Chapter 122 - Take on the Opponent to the End

Chu Junyi’s kick stunned the officials of the Great Yue Kingdom for a moment, and then a burst of applause was sounded.

“Awesome!”

“Good kick!”

Bu Jinglan pinched the wine cup in his hand and turned to look at Baili Qingcang. He said in an inexplicable tone, “Your Majesty, it’s a pity that this lord is a civil official.”

The expression on Baili Qingcang’s face relaxed a lot. He looked at Chu Junyi with appreciation, who was standing gracefully on the stage. “Chu Junyi’s martial arts skills are only of the average level. He is best known for his literary talent. I will surely keep him in a position that can best display his strength.” A person who was not good at martial arts had defeated the warriors of the Great Yue with absolute advantage. This was great news for him.

Bu Jinglan smiled and turned to look at the guard behind him. “Ah Da lost. Ah Gang, you go have a try.” After he finished speaking, the wine cup in his hand slightly spun around, but perhaps because he couldn’t hold it steadily, the golden wine cup fell from his hand.

Shen Ninghua frowned. She only felt a shadow flickering and the wine cup in Bu Jinglan’s hand had been safely received by someone, who was precisely the man named Ah Gang. He knelt on one knee and respectfully raised the cup above his head. “Master.”

Bu Jinglan smiled and casually said, “It’s yours now.”

“Thank you, Master!” The man raised the cup and drank up the wine in one gulp. He raised his head to look at the high arena and took half a step back. Then, he jumped up without even borrowing any strength and landed on the arena like an agile kite eagle.

Shen Ninghua’s pupils suddenly shrank. This person’s martial arts skills were obviously much better than the previous one. Chu Junyi was capable of defeating him, but his trump card was likely to be exposed.

On the stage, after Ah Gang landed on the ground, he stared at Chu Junyi and said, “You’re very powerful.”

Chu Junyi curled his lips and said, “Since you know, why did you still dare to come up?”

Ah Gang ignored Chu Junyi’s words and continued, “I’ve followed my Master to Da’an in order to defeat all of the opponents here. You will be the first person I kill.”

Chu Junyi laughed coldly. “The wind is too strong. Aren’t you afraid of breaking your tongue when you speak? I just broke four of your buddy’s ribs. Since you are stronger than him, I’ll just break five of yours.”

Ah Gang did not say anything. His eyes were filled with surging battle intent. He clenched his fist with the middle finger protruded and threw a punch at Chu Junyi’s chest.

Everyone below couldn’t help but exclaim. What a vicious move! If this move hit the target, it could completely shatter a person’s breastbone.

Chu Junyi remained where he was unafraid. The moment Ah Gang’s fist closed in, his five fingers formed into claws and grabbed onto Ah Gang’s wrist. His fierce internal force surged out, and there was a crisp cracking sound. Ah Gang’s wrist immediately emitted the sound of bones being shattered.

“These hands of yours are so vicious, so there’s no need to keep them.” Chu Junyi clapped his hands and his face turned cold. Bu Jinglan was indeed vicious. If other officers instead of him had been competing on the arena, the punch would have completely crippled them and Da’an’s face would have been completely trampled on the ground.

Although one of his wrists was broken, Ah Gang did not have the slightest expression of pain. He did not even frown, as if he wasn’t injured at all. He placed the broken hand behind his back and immediately attacked Chu Junyi ferociously with the other hand.

Chu Junyi did not continue to dodge like before. With a flick of his sleeve and the whistling sound of wind, the two of them fought against each other fiercely.

“Bang!”

Chu Junyi retracted his feet and looked coldly at the person lying on the ground. He was very surprised. This person’s martial arts skills were very high, and it was even more surprising that he didn’t seem to be afraid of pain. Regardless of whether his wrist or leg was broken, he didn’t utter a single sound. How was such a person trained? If such people were to be used to fight with Da’an in the future, the situation would probably be very serious.

Shen Ninghua frowned. That Ah Gang’s performance was extremely abnormal. No matter how much suffering a human being was able to bear, he was definitely expected to display painful spasms after suffering serious injuries. This was something beyond the control of human body. Nevertheless, Ah Gang did not show the slightest pain. She knew at a glance that there was something wrong with him.

As she thought about it, she inadvertently swept her gaze across the wine cup in front of Bu Jinglan. Bu Jinglan had given Ah Gang a cup of wine before he went on stage. Was there any connection between the two issues? Seeing a palace maid went forward and changed the wine cups on Bu Jinglan’s table, Shen Ninghua turned to look at Baili Anning and said, “Your Highness, are the wine cups changed at the banquet going to be washed?”

Baili Anning was looking at the arena very attentively. After hearing Shen Ninghua’s words, she was stunned for a moment before she answered, “Hmm, yeah, what’s wrong?”

“Ask the palace maid to keep the wine cup with which Bu Jinglan gave wine to Ah Gang. I need it for some special purpose.”

Baili Anning glanced around and knew that Shen Ninghua might have discovered something. She nodded and turned to give an order to the palace maid Qiu Shi.

On the arena, the man named Ah Gang could no longer stand up, but he was still like a trapped beast, constantly roaring at and attacking Chu Junyi. Chu Junyi frowned tightly and kicked him off the arena. He looked at Bu Jinglan from a distance and said, “Your Highness, it is a dull game competing one versus one. Let the remaining eight behind you come up together so that I can quickly finish the competition and go down to enjoy the matches between the ladies.”

