Wandering Sword Seller's Life in the Qin Dynasty

"According to you, the cycle of the four seasons, the flourishing and decay, the rise and fall, are all the way of nature. If farmers followed this philosophy, they should have remained detached from everything and never actively interfered. But along my journey, all I have seen in the farmers is greed and selfishness..."

"This applies to those outside, and it also applies to you all inside."

After Xu Qing spoke, the stone chamber fell silent once more.

It is unclear whether Xu Qing's words offended the six elders of the peasant family.

The next instant, a sharp aura suddenly erupted.

On the floor of the stone chamber, there were withered leaves that seemed to have come from nowhere. Under the influence of this mingling energy, the withered leaves on the ground floated up and then, like sharp blades, flew towards Xu Qing.

"Humph!"

Faced with this sudden murderous intent.

Xu Qing merely snorted coldly, and the eerie light surrounding his body dissipated, meeting the withered leaves.

In an instant, all the withered leaves turned into powder.

Immediately afterwards, a few rays of light fell on the edge of the stone chamber, where some oil lamps were placed, still containing grease, but the flames had long since gone out.

As the dim light fell upon it, oil lamps were lit one by one.

This dark room, which had been shrouded in darkness for countless years, could be lit by a single lamp, let alone by so many lamps lit at the same time.

The light enveloped the area, making the scene even clearer.

On the stone platform, six elderly figures with white hair and beards sat cross-legged. They were dressed in coarse cloth clothes and all wore eight-star grass beads. They also wore half-face masks to cover the upper half of their faces, making it impossible to see their specific appearance.

Perhaps because Xu Qing easily defused the initial probing attempt.

On the stone platform, an old man finally spoke, "Outsider, you are not from a farming family, what brings you here?"

Xu Qing greeted the person who spoke and calmly replied, "I will go wherever I want."

"Do we need any reason to come here?"

Xu Qing's words were arrogant and sharp, like a blade, directly piercing through the aloof pretense of the six elders. The air inside the stone chamber became increasingly heavy, and the aura around the six figures deepened even further.

After a long silence, the Chief of War, one of the six elders and also the master of Chen Sheng and Wu Kuang in the original story, spoke calmly: "If it were anywhere else, there would be no need for a reason. However, this is where we live in seclusion. Since you have come here so abruptly, we must ask you for a reason."

"I'm not used to you suddenly becoming so polite." Xu Qing thought to himself, then greeted the warlord and said, "If you really want to give a reason..."

"I came here on behalf of the farmers outside to see if you are dead or not."

These words were actually echoing Xu Qing's earlier remarks.

Xu Qing had previously used the story of the six of them hunting down Bai Qi to answer their question about 'prosperity and decline not being determined by royal power,' and the six elders of the Farmer's Clan naturally understood the meaning behind it.

Following the Lord of War, the Master of History also spoke up, saying, "What does it matter if we live? What does it matter if we die? It's all just a fleeting dream!"

“In the past, we hunted down Bai Qi because he slaughtered the people of the six kingdoms, causing rivers of blood to flow and bones to be exposed in the fields. We, the farmers, care for the common people and act in accordance with the will of Heaven. Killing Bai Qi is not an interference in worldly affairs, but an act of Heaven to save the people from suffering. It is completely different from the greed and selfishness you mentioned.”

As soon as he finished speaking, another elder on the right chimed in, his tone stubborn and cold: "As for the matters outside, they are internal struggles within the Farmer's Clan. As elders, we are responsible for upholding the Farmer's Clan's traditions and rules, not for personally interfering in sectarian disputes."

"As the saying goes, prosperity and decline are not determined by people or external forces. Even if Tian Meng brought in foreign enemies, the reason was the internal strife within the peasant family."

"What a strife within a farming family!" Xu Qing exclaimed upon hearing this.

However, for some reason, after hearing Xu Qing's sigh, the six elders of the peasant family became even more uneasy.

Then another person spoke up: "Since you are not from a farming family, why bother with other people's business?"

Xu Qing responded, "According to what you say, outsiders cannot interfere in the affairs of farmers, and you, as the elders of the farmers and the highest-ranking people under the Xia Kui, also do not want to interfere in the affairs of farmers."

"That's really interesting!"

