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Chapter 145: Chapter 143: Overwhelming
The two stood facing each other.
The crowd buzzed, like ten thousand bees buzzing around.
"No wonder Princess Nine, truly a stunning beauty!"
"The Fourth Prince is also strikingly handsome, truly deserving of his noble lineage, exuding an extraordinary aura!"
"Hehe, the two actually make a good match!"
"What are you talking about, one is Da Meng’s Princess Nine, the other is our Da Jing’s Fourth Prince, how could it be!"
"Exactly, they’re of different generations."
"It’s not about generations; we’re rivals. The Court and Da Zhen have been negotiating, and it’s said that Da Zhen’s princess insists on marrying the Fourth Prince!"
"Oh—? The Da Zhen princess wants to marry into our Da Jing?"
"You didn’t know this, Old Hu, your information is really outdated!"
"I just went out of the capital once, but if the Da Zhen princess wants to marry over, why not marry a Prince?"
"That’s what I’m saying, Da Zhen insists she must marry the Fourth Prince!"
"Strange!"
"It’s no wonder they see the Fourth Prince’s talent as unparalleled, thinking he might inherit the imperial throne in the future!"
"Does the Fourth Prince really have a chance to inherit the imperial throne?"
"Who knows, become a Great Grandmaster first, or else everything’s off the table."
"Becoming a Great Grandmaster isn’t easy at all..."
Da Jing only has nineteen Great Grandmasters in total, which shows how difficult it is.
Even though the Fourth Prince has extraordinary talent, it may not be enough to become a Great Grandmaster. Without opportunities, talent alone can only lead to disappointment.
Li Hongzhao wore a red palace gown, concealing the curves of her slender figure. Her skin, like white jade, had delicate features and her eyes glistened with brilliance, dazzling and mesmerizing.
Her eyes glanced over to Chu Zhiyuan.
Chu Zhiyuan donned a purple robe, with a tall and elegant stature, incredibly handsome, especially his eyes, which shone like bright stars, calm and composed.
His gaze swept across the square, cupping his fist in a respectful salute.
Super Sense had already illuminated the entire square.
Among the crowd gathered at the square, most were commoners and Martial Arts experts, with only a few aristocrats present.
Were they afraid of witnessing their own defeat?
No wonder they are so pessimistic, everything indicates that this battle would inevitably end in defeat, why bother to endure this humilation?
As for the commoners, they purely came to watch the excitement and to see Li Hongzhao, as the fame of Da Meng’s Princess Nine was already massive and everyone wanted to see her with their own eyes.
Such an opportunity doesn’t come often.
"Fourth Prince, we meet again." Li Hongzhao chuckled softly, "Are you ready to face defeat yet?"
Chu Zhiyuan said, "Your Highness, let’s dispense with these tactics; how about we engage in a direct encounter?"
Li Hongzhao clearly intended to first undermine his confidence, making him lose the will to fight, thereby intimidating him before the battle, weakening his momentum.
He was really reluctant to waste words, preferring to start fighting right away and leave after it was done.
At least several thousand if not ten thousand people had gathered at the square, truly catching everyone’s attention.
He found it somewhat uncomfortable.
Especially since among these spectators, some were casting malevolent gazes, scrutinizing him as if he were livestock awaiting slaughter.
Some disciples of the Evil Sect had infiltrated.
It was impossible to guard against these disciples of the Evil Sect.
"Why the rush?" Li Hongzhao giggled charmingly, "So many people have come, having climbed this high mountain with difficulty, to finish it in just a few moves would be disappointing, wouldn’t it?"
Chu Zhiyuan said, "Everyone came to see a duel, not a verbal spat."
Both spoke softly, yet their voices were calm and firm, spreading throughout the entire square, reaching every person’s ears.
The crowd felt invigorated.
Hearing them talk from such a distance was much more intriguing than just watching a spectacle and a fight.
They were curious, eager to hear how the royal princess and princely heir usually talked, and if it was the same as themselves.
Li Hongzhao snorted, "Literary and martial bouts should both be used, blindly fighting is too boring and wearisome!"
"Your Highness has quite an interest, but I’m afraid I can’t accompany it." Chu Zhiyuan slowly drew his sword from its scabbard, the Qingying Sword gleaming like a pool of autumn water: "Please—!"
Li Hongzhao said, "According to Cheng Tianfeng, your swordsmanship is better than mine."
Her eyes danced over the crowd, landing where Cheng Tianfeng stood.
Among the white-robed and white-bladed Lingshuang Iron Cavalry, Cheng Tianfeng was easy to spot, with his fervent gaze.
She gently frowned and shook her head, "Intentionally instigating a fight between us, with malicious intent!"
Chu Zhiyuan’s gaze followed.
Cheng Tianfeng snorted, cupped his fists, and raised his voice, "Princess, every word this Princely Heir says is true, there’s no exaggeration, your swordsmanship indeed is inferior to Brother Chu’s!"
Chu Zhiyuan looked at him, "Cheng, you’re fanning the flames, causing chaos on purpose!"
