The Emperor is Above

Chapter 13: Annual Tribute Confrontation (Part )

Ten people have ten hearts, and a thousand people have a thousand intentions.

People have different minds and everyone has their own ideas.

Ever since Sergeant Maosheng and his group showed up, Qing Yi has been carefully observing every detail of Maosheng, Zuo Gongyu, Kou Rui and others, not missing even a single glance.

He didn't believe that Mao Sheng, as a sergeant, would obey the plans of Corporal Kou Rui. As the head of Maoqiu Pavilion, he would never be a timid person.

Facing Maosheng's smiling question, Kou Rui frowned, Zuo Gongyu looked surprised, and Qing Yi immediately discovered the subtlety.

He saluted with both hands, then stood up and said loudly: "How can a ninth-grade wild wolf be hunted by me? I was just lucky enough to escape the wolf's bite.

There have always been few wild wolf packs in the hinterland of the capital, but I was able to unexpectedly obtain a ninth-grade wild wolf a few days before the annual tribute. Isn't it God's will to use the hands of the pavilion chief to present it to the king?
As a nobleman bestowed by the monarch, it is my honor and blessing to be able to present the ninth-grade exotic beasts as an annual tribute to the monarch. "

Hearing Qing Yi's nice words, Mao Sheng nodded with a warm smile on his face, but he was weighing the pros and cons in his heart, and gradually rejected the plan he had agreed to with Kou Rui.

As a sergeant with a title and the cultivation level of a seventh-rank lower-armor soldier, he naturally has his own dignity that cannot be offended. Kou Rui thinks he has an old relationship with Luqiu Mufeng, and attempts to join forces with Zuo Gongyu to put pressure on him, which has long made Maosheng unhappy.

If Qing Yi is indeed powerless and a useless mediocre person, considering the price Kou Rui paid, Mao Sheng would not mind going with the flow and cooperating with him in the show.

Now, with the cultivation of a seventh-rank lower-armored warrior, Mao Sheng discovered that Qing Yi was not only lucky, but also had great power in his every move. Especially the sword that pierced the wolf's heart was quite extraordinary. It was obvious that this young man was by no means as bad as Kou Rui said.

Of course, he just saw a special figure among the crowd of onlookers outside the pavilion, and it was this figure that made him make the final decision in his heart.

No longer following Kou Rui's plan, but a fair and just assessment, as long as Qing Yi can meet the standards, what's wrong with letting him go?

Thinking of this, Mao Sheng's smile grew even brighter. "Very good. Shu Yi understands the righteousness between the monarch and his subjects and pays tribute to the emperor with a ninth-grade exotic beast every year. If the emperor learns of this, he will surely reward me."

Kou Rui could no longer bear it, and stood up and said loudly: "Pavilion Master, don't be deceived by this kid. The commoner Yi has no moral integrity and actually drove away the neighbors in winter, resulting in the tragic death of two people by wolf bites.

Moreover, he is a man without talent or virtue, and he is weak as a chicken. How can he be qualified to be in charge of Huaiqiu Village? As a thief of Tingqiu, I request that Xiashuyi be dismissed as the head of the village, and petition the king to revoke his title. "

"Alas, asking for a thief is too harsh!"

Maosheng waved his hand and said calmly, "The wild wolf accidentally fled to the heart of the capital, and even the city guards didn't find out until many days later. You and I were both negligent in our duties, so why put the blame on Shuyi?

Moreover, he repaired the high walls and trenches, notified the surrounding villages in time, thus avoiding more losses, and hunted the wild wolf back alone. In my opinion, he not only did not make any mistakes, but also accomplished a great deed."

Kou Rui was dumbfounded. He never expected that Mao Sheng not only did not cooperate anymore, but turned around and spoke for Xia Shuyi.

"Brother Zuo Gong——"

Helplessly, Kou Rui turned his head and looked at the city guard Sima Zuo Gongyu. Now he could only hope that the two of them could work together to put pressure on Mao Sheng and make him feel fearful.

"Ah, this——" Zuo Gongyu, who had been quite arrogant when he first appeared, suddenly became speechless, with a slightly flustered tone, and stammered for a long time.
"It was just luck that the commoner Yi found the wolf - although he had a small contribution - but it could not prevent the mistake of causing death - not to mention that as a commoner, he was powerless - how could he protect the people for the king?"

