Martial Arts Crossover: My Wife is the Top Scholar

Chapter 297 "The Imperial Seal of the State"

The sky is blue and the sand is yellow.

A 20-year-old girl, carrying a sword on her back, walked alone in the desert.

The girl was exceptionally beautiful, with clear eyes and an air of a reclusive master between her brows. Clearly, she was accustomed to a secluded life and was not well-suited to the world of martial arts.

Suddenly.

The girl's ears twitched, and she stopped in her tracks.

The surrounding sand and gravel flowed with the wind, quickly turning sand dunes into sand pits, and four figures flew out of the sand pits.

The four men were dressed in standard Hu (non-Han) attire. In their left hands they held camel bells the size of fists, and in their right hands they held colorful flags. A cold glint flashed at the top of the flags, revealing a long spear.

Desert Dragon, the Four Ends!
One of the most notorious assassin gangs in the Western Regions.

They are proficient in sand escape, poison, and formation, and are skilled at forming formations for encirclement attacks. Being targeted by the four of them is equivalent to being targeted by the Black and White Impermanence, so it's better to just commit suicide.

Four assassins with such high martial arts skills looked serious when facing a girl in her early twenties.

The girl's name is Shangguan Yan, nicknamed Goddess Dragon. The sword on her back is the famous Phoenix Blood Sword. Anyone with a brain can guess that her master is Gu Mutian.

Gu Mutian was a super demon who ran rampant decades ago, causing bloodshed in the martial arts world. Countless masters died under his blade. Once, the nine major sects gathered hundreds of people to besiege Gu Mutian. After a fierce battle lasting three days and three nights, the enemy was completely wiped out, but Gu Mutian was not satisfied.

Gu Mutian felt that with his martial arts skills, he could have killed this rabble in three hours. The only reason it took three days and three nights was because of his weapon!

In order to forge an unparalleled treasure, Gu Mutian traveled to the Taklamakan Desert and found the entrance to the Desert Ridge deep in the Black Desert. From the Desert Ridge, he found a piece of seven-colored crystal mother and forged a sword and a saber. The saber was the Dragon Soul Saber and the sword was the Phoenix Blood Sword. In order to enhance the power of the saber and the sword, Gu Mutian nurtured and tempered them day and night.

Over time, Gu Mutian came to regard the Dragon Soul and Phoenix Blood as his own children. In the process of raising these children, the murderous intent he had harbored vanished without a trace.

It is said that more than 20 years ago, Gu Mutian took in a traitorous disciple who stole the Dragon Soul Blade and the sword manual.

This traitor is Bantianyue, the leader of the Divine Moon Sect. The Dragon Soul Blade is the personal weapon of "Ghost Sorrow," a disciple of Bantianyue. Everyone thought that Gu Mutian would ruthlessly kill Bantianyue and take back the Dragon Soul Blade.

Gu Mutian did not do that. He never cared about Bantianyue until half a year ago, when Shangguan Yan used the Phoenix Blood Sword to train in the martial world. Martial arts experts speculated that Gu Mutian used Bantianyue as a whetstone to train his disciples.

This conjecture makes a lot of sense.

In the martial arts world, this kind of thing is very common.

The Divine Moon Cult has not taken any action in response.

Shangguan Yan did not seek trouble with the Divine Moon Sect.

Both parties are at peace with each other.

This made those who wanted to watch the show, kick someone when they're down, or wait for the next big thing regret their actions. Half a month ago, Shangguan Yan obtained a rare treasure and was hunted down by countless experts.

"I don't want to kill you, get out of my way!"

Shangguan Yan stared coldly at the desert dragon.

"Shangguan Yan, hand over the Imperial Seal and we'll spare your life. Even if you escape our pursuit, can you outrun the hundreds of experts from the Western Regions? Stop resisting!"

"In that case, let's do it!"

Shangguan Yan gently lifted a strand of her hair, bent it slightly in front of her cherry-like mouth, put the hair in her mouth, and suddenly drew her sword, causing a roar of sword energy to resound.

The Phoenix Blood Sword has a vibrant pink blade, and when wielded, it is accompanied by a flying phoenix, with sword energy as white as snow.

