Chapter 1 The Unforeseen

Marquis Zheng had grown accustomed to commanding vast armies over the years, and his skills in assassination had long grown rusty.

As the saying goes, water has no constant shape, and armies have no constant momentum; everything on the battlefield changes in an instant.

But in reality, on the battlefield, you have your troops to fall back on. No matter how fast things change, it all happens within that framework.

Assassination, however, is different.

Like right now, for instance.

Marquis Zheng truly hadn't expected that his shout would directly summon a "Sword Saint"!

It was as if fate felt that the Marquis of Jingnan's experience in leading troops wasn't quite enough, and needed to give him a little surprise.

Li Liangshan arrived.

Just like a true chef can make even simple home-style dishes taste more refined, a true master is naturally even more adept at concealing their presence.

Therefore,

The Sword Saint didn't detect Li Liangshan on the carriage in advance,

And Li Liangshan also didn't spot the Sword Saint hiding behind the signboard just ahead.

And so,

Marquis Zheng's shout

Made Li Liangshan believe that the Sword Saint was on that side of the roof. And then, he came.

Everyone knew that the Sword Saint of Jin had long pledged allegiance to the Marquis of Jingnan.

If the Marquis of Jingnan wanted to assassinate someone, he would naturally bring him along.

Li Liangshan thought that entangling one Sword Saint was enough.

If time could be paused,

If both sides could step out and have a voice-over,

Marquis Zheng would definitely curse at Li Liangshan:

"You're a grand commandant, for crying out loud! Don't you know what a feint is?

"I shouted 'draw your sword,' and you immediately assumed the Sword Saint was standing with me?

"Worthless!

"Incompetent general!

"No wonder you never get a chance to fight!"

Too bad,

Everything happened in an instant.

He, Li Liangshan, came up.

In this kind of localized duel, the outcome is usually decided in a few breaths, meaning that for the moment, no outside support could arrive.

Fortunately,

The devils reacted quickly.

Si Niang stepped forward, her hands spreading out, a shower of silk threads and silver needles assailing the airborne Li Liangshan.

But Li Liangshan's greatsword contained such a rich and unadorned sword qi that it had long reached the level of using brute force to overcome skill.

Si Niang's needles and threads, no matter how dense or penetrating, were useless at this moment.

"Buzz!"

In an instant,

Silk threads snapped, silver needles were crushed.

The sword's edge was already cleaving toward Si Niang.

And behind Si Niang stood Zheng Fan.

Clashes often happen in an instant, especially clashes with swordsmen, which happen even faster. In a blink, life and death are decided.

Zheng Fan looked at Si Niang's back, his gaze hardening.

Suddenly,

Si Niang's aura abruptly rose.

Even Li Liangshan, who had raised his sword, frowned slightly at this moment.

The next moment,

Si Niang's phoenix eyes narrowed, her ten fingers trembling slightly.

Behind Li Liangshan, three silver needles appeared, formed from condensed water vapor.

From the perspective of a Qi refiner, that would be condensing Qi into matter;

From the perspective of a Western mage, it would be water magic;

In short,

Three needles appeared behind Li Liangshan, and all of Li Liangshan's sword qi was in front of him.

Si Niang didn't dodge, fully manipulating those three needles;

She seemed determined that even if he killed her, she would still pierce those three needles into his acupoints!

To put it bluntly,

It was a contest of ruthlessness,

A fight to the death,

A single-plank bridge to cross,

I must move forward,

You,

Do as you wish.

How could a devil's heart be weak?

Si Niang's combat experience told her that now was not the time to retreat.

In fact, the thought process was just an instant.

For Li Liangshan, there was basically nothing to hesitate about.

If the person in front of him was the Sword Saint of Jin, he could risk injury to kill him, which would be a great gain, and he would continue this strike;

But the person in front of him wasn't the Sword Saint, which meant that the Sword Saint was on the other side.

At this moment, he was uninjured and in peak condition, but facing the upcoming Sword Saint, he didn't have complete confidence, perhaps five percent, or even less.

Because in recent years, he had spent too much energy leading troops, and his swordsmanship had stagnated for many years.

He didn't believe Yu Huaping was the same.

Therefore, the two who had once fought to a draw were now aware of the difference in their strengths.

Li Liangshan withdrew his sword, but not entirely.

His greatsword was enough to smash someone to death.

So, the sword was pulled back, but the force of the sword qi still swept over.

After noticing that the opponent had withdrawn his sword, Si Niang decisively gave up those three long needles condensed behind him, instead retreating, while forcefully using silk threads to create seven obstacles in front of her.

