The Song Dynasty was the king for thirteen years before he knew that he was Tianlong.

Chapter 425 Weapon
Lin Meng landed on the roof in front of him, still with his hands behind his back. Although he was burly and had a thick beard, and looked rough and tough, he had a natural air of ease and composure.

Zhao Ti thought to himself that Master Lin's martial arts skills were far superior to those two, and his temperament was also different. He should be considered a master.

Lin Meng looked at Zhao Ti and said, "Young man, hiding your face is not a good habit."

Zhao Ti touched the veil on his face and said, "This is something that Master Lin does not know. I am not trying to show off or gain any worldly fame. I only sincerely want to compete in martial arts and improve myself."

"Hehe..." Lin Meng laughed, "It's good for young people to have ambitions, but it's not good to think too unrealistically or overestimate one's abilities."

“I’m not overestimating myself,” Zhao Ti said earnestly. “Since I’ve come to see Master Lin, I must have some confidence, otherwise wouldn’t I be humiliating myself?”

"Is that so?" Lin Meng remained expressionless, but snorted, "In that case, I'll give you three moves, junior. Make your move!"

"Give me three moves?" Zhao Ti scratched his head. "Master Lin, you'd better not give me three moves. If you give me three moves, I'm afraid you won't have a chance to fight back and you might lose outright."

"What?" Upon hearing this, Lin Meng's usually calm face darkened.

The disciples of Fuwei Martial Arts School below were all furious. They couldn't stand Zhao Ti's seemingly nonchalant but actually extremely arrogant and infuriating words.

"Good lad, you're incredibly arrogant!"

"Yeah, they still dare to be so arrogant in front of the museum owner!"

"With your arrogance, how will you face anyone after you are defeated by the master!"

"Showing off one's own wares is incredibly arrogant!"

"Am I really that arrogant?" Zhao Ti glanced at the crowd below and said apologetically, "But I was just telling the truth..."

"The truth?" The disciples below were so angry they almost vomited blood. They were all indignant and eager to climb onto the roof and fight Zhao Ti.

However, these disciples lacked the skill to fly up, and they were so angry that they gritted their teeth. Two of them couldn't hold back any longer and even planned to move the wooden ladder from the warehouse.

"Young man, stop talking and make your move. I'll give you three moves!" Even with his excellent composure, Lin Meng was getting impatient and said, enunciating each word clearly.

"Does Master Lin really want me to make the first move and then give him three more?" Zhao Ti said, "Master Lin, don't regret it later."

"I won't regret it, so hurry up and make your move. Stop hesitating and saying things shouldn't be delayed," Lin Meng said.

"Alright, then I'll make my move!" Zhao Ti nodded. Since the other party insisted on giving him the first move, it would be impolite to refuse.

He quickly shook the cloth bag in his hand, and then the iron plate appeared. But it was only for a moment. Many people below did not even see what was in the cloth bag. Then, a pink light flashed, and Lin Meng shouted "Ah!" and jumped directly off the roof.

He jumped down on his own; he had no choice. He knew he couldn't block the attack as soon as it was made, so he had to jump down because the rooftop was narrow and there was nowhere to dodge.

The sword was so fast that Lin Meng barely saw it clearly. It looked like a slender piece of metal, its cold light flashing before turning into a pink glow, and then it pierced through without leaving any openings.

His face was extremely grim. As he stood on the ground and looked up at the roof, he saw that the other party's weapon had been wrapped up again. What did that mean? Were they looking down on him? Weren't they going to let him even look at it?

Zhao Ti didn't really want to cover the iron plate again. Who wouldn't want to show off their divine power and might in front of others? But the iron plate was just too shabby and made him look bad. He decided to keep it out of sight if possible.

Lin Meng took a deep breath: "You..."

Zhao Ti asked in bewilderment, "Why did Master Lin run away? The competition isn't over yet."

Lin Meng: "I, I..."

Am I running away? If we examine this closely, according to the rules of the arena, I could be considered to have lost after that one sword strike, since I voluntarily jumped off the building.

“I see. Master Lin forgot his weapon, didn’t he? That makes sense. I have a weapon here, but Master Lin is empty-handed. It’s not fair, and we can’t really learn anything from this exchange.” Zhao Ti pondered, then his tone revealed a slight hint of doubt: “Does Master Lin usually use a weapon? Or does he always fight empty-handed?”

Lin Meng's eyes flickered, unable to tell whether Zhao Ti was pretending to be stupid and saying that on purpose, or whether he really didn't realize that he couldn't avoid it and that's why he jumped off the roof.

