“Come on! Let’s go have a look!”

Southern Chu was located at the frontier. During the Warring States period, it had once been territory belonging to the state of Chu, and the name “Southern Chu” originated from this.

Though Chu may have only three households left, it would still destroy Qin. Because of Hu Hai’s unexpected rise, the course of history had been disrupted. The brilliant and strategic Second Emperor of Qin prevented future figures like Chen Sheng, Wu Guang, Xiang Yu, and Liu Bang from having their chance to emerge. But a thousand years later, it was still the Chu people who first charged into the heartland of Great Qin, causing the mighty Qin to collapse and fragment. This showed that fate had its own mysterious designs, and everything had long been predetermined.

The culture of the Chu region was rich and diverse. It had always been a land of outstanding people and spiritual essence, with various schools of thought having deep roots and a particularly strong martial tradition.

At this moment, on the high arena platform, two soldiers from the Shangkou Lin family and Liyuan were engaged in heated combat. Qing Xia looked at Chu Li, who was leisurely sitting in his seat drinking tea, truly unable to figure out what tricks this fellow was playing again.

“Bang!” With a loud sound, the Lin family warrior stumbled and fell from the arena. Thunderous cheers erupted from the Liyuan Nanfu side. Qing Xia immediately spotted the commander she had beaten – though he was also cheering along with everyone else, his complexion was somewhat pale, clearly showing he hadn’t slept well last night.

“Miss, His Highness is calling for us to come over,” a black-clad guard said loudly in Qing Xia’s ear.

Qing Xia nodded and followed him forward. She saw Chu Li sitting upright in his military attire, not even glancing at her out of the corner of his eye. He simply pointed casually, indicating for Qing Xia to stand behind him.

Qing Xia held back her anger and wordlessly followed the black-clad guard to stand behind Chu Li. Her petite figure was almost completely hidden when blocked by the tall, robust black-clad guards. Chu Li’s expression remained unchanged as he sat in front expressionlessly, never once turning his head back.

“Your Majesty, the Liyuan people have won again.”

Le Song, standing beside Chu Li, reported in a low voice.

“Oh? Is that so?” Chu Li hummed indifferently: “Reward them.”

“Reward!” Le Song received the order and shouted loudly. The soldiers below, upon hearing this, knelt on the ground and loudly expressed their gratitude.

“Are the Liyuan people really that formidable? Let me try!” A charming voice suddenly rang out. Everyone was startled and quickly turned to look. They saw a graceful young woman dressed in snow-white warrior’s clothing that revealed her curves. Her plain face was like snow, radiating a sharp brilliance and charm like morning clouds.

She held a long spear in her hand, unfastened the cloak from her back, tossed it to a subordinate nearby, and walked decisively and gracefully toward the center of the field.

Everyone was instantly stunned. In this martial training ground surrounded by men, such a flower-like beautiful young woman had suddenly appeared – anyone would take a second look.

“Little sister!” A man’s voice followed, and a man dressed in matching colored clothing ran out from behind the crowd, trying to grab back the white-clothed young woman.

“So it’s Miss Yuqiao from the Xilin family.” A gentle breeze carrying fragrance drifted by as Madam Zhu Lan, wearing a deep purple sable fur coat and a gold and jade tassel headdress, appeared looking particularly dignified and noble. She walked forward slowly, and wherever she passed, everyone made way for her.

“I could smell a foxy stench from far away. I wondered who had come – turns out it’s Madam Zhu Lan from Liyuan. How disrespectful of me,” Xilin Yuqiao said coldly with a snort.

“What did you say?” Madam Zhu Lan’s personal guards flew into a rage, shouting harshly.

However, as soon as they moved, the Hengcheng troops behind Xilin Yuqiao immediately rushed forward, forming battle formation. Their cold blades faced the Liyuan troops coldly, needle point against wheat tip, ready to explode at any moment.

Qing Xia was startled, not expecting Xilin Yuqiao to have such a fiery temper. She turned to look at Chu Li, but saw him drinking tea leisurely as if the events below had nothing to do with him.

“Stop!” The eldest young master of the Xilin family rushed forward in time, bowing to Chu Li from afar, intentionally or unintentionally blocking in front of Xilin Yuqiao. He cupped his hands toward Madam Zhu Lan saying: “My younger sister is ignorant. Please forgive any offense she may have caused, Madam.”

Madam Zhu Lan was after all the head of a family, with considerable depth in both bearing and cultivation. She smiled faintly and said gently: “How could I stoop to the level of a child? Young Master Xilin is being too polite.” After speaking, she actually extended her hand and placed it on Young Master Xilin’s wrist. Though it was a supporting gesture in response to his courtesy, it appeared somewhat flirtatious.

“Hey!” Xilin Yuqiao was furious and was about to speak when Young Master Xilin pulled her aside. The other family heads had various expressions, watching coldly from the sidelines, but their lips secretly contained hints of smiles.

“Hmph!” Xilin Yuqiao snorted angrily, shaking off her brother’s hand and shouting loudly toward Liyuan: “Whoever just won three matches in a row, come out and let this young lady see!”

“Cheng Xu, since Miss Yuqiao wants to give you some pointers, go down and play with the young lady,” Madam Zhu Lan said in a clear, calm voice.

As soon as these words were spoken, they immediately stirred up a commotion. Everyone was greatly surprised and crowded forward to watch. Today, Chu Li’s unconventional martial training ground assembly was already quite strange, and now there was actually a young woman of noble status entering the field – it was even more incredible. The entire training ground instantly fell into chaos as everyone, spirits high, gathered around to watch.

