Chapter 381: A Supreme Fan Technique

The Jianghu Reputation Rankings had been unlocked.

Wangchuan had heard Wang Song mention before that this ranking board was a list compiled purely for players, used to check and understand a player’s standing within spirit realm.

The moment Wangchuan saw his own ranking, he was dumbfounded.

He was ranked beyond two hundred thousand.

Just how many hidden monsters were lurking inside spirit realm?

But on second thought,

it was hardly surprising.

Those powerful elites above him could no doubt crush him with ease. Add to that the military’s various ace soldiers and elite fighters...

and the forces of every nation...

and it no longer seemed strange.

Before he had even entered the game, spirit realm had already contained at least tens of millions of players.

Now that he had climbed to a position beyond the top two hundred thousand, that was already an astonishing rate of progress.

Wangchuan gradually calmed down.

At that moment, Bai Yuhui, Yang Feiyue, Ye Baiyi, and the others all came over.

“Hall Master.”

“Why did you withdraw?”

“With your strength, Hall Master, you definitely had a chance to take second place. You might even have had a chance to fight for first.” Bai Yuhui and Ye Baiyi both found it a real pity.

Chen Ergou and Zhao Heiniu followed Wangchuan every day and had a much clearer understanding of what their Hall Master was thinking, so they merely smiled and said nothing.

Wangchuan shook his head.

“One was a Wudang expert, and the other was the Young Master of the Lu Family. Those two were not as easy to deal with as you imagine.”

“But Hall Master, you sparred with Young Master Lu every day. You exhausted all of his internal energy every single time. Your odds of winning were obviously very high.” It was Ye Baiyi who asked that question.

Wangchuan laughed and shook his head.

“It is true that training with that man from the Lu Family helped me grow a great deal, but do you really think Young Master Lu showed all of his strength?”

“...”

Ye Baiyi was left speechless.

Wangchuan continued,

“When it is not a life-and-death struggle, no one is willing to reveal all of their hidden cards. That is true for me, and it is also true for Young Master Lu...”

In truth, Wangchuan saw the situation very clearly.

Lu Ping’an had only spent half a month sparring with him in order to repay him for saving Lu Ningshuang’s life and to help him improve his understanding of swordsmanship.

The other man still had trump cards hidden away.

Wangchuan had also figured something else out:

the reason the Lu Family dared let Lu Ping’an come to Sanhe Commandery alone was probably because they had absolute confidence in his strength.

And indeed!

As the battle atop the stage began, the clash between Lu Ping’an and Chang Feihe quickly entered a white-hot phase.

Both men held famous swords in hand. Their auras were complete and powerful, and every move they exchanged was infused with internal force. On the surface, the battle looked ferocious enough, but the hidden contest of internal force beneath it was even more dangerous.

Clang! Clang!

The crisp ring of swords spread from the stage to the surrounding boats.

Wherever they passed, wooden posts were severed cleanly and flew in every direction.

Planks split apart, and in just a few breaths, whole cabins were torn down.

Chang Feihe’s swordsmanship was equally outstanding. He fought Lu Ping’an to a standstill, switching between different sword arts over and over. Sword moves crossed, sparks flew, and the spectacle left people dazzled.

Whether it was the audience on shore or the judges, everyone watched with utter concentration.

Countless martial artists held their breath and fixed their eyes on the battle, waiting for the champion to emerge.

“So strong!”

“I never imagined that the highest-level duel between third-rank martial artists could display the bearing of fourth-rank martial artists.”

“Could these two be even stronger than ordinary fourth-rank martial artists?”

“Say it with confidence. Drop the ‘could.’”

A fourth-rank martial artist standing in the crowd smiled bitterly.

“If either one of those two stepped out, I would not be their match... As expected of a great family, as expected of a great sect.”

“Exactly.”

“And the key is that they are both still this young.”

At the judges’ seats, the group of fifth-rank martial artists could not help commenting as well:

“Chang Feihe’s foundations are solid in every art he practices. He has no weakness. As expected of a disciple from Wudang. Truly formidable.”

“As for Lu Ping’an, I heard he received guidance from both his family and famous masters. His swordsmanship is extraordinary, and every kind of deft force and technical skill has reached Perfect Mastery. His internal cultivation and lightness skill are not weak either... This really is a clash of dragons and tigers.”

