Volume One: The Youngest Among Three Hundred Chapter 138: Riding a Flying Sword to Watch the Spectacle

Inside the residential courtyard, within the back garden, Qin Fuluo cheerfully grabbed Chen Changan and introduced the plants to him one by one. "This one is called a Chinese rose, and that one over there—now, you mustn't call it just bamboo, it's called Xiangfei bamboo, because the spots on it are said to be the tears shed by the imperial concubines of Mount Xiang in ancient times."

"Oh, this arched doorway is lovely, the design is exceptionally pretty, don't you think? Our previous courtyard was truly much too small; once you, Wanhui, Jiawen, and Wanqing have children, it simply wouldn't be enough space. Fortunately, His Majesty has now bestowed upon us this grand residence!"

"Of course, when all is said and done, this is entirely thanks to your credit. Otherwise, our whole family would undoubtedly still be crammed into that little old courtyard."

Qin Fuluo was overwhelmingly joyful, chattering away incessantly. Chen Changan could only offer perfunctory responses of "uh-huh," "ah," "oh," "right," and "yes." The mansion bestowed by the empress was indeed large and luxurious enough to look very satisfying, but having such a running commentary somewhat spoiled the mood.

After all, Chen Changan wasn't afraid of much else, but he had to guard against his father-in-law's knife, lest he be stabbed to death one day and mistaken for a rival in love.

After finishing the stroll, Qin Fuluo led Chen Changan back to the front courtyard, clapping her hands in satisfaction. "Ah, this is truly wonderful. Changan is such a worthy son-in-law! If not for him, how could we ever live in such a fine mansion?"

"You all wait obediently, I'm going to cook!"

With that, she gathered up her skirt and hurried toward the kitchen, looking as though she had instantly shed a dozen years of her age. At that moment, Chen Changan seemed to understand why brides in later generations demanded cars, houses, and exorbitant wedding gifts—they were all things mothers-in-law loved from the bottom of their hearts.

Chen Changan intended to head to the main hall to rest for a bit, but the moment he crossed the threshold, he was met with a murderous glare from his father-in-law, Su Qingtang. He had no choice but to timidly back out.

"Alright, everyone follow me and recite the Su Family Mansion Household Rules once more!" In the courtyard, the second son-in-law, Su Wanqing, was still training the staff.

Chen Changan yawned lazily. Since the main hall was off-limits, he decided to just find any random room to sleep in—the estate was so vast, after all. Who would have guessed that the moment he turned around, he would see Zhu Jiawen walking toward him holding a wooden staff. Zhu Jiawen walked right up to him, dropped onto one knee with a sharp slap, and said, "Third brother-in-law, please teach me martial arts."

Chen Changan was utterly dumbfounded and stammered, "Sec... second brother-in-law, what are you doing?"

Zhu Jiawen hesitated, swallowed hard, stiffened his neck, and repeated with heavy emphasis, "Please teach me martial arts!"

Chen Changan fell silent for a long moment, pointed at Su Wanqing over in the courtyard, and said, "If second brother-in-law doesn't give me a reason, I'm going to call second sister over!"

"Hey, no, absolutely not!" Zhu Jiawen blurted out in panic, stopping him immediately.

Chen Changan triumphantly replied, "Then tell me, why do you want to learn martial arts?"

Zhu Jiawen hesitated repeatedly, bit his bullet in a resolute manner, though his face inevitably flushed with embarrassment. "Al... alright, I'll tell you why. Because... recently I suddenly feel that studying books is completely useless."

"Sigh, previously our entire family was sentenced to execution and spared thanks to you. This time, being rewarded with a grand mansion by the female emperor was also because of you. Yet, as a brother-in-law, I can't do a single thing. I've studied for three years and failed the imperial examinations three times. I feel like I'm just a burden to the family!"

"Therefore, I want to practice martial arts just like you, and I want to join the Black-Clad Guards!" He clenched his fists, tightened his face, looking utterly determined.

Hearing this, Chen Changan suddenly understood. It turned out that his recent string of high-profile exploits had received such high praise and admiration from the entire family that it had wounded the pride of his second brother-in-law. Come to think of it, that was only natural.

It was much like a family where one person landed a stable career job while another kept failing the college entrance exams after repeated attempts—how awkward and demoralizing that must be.

"Sigh!"

Chen Changan sighed and consoled him, "Second brother-in-law, martial arts isn't something just anyone can practice; you need to have talent for it. Everyone's path is different. You are suited for studying. If three times isn't enough, we'll try four. You study and take exams until the day you die!"

"This..." Zhu Jiawen's resolve wavered.

