Starting with helping Zhao Kai ascend the throne in the snow

"Wu Liuding, thank you for saving me. I, Wen Hua, owe you my life," Wen Hua said somewhat awkwardly to Wu Liuding.

At the same time, he felt ashamed of his performance. He had originally planned to make a name for himself and show off, but he didn't expect to make a mess of things and almost lose his life.

Upon hearing this, Wu Liuding glanced at Wen Hua and said, "Alright, this isn't the time to talk about this. Let's think about how to fight the leopard demon. You're not going to be able to handle this without your sword, are you?"

"Six-cylinder, you're the one who's done for! I'm perfectly fine! Who said I don't have a sword? I still have a wooden sword!" Wen Hua felt his manly dignity insulted when Wu Liuding said he was no longer capable, and immediately retorted, taking out the wooden sword he always carried with him. Wen Hua had never wanted to part with this nameless wooden sword; it had accompanied him from a lowly martial artist to a first-rank swordsman. Even after acquiring a powerful sword, he still kept this wooden sword by his side, intending to constantly remind himself of the hardships he had endured.

With Wen Hua and Wu Liuding leading the charge, Huang Qing and Qi Jiajie also joined the battle, swords in hand. Both were top-tier swordsmen of their time, and after channeling their inner strength, sharp sword energy appeared on their swords, making Lu Qi take them seriously.

Only Li Yibai, Cuihua, and Hong Biao remained stationary around the scene. As a sword attendant, Cuihua would only help Wu Liuding if he was in dire straits. Otherwise, she would not easily lend a hand. The role of a sword attendant is to assist the sword master in honing his swordsmanship. If she frequently intervened, it would affect the sword master's cultivation.

As for Li Yibai and Hong Biao, they were quite self-aware. Compared to the others in the arena, although they were all first-rank experts, they were far inferior. Therefore, they obediently stayed on the sidelines to provide support, in case of any unexpected situations. Otherwise, if they rashly stepped forward, they might very well lose their lives.

With the help of Wen Hua, Wu Liuding, Huang Qing, and Qi Jiajie, the old swordsman and Han Shengxuan became much more relaxed. They were even able to free up their hands to watch the battle from the sidelines, only needing to lend a hand when the four faced danger.

"Hmm, this guy is strange. He's deliberately hiding his true abilities." Suddenly, the old sword god looked at Huang Qing with suspicion. He could clearly sense that this swordsman named Sun Qing was deliberately concealing his origins when he used his swordsmanship. He only used some ordinary moves. However, perhaps it was out of habit, although there was nothing wrong with his swordsmanship, the old sword god recognized his fighting style as that of the Northern Mang Chess and Sword Music Academy.

However, the old swordsman was only slightly surprised and did not take it too seriously. Many martial artists from the Northern Barbarians had come to this martial arts competition, so a swordsman from the Chess and Sword Music Academy was not surprising.

As time went by, the battle on the scene remained intense. Lu Qi's face had long since lost its smile. With four more swordsmen, Han Shengxuan's red thread constantly harassing him, and the old sword god watching him covetously, he had to be on high alert. Even with his powerful regenerative abilities, his stamina was being gradually depleted.

However, Lu Qi remained calm in the face of this situation. While his own energy was considerable, his opponents were not far behind. Especially Wen Hua and the others; after less than half an hour of fighting, they were already sweating profusely and their breathing was erratic. Lu Qi believed that as long as he maintained this pace, his opponents would still be no match for him.

However, although Lucci's idea was good, it was quickly shattered by the old sword god. He had been paying close attention to the battle, and when he saw that Wen Hua and the other three had exhausted their inner strength, he immediately called Han Shengxuan to fly forward and take over the battle with Lucci, giving the others a chance to catch their breath.

An hour passed quickly, and Lu Qi's face finally turned pale. The old sword god and Han Shengxuan were in one group, while Wen Hua, Wu Liuding, and three others were in another. They split into two teams and took turns fighting Lu Qi. Under such intense combat, Lu Qi's stamina was gradually being depleted by about 30%. If this continued, he would probably be exhausted in another two hours and would be at the mercy of his opponents.

Although the people opposite him also looked quite disheveled, their faces pale and showing signs of exhaustion, Lu Qi dared not continue. He knew that the one-armed old man possessed a deadly move called "Sword Opens the Heavenly Gate," a technique that, even when he was at his peak, had depleted about 80% of his strength. Therefore, he no longer had the stamina to face Li Chungang's ultimate attack. Even though his opponent appeared to be panting heavily, he dared not gamble with his life. If his opponent were to unleash that move again, he would undoubtedly suffer severe injuries, and a single misstep could lead to total defeat.

Lucci immediately sensed the danger of the situation and began to think of a solution. He planned to find a way to break the deadlock. He was confident that he could achieve final victory if he could disrupt the opponent's rhythm or kill one or two of them.

Unbeknownst to Lu Qi, while he was worried, Shen Qing was even more anxious. As the battle continued, Shen Qing's mental energy was severely depleted. He was not only yawning constantly, but also showing signs of drowsiness from time to time, as if he wanted to fall asleep. To keep his spirits up, Shen Qing secretly pinched his thigh until it turned purple, just in case Lu Qi was forcibly sent back by the Black Ship.

However, the current battle scene showed no signs of ending anytime soon, and it seemed that the stalemate would continue. If that happened, Shen Qing would really not be able to hold on any longer.

"Senior, find a way to finish this quickly." Shen Qing finally couldn't hold back any longer and called out from the side, looking exhausted.

Upon hearing this, Li Chungang immediately looked at Shen Qing. Seeing his exhausted expression, his face turned serious. As one of the first people to travel through time with Shen Qing, he naturally knew that the Black Ship's journey was closely related to Shen Qing's spiritual power.

Shen Qing's mental strength was clearly nearing its limit, so he had to find a way to deal with Lu Qi as soon as possible. If Shen Qing couldn't hold on, the Black Ship would be exposed to everyone, which would be a huge problem.

Shen Qing's words also caught Lu Qi's attention. He snapped out of his thoughts and immediately noticed Shen Qing's exhausted expression. A glint flashed in his eyes. Although he didn't know why Shen Qing was like this, he had a feeling that it was all related to him. If Shen Qing couldn't hold on any longer, the situation would become very favorable to him.

Therefore, upon hearing that his opponent wanted a quick victory, Lucci immediately changed his previous cautious fighting strategy. The next second, he abandoned his entanglement with the martial artists in front of him and began to dodge with his own speed, trying to buy as much time as possible.

"Damn it, this is troublesome." Shen Qing's face turned extremely ugly when he saw Lu Qi change his fighting style.

If Lucci continues in his previous fighting style, the old swordsman could easily cripple him with a single move, "Sword Opening the Heavenly Gate," should he find a suitable opportunity. However, Lucci clearly realized this and adopted a completely evasive and shameless fighting style. Under these circumstances, finding an opportunity to deal with him will be extremely difficult. If the situation continues like this, Shen Qing can only watch helplessly as Lucci safely returns to the pirate world. At that time, Doflamingo, Mihawk, and anyone else connected to Shen Qing in any way will be purged by the World Government. The network of relationships he painstakingly built in the pirate world will be destroyed, and he will become a wanted criminal by the World Government, perhaps even surpassing the bounty of Revolutionary Army's Dragon.

The world of One Piece is a crucial part of Shen Qing's future development, and he absolutely cannot allow such a thing to happen. Therefore, Shen Qing needs to find a way to deal with Lucci immediately. Only by keeping Lucci completely in the Snow World can his secret be kept from being exposed.