Chapter 156: Divine Weapon Chi Xiao, Madmen of the World!

When the eunuch of the Court of Ceremonies spoke those words, the entire training ground fell silent.

Then, instantly, it erupted into chaos.

And the obvious question was: how could Chen Yuyun—a disciple of the Sixth Master of the Jianghu, with a formidable physique and profound inner energy, a top-tier youth of his generation—have suddenly died?

Everyone's gaze instinctively turned toward Yuwen Hua over there.

And Yuwen Hua, the son of a military family, was usually arrogant and brash, but his cunning and depth were still those of a twenty-three-year-old youth; thus, as Bujun had predicted, Yuwen Hua instinctively glanced at his uncle.

He had automatically assumed his uncle had killed Chen Yuyun to secure his victory.

But he immediately dismissed the thought.

This fight, he had intended to crush Chen Yuyun utterly, leaving him half-dead.

Then forfeit.

Yuwen Lie's scalp prickled instantly; Yuwen Lie likewise lowered his gaze, turned to the Emperor of Chen, and spoke up: "Someone seeks to harm our Ying state, sowing discord between Chen and Ying, Your Majesty."

"This match, Hua has lost."

The Emperor of Chen's expression was calm.

Yuwen Lie had never seen such cold, icy eyes.

The Ying Emperor's gaze was always blazing, always powerful—never as detached and frozen as a deep pool; the Emperor of Chen replied: "General, no need for such concern. Chen and Ying are both great Central Plains states; let us forever remain allies."

Then he looked toward the arena, rose calmly, and sat down.

Yuwen Lie sensed a strong true qi rising from the Emperor of Chen.

Then it was suppressed.

Yuwen Lie surmised that the dead Chen Yuyun's identity was likely far more complex than it appeared; only then would a national sovereign, one who cultivated the Emperor's Art, have shown a momentary lapse—such a realm would have inner qi fluctuations, enough to know that beneath that placid face, turmoil raged.

"Before the state sacrifice, a criminal committed an act; entrust it to the City Captains and other officials."

"Chen Yuyun failed to appear for this match; the first bout is won by Yuwen Hua."

"The Sacrificial Tournament is a matter of state; it cannot be halted due to the death or injury of one individual. This matter will be handled by the appropriate officials. Our Chen people, take care of your safety when traveling."

"The Sacrificial Tournament continues; proceed to the second bout."

The Emperor of Chen sat down calmly, sipped his tea, his eyes expressionless.

He continued chatting casually with the Seventh Prince and the Ying Crown Prince.

The eunuch of the Court of Ceremonies returned to the Emperor's side, watching him as he appeared exactly as usual—even his breath and expression unchanged, save for a faint displeasure at the disturbance by bandits; beyond that, no ripple.

The eunuch felt a bone-deep chill.

Xue Daoyong was stunned, but Dantai Xianming sensed a faint unease in his heart.

The others were also stunned for a long while.

Zhou Liu stared blankly: "Chen Yuyun… died?"

Though he disliked that cold-hearted bastard, he never imagined he'd die; for some reason, he couldn't bring himself to feel joy. Ye Buyi looked at Li Guanyi and said: "Next, it's you and Geshu Yin."

Zhou Liu snapped back to awareness:

"Buyi, you just said the final match would be a great Chen victory."

"Now that this has happened, doesn't that mean the boss is bound to win?"

Ye Buyi shook his head slowly: "No…"

"It should be: the imperial clan must win; now that Chen Yuyun of the Huangzu Sect line is dead."

"Then the final match will likely see those two men fighting with all their might to defeat Li Guanyi."

Zhou Liu frowned in confusion: "Why?"

Ye Buyi fell silent, then said:

"Because this subtly sends a message to the people—that the enemy fears the imperial clan, so they assassinated them; without the imperial clan's warrior, our Chen can only fall to second or third place."

"Thus, if Li Guanyi loses, it benefits the imperial house more than if he wins."

Zhou Liu stared, speechless; he sighed: "I don't get it—this is too complicated."

Ye Buyi said: "This is court politics."

"Life and death, victory and defeat—all belong to the royal house."

