When Feng Yuan and Xiaoying, who were following behind Xiao Tianyang, heard the name “Chen Xifan,” they couldn’t help but exchange glances.

The rumor that Wei Country’s martial arts grandmaster Chen Xifan had accompanied the diplomatic mission to avenge his disciple Sui Yin was true!

Xiaoying found it somewhat amusing.

Sui Yin had merely died in a trap she had set, but through exaggeration and distortion, in the mouths of the Wei people, the skills of the female warrior who killed Sui Yin had become increasingly extraordinary, to the point where they had lured the legendary grandmaster Chen Xifan here.

As for Xiao Tianyang, he had endured hardships for many years, bitterly training his skills, all for the day when he could face Chen Xifan in combat.

However, when he previously went to Wei Country seeking Chen Xifan and challenged his school multiple times, he never got to meet the man in person.

At that time, Chen Xifan’s message was that he was far inferior to his brother, the Swordmaster, and fighting him would damage Grandmaster Chen’s reputation. The contempt in those words had made Xiao Tianyang howl with rage.

Unexpectedly, today Chen Xifan had delivered himself to their doorstep!

Thinking that he could finally avenge his brother, Xiao Tianyang could barely contain his excitement. He waved to his disciples and said, “You all go down. I want to fight this old bastard on the stage!”

The two combatants on stage had reached a draw, so it was time for them to rest.

After the two went down, Xiao Tianyang and Chen Xifan ascended the stage.

Chen Xifan tossed his hood aside, revealing a gaunt face with a Fu Manchu mustache. Removing his cloak, he revealed a black robe embroidered with gold threads, looking every bit the part of a grandmaster. At this moment, the war drums around the stage were played by the Wei people.

With each step Chen Xifan took, he matched the beat of the drums. Although not tall in stature, he was made to look majestic by the music, as if rising from the ground!

It was said that he was not only Wei’s martial arts grandmaster but also the national teacher revered by Wei’s new emperor.

Years ago, when Huo Buchen and Huo Buxun, the two brothers, successfully returned to Wei, it was thanks to their protection.

Chen Xifan had become famous after defeating Swordmaster Xiao Jiumu, and since then, he had been extremely protective of his reputation.

Although countless masters had challenged him, he would screen them carefully, select worthy opponents, and then defeat them utterly to consolidate his fame.

After helping the new emperor ascend the throne and earning great merit, he felt he no longer needed to duel others—at his level of prestige, allowing someone to duel was considered beneath him!

Now, the name Chen Xifan had been given legendary status, and by all rights, he should have been able to retire on the strength of his reputation.

But who would have thought that Xiao Tianyang’s female disciple would break his signature curved blade technique, and this matter had spread wider and wider, to the extent that disciples were rumoring that the Xiao family’s fist techniques were superior to the Chen family’s blade techniques.

Sui Yin’s death could be explained as an accident in chaotic combat, but when Huo Buxun encountered that female warrior again, it truly alarmed Chen Xifan.

This old Xiao Tianyang had truly figured out the key to breaking his blade technique. Even if he had always avoided facing Xiao Tianyang in combat, it was useless now.

Before long, the claim that the Xiao family style was superior to the Chen family style would become widespread.

How could he allow the reputation he had built over a lifetime to collapse like this?

And now, there was an opportunity…

Thinking of the message sent to him by the master of Xiaoyin Mountain Manor, Chen Xifan gave a cold smile.

Today was another once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. He would recreate the legend of the Chen family blade technique, severely wounding the Xiao family, making the name Chen Xifan strike fear into the hearts of Dafeng subjects! It would become a legend worthy of being recorded in official histories!

At the foot of the stage, Xiaoying’s ears were ringing from the drumbeats.

She covered her ears and shifted her gaze, discovering that Xiao Tianyang’s other disciple, Liu Cheng, had not gone downstairs to watch the fight but was standing at the restaurant window, looking toward the stage with an expression of indescribable coldness.

For a beloved disciple of Xiao Tianyang to watch so distantly was unusual.

This wasn’t about gaining a better vantage point but seemed more like being ready to leave at any moment…

At this moment, everyone’s attention was on the high stage. Xiaoying quietly asked Feng Yuan, “Is the gallbladder of a fish easily broken?”

