Declaration of War

Chen Ming quietly led Hong Mingquan's mother and son away from Huo Manor. After returning home, he settled them in the guest rooms.

Then he went back to his own small courtyard, lit an oil lamp, and took out the Five Elements Saber Technique manual, studying it by the flame.

After reading a few pages, he knew it was genuine.

The mental cultivation formulas and oral instructions were in the same lineage as the Bagua Saber Technique, only more profound. Cross-referencing the diagrams with the moves Zhao An and that man named Guo had used in their fight a few days ago, he reached that conclusion.

But relying solely on the diagrams, it was difficult to reconstruct every detail of the techniques.

At least, he didn't have that ability.

First, memorize the saber manual. After Hong Mingquan returns, I'll have him teach me.

Chen Ming thought to himself, focusing intently on the manual.

He was so absorbed that before he knew it, the night had grown deep.

Suddenly, his ear twitched. He heard movement outside and assumed it was the two maidservants. He was about to call out when he heard the sound of something cutting through the air.

A pebble pierced the window paper and landed on the table in front of him.

Wrapped around the pebble was a piece of paper.

Chen Ming's gaze sharpened. Seeing that there seemed to be writing on it, he unfolded the paper. On it was a line of somewhat scrawled characters: Meet in the back alley in a quarter of an hour. Let's settle who's better.

"A challenge letter?"

He was a bit puzzled. Settle who's better — meaning someone he'd crossed hands with before...

Could it be her?

Chen Ming racked his brain and could only think of one person.

The Blue-Robed Girl he'd fought at Huo Manor a few days ago.

She was the only one he'd recently crossed swords with who would specifically seek him out for a rematch.

"Could this be a trap?"

That was his first thought.

But then he realized he was overthinking it. If she were after Hong Mingquan's wife and child, she wouldn't need to lure him away. If she and her fellow disciples came together, he couldn't stop them no matter how many more of him there were.

A moment later, Chen Ming carried a long saber to the back alley. Sure enough, he saw a figure standing on the wall of his own backyard, dressed in a night robe, her posture graceful. From her silhouette, it was indeed the Blue-Robed Girl.

"My senior brother said that when you fought me a few days ago, you deliberately lost to me. Is that true?" As soon as she spoke, it was indeed that familiar voice.

Chen Ming replied, "So it's you, miss. I truly am no match for you. I lost fair and square."

She had three senior brothers and a Master who was likely at the Sixth Rank. He didn't want to stir up trouble.

"Hmph, I trust my senior brother's judgment. Let's fight again."

"Let's just forget it..." Chen Ming really didn't want to fight her. Losing would cost him experience points — too much of a loss.

"That's not for you to decide. Watch my sword."

Zhong Shuyu had already drawn her sword. Without another word, she lunged and thrust.

The strike aimed straight for his heart — vicious, sharp, and utterly merciless.

Chen Ming hastily drew his saber to block.

Her sword came faster and faster, like a raging storm, each strike aimed at a vital point.

The more Chen Ming fought, the more alarmed he grew. This was no longer a spar.

One misstep, and he could very well die on the spot.

He finally understood what she meant by "not for you to decide."

She was using this method to force him to go all out.

His strength was indeed slightly inferior to hers. What he relied on was his mastery of the Bagua Saber Technique and the fact that her swordsmanship wasn't yet polished.

The sword technique this girl used was almost identical to the Five Elements Saber Technique.

Her swordsmanship lacked maturity, and the transitions between moves weren't smooth — a clear sign of insufficient practical combat experience.

Now that she was fighting with abandon, it actually masked the flaws in her technique.

For the moment, Chen Ming found it hard to devise a way to feign defeat without hurting her or getting himself injured.

If he slipped up, a feigned loss could turn into a real one, and getting stabbed through was no joke.

This girl fought ruthlessly — she wasn't like Huo Qianqian, a sheltered young lady from a wealthy family. She'd likely drawn blood before.

