Brutal touch

Chapter 14: Setting a New Standard with Ten Philosophers and Demonstrating Martial Arts

Tongma nodded and said: "The matter is like this. It all depends on the king and the old prime minister. But now there is a matter. I'm afraid I need to make an idea today." After saying that, he winked at the close man next to him, and soon two guards came in. Slip Nansi in. Tongma said: "Everyone also knows that the leader of the Lao Nan tribe was ranked among the Shi Zhe before. Later, the Nan tribe was in civil strife and its strength was greatly reduced. It could no longer bear the weight of Shi Zhe. Everyone agreed to let Liu surname replace the leader of the Lao Nan tribe, Shi Zhe. Later, the relics of the Nan clan began to go underground, and there was no news. Unexpectedly, the new acting clan leader Nan Jiu actually proposed to duel with the six surnames in the grand arena. "

Nan Si looked at it and saw that sitting on the seat were the Ten Philosophers that he could never reach. King Chu and Nan Buwen, who were above the Ten Philosophers, looked like characters in myths. Nan Si shouted: "It has nothing to do with me! It's all the wishful thinking of Nan Jiu. I don't want to be an enemy of Shi Zhe! No one in the Nan family wants to be an enemy of Shi Zhe except him! He is crazy! Yes, he is crazy !" King Chu looked at Nan Si coldly and stopped talking. Nan Buwen said: "Grand Arena? This is a very long tradition. You can challenge anyone in the Grand Arena, but no one has ever challenged Shi Zhe. , there is no such precedent." Of course, no one among the ten philosophers thought that Nan Jiu had won the six surnames, but the ten philosophers each had secret techniques, and each other might know the name of the secret technique, or accidentally know a few words about the efficacy of the secret technique. They don't know much about it, but if one day the soldiers meet each other, the person who leaks less information will naturally have an advantage. If the information about the secret technique is completely exposed, the situation will naturally be quite disadvantageous, so it is taboo to inquire about other people's secret techniques.

Nan Jiu himself is not weak, and no one can guarantee how many of his trump cards will be revealed in a public duel with such an opponent. At this time, supporting the Six Surnames to fight against Nan Jiu was obviously offending the Six Surnames, but if he refused to fight, he would feel that Shi Zhe was weak. Therefore, no one spoke for a while. After a long time, Bu Ji said: "I came up with an idea and let's see if it works. It violates the country's decree. Anyone who attacks Shi Zhe is a felony. How about arresting Nan Jiu for offending Shi Zhe?" ?" Nan Si didn't dare to express his anger since someone spoke just now. When he heard Bu Ji said that he wanted to be punished, he didn't know if it would be until Nan Jiu or if he would be implicated. After all, Nan Jiu said that he would take over for him, and there was nothing else in his mind. Afraid of having nothing left, he just kowtowed and begged for mercy. No one paid attention to him, and no one stopped him. Of course, Nan Si himself did not dare to stop. The last discussion of today's big meeting was held against this background. "Will public punishment be enough? How about letting the National Guard Palace take action?" Gong Zhao added. The Sixth Surname looked at everyone's reaction and said, "I'll go and fight." "There is no such rule in this country," Nan Buwen said. "In the final analysis, the country of Chu has been peaceful and prosperous for a long time. The life of the noble children has been too good. Some nobles have forgotten the meaning of the existence of Shi Zhe. Although the Nan clan was no longer among the Ten Zhe, King Chu was kind and still gave him ten Zhe's support, relatives within three generations of the Nan tribe are paid one hundred immeasurable gold a year. But they feed these ungrateful dogs, which makes some people in the country less and less ignorant of the rules. They must be taught a lesson.

What will happen if you don't even remember the king's kindness in Huguo? "Tongma looked at Nansi who was kneeling aside and shivering. His forehead was already bleeding. He pointed at the guard, and the guard slipped Nansi out. Before Nansi left, he shouted in an almost desperate voice: "Spare your life. ! " Then he could no longer speak. "Now that I have said so, Liu surname, you can go and challenge me. The other ten philosophers must be present when the time comes. "Shi Zhe already has powerful means. Even if he is not present, he still cannot leak any information. Nan Buwen asked Shi Zhe to be present, so as not to become more discordant due to mutual suspicion. King Chu nodded, indicating that it was over. , Nan Buwen presided over the meeting and dismissed the big meeting, and everyone went back.

