Whoosh whoosh~~~
The gentle breeze stirred up ripples on Yingyue Lake and also lifted a black robe outside the Sword Release Hall.
The Sword Release Hall had white stone floor tiles, and its edge was the lakeshore. At this moment, all the guests within a radius of ten zhang had stepped back, leaving only Ye Jingtang standing in front of the door with his hands behind his back.
As the sun was setting in the west, the scenic shore of Yingyue Lake was already filled with people. Half of them were disciples of the Zhou family, and the other half were attendants and nephews who had come to celebrate the birthday.
Most of the renowned martial artists who had originally been sitting in the Sword Release Hall had come out and were whispering, waiting for this confrontation to begin.
The solemn and silent atmosphere gradually made the disciples of the Zhou family, who had been either furious or full of confidence, turn nervous. They kept looking towards Zhaolu Mountain behind them.
Ye Jingtang, wearing a wide-brimmed hat, stood in front of the hall with his hands behind his back. His mind was not on the current arena but on the Sword Release Hall behind the crowd.
Just now, out of the corner of his eye, he suddenly noticed a familiar figure in the window of the Sword Release Hall, looking at him.
But when he looked over, the figure had disappeared from the window, and he couldn't see clearly who it was.
Ye Jingtang didn't know many people, and the only person he had met present was Xuan Yuanhongzhi in front of the door. Since he had this feeling, there must be an acquaintance in the hall.
But at this moment, with everyone's attention on him, it was really not appropriate for him to go in and take a look. So he could only suppress his thoughts and quietly wait for the people of the Zhou family to arrive.
"Here they come, here they come..."
"Brother Jian, long time no see."
"Master Xuan Yuan, you're being too polite..."
...
After waiting for a quarter of an hour, there was finally some commotion by the lakeside.
Ye Jingtang turned to look and saw Zhou Huaili smiling and greeting the martial artists waiting there as he walked towards the Sword Release Hall.
Behind Zhou Huaili were two young men.
One was in his early twenties, wearing a brocade robe and having a handsome appearance, clearly from a noble family.
The other was around twenty-five or twenty-six years old, holding a long sword with a black scabbard in his hand. He had a calm smile, greeting his friends along the way, and his demeanor was like that of a wandering martial artist in the martial arts world.
Soon, Zhou Huaili came to the front door of the Sword Release Hall and raised his hand to introduce:
"These two are my eldest disciple, Jian Yuhua, and my second son, Zhou Ying. I'm sure you're all familiar with them. Nephew, this is your first appearance, and everyone here doesn't know your background. But I'm sure you know how skilled Yuhua is. For the sake of fairness, let Zhou Ying go first to warm you up. Do you have any objections, Nephew?"
Zhou Huaili's move was equivalent to using Zhou Ying to test the waters and let Jian Yuhua see the opponent's strength.
This was also in line with the rules. When an unknown martial artist came to challenge, it was a form of etiquette to "meet the gatekeeper before seeing the real master".
However, Zhou Ying himself was the most talented disciple of the Zhou family. Although his strength was not as strong as Jian Yuhua's, he was still outstanding among the younger generation. Zhou Huaili's move was suspected of "a two-on-one relay battle".
The people by the lakeside looked at the young leader of Honghua Tower with different expressions.
Ye Jingtang's response was quite straightforward: "I wouldn't mind if Leader Zhou asked them both to fight together."
"Oh..."
The renowned martial artists in front of the hall thought that this Ye Silang was a bit too arrogant and frowned secretly.
Zhou Huaili's face turned slightly cold, and he didn't say anything more. He tilted his head to signal.
Although Zhou Ying was not as good as his senior brother Jian Yuhua, he was still an outstanding figure of the Zhou family's generation. Seeing that Honghua Tower was so arrogant, he drew his sword and held it in reverse, then stepped down the steps:
"I hope that Brother Ye's martial arts skills are better than his words."
Ye Jingtang didn't say anything and just raised his right hand.
Chen Yuanqing, who was standing below the round platform, saw this and threw a staff of the same height as his eyebrows, sending it into Ye Jingtang's hand.
Zhe Yunli, who was secretly observing from the window of the hall, was puzzled:
"Doesn't Honghua Tower use long spears? Why give a staff of the same height as the eyebrows? How can Ye... Ye Silang fight with this?"
Luo Ning didn't pay attention to the arena at all. Her eyes flickered, and she casually explained:
"A long spear is usually more than eight chi long. By nature, it is thirty percent stronger than a short weapon. At the same level, it's almost certain death for a single saber to attack a long spear. Before the old Saber Lord became famous, when he had a martial arts exchange with others, to avoid bullying them, he liked to change to a staff of the same height as the eyebrows."
"Oh..."
The people in front of the hall were discussing this matter.
Zhou Ying felt Ye Jingtang's contempt and said coldly while holding his sword:
"Are you sure you don't want to use a spear?"
Ye Jingtang held his hand behind his back with one hand and held the staff obliquely pointing at the ground with the other:
"There's no need to use a spear to fight you."