Chen Ming focused entirely on the fight, not daring to let his attention waver for an instant.

At the same time, he cross-referenced her sword moves with the techniques in the manual...

When they reached the fortieth-odd move, he saw the girl shift her stance, her long sword poised to thrust but not yet thrusting. A flash of insight struck him, and he predicted her next move would be Extreme Reversal.

Chen Ming's body moved faster than his mind. His long saber had already swung out, striking the weakest point of her sword.

A clang rang out.

The longsword flew from the young woman's hand.

With a cry of "Ouch," she stepped back two paces, clutching her wrist, glaring at him furiously.

Chen Ming's heart sank—this was bad; he'd thoroughly offended her.

Maybe he should kill her to silence her?

The thought flashed through his mind, but he dismissed it. It hadn't come to that yet.

Zhong Shuyu's voice was laced with anger. "You were definitely holding back last time."

Chen Ming explained, "Not at all. I just recently obtained the manual for the 'Five Elements Saber Technique.' I was familiar with your moves, so I got lucky and won by half a move."

"You actually used a crude technique like 'Bagua Saber Technique' to beat my 'Swallow Returns Swordplay.'" The more Zhong Shuyu spoke, the angrier she grew.

Suddenly, her eyes widened as she stared at something behind Chen Ming, as if she'd seen something terrifying.

Chen Ming instinctively started to turn, but sensing a malicious wind rushing at him, he swept his saber without thinking, knocking the incoming object away.

A sharp ding sounded.

It was a hidden weapon—a Plum Blossom Dart.

He glanced at the dart at his feet; under the moonlight, he saw a faint blue sheen on its surface. Narrowing his eyes, he said expressionlessly, "Miss, we have no grudges or grievances. Why resort to such a deadly move?"

"Tch, when you walk the martial world and meet an enemy, you use every means at your disposal. Consider this a lesson. If you're this soft-hearted next time, you won't be so lucky."

With that, Zhong Shuyu vaulted onto the wall and vanished in a few bounds.

You have defeated an LV12 enemy. Gained 150 experience points.

The prompt finally appeared.

Just now, Chen Ming hadn't seen the defeat notification, so he'd stayed alert and avoided the ambush.

"So, from the system's prompt, you can tell whether the opponent is feigning defeat or genuinely conceding."

He'd discovered another hidden function of the system.

Chen Ming tore off a strip of cloth, wrapped up the Plum Blossom Dart on the ground, and picked it up.

Both were willful young women, but compared to this Blue-Robed Girl, Huo Qianqian was far kinder.

That's why people say comparison is the thief of joy.

Chen Ming climbed back over the wall to his home. When he reached the small courtyard, he saw a short figure pacing by the door.

"Uncle Chen."

The other spoke first—it was Hong Zilin's voice. He asked quietly, "Were they here to cause trouble for us?"

Chen Ming hadn't expected to alarm him. "No, they came for me."

"Oh."

"Alright, it's late. Go back to sleep."

"Yes, Uncle."

Hong Zilin bowed and turned to leave.

Back in the guest room, he pushed open the door. His mother asked softly, "How did it go?"

"The man has already been driven off by Uncle."

"Were they after us?"

"Yeah." Hong Zilin said, "I finally understand why Dad told us to stick with Uncle Chen. He didn't want us to worry, so he lied and said the man was after him."

"Hmm." Li Shi said with some concern, "I wonder who your father offended. Before he left, he warned us so solemnly to follow this man."

"Father must have his reasons. Mother, it's late. Let's sleep."

"Sigh..."

Chen Ming returned to his room, unable to sleep for a while, so he picked up the saber manual and studied it again.

"She said the sword technique she used was 'Swallow Returns Swordplay.' Why is it almost identical to the 'Five Elements Saber Technique'?"

"Could it really be, as they say, that the 'Five Elements Saber Technique' was originally a sword technique, forcibly adapted into a saber technique just to throw people off?"