This point had been bothering Xiaoying during their earlier casual conversation, but having never prepared fish herself, she needed to ask someone with experience.

Feng Yuan’s gaze was also fixed on Liu Cheng as he replied in a deep voice, “Breaking it once or twice by accident is possible, but if it happens every time…”

He waved his hand to summon Shen Jing, giving him instructions in a low voice. Shen Jing then led some men hurriedly toward the restaurant.

By this time, the two men on stage had begun their battle. When master martial artists face off, three moves can determine life and death.

Xiao Tianyang had never married, being devoted to martial arts. Combined with his obsession with defeating Chen Xifan, the techniques he used were naturally domineering and fierce. Where his palm wind reached, it was like a gale tearing through a forest, forcing spectators at the foot of the stage to retreat to avoid the pressure of his palm wind.

Chen Xifan, with his years of fame, naturally parried with composure, but he found it somewhat difficult to defend bare-handed against Xiao Tianyang’s fierce fist winds.

To the discerning eye, if Chen Xifan couldn’t find a weakness within ten moves, he would be overwhelmed by Xiao Tianyang’s palm wind. Once trapped in a prolonged fight, defeat would be inevitable!

However, Chen Xifan didn’t seem anxious, focusing mainly on evasion, continuously luring Xiao Tianyang to punch and exert energy, neither hurried nor impatient, circling the entire stage…

While the surrounding crowd cheered continuously, Xiaoying, positioned at the front of the crowd, sensed that Xiao Tianyang’s fierce palm wind suddenly weakened, as if halting, his breath becoming unsteady.

His footwork also began to falter and loosen, no longer as solid as before…

This was bad! Something seemed wrong with Master Xiao! Xiaoying had been suspicious from the start. Having spent her childhood navigating dangerous situations, her sensitivity to danger was as innate as a wild beast’s!

In a duel between masters, how could there be a moment of sluggishness or laxity?

Chen Xifan also noticed Xiao Tianyang’s failing strength. He had waited long for this moment and immediately leaped forward, simultaneously drawing two curved blades, sweeping them toward Xiao Tianyang’s throat.

Seeing the cold gleam approaching, Xiao Tianyang wanted to dodge, but the energy in his veins suddenly became chaotic, and his legs were as if they had been acupoint-struck, unable to move.

He was all too familiar with this move of Chen’s—it was a killing technique for taking heads. Once it drew near, there was no escape; one could only offer one’s head, with hot blood soaking the stage before it would end!

Having spent years pondering how to counter Chen’s blade technique, even with his energy failing to connect, Xiao Tianyang’s body instinctively reacted. He fell straight backward and, using a leg spring with the force of his waist, flashed to Chen Xifan’s side.

Although he avoided the curved blades, his movements were too slow, and Chen Xifan struck him in the chest with a side elbow.

By now, Chen Xifan’s curved blades had been pulled back by fine chains, ready to wrap around Xiao Tianyang’s neck again.

Just as Xiao Tianyang closed his eyes, awaiting death, a piercing palm wind suddenly arrived from the side, pushing him away in an instant.

Chen Xifan’s curved blades fell empty. Looking closely, he saw it was Dafeng’s eldest prince, Feng Yuan, who had leaped onto the high stage.

He was tall and lithe, moving with the agility of a sudden leopard, swiftly jumping to Xiao Tianyang’s side, his large palm supporting and stabilizing the master’s form.

Chen Xifan narrowed his eyes mockingly, “What? You Dafeng people have no martial code, wanting to gang up on me in rotation?”

Xiao Tianyang was about to stubbornly insist and tell Feng Yuan to go down, when Xiaoying climbed the stage via the steps and called out, “Old Master Xiao, what did you promise the Grand Prince? You’ve already achieved fame and renown in the martial world. Such opportunities for fame and glory should be left to the younger generation! My eldest brother studied hard with you precisely for a day like this, to show his skills. Leave this dog Chen Xifan’s life to the Grand Prince! You should take care of the younger generation!”

She said this to give Xiao Tianyang a way out.

But Xiao Tianyang took it seriously and became anxious, although Feng Yuan was indeed gifted, at a certain level of martial arts, what mattered was internal energy, not just techniques.

