Li Kuangwei walked to the center of the banquet hall, drew out his sword with a clang, pointed it at Zhu Li, and said gloomily, "Hey, country boy, come and die."
Zhu Li looked at Li Keju, who gave him an encouraging look and said calmly, "Since this is a competition, the rewards for both sides should be fair. Xiaolang, if you can defeat Li Jia Dalang, I will also offer you an official position. I will immediately appoint you as Yunqi Duwei and let you guard the north entrance."
"Thank you, Protector General." After getting Li Keju's promise, Zhu Li bowed, turned around, and walked straight towards Li Kuangwei. When he was ten steps away from him, he stopped and stared at the other person.
He looked calm, with a long sword at his waist and his right hand resting on it, and said to the other party calmly: "Xuzhou Zhu Li, please teach me."
"Hmph, Li Kuangwei from Fanyang." Li Kuangwei looked at Zhu Li with disdain. Then he attacked him very rudely, swinging his sword diagonally, as fast as a thread, slashing towards Zhu Li's right shoulder.
Li Kuangwei was a native of Fan Yang. Fan Yang was located in the north, and Xi people or Khitan people would come to plunder almost every few years. In order to deal with the Hu people, the men of the north naturally shouldered the responsibility of defending the border. Over time, most of the men of the north were fierce and tough.
As the son of Li Quanzhong, a senior general under the Lulong Jiedushi, his martial arts skills are not bad and have reached the peak level of a second-rate general. He is only a step away from becoming a first-rate general.
Therefore, his sword was full of murderous aura, which was an aura that could only be possessed by someone who had experienced the battlefield and had a sword stained with blood.
Before the sword arrived, the cold air was pressing, especially the surging murderous aura, which was frightening.
But Zhu Li was no longer a weak man. At least dozens of Jingnan guards died at his hands, plus the fierce bandits he killed in the bandit suppression campaign. They naturally possessed a strong and resounding aura and were not afraid of Li Kuangwei's murderous aura at all.
Seeing that Li Kuangwei's sword was about to cut Zhu Li's shoulder, Zhu Li still stood still. To outsiders, it seemed that he was frightened by Li Kuangwei's sword, but was this really the case
The sword was sharp, and when the blade was only a palm-width away from Zhu Li's right arm, there was a "clang" sound, and a silver light suddenly rose up. Everyone felt a flash in front of their eyes, as if a silver screen flashed out, as fast as a startled wild goose, and as fast as a waterfall.
"when"
The swords collided, and Li Kuangwei's sword was instantly knocked away by Zhu Li's sword.
Li Kuangwei felt that his sword seemed to have hit a thousand-year-old rock, causing his arm to go numb and the base of his palm to crack. He instantly lost all strength in his right hand.
After deflecting Li Kuangwei's fierce sword, Zhu Li did not pause. He leaped forward and struck Li Kuangwei in the chest with his elbow.
Since Li Kuangwei was the first to attack Zhu Li, his body was still in a leaping forward posture, and it seemed as if he was actively ramming his chest into Zhu Li's right elbow.
At this time, Li Kuangwei looked horrified and his eyes were wide open. He tried his best to dodge the opponent's elbow, but it was obviously too late. With a "bang", Li Kuangwei's chest and Zhu Li's right elbow collided violently.
"Click"
The sound of bones breaking was heard, accompanied by Li Kuangwei's shrill scream of "Ah".
The pain of a broken sternum is not something an ordinary person can endure. He howled miserably.
Che was standing above the banquet hall, looking very miserable.
Li Kuangwei, whose sternum was broken by an elbow, was about to fall to the ground. Zhu Li's bent right elbow straightened instantly, and he grabbed the man's neck and held him tightly in his hand.
In just a blink of an eye, Zhu Li made three consecutive moves, swinging his sword and saber; he then handed the saber to his left hand, sheathed it, and at the same time, thrust his right hand forward with his elbow; he hit the opponent with one strike, and his right hand instantly stretched out, directly grabbing the opponent's neck. The whole movement was smooth and seamless, and the results were remarkable.
"Asshole, how dare you, put Dalang down now."
However, a discordant voice was heard at this time. Li Kuangwei's father, Li Quanzhong, a strong man in his forties, saw his son being pinched by Zhu Li and his life or death was unknown. He exploded in anger in an instant. Without thinking, he drew his sword with a "clang" and stabbed Zhu Li in the back.
Zhu Li had his back to Li Keju and Li Quanzhong at this time. Li Quanzhong was one of the most powerful generals in the world, and his sudden attack was really hard to guard against. Many people obviously despised his behavior, but it was too late to shout to stop him.
However, there was someone who seemed to be too concerned. She had been standing on one side of the hall when Zhu Li started the competition. She had been paying close attention to Zhu Li's safety, and others were not in a position to reprimand her for overstepping the boundaries. This person was of course Yuchi Jin.
Li Quanzhong thrust out his sword with all his strength, but before he could get close to Zhu Li's back, he was met by a whip shadow that came from the side. With a "bang", the sword was deflected in an instant.