Let's talk about the prince's residence. Ma Shang said to the eldest son and Nan Shiyi: "The ten philosophers have entered the royal capital one after another. It seems that the so-called Nan Jiu challenged the six surnames is true." The eldest son knows something about Nan Jiu and Nan Shi. Yi's story, but he had very little intervention in this matter. Nan Shiyi and Nan Jiu didn't have any deep friendship, so he looked at Nan Eleven. Nan Shiyi rolled his eyes at the eldest son and said, "What are you looking at me for? What does this have to do with me." The eldest son said, "You are not going to tell him what happened back then, otherwise he will hate you until his death. If you If you are willing to use some small means to protect Jiuyi's life, it is not completely impossible."

Nan Shiyi waved his hand and said: "That's all, that's all, your little tricks must be timid in front of Shi Zhe. Nan Jiu and I don't know each other very well, so just die." Ma Shang said: "Nan clan's lineage We have always valued death over life, and we won't force you not to take survival too seriously, but at least let Nan Jiu understand what you have suffered before he dies." Nan Shiyi looked at the eldest son and asked: "Is this what you mean? "The eldest son nodded. Nan Shiyi sighed and said, "Okay, I'm afraid of you." Then he left like a gust of wind.

Here Nanjiu openly challenged Shizhe, and everyone thought he was crazy and was seeking death. However, in order to avoid him having other excuses during the competition, all food and accommodation were carefully arranged. I'm afraid that when he loses and before he dies, he will say that something is not done well so that he can't use his full strength. Not only will Shizhe's face be disgraced, but the people involved will also be unlucky. Nanjiu was resting that day, knowing that there would be a competition in the afternoon, and he felt a little generous about dying. Suddenly, Nan Shiyi suddenly appeared in front of him. Nan Jiu was startled, but people who are about to die are often more courageous than usual, and it took him a moment to calm down. Nan Shiyi smiled and said: "What? Aren't they going to kill me one by one? Why are you scared when I come in front of you at this time?"

Nan Jiu said with a cold face: "What? Did Shizhe ask you to kill me?" Nan Shiyi sneered: "I'm not very capable, but I have a lot to think about. I'm here to make you understand. . Do you know why I did those dirty things? You guys, all of you, are looking at the clan leader doing ten things, and you have endless money to spend. Each of you can only get out, but the clan leader has a good face, so you have to do it one by one. Although you look respectable on the outside, it turns out that you can't live well year by year. In the end, you guys thought you didn't have enough money, so you planned to make a fuss, which turned into civil strife. The clan leader was so angry that you even openly implicated him in the crime. On me?" Nan Jiu said: "It's ridiculous. The old patriarch and three generations of his direct lineage have one hundred immeasurable gold a year. Do you know how much one hundred immeasurable gold is? It's nothing, it's a joke." Nan Eleven said sternly: "I'm too lazy to follow. You do it, lest you feel that you have died unjustly. One hundred and fifty golds a year, but you alone have to spend one hundred and fifty. Not to mention those people three generations away are also following suit and spending thousands of dollars.

Even if Huguo really moved a gold mountain for the clan leader, you would still be left with nothing. What makes people even more funny is that the clan leader asked me to do these things to repair some holes for the troubled clan, and someone actually exposed me. These troubled clans can't even give you money. You want to make trouble for money, but you can't control the trouble. The riot among the clan members turned into murder and robbery. The clan leader was so ashamed and angry that he committed suicide. It's a big joke that you actually assigned me the crime. Nan Jiu said nervously: "Since there is such a secret, why didn't you tell it before?" "Nan Shiyi sneered and said: "At that time, I was not only being sought for revenge by the Suffering Master, but also being hunted by the Law Enforcement Hall and the Protector Hall. The eldest son came forward to protect me. Since the patriarch is dead, I have nothing to say to you cowards. If you have the ability to seek revenge from me, then go ahead. "Nan Jiu was still thinking about Nan Eleven's words, but Nan Eleven disappeared.

