Light Speed ​​War

Chapter 154: Power and Beauty

Everyone was shocked and looked in the direction of the voice. This audacious statement came from Zhou Yuan.

For feudal monarchs, the most taboo thing was the change of the throne. Zhou Yuan's statement that "Heaven changes the ruler" was clearly a great act of treason.

However, after a slight pause, the Southern Heavenly King did not fly into a rage or slam his fist on the table; he simply stared intently at Zhou Yuan.

Zhou Yuan stood up and walked to the center of the two rows of seats for the heroes, facing the Southern Heavenly King. "Heavenly King," he said, "all things in the world have their glory and decay, their prosperity and decline, their birth and death." Then he turned around and slowly walked to the seats, addressing the crowd. "Even the mountains and the stars cannot escape the fate of change. The disappearance of the stars above is merely a change of heaven's ruler. Since there are unusual phenomena in the heavens, why not follow the will of heaven? To act against heaven is certain death. Following the will of heaven wins the hearts of the people, and unifying the world is the destiny ordained by heaven." Zhou Yuan spoke from the heart. The Great Wall War had made him willing to assist the "Matrix Civilization" in unifying the various fragmented lord forces.

Although the crowd dared not openly agree with Zhou Yuan, they felt that what he said made a lot of sense. Upon hearing this, the Southern Heavenly King was overjoyed, stroking his beard and nodding slightly.

"Gentlemen," the old man, the Southern Heavenly King, said earnestly, "Xiao Zhou's words may be somewhat disrespectful, but they are also the truth. Wealth and glory, the changing of dynasties, are all fleeting. Only by bringing blessings to the people, considering their welfare, and unifying the world can we end the century-long conflict and devastation caused by these fourteen nations. Moreover, foreign powers have been developing rapidly recently, and I fear that one day we will be swallowed up by their forces. Only through unification can we deal with them. Without striving for progress, only destruction awaits us."

Because of the sensitive nature of the topic, Zhou Yuan got an easy advantage in this third round.

"Alright, Zhou Yuan wins the third round. Next is the fourth round, which is a swordsmanship contest. The requirement for this swordsmanship contest is that the person wielding the sword stands still and can only swing the sword once to extinguish the fire, but the sword cannot touch the candle or damage the candle. Whoever extinguishes the most candles with their sword wins."

The servants quickly moved a long table and placed it in the center. Five long rows of candles were placed on the table. Each row had ten candles, and the candles in each row were 20 centimeters apart. The distance between the first and last candles in each row was two meters.

Fifty candles illuminated the hall in a deep red glow. A dashing young man dressed in white stepped forward and drew a long, thin, cyan sword from behind his back. The sword was rather flexible, and it vibrated with a buzzing sound as it was drawn.

The young man lightly touched the ground with the tip of his sword, placed his hand on the hilt, bowed to the Southern Heavenly King, and then walked towards Zhou Yuan. "Young Master Zhou, I have benefited greatly from your wise words. I am not very talented, but I have been immersed in swordsmanship for twenty years since childhood. Today, I would like to ask Young Master Zhou for some guidance."

Zhou Yuan quickly stood up. "Young master, I am not skilled in swordsmanship. You are too kind."

"Everyone, then I'll make a fool of myself."

As soon as he finished speaking, the young master stood in the center of the candles, raised his sword, closed his eyes, and breathed in and out. Suddenly, a flash of cold light appeared, and dozens of sword flowers shot out like snake tongues. The supple sword body bent, and dozens of sword tips, like phantom spirits, actually bent and turned back. With a "pop," the fifty candles went out almost simultaneously.

What a fast sword!

"Good!" "Good!" "Good!" The crowd erupted in cheers and applause that lasted for a long time.

The Southern King nodded repeatedly, and Wei Shan, Leifia, and Chu Xiaolu couldn't help but cheer and applaud. Zhou Yuan also praised the young master's swordsmanship, exclaiming, "Young master, your swordsmanship is excellent!"

