Chapter 23: Overnight Fame

  Liu Xuan threw the scabbard far away, held the sword horizontally across his chest, and the Xuanyin Sword shone brightly under the sunlight.

  His eyes were like a cat's, and in the sunlight, his pupils contracted into a line, and his originally dull gaze suddenly became sharp.

  In fact, from the very beginning, he had been looking for Cai Jin's weakness. Cai Jin was not Zhao Yun, Zhao Yun had no weaknesses or flaws, and he could only create his own.

  However, Cai Jin's weakness was very obvious. As soon as he stepped onto the sword platform, Liu Xuan noticed that Cai Jin was holding the hilt with his left hand, which was a habitual action, but now he was holding the sword with his right hand, and Liu Hu also told himself that Cai Jin was a right-handed swordsman.

  But the details did not deceive Liu Xuan's eyes. Just now when Cai Jin grasped his sword with both hands, his left hand posture was more relaxed than his right hand, and his left hand fingers appeared longer and stronger. From these details, Liu Xuan keenly judged that Cai Jin was actually a left-handed swordsman, and the right-handed sword was just a deception.

  If that's the case, Cai Jin's weakness should be on his right side. However, although he saw Cai Jin's weak point, it wasn't easy to seize the opportunity. First, he had to dissolve Cai Jin's fierce offensive.

  Cai Jin let out a loud shout, suddenly launched himself forward, rapidly charging ahead. With a swift movement of his sword, he stabbed towards Liu Xuan's chest, the speed extremely fast. In an instant, a flash of light appeared, and the sword's momentum was as swift as lightning, directly piercing towards Liu Xuan's heart.

  All around was a burst of surprise, and all that could be heard was Liu Hu's loud shout: "Jingdi, beware!"

  Liu Xuan was also slightly enraged in his heart, he and the Cai family had no grievances or enmity, yet they came at him with a deadly sword, so ruthless and venomous, did they want to take his life?

  He no longer hesitated, his long sword flashed out, the Xuanlin Sword's cold light flashed by, and with a loud "Dang!" sound, this sword chopped down directly onto the opponent's sword blade. He was using his sword like a knife, and this chop made Cai Jin's arm go numb, his tiger mouth shook open, and his sword almost flew out of his hand.

  Cai Jin secretly called out "not good", and turned his body to jump away, but his forward momentum couldn't be stopped in time, causing his figure to pause for a moment, slowing down by one step. Liu Xuan's left foot swept horizontally towards him, this was the Taekwondo of later generations. Taekwondo is just a framework, the key lies in the powerful energy infused from Zhao Yun's secret manual.

  This kick was simple and clean, but its power was extremely strong. It accurately kicked Cai Jin's right ribcage, which happened to be his weak point. He dodged too late, let out a muffled cry, stumbled, and retreated five or six steps in a row.

  Liu Xuan did not pursue, his long sword made a stroke, and he guarded as steady as Mount Tai. Cai Jin was so ashamed that his face turned bright red. Although his master had repeatedly instructed him not to underestimate the enemy, he still had some small thoughts and continued to use his slightly weaker right-handed sword, trying to deceive Liu Xuan. However, he did not expect Liu Xuan's strength to be extremely great, almost causing him to lose with one sword.

  He finally understood his master's warning: 'A sword can conquer the world with justice, but if it relies on cunning, it will bring shame upon itself.'

  If he had used his left hand sword from the beginning, it wouldn't have been a narrow defeat. However, his opponent unexpectedly kicked him with his foot, almost breaking his ribs and causing excruciating pain that made him unsteady on his feet. Wasn't this against the rules?

  The sparrows around were silent, no one cheered, and the crowd watched with their eyes wide open. On this sword stage, countless battles had taken place, but never had anyone seen someone use their feet to kick others. How could this be judged? Everyone's gaze turned to the middle seat of the judges.

  Wang Wei was somewhat embarrassed, the swordsmanship competition could only be decided by the sword, although there was no rule that said you couldn't use your feet, but for a hundred years it had always been this way and he hadn't seen anyone violate it before, so he didn't announce it beforehand.

  "What's going on here?" Wang Wei turned to Huang Zhong and asked, "Han Sheng, don't you think we should warn him?"

  Before Huang Zhong could speak, Wen Ping coldly said: "When two armies are facing each other with the goal of killing the enemy, must we also establish rules for the enemy on the battlefield?"