Chen Changan grabbed both of his hands and said meaningfully, "Second brother-in-law, knowledge is the ladder of human progress and development. As the saying goes, 'Read ten thousand volumes of books, and your brush will write like a god.' Failing the imperial examinations perhaps simply means you haven't read enough yet!"

"You... what did you say!"

Crack! A bolt of lightning seemed to strike right into Zhu Jiawen's head, blasting open the doors to a new world. He grabbed Chen Changan's sleeve in frantic excitement.

"Er..."

Chen Changan furrowed his brow and said, "I said, read ten thousand volumes of books, and your brush will write like a god!"

"Read ten thousand volumes of books, and your brush will write like a god!"

"Read ten thousand volumes of books, and your brush will write like a god! Ah, well said, absolutely right! My failing must certainly be because I haven't read enough books yet. Third brother-in-law, your words have completely cleared away the fog and enlightened me like a flash of divine insight!"

The more he spoke, the tighter he clutched Chen Changan's sleeve, almost tearing it off.

Chen Changan took a deep breath. "Right? Then brother-in-law, why don't you hurry off to read your books."

"That's right, reading! Read ten thousand volumes of books, and your brush will write like a god. Why bother learning martial arts? Only people whose brains are too dull to comprehend books learn martial arts!"

"To reading ten thousand volumes and writing like a god!" Zhu Jiawen casually tossed aside the wooden stick in his hand, shouting and skipping as he ran toward the study.

"People whose brains are too dull... to comprehend books learn martial arts..."

Chen Changan stood there alone, his forehead covered in black lines as he cursed under his breath, "If I ever tell these ideologically backward people in the Great Min Dynasty another famous quote, I'm a dog!"

"Wait, that's not right either. I have a wife too; I should go find my dear Wanhui." Chen Changan reined in his emotions and muttered to himself.

Just as he was about to make a move, he suddenly heard a chaotic commotion of footsteps outside the courtyard, accompanied by shouting of all sizes.

He walked out to take a look and saw countless people running in the same direction. He casually grabbed someone passing by and asked, "Hey! Hey! What's going on with you lot? Are you off to herd sheep?"

"Herd sheep? What sheep? The Yingzhou swordsman Changdeng Tuoye is at the Black-Clad Lane Weapon Repository challenging Wang You! Ah, hurry up and don't waste time, I'm rushing to watch!" The person gave a hasty, perroutine reply and brushed Chen Changan aside to run off.

"Damn it!"

Right where he stood, Chen Changan jumped up in excitement. He remembered hearing Wu Yuanheng mention that Changdeng Tuoye and Wang You had a history of wins and losses between them. Now that this fellow living a pretty good life was stepping up to challenge him once again—a peak Mysterious-tier expert against another peak Mysterious-tier expert—the spectacle would undoubtedly be phenomenal!

Moreover, as a member of the Black-Clad Guards, he was naturally full of curiosity about the Grand Commander Wang You. If Changdeng Tuoye could force Wang You out of the Weapon Repository, hehehe...

"Why go look for a wife? Only people whose brains are too dull to watch a good spectacle go looking for wives!"

Mimicking his second brother-in-law Zhu Jiawen's tone, Chen Changan muttered a few words and sprinted toward the Weapon Repository as well. Who would have thought that before he had even run a few steps, his brother-in-law Su Dingfeng, fluttering in pristine white robes, would arrive descending on a flying sword and land right in front of him.

The sword hovered half a foot off the ground. Su Dingfeng extended a hand and said, "Want a ride?"

Chen Changan retorted, "Well, brother-in-law, are you going to watch the showdown between Changdeng Tuoye and Wang You too?"

"Yeah!" Su Dingfeng raised his chin proudly without looking at him and nodded.

Chen Changan thought about it and said, "True, after all, a duel between two peak Mysterious-tier high-level martial artists is a once-in-a-lifetime, unmissable event across the world. You should be able to learn a lot from it!"

"No!"

Su Dingfeng shook his outstretched hand sideways. "Wrong. I just want to see how much the so-called ceiling of your martial arts system still falls short of us cultivators!"

Chen Changan: "..."

A row of black lines instantly appeared on his forehead, and he speechlessly replied, "Yes! Yes! Yes! Let's hurry over then!"

"Hn!" Su Dingfeng uttered a single syllable, hauled Chen Changan up onto the sword body, and immediately chanted an incantation. The flying sword soared straight up into the sky, leaving a piercing shriek in the air as it transformed into a long rainbow and flew toward the Black-Clad Lane Weapon Repository.

"Ah!"

Chen Changan, experiencing flight on a sword for the very first time, instantly grew dizzy. He grabbed hold of Su Dingfeng's legs and vomited frantically, staining the latter's snow-white outer garments in disgusting clumps!

Su Dingfeng: "..."

