Chapter 158 - Man, You're Really Powerful! (2)

Chu Junyi abruptly tilted his head to dodge Baili Jinchuan’s fists that carried a fierce wind. He turned to look at the so many people in the surroundings. A cold smile appeared on his lips.

Just as Baili Jinchuan was painstakingly searching for an opportunity to kill him, he had also been waiting for an opportunity to make a move. Speaking of which, he really had to thank Baili Jinchuan for creating this opportunity for him.

Once he no longer purposely suppressed his martial arts skills, powerful waves of strength surged out with his movements. The icy cold aura around him was so strong that it could suffocate people. He stored up his internal force and suddenly turned around to kick Baili Jinchuan in the chest, sending the internal force into his body.

Baili Jinchuan immediately felt a burst of strong force penetrating his chest, followed by a sharp pain that almost caused him to black out. He covered his chest with his hand. Somehow, he had the illusion that his breastbone had been broken, and he fell heavily to the ground with a thud.

Su Zibo and Qu Yi were both stunned when they saw Chu Junyi’s movements, and their eyes carried obvious astonishment. A moment ago, this person seemed to be somewhat overstretched, and he barely managed to defend himself. How could he suddenly become a totally different person and sent the Second Prince flying away with one kick, who had always been famous for his bravery, in the blink of an eye? This man was simply…simply too powerful!

Chu Junyi turned around and slightly narrowed his pitch-black cold eyes. He raised his chin at the two persons who were staring at him in astonishment, “Who do you want to marry by fighting so hard?”

The two of them suddenly felt their backs going cold. Su Zibo even suspected that if they said something wrong, they would end up like the Second Prince. Fortunately, his brain worked well at the critical moment. Thinking of the recent rumors that caused tears to flow down the faces of the women in the capital, he answered, “I’m fighting to win the hand of Princess Anning.”

Chu Junyi nodded his head in satisfaction. His gaze was gentle for a moment, and he turned to look at Qu Yi. “What about you? Who are you fighting for?”

“Princess Anning.” Qu Yi sent a guard of the Dragon Scale Army flying with a punch and said in a deep voice.

The threatening light in Chu Junyi’s eyes instantly disappeared completely. “Ah, then you have to work hard. Speaking of which, you are both here for Princess Anning. So you two are rivals.”

Su Zibo paused. Before he could react, he saw Qu Yi quickly walking away from him. Before he could react, he was dragged away by a guard of the Dragon Scale Army.

Chu Junyi smiled. This Qu Yi was rather interesting.

Baili Jinchuan got up from the ground. Seeing the smile on Chu Junyi’s face, the evil fire in his heart burst forth. This person deserved to die!

Feeling the malicious intent of Baili Jinchuan, Chu Junyi turned around and faced him. The smile in his eyes quickly disappeared. “There is only one beautiful sweetheart. Other than me, no one else is worthy of her!”

The fighting flames in Baili Jinchuan’s eyes burned. “It’s not up to you to decide whether or not I am worthy of her. Who do you think you are?”

Chu Junyi curled up his lips, and his smile was exceptionally wicked and unbridled. “I hate people coveting my sweetheart the most.”

He punched out like wind and hit the target with every strike. Chu Junyi had long waited for this opportunity to deal with Baili Jinchuan, so naturally, he did not use force to suppress him directly.

Baili Jinchuan was also an expert in leading troops and waging battles, and his martial arts were practiced in real fights. For a time, the two of them were engaged in a close fight.

On the grandstand, Shen Ninghua’s gaze was cold as she stared at the circles of Dragon Scale Army, quietly observing their movements.

Baili Anning was somewhat worried. “Ninghua, these guards looked very unfamiliar, but their martial arts skills are extraordinary. How many of those participants do you think can pass the test?”

Shen Ninghua withdrew her gaze and said, “These people should be the Dragon Scale Army directly subordinate to His Majesty.”

Baili Anning’s eyes widened as she stared at the guards below without blinking. No wonder their attacks were exceptionally fierce. They were actually His Majesty’s personal guards.

