Starting with Hyuga, traversing countless heavens

Hinata Hoshino waves his hand, and a five-stringed zither appears. His fingers move, and the melody changes in countless ways.

However, the murderous intent in Nangong Pushe's heart gradually subsided. Murderous intent should exist, but it should not be present in ordinary times. Normal times require building up momentum until the moment of drawing the sword, when all the murderous intent is concentrated in one strike and suddenly unleashed, that is a sure-kill strike.

The melody played by Hinata Hoshino changed, and a melodious piano tune emerged. The music was gentle and lingering, as if telling an ancient story. Hinata Hoshino's fingers danced lightly on the strings, and with each note, the surrounding atmosphere seemed to soften.

Nangong Pushe's swordplay became increasingly graceful, as if it were a dance rather than a swordplay. Hyuga Hoshino nodded, noting that Nangong Pushe had good comprehension.

To the accompaniment of the zither music, Nangong Pushe, wielding two swords, danced gracefully in the astonished gazes of Xuanyuan Qingfeng and Li Yishan atop the high tower. Nangong Pushe's movements were agile and powerful; every turn and leap was filled with strength and beauty. The blades gleamed coldly, perfectly complementing Nangong Pushe's white robes.

The sight of Hyuga Hoshino playing the zither and Nangong Pushe wielding the sword creates a harmonious scene, the music and the sword dance intertwining as if telling an ancient and timeless story.

The atmosphere was great, but unfortunately someone kept ruining it. Xu Fengnian clapped wildly, interrupting Nangong Pushe's sword dance.

Nangong Pushe stopped wielding his sword, slowly releasing his restrained killing intent. Xu Fengnian felt a chill run down his spine, as if pure killing intent was emanating from the surroundings. Xu Fengnian looked around but found nothing amiss.

Xu Fengnian came to Hinata Hoshino's side and tugged at Hinata Hoshino's sleeve, "Can you feel it? There's a murderous aura."

Hinata Hoshino pointed at Nanamiya Busho, "The murderous aura emanating from her."

"It's just a sword practice, why is there a murderous aura?"

Hinata Hoshino was silent for a moment, then said, "Everyone has to have a goal when doing anything. What do you think is Nangong Pushe's goal in learning martial arts?"

Xu Fengnian shook his head. "I don't know. I can't figure it out. I asked him before, but he didn't answer me."

"She has a great grudge against her, four major enemies, but she doesn't agree that I can't tell you."

Xu Fengnian walked towards Minister Nangong and stopped some distance away. "Mr. Zhang said that you have a great grudge against you, and four enemies. Is that true?"

Nangong Pushe stared intently at Hyuga Hoshino, seemingly pondering why Hyuga Hoshino knew.

Nangong Pushe's mother was a dragon about to transform into a dragon. Xie Guanying chose to kill her just as she was about to transform into a dragon in order to preserve the fortune of Nangong Pushe's mother.

Therefore, the fortune of Nangong Pushe's mother was divided into four parts. Apart from Xie Guanying absorbing a portion of the fortune, the remaining three parts were absorbed by Wang Xianzhi of Donghai Wudi City, Han Shengxuan (the human-cat) in Tai'an City, the capital of Liyang Dynasty, and Tuoba Pusa of Beimang.

Therefore, Minister Nangong would say that he has four major enemies, namely the four mentioned above.

Xu Xiao has been investigating Nangong Pushe's identity, but Nangong Pushe's birth mother is a dragon, not a human, while Xie Guanying has been in hiding because of the martial arts and generals' evaluations he made with Li Yishan.

Xu Xiao has never been able to find out Nangong Pushe's true identity. In fact, if Xu Xiao knew that Nangong Pushe originally shared the same surname as his father, Xie Guanying, he might have been able to find out Nangong Pushe's true identity.

However, considering the nature of dragons, Xie Guanying's physique was indeed quite good.

Hinata Hoshino walked to Nangong Pushe's side and whispered in his ear, "Thank you Guanying, Wang Xianzhi, Han Shengxuan and Tuoba Pusa."

Looking at the smiling Hyuga Hoshino, Nangong Pushe suddenly felt a little lost. "How did you know?"

Hinata Hoshino pointed to his eyes, "These eyes see through too much. I can only tell you that the easiest person to deal with among these people is Han Shengxuan, that human-cat."

Surprise flashed across Nangong Pushe's usually cold face again. "He's clearly in the palace, so why is he the easiest to deal with? He'll be leaving soon. If you want, I can take you to intercept him. In fact, if you can pay a price that satisfies me, capturing all four of them and disposing of them at your disposal wouldn't be difficult."

"No need. I believe I will have enough strength to kill them someday."

Seeing the slight blush on Nangong Pushe's fair face, Hyuga Hoshino smiled and said, "Perhaps by the time you have the strength, they will already be dead."

Looking at the two whispering, especially at the moment when Nangong Pushe's face turned slightly red, Xu Fengnian admitted that he might be a little out of touch with the times.

Keeping male prostitutes was normal in this era, but Xu Fengnian, who identified himself as male and had a preference for women, felt a strange itch in his heart when he saw the interactions between Hinata Hoshino and Nangong Pushe.

