In the Blade

Golden eagles are circling among the mountains of Yanzhou.

The brave golden eagles have killed all the crows and are now killing the sparrows that dare to fly into the sky. This is not for hunting, but just because they look down on them. After all, they are the predators in the sky and the top birds of prey.

What sparrows are there, and they dare to fly into the sky like them.

Only the top predators are worthy of soaring in the sky. This is a paradise for the brave, and as a brave man, the most lacking is the courage to challenge the strong - just like the bird not far away, which is a guy much bigger than them. You know, their size is huge even among golden eagles, but that bird is still bigger than them.

But after smelling the blood, they still rushed up, ready to give the guy with fancy feathers a hard blow, so that the pheasant knows who is the master of this sky.

But what greeted them was not claws and sharp beaks.

But a three-pronged spear.

"Where did you come from, you beast! Die!"

The three-pronged spear Suluding swept across, and all the golden eagles that wanted to come up to eat flesh and blood were swept down to the clouds.

The golden-winged Roc holding the three-pronged spear couldn't help but feel a toothache when he looked at those ridiculously large golden eagles.

"It turned out to be... Forget it."

The golden-winged Roc, or the Khan of the grassland, was depressed because he stabbed the golden eagle he raised to death with his own hands. Although for his status, this kind of thing didn't matter, at most he could just change a batch, but when he thought of his previous experience and the wounds on his body, this annoying little thing at the moment became more and more eye-catching.

No one would be in a good mood after failure, especially such a big defeat.

But he still tried to suppress his anger. After all, it was meaningless to get angry about such a thing. Moreover, before he made this move, he had already prepared for failure. Victory and defeat are common in the military. There is no such thing as winning for a lifetime. Moreover, he was going to challenge an opponent who was stronger than him, so he had no chance of winning.

But he still went to face the almost unbeatable enemy.

After all, having a strong enemy is not a bad thing.

The weak will fear the enemy. The enemy is fear to them. After all, they are as weak as rabbits on the ground. All they can do is run away. The warriors will break through this layer of fear. The enemy is their opponent and sparring partner. They will become more mature and stronger under the pressure of the enemy.

And when he reaches the level of a strong man like him, the enemy is a rare treasure.

After all, as he gets stronger, there are fewer and fewer targets that he can call his enemies, which means that it is becoming increasingly difficult for him to gain experience from real battles. Of course, he can also find a group of opponents who are not as good as him to practice with, but that can only be regarded as maintaining his level and will not allow him to improve at all.

Although evil spirits can be accumulated by numbers, combat experience cannot be accumulated by numbers. If a lion only kills rabbits, even if he kills 10,000 rabbits, he can only become a master at killing rabbits. This understanding of rabbits is not enough to support the lion to fight against beasts of the same level.

Therefore, it is necessary to fight with enemies of the same level or even stronger than oneself.

This is of course a risky thing, but risk often means reward, not to mention that this is not just a question of reward and risk, but the other party is indeed stuck on his inevitable path - although he also wants to deploy troops step by step and fight Nan Chen seriously, it is obvious that in this hellish world, if he does not snipe Nan Chen's top master first, I am afraid that his soldiers will be slaughtered before this war game even starts.

Yes, war game, this is his ultimate goal.

He doesn't like to fight with people to the death, not at all. Beating each other like two monkeys is undoubtedly the most stupid behavior. He is not a monkey, he is a Khan. What he wants is to deploy troops, attack and kill, the world is a chessboard, and all things are chess pieces. This is what he, the Khan, should do.

That is where his happiness lies and the source of his fun.

A real strong man should lead troops to conquer the world, not like monkeys who only know how to fight for life and death for trivial matters.

"But if you want to do all this... you need strength."

The grassland Khan narrowed his eyes.

This is what makes him most upset. If he wants to realize his ambition of riding a horse across the world, he must first become a strong monkey - because if he only relies on soldiers, this war game will not go on at all. Even if his army can conquer all directions, some stupid but powerful monkeys will not play chess with him at all, but will directly overturn his chessboard and smash his table.

