The Speedrun Begins with Choosing Hunter

Chapter 324: Chapter 316: The Arena

Outside Yanzhou City, in a mountain forest.

This primeval forest, usually devoid of human presence, was now filled with people. These men were all robust and strong, some carrying long sabers, others wearing official robes.

For such a group to gather, they must have come for something big.

"Incense Master Qiu!"

"Lord Wei, Alliance Leader Hu, Sect Leader Qiao."

Qiu Yang cupped his fist in his large hands.

As an Incense Master of the Cao Bang, he was familiar with almost all the major powers along the river.

The middle-aged man in official robes, exuding an air of authority, was none other than Wei Yang, the Prefect of Yanzhou.

The brawny, bare-chested man was Hu Sanyang, the Alliance Leader of the Sun Alliance.

As for the last man, the one with the aquiline nose and sinister air, he was Qiao Ding, the Sect Leader of the Aries Sect.

These three were the most powerful figures in Yan Province.

Qiu Yang was somewhat surprised that the treasure had managed to draw out all three of them at once.

Wei Yang, the Prefect of Yanzhou, looked at Qiu Yang, a hint of apprehension in his eyes.

"Master Qiu, a divine object has fallen from the heavens. Although the Cao Bang was the first to discover it, it is, after all, an item of my Yan Province."

Qiu Yang sneered. "Divine objects belong to the capable. If we go by your logic, shouldn’t everything be presented to His Majesty?"

Wei Yang sighed internally.

’Qiu Yang clearly has no intention of giving up so easily.’

The Cao Bang was a true "fierce dragon crossing the river," stronger than any faction in Yan Province. It was precisely because of the Cao Bang’s arrival that the Sun Alliance and the Aries Sect were willing to join forces with him. Otherwise, the three parties would have long been fighting to the death.

His only other option was to report it to the Court and present it to the Emperor in the Imperial City. That way, he could use the Court’s might to intimidate the three factions, but he would also end up with nothing for his troubles.

Of course, he wasn’t about to do something so foolish.

"Incense Master Qiu, why don’t we settle this according to the rules of the Jianghu? Three matches. The winner takes seventy percent, the loser thirty."

Hu Sanyang grinned widely.

Qiu Yang’s eyes narrowed slightly.

’Hu Sanyang has timed this perfectly. He knows the Cao Bang’s experts haven’t arrived yet, and I’m the only one here to hold the fort.’

They were blatantly ganging up on him, three against one.

But as Hu Sanyang had said, Jianghu matters are settled in the Jianghu. As a leader of the Cao Bang’s underworld, he couldn’t refuse. If he did, he would become a laughingstock.

Qiu Yang let out a cold chuckle. "I accept."

Hearing this, Wei Yang and the other two were visibly startled.

They hadn’t expected Qiu Yang to agree so readily.

’Could there be a trick?’

The three of them were suspicious, but since they had been the ones to propose the duel, they couldn’t back out now.

"The treasure waits for no man. Let’s settle this now."

Qiao Ding, Sect Leader of the Aries Sect, gritted his teeth.

’Since Qiu Yang has accepted the challenge, we should make it a quick battle. Don’t give the Cao Bang’s experts a chance to arrive and reinforce him.’

Qiu Yang’s expression changed. "Why the rush? We can fight tomorrow."

Seeing his reaction, the three from Yan Province were surprisingly in agreement. "Incense Master Qiu, opportunity is fleeting. If you delay, don’t blame the three of us for being unrighteous."

Qiu Yang ground his teeth. "Fine! Let’s fight!"

"Excellent."

Only then did Wei Yang and the other two reveal triumphant smiles.

Qiu Yang turned, gave a few instructions to the Cao Bang members beside him, a cunning glint flashing in his eyes.

...

The duel was arranged in a hurry, so there was naturally no time to prepare a formal arena.

The crowd formed a circle, leaving an empty space in the middle. This became the dueling ground between the Cao Bang and Yan Province.

This duel would decide the distribution of the treasure. Naturally, they couldn’t send out junior disciples.

Wei Yang and the other two would be fighting personally.

