Meanwhile, Ling Yi and Shan Rou also noticed several pairs of eyes in the crowd that had been watching them ever since they entered.
"Should you make the move, or should I?" Shan Rou asked.
"Their primary target is me, so I'll be the one to deal with them," Ling Yi said, stepping towards the old man.
Without waiting for the old man's consent, he sat down opposite him.
" Yuan Zong, do you know that your head is now worth a hundred taels of gold?" Ling Yi asked bluntly.
"Haha, a hundred taels of gold! I, Yuan Zong, have never seen so much money in my entire life. If we had a hundred taels of gold, I don't know how many people we could save."
Yuan Zong, the true leader of the Mohist School and the holder of the Grand Master's Token, had a large number of Mohist School disciples in various states. His disciples were spread throughout the world, and he had a tremendous influence in the struggle for supremacy among the states.
Money can't save this chaotic world.
"Indeed, over the years, it seems that the disciples of the Mohist School have been doing useless work, contributing nothing but further warfare across the land."
After a pause, Yuan Zong asked, "Are you here to kill me?"
Ling Yi shook his head. "We came to kill Yan Ping."
"My junior brother? Why?"
" Yan Ping spent a hundred taels of gold to buy your life, while someone else spent the same amount of gold to buy Yan Ping's life."
"So that's how it is. You want to use me to kill my junior brother?"
"If I were to kill someone, why would I need someone else's hand? I just felt it was a pity you died, and I wondered if I could save you."
"What if we save him?"
"It doesn't matter, we'll save them anyway."
"Interesting. But before you save me, young man, you should take care of your own troubles first."
As soon as Yuan Zong finished speaking, six assassins leaped up from different directions at the same time, rushing towards Ling Yi almost simultaneously.
Yuan Zong was ready to act at any moment, his hands already clasped behind his back with the wooden sword.
Ling Yi's expression remained Changes. He slowly drew his Bronze sword, and with a slight turn of his body, the Bronze sword drew a semicircle in mid-air at an extremely strange and tricky angle.
The next moment, the six assassins didn't even have a chance to make a sound before they all fell to the ground. Each assassin's throat was slit open, and blood spurted out the instant they fell.
The strong stench of blood silenced everyone in the Martial Practitioner arts hall. Those who had previously wanted to cause trouble for Yuan Zong now kept their heads down, not daring to even glance in Ling Yi's direction.
Shan Rou's expression remained Changes; for an assassin, this was nothing more than a minor incident. However, her eyes were noticeably more serious.
Ling Yi's attack style was completely unpredictable; she couldn't figure out what his tactics were at all.
That sword strike, as swift as a gazelle's horns, seemed casual, yet it carried a strange and inexplicable charm.
If she observes it a few more times, she might be able to grasp some of its essence. At this moment, Shan Rou is incredibly wise about the decision she made last night.
Xiang Shaolong frowned, feeling somewhat uncomfortable. Fortunately, he was originally a special forces soldier, so he was mentally strong enough. Moreover, he had already prepared himself after transmigrating to this time and space.
His current thoughts are similar to Ling Yi Shan Rou. He can't see anything special about Ling Yi's sword strike, but he feels that it is powerful and cool. If he can learn it, whether it's for self-defense in this world or for showing off, he must learn it.
Yuan Zong, however, had a much sharper eye. He slowly said, "Young brother, excellent swordsmanship, your skill is close to the Dao. In the world today, there are definitely fewer than a handful who can withstand even a single move from you."
"I'm afraid the Sword Saint will be heartbroken for a long time after what happened today," Shan Rou said with a smile.
Yuan Zong frowned and asked, " Sword Saint? In the world today, the only one who can be called Sword Saint is probably Cao Qiudao of State of Qi. Could it be that these assassins are all his men?"
"Just a charlatan," Ling Yi said. "Both this Miss Shan Rou and I are assassins he trained. For money, he'll kill anyone."
Inside the Martial Practitioner arts hall, many people couldn't help but gasp in shock; this news was simply too astonishing.
At this moment, Ling Yi knocked on the table and called out loudly, "Bring the food quickly, we're in a hurry."
Not long after Ling Yi finished speaking, more than a dozen servants, carrying various meats in their hands, served Ling Yi and his companions more than a dozen delicious dishes.
The four men were all easygoing and enjoyed their meal immensely. They quickly finished eating and drinking, and without even saying goodbye to the others, they got up and left the inn.
"First, deal with Yan Ping, then head to Handan to rescue Zhu Ji and her child."
After leaving the room, Ling Yi spoke to the others.
" Yuan Zong, you should know Yan Ping's current location, right? Please lead us there."
"This... he was, after all, my junior brother. If we kill him so directly, I'm afraid many of the Mohist School disciples will be dissatisfied," Yuan Zong said, frowning.
"You are the Master of the Mohist School, wielding the Mohist School Grand Master's Token. Yan Ping Grand Master's Token for many years; I'm afraid no one in the Mohist School is unaware of this."
"Your constant concessions have truly chilled the hearts of those disciples who have always upheld the Mohist School principles, while those who are not convinced have probably already abandoned the Mohist School principles. What use are these people?"
Yuan Zong seemed to be deep in thought.
Shan Rou also said, "Senior, hesitation will only create more trouble."
"Hehe!" Yuan Zong suddenly laughed, then tapped Ling Yi and Shan Rou with his fingers...
"You two are working together in concert; I'm afraid it's not just about this small reward, is it?"
"I really like the Mohist School philosophy. Now that you're dead, all that's left of the Mohist School philosophy are some bamboo slips that will rot away at any time," Ling Yi said after a long silence.
In order to kill Yuan Zong and to obtain the Mohist School's Grand Master's Token, Yan Ping arranged for nearly a hundred people to ambush near his residence.