The young master revealed this amazing skill, and those who had been itching to try immediately retreated.

"Young Master Zhou, please." The young man gestured for Zhou Yuan to enter.

The servants had already relit the fifty candles, and the red flames shot up high.

Zhou Yuan rose from his seat, walked to the young master, clasped his hands in a fist salute, and said, "Young master's swordsmanship is unparalleled, I admire it very much."

"Young Master Zhou, you flatter me. Young Master Zhou, may I borrow this Azure Dragon Sword for you?" With that, the young master presented the sword to Zhou Yuan with both hands. Of course, everyone understood that the young master was willing to lend the sword mainly because he didn't want Zhou Yuan to compromise fairness over the sword. Zhou Yuan, of course, also understood the young master's intention.

“Young master, then I won’t stand on ceremony.” Zhou Yuan took the Azure Dragon Sword from the young master’s hand. On the blade of the Azure Dragon Sword, one could vaguely see the shape of several snakes.

Everyone's attention was focused on Zhou Yuan and the sword in his hand, wanting to see what kind of swordsmanship Zhou Yuan would use to extinguish all fifty candles.

Wei Shan, Leifia, Chu Xiaolu, and Aya watched intently, their faces filled with anticipation. Chu Xiaolu and Aya had just witnessed Zhou Yuan's mental power, but they were unfamiliar with his swordsmanship. Even Wei Shan and Leifia, who had seen Zhou Yuan practice fencing before, had never seen him wield the Azure Dragon Sword.

Zhou Yuan held the sword and looked at the fifty candles. Unexpectedly, Zhou Yuan turned to face the Southern Heavenly King and said, "Your Majesty, I have a request."

"Xiao Zhou, what is it?"

"Your Majesty, could you please have your servants bring over a large shield?"

"A shield?" the crowd whispered, somewhat puzzled.

The Southern Heavenly King was also puzzled, but since Zhou Yuan had made this request, he was happy to instruct his servants to do so, wanting to see what Zhou Yuan wanted the shield for.

Soon, two burly men carried a large metal shield. Zhou Yuan instructed them to secure the shield to the short end of the long table with candles. Then, Zhou Yuan stood at the other end of the short side of the table, raised his sword, and pointed the tip at the five rows of candles. Zhou Yuan's position was different from that of the young master, who stood on the long side of the table, facing ten rows of candles.

Zhou Yuan held his longsword level, the tip pointing towards the center row of candles. Everyone held their breath. Zhou Yuan pulled the sword back slightly, then suddenly thrust it forward with lightning speed. The outline of the Azure Dragon Sword vanished, replaced by the faint outline of several small dragons. A powerful surge of energy erupted like a tidal wave, and with a series of hissing sounds, the candles went out. The Azure Dragon Sword emitted a piercing whistling sound, followed by a resounding clang like a struck bell emanating from the shield. Soon after, the candles near the shield also went out. All fifty candles were extinguished.

"Sword energy!" The young master exclaimed in surprise, followed by several others who also cried out in disbelief, as if they couldn't believe that such a fast sword and such powerful sword energy existed in the world. If that "clang" had struck a person instead of a shield, wouldn't the sword energy have pierced through their chests? Some people felt terrified just thinking about it, and sweat broke out on their feet.

Chu Xiaolu and Aya looked at Zhou Yuan with somewhat dazed expressions.

The Southern Heavenly King was initially astonished, but after all fifty candles were extinguished, he nodded in approval, stood up, clapped his hands, and roared, "Excellent!"

The young master's face turned pale. He never expected that Zhou Yuan's lightning-fast strike would reach the highest level of swordsmanship, "sword energy".

In fact, what no one expected was that Zhou Yuan's sword strike wasn't true "sword energy." He merely used a trick, channeling a portion of his mental energy into the Azure Dragon Sword while distributing the rest onto the fifty candles. The interaction of these two energy fields caused turbulent airflow to converge and collide near the candle tips, extinguishing the candles. Finally, all the turbulent airflow leaked onto the shield. The Azure Dragon Sword's lightning strike was nothing more than an illusion.

