But since we’ve shown our faces, let’s end it here.

...

...

"Princess, who do you think will win?"

Su Qin looked at Lin Chen standing motionless in front of the mirror and asked softly.

"It should be Lin Chen who wins," Murong Yan said somewhat uncertainly.

"I think Shanben Lang has a better chance of winning. According to the rules of the martial mirror, Shanben Lang was in there first, and he would initiate the assassination as soon as Lin Chen entered. I’m afraid it’s difficult for Lin Chen to evade it."

Su Qin’s lips curled up with a confident judgment, and just as she finished speaking, the mirror surface made a cracking sound.

"Princess, my judgment wasn’t wrong."

The shattering of the mirror signified the end of the battle, and in Su Qin’s view, to end the fight so quickly, Lin Chen must have been assassinated by Shanben Lang the moment he entered.

Lin Chen, in front of the mirror, slowly regained the divinity in his once vacant eyes and looked at Murong Yan: "This mirror is indeed magical."

"Brother Lin, did you win?" Murong Yan asked with concern.

"Yes."

Lin Chen nodded in affirmation. Upon hearing this, Murong Yan’s delicate face lit up with delight. Although she wanted to find a Prince Consort with strong martial aptitude, it didn’t mean she wasn’t picky at all.

Though Lin Chen could be quite shameless, if she had to choose between him and Shanben Lang, she would still choose Lin Chen. Shanben Lang was just too ugly.

"Liar!"

Su Qin, standing nearby, wore a look of disdain, thinking Lin Chen not only shameless but also unable to admit losing—truly hypocritical.

"Senior, what do you mean by that?"

Lin Chen looked at Su Qin with confusion in his eyes. Did he really need to lie?

"That Shanben Lang is proficient in assassination techniques, and in such a short time, I’m afraid you didn’t even exchange a few moves. How could you win? You were likely assassinated by Shanben Lang as soon as you entered."

Turning his gaze to Murong Yan, Lin Chen asked: "Brother Murong, don’t you know the outcome from the copper mirror?"

"Except for Brother Lin, no one knows the result."

Murong Yan shook her head. She only activated the copper mirror, but the battle within was known only to Lin Chen.

Lin Chen realized and nodded: "Understood."

Then, there were no further comments.

"Brother Lin, could you describe the battle?"

Seeing the expectant look in Murong Yan’s eyes, Lin Chen relented: "Brother Murong, this battle is known only to me, and even if I told you, you have no way to judge its truth."

"If Brother Lin says it, I’ll believe it."

"The battle was straightforward. After I entered, Shanben Lang ambushed me with a blade. It was indeed quick, but it didn’t cause me much harm. Then, he revealed himself, and I slapped him away."

Lin Chen’s reply was quite bland, while Su Qin on the side sneered repeatedly: "Daring to claim you slapped Shanben Lang away!"

"Aunt Qin!"

Murong Yan rebuked softly, her face turning cold: "Brother Lin said it, so it must be true."

Seeing the princess’s expression, Su Qin finally kept silent but still had doubts about Lin Chen in her heart. As a Grade-Entering Martial Artist, she knew just how formidable the blade of Zheng Kingdom’s Cyan Fortune Blade Master was.

That Shanben Lang, being his disciple and having the Benshan Clan’s Concealment Technique, finding himself in the lead, was nearly impossible to be defeated, let alone so quickly.

Lin Chen had no intention to explain Aunt Qin’s doubt regarding him; there was no need.

If Shanben Lang’s skills hadn’t improved in the past month, Lin Chen wouldn’t be worried. Having a plan in mind after this duel, defeating Shanben Lang would be no problem.

...

...

Lingxiao City.

The hundred-zhang-high city walls stood towering.

Many martial artists gathered here, not just from Liang, but also from other eight kingdoms.

A constant stream of people!

Lingxiao City had only two city gates, a land gate and a water gate.

At this moment, Lin Chen stood on the deck, observing the giant ships over ten zhang tall coming and going, along with the different attire of people from various countries, feeling somewhat amazed—it truly was the number one city of Liang.

While Lin Chen marveled, two boats heading for the dock suddenly stopped, and then two figures leaped from the ships, engaging in battle in the water.

This scene happened so suddenly, the terrifying energy unleashed from the two caused the surrounding waters to surge, affecting many ships.

Grade-Entering Martial Artists!

Lin Chen narrowed his eyes, never expecting to witness a duel between two Grade-Entering Martial Artists on his first day in Lingxiao City.

One wielded a blade, the other a spear!

Did these two have a grudge and coincidentally crossed paths here?

Enemies meeting, intensely agitated?

But what Lin Chen didn’t expect was that the surrounding ships weren’t avoiding them.

Weren’t these ships afraid of being overturned by the energy of the battling Grade-Entering Martial Artists?

As Lin Chen pondered, a streak of arrow light shot from the direction of the city gate, too fast for Lin Chen to see clearly.

Bam!

The arrow exploded between the two martial artists, causing them to alter their expressions and gaze toward the city gate.

At the gate, three men in black armor hovered mid-air, one holding a bow and arrow, clearly the one who shot just now.

"Since Lingxiao City doesn’t allow us to fight here, we’ll both stop."

The two battling Grade-Entering Martial Artists saw the trio and showed a hint of apprehension in their eyes.

"Those who disturb the order outside Lingxiao City will be arrested without exception!"

The archer’s expression was icy. Upon hearing this, the two Grade-Entering Martial Artists’ expressions changed, and one protested: "I’m not from your Liang; you have no right to arrest me!"