Azure Water Serpent-Slaying Sword Armament Form

"Hehehehe..."

The young man's laughter drifted lightly through the air. Then his right palm turned as he formed seals, his inner qi flowing freely, his movements nearly becoming afterimages as his hand flipped and shifted.

At once, one of his hands took on a bluish-white jade sheen and met the descending sword head-on.

Clang!

Amid the ringing impact—

Bai Bijun's longsword shattered outright!

Yet not even a white mark appeared on the white-robed young man's hand. He was completely unscathed.

"Retreat!"

Bai Bijun gave a sharp cry. She immediately understood that this was an enemy she could not defeat.

"Who exactly are you, sir? By acting so brazenly today, do you intend to make an enemy of the Great Jin court?"

Bai Bijun steadied herself and fixed her bright gaze on the white-robed young man. As she spoke, her right hand quietly sent out a secret signal.

Among the crowd, someone's eyes narrowed. Without a sound, they turned and rushed out of the tavern to seek reinforcements.

"Heh, that is quite a large hat to pin on me. I cannot bear it." Xia Konghan smiled faintly as he looked at Bai Bijun.

"If I had not held back just now, how could Miss Bai have retreated with her whole body intact? So please, do not fail to appreciate kindness."

"If you want to arrest someone, have the experts of your Six Doors come!"

Several emotions flickered across Bai Bijun's fair, elegant face, but she remained silent.

Naturally, she knew he was telling the truth.

A martial artist with such cultivation could never be a nobody.

It was simply unfortunate that she did not recognize him!

Meanwhile, Su Qingyang listened to the commotion below with great interest.

At that moment, Liu Qingni drifted in through the window like a graceful sprite and lightly took a seat before the table.

She lowered her eyes and looked toward the young man below the tavern. A grave look flashed through them as she said:

"This man is Xia Konghan of the One-Heart Sword Pavilion. The woman who attacked is named Bai Bijun, and she belongs to the Six Doors."

"My lord, neither of these two is any good!!"

"Oh? How so?" Seeing the hostility in Liu Qingni's tone, Su Qingyang's curiosity rose at once.

"That Bai Bijun is one of the outstanding figures of the Six Doors' younger generation. Her father is a renowned Divine Constable at court, and her family has deep foundations."

"Yet she has devoted her heart to admiring Su Chang'an in the Heavenly Prison. In the past, she ran around after Su Chang'an like a dog, circling at his side.

"These days, she has been the busiest of all, desperately arresting those who discuss whether the Sixth Prince is real or fake, all to suppress the rumors for Su Chang'an and lessen the criticism against him."

"When all is said and done, she is just a big-breasted, brainless fool. If she keeps being this stubborn, sooner or later she will drag the Bai Family into the water with her."

Liu Qingni spoke in rapid succession, her disgust wholly undisguised.

Su Qingyang smiled softly, poured Liu Qingni a cup of fine wine, and slowly asked:

"Then what is the background of this Xia Konghan?"

At the mention of him, Liu Qingni's expression grew more solemn. "My lord, have you heard the saying that circulates in Yan Prefecture..."

One sword, one monastery, one weapon pavilion!

This was the most famous saying throughout Yan Prefecture, representing its three foremost powers!

The one sword referred to the One-Heart Sword Pavilion, the one monastery referred to the Hanging Monastery, and the one weapon pavilion represented the Limitless Weapon Pavilion!

Xia Konghan was the personal disciple of the current Pavilion Master of the One-Heart Sword Pavilion. His swordsmanship was unfathomable, and in his early years, he was hailed as the number one swordsman among Yan Prefecture's younger generation.

Yet that title had long ceased to live up to its name.

Because...

He had once challenged Su Chang'an. The result was that his longsword was broken by a single fist and finger strike. From then on, his sword heart shattered, and he remained in seclusion without emerging.

Now that she thought about it!

He must have heard that Su Chang'an had been thrown into the Heavenly Prison and deliberately rushed to the Imperial Capital to humiliate him, venting the hatred of his past defeat.

"Hmph! It would have been one thing if Xia Konghan had merely belittled Su Chang'an. But he actually dared drag the Sixth Prince down with him. He truly did not know whether he lived or died."

Liu Qingni snorted coldly, her eyes filled with displeasure.

After saying that, she withdrew her gaze from downstairs and turned to face Su Qingyang. "My lord!"

"I have already reported news of you to the Secret Bureau. For the next few days, we will temporarily stay at Purple Pavilion Manor and wait."

"Under normal circumstances, your identity should have been verified immediately."

"However, the court has now dispatched the Black Wind Cavalry. In a few days, they will escort all the 'Sixth Princes' back."

"The palace finds it too troublesome to investigate them one by one. They intend to wait until the Black Wind Cavalry returns, then gather everyone in one place to select and distinguish the genuine from the false."

Hearing this, Su Qingyang nodded indifferently.

He did not care much about the matter. He had come to Central Province merely to travel, see whether he could obtain some heavenly treasures, and spar with the various Martial Dao Grandmasters.

Mm...

And there was also the Hundred Rivers Sect, and Lin Muqian!!

Thinking of this, Su Qingyang gave Liu Qingni another instruction.

"By the way, Miss Liu, remember to help me gather information on the Hundred Rivers Sect and Lin Muqian."

Liu Qingni nodded softly. "Rest assured, my lord. I will keep it in mind. The moment I receive any news, I will tell you."

"We are going to Purple Pavilion Manor!"

Just then, a burst of clattering hoofbeats approached from afar and abruptly stopped before the tavern.

A squad of constables leaped down from their horses and, in the blink of an eye, surrounded the entire tavern.

Their leader was a tall, upright young constable, seated upon a fine steed in black brocade robes.

