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Fools!!

The moment Emperor saw Wutu Gu rush toward the barrier, his eyes turned cold.

Before, the Serpent Queen had described Wutu Gu as someone who appeared rough but was in fact meticulous, yet in the end, he was not as dependable as Lumings or Siao Mingyue—at critical moments, he was utterly useless.

Chen Qing went to great lengths to create the barrier, so how could you assume it was because he cared about the nearby commonfolk?

Is he really that noble and glorious?

Can someone who rules over a territory and reaches this level of influence really be so naive?

Didn’t you ever consider that the barrier might have been a trap from the very beginning?

Indeed, the next instant, the situation on the Martial Arts Field confirmed his suspicion.

Wutu Gu, who had rushed at the barrier with a confident smile, was suddenly trapped deep within by an immensely complex force. The seemingly minuscule triangular space firmly locked him in with no routes of escape—neither forward, backward, left, nor right!

"You..."

At that moment, how could Wutu Gu not realize he had been tricked? He turned back to look at Chen Qing in shock and anger.

He was furious about the other’s scheming and amazed at the magnitude of his Technique abilities.

Barrier Techniques were extremely complex.

He had mentioned making barriers instantly before, but to trap someone of his level with such a barrier, could it really be achieved in less than half a quarter of an hour since the contest began?

If all Barrier Masters had such ability, would the future not belong to them?

At this time, Chen Qing didn’t pay much attention to Wutu Gu’s roar. He was carefully observing the fluctuations within the barrier. The opponent struggled fiercely, but as expected, could not break the barrier at all!

At least not in a short period...

It seemed that his decision to confer Zi Yue half a year ago had been very correct.

Zi Yue was a top-tier Human Sorcerer, who had lived for ten thousand years, experienced the prosperous era of the Sorcerer Dynasty, and accumulated a vast foundation of Sorcerer experience.

She was the best choice to oversee the development of the Dragon Palace’s legacy, and as expected, in just half a year, the progress was remarkable.

One advantage of being the Divine Master is that no matter how much the conferees grow, their abilities can be leveraged by the Divine Master.

All the barrier Techniques learned by Zi Yue in the Dragon Palace in the past half-year were fully mastered by Chen Qing.

Now, as the students of the academy worshiped Ziwei, any domain mastered by a student was also mastered by Chen Qing, making him the mightiest Barrier Master in the world within just half a year!

"Seal!"

With one grasp of his hand, the barrier that loomed over the entire Martial Arts Field instantly began to compress.

Before the incredulous eyes of all the Magicians, the vast barrier folded and compressed like paper, forcefully sealing Wutu Gu into a palm-sized space and dropping him right at Chen Qing’s feet!

"Wow!!"

The common people didn’t know what had happened, but this miraculous scene immediately drew cheers: "Well done!!!"

Chen Qing walked over to Wutu Gu, looking down at him as if observing a struggling ant.

Wutu Gu’s scalp tingled with numbness. He never knew that this person, who had taken the title of King of Qin, was such a terrifying existence. He felt that even if the woman behind the Emperor of the Central Plains came in person, she would likely not be a match!

"Aren’t you going to declare the winner?" Chen Qing looked up and said, "If we’re to fight to the death, then I could just step on him and end it, couldn’t I?"

The moment he said this, numerous Warriors couldn’t help but laugh while the excited commoners roared, "Step on him, step on him!"

The eunuch looked at Wutu Gu and then at His Majesty the Emperor in the viewing platform, finding himself in a difficult position: "Your Majesty, what should we do?"

"Doesn’t King of Qin find it somewhat disgraceful?" the Emperor finally spoke softly.

"Your Majesty finds it disgraceful?" Chen Qing smiled, looking up.

"Of course, it’s disgraceful," the Emperor said with a smile. "We agreed to settle this with martial combat, but King of Qin resorted to a sorcerer’s methods and deceit. Does that not seem like a hollow victory?"

"I see..." Chen Qing nodded. "Does Your Majesty mean to say that the tactics of sorcerers are disgraceful?"

"This... is the Martial Arts Field!"

The Emperor’s words suddenly left the commoners below somewhat at a loss for words, and a buzz of discussion arose.

On one hand, it was certainly a source of pride that Chen Qing had so overwhelmingly crushed the Prince of the Southern Barbarians, but on the other hand, his methods indeed seemed somewhat underhanded.

