Escape... they're escaping?
Chen Beixun stood alone on the fishing boat, watching the rapidly retreating solitary boat, feeling a bit confused.
In the Sword Sect, the level of identity is determined by the number of swords in the sword box.
Only top-notch martial artists are qualified to carry a sword box, stepping into the realm of Grandmaster martial artists, with two swords hidden in the sword box.
From the first-rank Grandmaster to the fourth-rank Grandmaster, there are two swords in the sword box.
Starting from the fifth-rank Grandmaster, one more sword is added to the sword box for each higher rank.
A sixth-rank Grandmaster martial artist can store four swords in the sword box.
And the highest is the ninth-rank Grandmaster, capable of carrying seven swords in the sword box.
Moreover, those seven swords can be specially crafted by the forging master of the mechanical family, making them exceptional weapons in the world.
This is a tradition passed down from ancient times in the Sword Sect.
The expert from the Sword Sect on the solitary boat had a sword box containing four swords, signifying a sixth-rank Grandmaster...
But such a powerful individual.
Actually betrayed the original plan and escaped without looking back!
Nie Changqing split the lake with one slash, twenty slashes in a row, slicing twenty flower boats, and killing dozens of scholars, scaring off this sixth-rank Grandmaster from the Sword Sect?
Chen Beixun's body trembled slightly.
He suddenly understood why Lu Fan was so calm, so fearless.
The strength of this exiled disciple...
It's simply monstrous!
On the fishing boat.
Liu Ye and Zhu Yishan's faces were filled with fear.
They looked at Chen Beixun, their faces gradually turning ferocious: "Chen Beixun, did you deceive us? You promised with certainty that you had the confidence to get rid of Lu Pingan!"
Zhu Yishan roared in a low voice.
Liu Ye's eyes towards Chen Beixun were not very friendly either.
Yesterday, Chen Beixun found them late at night and conspired for a whole night, assuring them that the Sword Sect would intervene in this matter and get rid of Lu Fan when he went to Drunken Dust Loft by boat.
However, everything now is just like farting.
The experts from the Sword Sect didn't even show up and were scared away!
They... have been betrayed!
They could imagine the consequences when Lu Fan comes back to settle accounts with them.
Liu Ye and Zhu Yishan now recalled the chilling feeling they had when they saw that elegant young man sitting in a wheelchair and couldn't help but shiver.
"What are you afraid of!"
"Throughout history, flowing rivers and ironclad families... although my Northern Luo City's three aristocratic families are not as top-tier as the Dantai family, now we have the support of one of the Hundred Schools of Thought, the Sword Sect... Lu Pingan definitely wouldn't dare to touch us."
Chen Beixun stood at the bow of the boat, carrying a pear wood sword box, his green robe fluttering in the lake wind.
His voice was cold and resounding.
"But the expert from the Sword Sect ran away... escaped!"
Liu Ye raised his hand, pointing at the fleeing solitary boat in the distance, took a sharp breath, and said.
Chen Beixun clenched his teeth slightly.
"This is a temporary strategic retreat. Let's retreat as well and discuss further negotiations at home!"
Chen Beixun took a deep breath and said.
Afterwards, he commanded the boatman to turn around.
However.
Just as the boatman was struggling to turn the boat, suddenly, an immensely terrifying pressure burst forth.
Bang!
"Huh?"
Lu Fan, who had collected all the chess pieces into the chess box, raised an eyebrow slightly.
He looked towards the distance, where the smoke dissipated on the surface of the lake, and saw a flat boat facing his fishing boat, causing white water waves to surge as it shot away into the distance.
"Who is that?"
Lu Fan raised his chin towards the direction of the fleeing solitary boat, asking in surprise.
Nie Changqing, carrying a pig-killing knife, lifted his head and looked towards the distant flat boat.
"A pear wood sword box, containing four swords, one of the Hundred Schools of Thought, the Sword Sect... a sixth-rank Grandmaster swordsman."
Nie Changqing, as the tenth disciple of Daoist sect, was naturally familiar with the experts from the Sword Sect.
"A swordsman from the Sword Sect... a Grandmaster swordsman?"
Lu Fan narrowed his eyes.
"Why is he running? I have such a good temper, could it be that he thinks I'll eat him?"
Nie Changqing choked for a moment, glanced at the group of scholars still struggling in the Northern Luo Lake, and couldn't help but remain speechless.
Your temper... my ass.
Your mind is as small as the seeds of a pitaya fruit.
In any case, Nie Changqing decided not to say anything.
"Never mind, let's leave him alone."
Lu Fan propped up his chin, closed his eyes slowly, and checked the recovery of spiritual energy within himself, while waving his hand.
"Young Master, there is a boat behind us with Chen Beixun and Liu and Zhu from the two families."
Lying on the edge of the fishing boat, feeling nauseous and weak, Ni Yu suddenly pointed towards a distant fishing boat, and said.
"Oh."
Lu Fan glanced at Ni Yu, who looked pitiful with her vomit, closed his eyes slowly, and replied.
After using twenty moves, Nie Changqing consumed twenty strands of spiritual energy.