Snowflake Sword Technique!

Gu Mutian combined his lifelong martial arts experience to create a sword technique specifically for the Phoenix Blood Sword. The moves were exquisite and could draw upon the primordial energy of heaven and earth, using all things as sword energy.

The Desert Dragon possesses extremely high martial arts skills. The flag in his hand is two weapons: the flag is a long ribbon, and the flagpole is a twelve-foot-long spear. The camel bells can interfere with hearing. Combined with his sand-遁术 (sand-遁术 is a type of martial arts technique), he is invincible in sneak attacks and assassinations.

"Chi chi chi!"

Four soft sounds echoed from the desert.

Four sprays of blood erupted from the throat of the desert dragon.

Shangguan Yan did not sheath her sword, but instead looked at the distant sand dunes: "Come out! I see you! You coward, you have no right to the Imperial Seal!"

"Imperial Seal? What an arrogant tone! The mere seal of the Four Directions City? What right does it have to be called an Imperial Seal?"

A handsome young man with a fierce expression and a sword in hand appeared from behind the sand dune.

"My name is Ren Qianxing. I am ordered to seize the Imperial Seal. Hand it over obediently, and I may spare your life!"

Ren Qianxing looked at Shangguan Yan arrogantly.

As the disciple of Guan Yutian, the leader of the Supreme Alliance, Ren Qianxing possesses profound internal strength and superb swordsmanship. He is proficient in the Undying Divine Art and the Mighty Dragon Palm, making him a rising star in Western Region martial arts and a second-generation successor of various major forces in the Western Region. Even if Ren Qianxing cannot be ranked first, he is definitely in the top three.

Half a month ago, Shangguan Yan accidentally obtained an ancient treasure. After appraisal, the treasure turned out to be the Imperial Seal of the State, and the news quickly spread throughout the Western Regions.

Of course, the so-called "Imperial Seal of the State" is not the He Shi Bi jade, but the ancestral seal of Sifang City.

Sifang City is a power founded by four major families: Huangfu, Shangguan, Ouyang, and Sima. The Huangfu family, which has the longest history, can be traced back to the Han Dynasty.

This seal is a treasure of the Huangfu family. The original city lord of Sifang City also came from the Huangfu family. More than ten years ago, Ouyang Feiying launched a rebellion and killed his sworn brother. The seal was lost in the war.

Ouyang Feiying tried his best to hide this history, but the Western Regions were full of experts, how could he be fooled?

Although we don't know what secrets the ancestral jade seal of the Huangfu family holds, a treasure passed down from the Han Dynasty to the present day must contain extraordinary secrets.

Even assuming there's no secret behind it, a seal that's been passed down for thousands of years, sold as an antique at a major auction, could fetch at least ten thousand taels of gold.

Furthermore, while it may be of little use to others, it is of great significance to Sifang City. Without the Imperial Seal, Ouyang Feiying will forever be a traitorous rebel, but with the Imperial Seal, he will be the rightful Lord of Sifang City.

Regardless of which faction obtains the Imperial Seal, they can make deals with Ouyang Feiying and recklessly seize profits.

Fearing to anger Gu Mutian, the older generation of experts dared not act rashly. They either hired assassins or sent younger generations to take action. Ren Qianxing of the Supreme Alliance, Bai Yu'er of the Sea Shark Palace, Yi Shuihan and Yuan Xiaotian of the Sky-Supporting Sword Sect, and Dongfang Yu and Beitang Xin'er of the Four Directions Sect all treated this battle for the Imperial Seal as a stage to show off their skills! Ren Qianxing was the first to arrive.

Ren Qianxing said, "Shangguan Yan, the imperial seal is of no use to you. As long as you put down the imperial seal, I can give you ten thousand taels of gold, and even take on a disciple on behalf of my master, making her my junior sister, whose status is on par with mine."

Shangguan Yan shook her head firmly.

"You are a beautiful woman, why did you have to seek death!"

Ren Qianxing swung his sword and stabbed Shangguan Yan.

The sword strikes through the air, swift as lightning.

