang's identity was not ordinary, and this sudden departure...

"What is Master Zhang Liang doing?"

Fusu still asked a question.

"Oh! My Junior Brother has something to attend to, so he left a step early. Please forgive any discourtesy, Young Master."

Yan Lu hurriedly stepped forward, bowing with an apologetic expression.