Chu Junyi used a wrapping technique to pull Baili Jinchuan near him, then he withdrew his fist, and his elbow heavily smashed into Baili Jinchuan’s chest, directly sending him flying.

Baili Jinchuan heavily fell to the ground and couldn’t help but spit out a mouthful of blood.

Chu Junyi’s eyes were filled with mockery. “If you are unconvinced, you can show your injury to His Majesty and ask him to punish me!” After he finished speaking, he ignored Baili Jinchuan and used all his strength to beat out the surrounding guards of the Dragon Scale Army.

Another hour passed before Baili Qingcang clapped his hands again, and the Dragon Scale Army immediately stopped moving.

Shen Ninghua’s heart skipped a beat. Baili Qingcang didn’t clap his hands with much force. However, the Dragon Scale Army immediately heard the sound and stopped moving. She could clearly see that many guards of the Dragon Scales Army who were fighting also stopped their movements in an instant. Their opponents, however, did not stop in time and directly punched them. Yet these guards just stood there without blinking an eye and did not react at all.

Many people also saw this scene, and their expressions changed secretly.

The Dragon Scale Army retreated, leaving only a group of contestants who were in bad shape on the open space.

In the beginning, these candidates all looked handsome and elegant. Now, two-thirds of them were injured. As for the remaining one-third, except for a few people, they were all in awkward conditions, with messy clothes and cold sweat over their heads.

Baili Qingcang’s gaze fell on Chu Junyi and Qu Yi, who were the least injured. There was a satisfied look in his eyes. Unlike her mother Jingyan, Ninghua did have an experienced eye…As to that Qu Yi, although he didn’t have an eminent background, he was after all a nice person. He was old now, and he did not need his daughters to sacrifice. If Anqing or Anning liked this Qu Yi, he would naturally fulfill their wish.

“Governor of Capital Guards, did you keep a detailed record of what I just told you to record?”

The Governor of Capital Guards hurriedly stood up and said, “Your Majesty, I have recorded every detail.”

“Alright, then announce the results of the martial examination.”

“I hereby announce the winners of the martial examination: His Highness the Second Prince; Chu Junyi, Grade-Four Deputy Governor of Capital Guards; Qu Yi, Grade-Four military staff officer…”

There were a total of nine winners in the martial examination, and the rest were all brought down by the guards.

Instantly, the hall became much emptier.

Baili Qingcang carefully sized the nine of them up and down and slowly said, “I hold today’s contest to select husbands for my three daughters. Since you have taken part in it, you naturally have your goals. Now you can step forward and tell me your goals one by one, so that I can use them as a reference.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

Baili Jinchuan’s identity was special. Since he was one of the winners, he would naturally be the first to step forward and make a statement.

He forcefully endured the piercing pain in his chest. His forehead was covered in cold sweat and his hands trembled uncontrollably due to the pain. He looked resolutely at Baili Qingcang. “Father Emperor, I have ignored my pride as a prince and participated in the contest. This shows my attitude. I hope to marry Ninghua and make her my princess. I will respect and dote on her for the rest of her life. Your Majesty, please fulfill my wish.”

Baili Anning looked at her Second Elder Brother and a trace of pity flashed in her eyes. Second Elder Brother was an iron-boned man and he used to be so proud. Unfortunately, he was too stubborn and would rather break than bend.

Ninghua was like a flower with thorns. She was beautiful but would get people pricked. Second Elder Brother, on the other hand, was like a sharp sword, and could only hurt her and push her away. Only someone with a smooth personality who could tolerate the sharp thorns on her body would be able to stay with her for the rest of her life. She sighed in her heart, “Sometimes, a man can’t win the heart of a woman just because he likes her. He must be wise to know if they are suitable for each other or not. Second Elder Brother, I hope you can understand it soon.”

