Chapter 122: Ninth Rank, Vulnerable (Two in One)

The sword flashed like lightning and attacked Fan Xian.

If an ordinary person faced such an attack, he would probably just be a sitting duck.

Even for Fan Xian before, it was not an easy task to dodge this sword.

But nowadays, Fan Xian has already been promoted to the upper ninth rank, with the characteristics of the Riding the Wind and Breaking the Waves Technique and Fan Bin's training.

His strength is no longer what it used to be.

Even though they are both ninth-grade masters, there is still a gap between him and the swordsman in front of him.

"too slow!"

Fan Xian sneered, then attacked as fast as lightning.

His palm bypassed the sword and went straight for the opponent's throat. The mysterious swordsman was startled and quickly drew his sword to defend himself.

But with just this one move, he was already at a disadvantage.

Fan Xian was relentless and took a quick step forward, shortening the distance between himself and the opponent again.

After closing the distance, he stretched out his palm and hit the opponent's sword-holding hand.

"Clang clang..."

The sword in the swordsman's hand was about to fly out.

The swordsman quickly clenched his fist.

It was at this moment that Fan Xian followed again.

Although it sounds complicated, all these actions are completed in a flash.

It seemed that Fan Xian kicked the mysterious swordsman away in one encounter.

"Ninth grade!"

He has ninth-grade skills and is also good at using the sword.

In Fan Xian's mind, he seemed to know only that one person. But he was very skeptical, was the other person really that incompetent?

In Fan Xian's original impression, Xie Bian, who could break time with one sword, was not his opponent, but his strength was also quite good.

Especially his swift sword, combined with his unique body movements. Even if Fan Xian wanted to take him down before, it would have taken a lot of effort.

How come this guy was defeated so easily?

Just when Fan Xian wanted to continue taking action to confirm the other party's identity.

There was a low growl from behind him.

"Stop it!"

Fan Bin's face did not look good.

Even though his second brother showed impressive strength, Fan Bin was not happy.

Fan Xian was just guessing, but Fan Bin had already seen through the identity of the mysterious swordsman.

This guy was his guinea pig No. 1.

Although Xie Bian was cheating and broke through to the ninth level.

But he has excellent qualifications and perseverance.

In this way, Xie Bian's strength after the breakthrough is also remarkable.

Fan Bin was once very proud of it.

The fact that he was able to personally train such a master was absolutely unprecedented and will never be surpassed.

But now it seems that his masterpiece, which he was so proud of, is not that good.

No matter how hard Xie Bian struggled, it would be difficult for him to last more than ten moves at Fan Xian's hands.

This is just a situation where both sides are trying to test each other.

If it was a fight for his life, Xie Bian wouldn't even be able to take three moves.

The proud work of the past has now become a small shrimp worth nothing.

Naturally, Fan Bin's mood couldn't be very good.

"Lord Fan!"

Xie Bian took off the mask on his face and half-knelt in front of Fan Bin.

"Is it really you?"

Seeing Xie Bian, Fan Xian looked at his own hands, with a hint of disbelief in his eyes.

Fan Xian obviously didn't expect that after breaking through to the ninth rank, his strength would be so powerful?
The young man looked at his elder brother with confidence.

"If you feel unwell, I don't mind giving you a beating. Or two beatings will do..."

Fan Bin sneered.

"Brother, you are such a joke. Why would I ever think of challenging you?"

Just seeing Fan Bin's eyes, Fan Xian instantly calmed down. He kept blaming himself in his heart, wondering why his mind was so unclear.
How could he have such a stupid idea that he thought he had the capital to challenge the Grand Master?
Even though Fan Xian's current strength is extraordinary.

Even a ninth-rank master like Xie Bian is no longer his match.

But compared with the grandmaster, Fan Xian is still nothing.

At that time, Ku He was able to uproot a giant tree dozens of feet away with just one palm, and that wasn't even with all his strength.

That terrifying strength is no longer something that mortals can match...

Does Fan Xian have that kind of ability?

If Fan Xian slapped out from a distance of dozens of feet, it is estimated that even the leaves might not shake.

"What are you doing here? Are you here to catch up with me?"

Fan Bin ignored Fan Xian and instead focused his attention on Xie Bian.

There was a hint of disdain in his eyes.

"Master Fan, my master wants to see you."

Xie Bian is the confidant of the Second Prince Li Chengze, so the "young master" he refers to is naturally the Second Prince Li Chengze.

