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Chapter 86 The Named Gun [Jazz] (3000 words, please subscribe)

"Fourth Junior Brother!"

Li Ziping was carried off the stage, and Chunping immediately went to greet him, looking at him with concern. This time, their sect had suffered a terrible fate. Senior Brother Tian had been crippled, and Fourth Junior Brother had also been seriously injured.

Seeing Li Ziping being carried off the stage, Chunping burst into tears.

Song Jin'ao also came over at this time. Looking at Li Ziping lying on the stretcher, he sighed and a trace of sadness appeared in his eyes.

Li Ziping's face was also full of dejection. After seeing Song Jin'ao, he sighed and said, "Master, I... I have disgraced you."

Upon hearing this, Song Jin'ao looked at Li Ziping and said, "No, you fought very well. Your master is proud of you."

Li Ziping's eyes reddened as he said, "Master, I didn't beat Gong Ping. Our Bajiquan sect has been completely wiped out in this martial arts competition—"

Li Ziping had been focused on fighting Gong Ping in the arena, so he was unaware of the situation in the other arenas. Upon hearing this, Chunping, who was standing to the side, said, "Junior brother, what are you saying? We weren't completely wiped out this time. Junior brother Zheng Xuan won."

Upon hearing this, Li Ziping's expression froze. He looked at Chunping and said, "What? Zheng Xuan defeated Zhang Mingde, but Zhang Mingde's strength was only at the internal energy level!"

Chunping then spoke up, "Junior Brother Zheng Xuan has been keeping it a secret from us, but he has actually reached the level of Dark Force."

"Him? Hidden strength?"

Upon hearing this, Li Ziping almost jumped off the stretcher. Of course, this was just a metaphor; he had multiple fractures throughout his body, so the possibility of him jumping up was slim.

But even the excruciating pain couldn't dampen his surprise. At that moment, his eyes turned to Song Jin'ao, filled with inquiry. He wanted the truth.

Song Jin'ao nodded slightly and said, "Yes, your junior brother Zheng Xuan has indeed broken through to the Dark Force realm and successfully entered the top four in the martial arts examination."

Upon hearing this, Li Ziping remained stunned for a long time, unable to utter a single word. He had always thought that he was the last pillar of the Bajiquan Sect, but unexpectedly, he failed to hold up the main beam this time, and in the end, it was Zheng Xuan who held up the main beam of the Bajiquan Sect.

Thinking this, Li Ziping paused for a moment before asking, "Where is Junior Brother Zheng Xuan?"

As they were talking, Zheng Xuan walked over. When Li Ziping saw Zheng Xuan, his eyes were filled with an inscrutable expression. He then said, "Junior brother, doesn't senior brother look particularly like a clown?"

Upon hearing this, Zheng Xuan asked, "What makes you say that, Senior Brother?"

Li Ziping said, "Senior brother always thought he was the pillar of our Bajiquan Sect, but I never expected that you would be the one to become the pillar of the Bajiquan Sect in the end."

"Senior brother always thought he was a genius, but he only entered the Dark Force realm after consuming the Red Jade Lingzhi given by Master, while you relied entirely on yourself."

"Looking at it this way, senior brother, it seems that you are inferior to junior brother in every aspect, while senior brother always thinks that he is a genius who is the best in the world. Now that I think about it, senior brother is really ridiculous."

Upon hearing this, Zheng Xuan looked at Li Ziping and said, "Senior brother, there's no need to belittle yourself. You're just unlucky. If you had met Zhang Mingde, you would have been able to win. If I had met Gong Ping, I would probably have been defeated. It's a matter of luck, not strength. You don't need to worry about it so much."

After Zheng Xuan finished speaking, Li Ziping looked at him and asked, "Junior Brother, do you really think so?"

Zheng Xuan nodded, and Li Ziping said, "Junior brother, it seems that in terms of magnanimity, even your senior brother can't compare to you this time."

At this moment, Liu Jie on the platform gestured and said, "Everyone, it's time to settle the bill. Who bet that Song Jin'ao's apprentice wouldn't make it to the top four? Come and pay your money."

At this moment, Liu Jie could no longer hide his smile.

