Thousand-Autumn Arena Competition, Martial Exhibition of All Nations

So you were Nie Hongxian all along.

Chu Tianshu reached out to help him up, "You came alone?"

Nie Hongxian stood up and explained calmly.

"I originally set off from Chang'an with dozens of men, and there were various post stations of the Inner Guard along the way, so we could replenish our manpower at any time."

However, we encountered quite a few troubles along the way, including notorious bandits, outlaws, and local officials.

For example, the only son of the military governor of Dongchuan died at our temporary post station.

As Nie Hongxian finished speaking, she looked at the corpse of the woman in red.

"These people are convinced that I'm still tied up in Dongchuan because of this matter, so they impersonated me and came to Nanzhao first."

I made many arrangements to leave in advance, but I still have to assess the situation alone first.

After listening, Chu Tianshu nodded slightly and walked towards Su Xian and Li Chenxiang.

These two people, who were already pale, now had faces that were almost translucent with whiteness.

Chu Tianshu placed both hands on their shoulders, channeling his unique internal energy directly into their bodies.

Both individuals developed bulging lumps on their necks, chests, and other areas, which slowly migrated under the skin and eventually gathered on their arms.

Strangely enough, after their arms swelled up, the two men felt that they had regained a lot of strength.

"Raise your hands."

Chu Tianshu told them to extend their arms, then turned around and went behind them, placing his palm on their backs and giving them a slight jolt.

Pfft!!

The tips of all twenty fingers were broken, and dark red blood gushed out, splattering onto the grass.

This was a battlefield, and there was already a lot of blood splattered on the ground, but the blood gushing from their bodies was exceptionally dark in color.

Chu Tianshu had no idea what kind of poison they had been given.

However, as long as the vitality is strong enough, most toxins can be neutralized by the simplest Falai.

Bloodletting!

Relying on the effects of the Great Void Sun-Boiling True Exposition, it catalyzes life force, and after releasing the toxic blood, it immediately cleanses the bones and internal organs, generating new blood.

Even if the poison cannot be completely removed, it can at least neutralize 70% of it.

As for the rest, let the two of them cultivate their inner strength and nourish their bodies, and take medicine to replenish their blood, so that they can gradually resolve the problem.

Nie Hongxian looked at the blood on the ground.

In the distance, some flowering trees in the woods were swayed by the wind, and scattered petals drifted down to this side.

A pink petal fell onto the dark red blood, faintly staining it with dark lines.

"When the girl in red wielded her sword, she had the style of an assassin, but at its core, she carried some resemblance to the swordsmanship of the Hedong Pei Lineage."

The sword is Pei Clan sword, so this poison must also be Pei Clan poison. The Ink-Soaked Scroll Fragrance.

She felt a little regretful, "That girl had a bright and lively beauty that was delightful, but sadly, she didn't even leave behind a name."

"This person's identity probably cannot be found in the Pei Clan's official genealogy."

Cheng Xin walked over and glanced at Nie Hongxian with a subtle expression.

The face used by the woman in red was clearly a disguise made to resemble Nie Hongxian herself.

Nie Hongxian praised her beauty, wasn't she actually praising herself?

"You still have time to pity others?"

Chu Tianshu scoffed and said, "You yourself are also badly injured. I think you could have easily defeated that Tubo, so why resort to such a brutal fighting style?"

"Come, their poison has been neutralized, let me treat you too."

He walked over to Nie Hongxian and squeezed her wrist as if taking her pulse.

Nie Hongxian did not refuse.

"Huh?"

Chu Tianshu looked slightly surprised, but instead of channeling his inner energy into her body, he released her.

"Your Weapon Soul Divine Power is specifically designed for healing?"

Nie Hongxian nodded, rolled up her right sleeve, revealing a gold ring on her forearm.

This gold ring is uniquely crafted, as if it were made of gold, first forged into a small sword, and then bent into a ring, with the ends connected.

"My Weapon Soul Divine Power allows me to heal faster the more severe the injury."

Nie Hongxian said, "Just like when water flows, if it encounters a three-foot pit, the speed at which it falls is nothing special."

If it encounters a pool a thousand feet deep, its force will be like the Milky Way pouring down, or a thunderclap crashing down.

The reasoning may seem simple, but that cannot obscure the mystique of this supernatural power.

A normal person's ability to absorb external energy to heal should actually be like the magnetism of a magnet.

The more severe the injury, the lower the magnetism, and the more difficult the healing.

Nie Hongxian possesses this highly unusual Weapon Soul ability; in a real fight, she can exchange half her life for someone else's half-death at any time.

It's simply a perfect weapon for defeating overwhelming odds.

It seems that she was unsure whether Chu Tianshu could fight two opponents at once, which is why she took the initiative to kill the Tubo in the first encounter before entering the battle.

However, once Chu Tianshu actually took action against those two people, there was no need for her to intervene.

In an instant, everything became clear in Chu Tianshu's mind, and he felt secretly pleased.

He was caught off guard by the sudden attack and retreated rapidly, putting him at a slight disadvantage.

But in the counterattack, he grasped all the characteristics of both the enemy and himself, and in just a few rounds, he achieved a great victory.

For him, this was a challenge to himself, and since he succeeded, he naturally felt a small sense of satisfaction.