Feng Yuan’s internal power was still far inferior to that old scoundrel Chen Xifan!

If he rashly competed, he would certainly be tricked by this ruthless and treacherous man.

But just as he wanted to say something, Xiaoying had already walked to his side, checked his pulse, and whispered, “Old Master, you seem to have been poisoned. Don’t use your true energy anymore. Quickly leave the stage, and I will find someone to help you detoxify. First, drink some water to suppress it…”

Saying this, she turned to support Xiao Tianyang and, using her body as cover, deftly untied a small water flask from her waist and handed it to the old master…

After this delay, it became impossible for Xiao Tianyang to remain on stage as his legs began to weaken, and he could no longer exert any strength.

Xiaoying also noticed Xiao Tianyang’s discomfort and immediately called Jin Zhong and others to come up and help him down.

This clearly did not comply with the rules of the arena—having signed a life-or-death agreement, how could one leave without being defeated?

At this moment, people below the high stage began to jeer: “And he calls himself the Swordmaster’s brother! How embarrassing, wanting to leave after just a few moves. Are you afraid of being killed?”

“That’s right! Dueling with Wei Country’s masters is no different from killing enemies on the battlefield. This Xiao is leaving without being knocked down—is this how he brings shame to Dafeng?”

Judging by the tone of the jeerers, they were undoubtedly Wei people.

At once, mocking and scornful voices rose one after another, and gradually even Dafeng’s commoners joined in, criticizing Xiao Tianyang for failing to bring honor to Dafeng.

Hearing such words, Xiao Tianyang could not suppress his feelings. His face turned extremely ugly, and right there on the fighting stage, he spat out a mouthful of thick, blackish-purple blood, splattering the stage.

The Crown Prince exclaimed in alarm and shouted, “Master Xiao, how is it that you’ve also followed in the Swordmaster’s footsteps, being poisoned before a duel by Wei people! Help! Master Xiao has been poisoned! Quickly, give Master Xiao an antidote!”

Her theatrical shout, with its echoing effect, exploded among the crowd.

“What? Master Xiao has been poisoned? Was Swordmaster Xiao Jiumu also poisoned before his duel back then?”

“Heavens, look, the blood is black and purple! If it’s not poison, how could blood be this color?”

“Damn it, what kind of garbage scum are these Wei people! Afraid of losing fair and square to our Master Xiao, they resort to such underhanded tactics!”

Chen Xifan, on the high stage, was so angered that his narrow eyes opened wide, staring at the effeminate Crown Prince with uncertainty and alarm.

Years ago, he had become famous through his duel with Xiao Jiumu.

At that time, his newly created curved blade had just made a name for itself, but his reputation was still overshadowed by the Dafeng Swordmaster.

Before dueling with Xiao Jiumu, he lacked confidence, but fortunately, he received help from a certain expert and used some underhanded methods.

That poison was exceptionally ingenious—normally indistinguishable from ordinary people, it only triggered when one exerted true energy in intense combat, causing the poison to disperse the true energy. Afterward, any poison test would show almost no trace.

After all, when Xiao Jiumu was severely injured after the duel and died, no one ever raised suspicions.

But how could this Dafeng Crown Prince, at such a young age, possibly know about the past circumstances, dragging Xiao Jiumu’s matter into this from Xiao Tianyang?

That wasn’t right—the poison could only disperse true energy, how could it make someone spit poisoned blood? And act so quickly?

For a moment, Chen Xifan found himself speechless, feeling wrongfully accused!

“Nonsense! He couldn’t possibly be spitting blood from poison!”

Xiaoying looked at him in surprise.

Of course, she was talking nonsense—how could she know whether Master Xiao Jiumu was poisoned or not back then?

Xiaoying was merely trying to incite public outrage and stir trouble.

But she never expected to provoke some truth!

She couldn’t help raising an eyebrow and said, “Master Chen, if you were wrongly accused, you should say ‘I didn’t poison him.’ But why specifically say ‘he couldn’t possibly be spitting blood from poison’? Could it be that the symptoms of your poison are not vomiting blood, but something else?”

