A thousand-year-old family begins with one fighting against ten thousand.

"Lord Yuwen, how is the Wei family's situation?"

Wang Shao went to the Ministry of War to find Yuwen Shu. He was preparing to set off in the next couple of days and first invited the Wei family to the capital to serve as referees for the Great Sui Martial Arts Tournament.

He had no confidence whatsoever, feeling that he had almost no chance of persuading the Prince of Yan or the Prince of Wu'an.

Yuwen Shu looked at Wang Shao with pity and shook his head.

"Lord Wang, you should prepare yourself mentally. I personally visited Prince Wu'an some time ago, and he is not interested in this martial arts tournament."

Wang Shao's face darkened, and he sighed inwardly, wondering how he had ended up with such a job.

"Shao understands. Thank you for your guidance, Lord Yuwen. I shall take my leave now."

"Please take care, Lord Wang."

Yuwen Shu saw Wang Shao off, then turned and returned to his study, where he picked up the intelligence reports.

He discovered that many of the heroes selected from various regions this time were people who had suddenly appeared out of nowhere.

Li Yu of Yanzhou, Zhao Lu of Qingzhou, Han Qi of Youzhou, and Song Zhong of Bingzhou each won their respective localities with overwhelming advantages.

The gap between them and the other players was like a father beating his son, with the latter having no chance to fight back.

According to reports from various places, these people all used the same Phoenix Sky Halberd, the lightest of which weighed four or five hundred jin (approximately 200-250 kg). They wielded it with such force that it seemed to weigh only four or five jin (approximately 2.5 kg) rather than four or five hundred jin.

"So many fierce generals have appeared at the same time, all wielding halberds and possessing superhuman strength... This is incredible..."

Yuwen Shu was not stupid. If he had used other weapons, he might have thought that this was a skilled martial artist from the common people.

All that's usable are halberds, named Yu, Lu, Qi, and Zhong—these are clearly the names of several ancestors of the Wei family, just with different surnames.

Yuwen Shu didn't suspect that these people had come back to life, but rather that some of the Wei family's disciples had changed their names to participate in the competition.

Although they don't need this martial arts tournament to make a name for themselves, as martial artists, they probably wouldn't want to miss this opportunity to compete with masters from all over the world.

No martial arts fanatic would refuse it.

To his utter surprise, his earlier guess was correct; these people were indeed those who had died.

Because they found the World's Number One Martial Arts Tournament quite interesting, they changed their identities to participate and agreed to use only the physical strength of ordinary people.

"With their change of appearance and change of identity, coupled with the attitude of the Prince of Zhongwu, it seems that the Wei family really doesn't have high hopes for the Sui Dynasty."

A golden light gleamed in Yuwen Shu's eyes; he also needed to prepare a way out for the Yuwen family.

Although he rose to a high position by relying on the Sui Dynasty, the Yuwen family cannot sink with the Sui Dynasty.

He hoped that the Yuwen family could become a thousand-year-old family like those other families.

Thinking about his two sons, Yuwen Shu felt a headache coming on.

Yuwen Huaji has now gained Yang Guang's trust by currying favor with him, and his promotion has been extremely rapid.

His second son, Yu Weizhi, was known as the biggest playboy in Luoyang. He loved to fight with people, chase chickens and dogs, and spent all his time associating with all sorts of shady characters, bringing shame to the Yuwen family.

Yuwen Zhiji was one thing, but his son was a complete waste. He had to keep some of his plans from him, for fear that the son would ruin everything.

However, he could discuss it with Yuwen Huaji. His eldest son was ruthless and unscrupulous, but he did have some intelligence.

……

Luoyang City.

"Brother Shubao!"

"Yao Jin!"

Cheng Yaojin and Qin Qiong met at the gate of Luoyang. They were both pleasantly surprised to see each other and quickly joined together, embracing tightly on the street.

"Be careful!"