Yuwen Hua descended the arena; everything seemed normal. The people soon began angrily discussing the conspiracy behind Chen Yuyun's death, then quickly dropped the topic, eagerly awaiting the next bout.

Li Guanyi, Ye Buyi, Zhou Liu, and the others exchanged fist bumps, hefted their halberds, and stepped onto the arena.

Geshu Yin had been ordered by the Seventh Prince to win.

"We must mend ties with Chen. Since Chen's own face—Chen Yuyun—is gone, we must give Chen back its face."

Geshu Yin was a loyal and valiant warrior; he silently followed the Prince's will. Having witnessed Li Guanyi's battlefield duels, he chose a heavy battle-axe this time—requiring both hands to wield, its sharp blade capable of cleaving through warhorses and armor with ease.

A weapon more primitive, ancient, heavy, and brutal than the Central Plains halberd.

Tu Shengyuan, guest minister of the Tianxia Diyi Lou, held a bamboo slip and carving knife: "Geshu Yin, in the Tuyuhun campaign, fought alongside the Turkic Seventh Prince and earned many merits; he is himself of Turkic nobility, and this is not even his peak."

"He possesses a Captain-grade Iron Tie Futu armor."

"Wearing such heavy armor—horse and rider fully armored, nearly ten thousand catties—he charges with his battle-axe, utterly unstoppable; this kind of martial duel is not his strength."

"But he has trained his physique."

"Steppe warriors' cultivation is tied to primitive shamanism, prioritizing physique, with qi as auxiliary; their martial techniques are broad and forceful—same type as Li Guanyi. Previously, he brute-forced his way against the Young Sword Saint, Xu Huiyang, who lost due to his mental state."

A curious onlooker asked: "This time, Mr., what are you betting on?"

Tu Shengyuan said: "I bet… I bet…"

In his life so far, he had been fooled twice.

Once by Tai Ping Gong's wife.

Once by this little brat.

He would not be fooled a third time.

Tu Shengyuan sneered and said, "I bet Li Guanyi can't defeat Geshu Yin within a hundred strikes!"

The onlookers stared, dumbfounded—none had expected this guest of the Number One Tower to speak with such brutal, forceful conviction.

Tu Shengyuan said, "If he can win within a hundred rounds—no, fifty rounds."

"If he defeats Geshu Yin within fifty rounds, I'll eat this carving knife!"

The crowd fell solemnly silent.

Li Li Zhaowen closed his folding fan slightly, watching it all.

Beside the Crown Prince of Chen, the Young Saint of the Sword, Xu Huiyang, sat upright, his sword case on his back; the usually gentle martial hero now opened his eyes, watching the battle intently, pondering in his mind how it would unfold.

Below, the battle had begun—Geshu Yin showed no hesitation, unleashing all his internal qi at once, charging forward like a wild ox, as if the ground itself trembled, then using that terrifying surge to swing his battle-axe.

The ink-black battle-axe, wrapped in thick internal qi, abandoned all Central Plains techniques of qi-forming weapons.

It focused purely on raw destructive power and speed!

Pure force!

Pure ferocity!

Li Guanyi stepped in the Eight Trigrams pattern, spinning his battle-spear as he thrust—its heavy, long shaft precisely struck the side of the axe; his qi twisted, causing the axe to slam down wildly off-target, while Li Guanyi's spear remained light and agile.

Like a sword, it pointed straight at Geshu Yin's shoulder.

Li Li Zhaowen smiled.

Tu Shengyuan's expression slowly froze: "Technique?!"

The battle-spear is not merely a heavy weapon.

In the ensuing combat, Li Guanyi proved once more to all onlookers: his strength allowed him to wield the battle-spear with countless refined techniques, blending the skills of sword, spear, dao, ge, and staff.

Thrusting or slicing.

Pointing or shattering.

Sweeping like a staff, or light as a sword.

The crowd fell quiet, watching Li Guanyi and Geshu Yin fight—they realized Li Guanyi had not battled Xu Huiyang with technique, but with physique; that did not mean he lacked skill.