His features were sharply defined, his sword-like brows slanted toward his temples. His keen eyes swept over the area before settling on Xia Konghan.

The next moment, he said in a deep voice, "So it is Xia Konghan of the One-Heart Sword Pavilion."

"You dare publicly discuss the imperial family and spout wild words within Taihe Imperial City. Could it be that your One-Heart Sword Pavilion intends rebellion and wishes to become an enemy of Great Jin?"

Xia Konghan suddenly rose to his feet, and even the corners of his eyes twitched.

What a fine move...

The Six Doors had always conducted themselves this way. The moment they opened their mouths, they slapped on the enormous hat of rebellion. If one carelessly acknowledged even half of it, the result would be a fate worse than death.

"There is no need to pin such a grave crime on me from the start."

Xia Konghan's tone was indifferent. "Lan Kaishan, you cannot represent Great Jin, just as I cannot represent the entire One-Heart Sword Pavilion."

Lan Kaishan remained seated on horseback and spoke calmly:

"So what you did today represents you alone? Every crime and responsibility for your words and actions shall be borne by you alone!"

"What utter nonsense. What crime?" Xia Konghan stood tall.

"Could it be that in this day and age, people are not even allowed to speak the truth?"

"Whether it is or is not, I intend to arrest you today. Next, do you plan to resist arrest or submit with your hands tied?"

Lan Kaishan spoke calmly, but the constables under his command drew their long blades one after another and pressed forward.

"What? You want to fight me here?" Xia Konghan raised a brow, a plainly contemptuous look appearing on his face.

"Arresting criminals is my duty. Why not?" Lan Kaishan refused to yield an inch.

Xia Konghan chuckled. He was not an ordinary man—how could he possibly be intimidated?

Moreover, what he had said just now had at most stepped upon the red line. If they truly came to blows, the Six Doors would have no justified reason to act.

He suddenly raised the wine cup on the table, which had long since been filled with wine.

"Brother Lan is truly sharp-tongued. I admire you. Then allow me to offer Brother Lan a cup of wine!"

The instant his words fell, Xia Konghan's palm turned jade-like. With a casual flick, the wine cup shot forth toward Lan Kaishan!

Bzz!!

It was as though thunder exploded in the air. The wine cup clearly contained the force of ten thousand jun, tearing through the airflow like a meteor crashing down!

Nor were there few martial experts present. Their eyesight was astonishing.

They had already discovered that within the wine in that cup, a faint radiance flowed. It resembled the shadow of a serpent-dragon, and also a black shark.

"It is the One-Heart Sword Pavilion's Azure Water Serpent-Slaying Sword Armament Form!!"

Someone recognized the source of Xia Konghan's spectral power, their voice carrying apprehension.

"I never expected that after Xia Konghan's years of seclusion, his Sword Armament Form would improve to such a realm. He can actually hide sword techniques and sword intent within wine."

Someone exclaimed in amazement.

Even Lan Kaishan's expression turned grave. He could see that the other party intended to give him a show of force.

The sword technique had been condensed into a single wine cup. First, this was not a true duel. Second, it was not a fair duel. No one could possibly catch it.

Xia Konghan was blatantly using force to oppress others, intending to make the Six Doors lose face.

Thoughts flashed like lightning through his mind. Lan Kaishan directly reached out to seize it, his expression dark.

Though he knew the mountain held a tiger, he had no choice but to walk toward tiger mountain. If he did not even dare receive it, the Six Doors' reputation would suffer even more!

The wine cup landed in his hand!

Bang!!

With a crisp explosion, the wine cup burst apart in Lan Kaishan's hand, about to shatter into fragments that filled the sky.

But the next moment, terrifying cold qi surged forth and instantly froze the wine into a mass.

Seeing this, Xia Konghan smiled lightly, and ripples rose within the frozen wine once more.

Vaguely, the surrounding onlookers seemed to hear a dragon's roar erupting through the air, twisting the entire space ahead.

A dazzling sword light burst forth from the ice!

Like a serpent-dragon roaming amid the ocean waves, it looked down upon all directions. Its draconic maw opened slightly, as though accompanied by a dragon's roar, surging upstream!!

In that frantic instant—

Lan Kaishan tilted his head aside and evaded the sword gleam, but a lock of black hair was severed, the broken strands flying everywhere.

"Hahahaha..."

Xia Konghan threw back his head and laughed. "One of the Ten Great Constables is indeed worthy of his reputation. Unfortunately, you are still lacking a measure of refinement!"

As his words fell, he turned and leaped out of the tavern. With his hands behind his back, he drifted away at ease.

Seeing this, Bai Bijun's face tightened, and she was about to pursue him when a colleague beside her firmly pulled her back.

"We are just letting him leave like this? He publicly humiliated His Highness the Sixth Prince..."

Lan Kaishan shot her a sidelong glance, his tone cold. "Have you not lost enough face already?"

"If not for the sake of your father, Lord Divine Constable, I would not even bother with you. As for today's matter, I advise you to know when to stop."

"...If you do not wish to drag your entire family into the calamity of imprisonment!!"

With that, Lan Kaishan turned and rode away, leaving only a faint voice transmission drifting into Bai Bijun's ears.

Today, he had already done more than enough!

If Bai Bijun continued making trouble, it would no longer concern him. He would still be able to account for himself before Lord Divine Constable.

Bai Bijun moved her lips, but in the end, she only furrowed her delicate brows and fell silent. Anger and helplessness appeared upon her creamy, jade-like face!

"We are setting out for Purple Pavilion Manor."

Su Qingyang spoke blandly, rose to straighten his robes, and no longer paid any attention to the chaos downstairs.