Young hero, stay put and don't be reckless.

Chapter 94 Sparring

The Duke of Wei's gaze sharpened slightly.

Dugu Hong continued, "I went to the arena today and saw that those so-called experts were nothing special. If such people were sent to the border, they would probably run away before even seeing the enemy. The Duke of Wei's standards for selecting talent are far too low."

These words were harsh, and the faces of the people on the Duke of Wei's side darkened.

Several military officers pressed their hands on the edge of the table, their knuckles turning white—wasn't this a slap in the face to the Duke of Wei?

As Jiang Xun listened from the last row, all the loose threads in his mind suddenly connected.

Having spent so much time with Li Che in Qiantang, he had learned a thing or two about the ways of the world.

The Second Prince came to the Duke of Wei's residence tonight, employing a series of tactics—first courtesy, then force.

First, he took the initiative to make goodwill, but was rejected by the Duke of Wei; then he had Ling Xuan use the matter of the crossbow to put pressure on the Duke of Wei, trying to force him to give in; when the Duke of Wei did not move, he had Dugu Hong jump out and belittle the people chosen for the arena.

The meaning couldn't be clearer: if you keep hiding your daughter from marrying her off, you're going to have to suffer the consequences.

No wonder Dugu Hong caused trouble on the stage today.

What kind of martial arts competition is this?

This was clearly a show of force to the Duke of Wei.

The point is to let everyone know that the Second Prince is determined to have the daughter of the Duke of Wei.

Looking at the Second Prince's unchanging smile, Jiang Xun suddenly realized that this man was not simple.

He appears carefree and nonchalant, but his methods are varied and sophisticated, employing both soft and hard tactics, and proceeding step by step with meticulous planning.

Xu Chen didn't have such complicated thoughts.

He jumped to his feet, his face flushed red: "Dugu Hong, stop spouting nonsense! You got beaten to a pulp during the day, and you still have the nerve to call others mediocre?"

Dugu Hong's expression changed: "You..."

"What? Did I say something wrong?" Xu Chen sneered, his voice clear and loud enough to be heard throughout the courtyard. "Today on the arena, you were beaten like a dog by Brother Jiang, and everyone in Jiangning Prefecture saw it. With your meager skills, you dare to point fingers here?"

Dugu Hong's face turned pale and then red, his lips trembled, and he couldn't utter a single word.

The second prince frowned, clearly unaware that Dugu Hong had been beaten during the day.

He glanced at Ling Xuan, who leaned over and whispered a few words.

The Second Prince's gaze pierced through the crowd and landed on Jiang Xun in the last row.

That gaze was indifferent, revealing no emotion, yet Jiang Xun felt as if he were being watched by something.

Jiang Xun felt a chill run down his spine—the Golden Feather Guard's intelligence network was truly impressive.

The second prince suddenly turned his gaze to him and asked, "What is your name, sir?"

Seeing that all eyes in the courtyard were on him, Jiang Xun knew he couldn't avoid it, so he simply stood up straight and casually cupped his hands in greeting: "This humble commoner, Jiang Xun, is just a wanderer in the martial arts world."

"A wandering swordsman?" The Second Prince chuckled, a hint of amusement in his smile. "Isn't it rather inappropriate for someone of unknown origin to infiltrate the Duke of Wei's banquet?"

Xu Chen immediately jumped in to defend himself: "He's someone I invited! He's my master!"

The Second Prince glanced at Xu Chen, his smile unchanged, but his tone carried a more earnest, elder-like quality: "Young Master Xu is young and easily deceived by charlatans. It's best to be more careful."

These words were polite, but the meaning was clear—Jiang Xun was a charlatan, worthless.

Jiang Xun felt a chill run down his spine.

This second prince is indeed no simple man. With just a few words, he shifted the blame from Dugu Hong to himself, both rescuing Dugu Hong from his predicament and giving the Duke of Wei's mansion a silent warning.

However, he was too lazy to argue with the Second Prince. He just smiled lazily, leaned back in his chair, and wanted to see what other tricks the Second Prince would come up with next.

Seeing Jiang Xun's indifferent attitude, the Second Prince's eyes flashed with displeasure. Just as he was about to order someone to throw him out, a voice suddenly rang out.

