The Show

Qin Gou’s opponent arrived late. Just as Qin Gou began to suspect that Xu Zimu might be planning to disqualify the opponent for tardiness as part of some underhanded scheme, the man finally appeared.

And he wasted no time making an impression.

“Are you the third son of the Marshal’s household, Xu Jin?” the man in combat attire asked.

“I am,” Qin Gou replied calmly.

“Excellent! What luck I have to meet Young Master Xu Jin!” The man’s eyes gleamed with excitement, his tone dripping with mockery.

“What do you mean by that?” Qin Gou asked, puzzled.

“Don’t you know, Young Master Xu Jin? There’s a rumor going around that you’ve only made it this far through cheating and corruption. They say you have no real skill and are just a flashy fraud anyone could defeat,” the man said with a sneer. He turned to the audience, raising his voice. “Isn’t that right, everyone?”

The crowd murmured quietly among themselves but offered no response. No one was foolish enough to openly insult the Marshal’s son in his presence, regardless of the rumors.

“Hmph, I see how it is! Everyone knows the truth but won’t say it out loud because they fear offending Young Master Xu Jin,” the man continued smugly. “But I also know something even more interesting. The only reason Xu Jin won all his matches yesterday was because of favoritism from Captain Xu Zimu! He’s been bribed to find ridiculous excuses to disqualify Xu Jin’s opponents, allowing him to win without lifting a finger. Truly shameless!”

“How dare you!” Xu Zimu roared, his face red with anger, veins bulging on his forehead. “You insolent fool! Do you realize that your baseless accusations alone are grounds for immediate disqualification?”

The man laughed fearlessly. “See that, everyone? This is exactly what I’m talking about! The corrupt official takes the bait and reveals his true colors!”

“You wretched scoundrel!” Xu Zimu fumed, gesturing wildly in frustration. “I’ve always been strict with myself and fair to others. How dare you slander me like this? My integrity is as clear as the heavens and as bright as the sun and moon!”

The audience began whispering among themselves, their suspicions growing.

“Could he be telling the truth?”

“I’ve heard similar rumors before—that Xu Zimu is just a lackey for the Marshal’s household, helping Xu Jin advance unfairly.”

“Xu Jin, a fraud? I can’t believe it! I thought he was a late bloomer and a rising star. I even used his story to inspire my son. What a disappointment.”

“Corrupt officials deserve punishment!”

“Enough!” Xu Zimu shouted, his face flushed with indignation. “You fools! How can you believe such nonsense so easily? This is outrageous!”

“Hmph, if it’s not true, why are you so defensive?” someone muttered.

“You must be feeling guilty,” another added.

At that moment, Qin Gou amplified his voice with spiritual energy and shouted, “Enough! Whether or not I have real skill can be proven in battle. Captain Xu, please start the match.”

The man in combat attire smirked arrogantly. “Very well. But don’t cry to your family when I accidentally hurt you too badly.”

Xu Zimu scanned the crowd with a look of sorrowful indignation before sighing deeply. “So be it. Let the truth clear my name. I hope you all will acknowledge my innocence when this is over.” With that, he raised his hand high and brought it down sharply, signaling the start of the match.

—

Qin Gou drew his black sword-staff as a faint purple seed hovered over his shoulder, following him like a shadow.

The man conjured a long silver spear out of thin air and attacked with ferocious speed and precision. The clash of weapons rang out sharply as their blades met in rapid succession.

“Is this all you’ve got, Young Master Xu Jin? The warm-up is over; now I’ll get serious,” the man sneered. His spear moved like lightning, creating a powerful gust of wind that sent everyone’s robes fluttering.

Qin Gou wielded his sword-staff with wild precision, his movements unpredictable and dazzling. The purple seed hovering near him suddenly shot forward like a bolt of lightning, aiming straight for the man’s chest.

Clang!

The man barely managed to block the attack with the tip of his spear. The collision produced a sharp metallic sound.

Qin Gou frowned slightly. It seemed his opponent’s life-bound spiritual tool was also speed-oriented and had some level of automatic defense capability. Otherwise, it wouldn’t have been able to block the sudden strike from his seed.

But then something unexpected happened.

Despite successfully blocking the attack, the man staggered backward violently. His silver spear trembled uncontrollably before shattering into pieces. Blood spurted from his mouth as he clutched his wrist, which was now bleeding profusely. Falling to his knees, he stared at Qin Gou in disbelief, screaming, “This is impossible!”

Qin Gou hesitated for a moment, surprised by the outcome. What just happened? The purple seed’s direct attack should have been powerful but not devastating enough to cause such severe injuries if blocked by another spiritual tool. Had he accidentally unlocked some advanced technique?

“What kind of life-bound spiritual tool is that? Such terrifying power… Wait… life-bound spiritual tool? Does that mean Young Master Xu Jin has already reached the Hidden Artifact Realm in just a few days?! This must be a joke! We all train so hard—why does he get such preferential treatment from fate?!” The man ranted hysterically, smearing blood across his face as he glared at Qin Gou with resentment.

“It seems we have a clear winner,” Xu Zimu said calmly, his hands clasped behind his back. He looked at the man with an air of superiority and asked, “Do you have any objections?”

The man’s face turned pale as he let out a bitter laugh. “Objections? After being defeated in one move and losing all my dignity? What objections could I possibly have? I owe Young Master Xu Jin an apology for my earlier disrespect. Now I see that he is truly a dragon among men—hidden for twenty years only to shock the world in one day! I admit defeat!”

The audience erupted into murmurs of astonishment. They had expected a decisive outcome but were unprepared for such a swift and overwhelming victory from Xu Jin.

Meanwhile, Xu Zimu gave Qin Gou a knowing wink, his expression smug.

Qin Gou finally understood. So this is how it’s done.