Just now, when Zheng Xuan and Zhang Mingde were fighting, Zhao Qianzong opened a betting session and asked Liu Jie if he wanted to bet. In order not to lose face and to support Song Jin'ao, Liu Jie bet two hundred silver dollars. At this time, everyone present lost, and everyone lost two hundred silver dollars.

Seeing this, Zhao Qianzong and his men were all displeased, but they were bound to accept their loss and it would be too embarrassing to refuse to pay.

However, even after losing like this, Commander Zhao and his men were still unwilling to accept defeat. At this moment, Commander Zhao looked at Magistrate Liu, who had accepted the money, and asked, "Magistrate, do you still dare to gamble?"

Upon hearing this, Liu Jie looked at Commander Zhao and said, "Bet? What are we betting on?"

Commander Zhao spoke up, "The quota for the martial arts scholar has been determined, but the quota for the martial arts champion hasn't been determined yet. Magistrate Liu, how about we bet on the martial arts champion?"

Upon hearing this, Liu Jie couldn't help but laugh and said, "Alright then, I'll bet on Gong Pingsheng to be the martial arts champion, and I'll put all of this thousand silver dollars on it."

"ah?"

Zhao Qianzong was stunned by Liu Jie's words, his face turning pale and then red, making for quite a scene.

After a long pause, Commander Zhao finally spoke up: "You...you're not betting on Song Jin'ao's apprentice?"

Upon hearing this, Liu Jie looked at Commander Zhao and said, "Is there a requirement that I must bet on Song Jin'ao's apprentice? I still think Gong Ping is more promising. Why don't you bet on Song Jin'ao's apprentice?"

Liu Jie's words effectively sealed Zhao Qianzong's fate.

Magistrate Liu truly lives up to his reputation as a scholar who passed the imperial examinations twice; he's quick-witted. A bet of one thousand silver dollars is, frankly, no small sum, even for Commander Zhao.

Now Liu Jie is betting on Gong Ping, so you, Zhao Qian, can't bet the same as me, right? If you bet the same as me, what's the point of our bet?

But if you bet differently than me, it's like giving money away to yourself. Gong Ping's strength is beyond doubt.

Of course, you could also make Gong Ping deliberately lose in order to win, which would be even better. Liu Jie would have spent a thousand silver dollars to buy Zheng Xuan a martial arts champion, and of that thousand silver dollars, only two hundred silver dollars belonged to the county magistrate himself. In other words, two hundred silver dollars were used to buy Zheng Xuan a martial arts champion. Is there any better deal in the world?

Liu Jie smiled and looked at the extremely embarrassed General Zhao, saying, "What's wrong? Did General Zhao decide to back out of the betting game he arranged?"

General Zhao's face turned extremely ugly at this moment, but Liu Jie was no longer in a hurry.

Commander Zhao was truly in a dilemma. After a long while, he finally spoke: "Magistrate Liu, do you really have such a low opinion of the Bajiquan sect and Song Jin'ao's disciples?"

"It was you, Magistrate, who strongly encouraged Song Jin'ao to establish his school in Tianjin. Now that you, Magistrate, don't support Song Jin'ao's followers, what's the point of him establishing the school?"

Upon hearing this, Liu Jie looked at Commander Zhao and said, "Commander, so you're just refusing to place a bet, aren't you? Well then, this county magistrate has never liked being pushy. How about I give Commander Zhao a chance?"

Upon hearing this, General Zhao frowned and looked at Liu Jie. Liu Jie said, "Here's what we'll do. I'll bet my thousand silver dollars on Zheng Xuan, and you can bet on Gong Ping, but our stakes can't be the same."

"I've heard that Commander Zhao has a famous British-made pistol, 'The Knight,' which is Commander Zhao's prized possession. Here's the deal: I'll bet a thousand taels, and you bet the pistol. If I lose, I lose a thousand taels, and if you lose, you lose the pistol. What do you say?"

Liu Jie spoke up, and upon hearing this, General Zhao's gaze narrowed slightly. He knew that Liu Jie was giving him a way out, but also digging a pit for him. If he wasn't careful and fell in, he would lose his beloved sidearm.

But should we gamble or not?

