Chapter 335 - 323: Exchanging Blows

Chapter 335: Chapter 323: Exchanging Blows

Liyang, the Governor’s Mansion.

The autumn light was perfect, and the lingering fragrance of a few late-blooming osmanthus trees drifted into the room on the breeze.

Inside the hall, an ancient guqin rested on a table.

Jiang Nanyue’s slender fingers plucked the strings, notes flowing from their tips. The clear, ethereal music of the guqin trickled out, lingering in the air.

Governor Zhao Yuanhong, dressed in casual robes, leaned back comfortably in his chair. His eyes were half-closed, his fingers tapping gently against the armrest in time with the melody, clearly enjoying this rare moment of tranquility.

In the guest seats, the married couple Chen Shouheng and Zhou Shuwei sat side by side, quietly sipping their tea.

But this tranquility did not last long.

Suddenly, Zhao Yuanhong’s brows furrowed. The tapping of his fingers ceased, and his eyes snapped open, a sharp glint flashing within them before disappearing.

He shot to his feet and strode out of the hall, too preoccupied to worry about being impolite.

The music of the guqin came to an abrupt halt.

Jiang Nanyue pressed her hands on the strings, looking up at Zhao Yuanhong’s retreating back.

Chen Shouheng and Zhou Shuwei also set down their teacups. They exchanged a glance, then rose to follow.

After leaving the Sun Family estate, He Zhanglin’s chest burned with boiling rage. Moving with the full, astonishing speed of a Grandmaster, she reached the Governor’s Mansion in a matter of moments.

Her heart was in turmoil, her chest filled with killing intent. How could she possibly care for rules or etiquette at a time like this?

She easily cleared the high walls and security of the Governor’s Mansion’s outer perimeter, her robes cutting through the air as she landed gracefully on the smooth bluestone floor.

An icy chill and an undisguised killing intent instantly spread out, startling the birds perched in the courtyard trees into a frantic, fluttering flight.

Almost at the exact moment she landed, a pair of carved wooden doors were pushed open.

Zhao Yuanhong hurried out, his face a mixture of alarm and suspicion. He had suddenly sensed the arrival of a Grandmaster’s hostile aura, and alarm bells had screamed in his mind.

He looked up and saw He Zhanglin standing in the courtyard, her white robes purer than snow, her face an icy mask.

Zhao Yuanhong’s pupils contracted. He clearly recognized the daughter of the late Governor He. Just as he was about to speak, another figure in green, light as a feather, landed silently beside He Zhanglin. It was the composed Brother Tian.

"Miss He?"

Zhao Yuanhong asked in surprise, "What could have happened to bring you to my mansion in such a rage?"

He Zhanglin had no patience for pleasantries. "Captain Zhao, I have only one question for you: on what grounds did the Commandery Magistrate’s Office seize the Sun Family’s assets?"

Zhao Yuanhong was prepared for this question. "Miss He, please calm your anger. Seizing the Sun Family’s assets was a last resort. The autumn tax collection is imminent, and the Sun Family had agreed to be responsible for the Clear Water Tax Silver, yet they have failed to raise the funds to pay it."

"The Commandery Magistrate’s Office and the Government Treasury are also empty and cannot advance such a large sum on their behalf. To ensure the nation’s revenues are not lost and the Court’s taxes are not short, we had no choice but to act according to the law, confiscate the Sun Family’s properties, and sell them to cover the tax payment. I hope Miss He can appreciate the Court’s difficult position."

This explanation was identical to what the Military Officer had said earlier, making it difficult to refute on the surface.

"Appreciate?"

He Zhanglin sneered. She didn’t believe a word of Zhao Yuanhong’s nonsense.

Her gaze suddenly fell upon Chen Shouheng, Zhou Shuwei, and Jiang Nanyue as they walked out of the hall.

He Zhanglin’s eyes locked onto the faces of Chen Shouheng and Zhou Shuwei.

Although she had never dealt with them face-to-face, she had long ago committed their faces to memory from portraits.

In that instant, all her suspicions and all her rage came crashing together into a single, sudden realization.

’Why did Zhao Yuanhong suddenly seize the Sun Family’s assets?’

In a flash, He Zhanglin understood everything!

’So much for "delinquent Land Tax" and "seizing assets according to the law"!’

’It was always the Chen Family and the Zhou Family, colluding with that bastard Zhao Yuanhong to come after me!’

"Fine! So much for ’acting according to the law’! So much for ’appreciation’!"

