Chapter 67

Chapter 67

A Kiss?

The words of the Turkic warrior Suo Da made everyone's stomachs churn.

All eyes fell upon Suo Da. He resembled a giant gorilla. Though revered as a hero among the Turks, his appearance was far from human, beyond mere ugliness. His body was a mass of dark, greasy muscle, covered in dense black hair, like some half-evolved beast-man. A mere glance from afar was enough to make one's eyes ache.

In stark contrast was Lady Lu. Despite past rumors painting her as a crude, broad-faced countrywoman, her stunning beauty at the palace banquet had already captivated everyone. Today, she was exceptionally elegant, a vision of ethereal grace. To demand such an immaculate noblewoman offer a kiss to that monstrosity—how could Lady Lu ever face society again?

Suo Da’s words were not just an insult to Lu Suian and his wife, but a humiliation to every man and woman of Great Yu present. He scorned all the men of Great Yu, as if they were beneath his notice, and belittled all women, treating them as mere playthings.

As he spoke, half the noble guests paled. Some angrily exclaimed, “How dare he! This is Great Yu, not some barbaric land. How can we tolerate such insolence?”

Others cursed, “Truly spouting filth! This arrogant barbarian deserves death!”

Even Empress Zhang, seated at the head, turned cold.

Of course, there were those who relished the spectacle, like Xiao Fang Shi, who had earlier envied Shen Anning. Now, while shocked, she couldn't help but feel a surge of schadenfreude.

Who would have thought that Shen, so recently praised, would now become a plaything for others to mock? For any woman, this was an utter disgrace.

Whether her brother-in-law accepted the challenge or not, her good sister-in-law's reputation would be ruined today. If he accepted, he would surely lose—would he truly push his wife forward? If he refused, it would likely create a rift between the couple. No matter how one looked at it, from the moment her name was mentioned on the stage, she was destined to be the sole loser in today’s competition.

As Xiao Fang Shi had surmised, Suo Da’s words had put Lu Suian in an impossible position.

Though Lu Suian had performed well earlier, riding and archery differed from martial arts. Riding and archery demanded skill, something honed through diligent daily practice. But martial arts could not be mastered through effort alone. Can an ant, no matter how hard it tries, fell an elephant?

In everyone’s eyes, Lu Suian was that tiny ant, while Suo Da was the almost unmovable elephant.

This was an absolute disparity in strength.

Naturally, no one in Great Yu wanted to see their side surrender. If it were Crown Prince Lian on the stage, they might have excitedly shouted, “Fight! Fight! Fight!”

But this was Lu Suian, a scholar by background. Almost everyone unanimously believed he would lay down his arms and concede. Yet, unexpectedly, Lu Suian remained firmly on the stage, showing no sign of backing down.

After a while, his initially calm eyes gradually darkened as he listened to the translator’s words.

His hand, hanging at his side, slowly clenched into a tight fist.

Shen Anning’s heart leaped, and a bad feeling surged within her. Sure enough, the next moment, Lu Suian began calmly unbuckling the armguards fastened to his arms.

At the same time, Crown Prince Lian below the stage also sensed something and shot to his feet, making a gesture as if to dissuade Lu Suian.

But Lu Suian did not glance sideways. Instead, he narrowed his eyes and fixed his gaze on Suo Da. Gradually, he reined in the emotions swirling in his eyes and, rather than anger, replied with a laugh: “Since the warrior Suo Da has spoken so boldly, how could I refuse the challenge?”

With that, he removed the armguards one by one and tossed them off the stage, then gently flexed his wrists.

Lu Suian’s words were like a bolt from the blue, instantly shocking the entire audience.

Everyone was astounded. Was… was Crown Prince Lu really going to accept? Wasn’t that tantamount to throwing his life away?

The rules of the arena, though spoken of as a friendly contest, often resulted in severe injuries or death. Facing an ordinary opponent might mean losing face, but today’s adversary was a titan. A single punch from him could easily be fatal.

Some in the audience were stunned, some were dumbfounded, and others jumped to their feet excitedly from their seats, thrilled.

Even the Emperor and Empress on the high platform could not hide their surprise.

Only the Lu family looked grim. Lu Jingrong was fidgeting. His eldest son was the hope of the entire Lu family, and he had nurtured him carefully—not to send him to his death. He wanted to intervene, but, being a scholar himself, he was in no position to stop him on the martial stage. He quickly glanced at his brother Lu Jinghuai beside him, hoping he would intervene.

But Lu Jinghuai sat with his hands tightly gripping the sides of his chair, narrowing his eyes in silence. He, too, was uncertain whether his nephew would lose or win.

As the two were wrestling with themselves, Suo Da stomped to the center of the stage. With each step, the platform shook violently. He stopped only when he stood before Lu Suian, stared at him intently, and said something in a booming voice, then crossed his arms in a gesture of respect.