When Fan Xian heard this, he found it extremely ridiculous.

"Who is he? Just because he invites us, we should go? My eldest brother is a Grandmaster!!"

Fan Xian was acting like a bully, which was very annoying.

But Xie Bian ignored him at all, but looked at Fan Bin, waiting for Fan Bin's reply.

"Let's go!"

Fan Bin gestured to him to lead the way.

"Brother, why should we go? If he really wants to meet someone, he should come to meet us."

Fan Xian was puzzled.

Because of the discovery of the Second Prince's smuggling, Fan Xian's impression of Li Chengze was greatly reduced.

He didn't want to have anything to do with the other party at all.

Fan Xian even thought about whether he should hand over the Second Prince’s smuggling accounts directly to Emperor Qing?

Now that the Second Prince has come to show his goodwill, what reason do they have to go and meet him?
"There are diplomatic missions everywhere, so he can't come. If he could come, he would have come in person a long time ago."

Fan Bin shook his head.

The second prince, Li Chengze, is a very smart man.

When Fan Xian started investigating smuggling, Li Chengze had already sensed the danger. He did not even wait in Kyoto, but went out of the capital in person to find Fan Bin.

The three of them were extremely powerful. In just a dozen breaths, they had moved more than a hundred feet away from the delegation.

Li Chengze was alone, sitting in the pavilion drinking.

When Li Chengze saw Fan Bin coming, he stood up and bowed to the ground.

"Li Chengze greets Grandmaster Fan! He greets Young Master Fan."

Fan Xian also sat in the pavilion nonchalantly.

He poured the wine into the glass and drank it all.

"Second Prince, there are a few things I don't understand..."

Fan Bin did not speak.

Obviously he had tacitly agreed and let Fan Xian speak on his behalf.

"Master Xiao Fan, please tell me."

The second prince also sat down.

"Did the Second Prince know about the assassination on Niulan Street?"

You should know that Fan Xian already had some guesses about this matter.

But there has been no evidence.

"I knew about it and assisted."

Li Chengze poured a glass of wine and placed it in front of Fan Bin first.

Then he poured himself another glass and drank it down in one gulp.

"It's you! So you and the princess..."

"My aunt and I are a cooperative couple, and we each get what we need." Li Chengze did not evade the question but admitted it readily.

Fan Xian obviously did not expect this and was caught off guard.

"The assassination on Niulan Street, the assassination by the eldest princess, and the smuggling by Northern Qi..."

After Fan Xian said this, his eyes were fixed firmly on Li Chengze.

"Your Highness! If you were me, would you let me go for both public and private reasons?"

Fan Xian didn't say anything about letting go.

But Li Chengze had obviously guessed it, he smiled and nodded.

"No."

If someone targeted him like this, Li Chengze would definitely retaliate no matter what.

"Then Fan can't either."

Fan Xian stood up directly.

But Fan Bin sat there calmly, with no intention of moving.

Fan Xian could only suppress his anger and sit down again.

"Master Xiao Fan, let's be frank. I did all those things, but I had no choice. Do you believe me when I say this?"

"Your Highness, it's meaningless for you to treat Fan like a three-year-old child."

Obviously, Fan Xian didn't believe it.

Or rather, he had no way of accepting it.

What the Second Prince had done had completely exceeded Fan Xian's bottom line.

"I have been smart since I was young and I love reading. Although I cannot achieve as much as Master Xiao Fan, if I continue to read, I should be able to write a few poems that will be passed down through the ages..."

At this point, Li Chengze suddenly laughed.

There was a hint of madness in the laughter.

"But my father would not allow me to do so. I was conferred the title of prince just after I came of age. In front of all the civil and military officials in the court, my father said that I was smart and virtuous. Hehe, at that time, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince was still young and could not suppress his emotions like he does now. Do you know what he looked at me with when he saw me in private?"

"They all want to drink my blood and eat my flesh..."

Hearing Li Chengze's words, Fan Xian looked at him in disbelief.

He had always heard that the second prince Li Chengze was very favored by the emperor.

Even the civil and military officials in the court knew that even though His Royal Highness the Crown Prince was the Crown Prince, he might not be the one to inherit the throne in the future.

Unexpectedly, the second prince told a completely different story.

"Even if what you said is true, you can obviously not do it..."