Shangguan Yan swung her sword in retaliation.

After exchanging several blows, Ren Qianxing waved his cloak, took a few steps back, lowered his waist and fell off his horse. His left palm then quietly struck out from under the cloak, unleashing a dragon-shaped force that roared menacingly.

Mighty Dragon Palm!

An extremely powerful and forceful palm technique!
The pinnacle of masculine palm power!
Shangguan Yan's five fingers moved swiftly, the Phoenix Blood Sword tracing a beautiful arc, her body scattering in the wind, and with a soft sound, the magnificent dragon exploded.

Sword energy and palm force scattered and shot out, swirling the yellow sand within a radius of several feet into the air. When the dust settled, Ren Qianxing had already disappeared, leaving only traces of blood on the ground.

Shangguan Yan spat out her beautiful hair and quickly left.

Over the next few days, Shangguan Yan went through round after round of battles against elite disciples from various major forces in the Western Regions. Shangguan Yan could defeat them, but she could not kill them. After these people were defeated, they used elixirs to recover from their injuries and quickly launched a new round of pursuit.

When it comes to fighting alone, Shangguan Yan fears no one.

After a series of intense battles, Shangguan Yan was exhausted.

……

This is an ordinary little inn.

The inn had only three tables. Four young people were sitting at one table, while the other two tables were empty.

Shangguan Yan entered the inn and instructed the waiter, "Bring a pot of tea, two side dishes, and five steamed buns."

Seven young talents gathered outside the inn.

Ren Qianxing, Bai Yu'er, Lian Chixue, Beitang Xin'er, Dongfang Yu, Yuan Xiaotian, Yi Shuihan!

These people were divided into three factions.

Bai Yu'er and Lian Chixue wanted to kill Ren Qianxing.

Ren Qianxing, Beitang Xin'er, and Dongfang Yu temporarily form a three-way alliance in order to compete for the Imperial Seal.

Yuan Xiaotian and Yi Shuihan were ordered to assist Shangguan Yan. Yuan Xiaotian was upright and would never disobey his master's orders, while Yi Shuihan wanted to be the one to seize the imperial seal in the chaos of battle and thus gain wealth and glory.

Shangguan Yan trusted no one.

Even the innkeeper, the waiter, and the people eating at the inn felt something was strange.

Two men and two women, who seemed quite close, were not two couples, but rather a master, a mistress, a maid, and a single man, who was rather awkward.

Shangguan Yan said softly, "Gentlemen, a great battle is about to break out here. Please leave the inn. If the fighting starts, you may be caught in the crossfire."

"Shall we make a bet?"

"What are you gambling?"

"I bet the people outside won't dare to come in."

Li Zhaoting smiled broadly: "Miss, I only need to say one sentence to make them leave."

Shangguan Yan gripped the Phoenix Blood Sword tightly.

When Li Zhaoting didn't speak, his aura was exactly the same as that of an ordinary person, and there was nothing unusual about him.

Before the words were even finished, the overwhelming pressure made Shangguan Yan feel as if she had fallen into an ice cave, as if she were facing a ghost or god. She knew that the person in front of her had a martial arts cultivation far superior to her own.

"You desire the Imperial Seal of the State?"

"If I win, you can lend me the imperial seal to play with for an hour. If I lose, I guarantee that no one can hurt you and I will help you get rid of all your pursuers."

"What if I don't agree?"

“I never force anyone to do anything against their will, much less bully the weak or women and children. I am just offering a friendly reminder.”

"May I ask your esteemed name?"

"Li Zhaoting!"

"So it was the Jiazi Tai Sui."

Shangguan Yan frowned: "Are you sure you're just playing with it for an hour, and not switching it with another woman?"

"Miss Shangguan, if I were to forcibly seize the Imperial Seal of the State, I wonder if you could protect it?"

"We can't hold it!"

"If that's the case, why should I resort to tricks?"

"It seems I'm destined to lose this bet!"

Shangguan Yan took out a small bundle and tossed it to Li Zhaoting. Inside was a jade-green seal.

Li Zhaoting shouted, "Friends outside, the Imperial Seal is in my hands. You may all go back!"