“You…” Chen Xifan was momentarily speechless, furious that this Crown Prince had caught his verbal slip, instantly exposing a flaw in his words!

Xiao Tianyang’s mouthful of black blood, plus the Dafeng Crown Prince’s testimony, had already become an irrefutable fact, stirring the emotions of the surrounding people. The Dafeng national insults were already reaching the heavens.

Surrounding commoners began throwing melon peels, vegetable leaves, and rotten eggs at the stage. Angry shouts rose to the sky, with clear intentions of tearing down the stage and beating these Wei martial experts to death.

For days, they had watched these Wei people showing off their might, beating Dafeng martial masters one by one, and they had had enough!

In an instant, the guards maintaining order could not contain the situation as people surged toward the stage.

Despite the Wei martial experts beating challengers without restraint, they had relied on the rules of the arena.

After all, they were on Dafeng territory. Once they provoked public anger and injured Dafeng citizens, the consequences would be unimaginable!

So even when these experts were hit by stones, they dared not retaliate and instead tried to escort Chen Xifan down.

At this moment, Feng Yuan suddenly raised his arm and swung a drum mallet.

Born with extraordinary strength, his strike instantly pierced through the tanned cowhide drum, making it crash down from the drum rack with a boom.

With this, the area around the fighting stage quieted down.

Feng Yuan stopped Chen Xifan, who was trying to leave the stage, and said coldly, “Regardless, you defeated my third grandfather, making you the stage master. Now, I challenge you to the next match!”

Chen Xifan, looking somewhat disheveled as he shook vegetable leaves off his head, examined Feng Yuan with a cold smile, “That’s not appropriate, is it? As a prince, if you die at my hands, wouldn’t that be detrimental to the peace talks between our two countries?”

Feng Yuan replied coldly, “Once on the fighting stage, having signed a life-or-death agreement, if one’s skills are inferior, what does that have to do with the country?”

Chen Xifan laughed coldly.

He knew this mad prince had brutally killed Gu Zhi and was extremely brave on the battlefield.

However, the way of martial arts differed from battlefield combat. The physical combat on battlefields was entirely different from arena contests.

Feng Yuan was too young, and reportedly had been imprisoned for ten years, wasting the golden period for a man to train in martial arts.

Even if he had received Xiao Tianyang’s true teachings, without internal power to sustain them, how skilled could he be?

Thinking of this, Chen Xifan felt the opportunity to suppress the Xiao family’s fist techniques had arrived.

So he finally nodded, “Very well, since the Grand Prince is willing to exchange pointers, this old man shall oblige!”

Thus, after Xiao Tianyang was carried down, another stage battle began.

Chen Xifan was initially arrogant, unwilling to draw his weapons, only using his fist techniques to move around, intending to toy with this young man.

But when the two finally began exchanging blows, Chen Xifan immediately sensed something was wrong.

This young man indeed lacked profound internal power, but his external techniques had reached the pinnacle. Born with divine strength, combined with fierce fist paths and the talent to apply what he learned creatively, Chen Xifan could not predict his pattern, and his chest was struck repeatedly by Feng Yuan’s iron fists.

The pain of having his chest hammered by iron made the grandmaster, who had lived in luxury for over a decade, unable to endure.

He no longer wanted to be arrogant and finally drew out his weapons.

“Eldest Brother, catch this!”

Afraid Feng Yuan would be at a disadvantage, Xiaoying tossed him the hemp iron Miao knife that Xiao Tianyang had given her.

This knife was short and narrow, agile in turns, a nemesis to curved blades.

Combined with Xiao Tianyang’s uniquely created blade-breaking formation, it thoroughly countered the Chen family blade technique.

Feng Yuan had previously exchanged blows with Chen family disciples countless times and had reached a state of perfection in practicing against the Chen family blade technique.

The Chen family had stood unrivaled in Wei Country for too long, and under the weight of their reputation, they had become complacent and stagnant.

How could a martial braggart who wore the title of National Teacher, indulging in fame and fortune in the imperial court, compare with the Xiao family martial fanatic who had lived in isolation for decades, solely researching how to break the curved blade technique?

Now, Feng Yuan, who had perfectly inherited the Xiao family fist technique, used his crisp blade edge to split open the Wei Country Chen family’s deceptive and false reputation.