Upon hearing this, another elder from the farming family spoke up: "It's not that we don't want to get involved, but as we've already said, this is an internal matter of the farming family. Right and wrong will be determined internally. Perhaps you can't understand, but you just need to know that you're not a member of the farming family and have no right to judge our rights and wrongs!"

They spoke different languages, but every word they uttered conveyed the same core message.

They cling to the so-called "cycle of heaven," glorifying their intervention in hunting down Bai Qi as acting on behalf of heaven; they attribute their indifference to the tragic deaths of the peasant disciples to the will of heaven. In essence, they are nothing more than unwilling to take responsibility and clinging to their aloof attitude, which is hypocritical and laughable.

Xu Qing's lips curled into a faint sneer. He stood with his hands behind his back, still composed, and his gaze swept over the six people. "No matter what, you all have your reasons."

"Since you don't want to get involved in the affairs of the farmers, why don't you let me take care of them?"

Xu Qing said to the six elders, "I learned from Tian Meng that he attacked and killed the leader of the Heroic Clan, Tian Guang. In other words, the Farmer's Clan no longer has a leader of the Heroic Clan. As the leader of the Farmer's Clan, the appointment of the leader of the Heroic Clan requires the consent of the six of you."

"How dare you!"

Upon hearing this, the six elders of the farm family immediately understood the purpose of Xu Qing, this outsider.

He clearly wanted to become the leader of the knights and seize control of the peasant family.

Internal strife within a farming family is always an internal matter. No matter which side it falls into, the farming family will always exist.

But if outsiders were to take control of it, wouldn't that mean that the traditions of the farming family would no longer be authentic?

The six elders of the farming family may ignore the internal strife within the family, but they cannot stand idly by and watch such a thing happen.

Immediately, an elder sternly rebuked Xu Qing, "The Farmer's Clan has its own rules. The one who leads the Farmer's Clan must be a direct descendant of the Farmer's Clan, and must be drafted by us elders and approved by all the disciples! You are not a member of the Farmer's Clan, and you have no trace of the Farmer's Clan blood. What qualifications do you have to lead the Farmer's Clan?"

"Even if Tian Meng invites foreign enemies to invade, even if the peasant family is in dire straits, that is our own business. Life and death are decided by our own peasant family. It is not up to you, an outsider, to interfere, much less your place to take over!"

The elder who had spoken first spoke again, his tone still calm but with an unyielding stubbornness: "Outsider, considering that you saved the remaining disciples of the Farmer Clan today, we will not hold your previous offense against you. Leave immediately and do not utter such absurd words again, otherwise, do not blame us for being impolite!"

"You're welcome?" Xu Qing laughed, a laugh that was both arrogant and unrestrained. "I'd like to see how you treat me rudely."

Now that he had come all this way and met the six elders of the Farmer's Clan, Xu Qing naturally intended to meet them.

In the original work, the stances of these six people are somewhat peculiar.

Knowing that the net was usurping the farmers' rights, they preferred to hide in the cave rather than intervene outside.

Although Tian Yan eventually became the leader of the Xia clan, strictly speaking, Tian Yan's leadership was not actually appointed by the six elders.

Since Xu Qing had helped the farmers avert disaster, he naturally wanted to take control of their power as a reward.

Even with the support of Situ Wanli and Da Tiechui, and despite his significant advantage in the Farmer's Clan, which has now lost three hall masters, the lower-level disciples of the Farmer's Clan may not necessarily be willing to accept him.

Therefore, in the process of controlling the peasant family and making them dependent on the Qin state, it is best to obtain the endorsement of the six elders of the peasant family.

As for their unwillingness to endorse Xu Qing?

Then beat them until they submit!

Upon hearing Xu Qing's words, the six elders of the Farmer's Clan knew that it would be difficult to persuade Xu Qing to back down through words alone.

It's clearly impossible to kill Xu Qing.

Regardless of the circumstances, even though they kept saying that what happened outside was an internal struggle within the Farmer's Clan, Xu Qing's intervention ultimately saved the lives of many Farmer's Clan disciples.

They could just beat Xu Qing up and then throw him out of there.

A sudden gust of wind arose within the quiet stone chamber.

A fierce wind raged, and the oil lamp that Xu Qing had lit earlier flickered slightly, looking as if it was about to go out, but in the end it did not go out. However, in this fierce wind, an extremely fast blade of light flashed out.

