Lord of the Desert

Chapter 485 Swordsman
September 27, the 32nd year of Zhenghe.

The sky is high and the air is fresh, and the colors are distinct.

Tang Xingqing used all her power to persuade more than a dozen of the burdensome people in the clan to return early in the morning. After returning to her room, she put on makeup for half an hour, and even made her personal maid suffer a lot, but she was still not satisfied. In the end, she simply washed off her makeup and just pasted a golden flower on her forehead as usual.

At noon, she set out alone for the north of the city. When she stepped on the bluestone road, she felt her heart trembling slightly, like cold dew blown by the cool breeze.

When they arrived at the heavily guarded door of the trading post, Song Xuan Ge, the general of Shengyu Army who was leading the way, said nothing but looked at them with a scrutinizing look.

Tea and snacks had already been prepared in the reception room of the inn, and the red maple leaves on the windowsill cast delicate shadows on the table.

The two sat opposite each other.

"Thank you for your help on the night of the 25th."

Hong Fan was wearing a gold-woven brocade robe with a dark red background, and his long hair was untied and draped over his shoulders, looking casual and relaxed.

"I wasn't speaking entirely for you at the time."

Tang Xingqing's cheeks turned slightly red when she looked at the other person, but she did not look away.

"To offend the Martial Arts Academy is a great offense in the martial arts world. The Qingdi Zhenzong has a friendship with my Tang family but no favors. I will never take such a risk for them."

"You haven't finished your work yet, why are you dressed like this?"

She asked, thinking that two years ago, Hong Fan rarely wore expensive colors.

"Everything is ready, all we need is the east wind."

Hong Fan replied.

"To be on the safe side, I plan to wait for another two days until most of the foreign warriors gathered in the city have dispersed before leading the team to confront each other at Cangxu Mountain."

He said as he pushed over a plate of preserved fruits.

Tang Xingqing actually doesn’t like sweet food, but she tasted the candied fruit out of courtesy and found it surprisingly delicious.

Three years passed, and both of them grew from nineteen to twenty-two years old.

She noticed that Hong Fan had a short beard, which made his usual mature demeanor even more striking.

"Are you going to grow a beard?"

Tang Xingqing asked.

"I have no such intention."

Hong Fan replied casually.

"But if you don't have a beard after you reach adulthood, people will mistake you for a eunuch."

There was a chuckle at the table.

Tang Xingqing realized that this seemed to be the first time she had talked about meaningless things with the other party.

Lower your shoulders and lean back in your chair.

She inexplicably found the feeling she had in Longqiu Town at the beginning - at that time, her relationship with Hong Fan was not as complicated as it was later, and she did not feel awkward when seeing him.

At the time of Si (11 o'clock noon), Hong Fan naturally invited him to stay for dinner, and Tang Xingqing had long forgotten that she had waited for her maid at the inn, so she readily agreed.

The chef of the inn was not very skilled and could only cook farm dishes. This meal consisted of stewed rooster and rabbit, stir-fried two seasonal vegetables, and a jar of sorghum wine.

Tang Xingqing drank a lot of wine, which was a rare occasion. After the meal, she was still in high spirits and practiced martial arts with Hong Fan outside the courtyard. She looked more and more relaxed and contented.

At Shenshi (3pm), the two of them washed up and returned to the room.

"Your combat power has indeed improved by leaps and bounds. Counting Jingnian, you are about 35th on the Tianjiao Ranking, about the same as Zhang Angxiong of Qingdi Zhenzong."

Hong Fan made an estimate.

"Great progress? Not really."

There was no joy on Tang Xingqing's face.

"I made a breakthrough in March last year. With the help of two years of accumulation of the interaction between heaven and man, I opened up the first meridian in July. It took me a whole year to open up the second meridian. At this rate, I may be able to break into the top 20 before I am removed from the list."

She pretended to be indifferent, but still showed some frustration.

"Martial arts seek distance rather than speed, and the Tang family does not urgently need you to carry the flag, so consolidating the foundation is the most important thing."

Hong Fan laughed.

"Speaking of strengthening the foundation, I heard before that the eldest daughter of the Xijing Shen family is now practicing martial arts diligently; the Shen family ancestor even went to Haizhou in person to ask for four top-grade Bailu Pills for her."

Tang Xingqing suddenly mentioned someone she didn't like to mention before.

"If the Shen family doesn't care about the cost, she will have a chance to reach the Xiantian level in the thirty-fourth year of Zhenghe, and maybe even make it onto the Tianjiao list."

Two years is enough to cross the entire realm of power. This number may seem incredible at first glance.

"I remember she was three months older than me. It's not impossible for you to say that."

Hong Fan did some mental calculations and replied.

According to his understanding, it took Kou Yong, Chu Jiange, Qu Luoyi and others about five years from the time they first learned about martial arts to the time they broke through their innate abilities.

But on the one hand, Shen Tiexin has a natural affinity with innate spiritual energy and does not have the threshold of communication between heaven and man, so he can save two years of hard work compared to ordinary geniuses. On the other hand, he has the support of the number one family in Liangzhou and has a supply of external resources at all costs. The strength realm is different from the qi realm. As long as his talent is not exhausted, top-grade elixirs can greatly increase the speed of cultivation.