Even the strongest internal power was merely icing on the cake. Chen Xifan’s curved blade speed could not match Feng Yuan’s simple chopping actions.

The simple yet pure knife technique had now unified man and blade. Though merely mechanically repetitive, it grew faster and faster.

There were a few times when Chen Xifan’s curved blades luckily cut Feng Yuan’s arm and thigh.

Blood dripped steadily, but the Grand Prince’s eyes seemed to grow increasingly red, as if the pain on his body triggered some mechanism in this person, bringing back more distant, painful memories.

A gradually uncontrollable madness spread from the depths of his blood-red eyes. The physical pain was completely ignored by Feng Yuan, while his knife moved faster and faster.

This kind of madness made people unable to look directly at him. The top of Chen Xifan’s head began to steam with vapor, his sweat dripping, momentarily blinding his eyes.

He inwardly cried out in alarm, couldn’t help blinking his eyes, and seeing that madman about to pounce, he bent down and swung his knife, the curved blade striking directly at Feng Yuan’s thigh.

If a person were to be cut, they would surely retreat, allowing Chen Xifan to recover for one move.

But before Chen Xifan could secretly rejoice, he felt a chill in his stomach.

He looked down in surprise to see that the madman had charged toward his curved blade, risking the danger of severing the blood vessels in his thigh, took another step forward, and thrust the Miao knife straight into his stomach.

“You… you madman…” Before Chen Xifan could finish, Feng Yuan had already pulled out the knife. Hot blood sprayed from the abdominal cavity onto his face, blending with the blood-red in his eyes…

“Master!” Accompanied by cries, Chen Xifan’s disciples watched in disbelief as the Grand Prince broke open the Wei grandmaster’s belly and then kicked him off the stage!

The angry crowd below had not yet dispersed and rushed forward to kick and beat Chen Xifan, who had poisoned and killed the Swordmaster.

The scene became extremely chaotic.

Xiaoying watched from the side, her heart pounding with fear. Seeing Feng Yuan’s crazed expression as he was about to swing his knife and jump down from the stage to continue pursuing and hacking at Chen Xifan, she immediately flew over, supported Feng Yuan, whose leg still had a curved blade hanging from it, and said softly, “The duel is over. Don’t move recklessly!”

Feng Yuan was held around the waist by her, feeling the familiar softness that brought peace to his heart, and gradually came back to his senses, releasing the bloody blade in his hand.

At this moment, the chaos on and below the stage was all observed by Mu Shen from a teahouse on the other side.

How could this be?

Xiao Tianyang should have been powerless with his energy dispersed when the poison took effect, having his head cut off by Chen Xifan in front of everyone.

Witnessing his third grandfather’s decapitation, the bloody scene would certainly have stimulated Feng Yuan’s anger and madness, causing him to fight desperately with Chen Xifan to avenge his third grandfather.

At that time, what a bloody and exciting scene it would have been! Such chaos would surely have soured relations between the two countries.

The mad reputation that Feng Yuan had just shed would also have been reaffirmed in front of all the city’s residents, with no possibility of redemption.

Perhaps Feng Yuan himself didn’t know that the residual poison of the rock hemp powder had accumulated in his body for years. Whenever his blood surged and emotions ran high, it would trigger the residual poison, making his temperament more violent and difficult to control than usual.

At Feng Wei Slope, when Feng Yuan went on a killing spree that made observers tremble with fear, it was because he was stimulated on the battlefield, causing the drug’s effects to surge uncontrollably.

But what puzzled Mu Shen was that for so long, apart from that one time when Feng Yuan lost control on the battlefield, in daily life, he had been courteous and humble, increasingly showing worldly wisdom and smoothness in his interactions with others.

That steadfast and clear-minded eldest prince who skillfully navigated official affairs in the Ministry of Personnel—where was the irritable, antisocial, and easily angered A’Yuan of his childhood?

It was as if those ten years of nurturing the poison had left no trace on him, or as if he had obtained some heavenly elixir that always helped him maintain clarity at crucial moments.

How was this possible? The more he was like this, the more Mu Shen wanted to provoke Feng Yuan’s violent side.