The laws against the country are said to be complete. Those that can be written on paper are under the jurisdiction of the Law Enforcement Hall, while those that cannot be written on paper are under the jurisdiction of the Protectorate Hall. However, besides these two rules, there is a third rule. This third rule is actually older, because it originates from habits. Habits are a matter of one person, but when people get together, there will be a group of people. Same habit. As for why, everyone has their own opinions. But among a group of people, their habits are the rules. If something is outside their habits, it is often sinful in their eyes, and even breaking the national customs is not exempt. As for when the Huo people started to like private fights, no one can tell. No one knows whether the Huo people like fighting or watching people fight. If two people have a dispute on the street, if they don’t want to fight, it’s best to go their separate ways. Go away, otherwise the onlookers will gather around and refuse to let the two of them go. They will have to beat one of them to death before the onlookers can leave with satisfaction. If a person beats someone to death for revenge, it is not considered a fault in the seriousness of offending the country. Not only is there no fault, but he is often regarded as a hero. If this person is of low ability and cannot take revenge, he has to look forward to his son and grandson. If a capable person can be found to avenge him, it is naturally not a fault for his son and grandson to kill for revenge. Not only that, if there is such a son, then the son is a filial son and the grandson is a virtuous grandson. In the eyes, he is called Guangzong Yaozu.

The origins of these customs are said by each person to be further back. Later, Shizhe believed that the casualties caused by private fights would ultimately be harmful to the country, so he gradually banned them. But we also know that as habits accumulate over time, we can only spread them out but not block them. In addition to prohibiting private fights, we also built a large arena with an extra side of the fence, and all duels in the large arena became legal and legal.

The venue was big and spacious enough, and there were many more people watching than the fights in the market. Naturally, some people were satisfied. Therefore, the large arena law seems to be somewhat effective. Naturally, word spread throughout the royal capital that Shi Zhe was participating in the grand arena today. Because Master Xiangguo and Shi Zhe were going to be there, and they couldn't guarantee that they would all come together. The king's interest was impromptu, so the preparations for this competition naturally took more effort than usual. Some of the other minor nobles in the King's Capital were blocked one by one and did not dare to say anything. They said that it was because of the wishes of the superiors that these people were allowed in. If the superiors were not allowed in, then these people would just hear the news. That’s all.

The Shizhe present each made some humility before taking their seats. Nan Yichang looked at the number of people on the field. Only Tongma was not there, so he did not dare to make the decision himself. He asked Nan Yichang: "In addition to the six surnames who are resting below for the competition, there is also Tongma among the ten who has not arrived. , should we start, or should we wait?" Nan Buwen looked at Nan Yichang and said, "Wait for him." Nan Yichang asked again: "There are some young nobles outside who heard that this competition is lively and are waiting outside to think about it. If you want to come in and take a look, let's let them in, or let the people in the arena let them go." Nan Buwen said: "We'll wait until all ten philosophers have arrived."

While he was talking, Tong Ma came from outside the door. Nan Buwen chuckled lightly and said to Nan Yichang: "Okay, the people outside should be impatient. Let them come in. The big arena should be more lively." Okay." Nan Yichang went to pass the message, and the people below heard it and rushed up like crazy. At this time, Tongma was still walking on the way to Shizhe's position, and saw that the little nobles behind him were about to catch up with him. , Tongma showed disgust on his face, used his secret technique to scare away the people around him, and flew up to the front of the ten philosophers. The ten philosophers were talking about their own affairs. They only noticed Kiruma when they saw him coming. Naturally, they didn't know what was going on below. The nobles below the grand arena saw with their own eyes Kiruma knocking away those who came close to them, and the sharper ones even saw Kiruma with a look of disgust on his face. Among the nobles of the country, there is a huge gap between the famous families and the ordinary nobles, and between the ordinary nobles and the small nobles who show their skills or wait for people to eat. As for Shi Zhe, the gap is even more indescribable. Every noble in the Kingdom of Huo knows the gap between themselves and Shi Zhe, so they also know why Tongma reacted this way. However, many things in the world cannot be solved without telling each other. But once it is revealed, even if it is such a thing, a shadow will be cast between the two parties, and it will be completely different. Although there was a reason for what Tongma did in this incident, no one could say that Tongma was at fault. However, from then on, when the nobles of the royal capital mentioned Tongma, they were domineering and arrogant.