But since there was a way out, he wouldn't admit defeat right away, as that would be too humiliating, not the kind of defeat he could accept in a daytime competition, as he had said.

There had to be some back-and-forth exchanges, and in the end, it was just a narrow defeat, something I could barely accept.

But just now, the moment the opponent drew their weapon and flashed with light, I jumped off the roof. What kind of situation is that?
Those with foresight know they have nowhere to hide and can only jump, so even if they lose, it's not a bad look.

But those who lack insight and knowledge might think that as soon as the opponent brandishes a weapon, they would be so frightened that they would flee in panic and quickly admit defeat.

But does anyone present have any sense of perspective? Lin Meng glanced at the disciples who were already dumbfounded, and his heart skipped a beat. He knew these disciples' skills and abilities all too well. How could they possibly have any sense of perspective? They might even think that he had been scared out of his wits.

Although they are his own people and they are on his side, if he were to lose, not only would people gossip about him, but they might also spread rumors. Putting aside the potential for harm to his reputation, it would ruin his lifelong legacy.

"Uh, this..." Lin Meng's mind raced with countless thoughts, and finally he gritted his teeth and said, "I really forgot to bring my weapon. Someone, go to my room and get the precious sword from the wall!"

The disciples behind him were stunned upon hearing this. Had the master forgotten his weapon? They remembered that the master never used weapons when sparring with others.

"What are you all standing there for? Hurry up and get it!" Lin Meng said angrily.

"Yes, yes, Master..." The disciples were confused, but they could only agree and jogged away.

Hearing this from the rooftop, Zhao Ti couldn't help but chuckle inwardly. How could he not see that the other party had jumped down to dodge his sword strike? In fact, his first strike of the Peach Blossom Sword Technique hadn't been fully unleashed, but the opponent was simply too experienced and cunning to react in a split second, so he simply dodged and jumped down.

But I can't just ask the other party to admit defeat right now. We haven't even sparred yet, we haven't exchanged a single move. If the other party admits defeat like this, wouldn't I have come all this way for nothing?
That's why I asked the other party to take out their weapon, without mentioning the matter of forcing them to fall with a single sword strike.

A moment later, the disciples brought a sheathed single-edged sword to Lin Meng: "Master, the weapon is here."

Lin Meng remained expressionless, not even glancing at the group. He raised his wrist, tucked the knife into his hand, and said in a mysterious tone, "Alright, all of you step back."

The disciples exchanged glances and quickly moved aside. He looked up at Zhao Ti, twisted his body, and leaped back onto the roof. His eyes were piercing as he said, "Young man, I, Lin, am armed now. You'd better watch out!"

Zhao Ti glanced at the knife. Although he didn't know much about weapons, he could tell from the leather scabbard that it was a fine knife, inlaid with silver and jade, and decorated very ornately.

He pondered for a moment and said, "Master Lin, are you still going to give me three moves first?"

"Ah, this..." Lin Meng paused for a moment upon hearing this, thinking to himself, why do you have to bring up such a sensitive topic?

He had already sensed something amiss with that sword strike. His opponent's swordsmanship was extremely high. Even if he couldn't withstand it, he couldn't possibly let his opponent get the first strike three more times.

But then the other party brought it up again, putting him in a real dilemma. He really didn't want to give in anymore, because giving in would definitely mean suffering a great loss. But he had already made a boast, and if he didn't give in, he would be contradicting himself, making his disciples suspicious, and the other party would laugh at him.

“If Master Lin is in a difficult position, there’s no need to yield any further. I already said that Master Lin didn’t need to yield, but Master Lin insisted on yielding, and then forgot to bring his weapon and asked someone to fetch it. Forget it, forget it, it’s better not to yield,” Zhao Ti said, shaking his head.

"Yes, we must give way! How can we not give way!" Lin Meng exhaled heavily, his face flushed, and said, "As the saying goes, a man's word is his bond. How can I take back what I've said?"

“In that case…” Zhao Ti nodded, “Master Lin, show your weapon.”

"I, I'm not in a hurry..." Lin Meng said, but one hand was already on the hilt of the sword, and he had already drawn the steel sword three-tenths of its length. He knew that the other party's sword was fast and dared not be careless at all, but he still had to say the polite words.

“Then I’ll make my move…” Zhao Ti raised an eyebrow as he watched Lin Meng’s knife about to be drawn.

Then, just like before, with a gentle shake of the cloth bag, the iron piece appeared instantly, then vanished in a flash of pink light.

"Ah, ah ya ya..." Lin Meng immediately let out a loud shout, full of indignation.

With a "thump," he jumped to the ground again, his face a mixture of confusion and embarrassment. The knife in his hand was now drawn nine-tenths of the way out, with only the tip remaining inside the scabbard.