"Second Prince, you are mistaken."

Everyone looked in the direction of the sound and saw a middle-aged man standing up in the corner.

He cupped his hands in greeting to the Second Prince and said unhurriedly, "This Jiang Xun is a guard from the Prince Qi's residence. He is here in Jiangning Prefecture on the orders of the Prince Qi. I can vouch for his identity."

The courtyard was quiet for a moment.

People from the Prince of Qi's residence?

Jiang Xun was also taken aback.

This person nodded at me as soon as I came in, and now they're speaking up for me. Who is this person?

Xu Chen leaned close to Jiang Xun's ear and whispered, "That's Mu Ning, the prefectural magistrate of Jiangning. His father was once my father's subordinate and saved His Highness Prince Qi's life."

Jiang Xun suddenly realized.

Mu Ning, Li Che's maternal uncle.

As expected, Li Che informed the Mu family in advance.

He gave Mu Ning a grateful look.

Mu Ning nodded slightly, then sat back down, picked up his teacup, and slowly took a sip, as if he had just said something completely ordinary.

The Second Prince's expression changed slightly.

People from the Prince of Qi's residence?

Is the Prince of Qi going to interfere in the affairs of Jiangning Prefecture?

However, he didn't show it on his face, but just smiled and said in a more polite tone than before: "Since they are from the Prince Qi's residence, then this prince was overthinking it."

He paused, his gaze sweeping over Jiang Xun once more, and suddenly said, "However, this valiant man is highly skilled in martial arts, even Young Master Dugu is no match for him, he must be a master."

"I happen to have a guest advisor by my side. Why don't we take this opportunity to have a friendly exchange, so that everyone can broaden their horizons?"

Xu Chen's eyes lit up, and he blurted out, "Let's compete! Who's afraid of who!"

He was just worried about not having a chance to teach the Second Prince a lesson, but unexpectedly, the other party delivered himself to his doorstep.

Jiang Xun sighed inwardly.

Xu Chen, that kid, talks faster than he thinks.

However, since things had come to this point, he could not back down.

Duke Wei glanced at Xu Chen, then at Jiang Xun, remained silent for a moment, and nodded: "Since the Second Prince is in such a good mood, then let's have a friendly spar, but stop when we've reached our goal."

He waved his hand, "Dismissed."

The servants filed in and quickly cleared away the banquet, pushing the tables to the sides.

A space was cleared in the center of the courtyard, with a few chairs placed around it, and some fruit and snacks added.

The two lanterns were raised a little higher, and their orange-red glow spread out, illuminating the courtyard brightly.

Jiang Xun stood on one side of the field and cracked his wrists.

The middle-aged scholar behind the Second Prince stood up, cupped his hands in greeting, and slowly walked into the center of the arena.

"Baoyue Manor, Zhang Chong."

Jiang Xun felt a chill run down his spine—they really were people from Baoyue Manor.

He had heard Li Tang mention that Zhang Chong was the second master of Baoyue Manor, Zhang Tao's uncle, and a highly skilled martial artist, a master at the level of a sect leader.

Although he defeated Zhang Tao, Zhang Chong was not on the same level as Zhang Tao.

This person possesses profound inner strength and has been navigating the martial arts world for many years; he is not easy to deal with.

What's more troublesome is that... he doesn't have a suitable weapon.

Just as he was wondering whether he should borrow a sword, a maid suddenly walked over from the side, holding a long sword in her hands.

"Young master." She bowed her head and presented the sword to Jiang Xun with both hands. "This is my young lady's sword. Please use it for now."

Jiang Xun was taken aback, then took the sword.

The scabbard is plain white with some patterns, but it feels quite heavy in your hand.

He drew his sword from its sheath; the blade was like a pool of autumn water, its cold light gleaming, clearly not an ordinary weapon.

"Please thank your young lady for me," Jiang Xun said.

The maid nodded and withdrew.

Ah Jiu craned her neck to look from behind, muttering, "This sword is pretty good, much better than the ones sold at the blacksmith's shop near the inn."

Jiang Xun ignored him and walked into the arena with his sword.

Zhang Chong was already waiting there.

He stood with his hands behind his back, his face calm and expressionless.

"please."