The Melon-eating Swordsman In The Ancient Dragon World Chapter 144: What is a Duel? - Novel Cool

Chapter 144: What is a Duel?

Chapter 144: What is a Duel?

The group did not return to the small building.

This was merely a temporary residence for Lin Xian'er, and now that her presence had been revealed to Li Xunhuan, she naturally wouldn't bring A Fei back here.

"So..." Lin Ling'er pitifully tugged at Li Xunhuan's sleeve. "Miss won't be coming back, and you can't just stand by and watch me live on the streets, begging for scraps every day, can you?"

Li Xunhuan smiled bitterly. "With so many people here, why are you specifically asking me, a homeless man? Any one of them could offer you a meal."

You Longsheng, master of the Jin Zhongcang Sword Villa in Shanxi. His weapons and ironware business spanned across the country.

Ding Baiyun, the eldest miss of the Ding family from Hebei. Her family's legacy spanned centuries, and they had countless businesses.

Bai Tianyu, the hall master of the Godly Blade Hall beyond the border, also dabbled in horse breeding. He had several hundred swordsmen under his command.

Even the poorest among them, Guo Songyang, came from a small aristocratic family south of Song Mountain. He had no worries about food and drink, and now that he had risen to fame, his name was known throughout the world.

And yet, Li Xunhuan was the only one who was practically penniless.

Lin Ling'er gently bit her lower lip, looking at Li Xunhuan with expressive eyes, but saying nothing.

Li Xunhuan sighed in defeat and turned to You Longsheng for help.

You Longsheng raised an eyebrow, his eyes lighting up with interest. "She's Lin Xian'er's maid. I wonder if she could still get in touch with her. If she can..."

Before You Longsheng could finish, Ding Baiyun's eyes had already sharpened, making Lin Ling'er shudder.

Li Xunhuan smiled bitterly and turned to Bai Tianyu.

Bai Tianyu shrugged. "As long as she can endure the bitter cold beyond the border."

"I won't go!" Lin Ling'er shook her head repeatedly. "I won't go to Mister Guo either. I want to stay with you!"

Li Xunhuan was at a loss, and then he heard You Longsheng say, "You know, this little girl is so clever. If she were sent to Lin Shi Yin's side, she could probably serve her quite comfortably, don't you think?"

Li Xunhuan was left speechless, and Lin Ling'er's eyes lit up as she nodded repeatedly. "You mean the girl you carved? Okay, okay, I'll do it!"

...

Famous Prefecture.

The group was drinking in the most luxurious tavern in the prefecture.

This place had been extremely prosperous since the previous dynasty and was now located in the inland region of Central Plains, along a major trade route. It was a common stop for merchants traveling south or north to conduct business.

Thus, Fenjiu from Shanxi, Shaochun from Shu, Jiu Niang Chun from Anhui, and Huadiao from the south of the Yangtze River were all on the menu.

"Hahaha! That's the spirit!"

Bai Tianyu raised his cup, drank deeply, and laughed aloud. "It's been a long time since I had such a satisfying fight. Usually, when I fight someone, they die with a single sword strike. It's really no fun."

"That's true," Guo Songyang nodded and took a sip of wine. "There are very few people in the world who can make us go all out. So when we get the chance, we can't let it pass."

"But that doesn't mean we should seek death!" You Longsheng said. "The character 'Jue' in 'juedou' has two dots, and so does 'dou'. It means a fair one-on-one duel, not a suicide mission."

Guo Songyang stuck out his tongue. "You should be telling that to Li Xunhuan. He's the one who hid this from us."

Li Xunhuan smiled bitterly and raised his cup. "This is between me, Lin Xian'er, and Shangguan Jinhong. It has nothing to do with you all."

Bai Tianyu laughed. "But now it's also between the Godly Blade Hall and the Wealth Clan. Putting aside other places, I want the Wealth Clan to have no place to stand in Shanxi and Hebei!"

You Longsheng raised his thumb. "Impressive!"

But Bai Tianyu patted You Longsheng on the shoulder and said seriously, "However, you should still focus more on your swordsmanship. No matter how much you learn about other things, swordsmanship is your foundation. If Guo hadn't pointed out your acupoints just now but had drawn his sword instead, your acupoint-shifting technique, no matter how well-practiced, wouldn't have saved your life."

Li Xunhuan sheepishly rubbed his nose, fearing that You Longsheng would bring up his crying episode again.

Li Xunhuan took a sip of wine to cover his embarrassment and glanced at You Longsheng.

Fortunately, You Longsheng didn't intend to tease him further and merely said proudly, "Have you heard of the Demon Sect's 'The Grand Sorrowful Poem of Heaven and Earth, Yin and Yang'? It's a collection of seven unparalleled martial arts techniques, one of which is the 'Great Acupoint-Shifting Technique of Heaven's Shift and Earth's Turn'."

"Never heard of it," Guo Songyang shook his head.

The Demon Sect had disappeared from the Central Plains for decades, and Guo Songyang's original family had only been a minor aristocratic family. It was only in his generation that the reputation of the 'Iron Sword of Mount Song' had been established, so his knowledge of the Demon Sect was indeed limited.

"Anyway, it's very powerful. After practicing it, I can shift my acupoints, rendering capture and acupoint-striking techniques basically ineffective against me." You Longsheng explained, then added, "The more precise the strike, the less effect it has."

This time, Guo Songyang was truly astonished. "That powerful?"

It was common knowledge that the acupoints of ordinary people were fixed in their positions, and he had never heard of anyone being able to cultivate and shift their acupoints. This was the first he was hearing of such a thing.

You Longsheng nodded. "I've only recently started practicing, so I can only shift my acupoints by a fraction, and I'm still susceptible to being affected by acupoint strikes. But if I were to reach a higher level of proficiency, I could shift my acupoints by an entire inch, and then I'd have nothing to worry about."

Bai Tianyu shook his head. "I've seen that technique as well. It's relatively easy to shift the acupoints by an inch or two at the beginning, but it's still easy to be affected. The further you progress, the more difficult it becomes. If you want to shift your acupoints by an inch, you'd need to put in at least a decade of hard work."

There were many methods of striking acupoints in the martial arts world, including using fingers, palms, fists, and even grabbing with the hands. If the shift in acupoint position was too small, it might as well be useless.

"That's still impressive," said Guo Songyang. "It could save your life at a critical moment."

You Longsheng said meaningfully, "For example, it saved your life this time."

Guo Songyang couldn't help but glare at him. Was he ever going to let this go? He narrowed his eyes and said indifferently, "So, when do you plan to challenge me?"

You Longsheng was speechless. "Who challenges someone else on their behalf?"

Everyone burst out laughing.

Li Xunhuan put down his wine cup, looked around, and couldn't help but sigh. "I wish A Fei were here."

Guo Songyang humphed, still disapproving of A Fei. "A man blinded by a woman can't be considered a hero."

"He was just momentarily deceived," Li Xunhuan said.

You Longsheng put down his wine cup and, after a moment's thought, said something surprising. "Li, do you think A Fei really doesn't know that Lin Xian'er is hiding things from him? He may be pure-hearted, but is he really that foolish?"

Li Xunhuan's head snapped up!

(End of Chapter)

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