The Nine Cauldrons

Lord Lieutenant, are you alright?

“Then I request the Lieutenant to open up my eyes and let me see your ability!” Teng Qingshan said with a gesture.

Lieutenant Bai Qi sneered. “Teng Qingshan, you have lived in the mountains ever since you were young, so I’m afraid the number of powerful spear arts you’ve seen can be counted on just one hand! Today, I will let you see the power of the supreme spear art!” Lieutenant Bai Qi laughed arrogantly and immediately walked to a spacious area nearby.

“I, your subordinate, am looking forward to it.” Teng Qingshan smiled as he also walked to the spacious area with his spear in one hand, waiting and preparing for the upcoming battle.

At this moment, many of the nearby Black Armored Soldiers began approaching.

“Qingshan and Lieutenant Bai Qi are competing?” Teng Qinghu hastily ran towards the spacious area with flashing eyes. As he looked towards Teng Qingshan and Bai Qi, he exclaimed, “It’s true! Lieutenant Bai Qi is competing with Qingshan! Hehe!”

“Qinghu, you came. Do you think Qingshan can win?”

“Yes, I do. Don’t worry, Qingshan will definitely win. Just watch and see.”

Quiet discussions began to pop up among the surrounding soldiers.

Over a hundred people stood in the area. Since being garrisoned in this great mountain was very uneventful, the competition between Lieutenant Bai Qi and Centurion Teng Qingshan drew everyone’s attention.

“This Teng Qingshan actually dared to provoke me today. Humph! This fellow seduced Martial Sister Qing Qing when he just joined Black Armored Army. He must really view himself highly just because others call him a genius! I must teach him a lesson today or, at the very least, make him bedridden for one or two months. Before he becomes too arrogant, I must let him know of my capabilities!” Lieutenant Bai Qi’s chest was burning with rage, but he didn’t dare to kill Teng Qingshan in this fight. After all, the Black Armored Army had a role that forbade killing during competitions.
TLN: Martial Sister Qing Qing is Zhuge Qing.

“Teng Qingshan, are you ready?” Dressed in a black suit, Bai Qi held his black long spear, appearing extremely arrogant.

“Lord Lieutenant, please do give your best effort and let me, your subordinate, see how astonishing your ability truly is.” Dressed in the same black suit and holding a long spear in hand, Teng Qingshan said this with a smile.

Teng Qingshan’s barbed words caused Lieutenant Bai Qi to feel even more angry.

“Humph!”

With a cold-sounding humph, Lieutenant Bai Qi stomped the ground with his right foot and instantly darted forward several zhang like a flying arrow. Resembling a venomous snake sticking out its tongue, the long spear in his hand was thrust forward. It made the air around it explode while it pierced directly towards Teng Qingshan’s chest.

However, Teng Qingshan smiled as he faced Bai Qi’s attack.

“Phew!”

Teng Qingshan moved the long spear with his right hand and placed it along his back. He skimmed to the side in a flash and dodged Bai Qi’s spear thrust with ease.

“Come!” Lieutenant Bai Qi roared furiously and swept the long spear in his hand.

With a rapid leap, Teng Qingshan stepped on Bai Qi’s sweeping spear shaft with his right foot and flew up. Simultaneously, he laughed and said, “Lord Lieutenant, your subordinate’s ability is just average, but still, these rough and simple spear arts cannot hurt me. It would be better for you to show me more powerful spear arts.”

Hearing Qingshan’s words, Bai Qi was enraged and dashed three steps forward, moving a distance of ten Zhang (30m).

“Pu!”

In the twinkle of an eye, his long spear was thrust ten Zhang forward. The sound of air exploding rumbled like a thunderstorm and caused even the dried fallen leaves surrounding them to fly up into the sky.

“Observe my attack,” Teng Qingshan said with a smile. He was finally making his move!

“Phew!”

The long spear instantly transformed into millions of mirages, and only “Clang!” Clang!” “Clang!” banging sounds could be heard. These crashes caused Lieutenant Bai Qi’s long spear to veer off to the side, and the moment Lieutenant Bai Qi faced Teng Qingshan’s spear figures, he was so terrified that he collapsed to the ground. Simultaneously, his left hand pushed against the ground as he began backing away at a rapid pace.

“Puchi!”

One of the spear figures whipped Bai Qi’s chest, but Bai Qi was still using the ground to support himself with his left hand, borrowing momentum to escape even faster.

