The Swagger of Three Moves

Han Kun smiled, waved to the two Spirit Transformation, signaling them to stop, and then said, "Alright, Third Brother, you can cripple your martial arts now. Second Brother keeps his word and will not harm you."

"... If that's the case, then I'll spare your life, Second Brother," Han Hao suddenly said.

"What, you still won't admit defeat?" Han Kun frowned, somewhat angry, like an elder seeing a disobedient junior.

"Second brother, you've got one thing wrong. The reason I always won at chess when we were kids wasn't because I was so smart, but because—I cheated."

"What!"

Han Kun's eyes widened, revealing an expression of a childhood memory being shattered, as if he had heard a dark fairy tale.

"Once, I secretly slipped out of the palace and encountered a street performer. He was the kind of acrobat who would distract people, use incredibly fast hand speed, and cleverly designed traps to switch items. I found his performance very interesting, so I paid him to teach me the techniques. Then I used these techniques in my competition with you, Second Brother. That's why I stopped competing with you after your Internal Cultivation broke through to level six, because I was worried you would see through my disguise."

Han Hao spoke and laughed, his shoulders trembling uncontrollably, and continued, "It's the same this time. Actually, I'm very grateful to you, Second Brother, for sending me to Su State, allowing me to come into contact with the world's most advanced technology... By the way, Second Brother, do you know what a biological eavesdropping device is?"

"A biological... eavesdropping device?"

Han Kun could understand the two nouns separately, but they were difficult to understand when put together. However, he instinctively realized that he had probably made a very big mistake.

Han Hao stopped laughing, lowered his gaze, and said, "The black cat that Second Brother liked to tease the most was actually given away by me."

Chapter 508 The Prestige of Three Moves

"Biological eavesdropping isn't some particularly sophisticated or complex technology. The most important thing is creativity. First, select relatively intelligent animal cubs, then use your True Qi to cleanse their marrow and strengthen their bones from a young age, teaching them the most basic breathing techniques and how to absorb the primordial Primal Qi of heaven and earth and transform it into their own inner True Qi. Finally, implant a miniature eavesdropping device into the animal's body, using the True Qi that the animal spontaneously absorbs as its energy source. The most difficult step here is creating a breathing technique suitable for the animal, but the Su State has always been open about this—all of this content has been published in the Su State's professional academic journal, 'Mohist Canon,' but Second Brother, you certainly never read these kinds of books, right?"

Han Hao revealed a mocking smile, the expression of a civilized person looking at a barbarian. This was not a victory of wit, but a victory of science and technology.

It's like how famous military strategists and commanders of ancient times would be easily defeated by mediocre modern commanders, because while they try to strategize and predict the enemy's movements based on intelligence from an hour earlier, the enemy is already giving real-time command to the front lines via radio.

Of course, given enough time to learn, these clever people can quickly catch up with or even surpass their rivals. The Second Prince is no exception. If he knew about this technique, he would definitely be on guard. But he doesn't know, so even if he is very vigilant, he wouldn't suspect his pet.

In this era, there were no online forums, and information exchange was slow. Unless you were someone who was deliberately paying attention to this field, you simply had no way of knowing about new technological inventions. It was normal for intelligence to lag behind by ten or twenty years.

Han Hao continued, "Currently, biological eavesdropping technology is not perfect and is easily interfered with, producing noise. Moreover, the eavesdropping range will not exceed three meters. However, for Second Brother, who likes to tease his cats while issuing orders to his subordinates, this distance is enough. I don't expect to be able to listen to your every move. As long as I know some key information, it will not be difficult to deduce the whole plan."

Han Kun's face had completely darkened, his previous composure gone. "So, you knew from the beginning that Tian Yi was sent by me to lure you into a trap? Then why didn't you retaliate, but instead followed the plan and fell into my trap?"

"It's very simple. I also want to create this king-versus-king situation. Just as you said, Second Brother, the nine-year gap is too big. No matter how hard I try, I can't bridge this gap. Even if I play the card of abolishing noble privileges and win the support of the common people, I will only barely gain the qualification to compete with you for the throne. The difference in the number of Spirit Transformation Grandmaster is enough to prove everything. My only chance of winning is to capture the king."

"How do you know I'll definitely come here? If I just send one of my men to lead the troops, won't you lose everything?"

"I know your personality all too well, Second Brother. You have all the bad habits of traditional nobles: arrogance, stubbornness, and inflexibility. According to the tradition of noble duels, the loser must be given the respect due to their status. To deal with me, a prince, you can only lead your own team. If you send your men to capture me, that would be disrespectful to the royal family. Besides, you've always held a grudge against me for not being able to beat you in games in the past, so you will definitely not miss the opportunity to boast about your victory in front of me."

Han Kun felt a chill run down his spine after his thoughts were completely exposed. But before he could speak, Gu Changtian, the Thunder-Upholding Divine Sword Master beside him, unleashed a powerful One Sword strike, the Sword Qi carrying rolling thunder, aimed at Han Hao overwhelming force.

"Why waste your breath on him? I already said, just kill him and be done with it. But you insisted on talking about brotherly affection. How utterly foolish!"

