Joy of Life: Invincible Starting from Basic Swordsmanship

Chapter 34: The Birthday Banquet Turmoil

Why didn't the Empress Dowager of Northern Qi continue to make things difficult for Fan Xian?

Logically, this should have been a good time to promote national prestige.

Just like the banquet in Nanqing back then, Emperor Qing showed no mercy in suppressing Beiqi.

The reason is simple: the strength of Northern Qi is not as great as that of Southern Qing. Even though Ye Chengfeng protected Shen Zhong and ensured that Xiao En was safe and sound, Northern Qi was still weak.

However, Northern Qi needs time to process these changes, and it cannot withstand the drain of continuing to fight against Southern Qing.

At this moment, Haitang Duoduo, who had been standing beside the Empress Dowager, suddenly spoke up.

"Your Majesty, I have heard that the young swordsman of Dongyi City is skilled in swordsmanship. I would like to have a match with him to entertain Your Majesty. I hope Your Majesty will grant me permission."

"Yes, indeed. I have long heard of the reputation of the Little Sword Immortal of Northern Qi. I grant your permission. Since it is a friendly spar, we must stop when we have reached our goal. Northern Qi and Dongyi City have a close relationship, so let's avoid damaging our harmony."

"Yes, Duoduo obeys."

Seeing that the Empress Dowager had agreed, Haitang Duoduo was overjoyed. Last time she fought Ye Chengfeng, she was tricked by him.

Although no one knew about that fight, Haitang Duoduo always remembered it and had long wanted to find an opportunity to teach Ye Chengfeng a lesson.

"Your Majesty, I am currently unwell and am afraid I cannot participate in the sparring."

Ye Chengfeng thought to himself that the Empress Dowager of Northern Qi and Haitang Duoduo were singing in unison, without even asking for his opinion.

It was clearly planned before the birthday banquet began.

"Hmph, are you scared?"

Haitang Duoduo, seizing the opportunity, immediately retorted sarcastically.

"Duoduo, you mustn't be rude. Young Master Ye is a distinguished guest of our Great Qi."

"Yes, Your Majesty, it was Duoduo who spoke rudely."

The two of them, working in tandem, effectively trapped Ye Chengfeng in this predicament.

"Since Young Master Ye is unwell, I will naturally not force him."

Although the Empress Dowager of Northern Qi said this, she clearly looked somewhat displeased.

"Then thank you for your understanding, Your Majesty. However, it wouldn't be good to spoil Your Majesty's mood. Lord Fan's martial arts skills are no less than mine; perhaps he and the Holy Maiden could entertain Your Majesty!"

"Hmph, you Northern Qi don't want to offend Southern Qing, do you? I'll make sure you don't get your way."

Fan Xian, who was originally just watching the show, immediately stared at Ye Chengfeng with wide eyes when he heard Ye Chengfeng mention him.

"Oh, I didn't expect that Little Fan, the Poet Immortal, was actually a man of both literary and martial talents?"

The Empress Dowager of Northern Qi was clearly feigning ignorance. Whether it was Fan Xian killing Cheng Jushu in the street or...

He was challenged by martial arts figures from Northern Qi when he entered the capital.

Each and every one of these incidents demonstrates that Fan Xian possesses extremely high martial arts skills.

Moreover, Fan Xian is only sixteen years old, and his martial arts talent is no less than that of Haitang Duoduo.

[At this point, I hope readers will remember our domain name: 202ᴋᴋs.ᴄᴏᴍ]

"Little Fan, what do you think?"

"Your Majesty is too kind. I am not willing to spoil your mood. However, I am only an eighth-rank martial artist, while Saintess Duoduo is a ninth-rank upper-level martial artist."

In the original novel, Fan Xian agreed to spar with Haitang Duoduo because Lang Tao forced him to.

Haitang Duoduo was helping Fan Xian out of a predicament, but things are different now; Fan Xian and Haitang Duoduo's relationship isn't that good yet.

In this competition, Haitang Duoduo really doesn't mind making Fan Xian embarrass himself in public.

"Young Poet Fan, there's no need to worry. It's just a casual exchange to entertain the Empress Dowager. Don't you even want that, Young Poet Fan?"

"Since Saintess Duoduo has spoken, it would seem rather unreasonable of me to refuse."

"Haha, good, good, good, you two, one is the Holy Maiden of my Great Qi, and the other is the Poet Immortal of Nanqing, both of you are pillars of society."

"Someone, bring them swords."

