Martial Arts Crossover: My Wife is the Top Scholar

Chapter 458 Zhao Min: Senior Brother, the Demon Master's Palace is mine!

"Nangong Lie! You stop right there!"

Yi Shuihan led a group of experts to hunt down Nangong Lie.

This task originally belonged to Yi Shuihan and his fellow disciple Yuan Xiaotian, but the grand competition of the Qingtian Sword Sect was in seven days, and it was impossible for Yi Shuihan to share the credit.

Yi Shuihan had no father or mother, but he had a foster mother named Yunfei, who was a favored concubine in the Mongol Yuan Dynasty. Yunfei's son had been separated from her since childhood, and she treated Yi Shuihan as her own son.

In order to help her son seize power and profit, Consort Yun went to great lengths to ask the Demon Master Palace for help, colluding with the young demon master Fang Yeyu and inviting several elite experts.

In this pursuit of Nangong Lie, in addition to the four guardians of Yunfei, "Joy, Anger, Sorrow, and Happiness," there are also the ten guardian deities of the Demon Master Palace: Heaven and Earth, the Three Stars, and the Five Elements.

During the struggle for the Imperial Seal last year, Yi Shuihan was spurred on by Li Zhaoting. In the past year, he has been desperately squeezing out his potential, practicing martial arts at all costs, and diligently cultivating the "Sky-Supporting Sword".

Today is the day to prove our strength.

Nangong Lie's lightness skill was not very good. Knowing that he could not escape the pursuit, he put down his baggage and drew his sword.

"I don't want to kill anyone! Don't force me!"

"Nangong Lie, either hand over the Southern Fire Profound Skill, or obediently accept your death, retire from the martial world, or it won't be that easy. This is the Western Regions, not the prosperous Central Plains. There is only one rule here!"

Yi Shuihan sneered, "In the Western Regions, only the strongest have the right to speak. Elder of the Four Directions Sect, what a prestigious title! I wonder how much ability you actually possess?"

Nangong Lie sneered disdainfully: "How much skill do you have? I'm not very skilled, but I'm enough to kill you!"

That's all I have to say.

Yi Shuihan leaped into the air, suddenly drew his sword, and thrust it towards Nangong Lie's abdomen. Nangong Lie parried with his sword, his true energy surging forth, and his body burst into flames.

Nangong Lie is proficient in the "Southern Fire Mystic Art," whose true energy is explosive and powerful, capable of raging fire, burning mountains and boiling seas.

The Nangong family's ancestral martial art is swordsmanship. Nangong Lie lived in seclusion in the desert for many years. In his spare time, he comprehended a set of "Raging Sand Swordsmanship" from the desert winds and sand.

One slash is delivered, and the next follows like a shadow, like a tornado, swirling and repeating endlessly.

More arrogant and domineering than the wind and sand, more continuous than the sand dunes, the blade's momentum is swirling, using rotation as its power, requiring only three-tenths of its strength to unleash twelve-tenths of its power.

The difference in strength between the elders of the Four Directions Sect is enormous.

Ximen Ruoshui, who possesses the highest martial arts skills, can fight two opponents at once. Even when facing three opponents, although he is defeated, he manages to escape with serious injuries, thus securing his position as the number one among the four elders.

The Western Thunder Mystic Art is incredibly powerful, possessing not only the strongest offensive capabilities but also effects similar to the Lesser Formless Art. It can imitate a hundred schools of martial arts and copy a thousand techniques at a glance.

Beitang Mo, whose martial arts skills are second best, is cunning and deep. Beidian Xuan Gong has both the powerful attack of lightning and the speed of thunder and lightning, making him the most difficult to deal with.

Nangong Lie and Dongfang Qingmu were similar, but Dongfang Qingmu had been imprisoned for more than ten years, which severely damaged his body, leaving him with numerous injuries and making him slightly weaker than Nangong Lie in combat.