Regardless, Zhou Yuan successfully extinguished all fifty candles with a single sword strike, and his swordsmanship was the most simple and practical, unlike the young master's elaborate and flashy sword techniques.

After the young master and Zhou Yuan demonstrated their swordsmanship, no other hero dared to show off their skills.

"Good, good, Liu Qinglong and Zhou Yuan are tied for first place in this round." The Southern King announced the results of the fourth round.

"Gentlemen, this is the fifth and final challenge. The remaining four challenges will be tested by my daughter, Aya, on all of you wise and valiant men. The fifth challenge is: If, and I mean if, you had to choose between the throne and my daughter Aya, what would you choose?"

Everyone thought this challenge was simply a contest between power (or career) and beauty—which would it be more important, power or beauty? However, these heroes knew that the Southern King harbored great ambitions, aiming to unify the fourteen kingdoms. Even in the past decade or so, he had continuously dispatched talented individuals to foreign lands, such as the leader of the "expedition" who had stood up earlier to greet the crowd. Since the Zhou emperor ordered a blockade of foreign lands a year ago, the "expedition" had been conducted in secret.

For this fifth question, if the answer is Aya, then given the ambition of the Southern King, he will definitely think that this son-in-law lacks ambition. If the answer is the country, then the Southern King will think that his beloved daughter Aya is not important to this son-in-law, and further speculate that Aya doesn't need to answer the next four questions. Everyone was calculating in their hearts, figuring out how to answer in a way that would satisfy the Southern King.

Zhou Yuan glanced at Wei Shan and Lefia, his eyes overflowing with tenderness. Wei Shan and Lefia also looked at each other with deep affection. Chu Xiaolu and Aya simultaneously looked at Zhou Yuan, and among the five of them, many subtle changes quietly occurred.

The Southern Heavenly King was wondering why everyone was so silent when suddenly, the young master Liu Qinglong strode forward. "Your Majesty," he said, "if I had to choose between the two, I would rather choose the empire. It's not that I'm heartless or cruel, but if I gained the empire, I would allow countless couples to be reunited and happy. Even if I couldn't bear to part with it, I would give it up, preferring to be a broken piece of jade rather than a whole piece of tile. A man who wants to stand tall and upright needs a brilliant career, and his woman will lose her luster. I personally believe that ordinary couples would not naturally face the choice Your Majesty has suggested, but if one desires to be extraordinary, and if ultimately a single choice must be made, I would rather transcend this ordinary world."

Liu Qinglong's last few words were quite clear, conveying a sense of "If I don't go to hell, who will?" From his response, we can see his lofty ambitions; even at the cost of his own life or love, he was willing to consider the well-being of all people.

Among the many heroes, quite a few probably shared similar thoughts, but in front of the Southern King and Aya, they dared not speak openly, nor were they certain their opinions were as good as Liu Qinglong's, so they all remained silent. Liu Qinglong was handsome, dashing, and debonair, with superb swordsmanship. From his answer, he emphasized the importance of the nation and its people, clearly implying a willingness to sacrifice personal interests for the greater good. His answer was skillfully crafted, leaving a deep impression and making it difficult to refute. Even Wei Shan, Lai Feiya, and Chu Xiaolu nodded secretly, showing considerable admiration for Liu Qinglong.

The Southern Heavenly King remained silent for a few seconds, seemingly pondering the meaning behind Liu Qinglong's words, and couldn't help but nod slightly.

Zhou Yuan's attitude towards this fifth challenge is clear: the fate of the nation is fleeting to him. Only the destiny and future of the Earth Empire are what he cares about most right now. In this respect, his choice is closer to Liu Qinglong's thinking. However, he is luckier than Liu Qinglong, as he already has Wei Shan and Leifia, and four children. His previously nameless "wife and children" now seem to have been joined by Chu Xiaolu. And Aya from this blue planet seems to be slowly infiltrating as well. Zhou Yuan worries about what the future holds.