Now, Li Guanyi pushed the battle-spear's techniques to their peak, reminding the steppe warriors once more: what was the Central Plains' ultimate weapon, the hardest to master, where technique and weight fused perfectly?

Xu Huiyang sat up straight.

Li Guanyi, who had endured the beating of Xue Shen, found such brute warriors…

Deeply nostalgic.

Compared to Xu Huiyang, such warriors were easier to handle—Li Guanyi's physique let him clash with them without being stunned into dropping his weapon, while his own technique could counter Geshu Yin.

Feinting east, striking west, moves flowing without pause.

Yuwen Hua's expression grew solemn.

Finally, Geshu Yin, enraged, let out a long roar—his third-layer internal qi erupted, forming a qi-armour to brace against Li Guanyi's sweeping strike, then gripped the battle-axe with both arms, hiding behind its blade, lowering his body, and charging straight ahead.

He didn't care—he would rely on his strength and bulk, endure injury, and shove Li Guanyi off the platform.

Exploiting the rules to win.

This was a general who understood how to use the rules—not a mindless brute.

Li Guanyi's eyes flickered; he sidestepped, holding the spear in his right hand.

His left hand extended two fingers.

He suddenly recalled Xu Huiyang's Heart Sword.

The Heart Sword was merely striking one's spirit against the opponent's, clashing in consciousness.

Such an experience—Li Guanyi knew it well.

He shaped his Nascent Soul into a sword and thrust—though he didn't understand Xu Huiyang's Heart Sword method, he mimicked it, relying on his own Nascent Soul techniques—and Geshu Yin's vision blurred; though he broke free instantly, his charging momentum faltered.

Li Guanyi stepped through the Nine Palaces and Eight Trigrams, appearing beside him, dragging his spear along the ground to trip Geshu Yin's legs, while his left hand pressed down on Geshu Yin's shoulder.

Not using explosive force.

But softness, weight, pressure, entanglement, drag.

He flipped Geshu Yin clean over—this third-layer warrior tumbled off the platform.

The victory was effortless, elegant; martial artists who recognized its brilliance raised their swords and cheered loudly; though the common folk didn't understand, they knew their man had won—and they cheered too.

Only the Young Saint of the Sword beside the Crown Prince recognized the brilliance of Li Guanyi's finger-strike.

He closed his eyes in pain and whispered, "A prototype of the Heart Sword…"

After just one exchange.

He had already learned his technique.

Such talent and insight—truly astonishing.

Geshu Yin sat up, furious, then saw the young man standing alone, holding the spear, bowing slightly toward him, extending a hand with calm, gentle expression; Geshu Yin sighed, grasped Li Guanyi's hand, and pulled himself up.

"I lost. Your physique is strong, your technique is formidable."

"I truly hope we never meet on the battlefield."

Geshu Yin offered the most sincere praise a warrior could give: I don't wish to face you on the battlefield—but Geshu Yin knew it was impossible; in this chaotic age, after parting here, if they met again, it would almost certainly be on the battlefield.

Xu Huiyang watched this scene, sighed, and made a decision.

"Your Highness."

The Crown Prince of Chen blinked, turning to the solemn young sword saint beside him—just as Li Guanyi raised his battle-spear on the platform, basking in the cheers of tens of thousands, while martial artists struck their weapons against the ground in approval.

The roar drowned out the young sword saint's voice.

The Emperor of Chen looked down from above.

These honors—should have been his son's to receive.

Tomorrow's battle is the final one before the Grand Sacrifice: Yuwen Hua of Ying versus Li Guanyi; now, many commoners instinctively believe Yuwen Hua murdered Chen Yuyun to win, so this match has exploded in popularity—everyone hopes Li Guanyi wins.

Such a turn of events left Emperor Chen displeased, and he hastily ended the day's affairs.

The Grand Eunuch held an umbrella to shield the summer sun, while the Emperor strode forward quickly.

Rapid questions and answers.

"Where was it found?"

"Right in his courtyard."

"Were there any traces around?"

"... We're still investigating."

The Emperor's eyes showed no ripple; he merely said, "A fine 'still investigating.'"