"Just like those monsters."

Looking at the wounds on his body that have not yet completely healed, the grassland Khan sighed.

He didn't think that such monsters were really invincible. It was just a matter of thinking of ways to improve his strength, but the question was what was the point of such a battle? This was not what he wanted. He didn't think of charging into battle, let alone being a monkey and fighting to the death with people. What was the point of continuing like this?

"You must become stronger."

He stroked the tear on his shoulder with one hand, and the twisted buds were reconnected, which made the grassland Khan sweat slightly on his forehead.

"You have to be stronger, you have to be stronger. Only by becoming stronger can you kill those monkeys who overturned the table and press their heads into the chessboard."

With this thought in mind, Prairie Khan, who had taken care of his injuries, dived all the way and flew towards the distant march tent.

When he landed on the ground, the figure of the golden-winged roc changed back to a generous and fat appearance, which also made the leaders in the big tent respect him even more - just look at the soaring roc. With his heroic appearance in the sky, who can say that this Khan is not a real god?

It's just that this god's face looks a bit...

"I'm fine."

Taking the robe handed over by the guards and putting it on his body, Prairie Khan waved his hand in the south direction.

"Keep marching."

He only lost once. As long as he is allowed to rest for a while and digest the experience gained in this battle, he will not lose a second time.

"Do it again, this time I will definitely press the monkey's head on the table."

Thinking this, the pale grassland Khan secretly clenched his fists

But what he didn't know was that behind him, out of his sight, the way the leaders looked at him had become subtle.

…

…

…

In the Jinluan Hall in the capital of Jiankang, hundreds of civil and military officials lined up on both sides, looking at the young emperor in the court.

If the previous emperor only had a young appearance, then the current emperor is really too young - the figure in the small dragon robe is really too young. It can only be said that he has just learned to walk. The young figure is sitting on the set for the giant. On top of the huge throne, he seemed to be getting smaller and smaller, which even made the courtiers present feel a little dazed.

The imperial mausoleum has been destroyed, the emperor also died in that disaster, and the descendants left by the emperor are so young.

Can this kind of Chen Dynasty really continue?

Such a young emperor...

"quiet!"

Seeing the civil and military officials actually starting to whisper to each other, the old eunuch standing next to the young emperor couldn't help shouting, hoping that the civil and military officials of the dynasty could give the young emperor some basic respect.

Perhaps this cry was of some use, at least the courtiers no longer whispered to each other, but just because they didn't say it didn't mean they didn't think about it in their hearts - they were already trying very hard, trying to find some sense of loyalty to the king. But no matter how hard they tried, what lingered in their minds was still the scene of the Grand Master riding in the Golden Palace.

But now, the grand master has disappeared, the young and fatuous emperor also died in an inexplicable disaster that is not easy to explain, and now the new emperor... this can no longer be said to be... He was dull, it was obvious that he had not even learned to walk yet.

There is too much information and their minds are too cluttered. The courtiers themselves don’t know what they are thinking about right now.

They only knew that some unspeakable thoughts were growing in their hearts.

Maybe one day, these thoughts will give birth to something, who knows.

But no matter what, things still have to be done. The new emperor will face far more troubles than the previous emperor when he succeeds to the throne.

The first is the internal rebels. Although the previous usurper Prime Minister Jia Wen also sent people to eliminate the rebels when he was still the prime minister, with the death of Jia Wen, those rebels became active again—— The main reason is that even when Jia Wen usurped the throne, he did not seriously clean up the rebels. After all, this kind of work still takes some time.

After Jia Wen's death, the previous emperor died not long after, and these unruly rebels once again raised a banner, and this time, even the remnants loyal to Jia Wen also participated.

It's still the smallest thing.