Upon hearing the warning, Cheng Yaojin and Qin Qiong turned around and saw a carriage rushing towards them.

One of the burly men who reminded them leaped onto the horse's back and held on tightly.

The horse cried out in pain and stopped in front of Qin Qiong and Cheng Yaojin.

"Are you two alright?"

Shan Xiongxin jumped off his horse, clapped his hands, and looked at Cheng Yaojin and Qin Qiong.

"Thank you, brother."

Cheng Yaojin and Qin Qiong simultaneously cupped their hands in gratitude to Shan Xiongxin.

"Oh, it's alright, it's alright. I'll help when I see injustice."

Shan Xiongxin returned the greeting with a chuckle.

"Whose carriage is this? They're driving a horse-drawn carriage recklessly down the road!"

"I remember Luoyang had roads specifically for carriages, but this is a road only for pedestrians?!"

Qin Qiong frowned as he looked at the carriage and said, puzzled.

"How dare you hit one of our brothers? Are you tired of living?!"

Cheng Yaojin also said indignantly.

"Who dares to block my carriage?"

A pale-faced man with dark circles under his eyes and a face covered in powder lifted the curtain in front of the carriage.

"So it's the three of you who stopped my carriage? Kneel down and kowtow nine times to Young Master Wei, then commit suicide to atone for your sins."

"How dare you!"

"You actually dared to make your grandfather, Yaojin, kowtow to you?! Do you think you can accept that?!"

Cheng Yaojin's loud voice made the young master's head buzz.

He covered his ears, his brows furrowed.

"You don't recognize me?"

"Should your grandfather, Yao Jin, recognize you?"

Cheng Yaojin raised his Xuanhua axe and slung it over his shoulder, looking at the young master with disdain.

The official who had been leading Cheng Yaojin to Luoyang finally realized what was happening and hurriedly stepped forward to bow to the young master.

"Lord Yuwen, this is a contestant who has come to the capital to participate in the World's Number One Martial Arts Tournament. Please be magnanimous and do not stoop to the level of these barbarians."

Yuwen?

The three men, Shan Xiongxin, and Yuwen Huaji, exchanged glances. During this period, Yuwen Huaji had gained Yang Guang's favor through his sweet talk, and the entire Yuwen family's status in the court had risen to a very high level.

Thanks to his father and brother Yuwen Shu and Yuwen Huaji, Yuwen Zhiji was rarely offended in Luoyang, and his infamous reputation had spread throughout the country.

The three of them stood together in a triangular formation, ready to strike together once the fight started.

"You recognize me?"

Yuwen Zhiji sneered as he watched Shan Xiongxin and his two companions set up their battle formation. "Do you know what to do?"

The official turned pale, knelt down, and slapped himself repeatedly.

Cheng Yaojin stepped forward and grabbed the official's hand.

"A head lost leaves only a scar, and you'll be a hero again in 18 years. Why demean yourself like this?"

The official smiled bitterly. He had elderly parents and young children to support, the youngest of whom was not even 10 years old. How could he dare to offend Yuwen Zhiji?

"Brave warrior, Lord Yuwen has a rule: anyone who offends him must kneel down and slap themselves eighty-one times and kowtow eighty-one times, and the matter will be forgiven."

"I am an old man with elderly parents and young children to support; I hope you, brave man, will grant my request."

Cheng Yaojin fell silent, released his grip, and watched as the official slapped him hard eighty-one times, blood flowing from the corner of his mouth.

Then he knelt down and kowtowed, blood streaming from his forehead. He almost fainted, but he persevered to the end thanks to sheer willpower.

"Um."

Yuwen Zhiji snorted an "hmm," and the official's face showed a hint of relief, but Qin Qiong secretly thought something was wrong, because he saw the mocking smile on Yuwen Zhiji's lips.

"What about the three of you? If the three of you go through this process together, this matter will be over. Otherwise, if it's just him alone, this matter isn't finished."