Who Said My Wife Is A Demon! - Chapter 48

The banquet was in full swing, with heroes and martial artists from all over the world toasting and chatting happily.

There were also graceful female warriors sitting quietly in the distance, silently listening to the gossip of the martial world.

When Duke Dingjiang appeared, he raised his glass to celebrate with the hundreds of martial artists inside and outside the courtyard, chatting with a gentle smile, which eased the hearts of the people present.

“The Duke is truly a man of the martial world, full of heroism!”

Hearing the praise, Duke Dingjiang just smiled and said, “Those are things of my youth. Now, the vast martial world is all in your hands.”

With that, he spread his hands, gesturing for everyone to look towards the center of the courtyard. “Have you noticed that there are no tables set up here?”

“What does Your Highness mean?”

“Since you have come from afar, why not have a good exchange of martial arts here and share your insights and experiences.” Duke Dingjiang smiled with his hands behind his back. “I’ll add a little something to the mix. Those who perform well can obtain qualification tokens from the Thousand Blade Forge.”

With these words, there was a shock in the hearts of the martial artists present.

Even though they still had to compete with various empires in the Thousand Blade Forge, if they could keep the Saint Weapon in the Liang Empire, this qualification would be an opportunity.

Especially for many well-known families present, they were secretly delighted. After all, the larger the size of the sect, the more important the reputation, and they couldn’t just kill each other to seize the Saint Weapon.

And now that they had the backing of the government, the various sects and factions that came to compete for the Saint Weapon were more at ease, at least not having to ruin their relationships.

“Since the Duke is so generous, then I’ll show my incompetence and give everyone a good show!”

A young man dressed as a scholar strode to the open space, bowing to Duke Dingjiang, then looked around, “Is there anyone brave enough to spar with me?”

“I’ll come!” A long-haired female warrior leaped out, drawing her sword with a light laugh. “Shoujian Sect, Liu Hongru!”

Soon, cheers erupted inside and outside the palace, shaking the scene.

…

“Poet and sword master Lu Pingfeng versus Red Sakura Sword Liu Hongru, both of them are famous martial artists in the western region. It is rumored that they are both at the level of Gathering Yuan, and can be called invincible at the same level!”

Liang Xin lay by the window, watching the two confronting each other on the stage, his eyes gleaming.

“It’s completely different from the rabble I saw on the street before.”

Seeing that the two sides were about to start, he leaned forward to get a closer look.

But out of the corner of his eye, he seemed to see a familiar figure —

“Ah, Brother Yang?”

Although their guest rooms were several feet apart, they could still clearly see each other’s faces.

Yang Shifei was slightly stunned for a moment, then quickly raised his glass with a smile from afar.

Liang Xin hurriedly returned the gesture, but after taking a sip of wine, it was so spicy that tears welled up in the corners of his eyes, and he coughed for a long time.

He could faintly hear Yang Shifei laughing and saying, “Brother Liang doesn’t need to drink so hastily.”

Liang Xin pursed his lips and glanced at the guest room.

But seeing the two women sitting beside Yang Shifei, his eyes flickered slightly.

“Is that the stunningly beautiful maid from back then, and who’s the other one with such an ethereal aura?”

Liang Xin felt amazed. This Brother Yang truly had great fortune to have two exquisite beauties accompanying him. Oh right, there was also that graceful lady from earlier.

But then he couldn’t help but darken his expression and instinctively clutched his chest.

“Forget it, why am I having such random thoughts.”

Shaking his head to dispel the distractions, Liang Xin quickly refocused his attention on the two figures on the platform.

…

Seeing Liang Xin not far away cheering enthusiastically by the window, Yang Shifei couldn’t help but smile inwardly.

This person really loves the Jianghu style.

“Young master, this person is a woman.”

Suddenly, Luo Xian’er spoke softly, “There should be some precious treasure worn in her throat.”

Yang Shifei was stunned by her words, “You could tell from this distance?”

Luo Xian’er blinked. “Although I am a Profound Warrior cultivated from Murk, my eyesight is not much inferior. This person’s physique and movements are all female, there’s no mistaking it.”

“What about the chest?”

“It seems like she just didn’t develop well.”

“…” Yang Shifei silently wiped a tear for the Ninth Prince.

But he didn’t dwell on it for long and quickly focused on the battle on the platform.

After the initial two, several others took turns to step onto the stage.

Listening to Tan Xiang’s introduction beside him, these people had at least made a name for themselves in the martial world. But as the fight went on, Yang Shifei became a little helpless.

Instead of sparring, it seemed more like a mutual ‘performance’, with restrained moves as if they were afraid of injuring each other.

Although the courtyard was still lively, with martial artists even crowding outside to watch, his interest had diminished quite a bit.