If there are internal worries, there will naturally be external ones, and the biggest external ones right now are naturally the grassland people in the north. Although the previous emperor was fatuous, he at least showed some resistance, but now this emperor...does he really know how to pronounce the word resistance?

Of course, if it were in the past, it would not matter even if the emperor really didn't care. It would not be impossible for the grassland people to fight south. After all, everyone has the final trump card, and this matter is still within the scope of everyone's acceptance.

But what comes next is the real big deal.

That is, everyone's trump card is gone.

In the past, although the civil and military officials of the Manchu Dynasty also said that they would send troops to fight against the grassland people, in fact they all knew that even if the grassland people fought all the way, and even came to build the capital of Kang, as long as those aristocratic families took out their ancestral guardians, The divine soldiers of the country, let those secretly cultivated masters go into battle with their troops, then everything will be fine.

But now, there is nothing.

There are no more masters, and there are no more divine soldiers to protect the country. The disaster that happened in the imperial mausoleum not only took away the previous emperor, but also took away all the divine soldiers to protect the country, and those who were specially adapted to adapt to the divine soldiers to protect the country. The masters who have been trained - this is the biggest problem at the moment, and it is a far more serious problem than those rebels and foreign enemies.

When the Divine Soldiers were still there, all the troubles were just minor troubles, but now that the Divine Soldiers are gone, the minor quarrels in the past have turned into serious troubles now.

Even, even enough...

"We have to make plans in advance."

At this moment, the courtiers had different thoughts, but they all had the same idea.

Plans must be made early. As for what plans to make, this differs from person to person - but no matter how different they are, everyone's ideas are basically pointing in the same direction.

That is, we must master the power.

In the face of real power, power and status are too powerless. What about all the nobles in the court? They couldn't stop the madman from riding his horse to the Golden Palace. After he rode his horse to the Golden Palace, the madman was not punished, but was directly promoted from a rebel to a Grand Master, enjoying all the honors.

Who dares to object? Who can object? What can you do if you object? The madman doesn't even need soldiers and horses, he can kill them all by himself.

This is the real power that goes straight to the essence.

That is, the power of life and death.

"We must become stronger..."

Whenever these court officials think of that day, they feel sympathetic.

The Grand Master is indeed unlearned, but these pampered court officials have indeed learned something.

"We must become stronger..."

Looking at the civil and military officials who bowed their heads to cover their sight, the old eunuch standing beside the dragon throne was worried.

"Your Majesty, you must become stronger..."

Even for the sake of the country and people of Dachen, the emperor must become stronger.

"Become...stronger."

The young emperor tried to repeat the difficult words, even though he didn't know what the word meant.

...

...

...

Yizhou, old barracks.

The sword blade cut through the air again and again, bringing with it bursts of shrieks. Just by listening to the shrill sound of breaking wind, one can already feel the sharpness and excellence of this swordsmanship - but if someone saw the scene of the sword swinging with their own eyes, they would know that this swordsmanship is far from being described by the word "excellent".

Just because, it was only a broken sword that made such a noise.

A broken sword, but it made the sound of breaking wind that a complete long sword could make. It's better to say that it's seeing a ghost than being brilliant. God knows how this was done. I'm afraid even the storyteller in the teahouse wouldn't dare to open his mouth and say such nonsense.

Unfortunately, not everyone can appreciate the sublime sword intention.

For example, the fellow from Jibei who is pushing open the window.

"Cui, are you done yet? You crow before the roosters crow every day. Do you want to let people sleep?"

"I just want to become stronger."

While saying this, the swordsman named Cui Yuan was still swinging the broken sword accurately.

"I still need two thousand swords. Today's four thousand swords will be..."

"Whether you become a wall or a beam, no one cares, but can you stop standing under other people's windows? If you don't sleep, others won't sleep either. Will you die if you practice in your own room?"

"..."

Cui Yuan was speechless for a long time and could only walk away while swinging his sword.

Along the way, he brought a lot of curses.