The Four Gates are quite similar to "Storm Riders"; seemingly the most prestigious, they are actually the minor bosses.

However, no matter how much the later bosses boasted about their martial arts skills, in terms of prestige, it always felt like something was missing, and it seemed very superficial.

Nangong Lie is considered quite unlucky.

His martial arts skills are mediocre, and his cool demeanor comes and goes.

To say he was strong is an understatement, as he was defeated by the inexperienced Yuan Xiaotian and Yi Shuihan; to say he was weak is an understatement, as he was defeated by the protagonist of destiny and the final villain, both of whom had halos around them.

There is only one thing that can be confirmed.

—Nangong Lie isn't very bright!
There's no need to elaborate on the conspiracies and schemes; they kept the Southern Fire Mystic Art hidden away, not even teaching it to their own son.

This forces the main characters to embark on a treasure hunt in order to defeat the boss, enduring countless hardships just to find their family's ancestral secret manual. It's truly a pain in the ass.

Yi Shuihan is completely different from Nangong Lie. He will seize every opportunity to climb up the social ladder, secretly learn martial arts and unorthodox secret techniques, and immediately practice any unique skills he obtains.

As long as I can become stronger, I dare to do anything and take any risk, even if it means risking my life.

Spurred on by Li Zhaoting, Yi Shuihan relentlessly pushed his potential to its limits, practicing asceticism in a self-destructive manner. With Yunfei's help, his skill more than doubled.

Although this growth relies on the Demonic Sect's inner cultivation method, its foundation is unstable and it will inevitably suffer great losses in the future, if we can't even grasp the present, what future can we talk about?
If I only live to be thirty, is it necessary to worry about a terminal illness that might strike when I'm forty?

That was Yi Shuihan's thought.

If he couldn't achieve fame and power in his youth, and have beautiful women by his side, he might as well be dead.

With the martial arts heritage of the Qingtian Sword Sect, one can diligently cultivate for sixty years, and even if one lacks talent, one can become a sword master in one's old age with white hair.

This is the path of the martial arts sects in the Central Plains.

This is the standard inheritance of a prestigious and upright family.

However, this is not the path Yi Shuihan took.

This does not align with the aspirations of martial artists from the Western Regions.

Yi Shuihan is an ambitious man.

An extreme, stubborn, and ruthless ambitious man.

They are cruel to others, and cruel to themselves.

Fueled by an ambition that penetrates to the very soul, is etched into the bones, and that one would not forget even after drinking a hundred bowls of Meng Po soup, nor regret even if one were to be shattered to pieces, Yi Shuihan's swordsmanship becomes increasingly fierce and sharp, with sword energy crisscrossing and attacking each other.

Despite being at a disadvantage in terms of skill and experience, he was able to suppress Nangong Lie by squeezing out his potential and constantly pushing his skills with his relentless ambition.

In the vast desert, swords clash fiercely.

The deafening sounds of collisions echoed continuously. The Ten Fiends guarded all directions, preventing Nangong Lie from escaping, while the Four Guardians of Joy, Anger, Sorrow, and Happiness meticulously recorded the battle situation.

Twenty years ago, during a war, Consort Yun participated in the battle as a royal concubine. During the fierce fighting, her child was stolen, which became a source of great sorrow for Consort Yun.

Consort Yun treated Yi Shuihan like her own son. The stronger Yi Shuihan's abilities were, the happier Consort Yun was. When recording the battle situation, her emotions were inevitably somewhat biased.

The ten fierce demons kept their eyes fixed on the battlefield.

They needed to inform Fang Yeyu about the battle situation.

The battle situation is absolutely true, without a single word changed.

This is Pang Ban's order.

Fang Yeyu is a nobleman of the Mongol Yuan royal family. He studied under Pang Ban from a young age and possesses top-notch talent and wisdom, but he has never experienced life-or-death battles and is too fond of using schemes.

Specifically, this manifests as a lack of decisiveness, hesitation in dealing with matters, and a need for external stimulation.