The released sword qi shattered the seven obstacles in an instant and struck Si Niang.

Si Niang's left arm began to bleed, and her arm trembled slightly, but she had already received the blow, thanks to her temporary advancement.

A'ming, who had been protecting Zheng Fan's side, licked his lips and stepped forward.

Si Niang understood and began to retreat, crouching in front of Zheng Fan.

This was taking turns to step forward, giving the former a chance to breathe and adjust;

At the same time, it meant "You've finished advancing, it's my turn now."

Li Liangshan retracted his sword and stood in place, not launching the next round of attacks. It wasn't that he wanted to greet someone, violating military taboo, but the Sword Saint, who had been a beat late, appeared at this moment.

Originally, the Sword Saint's first sword should have directly pierced Zhao Jiulang's carriage, but who knew that Li Liangshan was actually inside the carriage and even charged onto the roof.

Was it the carriage or Li Liangshan?

The choice was really easy.

Because the Sword Saint knew very well that in the Marquis of Jingnan's eyes, his own life was definitely the most important.

Therefore,

Dragon Abyss roared,

From the bottom up,

Rushing towards Li Liangshan!

Li Liangshan only had time to notice Si Niang out of the corner of his eye. Gaining insights and advancing through battle was nothing rare, but being able to rely on advancement to avoid death at such a critical moment was unheard of.

Because he was an expert, he knew even better how astonishing Si Niang's transformation had been earlier.

She had just advanced, and could already use a higher level of power to counter him?

Was this really an advancement, or had she deliberately sealed her realm earlier?

But having been forced into such a sorry state by his sword, she still deliberately waited until then to unseal herself?

Doubt was only a fleeting moment. It wasn't that he didn't want to think, but Dragon Abyss was already upon him.

Facing the Sword Saint,

Li Liangshan didn't dare to neglect;

Because he knew his own strength, he respected the other's extraordinariness even more.

He held his greatsword in front of him,

Holding the hilt with his left hand, he patted the blade with his right hand. Suddenly, the greatsword rose up, his figure carrying the sword's form, turning into extremely fierce sword qi. This sword qi wasn't sharp, but it was absolutely thick and Yang!

The Northern Garrison cavalry used sabers.

Although Li Liangshan was a swordsman, this greatsword actually exuded the aura of a saber.

The Sword Saint didn't initially adopt a needle-to-needle approach, even though, as a swordsman, it should have been his strength.

But at this moment, Dragon Abyss, like a nimble fire snake, began to disintegrate the sword aura around Li Liangshan with absolute micro-control. This forced Li Liangshan's figure to be fixed in place, playing this game of push hands with him.

He also used this opportunity to create space.

A'ming and Si Niang immediately understood the Sword Saint's intentions. Of course, Marquis Zheng also understood, but he was a little slower than the two devils.

Si Niang grabbed Zheng Fan's arm and jumped off the roof with him, A'ming acting as a buffer.

Who knew,

Li Liangshan deliberately separated a strand of sword intent at this moment, condensed it in his palm, and slammed it into the greatsword. There was a groove between the greatsword's hilt and blade, a smooth groove, but at this moment, it emitted a black sword light that directly struck the position where Zheng Fan and Si Niang wanted to jump down.

A'ming, who was covering the rear, wasn't flustered but delighted.

He leaped forward and jumped down.

If the scene could be frozen and slowed down,

It would be when Si Niang dragged Zheng Fan to jump down,

The sword light flew over,

And in that split second, A'ming's figure appeared, using his body to block it.

Then,

A'ming's body rotated rapidly in mid-air, and his clothes were torn to pieces.

This scene,

Was very artistic.

Finally,

Si Niang and Zheng Fan landed,

"Thump!"

A'ming fell to the ground, his hair disheveled, his dress tattered.

Marquis Zheng's gaze immediately fell on A'ming.

In fact,

A'ming's injuries weren't that serious. How could Li Liangshan, who was dueling with the Sword Saint, spare too much energy to attack the people beside him?

But Marquis Zheng's combat experience mostly came from the battlefield. Li Liangshan's sudden appearance earlier had indeed pierced Marquis Zheng's defenses somewhat.

Or perhaps it was a kind of instinctive concern,

In short,

There wasn't enough time for people to think and speculate. The first thing that surfaced was the most sincere concern and the gratitude for being protected.

"Hoo..."

The next moment,

A'ming's aura suddenly changed.

His face, which had been paler due to his injuries and his deliberate act, uncontrollably flushed with a touch of red.

Along with it,

Was a kind of elation;

Not only did it come from the further recovery of his strength, but also from the relief that this difficult obstacle had been overcome so easily.