Nowadays, everyone is willing to raise a few chickens at home. On the one hand, hens can lay eggs, and on the other hand, roosters can announce the dawn - but the fellows from Jibei who live in the old barracks don't need to raise roosters, just because Cui Yuan gets up earlier than the chickens every day.

"It's a good thing for young people to practice diligently."

Old man Yang Xuanyang was also woken up, but he didn't care about this kind of thing - as for the reason, on the one hand, it was naturally because the old man was old and his legs were broken, and he just sat every day without working to earn food and drink. On the other hand, he really agreed with Cui Yuan's self-discipline.

You really need to become stronger. How can you have strength if you don't become stronger.

If you don't become stronger, what can you do to follow the dragon!

"Get up! Get up!"

After Cui Yuan walked over with his sword, old man Yang also climbed onto the wheelchair, rocked the wheelchair over, and called all the children of the Yang family to get up and strengthen their bodies.

This also made Cui Yuan, who was practicing sword, nod repeatedly.

Yes, a day's plan lies in the morning. It is always right to practice more in the morning. As long as you practice more, you will always become stronger.

Just like him, he used to swing three thousand swords every day, but now he has improved to swing four thousand swords every day. This is the result of practice and the power brought by more practice.

"Does practicing more really bring strength?"

This time, the one who came to Cui Yuan was Jiang Wenyuan, the commander of the plundering brigade. Of course, now this title may have to be added with the word "front". After all, the entire Yizhou is now out of the control of the Jiankang court, so the plunderers trapped here naturally lost their organization.

But losing the organization does not mean losing the structure, nor does it mean losing the responsibility.

Even if the court's orders can no longer reach Yizhou, someone has to maintain the public security of this city. In addition, Du Chengfeng occupied Yizhou and did not care about it. After rounding it off, Jiang Wenyuan's scope of work has not changed much - if there must be any change, it is that everyone's salary has been stuck for a while.

But after Liu Bolun suggested that the property of Qian Jin, the former governor of Yizhou, be confiscated for funding, the salaries of the plunderers actually increased a lot.

It is said that when you are poor, you are good at literature, but when you are rich, you are good at martial arts. After you have money, you should improve your strength. Although the hunters have been using various props to help catch the criminals, that is the only way. If you really have the strength to catch the criminals head-on, who needs props?

What's more, the strength of the criminals is getting stronger and stronger.

Perhaps because the world is getting worse and worse, those evil lunatics have become more and more powerful. In the past, there might not be a murder case in half a year, but now those evil lunatics who have killed people are not even inferior to the hunters. Obviously, this is the power of innocent lives, and it is a lot of innocent lives.

"So, please guide me!"

Carrying the iron ruler, Jiang Wenyuan bowed to Cui Yuan.

This was the most capable person he could find at the moment.

"Guide... you?"

Cui Yuan was still swinging the sword, but his meaning was a little dazed.

You know, he has always been learning from others, from his master, from Mr. Du, and even from all his opponents and enemies. He is not strong enough, so he has to learn, and he is not strong enough, so he has to practice.

But now, has he reached the level of being able to teach others?

"I..."

Cui Yuan wanted to refuse, but looking at Jiang Wenyuan's eyes, he couldn't say the words of refusal.

He inexplicably thought of his master.

When he wanted to follow his master to continue learning, his master refused him and only allowed him to be called "teacher" - if he was not allowed to continue following, it could be said that it was for his safety, but the change of this title was already an obvious refusal.

He actually understood a lot of things, but after all, that was the master who raised him, so he didn't want to think too much.

And now, facing the diligent and hardworking Jiang Wenyuan, did he really have to say the words of refusal?

"I... okay."

Cui Yuan sighed.

"Then I will dare to teach Jiang Lushuai, but don't call him master and apprentice."

As soon as he said that, Cui Yuan was stunned.