The Shizhes each took their seats, and Liu Xing and Nan Jiu entered the room one after another. Nan Jiu was not polite, took a step forward while holding Jue, and spit out a large ball of fire. Gong Zhao looked at it and said with approval: "It seems that the people of the Nan clan are not simple." Nan Buwen smiled and said: "The ability to spit fire is just a skill that has been improved over and over again. I want to use this to try the herbal body of the six surnames. What's not simple?" Gong Zhao said seriously: "This fire is not an ordinary stove fire, it is the Yiqi fire of Yiqi Sect." Nan Buwen looked at it carefully again, and then smiled: "Yes, I see Got it, I heard that Yi Qi Fire is invisible, and what others see is just the impure afterglow of Yi Qi Fire. Generally, people with great Yi Qi Fire can only see sparks from Yi Qi Fire, and even the leader of Yi Qi Fire can only see flames. Nanjiu's method is indeed a fire, but it's just the opposite. There is no real fire at all, and everything turns into afterglow. He doesn't seek the purity of the fire, but only the intensity of the fire. He is also a guy with ideas."

The Six Surnames were seen dodging Nan Jiu's fierce fire. Nan Jiu thought that the Six Surnames were afraid of the remaining flames of his anger, so he planned to weave a fire net to trap the Six Surnames. Suddenly fire broke out everywhere under the Coliseum, "It would be bad if it burned someone else." As he said that, Nasara grabbed a handful of earth and threw it up, sealing all the spectator seats in the Coliseum to prevent the fire from burning. To those who watch. However, Liu Xing was one step faster, and flashed in front of Nan Jiu. He swung the medicine stick with both hands and hit Nan Jiu's left arm, knocking Nan Jiu to the ground.

"It's over. The Sixth Surname's Medicine-Inquiring Staff responds to requests for medicine and poison. If you are hit by the Six-surname's Medicine-Inquiring Staff, you will be poisoned and die in a short time." Gong Zhao said.

"Not necessarily, Nan Jiu doesn't appear to be poisoned now." Nan Buwen said.

Gong Zhao looked at it carefully and found that it was exactly what Nan Buwen said. He said doubtfully: "I am confused now. There is no reason why Nan Jiu can survive this blow. Shi Zhe also misses sometimes?"

Nan Jiu was knocked over in the audience, and he was so angry that he sent balls of fireballs flying toward the six surnames. The six surnames dodged each and every one of them from unknown angles, and the medicine stick suddenly pierced Nan Jiu's ribs. Nan Jiu endured the severe pain and retreated to the wall.

"It's okay now, isn't it? Shi Zhe can still miss twice?" Gong Zhao said.

Gong Zhao looked down again, only to find that Nan Jiu had jumped up and even used body protection to fight hand to hand with the six surnames.

Nan Buwen said with a smile: "The people of the Nan clan have always been good at close combat. I'm afraid the Six Surnames will be in trouble this time." Nan Buwen said. Gong Zhao said angrily: "I don't understand. The medicine stick is a sacred object worshiped by the six tribes in turn. Is there anyone outside the ten philosophers who can do anything about this kind of thing?"

Nan Buwen smiled and said: "Nan Jiu naturally has no way to resist the poison of the medicine-asking staff, but the six surnames did not use it on the medicine-asking staff in those two times, which means that the six surnames just used the medicine-asking staff as a wooden stick. use."

Gong Zhao sternly said: "This is obviously nonsense! This matter is unique! It is related to Shi Zhe's prestige in the country. He should solve Nan Jiu quickly. What does this mean? Let outsiders watch, Shi Zhe fights Nan Jiu There have been many back and forths, Shizhe still wants to be shameless?"

Nan Buwen said slowly: "This matter is difficult enough for the six surnames. On the one hand, we have to maintain the prestige of Shizhe, and on the other hand, we must not reveal too many of our own skills."

"Then just poisoning Nanjiu with the medicine-asking staff like we did just now will give Shizhe his prestige, and secondly, if he doesn't reveal any skills, wouldn't it be a best-case scenario?" Gong Zhao said.

"Of course you can do this, but this comes with the third point, which is that the ten philosophers are personally violating the prestige of the country's nobles. A doctor with the sixth surname has always been famous for his kindness, but if he can kill him with poison in the blink of an eye, Naturally, the secrets of Shi Zhe's hope and his own skills have been kept, but poisoning is not a glorious killing method after all. If the comparison ends like this, in the eyes of the nobles of the country, the six surnames will become a sinister and vicious person. That person." Nan Buwen said.

