Heaven rewards diligence; he fought his way through chaos to become a saint.

Chapter 114 Sharing the Same Hatred

When Duan Wu's body fell, the entire scene was deathly silent.

The wind howled on the arena.

The two headless corpses were particularly striking.

No one in the surrounding area dared to make a sound, as if they were quietly watching a traditional Chinese ink painting.

"Ah ...

Wei Ting knelt down and kowtowed, tears streaming down his face.

This scholar suffered a lot, but he never cried.

At this moment, an indescribable emotion rose from the depths of everyone's hearts.

A scholar kneeling is not a sign of bowing down to power.

The sound of kowtows, "thump, thump, thump," was even more shocking than the scene of Ye Ci killing people.

The remaining people tacitly agreed to stop fighting.

Ye Ci pulled the knife out of the ground again and walked up to Xiao Hua, who was lying on the ground, clutching his severed arm and looking at Ye Ci with tears in his eyes.

"Why are you crying?"

"I don't."

"Your leg is broken?"

"no."

"Then stand up."

Xiao Hua wiped away her tears and struggled to straighten up, supporting herself on the ground.

He recalled that he thought Ye Ci was just a useless person with poor aptitude, but later he became a retainer of the Shen family by chance, and then he became a disciple of the general.

When the martial arts competition began, he was surrounded and attacked, but no one dared to lay a hand on Ye Ci.

At that moment, he felt a sense of disdain for Ye Ci.

Besides despising his allegiance to the general, Xiao Hua also despised his abilities, because he believed that Xiao Hua was inferior to himself.

But when Ye Ci actually made his move, Xiao Hua, with his keen insight, still saw through the deception.

Ye Ci's spear thrust carried the power of the Moon Chasing Step and the Mountain Embracing Seal, and even possessed an indomitable momentum.

Even more so, there are no fancy moves.

Compared to his own use of the Embracing Mountain Seal, it seemed more rounded and natural.

This gave him a sudden realization.

But he's a petty person, and he thinks he'll surpass Ye Ci in the future, so we absolutely can't let him look down on us.

So Ye Ci told him to stand up, and even though he was in excruciating pain, he still stood up.

Xiao Hua covered his arm: "Let me tell you, I respect you for being a man who has now repented and didn't side with the general. Otherwise—"

Ye Ci glanced at him: "You can just keep lying there."

Xiao Hua remained silent.

Gao Jing also remained silent.

He felt that when people get old, they hope that young people will be successful, that they will live on, and that they will live with dignity—if anyone should die, it should be him, the old man, who dies instead.

He killed Duan Wu and smashed his head.

Will the general on the stage let him go?

then.

Gao Jing took a few steps forward and stood beside Ye Ci.

"Your Rock Martial Arts School's footwork is impressive. I'll hold them off for a bit while you run. Don't get bogged down in the fight, and watch out for that Fang Yelan—" he said.

The surroundings were as silent as a wilderness, and the people were all stunned.

The members of the five major families were filled with fear, and their foreheads were covered in sweat.

To openly oppose Zhang Guan like this is simply courting death, and if that person gets angry, it might implicate others as well.

Before the words were finished, a heavy clashing sound of armor plates rang out.

A dense swarm of soldiers, armed with spears, surged from all sides of the high platform, their spear tips gleaming coldly, surrounding Ye Ci like a tidal wave, leaving no room for escape.

The air was thick with murderous intent, so intense that the people present dared not even breathe.

The members of the five major families were trembling with fear and retreated, afraid of being caught in the crossfire.

On the high platform, Zhang Guan squinted, his narrow eyes showing no anger, only indifference as if looking down on ants.

"As expected of my former subordinate, you have truly inherited the Wolf Clan's skills. You are decisive and ruthless, and only through experience in battle can you achieve your current level of performance."

"This is all thanks to me. I taught you how to kill people in the simplest way. Duan Wu was too arrogant and looked down on everyone, which is why you succeeded."

"However, you are quite good."

He nodded, his voice low and somewhat nonchalant: "Your performance is enough to teach me my true skills. Work for me from now on, and I can make you even stronger."

