Chapter 52 The Three-Move Agreement, A Stunning Journey of Literary and Martial Arts

Chaoge, South City Drill Grounds.

Today, there were no soldiers training on the grounds, yet it was more crowded than ever before.

People from all walks of life, from commoners to royalty and nobles, surrounded the drill grounds so tightly that not a drop of water could trickle through.

Everyone's gaze was focused on the two figures in the center of the field.

On one side was Huang Yuerong, the daughter of a prestigious military family whose name was renowned throughout the East Border.

She wore a set of silver chainmail soft armor that perfectly accentuated her tall and powerful physique.

Her long hair was tied high with a red ribbon, and she held a twelve-foot-long silver spear, its tip glinting with a chilling light under the sun.

Her beautiful face was cold as frost, her phoenix eyes like lightning; she stood there like a sharpened blade drawn from its scabbard, her edge fully exposed and her Battle Intent soaring to the heavens.

On the other side was Chen Yuan, the Guardian Qilin famous throughout Chaoge.

He was still dressed in a simple white robe, his frame slender and his face bearing the slight pallor of someone recently recovered from a long illness.

He held no weapon, only an ordinary bamboo folding fan.

He stood there with a leisurely bearing, calmly observing the noisy crowd around him as if he hadn't come to accept a challenge, but for a spring outing.

The disparity in strength was obvious at a glance.

“It's over. I'm afraid the Chen family's Qilin son is going to meet his end here today.”

“Look at that frame of his; a gust of wind would knock him over. How can he fight that tigress of the Huang Family?”

“Shh! Keep it down! His Highness the Crown Prince is watching!”

High upon the platform, Crown Prince Zi Shou was clad in crimson armor, his brow furrowed. He both hoped his new friend could create a miracle...

...and knew all too well the overbearing power of Huang Yuerong's spear techniques. Beside him, several officials of the Vice Prime Minister's faction stroked their beards and smiled, waiting to see the Chen Manor become a laughingstock.

“Chen Yuan!”

Huang Yuerong finally spoke, her voice crisp but carrying the resonance of clashing metal.

“I respect you for daring to come and face me; you're at least a man. If you admit defeat now and take the initiative to go before the King to call off the engagement, there's still time.”

“Otherwise, a spear has no eyes. I fear that fragile body of yours won't even be able to take a single move.”

Her voice carried across the field, making no attempt to hide her contempt.

Hearing this, Chen Yuan finally shifted his gaze back to her and gave a slight smile, one as gentle as a spring breeze.

“I appreciate Young Miss Huang's kind intentions.”

He took two steps forward and came to a halt thirty feet from the spear's tip.

“Please.”

A single word, spoken calmly, yet it caused the fire of anger in Huang Yuerong's eyes to burn even brighter.

What a scholar who doesn't know the meaning of death!

“Fine! You asked for this!”

Huang Yuerong wasted no more words. She took a deep breath, twisted her waist, and suddenly exerted force through her feet.

“Watch my spear!”

With a sharp cry, she lunged forward like a cheetah, the silver spear in her hand turning into a straight bolt of lightning.

It tore through the air with a piercing whistle, aimed directly at Chen Yuan's face!

This strike was fast, accurate, and ruthless! It condensed her entire spirit and energy.

Zi Shou's pupils on the platform suddenly constricted; the power of this strike was something even he would not dare to underestimate if he faced it with all his strength.

A collective gasp rose from the crowd. Many of the faint-hearted had already closed their eyes, unable to bear the sight of blood splattered on the spot.

However, facing this thunderous strike, Chen Yuan did not retreat—he advanced!

At the very instant the spear tip was about to touch the center of his brow, he stepped forward with his left foot and tilted his body slightly.

At the same time, with a 'snap,' the folding fan in his hand swung open!

On the fan's surface was an elegant landscape painting.

To the high-speed charging Huang Yuerong, her vision suddenly blurred as if that ink-wash landscape had come to life.

It caused her mind to experience a momentary lapse.

When experts clash, a hair's breadth difference is as good as a thousand miles.

In that split second, Chen Yuan brushed past her. The spear tip that could have pierced through iron armor...

...only ruffled a few strands of his hair, striking nothing but air.

The first move was over.

The entire field fell into a deathly silence.

Everyone's eyes were wide, unable to believe what they had just seen.

How... how did he dodge that?

Huang Yuerong stabilized her footing and whipped her head around, her eyes full of shock and suspicion. Was it a coincidence?

No, that grasp of timing was precise to the absolute limit!

“Again!”

She suppressed the shock in her heart, shouted angrily, and her spear technique changed abruptly.

It was no longer a straight thrust but transformed into a flurry of spear shadows. The silver spear danced like the wind in her hands, sweeping through thousands!

The wind from the spear howled, kicking up dust from the ground and forming a half-moon shaped attack plane, sealing off all of Chen Yuan's escape routes.

“What a move, ‘Sweeping the Six Realms’!” a general on the platform exclaimed in admiration.

This move was unavoidable; the only option was to withstand it head-on!

But a scholar like Chen Yuan—what did he have to withstand it with?

Just as everyone thought Chen Yuan was about to be cut in half at the waist, it was as if he had eyes in the back of his head.

The moment before the spear's wind reached his body, he stepped back perfectly—just a single step.

Whish—

The violent wind of the spear swept past, brushing against the edge of his clothes and making his snow-white robes flutter loudly.

Yet, not even a corner of his robe was touched. The calculation of distance was as if it had been measured with a ruler, without the slightest error.

The second move was also over.

On the drill grounds, one could hear a pin drop.

If the first move was a coincidence, what about the second?

Fine beads of sweat had already broken out on Huang Yuerong's hand gripping the spear shaft.

