The charming widow of the Marquis's mansion: The stable boy carries the flag and raises the dra

Wang Long looked in that direction; the bushes grew thickly, and the terrain gradually became steeper. He looked away and asked another question.

"What's your name?"

"I am Chen Yuanzhi, a disciple of the Xuancang Sect."

Wang Long nodded.

"Chen Yuanzhi, find a secluded place to recover your injuries. I will help you get the flag back."

Chen Yuanzhi quickly got up, wanting to follow, but Wang Long stopped him by raising his hand.

"If you try to catch up now, you'll only slow things down. Focus on recovering from your injury; protecting yourself is the most important thing."

Chen Yuanzhi opened his mouth, then nodded and sat back down.

Without further delay, Wang Long moved swiftly, like a leaf blown by the wind, silently heading southwest.

His steps were light and steady, and strands of spiritual energy extended in front of him like tentacles probing the way, sensing in advance any ambush or trap that might be ahead.

After running for about half a cup of tea's time, he sensed two unfamiliar spiritual energy fluctuations in a low-lying valley ahead. They weren't strong, but they carried a clear sense of vigilance.

Wang Long stopped behind a large tree at the edge of the valley and looked down through the gaps in the branches and leaves.

In the valley, two figures were squatting beside a rock. One of them held a pale gold flag in his hand, examining it over and over as if studying something.

"This flag doesn't seem to have anything special about it; there's not even a mark on it."

"Who cares if it has a mark or not, as long as it can be exchanged for points, that's fine. That kid from the Eastern Region is too easy to deal with; he ran away after just one move."

"It's only the first round, let's accumulate some points first, don't rush into those tough opponents."

Wang Long withdrew his gaze, silently circled to the other side of the valley, and slowly descended to the valley floor from a blind spot in their field of vision.

The two were talking in hushed tones, completely unaware that someone had appeared behind them.

Wang Long stood still before speaking softly.

"Give the flag back."

The two men froze, turning around almost simultaneously. When they saw Wang Long, their expressions quickly shifted from astonishment to alertness.

One of them pulled the flag behind his back, while the other gripped the magical weapon at his waist, his eyes warily scanning Wang Long up and down.

"Who are you?"

"Eastern Region Contestants"

Wang Long spoke calmly.

Upon hearing the words "Eastern Regions," the two were taken aback for a moment, then exchanged a glance, and subsequently burst into unrestrained laughter.

"The Eastern Regions? Hahaha! No wonder you looked unfamiliar, so you're from the Eastern Regions!"

The man holding the flag casually draped it over his shoulder, laughing so hard he almost fell over, his tone full of contempt and mockery.

"I'm having a lucky day! I just snagged one, and another one's delivered right to my door! Did you know I'm short on points and come to give it to me?"

The other person laughed as well, twirling the magical artifact between his fingers before slowly taking two steps closer to Wang Long.

"Brother, don't blame us for bullying you. This first round of the capture the flag competition is all about skill. With your limited resources in the Eastern Region, you can't hold onto it. If you know what's good for you, just hand over the flag to avoid getting hurt."

Wang Long stood still, his expression remaining calm, only slightly moving his wrist.

"Since you want it so badly, then come and take it yourselves."

"Oh ho? Pretty tough, huh!"

The man holding the flag chuckled, shoved it into his companion's hands, and with a flick of his wrists, a long sword gleaming with crimson light appeared in his palms. The blade was radiating a scorching spiritual light, clearly a high-quality spiritual weapon.

The other man moved at the same time. His weapon was a pair of short halberds, the blades gleaming with a cold, eerie blue light. He lowered his center of gravity slightly, like a cheetah poised to pounce.

The two men, positioned on the left and right, flanked each other and attacked simultaneously without hesitation!

The crimson blade light and the dark blue halberd light crossed in mid-air, carrying sharp spiritual energy fluctuations, and slashed straight at Wang Long's vital points!

Wang Long did not take the blow head-on. He shifted his feet slightly, his body swaying gently like a willow catkin. The crimson blade light grazed his shoulder and struck the ground behind him, leaving a deep scorch mark.

Immediately afterwards, he sidestepped, and the pair of short halberds pierced past his waist, bringing a chilling sensation.

He dodged with extreme precision, finding a sliver of space precisely where the two attacks converged.

The two men missed their attack and paused slightly, clearly not expecting Wang Long to evade their combined assault so easily.

"You've got some skills! But what's the use of just dodging?"

The man with the red sword snorted coldly, flipped his wrist, and his long sword drew an arc in the air. The sword's momentum suddenly changed, from a diagonal slash to a horizontal sweep. His spiritual power erupted, and the sword light was blazing, like a flowing flame, slashing towards Wang Long's waist.

Wang Long still did not retaliate. He lowered his body slightly, performed a side somersault to pass over the sweeping blade light, and as he landed, his toes touched the ground, and he slid several feet diagonally backward, once again avoiding the halberd shadow that followed closely behind.

The two men's attacks became increasingly fierce, their blades and halberds weaving together into a dense network of attacks that forced Wang Long to retreat continuously.

Each time he dodged an attack, the next one followed even faster, like two gradually tightening nets trying to completely seal off his space to dodge.

On the viewing platform outside, everyone's eyes were focused on the huge jade slip with light and shadow.

On the other side of the Southern Region team leader, several middle-aged men who looked like elders stood with their hands behind their backs. Seeing this scene, they had a satisfied smile on their lips.

"My disciples from the Southern Region are indeed decisive in their actions."

One of them stroked his beard, his tone tinged with smugness.

"Those cultivators from the Eastern Region only know how to dodge and don't even have the courage to fight back. It seems that our Southern Region will take first place in this round of points."

On the Eastern side, Ye Wushuang stood at the edge of the viewing platform, his face cold, but his gaze was fixed on the moving point of light on the jade slip.

Song Tiange stood beside her, his expression also becoming more serious.

Song Tiange murmured.

"In a one-on-two situation, Wang Long doesn't have much of an advantage."

Ye Wushuang narrowed her eyes slightly. She knew Wang Long's strength and that dealing with these two people would be no problem for him.

On the battlefield, the two cultivators from the Southern Region had launched more than twenty consecutive attacks, with sword light and halberd shadows covering the sky, but they still couldn't actually touch the hem of Wang Long's clothes.

Although their attacks were fierce, a subtle, almost imperceptible gap gradually appeared between each strike. That was the slight fatigue resulting from the simultaneous depletion of physical and spiritual energy.

Wang Long caught that slight flaw.

While dodging his opponent's increasingly frantic attacks, he silently calculated the rhythm of their moves in his mind.

The man with the red sword experienced a barely perceptible delay in the flow of his spiritual energy, causing his sword strike to slow down by half a beat.

With that one tap, Wang Long moved.

He abruptly stopped, no longer retreating, but instead stepped forward to meet the slightly slower blade of light. His right hand formed a sword-like shape with his fingers together, and a solid golden sword aura shot out from his fingertips, striking the crimson longsword precisely.