Pang Ban was focused on comprehending the Dao of Heaven and didn't care much about the Mongol royal family, but Fang Yeyu was his personal disciple. If Fang Yeyu was too useless, Pang Ban would lose face.

Fang Yeyu felt that he had mastered his skills and inherited the "Type 38 Short Halberd" that Pang Ban had used when he was young.

Fang Yeyu was eager to prove his abilities, so he decided to go to the Western Regions to gain experience.

Compare your skills with those of Yi Shuihan, Ren Qianxing, Gui Jianchou, Feng Xinglie, and others to see who is superior. Once you have surpassed them, then challenge the most outstanding talents in the Central Plains.

If you can't defeat these people, you might as well focus on governing the country.

Fang Yeyu is a member of the royal family, his goal is power, and his inner obsession is to become the Khan of the Mongol Yuan Dynasty and drink from the Yellow River. He is not a martial artist, so why is he so obsessed with fighting for victory in martial arts?

The fierce battle was between Yi Shuihan and Nangong Lie, but the people indirectly affected included Sifangmen, Yunfei, and the Demon Master Palace.

"laugh!"

Seizing the fleeting opportunity, Yi Shuihan focused all his energy and spirit on the sword's edge, leaped up, gripped the sword tightly with both hands, and then swung it vertically.

This is not "Splitting Mount Hua with Force," but the ultimate move of the Qingtian Sword Sect, "Qingtian One Sword." Only the sect leader is qualified to practice it. If Yi Shuihan were to secretly learn this martial art and it were exposed, he would either have to try to rebel and become the sect leader of the Qingtian Sword Sect, or he would be expelled from the Qingtian Sword Sect.

Such tactics should never be used lightly.

Yi Shuihan not only used it, but he used it with unwavering determination and resolute courage. When he swung his sword, the momentum of splitting a mountain with a single strike made those around him tremble with fear.

Nangong Lie's eyes flashed with fire as he swung his sword to clash with Yi Shuihan. A piercing noise rang out as both swords broke simultaneously. Yi Shuihan's true energy was nearly exhausted, her dantian was weak, and she began to stagger. Nangong Lie, on the other hand, had a solid foundation and still had three-tenths of his strength left to fight back.

Before Yi Shuihan could regain his footing, Nangong Lie raised his palm into a blade and slashed at Yi Shuihan's shoulder. Nangong Lie knew that even if he defeated Yi Shuihan, he would not escape the encirclement and killing of so many experts. Rather than killing Yi Shuihan, he would rather capture him as a hostage and exchange him for a 50-70% chance of survival.

Yi Shuihan suddenly raised his head. His face, pale from excessive depletion of his true energy, flashed with a cunning smile. He raised his hand and struck out, exchanging injury for injury.

"Snapped!"

Yi Shuihan's clothes were torn at the shoulder, revealing an inner armor made of thin black iron plates. Nangong Lie only used three-tenths of his strength to grab the person. Although there was some impact damage, leaving his shoulder bruised, his muscles and bones were not damaged.

Boil a few eggs and apply them as a hot compress to help you recover.

"boom!"

Nangong Lie was struck in the chest by Yi Shuihan.

Yi Shuihan's skill was weak and his attack was powerless. This palm strike was like a tickle to the frail Nangong Lie. The one who was hit had neither the strength to run away nor the strength to fight back. His face turned purple and he was about to collapse.

"You...you are so vicious..."

Foul-smelling, poisonous blood flowed from the corner of Nangong Lie's mouth.

"This is called... the Heaven-Supporting Thunder Palm!"

Yi Shuihan clutched his chest, his face full of smugness.

The Sky-Piercing Thunder Palm is a unique skill created by the founder of the Sky-Piercing Sword Sect. Although it is called a palm technique, it is actually a poisonous art.