“Haha, that’s right. What’s there to see if the performers are men?”

“Imperial Editor Chu’s words are reasonable.”

“Yes.”

Many officers cheered loudly and looked at Bu Jinglan mockingly. Right now, the saying “he who has gone for wool came home shorn” was the best description for him. Look, his expression was different from before.

The expression on Baili Qingcang’s face had completely brightened up. He looked with satisfaction at Chu Junyi who was standing high on the arena. The warrior of Great Yue was knocked unconscious to the ground, but Chu Junyi remained his graceful demeanor. Such a sharp contrast made his heart feel even more at ease.

Bu Jinglan narrowed his eyes, and the wine cup in his hand gave off a crisp cracking sound and broke into pieces. He threw down the wine cup and calmly wiped the wine off his hand. He turned to the furious guards behind him and said, “Since Imperial Editor Chu has said those words straightforwardly, you can follow his advice and go up together.”

“Yes, Master.” The eight people answered with an extremely loud voice that carried uncontrollable anger.

Seeing the remaining eight people rushing onto the arena angrily, Bu Jinglan no longer paid attention to the scene on the arena. Whether his people could win this round or not, it was already a failure for him. Since the result had been clear, there was no need for him to pay attention anymore.

This time, the eight Great Yue warriors did not say a word to Chu Junyi after they went up. They directly started attacking him. Immediately, battle intent surged up and down with all kinds of fierce moves, causing the blood of the people below the arena to boil with excitement.

Chu Junyi no longer hid his talent. This round of competition was even more exciting than the last two. Warriors were constantly thrown off the arena to form a small mountain on the ground.

“Bang!” The moment the last Great Yue warrior was kicked off the arena, Chu Junyi jumped off and stood on the small mountain of people. He stomped his feet and stepped on those people. A cold smile filled his eyes. “Please excuse me.”

Bu Jinglan smiled as if he did not feel the slightest bit of humiliation for losing the match. He clapped his hands and said, “Alright, Imperial Editor Chu is really a martial arts specialist. If possible, I will definitely have an exchange on martial arts skills with you.”

“That’s not a problem. I like exchanging with others on martial arts skills the most.” As Chu Junyi spoke, he deliberately exerted some strength on his feet and the person who was at the bottom layer of the “mountain of people” already had a purple complexion. After he finished speaking, he jumped down from the mountain and knelt down beside Baili Qingcang. “Greetings, Your Majesty. The competition is over. Fortunately, I didn’t fail the trust of Your Majesty.”

“Alright, quickly get up. Someone, give him three cups of wine as a reward.”

Chu Junyi held the cup carved with dragon pattern and drank up the wine in one gulp. “Thank you, Your Majesty.”

“Haha, it seems what the Sixth Prince said is right. With your martial arts skills, you really can be a military officer. How about I promoting you to be a rank-four Sub-prefect of Capital Guards?” Everyone in the capital knew that the position of Sub-prefect of Capital Guards was second only to the position of Governor of Capital Guards, so it could be considered an extremely powerful position.

“Thank you, Your Majesty.”

Bu Jinglan lowered his head slightly and drank the wine. The smile in his eyes instantly disappeared completely and was replaced with surging coldness and anger. Whoever saw it would feel terrified.

This time, the officials from Da’an took the lead and said, “The men’s competition is over. Shall we start the women’s competition? I wonder who the Sixth Prince will send out this time.”

Bu Jinglan raised his head and his expression had returned to normal. His smile was gentle and he did not show the slightest trace of depression. “Lord Chu has taught me a good lesson. I no longer dare to be arrogant. Your Majesty, can I specify the person to participate in the competition?”

The women’s competition would not affect the overall situation. Baili Qingcang was in a good mood and did not mind. He nodded and said, “Alright, who do you want to compete against?”

Shen Ninghua raised her head and the corners of her lips curled up slightly. It seemed that it was her turn to go on stage this time.

Sure enough, Bu Jinglan looked in Shen Ninghua’s direction. “Prefectural Princess Zhaohua, are you willing to take part in the competition?”

Shen Ninghua raised her eyes and chuckled. A trace of coldness flashed through her pitch-black eyes. “As you said, it’s mainly for exchange and communication, so I’m very willing. However, Lord Chu quickly finished the competition and I’d like to follow suit. Let the ten of them come up together.”

“Great, I always like Ninghua’s cleverness.” Baili Qingcang laughed heartily and looked at Shen Ninghua with doting eyes. “Ninghua, don’t try to be brave. It’s just a competition. It won’t matter if you lose.”

Shen Ninghua stood up and walked to the front of Baili Qingcang. She saluted gently. “Since you have taken me as your daughter, despite the absence of bloodline, I will not lose the face of the royal family. Don’t worry, Father Emperor. I will definitely win!”

“Haha, good, that’s my daughter!” Baili Qingcang laughed loudly, treating Shen Ninghua even more intimately than his own daughter.

Shen Ninghua turned around and walked towards the arena. As she walked, she said, “The saying goes that women are no worse than men. Lord Chu competed on the arena, so we girls should also compete on the arena.”

Bu Jinglan’s smile carried a trace of evil intention. “Alright, but if there are too many items in the competition, it will be a waste of time. How about all of you compete on dancing at one go?”

Shen Ninghua stood in front of the stairs. Then she slowly walked up the stairs and said, “Why not? Whatever the game is, I will take on the opponent to the end!”