It was this moment of hesitation that caused him to swing the sword half a beat slower, and when he swung the sword the next time, the angle was naturally skewed - so the flowing sword energy naturally tore open the courtyard wall next to it, and smashed two wine jars.

This woke up Liu Bolun and Carpenter Li, who were sleeping against the wine jars.

"Can't you just go back and practice?"

Even with his profound self-cultivation, Liu Bolun was so angry that he started cursing.

"Don't you know this thing is dangerous? Don't you know you almost killed me just now?"

"I'm really sorry."

Cui Yuan knew he was in the wrong, so he couldn't say anything to refute.

"It's just that I've been practicing how to draw my sword anytime and anywhere recently, so..."

"All you have in your mind all day long is this, you deserve to be a tool man for life."

The angry Liu Bolun spat on the ground.

"Practice, practice, practice, be strong, strong, what's the use of being strong? What's the point? Let me tell you, a long time ago, there was a story about a big tree..."

"I've heard that."

Cui Yuan sighed.

Not only have I heard it, I've heard it countless times. After all, the allusion of useless use is also widely circulated. He is not uneducated, so how could he not know this.

But in his opinion, this story has nothing to do with his sword practice.

Do you have to use the sword after practicing it? There is no such reason. Perhaps he practiced swordsmanship in the past with the idea of ​​serving his master, but more than ten years have passed, and swordsmanship has long been integrated into his life.

Practicing swordsmanship is his life, so why should he care about whether it is useful or not?

But if there must be a use, there may still be one.

"Is there any news about Mr. Du?"

After the last sword was swung, Cui Yuan put the sword back into the sheath.

"I have realized a new move and I am ready to ask Mr. Du for advice."

"Brother Du..."

Carpenter Li, who was drinking with Liu Bolun, spoke up.

"I don't know, the last news about him came from Jiankang City, and there was no news after that..."

Speaking of this, Carpenter Li couldn't help but look at the sword in Cui Yuan's hand, and was quite envious.

Rather than envy of the sword, it is better to say that he envied the feeling of having power. After all, as long as he had power, he could go all over the world, instead of being like now, because without power, it is easy to die violently when leaving the city, so he can only watch his good brother trapped outside, but he can't do anything and can only worry.

"To become stronger, I have to become stronger too."

Thinking of this, Carpenter Li clenched his fists.

He also needs strength, the kind of strength that can protect relatives and friends from harm, so he must become stronger, at least to be able to help.

Instead of being so weak that he can only hold back.

"If Brother Li wants to become stronger, he shouldn't look for me."

After hearing that Carpenter Li actually wanted to learn martial arts, Cui Yuan couldn't help shaking his head.

"I only know swordsmanship, and at most I know something similar to swords. As for you, Brother Li, you are not the type who is suitable for swordsmanship... Moreover, Mr. Du knows so much, why should Brother Li go far away, just look for Mr. Du directly, isn't it better?"

"I want to find him too..."

Carpenter Li sighed.

He really wanted to find him, he wanted to find him more than anyone else. After all, although Du Chengfeng had no blood relationship with him, the two sides had been as close as brothers - it was precisely because of this that Carpenter Li was more worried, afraid that Du Chengfeng would get into trouble outside.

After all, Du Chengfeng was born a refugee, with no one to rely on, and he was truly rootless. Wandering alone like this, if anything happened, there would be no one to help him.

Moreover, it was such a big thing for him to go to the imperial city alone.

Could Du Chengfeng really come back alive?

A late update, more than 6,000 words, I am really confused. Of course, the late update is not entirely because of the large number of words in this chapter, but also because I played Cyberpunk all day, which I need to reflect on.

The next update will be tomorrow, just in time for the new content, I will have a good sleep, and everyone should rest early.

In addition: Thank you for your recommendation votes and monthly tickets, thank you for your encouragement and support.

Thank you for the tips from the pen name A Guan and Qing Yi Shi Ba Xiang, it is really a waste of money, I am ashamed.

Everyone should rest early, I will also have a normal day.