Cheng Tianfeng chuckled, "Brother Chu, I’m confident you can win. Da Meng is so arrogant, it’s time to teach her a good lesson!"
Chu Zhiyuan smiled slightly.
Cheng Tianfeng was indeed stirring trouble.
By observing his expression and eyes, he vaguely guessed that Cheng neither wanted him to win nor lose, showing a very contradictory mindset.
"Teach me a lesson?" Li Hongzhao snorted, "Let’s see who teaches whom!"
Chu Zhiyuan said, "Actually, compared to swordsmanship, I’m better at fist techniques."
"Then let’s see the fist techniques!"
"Let’s see if you can force me to use my fist techniques." Chu Zhiyuan said.
Li Hongzhao’s bright eyes sparkled, her red clothes rippling like standing in a violent wind, "You’re quite arrogant, Chu Zhiyuan, don’t cry when you’re defeated later! Here!"
Her longsword immediately lit up, glowing faintly red.
The fusion of her body and sword drew a red streak through the air, instantly arriving in front of Chu Zhiyuan, incredibly swift.
Before Chu Zhiyuan’s eyes, a faint Phoenix appeared, bathing in flames, rushing toward him, distorting the surrounding light, making it unclear.
It was like looking at fish in a lake, losing a sense of true distance.
The Qingying Sword immediately infused a refreshing breath, clearing his mind, and he saw her sword tip clearly—the sword remained a sword, and the Phoenix was merely an illusion.
This was akin to an attack method of a Great Grandmaster!
No wonder people said the Phoenix Sword Technique was formidable, it was indeed so!
It had surpassed the realm of pure Gang Qi, elevating to a Spiritual Attack, an enigma for most Grandmasters.
Chu Zhiyuan vanished in an instant, appearing behind her the next moment, the sword tip already at her back.
The Great Snow Avalanche Sword Technique and Near and Far Steps had reached a new level, with remarkable speed.
This was partly due to his advancement to a Grandmaster, making Gang Qi purer and more potent, and mostly due to his strong physique.
Both light and powerful.
A step borrowed boundless power from the ground, making his airy body incredibly fast, feeling great resistance from the air.
The speed of Near and Far Steps was astonishing, and the Great Snow Avalanche Sword Technique drained the surrounding Gang Qi, converting it into this thrust.
"Sss!" Li Hongzhao failed to dodge, the sword tip pierced through her red silk garment, meeting the obstruction of Gang Qi.
The Protective Gang Qi couldn’t stop it, piercing into her back.
"Bang!" In a muffled sound, the Gang Qi burrowed into her body along the sword tip, preparing to wreak havoc in her meridians.
"Hah!" Li Hongzhao shouted, her body flashed red, she turned and thrust, dispersing the invading Gang Qi.
Her speed increased by twofold.
Chu Zhiyuan was secretly astonished.
Her mental method was indeed peculiar, able to shatter the Gang Qi that surged from his sword tip at once.
His Gang Qi was exceptionally pure.
He sidestepped, evading Li Hongzhao’s sword tip, and the Qingying Sword conveyed cool air, keeping his mind clear from hallucinations.
He twisted to step down, then thrust again.
The sword tip pierced her left shoulder.
The Protective Gang Qi couldn’t stop the Qingying Sword, piercing into her shoulder, the sword tip went in three inches, nearly through.
Li Hongzhao’s Phoenix eyes immediately squinted, as her sword posture surged with a burst of red light.
Chu Zhiyuan drew back his sword, flashed to her side, and thrust again into her other shoulder, with the sword tip also piercing three inches, nearly through.
Li Hongzhao seemed unaffected by the sword wounds, her longsword swiped horizontally at an astonishing speed, a red arc grazing past his chest.
Chu Zhiyuan felt an intense heat rushing at him.
Li Hongzhao’s Phoenix eyes glowed with a trace of red, seemingly filled with blood, but under Super Sense, he saw it wasn’t blood, but some kind of peculiar red light.
Chu Zhiyuan moved swiftly, his figure flickered, having struck three times before anyone could react.
Li Hongzhao suddenly let out a clear whistle.
Amidst the whistle, her Phoenix eyes turned into two pools of red light, with bright shining red light on her sword, lunging towards Chu Zhiyuan as one with her sword.
In Chu Zhiyuan’s view, all he saw were densely packed red sword lights like blazing flames, fiercely hot.
Relying on Super Sense, he adeptly used Near and Far Steps, narrowly avoiding each sword light with precision.
Within the red light, Li Hongzhao’s movements grew faster, seemingly capable of indefinite escalation, until she struck him.
Just as the audience was about to cheer, they saw Chu Zhiyuan engulfed by the red light and swallowed their cheers.
"Ding..." Amidst a clear sound.
Chu Zhiyuan stepped back two steps, sheathing his sword, cupped his fists, and said, "Your Highness, thank you for letting me win!"
Li Hongzhao’s longsword had already slipped from her hand, embedding into the white stone ground a pace away.
A red line traced across her right wrist.
On the snow-white wrist, the red line was strikingly visible, slowly oozing fresh blood.