  Wen Ping was extremely dissatisfied with Cai Xun in his heart, and he repeatedly warned him not to underestimate the enemy, but he actually wanted to use his right-handed sword, being self-righteous, and almost lost with one sword.

  This is also Wen Pin's disappointment with Cai Jin. Although Cai Jin excels in all aspects, he has a fatal weakness - his arrogance and conceit, which is a weakness brought by his noble birth. This weakness is enough to prevent him from becoming a great talent.

  Wen Ping also hoped that Liu Jue's kick would wake up Cai Jing.

  Huang Zhong nodded, "Since General Wen also thinks so, let's continue with the sword!"

  "Ding!" He struck the bronze bell again, and the master of ceremonies shouted loudly: "Continue the sword fight!"

  Among thousands of people around, a commotion was caused, it turned out that kicking with feet is also possible.

  At this time, Wen Pin also discovered Liu Xuan's unusualness. He found that the child was not like an official aristocrat who had been living in a deep courtyard for many years, but rather like a soldier who had experienced hundreds of battles. His sharp eyesight could see Cai Jin's weakness on his right side at a glance, making Wen Pin feel inferior to him.

  He felt that this battle was likely to be a disaster for Cai's advance.

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  Cai Jin has stabilized, he switched the sword to his left hand, restoring his most powerful left-handed sword. At this time, he no longer dared to be slightly careless, adopting a defensive stance, his eyes tightly fixed on Liu Xuan's every move.

  Liu Xuan also adopted a defensive stance, using his sword as a knife, with the long sword slanting downwards, which was exactly Zhao Yun's move, sealing off all the opponent's attacking routes.

  The two of them were like stone statues, motionless, waiting for the other to make a move. Time passed bit by bit, and already an incense stick had burned, but neither side moved, as if they were two old monks in meditation.

  The surroundings began to get impatient, getting noisier and noisier, with whispers and murmurs filling the air. Cai Shaoyu couldn't help but say to her cousin Cai Hong: "This Liu Xuan is really a despicable person, actually kicking people with his feet! I'm so angry that I wish Third Brother would take out his sword and kill him right now, what's he waiting for?"

  Cai Hong knew Cai Jin's situation, and seeing Cai Jin recover his left hand sword, he also felt a bit worried, sighing: "Perhaps the kick earlier was too fierce, Third Brother needs time to recover."

  Time had passed for a quarter of an hour, and the two were still motionless. The surrounding noise was deafening, when someone finally couldn't bear it anymore and shouted loudly, "Two pieces of dog shit, are you going to fight or not?"

  "Get out of here if you can't compare!"

  The shouting and cheering rose and fell, when suddenly Cai Jin let out a loud roar, raised his sword and rushed forward. The surroundings quieted down again, everyone looked at Cai Jin with excitement, hoping that this one move would end the martial arts competition. But Huang Zhong and Wen Ping both sighed at the same time, Cai Jin had lost.

  Liu Xuan gazed at Cai Jin, who was getting closer and closer, a cruel smile spreading from the corner of his mouth. The will to fight on the battlefield had been decided, and this Cai Jin was still far from being a match for him!

  Cai Jin finally couldn't hold back, he gathered all his strength and struck a sword at Liu Xuan's head, as if Liu Xuan was the wooden stake for him to practice his knife.

  Just as the sword was about to strike Liu Xuan's head, he suddenly turned his body to the left, dodging Cai Jin's incoming blow. His own sword swung out in a horizontal slash, seemingly slow but somehow losing its middle trajectory, and instantly struck Cai Jin's right ribs.

  Cai Jin was shocked, his body rapidly flashed to the side, but a severe pain suddenly came from under his right ribs, causing him to slow down for a moment. A ray of blood light burst out, Cai Jin's long sword fell from his hand, and he covered his right ribs, stumbling backward several steps before falling to one knee.

  Liu Xuan gently wiped the bloodstains off the sword blade with his hand and said faintly, "You lost!"

  The crows and sparrows around were silent, Wen Pin rushed up hastily and supported Cai Jin. He carefully examined Cai Jin's injuries, slightly relieved, and nodded gratefully to Liu Xuan, "Thank you, young master, for sparing his life."

  Liu Xuan turned around, picked up the scabbard, sheathed his sword, and the referee turned around to glance at Huang Zhong and Wang Wei. Seeing them nodding, he loudly shouted, "The sword fight is over, Liu Xuan wins!"