The lightning-fast Sword Qi was so fast that it reached Han Kun's face in the blink of an eye. He had no chance to react and was about to be killed by the One Sword when a large hand reached out from the side and blocked Han Hao's face. With a grab of the five fingers, the Sword Qi was grasped in the palm of the hand. Then, with a clench of the hand, the Sword Qi was annihilated and disappeared, leaving only a few faint arcs of electricity.

Han Kun seemed to have anticipated this, remaining calm and composed. He turned and bowed, saying, "I'll leave the rest to Senior Xiao."

Then he stepped aside, just like an actor who had finished performing all his scenes.

A burly figure stepped forward and stood in front of Han Kun. He was like a mountain blocking the abyss, blocking everyone's view and bringing immense pressure like a volcano about to erupt.

"The former Grandmaster, the Sea-Overturning Mad Hero, Xiao Xuan!"

Everyone present paled instantly, completely unprepared for this person to appear here.

"'Sea-Overturning Mad Hero,' what a distant memory. I haven't heard this title in a long time, it's almost unfamiliar... Perhaps this title should be changed. For me now, 'Sea-Melting Mad Hero' would be more appropriate." Xiao Xuan said to himself, seemingly arrogant.

Han Kun couldn't help but ask, "As a former Grandmaster, aren't you afraid of affecting relations between the two countries by rashly interfering in the internal affairs of another nation?"

Then, recalling that Mohist School Grandmaster seemed to have a bad habit of "stirring up trouble" in other countries, he added, "Your actions have crossed the line. Aren't you afraid of arousing the suspicion of the other countries of the Sea Continent towards your nation?"

Xiao Xuan glanced at him and said, "You may have misunderstood something. I am no longer a citizen of Su State, nor do I represent Su State. I have announced this to the world, and everyone knows it. I am now just the governor of a small country on the border of the mountains, with a total population of less than one million. If this is enough to arouse suspicion, then the countries of the Sea Continent are far too weak."

Han Kun was speechless. He recalled that there seemed to be such an incident, but most people regarded it as an internal strife in the Su State, believing that the country established by Xiao Xuan was still part of the Su State's territory, similar to a clan split. Moreover, the title "Grandmaster" originally represented the Mohist School in the Su State, making it difficult to separate.

Han Kun asked in a low voice to those around him, "Are you two confident?"

Gu Changtian Thunder-Upholding Divine Sword, looked rather grim, but not out of fear. It was just that this step in the plan was supposed to end easily, but unexpectedly, such a powerful enemy had appeared.

"Ten years ago, Xiao Xuan was indeed an unparalleled expert who could rival the War God of the Military School, but after being imprisoned for ten years, it's remarkable that his Cultivation Body hasn't declined."

As Gu Changtian pointed his sword, the Thunder-Upholding Sword on his back was drawn with a clang. A bolt of lightning flashed across the cloudless sky, striking the sword's edge and manifesting a gigantic phantom of a thunderbird with outstretched wings, covering a hundred feet.

"In the end, he's just a washed-up powerhouse. If the two of us join forces, it won't be difficult to take him down. But Your Highness, you should retreat first. Once we start fighting, we won't have time to attend to you."

The Heavenly Net Fairy Miao Yunli opened her Heavenly Net Umbrella, and with a gentle turn, an elusive spiritual wave rippled outwards, instantly descending into an illusion that eroded reality. A light drizzle fell from the sky, accompanied by petals fluttering in the air, creating an indescribable sense of romance and poignant beauty.

Rain falls on people, and even though their clothes don't get wet, they can still feel the raindrops on their heads and faces. If they reach out to grab them, they can even hold flower petals in their palms and feel their slight weight.

At this moment, reality and illusion seemed to have swapped places.

Seeing that the three Spirit Transformation experts were about to clash, Han Hao was about to retreat like his second brother when he heard Xiao Xuan say, "No need to retreat, it will be over soon."

Gu Changtian sneered, "Oh, it seems the former Grandmaster still has other trump cards up his sleeve and is quite confident in himself."

Xiao Xuan placed his hands behind his back and said calmly, "Three moves."

Miao Yunli paused for a moment, then understood and said, "Does the Mad Hero want to settle this with three moves? Unfortunately, this battle is not a martial arts exchange, but a struggle for interests. We have no intention of accommodating you. Although it may seem like we are ganging up on you, we were not originally trying to determine who is better, so there is no question of fairness."

Unless there is a deep-seated hatred between Spirit Transformation cultivators, they usually do not fight each other to the death, because killing the other is a very difficult thing. At most, they can only determine a winner and loser. Since that is the case, it is better for them to have a friendly exchange and decide the winner in three moves. They do not have to fight to the death and can save face. Therefore, the "three-move agreement" is a relatively common way of sparring among Spirit Transformation cultivators.

However, with Gu Changtian and Miao Yunli joining forces to deal with Xiao Xuan, even if they couldn't win with their moves, they could wear him down. The longer the battle lasted, the better. Naturally, they refused to agree to Xiao Xuan's "three-move agreement." What if the opponent had some way to unleash his Cultivation Body and concentrate all his strength in three moves? Wouldn't they suffer a great loss?

At the same time, both of them were secretly pleased. Judging from Xiao Xuan's initiative to propose a "three-move agreement," he clearly knew he was no match for him and had already fallen into a psychological disadvantage. The battle hadn't even started yet, and the outcome was already decided...