The Grand Eunuch's back was drenched in cold sweat; he hurried to where the corpse was found. No one dared move. The Emperor bent down to gaze at his son—every major acupoint on his body had been pierced, with two through-and-through wounds: one at the brow, one at the neck.

The coroner said, "The victim never mounted an effective counterattack before he was killed."

"The opponent excels in fist and foot combat, close-quarters fighting—ending the battle in an instant. The assailant must be at least one full Martial Path Realm above the victim, but not much higher."

"Not much higher?"

Emperor Chen regarded his son with cold indifference.

Chen Yuyun's brow bore a grotesque wound; his eyes remained wide open, unblinking. Even Emperor Chen, seeing his son—whose face bore a resemblance to his own—lying dead here, felt a pang of sorrow. He dismissed the coroner and asked the Grand Eunuch, "What do you think?"

The Grand Eunuch said, "Perhaps, as the coroner suggested."

Emperor Chen murmured, "Foolish."

The Grand Eunuch bowed his head. "Your Majesty is wise."

Emperor Chen said coolly, "Why kill him? On the surface, Yuwen Hua and Yuwen Lie could never have done it—but what if the killer deliberately exploited our very assumption?"

"The fact that the body wasn't destroyed or hidden means it was meant to be found."

"The traces left behind—those resembling a battle between nearly equal realms—are meant for us to see. The true fatal wound is the slash across the neck, severing Yuyun's life force. Unless the killer wielded a divine weapon, he is a top-tier assassin."

"Why kill my child?"

"Who stands to gain the most from my child's death?"

The Grand Eunuch said, "... It couldn't be General Yuwen."

Emperor Chen said coolly, "It's my Crown Prince. It's Dantai."

"But what if the killer deliberately led us to think so?"

"Yuwen Lie kills my son, stirs conflict between imperial authority and ministerial power, then plants false clues to make it seem impossible for him to have done it—shifting blame onto Dantai Xianming. It's possible."

"Continue the investigation."

"If I cannot avenge my son, I am no father!"

Emperor Chen spoke, then closed his eyes briefly. "As for Yuyun's mother..."

The Grand Eunuch bowed slightly.

The Emperor turned away and said coolly, "Order her execution."

The Grand Eunuch froze, as if unable to comprehend.

Emperor Chen gazed at the distant sky and said calmly, "A tender mother loves her child. She will surely care for him. After his death, her best way to avenge him is to go before the Great Sacrifice and declare in public that Chen Yuyun is my son—to make a scandal."

"Wouldn't that sully my name?"

"Women, as mothers, are capable of such things."

The Grand Eunuch thought of the gentle woman and said, "But she... she might not."

Emperor Chen said, "Even if there's no proof?"

He took the bamboo umbrella, spoke gently, turned, and walked away, saying softly:

"Bestow death upon her."

………………

On this very day, the envoy from the Central Plains' Great Emperor finally arrived. Though the Great Emperor who once enfeoffed the regional kings had lost his former might, Emperor Chen, the Crown Prince of Ying, and others still extended due respect and ceremony.

A banquet was held within the palace to receive him.

The envoy was an elderly man with white hair—the Great Emperor's uncle.

During the Great Sacrifice, the ancestors of the Central Plains' Great Emperor, the Red Emperor, are also honored. Emperor Chen smiled and asked, "Did you bring any ritual vessels this time? In past years, you brought items like tripods or scrolls. This time, the old man, whose own Martial Path Realm was exceptionally high, lifted his gaze and said, "We brought something."

Emperor Chen asked with a smile, "What might it be?"

The Great Emperor's uncle said, "You all know this object well."

"After the great event in the Central Plains, your networks are sharp—you must have heard. Si Wei, that madman, has returned to the Academy. Knowing of the Great Sacrifice, he ordered us to carry this item and tour the realm."

The old man lifted the crimson curtain.

A sword, bound by crimson ropes, lay still upon the table.

Majestic, ancient, just as it had been when it once scourged the world.

The banquet fell into deathly silence.

Long moments passed before a dreamlike voice whispered:

"... Chixiao?"