"When I am ennobled in the future, you may return to the Wolf Tribe and become a commander."

The Marquis's son's public promise drew the attention of the assembled warriors, who wanted to know Ye Ci's thoughts.

A commander-in-chief must be an official of at least the fourth or fifth rank!

Gao Jing, who was standing next to him, was stunned for a moment. He didn't know anything about Ye Ci's past, and he was a little confused when he heard Zhang Guan say this.

Ye Ci was actually one of Zhang Guan's former soldiers?

Is there such a relationship?

He believed that poor children practiced martial arts for the purpose of passing the martial arts exam and achieving success.

Zhang Guan gave it to him in front of everyone.

Moreover, since there's a relationship, why should we turn against him?

What's the point?!

"Kneel down."

Zhang Guan waved his hand.

He cherishes talent.

Not killing Ye Ci was already a great favor; reminding him to kneel down was to teach him to "know how to be worthy of respect."

A country bumpkin, unfamiliar with the rules of officialdom, can be given appropriate guidance as a sign of his talent.

Ye Ci slowly raised his sword, the cold glint of the blade reflecting directly into his eyes.

The long sword was pointed directly at Zhang Guan on the high platform, his arm as steady as a rock, without the slightest tremor.

"You're pointing a knife at me?"

Zhang Guan's expression darkened slightly, but then he suddenly grinned, leaned back in his chair, patted Fang Yelan beside him, and pointed at Ye Ci, asking, "What does he mean? Does he want to kill me?"

Seeing this, Fang Yelan took a step forward.

"You are a soldier of the Wolf Tribe, yet you dare to draw your sword against him without gratitude for the general's past kindness? Admit your mistake immediately!"

Ye Ci remained unmoved, his long sword still pointed directly at Zhang Guan, his eyes even colder, and he simply uttered, "I will not only kill you, but also your father."

The sound wasn't loud, but it exploded like thunder.

This is just like what Qiao Ke said: he not only wanted to kill Duan Wu, but also Zhang Guan.

Kill the Marquis?

Is he going to rebel?

Ye Ci calmly said, "These words are not spoken on my behalf alone, but on behalf of Hong Sheng, Mou Ziqi, Yin Liao, Xie Xun, Jin Bo, Chen Yan, and Du Shaohui —"

He rattled off twenty or thirty names, which made Zhang Guan look more puzzled.

Who are these?

"You were a cavalry captain back then, but you were promoted in a short time, so naturally you wouldn't remember these squad leaders."

"They are the rubble you can easily throw away, but they also have names."

"Some of them died unjustly—and others were even more wronged, simply because they had offended you, like Qiu Tang."

"Ha ha ha ha----"

Zhang Guan pointed at Ye Ci, as if he had heard the funniest thing in the world, and couldn't help but burst into laughter: "—This country bumpkin is so ridiculous! What kind of nonsense is he spouting! A quartermaster? Just a bunch of ants. They can be conscripted again when they die. Who will remember their names?"

Before he finished speaking, his expression suddenly changed, and his tone turned grim: "I'm giving you one last chance, kneel or die."

Ye Ci did not answer, but continued speaking to himself, as if addressing his former squad leaders: "My lords! We are comrades-in-arms, we will fight alongside you—"

"We share the same hatred."

The wind had died down a bit by then.

The soldiers around heard it clearly and realized what the person in front of them was saying.

We stand together against this enemy!

The lower the rank of the soldier, the heavier the burden they felt in their heart.

When have their names ever been recorded by adults?

Some people die and that's it; after they die, how many people ask why they died?

As for Zhang Guan, some of his orders were clearly meant to send people to their deaths, or even to eliminate dissidents.

Some people's arms began to tremble.

Looking up at the arena, they felt the sunlight was too dazzling, so their eyes became wet and they couldn't see the figure clearly.

Some of the officers looked surprised, as they suddenly remembered the day he had toasted Qiu Tang.

Respect to my comrades?

The sunlight and that figure blended together, making it impossible to look directly at them.

They lowered their heads.

Ye Ci raised his chin: "Zhang Guan, want to come down and take a bite out of me?"