He Zhanglin was so furious she began to laugh, but all the rage and hatred in her heart erupted at that moment, and her voice was as chilling as ice.

The thirst for revenge for her father’s and brother’s deaths, the frustration of her thwarted plans—it all transformed into a towering inferno that incinerated the last of her reason.

SHIIING!

The clear cry of a sword, like a dragon’s roar, suddenly rang through the courtyard.

With a flick of her wrist, He Zhanglin sent a streak of cold light shooting from the flexible scabbard at her waist.

She poured all her Power into the strike, achieving Sword and Man Unity. She transformed into a bolt of incomparably sharp lightning that tore through the air with a piercing shriek, aiming straight for the space between Chen Shouheng’s eyebrows.

"Miss He! Don’t!"

"Junior Sister!"

The shouts of alarm rang out almost simultaneously.

Zhao Yuanhong was both shocked and enraged. He never imagined He Zhanglin would dare to suddenly attack and try to kill someone in the middle of the Governor’s Mansion, in plain sight of everyone.

In a flash of lightning, Chen Shouheng advanced instead of retreating, taking a step forward to shield Zhou Shuwei slightly behind him.

He threw a punch, and thunder seemed to stir the wind.

An incredibly condensed Fist Intent, heavy as a mountain, erupted from him.

Where his fist passed, the air compressed into a visible white wave, letting out a low, muffled boom. It was as if a primeval tiger were roaring at the heavens, its claws shaking the very mountains.

At the same time, his left palm turned crimson like a branding iron. A scorching, yang-aspected energy flowed through it as he struck out from a distance at the flank of the sword’s rainbow arc.

Tiger Subduing Fist! Dragon Suppressing Palm!

One dragon, one tiger. One hard, one soft. One external, one internal. Together, they generated a terrifyingly vast and powerful combined force that slammed ferociously into the blue arc of the sword.

BOOM!

Fist strength, Palm Wind, and the light of the sword collided without any finesse.

In an instant, a clap of thunder exploded in the backyard.

Dust and violent Qi Strength shot into the sky.

The ornamental trees in the courtyard, as thick as bowls, were snapped in half at their trunks. On the ground, a spiderweb of cracks spread madly outward from where Chen Shouheng and He Zhanglin stood.

He Zhanglin felt an incomparably fierce and colossal force surge toward her. It not only shattered her Sword Momentum but also rushed backward through her meridians, making her blood churn. Her body flew back uncontrollably for more than ten feet before she could barely manage to dissipate the force.

Chen Shouheng also swayed, and with a CRACK-CRACK, his feet stomped two shallow pits into the hard bluestone ground.

But he immediately straightened his back and stood firm. The aura around him quickly stabilized as his eyes remained locked tightly on He Zhanglin.

A single, head-on clash, and they were evenly matched.

"A Divine Hall Grandmaster?!"

At that moment, Zhao Yuanhong’s pupils shrank, and for the first time, a look of utter, incredulous shock and horror appeared on his face.

His eyes were fixed on Chen Shouheng, as if he were seeing the young man for the first time.

Of course, he knew that Chen Shouheng had become the Martial Arts Examination Champion Scholar of Jiangzhou at a young age and had a limitless future.

But the difference between having a limitless future and *already being* a Divine Hall Grandmaster was as vast as that between the clouds and the mud.

The former, even a genius, was just a talented junior before they had fully developed.

But now, a Martial Arts Examination Champion Scholar in his early twenties who had already stepped into the Divine Hall—what did that imply?

It meant that as long as no accidents occurred, becoming a First-Class Scholar was practically a certainty.

His future prospects were truly immeasurable!

In just a moment, the way Zhao Yuanhong looked at Chen Shouheng had completely changed.

A short while ago, when Jiang Nanyue had brought Chen Shouheng to discuss matters, he had treated it as doing Jiang Nanyue a favor, repaying a past debt, and had also seen Chen Shouheng as a talented young man worth investing in.

But now, his expression carried an undisguisable hint of gravity.

Just then, the situation in the courtyard changed again.

He Zhanglin and Chen Shouheng exchanged blows at lightning speed, trading three moves in the blink of an eye.

Her Swordsmanship was nimble and vicious, every move aimed to kill.

Chen Shouheng’s fists and palms were fierce and domineering, his defense watertight.

After three moves, He Zhanglin was even more shocked and furious.

She discovered that not only could she not gain any advantage, but her opponent’s powerful Palm Force and exquisite Fist Techniques were faintly suppressing her.

"Brother Tian, help me!"

In her desperation, He Zhanglin couldn’t afford to care about appearances.