This time, he jumped down again on his own initiative, because before he could fully draw his knife, the other party's sword was already at him. Unable to block, he had no choice but to dodge. With nowhere to dodge, he had to jump off the roof again.

The small square in the courtyard was completely silent; you could hear a pin drop. Everyone was stunned. Lin Meng's face flushed red, then turned purple, and finally turned completely black.

No one spoke; all the disciples stared at Lin Meng with puzzled expressions.

Why did the gym leader come down again? Could it be that the gym leader was truly no match for his opponent and, fearing defeat, deliberately jumped off the building twice? Was the gym leader scared? Why does the gym leader look so pale?

Lin Meng stood motionless, utterly shocked. How could it be so fast? How could his opponent draw his sword so quickly? He hadn't even fully drawn his own blade, and the opponent's sword was already upon him once again!

It's even faster than last time. The boy opposite me held back last time and didn't use his fastest speed at all. This time, he's showing his true strength and real speed!
It turns out that the opponent was skilled in fast swordsmanship, which was his greatest asset. He dared to challenge the school because of this skill. No wonder he stood on the rooftop, because in that narrow space, fast swordsmanship had a great advantage.

It was my own carelessness, all my fault. I didn't even use a single move, and I was defeated before I could even draw my sword. I lost twice in a row, which is simply unforgivable. Is this something that someone like me, who has been immersed in martial arts for decades and has almost mastered the art, could do?

I deeply regret it now. I underestimated my opponent. Over the years, I've been living a life of luxury and my reputation has spread far and wide. I've become complacent and arrogant.

He didn't know what to say at this moment. He hadn't thought of any words to explain before, but the other party had brought up a weapon, so he could take this opportunity to back down. What other reason could he possibly come up with now?
“Um…” Zhao Ti, who was on the roof, rubbed his temples and sighed softly: “Master Lin, you jumped down from the roof again without sparring with me. Did your disciples take the wrong weapons? Otherwise, seeing that you had drawn your sword more than halfway out, you stopped and turned to get off the roof. Were you going to change your weapon?”

He really didn't expect that his second move, which was only a little faster than the first, would leave his opponent with no chance to even draw his knife, and as before, with nowhere to dodge, he jumped off the roof again.

Was his sword speed really that fast? Zhao Ti wondered. He didn't practice fast swordsmanship, and the characteristic of the Peach Blossom Sword Technique wasn't speed either. So why was his opponent forced to retreat twice?
Could it be that Lin Meng, like some other martial arts school owners, is all talk and no action, and is actually a fraudster?
The nickname "Iron Pagoda Suppressing the Mountain" and the story of secretly sneaking into the mountain and single-handedly wiping out the bandits were all fabricated by him.

Or perhaps... one's martial arts skills far surpass Lin Meng's, to the point that what one considers ordinary speed is already lightning fast in Lin Meng's eyes?

But no matter what, we can't have come all this way for nothing. We can't let the other side lose like this. We have to make an excuse for the other side and ask them to come again. This time, we won't make the first move. We'll let the other side make the move, and we'll break it down ourselves, familiarize ourselves with the combat routines, and have a serious sparring session.

But how could he exonerate the other party? It was really annoying. Zhao Ti couldn't think of any other reason, so he thought to himself that he should just ask the other party to change his weapon.

"Huh?! This..." Lin Meng was taken aback when he heard this. He glanced at the sheathed sword in his hand, then looked up at Zhao Ti, his face twitching uncontrollably.

What's this kid trying to do? Why is he still trying to save face? He lost both times he went down the stairs, no matter what. Why is he making excuses for himself? What is he trying to do?
"Ah, right, right!" Lin Meng hurriedly said, "It's because we picked up the wrong weapon! Why did we bring a knife? Hurry up and go exchange it for a sword!"

The disciples behind were taken aback, thinking to themselves, "Master, are you mistaken? You were the one who asked to go to the room to get the precious sword from the wall, so why are you saying now that the weapon is wrong and it's not a sword?"

Seeing that the group was standing still, Lin Meng angrily shouted, "Why aren't you getting your swords? What are you standing there for? Don't you even realize you've grabbed the wrong one?"

"Yes, it's the sect leader..." The disciples exchanged glances, then turned and ran to the back.

A moment later, he obtained a sword with a sharkskin scabbard, inlaid with gemstones, and adorned with red tassels; it looked quite valuable.

Lin Meng reached out and took the sword, shouting, "That's more like it! This is the weapon I've been looking for!"

After saying that, he waved to his disciples, then leaped onto the rooftop once again.

(End of this chapter)