Xu Fengnian noticed that Xuan Yuanqingfeng looked at Hinata Hoshino and Nangong Pushe with a look of utter disbelief. "You care?"

"Some people can't stand seeing their man being intimate with other women."

"woman?"

Xuan Yuan Qingfeng looked at Xu Fengnian, speechless. He had heard from Hinata Hoshino that Xu Fengnian was quite intelligent, so how could he not see that Nangong Pushe was a girl just because she was handsome?

Xuan Yuan Qingfeng glanced at Hinata Hoshino, then looked at Nangong Pushe. The case was solved because of Hinata Hoshino. Hinata Hoshino possessed a beauty that transcended gender; her movements were sometimes feminine like a young girl, and sometimes masculine like a boy.

Xuan Yuan Qingfeng continued watching the interaction between Hinata Hoshino and Nangong Pushe; she was definitely shipping this couple.

Xu Fengnian did not get the response he wanted, so he went directly into Tingchao Pavilion and went upstairs to see Li Yishan.

Nangong Pushe felt that Hinata Hoshino was getting too close to her. Just as Nangong Pushe was about to push Hinata Hoshino away, Hinata Hoshino had already grasped Nangong Pushe's hands.

Xuan Yuan Qingfeng chuckled. It was an old trick. When Hyuga Hoshino was instructing her, he stood behind her and taught her step by step. Xuan Yuan Qingfeng felt that this teaching process could only be described as embarrassing. He hoped that Nangong Pushe could handle it.

Nangong Pushe felt Hyuga Hoshino holding her hands, and Hyuga Hoshino was moving her body, using her swordsmanship, but without the perfect nineteen stops.

The sixth stage kills the second-rank immortal, the ninth stage kills the mysterious, the twelfth stage kills the celestial phenomena, and the sixteenth stage even breaks through the great Vajra of Buddhism, leaving the celestial body as blank as paper. After the eighteenth stage, there are no more terrestrial immortals in this life.

The principle behind the Nineteen Stops lies in the concept of layering. After each strike, Nangong Pushe would pause for a fleeting moment. The subsequent strike, executed after this pause, would be even more swift and invincible. Thus, layering occurs from the first layer to the second, and so on, until the final nineteenth layer. The power contained within the blade increases exponentially with each of these nineteen layerings.

However, the Nineteen Stops requires an indomitable spirit, which is to put it bluntly, a move that leads to mutual destruction. In the original novel, after Nangong Pushe fell in love with Xu Fengnian, he had a lingering attachment in his heart. He had the Nineteen Stops, but he couldn't use it.

Hinata Hoshino and Nangong Pushe's bodies gradually overlapped. Nangong Pushe felt the principles of swordsmanship. As for Hinata Hoshino's groping behavior towards her, Nangong Pushe chose to turn a blind eye.

Nangong Pushe focused intently on his swordsmanship, and Hyuga Hoshino quickly refined the nineteen-stop technique to eighteen before suddenly stopping.

After stopping, Nangong Pushe emerged from his state of enlightenment, somewhat disoriented. "The nineteenth stop? Why didn't we continue? Why?"

Hinata Hoshino sheathed his sword and embraced Nangong Pushe, who was somewhat enchanted. "Do you think you can currently master the Nineteen Stops? Or are you confident that you can use the Nineteen Stops without taking damage?"

"Okay, let's do it again."

Hinata Hoshino and Xuanyuan Qingfeng tilted their heads to look at Nangong Pushe. Their first thought was that Nangong Pushe had good stamina.

When Hinata Hoshino held Nangong Pushe's hands from behind, Nangong Pushe clearly didn't react much, focusing entirely on feeling the Eighteen Stops sword technique. Nangong Pushe felt that this was the most suitable sword technique for her, even after studying extensively and perfecting it, it could only be this kind of technique at most.

However, Nangong Pushe harbored a new ambition: if he already understood the Eighteen Stops sword technique, could he further refine it, making it not only the most suitable for her, but also a sword technique that only she could use and that she could unleash its full power?

Xu Fengnian walked up to the Listening Tide Pavilion. Li Yishan, who had been watching the group, had already turned his head away and was pretending to play chess.

Looking at Li Yishan's chess game, Xu Fengnian felt bewildered yet also harbored a hidden murderous intent. He blurted out, "A good move."

Li Yishan was a bit confused. He had made a random move. How could Xu Fengnian have seen that it was a good move?

"Where's the best place?"

"A deadly trap is brewing."

Li Yishan paused for a moment, then tried to find an excuse, "If you think there's a hidden danger, then you're wrong. You made a mistake, let's start over."

After speaking, Li Yishan smoothed out the chessboard and swept all the pieces off the board.

Xu Fengnian naturally went to the opposite side of Li Yishan to help tidy up the chess pieces. After tidying up, Li Yishan went first, giving Li Yishan a three-piece handicap.

This was an unspoken understanding between the two; Li Yishan always went first, but the number of pieces he let others have was constantly decreasing.