Even if none of them were a match for Qiu Yang individually, they could still achieve final victory in a best-two-out-of-three series using a Tian Ji’s horse race strategy.

According to their spies, Qiu Yang had come directly from Ling Province. The Cao Bang’s experts hadn’t had time to travel north yet.

Besides himself, he had his Cao Bang confidants and a strange, burly man they had never seen before.

Hu Sanyang’s gaze grew serious.

’Clearly, the variable in this duel is that strange, burly man.’

There was no mention of this person in their intelligence reports.

Wei Yang and Qiao Ding’s hearts sank as well.

’In that case, the safest method is to defeat Qiu Yang himself. That will guarantee our final victory.’

A cold smile played on Qiu Yang’s lips. He clasped his hands behind his back and slowly walked into the center, carrying himself with the air of a Grandmaster.

"I shall take the lead in the first match."

His eyes, sharp as a hawk’s, swept over the people from Yan Province.

Hu Sanyang took a deep breath and stepped forward.

Of the three from Yan Province, he had the most killing power. Although Prefect Wei Yang and Sect Leader Qiao Ding of the Aries Sect were both strong, in a one-on-one duel to the death like this, a Jianghu Martial Master like him undoubtedly had the advantage.

"Good."

Qiu Yang smiled faintly.

"Today is a good day to experience Alliance Leader Hu’s Horizontal Training."

"Please!"

Hu Sanyang said in a low voice.

Facing the number three figure of the Cao Bang, he was not at ease.

In the crowd of Cao Bang members, Bai Yuan watched the two’s every move intently.

That’s right. The unidentified burly man was, of course, him in disguise.

If he were to act in his capacity as the Lingzhou General, it would surely cause controversy, and he might even be impeached by those Imperial Censors again.

Although he had long since learned to ignore their harsh criticisms, it was best to avoid trouble if he could.

He watched Hu Sanyang with great interest.

Speaking of which, he had a bit of history with this Alliance Leader of the Sun Alliance.

Back then, if Hu Sanyang hadn’t taken the initiative to capture Sanka and hand him over to Bai Yuan, it might have stirred up a great deal of trouble.

This was a good chance to see just how strong the Sun Alliance’s leader, known as the Lion of Yan Province, truly was.

In the center, Qiu Yang and Hu Sanyang faced each other from a distance, both seemingly looking for an opening.

Suddenly, Hu Sanyang let out a great roar and lunged violently toward Qiu Yang.

Qiu Yang’s feet tapped lightly as he retreated, drawing a Soft Sword from his waist.

He infused his Sensory Force into the Soft Sword. The blade seemed to come alive, striking at Hu Sanyang’s vital points from incredibly tricky angles like a venomous snake.

An ordinary Martial Artist, even if they could twist their arms into pretzels, could not match the flexibility of Qiu Yang’s Soft Sword.

Within the Cao Bang, Qiu Yang had always been known as "Old Yin Qiu." This was partly because of his insidious methods, and partly because of this Swordsmanship of his.

Compared to Qiu Yang’s clever sword techniques, Hu Sanyang was much more direct.

He directly coated his skin with his Sensory Force, and his entire body turned a furious crimson.

No matter how tricky Qiu Yang’s Swordsmanship was, he withstood every blow head-on.

The Soft Sword only left faint white marks on his body, causing no damage at all.

’What terrifying Horizontal Training fundamentals!’

Bai Yuan found this more and more interesting.

He realized he had somewhat underestimated the experts of the world. Hu Sanyang’s Horizontal Training was truly commendable.

’It just goes to show that the Central Plains are where the Xuan Yang Martial Dao truly flourishes.’

Just being in Yan Province, a place close to the Central Plains, had already been an eye-opening experience for him.

Qiu Yang fought as he retreated, but his footwork showed no signs of panic. He moved with effortless ease.

On the surface, Hu Sanyang was suppressing Qiu Yang, but his attacks were growing increasingly feeble.

After the two had battled for over a thousand rounds, the corners of Qiu Yang’s mouth curved up slightly.

He was finally beginning his counterattack.

"Break!"

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