“I wonder who the champion will ultimately be.”

“That depends on whose hidden cards run deeper.”

The fifth-rank martial artists were all deeply familiar with the ways of surviving in the Jianghu, so none of them made direct predictions.

As they spoke, Chang Feihe and Lu Ping’an had already exchanged more than two hundred moves.

Neither had exposed the slightest flaw.

Chang Feihe was steady and methodical, equally strong in both attack and defense;

Lu Ping’an’s swordsmanship was ingenious, shifting between fast and slow at will, never falling behind.

But as time passed, Lu Ping’an’s internal energy was being drained heavily, while Chang Feihe remained calm and unchanged.

“The Wudang heart method really is impressive.”

Lu Ping’an praised him aloud.

Chang Feihe smiled faintly, but his hands did not slow in the slightest.

“You are formidable as well. To have lasted this long, you truly are worthy of being the Lu Family’s Young Master.”

“I’m going to get serious now.”

The moment Lu Ping’an said those words, Chang Feihe’s expression shifted slightly.

Then they saw Lu Ping’an suddenly fling out the folding fan at his waist.

That object, which had looked like nothing more than an ornament, abruptly transformed into a fluttering butterfly, carrying with it the fierce sound of air being ripped apart as it shot straight toward Chang Feihe’s face.

Swordsmanship and flying fan!

Faced with Lu Ping’an’s two-pronged assault, Chang Feihe’s pressure rose sharply.

His swordsmanship became slightly disordered.

He had just evaded the slicing arc of the flying fan when it wheeled back around and attacked from behind. At last, a flaw appeared, and Lu Ping’an seized the opportunity to slash across his waist.

Chang Feihe let out a muffled groan, and his aura instantly fell into chaos.

Lu Ping’an did not press the advantage. He recalled the fan and slowly cupped his fists.

“My thanks.”

Chang Feihe shook his head and sighed.

“I never expected that you had also learned a supreme fan technique. I have no complaint in this defeat.”

Chang Feihe stepped down from the stage and went below for treatment.

Old Seven then took the opportunity to announce the final results of the third-rank tournament:

First place: Lu Ping’an;

Second place: Chang Feihe;

Third place: Wangchuan!

With that, the martial tournament came to an end.

Tens of thousands of martial artists were still immersed in the clash between the top third-rank experts, unable to calm themselves for a long while.

In particular, they were awestruck by the flying fan technique Lu Ping’an had revealed at the end.

Wangchuan, meanwhile, had already begun bustling about with his people.

With the tournament concluded, fresh notices were posted one after another on the bulletin boards.

Recruiting troops and buying horses!

In the most conspicuous places, the Caobang posted the following announcement:

Quasi-Martial Artists: ten taels of silver per month;

Formally joining the gang as a full martial artist: monthly salary of fifty taels of silver;

First-rank martial artists: one hundred taels of silver per month;

Second-rank martial artists: three hundred taels of silver per month!

Third-rank martial artists: one thousand taels of silver per month!

Generous Benefits:

All cultivation methods in the hall’s Armory Manual Vault could be purchased at half price.

Those with a certain rank or position could cultivate them for free.

The moment the notice went up, it immediately stirred the hearts of many martial artists.

People promptly went to speak with nearby Caobang disciples and expressed their desire to join.

The group of fifth-rank martial artists serving as judges stared dumbfounded at the growing clusters of martial artists gathering once again. They looked at one another in speechless disbelief:

“Well done, Wan Xiwen.”

“So the drunken old man’s heart was never in the wine.”

“I was wondering why you people were willing to spend more than five thousand taels of gold to hold a martial tournament... So your real purpose was to recruit troops and expand your ranks.”

“Damn it, I really fell for your trap.”

Even the captains from the Six Gates could not help pointing at Wan Xiwen and cursing him.

Wan Xiwen laughed uproariously.

“Hahahahaha... It’s all just the people under the hall causing a little mischief.”

“Please don’t take offense, everyone, please don’t take offense.”

Seeing more and more people follow Caobang disciples away, Wan Xiwen was grinning from ear to ear.

This fellow called Wangchuan...

was a real talent.