Moreover, Nie Hongxian may seem aloof, but once you've confirmed your stance...

She has a candid and open personality that makes people feel at ease and at peace.

He explained in detail why he was late... even though his injuries were almost healed, he still allowed himself to be taken... and bluntly stated the effects of the Weapon Soul...

Um?!

Chu Tianshu suddenly realized that in those seemingly ordinary few words, he had naturally developed a strong sense of kinship with this girl.

"Commander of the Inner Guard..."

He stared at Nie Hongxian and said, "Those who can sit in this position, regardless of their personalities and styles, seem to be masters of interpersonal relationships and social skills."

Nie Hongxian's lips didn't curve into a smile, but her eyes seemed to hold a hint of amusement.

"These are some trivial skills necessary for an official. I would certainly like to use these skills to make friends and elders happier."

This skill can sometimes expose more of their true nature when dealing with petty people and enemies...

As she spoke, a stunning gleam finally appeared in her eyes.

"To nip it in the bud is exactly what I want."

As she said this, it was as if she had suddenly spotted a few dirty flies on a long-awaited, precious, and sweet pastry.

In the most familiar and comforting warm bed, I discovered a bunch of slippery poisonous insects.

It's a murderous intent that arises instinctively without any thought, struggle, or excuse.

Chu Tianshu pondered, "It sounds like you made many discoveries along the way, even though your journey was delayed?"

The so-called calamity of powerful families never ceased from the Spring and Autumn Annals and Autumn Period to the Ming and Qing Dynasties. One wave was killed, but another would come, only with a different name.

However, they also understand evolution and transformation.

Every aristocratic family should be considered meritorious at the beginning of its establishment, but as it grows, is passed down, and becomes more entrenched, the harm it causes will become deeper and deeper, until its merits completely outweigh its faults, and it will be purged.

This is also the Daoist concept of "Inheritance and Burden".

Buddhism has created the concept of reincarnation, saying that if a person does evil in this life, they will surely suffer in the next life. This can be considered a way to comfort people, but it also distorts the meaning of reincarnation, suggesting that if a person suffers in this life, it must be because of the sins committed in their previous life.

The concept of Inheritance and Burden, through observing reality and summarizing principles, goes a step further and speaks of the collective passing down of knowledge.

In this community, the evil deeds of our predecessors, even if they themselves do not punish themselves, will inevitably accumulate and eventually be punished by future generations.

In the next era, among the powerful families, there will naturally be those with wisdom and foresight who will want to change this cycle.

However, very few people can truly maintain their integrity and nip the problem in the bud.

This requires not only morality, but also a complete and self-consistent family management philosophy, sufficient skill, and even a long lifespan.

As a result, many powerful families chose another route, making their influence more widespread and covert as they developed their power.

In this day and age, it is impossible for all members of a top-tier Lineage to gather in one place, and it is even more impossible for those who are controlled by the Lineage for a long time to all share the same surname.

Identifying venomous snakes underwater is far more troublesome than eradicating poisonous insects from trees.

And Nie Hongxian and his group served as the perfect bait along the way.

"Exactly."

Nie Hongxian said, "Although we can't investigate every single detail, we at least have a chance to cut off the strongest part of the root system."

When the strong are destroyed, the weak naturally scatter.

Once I return to Chang'an, I will gather all the evidence, and once my master returns to Chang'an, we can take action.

Upon hearing this, Chu Tianshu asked, "Where exactly is your master now, and when will he be able to return to Chang'an?"

"I don't know where my master is either."

Nie Hongxian considered for a moment, then said frankly, "But I know he will definitely return to Chang'an before the Martial Exhibition of All Nations this October."

Chu Tianshu asked in surprise, "Martial Exhibition of All Nations?"

Cheng Xin explained, "Back then Far West Great Qin and the Black-Robed Dashi fought for a long time, locked in a tug-of-war."

Both countries have state religions with many similarities in doctrine, but there are core differences. They regard each other as mortal enemies, and after their armies could not reach a conclusion, they decided to have their respective religious masters engage in a debate and martial arts contest.

Their blood feud ran too deep, and the results of the debate and the fight could not convince the public. So they debated and fought again and again, and unintentionally created a grand event. Every time they fought, a large number of masters from Nations of the Far West would come to watch, and some would even participate in the fight themselves.

Many years ago, Great Tang heard of this, it also held a grand Martial Exhibition of All Nations Thousand-Autumn Arena Competition, attracting masters from all over the world to exchange martial arts techniques, and enabling the people near Chang'an to earn countless amounts of money.

Su Xian, being a merchant in Chang'an himself, was extremely familiar with this place and couldn't help but offer his explanation.

"Around the time of the Martial Exhibition of All Nations, the turnover of shops of all sizes in Chang'an can be more than five times that of usual. The lights stay on all night, and the crowds are jubilant. This does not even include the gambling dens and privately run betting platforms."

Visitors from all over the world often trade and place bets with gold coins. Such a grand event not only showcases the prestige of a superior nation, but also allows people to make a lot of money.

The imperial court immediately approved the decision, establishing a ten-year competition as a precedent.

Su Xian quickly calculated with her fingers.

This year marks the sixth time!

(End of this chapter)