This is a sickle, wielded by an elderly farmer, which he is slashing at Xu Qing.

The flashing of swords also signified the official start of this battle.

Chapter 301 Six Great Techniques, Earthly Swamp Twenty-Four!

The traditions of farming families are ancient and their knowledge is extremely broad.

Medicine, agriculture, forging, and machinery are all among the skills they possess.

When it comes to the unique skills of the agricultural school, the "Twenty-Four Earthly Branches" are the most important, as the earth nourishes all things and Shennong is immortal.

Initially, it was just a unique formation formed by Shennong observing the changes of the four seasons. It imitated the natural world through a large formation to achieve the effect of continuous life. Later, with the continuous innovation of the ancestors of the agricultural family, the Twenty-Four Earthly Branches became more and more perfect, and the things it covered also increased. Many martial arts based on it were created one after another.

In contemporary times, among farmers, none have a deeper understanding of the Twenty-Four Earthly Branches than these six people.

Decades ago, in order to hunt down Bai Qi, they spent a year practicing the Twenty-Four Earthly Swamps formation, pushing its power to its limit.

After that was done, I don't know what happened.

Not many years later, they each relinquished their identities as leaders of the Farmer's Clan and came to the Tomb of the Six Sages to live in seclusion. Although they no longer concerned themselves with the affairs of the Farmer's Clan, it did not mean that they gave up on comprehending martial arts. After the incident with Bai Qi, they gained a completely new understanding of the Twenty-Four Earthly Branches.

Naturally, in this process, whether they learned from the sages or created their own, they evolved into six unique skills.

At this moment, the blade light that was attacking Xu Qing was a swift sword technique that farmers had mastered through harvesting grain.

Naturally, because it is related to grains, the one who made this cut was the "God of Grains"!

As the blade flashed, Xu Qing casually raised his hand and slashed, unleashing a blade of energy from his hand. It was the Yin-Yang School's ultimate technique, "Gathering Qi into a Blade." The blade of energy collided with the blade of energy and was ultimately annihilated at the same time.

"As the Taoists say, the spirit of the valley never dies; it is called the mysterious female."

"I'd like to see if you can truly live forever..."

Xu Qing took a step forward, and in a flash of lightning, he arrived in front of the Valley God holding the scythe. Then, the purple flame blade in his hand condensed again, ready to slash at the Valley God.

At the critical moment, another elder farmer suddenly stood up, and his steps were just as fast as his.

This is a movement technique derived from observing celestial phenomena, known as "Stepping the Dipper and Treading the Stars".

The one who made the move was the calendar master.

He came to the God of Grain, grabbed the God of Grain's body, and quickly withdrew.

While helping him dodge Xu Qing's attacks, a sharp finger strike came towards Xu Qing, aiming at his many acupoints, trying to hit his pressure points.

Xu Qing certainly couldn't allow the other party to strike his pressure points.

The Zhu family's "Three Hearts and Two Minds" acupoint striking technique was already formidable, but the acupoint striking technique being used by the Xian Sect was clearly even more powerful than the Zhu family's "Three Hearts and Two Minds" acupoint striking technique, after all, it was a unique skill of the Farmer's School.

Xu Qing shifted his position, choosing to evade.

Although Master Li's movement techniques are exquisite, it doesn't mean that Xu Qing's movement techniques are weaker. His Lightning Speed ​​Step is also the most outstanding lightness skill in the world.

The force of the energy flew past, leaving many marks on the walls of the stone chamber.

Another person stood up and thrust his palms forward. In an instant, it was like a surging sea, yet the force of his palms was continuous.

This is called "Buzhou Severed Palm," a unique skill of the Gonggong Hall.

In the earlier battle outside the Tomb of the Six Sages, Tian Zhong used the Spring Chill Severed Palm to kill the leader of the Gonggong Hall. The spring chill was biting, like maggots clinging to bones, which was already a vicious palm technique. However, it was nothing compared to the Buzhou Severed Palm.

Farmers, skilled in water management, created this palm technique by observing the characteristics of flowing water.

Its palm techniques emphasize a continuous, unbroken flow.

As the saying goes, "Constant dripping wears away a stone," and "flowing water does not compete to be first, but rather to flow endlessly."