Meanwhile, the families of the warriors on the platform were all nodding in agreement. Although they were glad that Chen Qing had saved face, driven by their own interests, they didn’t really want Chen Qing to win.

The group of sorcerers, however, had eyes that shone with excitement.

Chen Qing’s exaggerated use of the Barrier Technique was something they had never even dreamed of.

While Jiangnan’s Barrier Techniques had become famous a year prior, they had not anticipated them to this extent.

In the blink of an eye, a barrier that could seal a warrior of such caliber and shrink or expand at will was cast—what profound spatial laws were contained within?

In the eyes of these sorcerers, Chen Qing’s methods were nothing short of divine!

At that moment, numerous Sorcerer Families reaffirmed their decision to place their bets on Jiangnan.

The path of the Chen Family in the Southern Sea could not be abandoned, nor the path of Jiangnan!

At that time, the Emperor’s question was not loud, but it inexplicably silenced the entire Martial Arts Field. Everyone’s eyes were on Chen Qing, waiting to see how he would respond.

"If Your Majesty feels the victory was not through martial prowess, then let it be as Your Majesty wishes," Chen Qing replied with a faint smile, not refuting, and with a casual wave of his hand, the space barrier that had confined Wutu Gu to a palm-sized area rapidly expanded, once again covering the entire Martial Arts Field—and this time.

.. the range was even larger, immediately enveloping the entire field!

At this, all the warriors and sorcerers became tense.

Chen Qing’s methods were simply terrifying. If the barrier could decrease in size and then enlarge at any moment, could it be that after a while, all of them, including themselves, would be trapped inside the barrier like Wutu Gu?

This thought had everyone’s complexion turning sour.

And that included the Emperor of the Siao Family!

The prowess Chen Qing had demonstrated with his techniques far surpassed the Emperor’s expectations. At this point, he even pondered whether the representative of the Ghost Domain, his beloved Empress—who relied on the methods of the Ghost Temple—could defeat Chen Qing if she were here?

Wutu Gu, who was the closest, was taken aback. Now free, he showed no intention of immediately fighting Chen Qing to the death, instead he retreated ten zhang to create distance!

The methods that Chen Qing used to oppress his opponent were too terrifying.

"Why run so far away?" Chen Qing asked with a smile, looking at him.

Wutu Gu would naturally not show any weakness in his words: "Of course, to guard against your despicable techniques!"

"Didn’t His Majesty say so?" Chen Qing said with a smile, "This is the Martial Arts Field. It’s not honorable to win with the methods of sorcerers. I am here today to take my Princess Consort home, naturally I cannot let her lose face. Since it has come to this, let’s use the traditional ways instead. "

With that... Chen Qing somehow produced a sword in his hand, a standard warrior’s sidearm of Great Jin, modeled in a style reminiscent of the Han swords of ancient times. Its blade was entirely white, both beautiful and elegant. It immediately made many warriors on the platform recognize the sword.

The Empress Dowager’s eyes widened, filled with excitement.

She recognized it too—this was Siao Mingyue’s Phoebus’s Cry!

"That sword, it looks like it’s made for a woman!" Wutu Gu mocked.

"It was indeed a woman’s sword." Chen Qing raised the short sword in his hand lightly, the elegant flash of the blade complementing his white garb, making him look extremely graceful.

"This is the Princess Royale of Great Jin, Siao Mingyue’s personal sword.

It defeated countless masters thirty years ago.

When she made her name, you were still nursing! "

"Hahaha!" Laughter erupted once again below the stage.

"Only your Great Jin would hold a woman in such high esteem!" Wutu Gu sneered while twirling his distinctive trident from the Dragon Palace.

"A woman?" Chen Qing laughed. "With your abilities, you’re not even worthy to carry her shoes.

I am a scholar of the imperial examinations, and the Princess Royale once guided me through three techniques.

I know not much, and to this day, I only know these three moves.

If you can withstand three moves without defeat, I will admit my loss. "

"Such arrogance!" Wutu Gu sneered loudly, but his heart heaved a sigh of relief.

With Chen Qing’s unpredictable tactics, a straightforward confrontation was now beyond Wutu Gu’s confidence. But three moves?

That was seriously underestimating him!