The Fairy: From the Traveling Merchant

Chapter 898 Stealing the Moon
"Alright, I have achieved all my goals in coming to see you. Now let's continue the competition." Tantai Zhugong gently sheathed the "Snow Bamboo Sword" in his hand, about to change his moves and end the current "Taiyin Eclipse Realm" twin moons vying for brilliance.

But Zhao Chen stopped him with a swing of his sword: "I have another question..."

Tantai Zhugong stopped his sword, surprised, and asked, "What do you want to ask?"

"Which side are you from? Are you really one of the 'Xuanwei' True Lord's people?" Zhao Chen finally asked the question that had been nagging at him.

Although the other party has never admitted it, he has always given people the impression that he is backed by the "Xuanwei" True Lord.

The young man in the purple robe was taken aback at first, then remained silent for a few seconds before slowly saying, "You are indeed very perceptive..."

Although he didn't answer directly, his reaction already spoke volumes.

Zhao Chen nodded, understandingly saying, "You were worried that the Emperor would find out about the person you represented contacting me, so you went through all this trouble and deliberately misled people, right?"

He paused, looked into Tantai Zhugong's eyes, and asked,

"So, who exactly is He?"

Tantai Zhugong hesitated for a moment, then finally shook her head and said, "I can't say right now..."

"I see... then let's change the question!" Zhao Chen's eyes darted around, and he asked again, "Is He... related to the Star God?"

"Sigh!" Tantai Zhugong sighed, "Please don't make things difficult for me..."

"I understand!" Zhao Chen nodded slightly, no longer stopping the other party from removing the "bright moon". He himself took the opportunity to raise the "blood moon" formed by the sword light, completely illuminating this man-made "darkness".

From an outsider's perspective, it seemed as if he had gained the upper hand in the contest between the two moons, suppressing Tantai Zhugong's sword moves.

In fact, although the two of them seemed to have been talking for quite a while, it was all a spiritual exchange, lasting only a dozen or so breaths.

As darkness dissipated and light returned, Zhao Chen "flew" into the air and slashed down the "blood moon" formed by his sword light.

The fourth move of the "Falling Star Divine Sword Manual" is "Jade Wheel Knocking on the Palace Gate"!
Tantai Zhugong pretended that he had just lost a move and now had to deal with it hastily. He merged with the sword, leaving behind a phantom of a thousand-year-old laurel tree, and went straight into the "Blood Moon" sword light.

This is the sixth move of the Falling Star Divine Sword, "Gui Po Gou Xin".

However, due to the hasty execution of this move, its power was slightly insufficient, so it failed to remove the "heart" of the "blood moon". Instead, Zhao Chen seized the opportunity and turned the "moon" into a "meteorite", using the fifth move "Meteor Burial" to break his "Gui Po Gou Xin".

By this time, Tantai Zhugong had fallen into a complete disadvantage, but he remained "stubborn". Facing the pursuing sword light, his "Snow Bamboo Sword" borrowed some of the power of the surrounding formation and used the sword energy to create a "wall of ice and snow".

This is no longer a move from the "Falling Star Divine Sword Manual," but a sword technique that Tantai Zhugong comprehended on his own from the "Taiyin Demon-Slaying Sword Manual," which was also a defensive method he often used during his time of fame in the capital.

But such a method was obviously no challenge for Zhao Chen. While he was driving his flying sword to transform into a "meteor" to continue attacking the ice wall, he reached out and took out his "Dragon Gun" and activated the "Dragon Flame Bullet" which could only be used four or five times a day.

With this shot, he used the "Eagle Strike Twenty" move from the "Divine Eagle Gun Combat Technique".

The "Dragon Flame Bullet" first appeared as a phantom of an eagle, traveling along an incredible trajectory to reach high altitudes before swooping down and bypassing the "ice wall" at a tricky angle, striking Tantai Zhugong in the back of the neck. Fortunately, this bullet only possessed the power of a fifth-grade divine ability, and even at its high speed, it couldn't truly penetrate Tantai Zhugong's protective divine ability.

However, being hit itself meant that Tantai Zhugong was now in a "desperate situation," since Zhao Chen could calmly fire a second, third, or even more bullets.

So after pretending to hesitate for a few seconds, Tantai Zhugong took the initiative to withdraw his "defense" and said in a deep voice, "I lost."

As he conceded defeat, the audience on the surrounding high-rise buildings and airships erupted in cheers after a brief moment of silence.

"He lost... The Sword Master of Kyushu actually lost in a sword duel?"

"Zhao Chen cheated! He actually used a firearm during the sword fight!"

"First, this is a contest of magic, not a sword fight! Second, apart from Shu Prefecture, no rules for magic or sword fights explicitly prohibit the use of firearms."

"Even in a sword duel, Young Master Tantai was at a disadvantage. In the battle between the two moons, Zhao Chen clearly won."

"They both use the same sword technique, could they be from the same school?"

"In any case, the 'Blood Sword Gentleman' is about to truly become famous throughout the Nine Provinces!"

The audience was discussing it enthusiastically. Whether they were renowned figures or ordinary cultivators, they all felt they had seen a feast for the eyes, after all, the sword fight between Zhao Chen and Tantai Zhugong was quite spectacular.

And just as some people guessed, Zhao Chen is about to become truly famous!

"Snow Bamboo Sword" Tantai Zhugong is no ordinary cultivator with supernatural powers, but "Young Master Bamboo" who is praised by many major sects and noble families in the Nine Provinces as the outstanding young generation.

Zhao Chen, who defeated him, will inevitably inherit his position as the head of the Six Young Masters of the Central Plains and become the object of admiration for young cultivators throughout the Nine Provinces.

"The younger generation is truly formidable!" Master Mi stroked his long beard and sighed once again, "Once this Young Master Chen truly achieves supernatural powers, he may be able to stand shoulder to shoulder with the core disciples of aristocratic families and upper sects, and compete for the Heavenly Gang position on the 'Starry Sky Supernatural Power Ranking'."

Upon hearing this, the people around were once again astonished. They had not expected that Master Mi would have such a high opinion of Zhao Chen.

It should be noted that in the previous session, Song Wurui, the "God of Calamity" and a core disciple of the "Ten Thousand Beasts Sect," was only a "Earthly Star" and was not eligible for the Heavenly Stars.

At this moment, a busybody asked, "Master Mi, if Zhao Chen is included in your 'Biographies of Young Masters,' what kind of 'young master' title do you plan to give him?"

"Gongzi Hao" is a pseudonym for the person who recorded the "Gongzi Zhuan". It can be one character or more characters, and so on. For example, Tantai Zhugong was given the title "Zhu Gongzi".

Upon being asked, Master Mi's gaze swept across the "Thousand Bamboo Garden," glancing at Zhao Chen, who was surrounded by several female cultivators celebrating his victory. After a moment of contemplation, he hesitated before speaking:
"'Stealing all the stars in the Milky Way, yet still unable to redeem himself from the debts of love and romance,' let's tentatively call him 'The Moon Thief Prince'."

"The Moon Thief Prince?" The "ordinary" man curled his lips and nodded secretly. Then he slowly withdrew from the crowd and went to a secluded spot downstairs. There he removed his disguise and transformed into a beautiful woman with a well-proportioned figure and long legs.

It was Zhuge, the girl who had once been employed by Jansen to deliver documents to Zhao Chen.

(End of this chapter)