  Suddenly, a thunderous applause erupted all around, cheers resounded throughout the entire arena, Liu Hu shouted like a child, excited to tears, took off his clothes and threw them high into the sky.

  Cai's family members then sullenly left the sword platform without a word, Cai Shaoyu turned back and stared at Liu Xuan with extreme hatred, she felt more humiliated than Cai Jin's defeat.

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  As the sword fight came to an end, the crowd began to disperse, and many people couldn't contain their excitement, rushing into the city to spread the news of this thrilling duel to even more people.

  Liu Cong came before Wang Wei and Huang Zhong, surrounded by a dozen or so young men, and won the sword fight, gaining not only honor but also other rewards.

  Wang Wei smiled and said, "I often hear General Zhen Nan mention you, saying that Gongzi has extraordinary vision, can observe the overall situation of the world, and unexpectedly his swordsmanship is also extremely high. He can be called a versatile talent in both literature and martial arts, and is the hope for the future of Jing Xiang."

  Liu Xuan hastily bowed and said: "General Wang is overpraising me, I am shallow and dare not accept such high expectations."

  Huang Zhong pondered for a moment, curiously asking: "I feel that Master Jing seems to have very rich combat experience. Has Master Jing been on the battlefield or been a hunter?"

  Liu Jue's heart skipped a beat, he never thought that his hunting experience would reveal the secret, and was seen through by Huang Zhong, a man with such sharp eyes. If Liu Bei were to find out, this would be disastrous.

  He hastily replied: "In response to General Huang's words, Liu Xuan has no actual combat experience and only likes to think. When he was a child, he often watched military training exercises. In fact, I have only been learning martial arts for a month."

  "One month!"

  Wang Wei and Huang Zhong were both stunned, they looked at each other in dismay, how could it be possible that he had only been practicing martial arts for a month?

  At this time, Sun Gan walked up beside him and chuckled: "I can prove that Master Jing only studied martial arts with Zi Long for a month, and even Zi Long has always praised Master Jing as a martial arts prodigy."

  Liu Xuan might be modest, but Sun Gan's words made people believe it, Wang Wei burst out laughing, "So Master Xuan is General Zhao Yun's apprentice, no wonder he's so capable."

  There was a hint of bitterness in his laughter. His former master had once mentioned letting him take Liu Xuan as an apprentice, but he didn't expect to be preempted by Zhao Yun.

  Sun Qian shook his head and explained, "Originally General Zhao wanted to take Gongzi as a disciple, but Liu Xuan thought it was necessary to ask for the governor's consent first, so he only taught him martial arts and did not accept him as a disciple."

  This sentence moved Huang Zhong's heart, he stroked his beard and thought secretly, 'Since Zhao Yun has not accepted any disciples, can't I accept this child as my own disciple, so as to not live a mediocre life.'

  Huang Zhong had long since taken notice of Liu Xuan. He saw that Liu Xuan was eight feet tall, with broad shoulders and a slightly long face shape, his eyebrows were like swords, his nose bridge was straight and high, and he had an extraordinary appearance. In his heart, he exceptionally liked this, which was the majestic bearing of a man.

  Huang Zhong had an idea in his mind, but he didn't reveal it. He just smiled and handed over a package of gold to Liu Xun, "This is the winner's reward, sixty taels of gold, also the intention of Kuai Gong, please accept it!"

  Liu Jiong was overjoyed in his heart, and he had not expected to receive a reward of sixty taels of gold. This made him extremely happy, and he did not hesitate to accept the bag of gold, bowing deeply to Kuai Yuechang, "Thank you, sir, for this generous reward!"

  Kuai Yue smiled slightly, "If you want to thank me, young master, then come to my place for a simple meal, how about it?"

  "Kuai Gong doesn't mind Liu Xuan's roughness, Liu Xuan should follow orders."

  "Good!"

  Kuai Yue didn't expect him to agree so readily, and couldn't help but say with a smile: "Then let's set it for tonight."

  He then said to Wang Wei and Huang Zhong: "I would also like to trouble you two generals to come along as well."

  Wang Wei and Huang Zhong knew it was just a polite remark, so they hurriedly declined, saying they had something to attend to. Kuai Yue didn't force the issue either, stroking his beard as he smiled at Liu Xuan: "Tonight, I'll clear out my humble abode in anticipation of your esteemed presence!"

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