Although women in this dynasty didn’t lack status like in ancient China, it was still rare to see them openly competing in martial arts within the army. Qing Xia immediately became interested, vaguely grasping Chu Li’s intentions. She thought to herself that this guy was like two different people during the day and at night – could he have split personality disorder?

At this time, the sun had not yet reached its zenith. The distant mountains were dark as indigo, reflecting the unmelted snow on the ground – normally quite picturesque. But in this grand martial training ground, the atmosphere was as heavy as molten lead.

Xilin Yuqiao, ignoring her elder brother’s opposition, leaped onto the arena platform. Her figure was graceful and her face like a painting. Strength and feminine beauty blended together, adding to her distinctive charm.

The man called Cheng Xu was sturdy and tall, a full head taller than Xilin Yuqiao. He slowly placed his war blade on the ground and said in a deep voice: “This subordinate sparring with the young lady dares not use weapons – let’s fight barehanded.”

Xilin Yuqiao snorted coldly: “I’m accustomed to using a long spear. Don’t think I’ll go easy on you just because you’re fighting empty-handed.”

“Please, young lady, as you wish.” Cheng Xu flicked his sleeves and retreated coldly, showing some bearing of a master from a great family.

Xilin Yuqiao snorted coldly and thrust her spear forward. Light and shadow crisscrossed like falling leaves in flight. In a few moves, she was in front of Cheng Xu, striking down from above with tremendous force.

Cheng Xu hadn’t expected that despite her delicate appearance, her spear technique would be so formidable. Fortunately, having been through many battles, he saw the situation and shifted his body to dodge Xilin Yuqiao’s fierce attack. Not giving him any respite, Xilin Yuqiao flew up and created three spear flower formations, striking continuously. Three muffled sounds – “bang, bang, bang” – rang out as Cheng Xu’s clothing was torn, with three tears opening from his chest downward.

Cheng Xu frowned, not expecting this young woman to use deadly moves from the start. He shifted slightly to the side and reached toward Xilin Yuqiao with his backhand. His finger wind swept back and struck Xilin Yuqiao’s temple with a “pa” sound.

Xilin Yuqiao’s eyes blazed with fury. Not expecting this soldier to truly have extraordinary skills, she unleashed her feminine might. Her spear came like a violent storm, howling and sweeping forward.

Standing behind Chu Li, Qing Xia frowned slightly. As an expert like herself, she could roughly gauge an enemy’s abilities just by watching their opening moves. Though Xilin Yuqiao’s spear technique was exquisite, she was after all a woman who hadn’t received professional training, falling far behind in both physical strength and experience. This young man named Cheng Xu, though seemingly at a disadvantage, was firstly not using his customary weapon, and secondly was limited by his status from using full force. His current failure to defeat Miss Xilin was merely out of consideration for her face. If even she could see this, how much more so could Chu Li? Seeing his completely detached and unconcerned appearance, she couldn’t help but feel annoyed. This young woman’s cock-fighting attitude toward Madam Zhu Lan was largely because of Chu Li. Seeing him drink tea and watch with indifference, anger immediately rose from the bottom of her heart.

“Hey, if you don’t stop this, Miss Xilin is going to suffer,” she said, carefully stepping forward a few paces and whispering in Chu Li’s ear.

“Hmm?” Chu Li used his cup lid to stir the tea leaves, glancing at Qing Xia carelessly: “What did you call me?”

Qing Xia was startled, and finally said reluctantly: “Yes, Your Majesty.”

Chu Li’s lips curved slightly as he smiled and said: “It’s none of your business. Stand there quietly.”

Fine, so this is revenge? Qing Xia glared at him angrily. I won’t care about your business then, you heartless fellow.

However, at this moment, the situation on the field had changed dramatically. Cheng Xu shed his previous passive defensive posture and actively launched a fierce attack. His iron fists generated tiger-like winds, forcing Xilin Yuqiao into a position where she could barely fight back. The personal soldiers from various families shouted encouragement from both sides, as if they were truly in a military training camp rather than on the enemy’s front lines.

“Crack!” Cheng Xu’s iron fist struck, hitting Xilin Yuqiao’s long spear directly. The hard spear shaft immediately snapped, and the tremendous force caused Xilin Yuqiao’s body to stagger backward suddenly. She was clearly about to fall off the arena platform.

Exclamations immediately arose from all around, and Young Master Xilin raised his eyebrows, about to rush forward.

Cheng Xu’s eyes darkened as he suddenly stepped forward two paces and grabbed Xilin Yuqiao’s arm, preventing her from falling off the high platform.

But just at this moment, an unexpected change occurred. Xilin Yuqiao, who had originally been beaten without the ability to fight back, suddenly smiled coldly. Gripping the remaining half of the spear shaft, she stabbed it straight toward Cheng Xu’s chest.

In an instant, blood splattered like rain, beautiful as peach blossoms in bloom. Cheng Xu grunted and released Xilin Yuqiao’s wrist, staggering backward. But Xilin Yuqiao gave him no chance to catch his breath, instantly pouncing forward and kicking hard at Cheng Xu’s wound. With a “bang” sound, Cheng Xu flew up and crashed heavily below the arena platform, raising a large cloud of yellow dust.

“When two armies clash, how can there be mercy? All is fair in war – I never expected that Liyuan people don’t even understand such basic principles. How are people like this qualified to serve in our Great Chu’s military camp? Even if I don’t kill you today, you’ll die on the battlefield sooner or later!”