The Empress Dowager of Northern Qi first praised the two men, then ordered someone to bring two precious swords.

As she spoke, the Empress Dowager of Northern Qi glanced at Ye Chengfeng out of the corner of her eye, wanting to see his reaction.

Clearly, she was implying that the young swordsman of Dongyi City was inferior to these two.

Ye Chengfeng naturally didn't care about these things.

Old Ma's face turned ugly; the Empress Dowager of Northern Qi was indeed quite arrogant.

But Lao Ma also knew that the Northern Qi Saintess Haitang Duoduo was a master of the ninth rank.

Moreover, Lang Tao was also present at this time. Old Ma's strength was no less than that of Haitang Duoduo, but he was somewhat inferior to Lang Tao.

Ye Chengfeng had no choice but to refuse Haitang Duoduo's suggestion, and there was another important reason for that.

Because he couldn't use the sword control technique at this moment, without the sword control technique to enhance him, even if his cultivation level had broken through, his actual combat strength was weaker.

At least in terms of swordsmanship alone, Ye Chengfeng is no match for Haitang Duoduo.

"Sigh, it seems I need to find a solution to this problem as soon as possible. Perhaps if the system rewards me with another point or two of true energy, it will be solved."

As for cultivation techniques, Ye Chengfeng had no immediate options and could only place his hopes on the interface.

Fan Xian and Haitang Duoduo fought fiercely, but they both held back.

After all, it was the Empress Dowager's birthday banquet!

But the more Haitang Duoduo fought, the more frightened she became.

He couldn't help but think to himself, "If we were both at the ninth rank, I would definitely be no match for him. I never expected Fan Xian to be so strong!"

Fan Xian, however, grew more and more confident as the fight progressed.

They even thought that the ninth rank was nothing special.

Fan Xian has actually fought quite a few ninth-rank officials.

He had exchanged a few blows with Xie Bi'an, and also with Xiao En, and even with Shang Shanhu, Fan Xian had a brief encounter with him.

Although Fan Xian was ultimately defeated, he did not suffer a crushing defeat.

Especially after he competed with He Daoren in internal energy.

About half an incense stick later, the two stopped fighting at the same time.

"Saintess Duoduo is indeed amazing."

"Young Master Fan, shall we call it a draw?"

"That's how it should be."

"Okay, a draw is good, let's celebrate."

After listening to their conversation, the Empress Dowager quickly added to the story.

She breathed a sigh of relief; the Empress Dowager of Northern Qi was truly afraid that Haitang Duoduo might act rashly and harm Fan Xian.

Clearly, she was overthinking it; Haitang Duoduo was not the kind of person who didn't know what was important.

Just as the atmosphere was so joyous, a member of the Imperial Guard suddenly burst into the birthday banquet!

"Your Majesty, something terrible has happened!"

Upon hearing this, the entire birthday banquet fell silent.

"Hmph, whatever it is, I'll report back after the birthday banquet."

The Empress Dowager of Northern Qi said with a gloomy face.

"Mother, since he has barged into the birthday banquet and needs to report, something serious must have happened. Why don't I go and handle it myself, so as not to spoil your enjoyment?"

"Your Majesty is very kind. In that case, please go and handle it!"

"Yes, Your Majesty, I take my leave."

Zhan Doudou stood up, waved to the guard, and gestured for him to follow her.

After Zhan Doudou left, the banquet didn't resume its lively atmosphere for quite some time.

Ye Chengfeng, whose seat was next to Fan Xian, leaned forward and asked Fan Xian, "Was this your doing, kid?"

"Why do you say that? What does it have to do with me if Northern Qi is in trouble?"

"Hmph, in the entire Northern Qi, apart from the two of us who are good at causing trouble, and I haven't done anything, the answer is already obvious."

Fan Xian knew, of course, that he couldn't hide this from Ye Chengfeng.

"Okay, it does involve me."

"What exactly happened? Does it involve Yan Bingyun?"

Although Ye Chengfeng didn't know exactly what had happened, he could guess that it must be related to Yan Bingyun.

"Hmph, it's all your fault for insisting on revealing Yan Bingyun's background."

Aren't you worried at all?

Ye Chengfeng didn't respond, because he noticed that Fan Xian was very calm.

Logically, Fan Xian should be nervous at this moment.

"Hmph, what do I have to worry about?"

Seeing that he couldn't get any useful information out of the probe, Ye Chengfeng stopped trying to provoke him.

He can always ask the young emperor of Northern Qi later.