Aruna quickly translated, “Lord Lu, the warrior Suo Da admires your courage.”

“This is his way of showing respect to you.”

He added, “Lord Lu may choose any weapon.”

After speaking, Suo Da retreated to his original position. He carried no weapon, standing empty-handed, waiting for his opponent to make the first move.

Lu Suian narrowed his eyes and wasted no time. He swiftly drew his sharp sword, swung it in a fierce arc, and thrust directly at Suo Da’s face. His swordsmanship was exquisite, his presence imposing, and his momentum fierce, amazing the crowd below.

Unexpectedly, Suo Da remained as still as a meditating monk, not even flinching. He kept his eyes closed until the moment the sharp blade was about to strike his face. Then, with lightning speed, he suddenly brought his palms together, clamping the entire sword firmly between them. Instantly, the advancing blade halted, locked in place in Lu Suian’s grip.

With a single move, Suo Da had completely neutralized Lu Suian’s attack, demonstrating his terrifying strength.

Throughout the entire process, Suo Da did not even twitch an eyebrow. His eyes remained shut.

The tip of the sword had stopped less than half a finger’s breadth from his forehead.

The audience’s hearts leaped into their throats. Just as they were lamenting Lu Suian’s failed strike, Suo Da exerted force with his palms, and with a sharp crack, the razor-sharp sword snapped into two pieces.

The crowd watched in stunned silence, their hearts pounding.

Such terrifying strength!

Suo Da had broken Lu Suian’s sword with his bare hands.

But before anyone could exclaim, in the blink of an eye, the motionless giant suddenly opened his eyes. Before anyone could react, he swiftly struck out with his palm, aiming directly at Lu Suian’s face.

His sudden attack caught everyone off guard. Lu Suian reacted quickly, dodging sideways to avoid the blow. But Suo Da followed with a series of palm strikes—swift, precise, and powerful, each strike gathering force like a gust of wind. In an instant, he turned from defense to offense, delivering four or five palm strikes like blades, each one unstoppable. Lu Suian evaded rapidly but was no match for Suo Da’s tiger-like ferocity. After dodging four strikes, the fifth landed squarely on Lu Suian’s chest.

The force of Suo Da’s palm sent Lu Suian flying across most of the stage. He crashed heavily into the guardrail, shattering the sturdy wooden posts. Lu Suian knelt on one knee, clutching his chest tightly. Soon after, he coughed up a mouthful of blood.

The entire audience was horrified.

Lu Suian had not been able to withstand a single move from Suo Da, and in just five strikes, Suo Da had knocked him down.

The moment he fell, every member of the Lu family stood up anxiously from their seats.

Shen Anning watched the blood at the corner of Lu Suian’s mouth, her fingers turning pale.

Silence fell over the surroundings.

Lu Suian was no match for Suo Da at all—it was a total wipeout.

Seeing this, the Turkic envoys finally felt avenged and elated. They beat their chests and roared triumphantly. Though their words were in Turkic and unintelligible, their arrogance was unmistakable.

In contrast, the Great Yu side hung their heads in defeat.

After all, this battle was a total rout—they had been utterly overwhelmed.

Suo Da glanced coolly at Lu Suian and said in broken Great Yu language, “You lost.”

After saying that, he turned to leave the stage.

But just as he turned around, Lu Suian wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth and slowly stood up.

Suo Da paused and stopped in his tracks.

At that moment, a powerful voice rang out from below the stage: "Catch the halberd!"

In an instant, a long halberd flew through the air. With a swift and clean motion, Lu Suian raised his hand, and in the blink of an eye, the halberd was firmly grasped in his hand.

The person who threw the halberd was none other than Crown Prince Lian, Lian Cheng, from below the stage.

And that halberd was none other than Crown Prince Lian's famous Heaven-Shaking Halberd, rumored to be the very weapon he used to conquer the battlefield and defeat the Turks.

No one expected that Crown Prince Lian would now hand over this Heaven-Shaking Halberd to Crown Prince Lu.

And Crown Prince Lu... he still hadn't admitted defeat. He actually intended... intended to fight again!

As this scene unfolded, every person from Great Yu in the audience was instantly pumped up.

"Fight!"

"Fight!"

"Fight!"

Cheers erupted around them, each cry shaking the heavens.

Though Lu Suian was no match for the Turk warrior, he refused to be disheartened. He fought on despite repeated defeats, and in this moment, he had already achieved a moral victory.

In an instant, the momentum between the two sides shifted.

Seeing that Lu Suian still wanted to continue the match, Suo Da seemed to finally show a flicker of genuine interest and said in Turkic, "Interesting."

Thus, the two began the second round of the competition.