However, he could feel the Qi Dan surging like a furnace, slowly recovering itself.
At this rate, it would probably take an hour to recover one strand of spiritual energy, which is indeed a bit slow.
But Nie Changqing was quite satisfied.
"Young Master... they're turning back."
Ni Yu's weak voice echoed in Lu Fan's ear.
Lu Fan opened his eyes.
"Ready to go?"
He grabbed the Spirit Pressure Chessboard and placed it on his lap.
From the chess box, he took out a black piece.
The black piece was smooth and shiny, held between Lu Fan's middle finger and index finger.
"Is my Lu Ping'an's excitement really that enjoyable?"
In the next moment, everything in his line of sight suddenly turned into translucent lines, just like when he infused Qi into Ning Zhao from a distance.
He focused his vision on the map and found the fishing boat Chen Beixun was about to turn and escape on.
A slight smile appeared at the corner of his mouth.
Then, he placed his piece on the Tianyuan star point of the chessboard.
Snap.
A wisp of light blue Qi rose up from Lu Fan's move, like a burning flame.
The calm lake suddenly became windy.
Ning Zhao's silk robe fluttered continuously in the wind.
Nie Changqing's pupils contracted, and he squeezed his legs together...
It appeared!
Young Master's...Spirit Pressure!
...
On the fishing boat.
Chen Beixun's mind trembled as a pressure resembling heavenly might made him unable to resist. His face pressed down against the deck, unable to move or exert any strength.
They, including Liu Ye and Zhu Yishan, were all the same.
They felt even worse than Chen Beixun, their mouths oozing blood.
As for the boatman, he had already jumped into the lake and was swimming frantically towards the shore.
Chen Beixun growled lowly, wanting to get up, but the pressure on his body was as heavy as a mountain.
Bang!
The water around the fishing boat exploded, spraying up seven feet high.
The fishing boat instantly sank under the pressure.
The icy lake water engulfed Chen Beixun, Liu Ye, and Zhu Yishan.
The fishy-smelling water rushed into their mouths.
What on earth happened?!
How could the boat sink just like that?
Where did that terrifying pressure come from?
They didn't think it was Lu Fan's doing at all. Lu Fan was miles away, not an immortal, how could he possibly crush a fishing boat with pressure?
Chen Beixun and the others were filled with doubts, but their strong desire to survive left them no time to think. They had to swim with all their strength towards the shore.
Even if they were second-rate warriors, after soaking in the cold lake water for so long, swimming to the shore would still leave them exhausted.
Indeed, many scholars collapsed halfway through the swim, carrying their attachment to the world, and sank to the bottom of the lake with a "gurgling" sound.
Chen Beixun was fortunate; after all, he was a first-rate warrior. Liu Ye and Zhu Yishan also had martial strength, so they managed to make it back to the shore alive.
Their bodies were drenched, their clothes sticking to them, and their bodies stained with the filth from the lake.
Suddenly,
The ground shook.
Sounds of galloping hooves resounded.
A group of armed soldiers on horses came charging, causing the onlookers to retreat in astonishment. They recognized these soldiers as the Beiluo Army of the city lord's mansion.
Yueyi rode on a brown horse, and behind her were the iron-blooded forces of Beiluo City, clad in cold armor.
"The Young Master has ordered to take the three young heirs of the noble families back to the city lord's dungeon for a cup of tea."
Yueyi's face was cold and stern as she spoke.
"Cuff them."
In the next moment,
Several iron-blooded soldiers walked forward, pulling heavy and cold chains.
Chen Beixun, drenched all over, climbed up from the ground. His carefully groomed beard had already turned into a mess.
He straightened his back, full of determination.
"I am Chen Beixun, a disciple of the Sword Sect. Who are you..."
"Snap!"
However, before Chen Beixun could finish his words, Yueyi whipped him suddenly, leaving a bloody mark on his body.
Instantly, the burning pain almost made Chen Beixun shed tears.
"I want to see Young Master Lu!"
"I..."
Chen Beixun shouted, but Yueyi's face remained cold as she flicked her whip again, leaving another mark on Chen Beixun's body.
"The Young Master has ordered that if you speak, I'll...whip you."
A faint smile appeared on Yueyi's enchanting face as she gracefully twirled her whip.
Chen Beixun immediately fell silent.
He wanted to resist, but there were hundreds of fierce and battle-hardened soldiers from the Iron-Blood Army of Beiluo City present. What could he use to resist?
Even an ordinary grandmaster would probably have to surrender when facing so many iron-blooded soldiers from Beiluo City.
Liu Ye and Zhu Yishan never even considered resisting; they obediently allowed themselves to be chained and escorted away.
As for Chen Beixun, with North Moon Lake's waterweed sticking to his glamorous beard, he turned his head to look at the fishing boat drifting quietly in the lake, as if he saw the wheelchair-bound youth enjoying the breeze on the boat.
His heart trembled slightly.
"In this game, it was my carelessness...hisss!"
Chen Beixun, shackled by iron chains, gazed at North Moon Lake and sighed.
But before he could finish his words,
Snap!
Yueyi lashed out with her whip again.
"Hiss! Be...be gentle!"