The practice requires ingesting a deadly poison before distributing it to others, making the practitioner ruthless and vicious. Each training session involves killing, accumulating boundless malevolence. In his youth, Qingtianzi was renowned throughout the land for his poison skills. In middle age, he reformed and founded the Qingtian Sword Sect in the Western Regions, leaving behind the Qingtian Sword as the sect's ultimate martial art.

He originally intended to take the Heaven-Supporting Thunder Palm to his grave, but this palm technique was the culmination of his life's learning, and he couldn't bear to destroy it. So he hid it in the sect leader's training room, where it was strictly forbidden to practice unless there was a catastrophic event that wiped out the entire sect. None of the sect leaders in history had ever practiced it.

Yi Shuihan never cared about the sect rules!
When he went to the training room to look for martial arts manuals, he unexpectedly discovered the Sky-Piercing Thunder Palm. Overjoyed, he decided to master the ultimate skill first, regardless of any negative effects!
When an ordinary person fights against a master of the Qingtian Sword Sect, they think that as long as they can withstand the move, they will have a sure victory. Nangong Lie was the same way. He did not expect that Yi Shuihan had a hidden move called Qingtian Thunder Palm.

Nangong Lie never dreamed that the senior disciple of the Qingtian Sword Sect's inner sect would actually use poison to injure people.

One careless move and you lose everything.

"I told you that you will die today!"

"I told you, I would step on your head to become the leader of the Sky-Piercing Sword Sect and a master swordsman!"

"I've said it before, the position of sect leader is mine, my junior sister is mine, and all the fame and fortune are mine!"

"Nangong Lie, hand over the Southern Fire Profound Technique and the Fire Qilin Jade, and give me your power. When I achieve unparalleled dominance, I will build a temple to worship you!"

Yi Shuihan looked arrogantly at Nangong Lie.

Nangong Lie sneered: "Yi Shuihan! You will never achieve hegemony. You will suffer endless blows. You will be bombarded by gales, raging fires, thunder, and lightning. You will die a gruesome death. Only annihilation awaits you!"

"At least, you'll die before me!"

Yi Shuihan took the sword handed to him by Ai Gui, chopped off Nangong Lie's head, rolled it on the sand dunes to preserve it, and then put it in a brocade box.

"Congratulations, young master! Your sword has slain Nangong Lie, making you famous throughout the Western Regions. In this grand competition of the Qingtian Sword Sect, the position of sect leader is undoubtedly yours. Your path to greatness and dominance is in your hands!"

Xi Gui looked at Yi Shuihan with a grin.

Joy, anger, sorrow, and happiness are the four ghosts of the underworld. The ghost of joy and the ghost of happiness are the most comical and the most adept at flattery.

Yi Shuihan laughed and said, "It won't be long! I will kill Yuan Xiaotian and tell my mother that Nangong Lie has been killed by me. Next, I will carry out the second phase of the plan."

"As ordered!"

Joy, anger, sorrow, and happiness all knelt before Yi Shuihan.

The ten fierce demons exchanged a glance and relayed the message to Fang Yeyu as quickly as possible. Upon receiving the intelligence, Fang Yeyu rubbed his temples and marveled at Yi Shuihan's decisiveness.

But what exactly is the second phase plan?

Consort Yun had no children and could not compete for power. In order to ensure her wealth and honor, she could only rely on the prince who was most likely to become Khan. If she bet on the wrong person, after the Khan died, Consort Yun herself would also become the legacy of the previous Khan.

If Yi Shuihan can control the martial arts world of the Western Regions, and has such a big bargaining chip, then Consort Yun will have leverage to negotiate with the new Khan. For the sake of the situation, Li Chimei, the top bodyguard of the Mongol Yuan Dynasty, will definitely compromise with Consort Yun.

If she moves fast enough to control the martial arts world of the Western Regions during the princes' struggle for the throne, Consort Yun will become a target for many princes to win over, making her a force to be reckoned with.