"Don't do it? What good can I get from disobeying my father? My father praises me so much every day. If I tell our Crown Prince that I have no intention of stealing the throne, do you think he will believe it?"

Li Chengze's eyes were extremely calm.

If he doesn't do it, he will be dead.

Instead, Fan Xian was speechless for a moment.

Sometimes, people are just blinded by one thing.

In fact, if Fan Xian thought about it carefully, it would not be difficult to find clues.

The second prince in front of them might not be telling the truth, and he might be hiding something.

But it cannot be denied that most of what the second prince said should be true.

Emperor Qing was indeed too harsh on his second son Li Chengze.

He clearly intended to use his second son as a whetstone for the future Crown Prince.

When His Royal Highness the Crown Prince ascends the throne in the future, what will be the fate of the Second Prince who is used as a whetstone?
It’s chilling to think about.

"So you colluded with the princess to smuggle in Northern Qi?"

"What can I do? Either I give in and wait to die, or I fight hard. Maybe if I fight, I won't have to die."

Once you get involved in something like the fight for the throne, there is no turning back.

Failed, no need to say more.

What if it succeeds?

For the second prince who was used as a whetstone, it was simply a miracle in his life.

For this reason, it seemed that nothing the Second Prince did was excessive.

"No matter how legitimate your reasons are, it is a fact that you attacked me. Why should our Fan family get involved? Even if we were involved, why wouldn't we help His Royal Highness the Crown Prince instead of helping you?"

Although Fan Xian disagreed.

But he was no longer as resolute as he had been at the beginning.

I have to say that Fan Xian does have some saintly qualities.

Although Teng Zijing did not die, Fan Xian himself was not hurt.

But the Niulan Street assassination is a fact.

If it were someone else, they wouldn't be able to get over the hurdle in their heart.

How could they possibly help the people who had previously attempted to assassinate them to fight for the throne?
"How can I have confidence?"

Li Chengze laughed at himself.

He even used the throne to bribe Fan Bin.

But Fan Bin remained unmoved.

Under such circumstances, Li Chengze no longer had anything to offer to discuss cooperation with the Fan family.

That’s right, cooperation.

Although he is a prince, the Fan family is now a grandmaster family.

Not to mention Li Chengze, even his father, the emperor, did not dare to recruit him.

Ye Liuyun, the Grand Master of Qing State, is often away from home and only obeys orders but not announcements.

That says it all.

"So what do you want to do here?"

Fan Xian is also considered smart.

But even he was confused by Li Chengze.

I don’t know what the second prince is planning.
"I don't know what I can do. I just want to find a way to survive."

life?

Fan Xian suddenly thought of something and turned to look at Fan Bin.

The Second Prince in front of him wasn't the only one behaving strangely.

Also there is his older brother, Fan Bin.

If his elder brother had no plans, then logically speaking, they should not have anything to do with the Second Prince Li Chengze.

But his elder brother came.

"Big brother?"

"The Second Prince is indeed a great man. I just wonder how far he can go? Even if he becomes an enemy of the current emperor, is that okay?"

Fan Bin, who had remained silent, finally spoke.

When he spoke, the other three were all startled.

Become the enemy of Emperor Qing?
This is not a joke.

Even a powerful Grandmaster like Ye Liuyun had to leave Kyoto and travel around the world because of his discord with the current Emperor Qing.

This is no secret to the top royal family members.

Now Fan Bin actually said that he was an enemy of Emperor Qing?
"I've said it before, as long as I can stay alive, it doesn't matter who I'm against, or whether I'm a puppet or not. I don't care..."

Li Chengze put himself in a very low position.

Fan Xian curled his lips in disdain.

He didn't interact much with Li Chengze, but even in those few interactions, Fan Xian could vaguely sense Li Chengze's personality.

To put it bluntly, the second prince is essentially the same type of person as him.

How could people like them really be willing to be pawns for others?
The lower Li Chengze's attitude, the greater his ambition...

I wonder what this guy is thinking about?

Even Fan Xian couldn't be fooled by this, let alone Fan Bin.

Fan Bin raised the corners of his mouth and smiled slightly.

"That's great, I hope we can have a pleasant cooperation!"

When the two wine glasses clinked together, a collaboration with ulterior motives was reached.

Nothing happened that night. On the third day when the delegation set out again, they finally saw the gate of Kyoto.

There was a huge crowd of people at the door, and it was impossible to see the end.

……

(End of this chapter)