Li Quanzhong only felt a huge force surging up his arms, almost making him unable to hold the sword in his hand steadily. In surprise, he quickly raised his head, but was met with a pair of angry phoenix eyes, staring at him.
"Young lady, why are you stopping me?" Li Quanzhong glared at Yuchi Jin and roared angrily.
"A martial arts competition must be fair. General Li broke the rules first, so why can't I stop him?" Yuchi Jin was fearless. Facing Li Quanzhong's murderous gaze, he responded calmly.
"Zhu Li, put down Li Jia Dalang quickly." At this time, Li Keju's voice sounded, his voice was neither angry nor angry, and it was impossible to tell his emotions.
Upon hearing this, Zhu Li did not hesitate and immediately and gently laid Li Kuangwei flat on the floor of the hall.
"Cough, cough, vomit"
As soon as he landed, Li Kuangwei coughed and vomited a few times, then began to breathe heavily like a bellows. He never expected that he would be so miserable.
The young man, who had always been despised and even ignored by him, severely injured him with just one move.
Thinking back to his previous self, that arrogant attitude, those conceited declarations, now all seemed like a joke. He was so ashamed that he wished a hole would appear in the ground so that he could crawl into it and never come out again.
"General Li, you are being reckless. In the martial arts competition, Zhu Li is obviously more skilled and he definitely has no intention of taking Dalang's life. Your concern and behavior are excessive." Li Keju still spoke calmly and held Li Quanzhong accountable.
Hearing this, Li Quanzhong looked unhappy. Li Keju said that he was reckless and acted excessively, which meant that he was judging others by his own standards.
Li Keju said that Zhu Li was a skilled martial artist, so he was very good at handling things.
It seems to imply that he is not broad-minded enough. His sudden attack means he wants to take the bad guy's life. If this is not being a villain, then what is he
But now is not the time to get angry. Sooner or later, you will die without a burial place. Li Quanzhong hated it in his heart, but pretended to be ashamed and bowed his hands and said, "I love my son so much that I was reckless. I know I was wrong. Please punish me, Governor."
"Forget it. Use your brain when doing things next time and don't be impulsive. Today is a good day to welcome Yuchi Xiaolang, and the competition was just a spur of the moment. Since it didn't cause irreversible consequences, let it go." Li Keju waved his hand impatiently.
"However, I will keep my word. If Li Dalang wins, he will be my Beikou Shouzhuo. If Zhu Li wins, the reward will be given to him. Now it seems that Li Dalang is still a little short of him, Zhu Li." Li Keju changed the subject and immediately shouted to Zhu Li.
"Protector General, Zhu Li is here." Zhu Li bowed quickly.
"Well, your martial arts are very strong, as everyone has witnessed. Li Dalang is also the pride of Fan Yang. He has been skilled in archery and horse riding since he was young. He has killed many Hu people and Khitan people. Such a young man was defeated by you in an instant. It can be seen that you are still better. Such warriors are exactly the indispensable talents in our north. Zhu Li, from today on, you will serve as the commander of the Yunqi and lead the Beikou Guard. Tomorrow, you will take your men to take office. I look forward to your performance." Li Keju looked at Zhu Li and announced gently.
"Yes, I will never let you down, Lord Protector." Zhu Li's expression became serious, and he quickly bowed respectfully. (Cloud Cavalry Commander, subordinate to the Cavalry Commander, is the upper Cavalry Commander)
"Miss Yuchi, you should also return to your position. As a girl, don't learn to wield swords and guns like others. The battlefield is a man's business. Girls should not get involved. Needlework and embroidery are what you should do well." After rewarding Zhu Li, Li Keju turned around and scolded Yuchi Jin. Although it was a scolding, anyone with a discerning eye could see that he was protecting Yuchi Jin.
Yuchi Jin certainly understood his good intentions, and quickly bowed and said respectfully: "Mr. Li is right, Jin'er will learn from your advice."
"Hahaha, it's a great virtue to admit your mistakes and correct them. Go back and sit down, don't spoil everyone's mood." Li Keju reminded gently, and Yuchi Jin followed suit and returned to the banquet table.
This seemed like another demonstration of the elders' teaching by example, but today's events were not so simple in the eyes of those who were interested. Anyone with a little bit of brains seemed to be able to see that Li Keju was using Zhu Li to suppress the arrogance of Li Quanzhong and his son.
The night banquet lasted for a long time, until the moon was at its zenith. Zhu Li, Wu Dao, Guo Qizuo and others followed the servant to Yuchi's new residence, which was the courtyard given by Li Keju. As for Mrs. Yuchi, Yuchi Xin and Yuchi Jin, they would definitely stay overnight at Li Keju's residence. The two families were old friends, and the men had a good relationship, so the women would naturally have a good relationship as well.
When they arrived at Yuchi Mansion, Li Keju's servant had just left when Guo Qizuo said to Wu Dao, "I have gained a lot from tonight's banquet. What do you think, Brother Wu?"
Hearing this, Wu Dao sneered and said leisurely, "It seems that there is something dirty between the Lulong Jiedushi and his general Li Quanzhong. We just arrived and he immediately slapped Li Quanzhong in the face. It shows how serious the tit-for-tat is."