Chen Changan pouted and put on a pitiful act. "Brother-in-law, I'm sorry, I soiled your clothes, I truly am sorry. It really is a bit unbearable the first time, I... blergh..."

"You won't blame me, will you?"

His eyes were innocent, his little mouth twitching.

"I..."

Su Dingfeng instantly felt it was rather awkward to lose his temper. Suppressing his terrible mood and trying not to look at the filth on the lower half of his clothes, he forced a stiff smile and said, "N-no problem... So you martial artists really do have terrible physical endurance!"

"Awful to the extreme!"

Amidst their chatter, the flying sword soon arrived above Black-Clad Lane. The commoners who had come to watch the excitement were all blocked outside and unable to enter, stamping their feet and cursing in frustration.

What was so interesting about mere spectators... Chen Changan and Su Dingfeng tacitly continued to fly inward. Arriving vertically above the combat arena in front of the Weapon Repository, they were intercepted by security personnel on the watchtower below: "Halt! Who goes there?"

Chen Changan hurriedly called out, "Our own people!"

No further sound came from below. Su Dingfeng drove his sword straight in. Overlooking the scene from above the combat arena in front of the Weapon Repository, he saw a dense crowd of nearly two thousand Black-Clad Guard insiders. They were chattering and discussing animatedly, the noise loud and chaotic. Tan Shutong, Yue Bingbing, and Lu Bozhao, the three Mysterious-tier commanders, stood steadfastly at the very front—first, to occupy the prime spectator spots, and second, to keep other members from getting too close.

In the crowd, Ye Lin deliberately stood close to Ruan Jingchu, eyeing Changdeng Tuoye—who wore wooden clogs and a strange outfit—with enthusiastic interest. "It is said that three years ago this guy defeated several people of our Great Min in a row, and only narrowly lost by half a move to Commander Wang before returning to Yingzhou. Now he has staged a comeback to challenge him again. I wonder who will win and who will lose!"

"Every time my uncle recalls him, he uses only four words: 'Boundless limits!'" Ruan Jingchu replied.

"Boundless limits?" Ye Lin asked with curiosity.

Ruan Jingchu gently nodded her delicate chin and explained, "My uncle once said that Changdeng Tuoye's physical limit—the extent to which he can self-develop and temper his body—surpasses both him and Wang You. However, Wang You's temporary explosive power is exceptionally strong. Therefore, in a battle between the two, what matters most is their state of mind."

"State of mind? How so?" Ye Lin admitted that while he indeed had some intention of striking up a conversation, he was also genuinely interested.

As a martial artist, eating melons about the ceiling of the martial world was the most satisfying pastime.

"Indeed. In fact, three years ago when Changdeng Tuoye came to Chang'an City to challenge Wang You to a single combat, my uncle had already guessed the general outcome and guessed correctly: Changdeng Tuoye did indeed lose!"

"Because at the time, their states of mind were vastly different. Changdeng Tuoye had ridden a wave of consecutive victories, and to him, that duel was one he simply had to win. As for Wang You, many high-level martial artists before him had all suffered defeat; even if he couldn't win, it would have been considered completely within reason."

"I see, I understand!"

Ye Lin suddenly came to a realization. "Compared to Commander Wang three years ago, Changdeng Tuoye was carrying his own burden and pressure, and he was desperately eager for victory. Because of that, he ended up losing."

"Spot-on analysis!"

Ruan Jingchu replied to him while casting her gaze forward at the back of Changdeng Tuoye, who stood alone in front of the Weapon Repository, and murmured, "Only now, three years later, I wonder if their states of mind have changed!"

A fiery light flickered in Ye Lin's eyes as he said, "No matter how they've changed, ours is bound to win."

"Wang You!"

Changdeng Tuoye, who had stood before the Weapon Repository waiting bitterly for over half an hour without receiving the slightest response, raised his voice and roared once more. "Three years ago, this humble servant entered the Central Plains to spar with Great Min's martial artists, winning every single battle, yet ultimately narrowly lost to your good self by half a move. You and I had an agreement to fight again, and today this humble servant has specially come to fulfill it."

"Changdeng Tuoye humbly invites Commander Wang to emerge from the tower and fight."

Inside the Weapon Repository, there was still no sound or response whatsoever.

"Very well, since that is how it is, offense must be taken!"

Changdeng Tuoye had no intention of continuing to wait. With a loud *thump*, he forcefully stamped his foot against the ground for leverage, catapulting himself straight up toward the roof of the Weapon Repository. Reaching the level of the ninth floor, he clenched his fists, gathered his momentum and energy, and let out a roar to the skies: "Since Commander Wang refuses to come out and meet me, this humble servant will simply have to fight his way in!"