My father, Li Shimin, requests Your Majesty to become the Retired Emperor.

Luo Cheng was a master of the spear; the Luo family spear was invincible, and Luo Cheng's "returning spear" technique remained unbeatable to this day.

Luo Cheng looked up at the sun in the sky: "The weather is clear today, the sun is shining brightly, and there is an east wind blowing. We can take advantage of all of these."

Zhang Shizheng's throwing knives are as thin as cicada wings; launching them against the wind would increase the difficulty and weaken the force.

If Li Ke had his back to the east and was facing the west,

Then, he touched the ground with the tip of his spear and leaped into the air.

Zhang Shizheng is facing east, so he can't open his eyes. At that point, it will be easy for Li Ke to defeat him.

Li Chengan nodded, secretly admiring Luo Cheng, thinking that Luo Cheng was indeed a master of the spear, his choice of location and angle, as well as his use of the natural landscape, were all just right.

Those who have mastered martial arts can use even a blade of grass or a tree as a weapon.

Although Luo Cheng and Li Chenggan weren't speaking very loudly.

Li Ke, however, had excellent hearing and heard every word Luo Cheng said.

So, while deflecting the throwing knives, Li Ke turned around, positioning himself to face east, with his back to east.

A gust of east wind blew by, and Li Ke felt that the force of the throwing knife seemed to have lessened.

Because of the sunlight, Zhang Shizheng kept shielding his eyes from the sun with his hands, which greatly reduced the number of throwing knives he could throw.

Li Ke saw that his opportunity had arrived.

He first stepped back, then jogged forward to gain momentum, touched the ground with the tip of his gun, and leaped into the air.

Zhang Shizheng did not expect Li Ke to pull such a move. In his panic, he tried to use his ultimate skill, "Heavenly Maiden Scattering Flowers," but it was too late.

The guzheng was also knocked aside by Li Ke with his spear before Zhang Shizheng could even recover.

Li Ke's spear tip was already pressed against his throat.

At this moment, Zhang Shizheng laughed heartily: "The King of Shu is indeed formidable; I am no match for you."

Seeing that Zhang Shizheng had already admitted defeat, Li Ke withdrew his spear and bowed again: "Old man, not only are you a skilled guzheng player, but your throwing knife skills are also exceptional."

Xiao Wang only won by sheer luck.

Old Cheng announced loudly: "Li Ke has won the third match!"

Zhang Shizheng put away his guzheng, picked up his flying knife, and stepped off the stage.

The applause of the audience was thunderous.

Li Ke waved to the crowd.

Li Shimin was also very happy to see his son win.

Li Shimin once praised Li Ke as being similar to himself.

He also knew that Li Shimin liked Li Ke very much.

Li Shimin even considered replacing Li Ke as crown prince.

Because Li Ke was tall and imposing, and skilled in both literature and martial arts, Li Shimin only temporarily shelved the idea due to the opposition of ministers such as Wei Zheng and Changsun Wuji.

Li Ke approached Li Chengqian and bowed, saying, "Brother, I'm so grateful for your reminder just now; otherwise, how could I have possibly won?"

Li Chengqian laughed and said, "The one who gave you the hint was not me, but Luo Cheng of the Yue Kingdom."

At this moment, Li Ke also saw Luo Cheng not far away.

Luo Cheng is so handsome, but he seems a bit aloof.

Li Ke bowed to Luo Cheng again: "Thank you for your guidance, Duke of Yue."

Luo Cheng stood up and greeted him politely: "King of Shu, there's no need to be so polite. The most important thing is that your marksmanship is first-rate."

"I've long heard that the Luo family's spear technique is invincible. I'll have to ask for your guidance sometime in the future."

"King of Shu, you need not be so modest."

Seeing the close relationship between Luo Cheng and Li Chengqian, Li Ke admired them greatly, thinking to himself that Luo Cheng was no ordinary person and who he could possibly respect.

However, it is clear that he has great respect for Li Chenggan.

This shows that Li Chenggan truly had exceptional abilities.

It was time for halftime.

Li Tai excused himself to go to the restroom, pulled Qibi Heli aside, and whispered to him, "You'll be on stage soon."

Qibi Heli was somewhat surprised and asked, "Your Majesty, wasn't I supposed to go on stage this afternoon?"

"No, I have already moved your performance to the morning."

"Why is that?"

"Because you are about to face Murong Shun, and they have rushed from Luoyang to Chang'an without getting any rest. This is when they are most exhausted."

If you wait until the afternoon, they'll be taking a break and conserving their energy, which will be extremely disadvantageous for you.

When Qibi Heli heard that his opponent was Murong Shun, he gritted his teeth in anger!

Because the Tiele tribe and the Tuyuhun had a long-standing feud.