"I asked the clan to find out about her parents."

Tang Xingqing continued.

"Her mother, Madam Lu, and the head of the Shen family have known each other since childhood. They were well matched and their marriage went smoothly. However, three years after the marriage, Madam Lu's martial arts broke through to the Xiantian level, and she was eventually forced to return to Shenjing to focus on her cultivation."

Hong Fan nodded.

Many people in Xijing knew about this, and it was for this reason that Shen Tiexin's relationship with his mother's family became cold.

Compared with the top talents on the list, the innate warriors under 30 years old are certainly not amazing, but there are many who can break through to the Yuanci level after practicing for another 30 or 40 years. Hong Jian is the best example.

As such, for aristocratic families, young talents are core assets that must be managed carefully. If Mrs. Lu had stayed in the Shen family in Xijing for a long time, it would be hard to say which family she would belong to in the future.

"She is training for you, right?"

Tang Xingqing lowered her eyes and said abruptly.

The topic sank further.

She took a deep breath, clenched her fists on her knees, and raised her head to look at the person sitting opposite her.

"I think she practices martial arts for her own freedom."

Hong Fan pondered for a moment and changed his words.

"Ms. Shen's appearance and talent are both remarkable. She can do whatever she wants now because of Shen Maya's favor and protection. The Shen family's ancestor's martial arts career is over, and his life span is at least five years and at most twenty years. Once he enters the five stages of decline, she may not be able to make decisions on many matters.

Currently, the second-highest martial artist in the Shen family, Shen Maoxun, who is called 'Frozen Three Feet', has reached the third level of Yuanci. Theoretically, as long as Miss Shen reaches the Yuanci realm, no one in the family can stop her."

Having said this, the two looked at each other and smiled bitterly.

It seems that the innate Yuanci is only one major realm away, but the talent required in the meantime is completely different from the slow and steady work and the power realm - from the first level of innate to the first level of Yuanci, Guan Qimai, who is the most talented person in history, took six years, and Duan Tiannan, who is also outstanding in talent compared to the top of the list of geniuses in history, took nine years, not to mention Shen Tiexin, who has little experience and is naive?
"The Four Noble Truths of Buddhism are suffering, accumulation, cessation, and path."

Tang Xingqing sneered and asked back.

"Can you do whatever you want if you have high martial arts skills?"

"I'm afraid not."

Hong Fan thought of his inexplicable time travel and shook his head with emotion.

“The so-called freedom in the world means, first, not being responsible for anyone, and second, never looking back at the past; martial arts can change victory and defeat, life and death, but it is powerless against these two things.”

The wind blew through the bamboo window, and the barking of dogs in the distance diluted the voices of the people in the room.

Both of them were thinking about something.

Hong Fan is the realm of martial arts where one has stagnated.

Tang Xingqing had something else in mind.

Another pot of tea boiled on the stove.

"The whole Liangzhou knows that the eldest daughter of the Shen family is in love with you..."

Tang Xing stared at the steam blankly and suddenly spoke.

Halfway through her words, she realized that she was talking nonsense, and she nervously reached out to hold the sword case.

Then, Qiandianxing followed his heart and asked what was in his mind without regret.

"Will you marry Shen Tiexin in the future?"

As she said this, her heart was beating hard in her ears, and her true energy was involuntarily running at full speed, instantly sweeping away the drunkenness.

[Will I marry Shen Tiexin? ]

Hong Fanquan never expected that this little girl who always blushed and was shy would ask such a direct question to his face, so he felt a little flustered.

It seemed as if the two of them had switched roles, host and guest, attacker and defender.

"I do not know."

After a long while, he shook his head.

"Miss Shen grew up with a silver spoon in her mouth. She is willful and unruly and doesn't know the ways of the world, but her nature is not bad. I have no lingering feelings for her as a friend."

Hong Fan replied seriously.

"As for marriage arrangements, I haven't thought about it yet, so I really can't answer that."

He spoke these words from the bottom of his heart.

As a time traveler, Hong Fan thought about many things and had many daydreams.

For example, if the empire is in chaos within the next ten years and he wants to establish his own regime in the northwest and compete for the Central Plains, marrying Shen Tiexin to tie down the Xijing family would be a good strategy.

"No lingering feelings? Well, I don't think you would like that kind of daughter from a rich family."

Tang Xingqing smiled.

This smile only lasted for a short moment.

"That person from Shenjing..."

She was almost about to ask a second question - as a good swordsman, Qiandianxing would always follow up with another sword after gaining an advantage with one strike - but Tang Xingqing interrupted her.

Hong Fan was a cunning man and knew very well what the other party was going to ask, but this time he really didn't know how to start.

"You and I are both warriors, there is a long way to go."

Tang Xingqing looked out the window and changed the subject, her high ponytail bouncing briskly behind her head.

The Tang family's "Thousand Silk Thoughts" sword theory advocates countering each opponent's moves, using complexity to defeat simplicity, and using the normal to defeat the strange, and it is most taboo to risk everything on one throw.

"When are you going back to Shenjing? I'm not in a hurry, I can go with you then."

This was Tang Xingqing's last question.

The autumn maples outside the window are blushing.

How could Hong Fan not agree?

(End of this chapter)