At first, he was given a nine-stone handicap, but now he's given a three-stone handicap. Xu Fengnian's skill level is now comparable to Li Yishan's when he was given a three-stone handicap.

"Feng Nian, have you made any progress regarding the assassination?"

"Yes, but there's still some uncertainty."

"What's uncertain?"

"I'm not sure about all of their intentions. I've guessed their general intentions and who's behind them, but I don't know some of the details. Or rather, I don't know Xu Xiao."

Li Yishan chuckled. Xu Fengnian's strategy was indeed quite good. "It seems you guessed about the portrait. So, have you guessed who's in the army? And who's in your household?"

"The soldiers can guess that this is something the manor doesn't know yet; they only know that there's definitely one in my courtyard. We've already ruled out a few people, and there aren't many left."

"Haha, okay, okay. Let me give you one last reminder."

"Please tell me."

"If I'm not mistaken, there's probably nothing in this world that Mr. Zhang can't do if you cultivate a good relationship with him. If you ever need anything in the future that you can't get, you can ask him for help. As for whether he'll be willing, I don't know."

Xu Fengnian nodded. After Hyuga Hoshino's analysis, Xu Fengnian's mindset had changed. The strength of a martial artist could also be unparalleled in the world. However, as Xu Fengnian looked up at the beam, Li Yishan was about to drive him away.

"Master, before I leave, I have one last question: just how powerful can a terrestrial immortal be?"

"Why do you ask this question so suddenly?"

"Mr. Zhang told me that it would be no problem for a terrestrial immortal to kill two thousand armored soldiers with a single move."

"That's right, powerful terrestrial deities possess this power."

Li Yishan's focus was on the word "powerful." How could he not know the strength of Xie Guanying and Wang Xianzhi?

Even a terrestrial deity can only be defeated depending on the situation. A strong one might be able to kill more than two thousand armored soldiers with a single move, while a weak one might not even be able to kill a thousand armored soldiers.

Xu Fengnian left Tingchao Pavilion after getting the answer, and the idea of ​​practicing martial arts began to sprout. However, Xu Fengnian was also aware of his own situation. He was getting old, and all those masters had started their training from a young age. How far could he go?

As Xu Fengnian was pondering this question on his way downstairs, he almost missed a step. After descending the stairs, he saw Hyuga Hoshino leading Nangong Pushe in a sword dance. Nangong Pushe was already swaying precariously, covered in sweat.

Xu Fengnian sensed something was wrong. At this moment, Nangong Pushe was covered in sweat and had a dazed look in her eyes. Xu Fengnian really found it hard to see her as a man.

Xu Fengnian began to have doubts. Was his eyesight really that bad?

Chapter 333 Hinata Hoshino: Shu Xiu? Wonderful!

"Hey, Mr. Zhang, have you heard? A third-ranked scholar cursed at me in the street."

Hinata Hoshino put down his notebook and looked at Xu Fengnian speechlessly. "You're excited? Your hobby is quite strange."

"What's going on? I just thought it would be fun. It's been so many years since I've met anyone who dared to curse me in the street. I heard they were quite literate. Want to go and join the fun?"

Hinata Hoshino blinked, then suddenly remembered Shu Xiu, who was very smooth in the TV series and novel. He wondered what she was like.

"Go and have a look."

Before leaving, Hinata Hoshino looked at Xuan Yuan Qingfeng and asked, "Qingfeng, would you like to come along and take a look?"

"No need, I'm not interested. Besides, it's the same if you show it to me when you get back."

Sunlight filtered through the clouds, casting dappled shadows on the ground. A simple yet distinguished carriage slowly approached, its copper bells jingling melodiously and solemnly. The carriage's appearance immediately drew everyone's attention, and passersby quickly made way for it.

Finally, the carriage stopped, and Lin Tanhua stepped out. Fan, played by Shu Xiu, held the ladder and helped Lin Tanhua to the top of the carriage.

"Everyone, as we all know, Xu Xiao can be considered a traitor to the country..."

The surrounding people were all busy with their own things, but when Lin Tanhua climbed onto the roof of the carriage, they were immediately attracted and surrounded the carriage, ready to listen to what Lin Tanhua had to say.

Lin Tanhua started by calling Xu Xiao a traitor, which they couldn't understand at all. If he had cursed Xu Xiao's mother, perhaps they would have understood what he was saying. Lin Tanhua spoke for a long time, but found that no one in the crowd responded to him, which puzzled him.

This was completely different from what Lin Tanhua had imagined. Given his eloquence, shouldn't he have been able to command a large following, attract the attention of the Northern Liang Prince's Mansion, and then be forced to confront Xu Fengnian directly?

Xu Fengnian, Lao Huang, Jiang Ni, and Hinata Hoshino stood in the crowd. Hinata Hoshino found the scene boring, and Lin Tanhua spoke in formal language, which did not sound like swearing at all.

What are you talking about?

Hinata Hoshino secretly transmitted his voice, and voices came from all directions. Lin Tanhua looked around but couldn't find the person who was speaking, so he continued to explain what he had just said, about national righteousness and Xu Xiao's injustice...

At this moment, an old man in tattered clothes approached Lin Tanhua's carriage.