Even though he could quickly learn martial arts by borrowing the cold energy, these people were only using half of their strength in their attacks, twisting and turning as if they were dancing, making it impossible to learn anything.

“This is also human nature.”

Luo Xian’er said lightly, “After all, most of the martial artists from various sects and factions are here, and even officials are watching. Even if these people are usually arrogant and proud, they dare not hurt others in front of everyone.”

“And hurting someone is just a small matter. But if it tarnishes the reputation of the opponent’s sect, they might end up with enmity for nothing. Naturally, they can’t afford to be reckless.”

“…That makes sense.”

Yang Shifei sighed inwardly, realizing that there were many worldly conventions in the Jianghu.

However, dragging on like this, this martial competition would lose its meaning.

He suddenly thought of something.

The group of Yan Empire emissaries who had made a deal with a prince….

Boom!

The sudden noise startled everyone, even the two ‘combatants’ on the platform stopped, looking around in confusion.

Several martial artists who were originally clinging to the wall exclaimed and let go, dropping to the ground. A black iron giant sword was firmly embedded in the wall, with smoke swirling around it.

“This sword…”

As everyone was stunned, they saw a dozen figures leaping from the rooftops in the distance, landing on the wall one after another. In the light of the lamps, their faces were revealed.

“—Heroes of Liang Empire.”

The leader, a young man in a black robe, stood proudly in the wind, casually holding the hilt of the giant sword. He looked around arrogantly and smiled, “We, the people of Yan Empire, have come specially to attend this heroic event, to see who the real heroes are!”

“…”

The entire palace fell silent for a moment.

The next moment, screams erupted.

“People of Yan Empire?!”

“How did they get here?!”

The people who were chatting and laughing at the banquet all stood up, glaring with shock and anger.

They had never expected that there would be martial artists from an enemy country causing trouble at this moment, and even causing a commotion right under everyone’s noses!

“What do you mean by this!” A burly man suddenly stood up and slammed the table, angrily saying, “Now that the heroes of Liang Empire have gathered in the palace of Duke Dingjiang, when is it your turn, people of Yan Empire, to speak!”

A black-robed woman on the wall chuckled, “The reason why you all gathered in East City is to compete for the Saint Weapon and show off in front of the heroes of Liang Empire. But look at you, so timid, it seems there won’t be any show until tomorrow.”

“Instead, let us people from the Yan Empire help you.” A scar-faced man smiled, “Since you don’t want to hurt each other, then fight with us. Whoever can defeat us will have the qualification to compete for the Saint Weapon!”

“Ridiculous!”

Suddenly, two old men leaped out of the courtyard, their profound qi bursting out instantly.

But the Yan delegation turned a blind eye, and many people in the courtyard felt that something was wrong.

Sure enough, just as the two old men were about to take action, two black-clothed figures jumped out from the crowd outside the wall and struck with a palm.

—Boom! Boom!

The two old men were forced to retreat and fell to the ground.

“Grandmasters?!” Everyone was shocked.

“Before you act rashly, why not think it through.”

The black-clothed grandmaster who appeared suddenly stood with his hands behind his back and said calmly, “Why did we, the people of Yan Empire, appear publicly instead of acting in secret? It’s because we came here specifically to spar with you, the martial artists of Liang Empire. If you want to attack us together, you will only make yourselves a laughingstock in front of the world.”

With these words, many of the restless martial artists stopped in their tracks, their faces grim.

“—Since you are so interested, we will accompany you.”

Duke Dingjiang walked out of the hall, his hands behind his back, and said indifferently, “If you lose, you will spend some more time in prison.”

“Naturally.” The young man from Yan Empire drew his black iron giant sword and grinned carelessly, “But if the heroes of Liang Empire lose, I don’t want your Sacred Martial Stone. Just mark it down in the annals of your Jianghu that all the heroes of Liang Empire were defeated by us, the martial artists of Yan Empire, today. It’s truly lamentable!”

The eyes of the people present became even colder.

They might not care for betting the Sacred Martial Stone, but the arrogant words of these people from Yan Empire were enough to ignite their anger.

Suddenly, a woman from Yan Empire swung her sleeve, and a dense rain of nails scattered.

The two martial artists on the platform hurriedly avoided, and upon closer inspection, they found that these nails had been arranged into a large circle spanning several meters.

“Let’s compete within this circle, and whoever retreats will lose.” The woman from Yan Empire giggled, “We are all young people here. You heroes of Liang should not bully the weak.”

…

In the guest room.

Yang Shifei seemed pensive.

These people from Yan Empire were released by a certain prince, and they could come to the palace without any hindrance, perhaps with the consent of Duke Dingjiang himself.

Since the various sects were reluctant to act, they needed to find a common enemy to unite the martial artists before setting off.