Following this line of thought, Yunfei's most important pawn is Yi Shuihan. Her next plan is definitely to assist Yi Shuihan in becoming the leader of the Qingtian Sword Sect, using this as a springboard to gradually erode the martial arts world of the Western Regions.

Where will Consort Yun begin?
wrong!

Yi Shuihan was neither a brainless brute nor a madman who became arrogant after gaining power. He knew that the Ten Fiends were spies of the Demon Master's Palace, so why did he take the initiative to say these things?
Is there no "second phase plan"?
wrong!

Yi Shuihan guessed that I would think that way, so he used a straight hook to fish, which was a "reverse approach".

"Senior brother, are you in trouble? Why do you always look like that? What a waste of your handsome face. You have such good looks, yet you can't win the favor of any beauty."

A lively and adorable little imp, around thirteen or fourteen years old, skipped over and casually snatched the intelligence from Fang Yeyu's hand: "Is this what's troubling you?"

"Minmin, stop making a scene!"

Seeing his junior sister, Fang Yeyu felt an even bigger headache.

Junior Sister Minmin Temur is the only daughter of Ruyang Prince, one of the five marshals of the Mongol Yuan Dynasty. She loves swords and spears, is extremely intelligent, and is deeply loved by Pang Ban. She inherited the highest inheritance of the Demonic Image Sect, the "Secret Book of Wisdom," and has achieved success in refining her spirit. Her martial arts potential surpasses that of Fang Yeyu.

Many high-ranking figures in the Mongol Yuan and Manchu Qing dynasties adopted Han names.

Fang Yeyu's surname is not Fang, but Borjigin.

Minmin Temur was proud and arrogant, and used the surname of the Song Dynasty royal family, which is Zhao Min!
The same was true for the Manchu Qing dynasty.

The descendants who were adopted by Ao Bai all had the surname Ao.

Heshen's surname was "Niu Hulu", but everyone thought his surname was "He" and respectfully addressed him as "Lord He".

Zhao Min curled her lips in disdain: "I'm not making a fuss! I just think Master's evaluation is absolutely right. Senior Brother's talent, comprehension and intelligence are all top-notch, but he will never be able to reach the peak. You are too concerned about gains and losses, always wanting to take all the benefits and wanting to calculate everything in advance."

"Does Junior Sister intend to be a Monday morning quarterback?"

"What I mean is, whether it's the pinnacle of power or the pinnacle of martial arts, it's all obtained through bloody battles and life-or-death struggles. How can you have the best of both worlds without taking any risks?"

"What insightful opinion does Junior Sister have?"

"My senior brother is getting more and more hypocritical. He clearly looks down on me, a little girl, thinking that I am young and ignorant, ignorant of the immensity of heaven and earth, and unworthy of guiding a little demon master. Yet he pretends to be humble and eager to learn. It's disgusting."

"..."

Fang Yeyu looked around and pulled out a volume of strange tales from the bookshelf: "Junior Sister, this is the battle record of the number one genius in the Central Plains. It is intelligence collected by the Heavenly Mystery Pavilion at a cost of hundreds of thousands of taels of silver. It is detailed in every aspect. Junior Sister is so powerful, do you dare to plot against Li Zhaoting?"

Zhao Min sneered: "Senior brother, from the moment you handed me this scroll of information, you have already lost to me. The inheritance of the Demon Master's Palace is mine, and you have no chance of obtaining it!"

"Junior sister, why do you say that?"

“I call you senior brother, not little prince, and I am speaking to you as a member of our sect. The fact that you handed me Li Zhaoting’s files is clearly a political maneuver.”

Fang Yeyu, look at yourself! How long has it been since you last looked in a mirror? What kind of little demon master do you think you are? A demon master is the master of all demons, not a petty scheming individual.

When you face your fellow disciple, your subconscious thoughts are not to sit down and discuss the Dao with me, not to outsmart your fellow disciples, not to discuss matters of the martial world, but to use the tricks of officialdom to scheme against your thirteen-year-old fellow disciple!
This is not Li Zhaoting's file.

