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

Shan Xiongxin held a horse spear, Qin Qiong carried a tiger-head spear, and Cheng Yaojin shouldered a Bagua Xuanhua axe, each standing in a triangle in the courtyard.

Shan Xiongxin suddenly took a step forward, swinging his spear in a wide arc, sweeping it across with a whistling sound.

Qin Qiong neither dodged nor evaded, but coordinated his spear shaft and smoothly deflected the horse spear, then raised his spear and charged forward.

Cheng Yaojin swallowed the last bit of beef in his hand, then picked up his Bagua Xuanhua axe and chopped it down as well.

"Splitting his head!"

Cheng Yaojin swung his axe at Shan Xiongxin, who, holding his spear in both hands, retreated several steps and managed to block Cheng Yaojin's powerful blow.

"Little brat picking his teeth!"

Qin Qiong was not to be outdone and joined the fray, the three of them locked in a fierce battle.

Cheng Yaojin was the first to be defeated. He had only learned three and a half moves of the axe technique. After those three moves, he knew that he was no match for Shan Xiongxin and Qin Qiong.

He took a few steps back and withdrew from the battlefield, leaving Shan Xiongxin and Qin Qiong to continue their fight.

The lances and silver spears flew across the field, their cold light flashing everywhere.

A full half hour passed, and the two remained evenly matched.

Cheng Yaojin seized an opening and swung his axe, separating the two.

"My two elder brothers are highly skilled in martial arts; I admire them greatly."

Cheng Yaojin clasped his hands in a fist salute and said.

"Hahahaha, brothers, your martial arts skills are extraordinary. There are countless heroes in the world. Being able to make the acquaintance of you two is my greatest gain from coming to the capital."

"Let's go, let's keep drinking."

"I'd like to see if your drinking capacity is as good as your martial arts skills."

The three left the courtyard and returned to the restaurant to compete in drinking.

After the three of them were slightly drunk, Shan Xiongxin even suggested that the three of them become sworn brothers.

All three were generous and forthright men. Coincidentally, there were several peach trees in the courtyard, so the three of them swore brotherhood in front of the peach trees, just like Liu Bei, Guan Yu, and Zhang Fei.

"Big brother! Second brother!"

"Big brother! Third brother!"

"Second brother! Third brother!"

The three of them put their arms around each other's shoulders and burst into laughter.

"Brothers, we have now offended the Yuwen family of Luoyang. Are you planning to leave now, or stay and continue participating in the martial arts competition?"

Shan Xiongxin asked Qin Qiong and Cheng Yaojin.

"I want to stay. I believe the court isn't that corrupt, and there's still righteousness in this world."

Qin Qiong came from the military and still had high expectations for the imperial court.

"Since it's my brother's decision, I'll stay too. When the eldest brother gets first place, my third brother and I will take second and third place."

Cheng Yaojin patted his chest, full of pride.

"Okay, then we'll stay and continue participating in the conference."

Shan Xiongxin also wanted to stay; the World's Number One Martial Arts Tournament was simply too attractive to martial artists.

"However, you two brothers must also be careful. The world is vast and full of hidden talents. This competition will surely be filled with experts, so you must not be careless."

Qin Qiong reminded him.

"Don't worry, brother."

The two nodded, found an inn to stay in, and spent their days sparring, which was quite enjoyable.

Yuwen Zhiji was taken directly to prison by Yuwen Chengdu. A few days later, the palace eunuchs told Emperor Yang of Sui about this incident after dinner, which made Yang Guang laugh heartily.

"After all, he is the legitimate son of Minister Yuwen. Let the General Tianbao, whom I have appointed, be released."

By this time, Yang Guang had already witnessed Yuwen Chengdu holding the golden lion and felt that this general was invincible. He had long considered the future champion of the Hundred Kingdoms Warriors Tournament to be Yuwen Chengdu's prize.

They no longer paid as much attention to the other strong competitors who came to participate in the competition.

The generals who came from humble backgrounds naturally held a lower position in his heart than Yuwen Zhiji, who had Yuwen Shu and Yuwen Chengdu as his backers.

Doesn't he know what will happen if Yuwen Huaji is released?

With his intelligence, he certainly wouldn't be unaware of this.

But he didn't care.

They're just a few barbarians like Shan Xiongxin, Qin Qiong, and Cheng Yaojin. Even if they're good at fighting, can they really beat Yuwen Cheng?

Let alone Yuwen Chengdu, how many of the Golden Gourd Warriors around him could they fight?

哪怕能打2个、3个，可要是10个、20个、100个、200个一起上呢？

An individual's bravery is insignificant compared to the imperial army.

Moreover, he believed that the emergence of a Yuwen Chengdu who could lift stones was already the limit of this era, and it was impossible for there to be another fierce general comparable to him.

He also began to believe the historical accounts of King Chungmu, realizing that such a powerful person truly existed in the world.

However, he still scoffed at the records of the ancestors in the history of the Wei family.

It's already incredibly rare for someone like this to appear once every thousand years, so how could one appear every few decades? And why do they all happen to be from your Wei family?

What gives your Wei family the right? Is it because you're arrogant?

The description of King Chungmu may be true, but the others must be false.

He envisioned that in the future, if Yuwen Chengdu could demonstrate military achievements no less impressive than those recorded in the history books of the Loyal and Martial King, it would surely deal a significant blow to the Wei family.

They could also claim that the Wei family lost their destiny, otherwise why would the Wei family produce such monstrous generals throughout history? This time, it's the Yuwen family's turn?

It must be that your Wei family has lost its destiny.

Why did your Wei family lose your destiny?

That was because the Sui Dynasty inherited the Mandate of Heaven, while the Wei family went against it.

Yang Guang became happier and happier as he thought about it; he couldn't wait any longer.

Upon hearing the order from Yang Guang, Yuwen Chengdu had no choice but to release Yuwen Zhiji from prison.

Knowing that his nephew was now greatly favored by Yang Guang, Yuwen Zhiji had no choice but to suppress his anger and blame everything on Shan Xiongxin and the four officials.

After he came out, he ordered people to investigate the background of Shan Xiongxin and his two companions, and at the same time ordered the arrest of the official's entire family.

Soon, the lackey sent to arrest the man returned empty-handed, telling him that the official and his entire family had already left Luoyang and were reportedly rushing towards Yanzhou.

We're probably already close to Yanzhou.

Yuwen Zhiji snorted coldly, "That bastard was lucky to run away quickly."

Since he had already arrived in Yanzhou, he had no choice but to give up.

Yanzhou is not another place. If you want to cause trouble in Yanzhou, you are courting death. Even the Yuwen family cannot protect you.

"Have you found out where the other three came from?"

"I've found out."

"The one who stopped Second Master's carriage was a member of the Shanxi outlaws, the master of Erxian Manor, who had a very high reputation among the local outlaws."

"The two audacious brutes who dared to block Second Master's path were Qin Qiong, a minor constable from Li County, Shandong."

"The other one wasn't even a constable; he was just an ordinary commoner named Cheng Yaojin."

"These three are highly skilled in martial arts, and they all entered the capital to participate in the world's number one martial arts tournament as the top martial arts champions in their respective localities."

"Cheng Yaojin is also known as Cheng the Three Axe, and no one in the area can withstand his three axe blows completely. His martial arts skills are probably no less than those of the young master."

"Hmph! What do you know, you dog? How could this barbarian possibly be a match for Chengdu?"

"What kind of genius can come from a small place? It's probably not because he's too strong, but because that place is too weak!"

"Take more people with us, let's go and meet them!"