According to the original plan, Yan Ping would meet Yuan Zong three days later at the pavilion in the lake, three miles away. At that time, he would first make Yuan Zong drink poisoned wine, and then a hundred men would ambush and kill Yuan Zong.
However, the arrival of Ling Yi and his group completely disrupted Yan Ping's plans.
Now that all schemes and tricks are pointless, the only option left is a brutal kill.
Outside a manor, Ling Yi and his group stopped.
" Ling Yi, are you confident?" Shan Rou asked with a serious expression.
"Heh!" Ling Yi smiled slightly, holding the military dagger he had tricked Xiang Shaolong into giving him in his left hand and a Bronze longsword in his right, and stepped into the manor.
As soon as he entered the main gate, countless arrows Hidden Weapons rained down on Ling Yi.
This caused the three members of Yuan Zong who were following behind Ling Yi to stop in their tracks, and they were blocked outside the door.
They had no chance of completely avoiding such an attack.
The martial prowess in the A Step into the Past World is not too exaggerated. Apart from a very few people like the Sword Saint Cao Qiudao and the Left-Handed Sword Lao Ai, who have the strength to fight against a hundred people, most people can only suffer defeat when faced with a human wave tactic.
But at this moment, Ling Yi moved gracefully, his hands waving, and amidst a series of Dingdang sounds, he still walked step by step towards the main hall.
Any Hidden Weapons or arrows that came close were deflected and sent flying in all directions by the two weapons in Ling Yi's hands.
Most of the Hidden Weapons were returned by Ling Yi, and screams rang out one after another. In the blink of an eye, a third of the nearly one hundred enemies were gone.
This scene left Xiang Shaolong and the others dumbfounded.
"Senior, can you tell what Kung Fu Hustle of Ling Yi is using?" Shan Rou asked Yuan Zong.
Yuan Zong gave a wry smile and said, "I consider myself a well-informed person, and I have a good understanding of the martial Kung Fu Hustle of various schools, but I can't discern the origin of Ling Yi's martial arts at all."
Xiang Shaolong suddenly exclaimed, " Nine Swords of Dugu, Arrow-Breaking Stance!"
Shan Rou and Yuan Zong both turned to look at him.
"Cough cough, I was just talking nonsense, just talking nonsense." Xiang Shaolong quickly shook his head.
However, Shan Rou and Yuan Zong did not think so. The Nine Swords of Dugu, the Arrow-Breaking Stance, was by no means a name that was just randomly made up.
"Brother Xiang, if you know, please tell us so we can broaden our horizons," Shan Rou said.
"Since it's called the Nine Swords of Dugu, it must have nine moves. You only mentioned the Arrow-Breaking Stance, but you don't know what the other eight moves are."
Seeing their serious expressions, Xiang Shaolong simply made up a story. "I saw it on TV; I don't know for sure whether Ling Yi used the Nine Swords of Dugu."
"The Nine Swords of Dugu is a general outline of swordsmanship, emphasizing Saber-Breaking Stance after the opponent has moved first, anticipating the enemy's moves, and breaking through all martial arts techniques. It is divided into the following styles: the Blade-Breaking Style (specifically for breaking Saber Technique), the Sword-Breaking Stance (specifically for Spear-Breaking Stance moves), the Spear-Breaking Style (specifically for breaking long spears and staffs)..."
" The Arrow-Breaking Stance is specifically designed to counter Hidden Weapons and flying arrows; its overall formula comprises 360 moves..."
Although the two didn't know what a television was, they could tell from Xiang Shaolong's explanation that it was an extremely powerful sword technique.
"We've really been too narrow-minded. We used to be so proud of the Mozi Sword Technique, but now we realize there are always people more skilled than us, and there's always something beyond our understanding. Brother Xiang, do you know who created this sword technique?"
"The Sword Demon, Dugu Qiubai." Xiang Shaolong simply let loose and started spouting nonsense.
"This Sword Demon, Dugu Qiubai, was a Sword Dao genius who had never tasted defeat since he began practicing swordsmanship..."
While Xiang Shaolong was boasting to Yuan Zong and Shan Rou, Ling Yi in the manor had already engaged in close combat with Yan Ping's men.
Ling Yi's every move looked effortless and relaxed, as if he were not killing, but performing an art.
Anyone who rushed to Ling Yi's side would have their throat slashed by Ling Yi's unpredictable Bronze sword. Without exception, corpses lay scattered all around him.
Hiding in the main hall, Yan Ping was now filled with fear and fury. He kept shouting for his men to attack, but he himself had completely lost any thought of fighting Ling Yi and had the idea of running away.
"Oh no, Yan Ping is probably going to run away." Although Shan Rou found Xiang Shaolong's story of Dugu Qiubai fascinating, she didn't forget her mission and kept her eyes on Yan Ping's direction.
Seeing Yan Ping retreat, he understood Yan Ping's intentions.
"Senior, let's block Yan Ping's path."
"Alright!" Yuan Zong didn't waste any words, and Shan Rou rushed towards Yan Ping from the left and right.
Xiang Shaolong then pulled out his pistol and aimed it at Yan Ping. He would shoot Yan Ping if Shan Rou and the others were in danger.
However, he only had six bullets left in his pistol, and there was no way to replenish them in this era. He naturally didn't want to waste bullets unless absolutely necessary.
Yan Ping's men had been terrified by Ling Yi's killing, and no matter how much Yan Ping shouted, they dared not approach Ling Yi even a fraction of a second.
At this point, Yan Ping knew that the situation was hopeless, and if he didn't run now, he might miss his chance.
He leaped onto the courtyard wall, about to leave, when Shan Rou and Yuan Zong arrived one after the other. Together, they forced Yan Ping back off the wall...