After thinking for a moment, Zhao Qianzong pulled out a silver Lancaster pistol from his waist. The gun had two barrels and fired steel ball bullets; in simpler terms, it was a short-handled shotgun.

The accuracy and range of this gun are both average, but its power is what truly matters. When fired within ten meters, it unleashes a hail of bullets, and the gun's power is enough to send a person flying.

The dense barrage of bullets can easily turn a person into a sieve; this is the British-made short-barreled shotgun, the Lancaster pistol [Jazz].

Seeing that the other party had brought up the pistol as collateral, Magistrate Liu's smile grew even brighter, and he announced, "Then the bet is settled!"

After saying that, Magistrate Liu said, "Alright, we've been sitting for half a day, everyone take a break. We'll announce the list of candidates for this year's martial arts examination in half an hour."

After saying this, Magistrate Liu left his seat first, and then Liu Jie found Song Jin'ao in the yamen.

At this moment, Song Jin'ao clasped his hands in a fist salute and said, "I have not failed in my mission."

Upon hearing this, Liu Jie said, "Brother Song, this battle was well fought. Your apprentice Zheng Xuan really gave us a pleasant surprise. Without him, we would have been at a disadvantage in this battle."

Upon hearing this, Song Jin'ao said, "Yes, this kid has given me a big surprise as well."

After saying this, Liu Jie said, "In a little while, I will announce the results of the martial arts examination, and then you can start to challenge the schools and prepare to establish your own school."

"Brother Song, are you confident about challenging the dojo?"

Upon hearing this, Song Jin'ao said, "Don't worry, I've already made preparations. Of the thirteen martial arts schools in Nanjinmen, I'm not confident of defeating the Gong family of the Bagua Sect, but I'm confident of defeating the other twelve."

Upon hearing this, Liu Jie said, "Alright, then I can rest assured. The situation in the capital is becoming increasingly delicate, so we must act quickly."

Song Jin'ao nodded: "Saving the country cannot be delayed."

Liu Jie then spoke up again: "By the way, Brother Song, I just made a bet with Zhao Hu, betting on the final martial arts champion, I—"

Liu Jie told Song Jin'ao about the details of the bet, and Song Jin'ao frowned upon hearing this.

"What I mean is, if it's appropriate, let Zheng Xuan compete with Gong Ping. If he wins, not only will he become famous in the Bajiquan Sect, but the title of Martial Champion is much more prestigious than Martial Scholar. If he joins the army in the future, this will be a great stepping stone. In addition, it will also earn him a famous gun."

"Of course, it's no big deal if we lose. Of the thousand silver dollars, I only had two hundred in capital. Consider it as me spending two hundred silver dollars to celebrate our passing the martial arts exam."

Liu Jie said, "Of course, of course."

After a brief conversation with Liu Jie, Song Jin'ao came out and then passed the message to Zheng Xuan.

Zheng Xuan was originally planning to try his luck at the Martial Arts Championship because of the purple opportunity, but then he heard that Liu Jie had increased the stakes for him by betting on a famous spear.

You should know that Zheng Xuan still has a [Famous Gun Collection] mission to complete. The mission requires him to collect three famous guns. He currently only has a golden revolver. If he wins the competition and gets his hands on the British-made Lancaster [Jazz], it would be a huge profit.

Thinking this way, Zheng Xuan's eyes brightened a bit; this condition was indeed something he could agree to.

Thinking this, Zheng Xuan said, "Master, I want to try and compete for the title of Martial Champion."

Upon hearing this, Song Jin'ao's gaze narrowed slightly as he said, "Ah Xuan, Gong Ping's strength is not to be underestimated. I'm afraid you'll have a hard time being his match."

Upon hearing this, Zheng Xuan said, "I know, Master. If I am truly no match for you, I will concede defeat."

Upon hearing this, Song Jin'ao said, "As long as you don't fight him to the death, you can still give it a try."

As the two were talking, Li Ziping overheard them from a short distance away. After thinking for a moment, he said to Chunping, "Senior Sister, call Junior Brother Zheng Xuan over. I know one of Gong Ping's weaknesses. If he wants to compete for the Martial Arts Championship, I can help him!"