"..."
Whoosh——
The gentle breeze swept across the lake, and it became quiet outside the Sword Release Hall, with a bit more of a gunpowder smell.
Zhou Ying's expression was quite unhappy, but he didn't underestimate his opponent. He held his sword and took up a stance, slowly pressing towards Ye Jingtang.
Ta, ta ta, ta ta ta...
His figure seemed unhurried, but the speed was getting faster and faster. Soon, he was three zhang away from Ye Jingtang.
Seeing that Ye Jingtang was being arrogant and hadn't taken up a stance yet, Zhou Ying swayed his steps and slid to the right in a rather strange way. The three-foot-long sharp blade in his hand stabbed towards Ye Jingtang's armpit with lightning speed.
Whoosh——
A flash of cold light appeared outside the Sword Release Hall, and the sound of the sword breaking through the air rang out!
Zhou Ying's move was extremely tricky. If one reacted a little slower, they would be deceived by the feint and thus be slow in defending and get hit.
Ye Jingtang hadn't retracted his staff and taken up a stance yet. In the eyes of the renowned martial artists in front of the hall, he was simply courting death.
But soon, everyone's eyes turned to surprise!
Ta ta ta...
As the sword struck, Ye Jingtang stepped back at the same time. His figure was unhurried, just right to avoid the tip of the sword. The staff of the same height as his eyebrows in his hand slid backward until he held the end of the staff with one hand.
Dong~
The tip of the staff touched the ground.
Zhou Ying was worthy of being from a renowned martial arts family. His knowledge far exceeded that of ordinary martial artists. As soon as his sword strike missed and he saw this scene, he secretly thought it was bad and immediately retracted his sword and stepped back.
Unfortunately, it was too late!
Bang——
A loud explosion suddenly came from outside the Sword Release Hall!
Ye Jingtang's robe shook violently. His waist and abdomen tensed, and the force rose from the ground. Holding the staff with one hand, he forcefully struck down like a powerful chop of Huashan Mountain.
Whoosh——
Some dust on the white stone ground was instantly lifted at this moment. Even many martial artists standing outside the Sword Release Hall had their robes, beards, and hair blown by the strong wind of the staff.
The people in front of the hall saw this scene and their eyelids twitched violently.
Zhou Ying never expected that the opponent's explosive power was so strong. Before he could take half a step back, the powerful staff of the same height as the eyebrows had reached above his head. He could only hastily raise his sword horizontally.
Clang——
A crisp sound of metal striking metal!
The carefully crafted sword of Shuiyun Sword Pool turned into something like a noodle under the heavy staff and didn't play any role in blocking. Both the sword and the staff struck his chest together.
Bang——
With a dull sound, the front of Zhou Ying's robe was immediately shattered. The bent sword struck his chest, instantly pressing out a blood groove and shaking out a spray of blood!
"Cough——"
Under the heavy blow, Zhou Ying, along with his sword, was directly knocked to the ground. He let out a dull cough. The ground shook, and even the lake water below the platform was stirred up with ripples.
Whoosh whoosh~~
After the blow, the strong wind outside the Sword Release Hall suddenly stopped, leaving only a wave slowly spreading towards the center of the lake!
Ye Jingtang held the staff of the same height as the eyebrows with one hand and pointed it at Zhou Ying's throat, who was trying to get up:
"Am I better with my hands or with my words?"
"Cough, cough, cough..."
The front of Zhou Ying's robe was instantly dyed red with blood. With his throat pressed, he let out a few dull coughs and dropped his sword, raising his hand.
Ding ding dang dang——
The bent sword bounced a few times on the ground.
Ye Jingtang let out a cold snort, raised the staff of the same height as the eyebrows, and pointed it at Jian Yuhua behind the many renowned martial artists:
"The next one."
"Buzz..."
Only then did the people by the lakeside come to their senses and let out a murmur of surprise and uncertainty.
Even Luo Ning in the window temporarily suppressed the thought of being deceived by the heartless man. Her eyes were filled with surprise. She had never expected that the little thief could also use the staff so well.
She could tell the power of the move "Yellow Dragon Lying Down" just now. When he struck down, he had obviously held back.
If he hadn't held back, Zhou Ying's row of ribs would surely have been broken. Not to mention coughing, he might have died on the spot before he could even react.
The renowned martial artists in front of the hall also saw this.
They knew that Honghua Tower had come aggressively and must have its confidence. But they had never expected that this suddenly appearing young leader could be so powerful.
Not to mention the younger generation in the martial arts world like Zhou Ying and Jian Yuhua, even old grandmasters like the Three Immortals of Sanjue Valley were not sure if they could deal with this guy if they went on the stage themselves. What could the Zhou family use to fight against such a person?
It was completely silent outside the Sword Release Hall.
The expressions of the onlookers changed from surprise to something strange, and they all glanced at Zhou Huaili and Jian Yuhua beside him with the corner of their eyes!