"Hahaha--"

Mao Sheng chuckled and shook his head, saying: "Since both of you say that Shu Yi is powerless, then let's start this winter's test.

If the lower Shuyi's cultivation is too low to bear the responsibility, he will naturally be relieved of his post as village head. If he has reached the initial stage of body forging, you two should stop questioning him. Bai Liangzheng, you come first."

The first senior scholar to come on stage was the gray-haired old man whom Yi called Bailiang Weng. He was about fifty or sixty years old, but he held a heavy sword made of animal bones, grinned with a big mouth full of yellow teeth, and began to perform martial arts.

Although Bai Liangweng was only a commoner, he had the strength of a ninth-grade strongman. He wielded the giant sword with great vigor, and this momentum alone drew cheers from the people watching outside the pavilion.

Qing Yi stood in the first row, staring wide-eyed and observing carefully, hoping to learn something.

The magical effect of the jade beads made his strength increase continuously, but he didn't learn any martial arts moves. Now he can only cram at the last minute.

Just as he was observing carefully, the delicate sachet pressed against the chest emitted a refreshing fragrance, and Yi vaguely felt that there was a woman in green dancing with a sword in front of him.

At the beginning, every move was exactly the same as Bai Liangweng's. As the moves changed, the sword moves of the woman in green became faster and faster, and more and more exquisite.

After Bai Liangzhengzhi finished his swordplay, he demonstrated his rapid shooting skills, shooting five arrows right into the bull's eye, which drew cheers from the crowd, and even Maosheng nodded in praise.

Following closely behind were six other senior commoners, including Beiqu Gong and Nan Xiangming, who finished their martial arts performances one after another. As senior commoners, they naturally had their own unique skills, and there was constant cheering from all around.

Qing Yi stood motionless, in a trance. The figure of the woman in green demonstrated the sword and archery skills of the six upper common men to the most sophisticated level.

I thought that the evolution to a high level would be amazing enough, but who knew that the figure of the woman in green changed again, and she eliminated the dross and retained the essence of several sword techniques, forming a more unique and exquisite sword technique, which made Qing Yi fascinated.

"Hey, Xia Shuyi, wake up!"

Tu Shigu's voice instantly broke the scene of the woman's martial arts performance. His fat round face said anxiously, "Xia Shuyi, it will be your turn to perform martial arts soon."

"Next one, Xia Shuyi!"

Qiudao Kou Rui was always paying attention to Qing Yi's performance. He couldn't help but sneer and said, "Xiao Shuyi, I heard that you haven't practiced at all in the past fifteen years. You were so dazed just now. Were you scared silly?"

"But I'm afraid that if I use my sword skills, you will be frightened!"

Qing Yi responded with a sneer, then closed his eyes and took a deep breath. Every move and every form of the green-clothed woman's martial arts performance was firmly engraved in his mind.

Then he walked steadily into the martial arts arena, bowed to Mao Sheng and Zuo Gongyu, drew the sixth-grade bone sword from his waist, and suddenly the sword light enveloped his entire body.

"Huh? It's actually a talisman weapon! There are more than a dozen talisman inscriptions on it!" Tun Shigu shouted in surprise, and the lower common people were also surprised. Not everyone can afford the expensive talisman weapon.

On the contrary, several of the upper commoners looked steady. They were more concerned about Qing Yi's swordsmanship. It seemed similar to theirs, but more exquisite and unusual. They were delighted to see it.

Qing Yi fully displayed the sword moves of the woman in green, and felt extremely comfortable and refreshed all over. It seemed as if the sword was born as one with him, just like fingers were a part of his body.

As he demonstrated the sword moves, the warm current in his body became smoother and faster. With a long roar from him, a warm current flowed from the palm of his hand into the bone sword and actually erupted from the bone sword.

"what--"

Kou Rui was originally leaning on the sidelines, staring at Qing Yi's every move, but a sword energy cut across his face. He felt a chill on his back and realized that he was not injured, but the beautiful beard that he had always been proud of was cut off by the sword energy from his chin.

"Ahhh, I'm so mad at you—"

(End of this chapter)