Her heart was in disarray.

The man before her seemed able to see through all her movements and predict all her intentions.

This feeling made her feel more powerless than if she were facing ten thousand horses and soldiers.

“I don't believe it!”

She grit her teeth so hard they nearly broke, a hint of blood-red surfacing in her eyes.

An even more violent Aura erupted from her body; it was the desperate gamble of one pushed to the brink.

“This is the third move! If you can't take it, then die!”

She poured her entire body's strength into her arms. Person and spear seemed to merge into one, turning into a silver rainbow.

The spear tip carried a spiraling Qi; it was no longer a simple thrust or sweep, but a finishing move containing infinite variations!

“It's the Huang Family's ultimate technique, Soul Chaser!” Zi Shou stood up abruptly, his face full of solemnity.

He had seen General Old General Huang Gun use this move before; with a single strike, three demonic tigers had been killed instantly!

Facing this earth-shattering third move, Chen Yuan didn't even lift an eyelid.

He even withdrew the smile from his face, merely watching the approaching silver rainbow quietly.

When the spear tip was less than a foot from his chest, and the spiraling Qi already had his clothes clinging to his body, he finally spoke.

His voice wasn't loud, yet like a clap of thunder, it clearly reached the ears of everyone present.

“Left foot exerted too much force; within three inches, you will lose your center of gravity.”

What?

Hearing this, Huang Yuerong's heart jolted violently!

She subconsciously wanted to verify those words. Her focus wavered, and the Aura she had condensed to the limit suddenly deflated!

That Concept of being one with the spear, of moving forward without looking back, instantly shattered.

She instinctively tried to adjust the force in her left foot, causing the trajectory of the spear strike to deviate by an extremely minute margin.

It was this very deviation!

Chen Yuan moved.

He still did not retreat, but merely extended the folding fan in his hand forward gently.

He didn't use the fan's surface, but the ribs of the closed fan, striking unerringly and exactly against the deviating spear shaft.

Ding!

A crisp sound of metal clashing.

That silver spear, which contained ten thousand catties of force, was lightly deflected by those seemingly fragile bamboo ribs.

It was like a venomous snake being struck at its vitals; it instantly lost all its power and was led astray into empty space, brushing past Chen Yuan's shoulder.

Three moves were over.

Chen Yuan withdrew his fan and stood with his hands behind his back, his white clothes fluttering, completely unharmed.

From beginning to end, his footsteps had not moved more than three paces.

Quiet.

A deathly silence.

Across the entire drill grounds, thousands of people were speechless. Everyone was as if frozen by a spell, staring blankly at the calm and composed youth in white in the center of the field.

Is... is this something a human can do?

That wasn't martial arts; that was sorcery! It was a miracle!

Huang Yuerong froze where she stood, maintaining her spear-thrusting posture, the silver spear in her hand feeling as heavy as a thousand catties. The color had drained from her face, leaving her in utter disbelief.

The spear techniques she took pride in, the martial prowess she relied on for her fame—before this man...

...they were like the play of a three-year-old child, easily seen through and casually dismantled.

“Wh... why...” Her voice was dry, carrying a hint of a tremor.

Chen Yuan looked at her, his eyes as calm as an ancient well.

“The Art of War says: Know yourself and know your enemy, and you will never be defeated in a hundred battles.”

He spoke faintly: “You grew up in the military; your spear techniques were born from battlefield combat—broad and powerful, full of valor. This is your strength.”

“But,”

His tone shifted.

“In your eyes, there is only the enemy and how to use the greatest force to strike them down, yet you neglect the control over yourself.”

“Every one of your moves used ten-tenths of your strength. It seems mighty, but in truth, it is riddled with openings and lacks any variation.”

Chen Yuan's words, one by one, hammered against Huang Yuerong's heart.

“On the battlefield, you face countless enemies; using absolute force to overcome them is acceptable.”

“But if you encounter a true opponent, this kind of spear technique that only knows how to advance and not retreat, only knows force and not finesse, is a path to your own death.”

A path to death!

These words were like a heavy hammer, smashing into the depths of Huang Yuerong's Soul.

The pride she had always held, her martial convictions—in this moment, they were shattered into pieces by the calmest of tones from this weak-looking scholar.

She looked into Chen Yuan's deep eyes; there was no mockery, no triumph, only a clarity that saw through everything.

She suddenly understood.

It wasn't that he didn't know martial arts, but that he stood at a height she completely could not comprehend, looking down upon it all.

Clang.

The silver spear in Huang Yuerong's hand fell to the ground.

She looked at the young man before her, and the disdain, anger, and resentment in her heart all dissipated.

In its place was an unprecedented shock, as well as a hint of... curiosity and awe that even she hadn't noticed.

On the platform, Zi Shou slowly sat down and let out a long breath, his face full of fervent admiration.

“I... only today do I know the meaning of a graceful display of civil and martial prowess.”

He looked at the two figures standing side by side in the field, and a great surge of pride rose in his heart.

[With these two gems, why worry about the Great Shang not flourishing!]

In a corner of the drill grounds, atop a neighboring wall, Bixiao and Qiong Xiao had long been watching with mouths agape.

“Sis... Sister, is... is this something a Mortal can achieve?” Bixiao asked stutteringly.

Yunxiao did not answer; her beautiful face bore a complex expression. She looked at that back clad in snow-white.

Watching him perform deeds of gods and ghosts with a Mortal body, a long-sealed string in her heart was gently plucked.

This was the Gu Ziyuan she knew.

Even though he had gone through Reincarnation and his cultivation had been worn away...

...that overbearing nature of calculating for all living beings and holding the world in his palm was still etched into his bones, never changing.