You had to know, in the past, just thinking about how to lick and trying various methods was enough to make one bald.

On the other side of the roof,

Xue San and Fan Li both widened their eyes.

"Li, I'm so jealous," Xue San said.

"Me too."

"Li, you go first. I hope there are more experts under the carriage."

"Okay!"

The next moment,

Fan Li, holding a large log, jumped down from the roof, smashing himself and the log towards the carriage.

As for Xue San,

After his figure slid down from the roof,

He directly disappeared into the darkness.

"Protect the Prime Minister!"

"Protect the Prime Minister!"

…

On the roof,

The Sword Saint smiled:

"Impressive, daring to be distracted while dueling with me."

Dragon Abyss was retracted, but not taken back into his hand. Instead, it was flipped halfway, and in an instant, sword qi burst out again, piercing through the roof and disappearing below.

The next moment,

Li Liangshan soared up, pressing his greatsword down.

Dragon Abyss pierced out from below and collided with the greatsword.

After one collision, Dragon Abyss was retracted again, this time hovering beside the Sword Saint, marking the end of the first exchange.

Li Liangshan's figure fell again,

His greatsword standing before him.

"A fleeting touch?"

Li Liangshan asked.

Years ago, the two had fought once, unable to determine a winner for a long time.

Li Liangshan added: "Fine, I'll just sit here with you. Being able to exchange you out is good enough."

The Sword Saint shook his head and said:

"No, I just wanted to see if your swordsmanship has improved at all these years, Li Liangshan."

"And?"

"It's only added to your depressed mood. Your appearance reflects your heart, and your sword rises from your heart. It seems that you haven't been doing well these years."

One of the former Four Great Swordsmen, the commander of the Northern Garrison Army, hadn't gotten a chance to fight in so many battles these years;

How could he not be depressed?

Therefore, he desperately wanted to go to the border, otherwise, his heart, his sword, would rust.

"What about you?" Li Liangshan asked.

"Me?" The Sword Saint smiled. "I have a small courtyard, a wife, a son, and another child in my wife's belly. The courtyard is lively, I raise a flock of chickens,

"Oh, right, and a duck."

"Where's the courtyard?" Li Liangshan asked. "One day, I'll come visit."

"It's easy to find."

"Oh?"

"Next to the Marquis of Jingnan's residence."

"Heh." Li Liangshan sighed. "That is a carefree life."

"Yeah, I think my life is pretty good now."

"So?"

Li Liangshan looked down.

"Are we going to stay here, or fight?"

"Let's fight. I promised him that I'd kill the Prime Minister today."

Li Liangshan nodded, patted his greatsword, and said:

"With me here, you won't be able to do it."

"I don't know how to lead troops in battle, I'm definitely not as good as you in that regard, but in terms of swordsmanship, you're already behind me."

"Oh, really? How far behind? One step, or half a step?"

"Half a step."

"Only half a step."

The Sword Saint pointed to the sky,

And said;

"Half a step above your head."

"Yu Huaping, I really didn't sense it in the roast duck restaurant last time. You're so arrogant now."

Yu Huaping pointed down again,

And said:

"The person from back then was nothing in your eyes either, but what about now? I saw you kneel and bow to him in the roast duck restaurant."

Li Liangshan's fingertips lightly caressed the hilt of his greatsword.

The Sword Saint continued: "Nothing in this world is constant. People are like that, scenery is like that, and swords are like that too."

Li Liangshan retorted: "You want to kill me?"

"If you stop me, I will kill you," the Sword Saint replied.

"Yu Huaping, I admit, no, actually, after we fought once back then, I told you that if we two fought to a draw today, I wouldn't be your opponent in two years, Yu Huaping."

"I remember, you added a sentence later, because you have 50,000 iron cavalry under your command, even if my swordsmanship surpasses you by a notch in the future, how significant is that notch compared to 50,000 iron cavalry?"

"Yes."

"Then I have to ask you, where are your 50,000 iron cavalry now? Can you mobilize them here?"

Li Liangshan was silent.

"I want to kill him."

The Sword Saint pointed to the Prime Minister's carriage below.

"Just to help that Zheng?"

"Not only that."

"What else?"

"For the woman who entrusted her child to me in the past."

"Ridiculous."

"Is it ridiculous?"

"Even absurd."

"Also for…"

"Also for what?"

"To repay a favor."

"A favor?"

"Buzz!"

Dragon Abyss was in hand, and sword qi began to gather from all directions.