In the assessment of the Nan clan, no matter how high their skills are, apart from the special skills practiced by Nan Qi, close combat is inevitable. Therefore, no matter what skills the children of the Nan clan practice, they must have the means to survive in close combat. In comparison, the Sixth Surname seems not to be good at close combat, and every time he hits Nan Jiu, he has to take a few hits.

Kiruma couldn't sit still anymore and stood up to fly down. Nan Buwen said at the beginning: "Tongma, sit down." Tongma said: "Master Xiangguo, this competition cannot continue. I don't want to see what the fight will look like below. Shizhe's battle is like this. It’s really unheard of. Looking at this situation, the six surnames will lose, which is within a hundred moves. If Shi Zhe loses in Huguo, then we people don’t have any shame and we can just kill ourselves here."

Nan Buwen pointed at the nobles watching the martial arts behind him and said: "Lord Tongma, look at their reactions. At this time, can we stop midway?" Tongma looked at the nobles on the stand, and they all held their breath and concentrated. , looking at the two people on the field as if they were stupid. No one thinks that there is something wrong with the Six Surnames. Instead, they all feel that Nan Jiu has unique skills and can fight against the people of the Ten Philosophers. Although both Nan Jiu and the Six Surnames were too far away from them, if they fought together, compared to Shi Zhe's Six Surnames, Nan Jiu would be closer to them, and Nan Jiu would become one of their own. Although they all thought it was unlikely, the nobles on the stage were all holding back their energy, secretly hoping that there was a one in ten thousand chance of defeating the six surnames. So Nan Jiuyi started to step on his feet and spit out fire, and Liu Xing hid.

This idea took root and sprouted. Every time Nan Jiu lived for a while, the thoughts of these people were ignited again. When Nan Jiu was beaten to this extent, all the nobles on the stage seemed to be demented. They could not speak or move. They could only look at the audience with their eyes stupidly, not daring to make a sound. When Nan Jiu's medicine-asking stick hit Nan Jiu's body, it was like hitting the hearts of nobles. And when Nan Jiu hit Liu's body, there seemed to be an echo in the hearts of these people. The sound of the blow echoed in the hearts of every audience member. The time for a group of people was lagging behind, and any movement of Liu Xing and Nan Jiu seemed to be beyond their expectations. If he took action to interrupt the competition at this time, I am afraid that these nobles would really dare to rush forward and fight Tongma.

"Then what should we do now? We can't just watch." Tongma said.

"The results are probably coming soon, let's wait and see." Nan Buwen said.

Tong Ma looked down and saw Liu Xing finding an opportunity to push the medicine staff outward, and then pushed Nan Jiu out by more than a foot. He smiled and said, "How about it, do you still want to fight?"

Nan Jiu sighed and said, "No need. I was once Shizhe's disciple anyway. If I continue to fight, I'm afraid my ancestor will lose all his face."

As soon as Nanjiu finished speaking, the people on the stage started talking about it. Firstly, these people were far away and could not see clearly. Secondly, they had not yet reached the realm, so they could not clearly see what kind of sects there were. After everyone discussed it for a while, they still felt that they should listen to what Nan Jiu had to say. So they spontaneously asked each other to calm down.

Nan Jiu continued: "I didn't expect that the medicine-asking staff was still in the hands of the six tribes at first. I couldn't withstand the poison of the medicine-asking staff even once. However, now I have been hit by the medicine-asking staff more than three hundred times. It's not because I have a unique skill, but the six surnames don't use the medicine-asking staff. I can't bear to repay the kindness of one life. If I don't kill more than 300 times, no matter whether I win or lose, I will have no face at all. Mr. Sixth Surname, can you please give in to the next move?"

The sixth surname sighed and said: "Your qualifications are good, but you should not go down this road. You can take action."

Nan Jiu thanked the six surnames and cut his own throat with his palm. Suicide in the Coliseum.

Tongma smiled and said: "This sixth surname is still a bit interesting. I tell those people with evil intentions that even if they have three hundred lives, they should not even think about attacking Shi Zhe."

"Killing Shi Zhe with his own hands is a bit of bullying in any case. It is a good idea to make him commit suicide in shame. It's just that the body of Liu surname can sustain such a long time in close combat with Nan Jiu without using other techniques. Look. To Shizhe, the waves behind push the waves ahead, but we are getting old." Gong Zhao said.

(End of this chapter)