Back when Emperor Yang of Sui campaigned against the Tuyuhun, the Tiele tribe also sent troops to participate in the war.

In other words, the Sui army and the Tiele tribe jointly defeated the Tuyuhun.

Throughout the battle, the Tiele tribe fought bravely, and both sides suffered casualties, thus creating a grudge.

Now Tuyuhun has surrendered to the Tang Dynasty.

However, Qibi Heli had reservations about Murong Shun.

He believed that Murong Shun was spineless and ruthless towards his own people.

For example, Murong Shun killed the King of Tianzhu, yet he groveled before the Tang Dynasty.

On that occasion, Li Chenggan led his army to attack Tuyuhun. Before the two sides even started fighting, Murong Shun surrendered with his army, which was truly despicable.

Today, I finally have the chance to teach Murong Shun a lesson.

Li Tai narrowed his eyes: "Murong Shun plopped down in Li Chengqian's lap, which is truly hateful."

In the future, he will be our mortal enemy, and Murong Shun has wronged your Tiele tribe.

You have the opportunity to kill him in the ring!

"Ah, Your Majesty, this is probably not appropriate. Before the martial arts exam, Cheng Yaojin clearly stated that we must not strike the opponent's vital points with deadly force."

"Don't listen to that old geezer. The exam hall is a battlefield. Getting killed or injured is normal."

Just do as I say. If anyone causes you trouble, I'll cover for you.

"Very well, today I will avenge the people of our Tiele tribe."

Also, you should pay attention to Tuoba Chici.

"Isn't Tuoba Chici your subordinate?" Qibi Heli retorted.

Li Tai snorted: "That's how it seems on the surface, but in reality, he secretly plans to switch sides to Li Chengqian's command. Does he think Xiao Wang doesn't know that?"

A person like him is a traitor, utterly wicked!

Upon hearing this, Qibi Heli finally understood.

"The Dangxiang and Tuyuhun had a close relationship through marriage alliances."

therefore,

You must be extra careful when dealing with Murong Shun.

"Understood, sir!"

"Don't worry, if you can kill Murong Shun and Tuoba Chici this time, I will promote you greatly."

"Thank you, Your Majesty!"

After giving his instructions, Li Tai went up to the arena.

Li Chengan saw that Qibi Heli was a head taller than others, with an arm as thick as a man's, broad shoulders and a thick waist, a broad back and a thick waist, a chest like two large bowls turned upside down, a protruding buttocks, thick and long arms, a bulging temple, and two bright eyes. When he stood there, he looked like half an iron tower.

Li Chengan took notice of him, thinking that this guy's size made him difficult to fight, and judging from his posture, his bravery was no less than that of Xiang Yu.

"Everyone, my name is Qibi Heli!"

Qibi Heli took off his oversized coat; despite the cold weather, he was shirtless, wearing loose, baggy trousers with a silk sash around his waist, and barefoot; his chest was covered in hair.

Its flesh resembled blocks of iron, arranged in chunks.

It looks like a beast.

At this moment, Murong Shun stepped onto the arena.

As the saying goes, enemies are bound to be extremely hostile when they meet, and these two already knew each other.

Although Murong Shun was unhappy, he still had to maintain appearances.

Murong Shun clasped his hands in a fist salute: "Qibi Heli, it's been a long time. How have you been?"

Qibi Heli did not return the greeting, but instead crossed his arms and snorted coldly, "Murong Shun, you're really something."

"Back then, you were imprisoned in Chang'an for many years, and as soon as you returned, you turned against your own people."

Upon hearing this, Murong Shun's expression changed slightly: "King Tianzhu is a treacherous minister of our Tuyuhun. He has led our Tuyuhun to an abyss of no return."

He committed arson, murder, looting, and all sorts of atrocities; he deserved to die!

"Why do you say that? In my opinion, you just want to seize the Khan's position and eliminate your rivals."

"Now that you have won, and King Tianzhu is dead, you can say whatever you want," said Qibi Heli.

What do you mean by that?

Are you trying to stand up for King Tianzhu?

Qibi Heli stared at Murong Shun: "I really don't understand. You've already surrendered to the Tang Dynasty, and you still have many men under your command. Do you still need to fight for the general's seal?"

"I came up here not for the general's seal, but because I heard that you have sided with Li Tai and are very arrogant."

So, I wanted to come and meet you.

"Is that so?" At this moment, Qibi Heli clenched his fist. "This is a fighting arena. What you say is useless. Now that you've stepped onto the stage, show us your skills."

Murong Shun tucked in his clothes and tightened his belt. He stretched his arms and legs without any looseness or strain. Then, facing Qibi Heli, he said, "Then you'd better watch out, I'm about to unleash my attack: Single Palm Strike."

At this point, Murong Shun raised his right palm.

He struck Qibi Heli's left shoulder with a palm strike.