“The Duke is seizing the opportunity,” Luo Xian’er took a sip of warm tea, “Although these people from Yan Empire are collaborating with the Fourth Prince in secret, judging from the situation, it’s just a casual arrangement.”

Yang Shifei rubbed his chin, “Is this competition real or fake?”

Luo Xian’er pondered for a moment, “Yan Empire does have a martial tradition, so perhaps it’s both real and fake.”

Yang Shifei felt that this was an opportunity to establish the reputation of the sect. Defeating external enemies was always more inspiring than internal disputes in the martial world.

Tan Xiang glanced at him, “Would the young master like to take action?”

“People in the Jianghu don’t know how strong these young people from Yan Empire are. Even if I win, they might not think much of it,” Yang Shifei gave an example, “It’s better to wait for now.”

Tan Xiang frowned in thought.

In the banquet hall, a young swordsman stood up and challenged the martial artists from Yan Empire. After exchanging ten moves, he was kicked out of the ring by a Yan Empire warrior.

But unexpectedly, although the Yan Empire woman won the first match, she did not mock them. Instead, she solemnly bowed with clasped hands, showing a very respectful attitude.

This made many of the angry martial artists who had just been about to erupt with rage swallow their words and look resentful.

The young swordsman who had been kicked out felt embarrassed and could only bow his head and slip away into the crowd.

“This move is to retreat to advance, which is even more attacking to the heart.”

Tan Xiang nodded slightly, and Yang Shifei could see some clues.

Not only this woman from Yan Empire, but also the dozen or so people standing behind the platform were all focused, without the playful expressions from before.

Perhaps, these people really attached great importance to the competition.

“I’ll go!”

Another burly man leaped out and drew his sword aggressively.

The woman from the Yan Empire smiled faintly and met him head-on, and the fierce battle resumed.

The burly man’s moves were bold and powerful, with his sword and fists roaring like a tiger. The woman, however, was extremely agile, evading all his attacks with nimble movements. Despite occasionally jabbing with her slender fingers from her sleeves, she couldn’t leave a single mark on the burly man’s body.

Seeing the Yan Empire woman being forced back step by step, many martial artists from the Jianghu began to cheer.

Even Liang Xin on the second floor couldn’t stop screaming, extremely excited.

But not long after, the burly man suddenly felt his legs go numb and fell to his knees, struggling to get up.

For a moment, there were cries of surprise in the audience, but many martial artists frowned, seeing through the situation.

“What an exquisite acupoint technique.”

“This brother, are you admitting defeat?” The woman drew a small knife from her sleeve.

Seeing this, the burly man’s face turned pale, “I…”

“Forget it, I’ll take it as you admit defeat.” The woman from Yan Empire shook her head and sighed lightly, squatting down and lightly pinching his shoulders a few times to release him from the immobilization, “Get up, your punches and kicks just now were quite impressive.”

With that, she stepped back a few steps, clasped her hands solemnly, and said, “Brother, I appreciate your concession.”

The burly man stood up again, his expression changing. Finally, he sighed helplessly and bowed before retreating.

This scene plunged many martial artists into silence, but it also aroused the competitive spirit in many others.

“These martial artists from Yan Empire are indeed upright.”

“We can’t fall behind. Which hero will step up?”

“Let me try!”

“…”

Yang Shifei watched with amazement.

What was originally supposed to be a dignified battle between Yan and Liang had turned into a friendly exchange.

However, the atmosphere was not bad at the moment, and the people of Liang were still brave enough to face the challenge. But if they kept losing…

“Have some.” Tan Xiang handed him a piece of pastry.

Yang Shifei snapped out of his thoughts and smiled, “Aren’t you eating?”

“I’m full.” Tan Xiang pursed her lips slightly, “If you don’t want it, give it to Miss—”

Before she could finish her sentence, Yang Shifei opened his mouth and took a bite, almost touching the girl’s fingertips.

Tan Xiang’s ears turned slightly red, and she quickly stood up, “I’ll go call someone to refill the tea.”

Yang Shifei turned to see her leaving, then met the smiling eyes of Luo Xian’er.

“Cough, Miss Luo, would you like to have some too?”

“If you keep feeding me, I’ll end up gaining a few pounds,” Luo Xian’er’s expression softened as she picked up a handkerchief to wipe the grease off his lips.

…

Liang Xin was clenching her fists in anger, annoyed at how skilled these people from Yan Empire were.

Seeing another noble young hero being knocked down with a punch, she was so angry she couldn’t even eat her food, and her chopsticks were broken.

Turning her gaze, she happened to see the beauty next door in the guest room, taking care of Yang Sifei’s robe, seemingly exchanging affectionate glances. It was extremely intimate.

Liang Xin pressed her chest, feeling heartache from the anger.

How can you still have the leisure to talk about love affairs!