After Baili Jinchuan finished speaking, his gaze stared fixedly at Shen Ninghua, but he only saw her slightly lowered eyelashes, which densely covered her fascinating dark eyes, making it impossible for people to see her emotions clearly. In an instant, his entire heart was suspended in midair, causing him to feel extremely uncomfortable.

Baili Qingcang nodded. “Good. You can leave now.”

Chu Junyi was the second to step forward. He bowed respectfully to Baili Qingcang. Then, he turned to look at the remaining contestants and said, “Which of you also wants to marry Prefectural Princess Zhaohua?”

The faces of the contestants changed as they looked at Chu Junyi with hostility. What was the meaning of this person who was staring at them with a threatening look in front of His Majesty?

Most of these people were the direct descendants of large families. The backgrounds of their families were very complicated and they had a number of factors to consider when choosing a wife. The first factor was family background, and the second was intelligence. If a stupid woman got married with them, she would probably die a sudden death within three months.

Thus, after witnessing Shen Ninghua’s methods of interrogating the assassins, they were not afraid at all. On the contrary, they even saw the good in it. After marrying such a wife, they would be able to concentrate on their own businesses, completely leaving all the issues in the backyard to her, who would definitely have everything arranged properly. This was a good thing that could not be bought with money.

Chu Junyi looked at the several men who stood out. His eyes turned cold and he suddenly moved. In the blink of an eye, he appeared in front of them and mercilessly punched them, directly knocking them unconscious.

The guards unsheathed their swords and surrounded Chu Junyi, afraid that he would be out of control and injure the emperor.

Chu Junyi looked at the fainted people on the ground. Then, he turned around with satisfaction. Ignoring the shining swords around him, he bowed respectfully to Baili Qingcang again. “Your Majesty, please forgive me for my rude behavior. However, I am deeply in love with Prefectural Princess Zhaohua. I truly cannot bear to see others covet her with impure motives. I beg Your Majesty to forgive me for losing control of my emotions.”

The corners of Baili Qingcang’s eyes twitched slightly. “How do you know that those who want to marry Ninghua have impure motives?”

“Your Majesty: The guy standing over there is Lord Sun’s son. He already has four bedroom maids, and one of them even got pregnant. Although Lady Sun forced the maid to abort, it was still a scandal. Prefectural Princess Zhaohua is a pure-hearted and angel-like girl. How could she marry such a man? The one next to him is Lord Qian’s son, and what he did is even more outrageous. His mother has secretly chosen a fiancée for him, who is his cousin. He and his cousin are both deeply attached to each other. However, after seeing the stunning beauty of Prefectural Princess Zhaohua, he harbored ill intentions. Princess Zhaohua is kind-hearted, beautiful and intelligent. Such a superficial and treacherous person who wants to marry her is like a toad wanting to eat swan meat.”

Baili Anning sat there in a daze. She was almost stunned. Chu Junyi had actually investigated everything so clearly. He had truly made comprehensive preparations for the contest.

The corners of Baili Qingcang’s lips twitched slightly. “What about the other four? What’s wrong with them?”

“Your Majesty: Of the other four people, two of them did not make any preparation in the seven-day period before the contest as Your Majesty asked. They even went to the brothel. They used utterly disrespectful words when talking about Prefectural Princess Zhaohua. Such persons should be dragged out to receive thirty strokes!” Chu Junyi’s tone was filled with anger, as he sounded as if he wouldn’t be so angry if the two men had talked disrespectfully about him instead of Prefectural Princess Zhaohua. “As for the other two persons, there is nothing wrong with them. They don’t have significant misconduct, and they do have affection for Prefectural Princess Zhaohua.”

Baili Anning couldn’t help but interrupt, “Since that’s the case, why did you also knock them unconscious?”

Chu Junyi raised his head in surprise, as if he was wondering why she had asked such a question. “They are both well-qualified, but the only mistake they have is that they are here to compete with me for Prefectural Princess Zhaohua. Since I have fought against other competitors, I might as well knock them out first. Otherwise, what if they are chosen?”

Baili Anning was dumbfounded. “What you said really makes sense…”