Brother Tian, who had been watching the fight intently from the side, couldn’t help but give a bitter smile.

He had no desire to get involved in this mess, but Chen Shouheng’s strength far exceeded his expectations. He Zhanglin was already at a disadvantage, and he absolutely could not stand by and do nothing.

He sighed inwardly. The bond of fellow disciples and the master’s instructions left him no choice. With a clear shout of "My apologies!", he made his move.

His figure blurred, his Longsword leaving its scabbard, transforming into a streak of green lightning as layer upon layer of sword shadows swept toward Chen Shouheng.

"Hmph!"

Zhou Shuwei, who had been standing quietly on the sidelines, let out a cold snort. Without any obvious movement, her delicate form floated out as lightly as a willow catkin in the wind. But instead of intercepting Brother Tian, she flashed forward to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with Chen Shouheng.

In that moment, their auras seemed to merge into one, and a strange resonance emanated from within them.

Dragon Phoenix Harmony Celestial True Skill.

The profound mystery of the Dragon Phoenix Harmony Celestial True Skill was that it wasn’t just a Superior dual-cultivation Secret Technique; it also allowed its Cultivators to connect their minds and share their True Qi, enabling them to unleash incomparably powerful Combined Combat Techniques.

Chen Shouheng’s Tiger Subduing Fist and Dragon Suppressing Palm were fierce and domineering, like a scorching sun, focused on attack.

Zhou Shuwei’s Capture Palm Technique was yin-aspected and ethereal, like moonlight spilling onto the ground, focused on defense and neutralization.

Their minds were linked, their Inner Qi flowed between them, and their moves coordinated with sublime perfection.

The Dragon-shaped Qi Strength and Phoenix Shadow formed a seamless offense and defense, completely without flaw.

In an instant, the backyard of the Governor’s Mansion became a battlefield where four Divine Hall Grandmasters fought to the death.

Sword Qi crisscrossed the air, tearing through the sky and leaving countless deep gashes on the ground, the corridor pillars, and the rockeries.

The winds from fists and the shadows of palms howled and surged, weaving through the air. Every collision produced a thunderous boom, kicking up violent gales that uprooted the flowers and plants, shattered the pavilion railings inch by inch, and left a scene of total devastation.

Zhao Yuanhong’s face twitched as he watched the backyard of his Governor’s Mansion rapidly turn to ruin under the onslaught of the four Grandmasters.

Several times he wanted to step forward and forcibly stop them, but he managed to restrain himself.

Although he also possessed the strength of the Divine Hall, none of the four fighters were weak. This was especially true of Chen Shouheng and Zhou Shuwei, whose combined aura was so perfectly integrated that it bordered on Void Transformation.

If he were to rashly intervene, not only would he fail to stop the battle, but he would likely be swept up in the violent Qi Strength himself.

At this moment, he, the Governor of an entire commandery, could only watch helplessly, his heart filled with powerlessness and frustration.

Soon, despite the ferocity of the battle, the outcome was already becoming clear.

Although both He Zhanglin and Brother Tian were Divine Hall Grandmasters with impressive Cultivation, He Zhanglin was impetuous, her heart clouded by hatred. Her Swordsmanship, while sharp, lacked stability.

Brother Tian, on the other hand, was fighting mostly out of obligation and a need to save face. His Sword Momentum lacked decisiveness and was filled with hesitation.

Their coordination was far inferior to the tacit understanding between the husband and wife, Chen Shouheng and Zhou Shuwei. They fought as individuals, unable to form an effective joint attack.

With one side’s weakness feeding the other’s strength, after just a dozen more moves, He Zhanglin and Brother Tian were struggling to defend themselves, finding themselves in one perilous situation after another.

BANG!

A muffled thud.

Chen Shouheng’s Tiger Subduing Fist landed solidly on He Zhanglin’s shoulder blade.

"PUH...!"

He Zhanglin felt as if she’d been struck by a heavy hammer. Her body flew backward like a kite with a snapped string, crashing into a half-broken osmanthus tree more than ten feet away.

With a CRACK, the bowl-thick trunk snapped. She then tumbled wretchedly to the ground and began coughing violently, fresh blood staining the white robes on her chest.

"Junior Sister!"

Brother Tian’s face went pale with fright. His Sword Momentum fell into disarray as he scrambled to turn back and help her.

Chen Shouheng and Zhou Shuwei instantly locked onto Brother Tian with their auras, sealing off all his escape routes. It looked as if they were about to create a checkmate situation and deliver a killing blow.