Li Liangshan roared:

"Yu Huaping, you can defeat me, but you may not be able to kill me, and even if you can kill me, you may not be able to do it in a short time. Believe it or not, I can fight you until dawn."

"Yes," Yu Huaping nodded.

Li Liangshan realized something,

And immediately said;

"If you want to attack the Prime Minister directly with your sword, then I will immediately attack the Marquis of Jingnan as I did before."

"So be it."

Yu Huaping nodded again,

Then,

Looking at Li Liangshan, and then at Li Liangshan's greatsword,

"I said before that your sword is too heavy and too clumsy."

"Heavy or clumsy, but it's not slow. What, want to try?"

"Let's try."

The Sword Saint held Dragon Abyss and flew up.

Li Liangshan carried his greatsword and also soared.

The next moment,

The Sword Saint held his sword and pounced toward the Prime Minister's carriage.

Li Liangshan held his sword, and with his sword and his body, he smashed toward Zheng Fan and the others who had fallen to the street.

At the same time,

Li Liangshan shouted:

"Yu Huaping, I don't believe you're willing to watch me kill him!"

"My sword is faster than yours."

The two of the world's Four Great Swordsmen crossed paths, each pouncing toward their target.

But in the next breath,

A surge of magnificent sword intent poured out from Dragon Abyss,

Li Liangshan even had to look back,

That sword intent,

Was no longer at the third rank!

The Sword Saint roared:

"Tian Wujing, in Fengxin City in the past, you once used your son to lend me your will to open the second rank;

"Today,

"I, Yu Huaping,

"Am using a second-rank sword to avenge your deceased wife,

"And repay you for your favor!"

The Sword Saint's sword,

Was indeed faster,

At least at this moment,

It was much, much faster

Than Li Liangshan's greatsword.

A second-rank sword, carrying the power of heaven and earth, crashed down!

In an instant,

At the top of the golden palace in the imperial city,

Eunuch Wei put away his leisurely attitude of watching the excitement, and his eyes revealed seriousness;

The small red-robed eunuch sitting in front of the alchemical furnace in the hall made hand seals and breathed a long sigh of relief.

In Yanjing City, all experts above the fifth rank suddenly woke up and looked up.

And on this street,

The very surprising but also expected old coachman,

Having just shattered the log that Fan Li had smashed down with a palm, he also sent Fan Li flying with a punch.

Then,

He suddenly looked up.

"Prime Minister, run!"

The old coachman rose into the air, wanting to block this sword.

In an instant,

His entire person was sliced apart by this terrifying sword qi!

A line of blood appeared from the center of his forehead, and then his body split apart, and the blood mist was directly evaporated by the powerful sword qi.

This sword,

Undiminished in its momentum,

Pierced into the carriage.

"Boom!"

The three horses pulling the carriage, along with the carriage,

Exploded instantly!

Inside the carriage, fragments of corpses mixed with purple robes flew everywhere.

On the street,

There was silence for a moment.

Li Liangshan's sword, halfway out, stopped. He landed and stood there.

Si Niang and A'ming blocked in front of their master, watching Li Liangshan warily.

The remaining guards of the Prime Minister's residence also ended their fight with Xu Chuang and A'li, looking at the shattered carriage with tears in their eyes.

The Sword Saint held Dragon Abyss,

And after shattering the carriage with one sword, he actually threw Dragon Abyss again, turning to attack Li Liangshan.

After seeing the carriage being shattered, Li Liangshan had actually retracted his attack, and even his morale had dissipated a lot. He forced back Dragon Abyss with a sword, and then retreated some distance.

The Sword Saint took the opportunity to stand in front of Si Niang and A'ming.

Li Liangshan looked at the Sword Saint, his expression a bit helpless,

And said:

"Yu Huaping, you've ruined me."

At this time,

Marquis Zheng, who was being protected behind them, felt that he could do it again,

And shouted:

"Li Liangshan, you should be more profound."

Li Liangshan turned his head to look at Zheng Fan, who was being protected behind them, although he was wearing night clothes and a mask, he could still clearly tell who it was:

"What do you mean?"

"What I mean is, I know this is a golden cicada shedding its shell. The assassin who's best at assassination and tracking under my command has already run to the back to find the real target."

"What are you saying!"

"Yes, that expression and tone are right. The previous one was too fake."

Just then,

Not far away,

Xue San's voice came,

"Master, I caught him, I caught him!"

"Good," Zheng Fan shouted.

After waiting for a while,

Seeming to not get the reaction he had hoped for,

Xue San's shout came again:

"Not good, Master, the Prime Minister is actually a hidden second-rank expert. Ah, ah, I'm going to die!"