Peaceful Farm Life

Chapter 1176: Chapter 1177: Give It Your All, It’s a Sign of Respect for the Opponent

Not only was Xu Shangong surprised, but the Generals and Civil Officials present were also incredibly astonished.

They had originally thought that these three competitions were nothing but a joke—how could a woman possibly defeat a skilled General in combat? But as they watched Xu Shangong being relentlessly pressured into defense by Gong Juese, with no opportunity to counterattack, they realized this was no laughing matter.

It was at this moment that they began to sense that perhaps their Emperor might be planning to do something grand that they could never have imagined...

Sitting in the Retired Emperor’s seat, Su Haoyu watched Gong Juese wield her sword smoothly and relentlessly like flowing clouds and water, forcing General Xu Shangong to repeatedly yield ground. At the same time as he felt proud, it was also painful for him.

With such superb martial skills, she must have endured great hardships during her initial training.

Su Chengyu, on the other hand, felt no pride—his emotions were somewhat complicated. The person on stage was his sister, after all.

Xiao Changyi, An Jing, and Ye Zhi all had calm expressions on their faces; they knew of Gong Juese’s prowess, so they had nothing to be surprised about.

After eighty moves, Xu Shangong was defeated. Gong Juese’s sword pointed at Xu Shangong’s chest, prompting him to immediately cease his movements and concede with a fist salute towards Gong Juese: ”Lady Meng’s martial skills are outstanding; this General admires them!”

Only then did Gong Juese retract her sword.

The eunuch announced loudly: ”The first round, Lady Meng is victorious.”

The second round was between An Jing and Liu Buli. Before entering the arena, An Jing grasped Xiao Changyi’s hand and signaled him to be at ease.

Liu Buli, lacking one arm, could only wield the red tassel spear with one hand. Despite this handicap, his stance was as if he had not lost an arm at all, which was quite admirable.

An Jing also took up the red tassel spear; she had trained extra during the last three days, and her husband had also taught her a few new moves. At this moment, she felt quite confident.

”Princess, my apologies in advance.” Liu Buli first bowed to An Jing, then brandished his spear to the side, adopting a stance as if to say ’come at me all out.’

Missing his left arm, Liu Buli had a weakness in defending his left side. Since this was a competition, and victory was essential, An Jing did not hold back, attacking wherever Liu Buli was vulnerable.

An Jing was exerting her full strength.

This was a competition, not a child’s play; giving one’s all was a form of respect for the opponent. And Liu Buli, who had become a General even with only one arm, truly earned An Jing’s admiration.

Liu Buli had initially intended to take it easy, to avoid An Jing’s loss being too disgraceful, but after seeing Gong Juese’s skills, he anticipated that An Jing’s skills would be decent. So, he did not hold back and genuinely sparred with her.

After truly exchanging blows, he discovered that An Jing’s martial skills were indeed noteworthy.

Additionally, An Jing aimed her attacks at his hard-to-defend spots.

What’s more, An Jing’s spear techniques were identical to those of Xiao Changyi; it was apparent that Xiao Changyi had taught her.

With understanding in his mind, Liu Buli maintained his composure and focused on the bout with An Jing.

Their two red tassel spears intertwined, clashed, were picked, and pressed; the fighting went back and forth, thoroughly rousing. Nonetheless, ultimately Liu Buli, with one arm less and unable to match up to the fully-abled An Jing, coupled with An Jing’s already formidable skills further honed under Xiao Changyi’s guidance, lost in the end—to An Jing.

A man should accept defeat with grace and dignity; once Liu Buli’s red tassel spear was knocked out of his hand by An Jing, he immediately conceded: ”This General is defeated, both wholeheartedly and verbally!”