This is the complete martial arts heritage of the Demon Master's Palace.

This is the evaluation our master gave to the two of us.

When you handed me the dossier, the future ownership of the Demon Master's Palace was already a foregone conclusion.

The Demon Master's Palace is mine.

The legacy of the Demonic Image Sect belongs to me.

The Dao Heart Demon Seed Technique is also mine.

Senior brother, you lost!

Borjigin Yeyu, now I'm telling you, in my capacity as Minmin Temur, that your so-called plan to infiltrate the martial arts world of the Western Regions is utter rubbish.

You don't understand the martial arts world of the Western Regions, and you don't know the purpose of your master sending you to the Western Regions for training. Schemes and tricks are the most superficial things in the martial arts world of the Western Regions. They are not worthless, but they are definitely not the winning factor.

Your master sent you to the Western Regions for training so that you could wield the Type 38 halberds and fight against the masters of the Western Regions, using the halberds and your fists to establish your authority as the 'Little Demon Master'.

What are you doing
Yi Shuihan, a mere fellow, casually mentioned a two-stage plan, and you wasted so much of his time. If Li Zhaoting were to shout "Stage 100," would you be calculating over a hundred of Li Zhaoting's schemes?
Intrigue and scheming, how boring!
Finally, let me remind you that what I just said was also a scheme. You couldn't even outsmart a thirteen-year-old girl. You're a real failure!

Master's twin halberds are too heavy for me to lift. Your precious sword is mine!

This is a reward for your hard work!
Next time I'll take the Type 38 halberd.

Zhao Min waved her hand, took the sword from the bookshelf, and left with her head held high, like a victorious general.

More than half of what you just said was a lie.

The legacy of the Demon Master's Palace belongs neither to Fang Yeyu nor Zhao Min. Their minds are too cluttered; both are masters of strategy and cannot calm their minds to practice martial arts.

Fang Yeyu could calm down and meditate, or use his unwavering self-control to force himself to hone his internal skills again and again; he would never cheat or slack off.

Zhao Min doesn't have that kind of patience.

I will never practice martial arts when I can use cunning and trickery.

Fang Yeyu's weakness is his indecisiveness, which is precisely what Zhao Min targets. When Fang Yeyu took out Li Zhaoting's file, Zhao Min casually accused him of something serious and then launched into a tirade, her words more sharp than a machine gun, rattling on and on.

By the time Fang Yeyu realized what was happening, Zhao Min had already left the study, taking his precious sword with her.

How could Fang Yeyu possibly scheme against Zhao Min?

Zhao Min's father was the Prince of Ruyang, one of the five marshals of the Mongol Yuan Dynasty who commanded 30,000 iron cavalry. He was the object of all the princes' efforts to win him over. Zhao Min's brother, Wang Baobao, was Si Hanfei's personal disciple and was praised by Si Hanfei, Li Chimei, and others as "the future of the Mongol Yuan cavalry." He showed extraordinary military leadership skills at a young age.

As the saying goes, those who are near the water get the moon first.

Fang Yeyu wants to become the Khan of the Mongol Yuan Dynasty, so he will definitely try his best to please his fellow disciples and win over Prince Ruyang.

If he didn't already have a fiancée, Fang Yeyu would have wanted to marry Zhao Min as his legal wife in order to get closer to her.

Only a fool would scheme against Zhao Min for no reason.

How could Fang Yeyu not have thought of such a simple principle? The problem is that Fang Yeyu's personality is relatively mild and his reaction speed is relatively slow.

To put it bluntly, he's just slow to develop his intelligence!
"Just think of it as amusing my junior sister!"

"Oh no! We're doomed!"

Fang Yeyu's forehead was covered in cold sweat.

When Zhao Min left, she took the file with her.

Li Zhaoting arrived in Kucha three days ago!

(End of this chapter)