The Heaven-Shaking Halberd stood two feet taller than Lu Suian himself, imposing and sharp enough to slice through iron. With seemingly supernatural help, Lu Suian chose to launch a swift, precise, and fierce offensive once again. He thrust the halberd directly at Suo Da's ear. Just as Suo Da moved to block it, Lu Suian abruptly pulled back the halberd, only to change direction mid-motion and thrust toward the joint of Suo Da's arm.

Suo Da reacted a fraction too slowly, and by the time he registered the move, blood was already welling up from his joint.

However, Suo Da's physique was robust, and his tightly knit muscles protected him from any critical harm. This minor injury was nothing more than a slight bother to him—he didn't even flinch.

Knowing he was outmatched, Lu Suian repeated his strategy, striking repeatedly at Suo Da's shoulder blades, waist, hips, and thighs. None of the blows caused significant damage, but after several exchanges, Suo Da's patience was running out. He swung the two meteor hammers hanging from his shoulders, ready to end the fight quickly.

Suo Da swung the two massive iron hammers, each larger than a human head and weighing hundreds of pounds. With every heavy swing, the crowd below screamed and scrambled to dodge, fearing that if one of those enormous hammers were accidentally flung off the stage, it would crush a person's skull like a watermelon, reducing it to pulp.

He aimed each hammer blow at Lu Suian's face, and with every swing, Shen Anning below the stage turned paler, feeling cold sweat break out all over her body.

The audience watched in shock and awe.

The meteor hammers carried immense destructive power, each strike capable of devastating destruction.

Lu Suian blocked with his halberd, but the Heaven-Shaking Halberd was partially shattered from the impact. He dodged over a dozen blows until Suo Da let out a furious roar, wrapping the thick iron chain firmly around the entire halberd. With a powerful roar, Suo Da flung both the halberd and the man behind it into the air.

Just then, as Lu Suian was sent flying, he leveraged the force to somersault mid-air and launched a fierce sneak attack, kicking straight toward Suo Da's left shoulder.

Suo Da's eyes widened in shock, and he tried to dodge, but his hands were slowed by the hammers' weight, slowing his reaction. He took the full force of the kick.

With a furious swing, he hurled the chained halberd and Lu Suian to the ground.

With the halberd gone, Suo Da raised his hammer, aiming to crush the skull of the man on the stage. But unexpectedly, his body swayed slightly, and his mind went blank. From his shoulders to his arms, and down to his hips and legs, a numbing sensation spread as if he had been drugged, leaving him completely numb.

Seizing the opportunity, Lu Suian narrowed his eyes and gritted his teeth, leaping into the air. Using the halberd as a pivot, he sprang up and delivered a series of three swift, precise, and powerful kicks to Suo Da's chest—one, two, three, in rapid succession.

Amid the shaking, the hundred-pound behemoth seemed powerless to resist, as if under some forbidden spell. He staggered backward several steps, teetering on the verge of collapsing off the stage. At that moment, Lu Suian gathered his strength and delivered one final kick—fast, accurate, and ruthless—straight to Suo Da's face. Soon after, with a loud thud, the hundred-pound Suo Da fell off the stage like a massive, lifeless body.

The entire sequence happened in the blink of an eye.

The crowd, who had just witnessed Lu Suian being overpowered and unable to fight back, now saw the giant collapse. Many were still struggling to process the sudden shift in the situation.

Until the ground shook with the impact.

The hundred-pound mass landed right in front of the Lu family's seats. The moment he fell, everyone nearby screamed and scrambled to avoid him.

Only Shen Anning stood frozen in place, her face pale, forgetting to move. She stared blankly at the scene before her.

Lu Suian had... won.

She was stunned. Slowly, she raised her eyes, and at that moment, Lu Suian on the stage looked down at her from above.

His face was covered in injuries, but he paid them no mind. His gaze was fixed intently on her.

As their eyes met, a faint smile tugged at Lu Suian's lips. Soon after, he spoke to her calmly, "Did you bring the dagger with you?"

Shen Anning froze, instinctively reaching toward her sleeve.

The next moment, Lu Suian narrowed his eyes and said to her, word by word, "What are you waiting for?"

As he spoke, a dark, sinister glint flashed in his deep eyes.

But his gaze toward her was filled with encouragement and indulgence.

In that moment, it felt as if the world had narrowed down to just the two of them.

He hadn't said anything explicit, yet Shen Anning seemed to understand everything he meant.

The next moment, her heart raced wildly. Then, her eyes gradually narrowed as well. Soon after, she slowly unsheathed the dagger and walked step by step toward the fallen giant. With clean, decisive movements, she raised the dagger and plunged it straight into the man's leg, right at the center.

As resolute as the day she stabbed the murderous demon.

Instantly, a deafening howl shook the entire arena.

Shen Anning and Lu Suian, husband and wife, had joined forces to castrate Suo Da.