If it were an ordinary person, seeing Murong Shun's palm strike coming with such ferocity, they would definitely dodge to the side.

To everyone's surprise, Qibi Heli sneered, "You call this splitting the monument with a single palm?"

Qibi Heli didn't dodge and took the blow head-on.

Many people in the audience closed their eyes in fright, not daring to look. They thought that if Murong Shun struck down with this palm, wouldn't he cripple Qibi Heli?

However, to everyone's surprise, Qibi Heli remained unmoved, as if nothing had happened.

Murong Shun was so shocked that he staggered back a few steps before he could barely regain his footing.

He felt as if he had struck a rock rather than a person.

Qibi Heli was thick-skinned and didn't care at all.

Murong Shun wondered what kind of kung fu this kid was practicing.

Could it be the legendary Golden Bell Cover or Iron Shirt? I'll try it again.

Murong Shun was unconvinced and attacked with both palms in turn, but Qibi Heli stood there without moving.

Murong Shun mustered all his strength and clapped his hands several times, but he still couldn't move Qibi Heli.

At this point, Qibi Heli also became annoyed: "Are you ever going to stop?"

Qibi Heli struck unexpectedly with a powerful punch, hitting Murong Shun in his weak spot.

Murong Shun's body flew backward more than two zhang away and crashed onto the arena with a "bang".

Murong Shun was in unbearable pain and could not get up.

Logically, in this situation, the other party should stop and not launch any further attacks.

However, Qibi Heli was different; he seemed unaware of these rules.

He took several steps toward Murong Shun and was in front of him in the blink of an eye.

He raised his right foot and kicked Murong Shun in the head.

If that kick landed squarely, Murong Shun's head would be sent flying.

Seeing this, Tuoba Chici quickly leaped onto the stage and blocked Qibi Heli's kick: "Qibi Heli, what do you want to do? Do you want to kill Murong Shun?"

Qibi Heli was also taken aback, took a few steps back, and stared intently. He saw that the newcomer was none other than Tuoba Chici.

Tuoba Chici helped Murong Shun up and asked with concern, "How are you feeling?"

"It hurts like hell!" Murong Shun's features contorted in pain, squashed together like a steamed bun, as he clutched his stomach. "I...I shouldn't die!"

Tuoba Chici pointed at him: "Qibi Heli! This is a martial arts competition, how could you resort to poison?"

Qibi Heli disagreed, raising his head and saying, "It's not that I hit him too hard, but that he's too weak to take a beating."

Upon hearing this, Tuoba Chici's eyebrows shot up: "You little brat, you've come here to cause trouble?"

In fact, Qibi Heli had just planned to cripple Murong Shun when Tuoba Chici unexpectedly intervened and blocked his kick.

Therefore, Qibi Heli was also very annoyed: "It's not that I want to cause trouble, but how can you fight without getting injured?"

Li Chengan saw it from the stands and quickly ordered Qin Ying to help Murong Shun down from the stage.

Qin Ying helped Murong up, saying, "You're too honest. People say an egg shouldn't crash into a rock, but you overestimate yourself. You're clearly the egg, and he's the rock, yet you insist on crashing into him. Aren't you just asking for trouble?"

Upon hearing this, Murong Shun thought to himself, "Qin Ying, how could you speak like that?"

But I'm in so much pain that I'm trembling all over, I have no mind to argue with him.

Qin Ying found Lu Zhaolin and asked him to treat him.

Lu Zhaolin lifted Murong Shun's clothes to take a look, then touched him with his hand: "Two of his ribs are broken."

"Huh? This kid's ruthless."

Tuoba Chici was extremely annoyed.

He felt that Qibi Heli was too arrogant.

Tuoba Chici, his hair standing on end in fury, shouted: "Qibi Heli, do you even recognize me?"

"Aren't you Tuoba Chici?"

"Yes, that's me."

"What are you trying to do? Are you trying to back up Murong Shun?"

"You were too ruthless. The physician has already examined him and found that Murong Shun has two broken ribs."

Qibi Heli sneered: "He's lucky. I only used 20% of my power."

"If I were to use even half my strength, wouldn't he break five ribs?"

"Insolence! Arrogance!"

Today, I'll see just how capable you really are!

The Tanguts were also brave and warlike, and Tuoba Chici was no pushover for becoming their leader.

Tuoba Chici suddenly lowered his body, his feet moving rapidly across the arena, rolling around on the ground.

It looked like a ball, gradually turning into a cloud of purple mist.

Although Qibi Heli was tough and skilled in martial arts,

However, he was also somewhat nervous.

Because he couldn't predict from which direction Tuoba Chici would attack him.

He looked to the left for a while, then to the right.

A pair of eyes were fixed intently on the purple ball.

A moment later,

With a loud "smack," Qibi Heli was punched in the back.