The Horse He Had Ridden for Twenty-Two Years
"If you don't behave, I'll beat you up!"
Zhao Tianhua donated 500,000 yuan to secure a shot of Zhang Xuezhou.
Zhang Xuezhou muttered the last curse, then looked at the live stream camera with a smile.
"This horse is obedient; I'm relying on it for the competition!"
Zhang Xuezhou patted the Wanping horse, which was as tall as a man, and then stepped into the stirrups and mounted the horse.
On the other side of the arena, there was another young man, already armed with a sword and mounted on his horse.
Seeing Zhang Xuezhou charging into battle on horseback, he couldn't help but be somewhat surprised, and then he glanced at another young man sitting in the seats.
"The Wanping Provincial Youth Challenge is actually a horse-drawn competition, which is the first time we've seen this in our challenge. Are you used to this style of competition?"
When her son went on stage, Song Fengying's live broadcast camera almost never moved close to Zhang Xuezhou Zhang Xuezhou, so as not to disturb him.
Song Fengying only approached for an interview after Zhang Xuezhou had chosen a horse and the purple light in his hand had disappeared.
She couldn't help but feel a little uneasy, wondering why Zhang Xuezhou wanted to participate in such a high-risk competition, and whether he was confident of winning.
"I've been riding horses since I was five, and I'm twenty-seven now. Horses are my best companions," Zhang Xuezhou boasted. "To put it bluntly, Wanping Province's challenge format put me directly in a home-field advantage, and I'm very grateful to General Zhao Tianhua for making these arrangements!"
"He was riding a horse at the age of five?"
Looking at Zhang Xuezhou's serious face, Song Fengying felt that Zhang Xuezhou's brain was starting to malfunction again.
From Jidu Province to Western Capital City, there were no horses to be seen in either place. Zhang Xuezhou could only ride a stool when he was five years old, and he rode all the way to graduation from the academy.
"That's amazing!" Song Fengying exclaimed.
"Absolutely! Today I'm going to ride my horse and slay eight enemies in one fell swoop!"
Zhang Xuezhou was also unwilling to fight on horseback.
However, their field was wide open with many obstacles, making long-range shots easy to dodge, and in close combat, they would be hit by vehicles and horses. Even though he was physically stronger than Zhou Tianhao, he couldn't withstand such attacks.
Furthermore, he needs to use his realm pressure ability less often.
Due to a combination of factors, Zhang Xuezhou had no choice but to fight on horseback.
He went back and forth between horses, finally choosing the most Qi Ingestion and ill-tempered Wanping horse, and then used his bewitching beast-controlling technique to easily subdue it.
At this moment, he was sitting on a tall horse and gestured with his finger pointing downwards to the young man who was whistling loudly at his mount.
After hearing his words, it became much more difficult to tame the horse.
"That's amazing, slaying eight enemies in one go!" Song Fengying said, handing over her microphone for the interview.
"It's not that I'm powerful, it's just that the people of Wanping are too weak; I can easily handle them!"
Following Ren Yisheng's instructions, Zhang Xuezhou gestured with his fingers and fired off random, inaccurate statements.
Most of what he said was true, without any insulting language, but speaking it out in a serious manner undoubtedly angered many people in Wanping.
"I've prepared everything, brother, when are you coming back?" Song Fengying asked.
"Go back as soon as you're done. Also, take good care of yourself. I don't need your research results for the time being!"
Zhang Xuezhou casually replied to Zuo Denggao's words during the live broadcast.
Zuo Denggao's trip to separate the family business lasted nearly twenty days, and it is likely that things will only stabilize in the coming days.
However, Zuo Denggao missed the progress of his efforts in advancing the Third Sequence. With the help of Zhou Yueyan, Zhang Xuezhou has successfully entered the Third Sequence. What he needs now is the R33 catalyst.
"'Iron Nail' has once again tipped you 500,000 and is asking what your surname is?" Song Fengying continued to ask.
"My surname is Zhang," Zhang Xuezhou replied, dumbfounded.
He felt that there were too many big shots in Song Fengying's live stream, actually spending large sums of money to ask such mindless questions.
Zhang Xuezhou?
On the podium, Zhao Tianhua gestured to his assistant that no more tips were needed.
After a moment's thought, he realized that there seemed to be no prominent Zhang Aristocratic Clan in Western Capital City.
When Zhao Tianhua waved his hand downwards, many people from Wanping immediately cheered.
"Start the war!"
"Start the war!"
"Start the war!"
From dozens to hundreds of people, and then to many important figures from Wanping near the podium shouting in unison, some even using megaphones to yell and others pounding on the table, the once empty challenge arena suddenly became noisy.
Then, people from Wanping began to beat drums. The dull drumbeats caused the many mounts, one in the south and one in the north, to stomp back and forth in small, uncontrollable steps.
"The war drums of Wanping are sounding! The first Wanping Provincial Youth Challenge is about to begin! Standing on the left is Zhang Xuezhou, our champion from Western Capital City. This contestant has been riding a horse since he was five years old, and he continues to ride until he is twenty-seven. He is truly a master equestrian!"
"Standing on the right is Jin Kecha from the Right Banner of Da Ke in Wanping Province. His name sounds a bit strange, but his original name was Paulchacha Jin Yili Timur, which is even stranger. He started learning martial arts at the age of eight and has been practicing for twenty-one years. He is a master of the Third Sequence and is extremely skilled in mounted combat. He once killed twenty-eight steppe wolves with a sharpened saber. His swordsmanship and horsemanship are both superb!"
"They're running! The two athletes are running... Kim Korcha has been shot!"
Song Fengying's broadcast was very short.
She first introduced Zhang Xuezhou on the left, and then Jin Kecha on the right.
After Zhao Tianhua on the podium made a gesture, a sharp whistle rang out, and the competition immediately entered the challenge match between the quarterfinals and the reigning champion.
But the time was short; the two had only ridden their horses for a dozen meters to warm up when Zhang Xuezhou fired a shot, and the blank cartridge case hit Jin Kecha in the head.
Although blank cartridges only have a primer and will not explode or burst, a cartridge case hitting the forehead can still cause some pain or even dizziness, and if it hits the eye, it can cause blindness.
Zhang Xuezhou shot Jin Kecha, who, holding the ironwood saber, swayed and collapsed onto his horse in disbelief.
He hit me with a stray bullet!
Without aiming or facing him directly, the opponent casually flicked his gun backward as he rode off, ending Jin Kecha's challenge.
Although he was a consumable resource, he was also a consumable resource used to consume the champion of Western Capital City.
This defeat was hard for Jin Kecha to believe; he hadn't even served his purpose as a consumable.
He couldn't figure out whether Zhang Xuezhou was a coincidence or genuine skill, but he had to step in.
With her continuous live streams, Song Fengying's live stream room attracted millions of viewers.
If the live stream room had limited capacity, the number of viewers would have been even greater.
Unable to remain defiant under the scrutiny of such high-definition cameras, Jin Kecha touched his bruised forehead and jumped off his mount with a dejected expression.
The heavy drumming outside the venue paused for a moment, leaving it unclear whether to continue or stop.
"Did Zhang Xuezhou really ride a horse for twenty-two years?"
On the platform, Zhao Tianhua snorted and looked at Zhang Xuezhou, who was riding his horse and strolling around the field in small, quick steps.
The home ground of Wanping people has become the home ground of Western Capital people. Zhao Tianhua feels that his calculations have been outmaneuvered.