“That spearhead’s mirage is like a blossoming fire!”

“Such a fast spear.”

The people watching this scene sighed in amazement. When Teng Qingshan encountered Lieutenant Bai Qi’s attacks, he only dodged in the beginning without using his spear at all. However, the instant his spear made an appearance, just the first move caused Lieutenant Bai Qi to be inferior.

Forcefully hitting a large, nearby tree, Bai Qi then gained the momentum to leap up. The torso of his black suit was already ripped, showing the white undercloth beneath. Bai Qi looked slightly embarrassed. He glared menacingly at Teng Qingshan, who was at a distance, and thought to himself, “Such a fast spear. I didn’t expect Teng Qingshan to have such a marvelous spear art.”

That first move was the first technique that Teng Qingshan had learned after researching the Ardent Flame Spear Art——Silver Flower of the Flaming Tree!
……

“Qingshan is really powerful. The spear technique he just showed is completely different from the spear techniques he used when he competed for the position of centurion. It’s completely different from the simple yet profound spear technique he usually uses.”

“I think Lieutenant Bai Qi is going to lose today.”

“Bai Qi is usually rather arrogant, but we are no match for him. However, Qingshan can help us teach him a lesson and let him know that we, the centurions, are not that easy to bully.”

The group of people watching the fight discussed softly. They were all feeling excited and happy to see the embarrassing appearance of the usually superior and arrogant Bai Qi.
……

Bai Qi cast a glance at the surrounding soldiers who were watching the fight. Those soldiers glanced at him occasionally as they whispered to each other. Seeing this, Bai Qi’s face reddened involuntarily.

Lieutenant Bai Qi was someone who greatly cared about his own reputation!

“I must be careful today. Otherwise I might really suffer a huge loss.”

Teng Qingshan looked at Bai Qi and sneered coldly in his heart. He had the chance to badly injure and defeat Bai Qi, but he knew that if he let Bai Qi lose so easily, the effect that he wanted would be impossible to achieve. Teng Qingshan then thought to himself, “Today, I must let Bai Qi feel pain and fear so that he will never dare to provoke me again!”

Simultaneously, Teng Qingshan laughed clearly and said, “Lord Lieutenant, where is your powerful spear art? You can’t hide your abilities in front of me, your subordinate.”

“Do you want to see my ‘Nine Spears facing the Morning Sun’?” Bai Qi took a deep breath, and the aura he emitted vanished. He skimmed the ground lightly, approaching Teng Qingshan rapidly without making any sounds.

Just when he was three Zhang away from Teng Qingshan, exploding sounds rang throughout the air.

“Boom!”

Bai Qi’s eyes widened greatly and his facial expression became terrifying making him resemble a psychopath. The long spear in his hand instantly changed from light and gentle to ferocious. Sounds of air exploding boomed, and dried twigs and fallen leaves flew in every direction. The long spear in Bai Qi’s hand seemed to have become a black Flood Dragon, roaring as it moved to devour Teng Qingshan.

The ferociousness and madness possessing Bai Qi caused everyone to naturally have the urge to avoid the blow.

“Oh?” Teng Qingshan’s eyes brightened as he exclaimed, “This ‘Nine Spears facing the Morning Sun’ really does have some extraordinary qualities.” Simultaneously, Teng Qingshan performed Pursuing Shadow Spear Technique!

“Whew!”

The shadow of his spear was like arrow, simple and fierce!

“Clang!” After a light impact, Bai Qi could feel the long spear in his hand involuntarily veering to the side, as if it were sinking into an invisible whirlpool.

Bai Qi’s facial expression changed drastically, and he let out a furious roar, “Cloud dispelling blazing Sun!” The long spear in his hand instantly became gentle and soft like the clouds and mist. As his long spear was being thrusted towards Teng Qingshan, it instantly accelerated at a fast pace. The outburst of the that strike’s imposing manner was even more terrifying than the previous strike!

Cloud dispelling blazing Sun was the most powerful technique within Nine Spears facing the Morning Sun.

The concepts of both Yin and Yang were combined in this technique.

However, Bai Qi’s achievement in his most powerful technique, Cloud dispelling blazing Sun, could not be considered very grand.

“Haha……” Teng Qingshan laughed out loud and unleashed a simple and direct strike. This strike seemed to be the same as his previous attack, but the speed of this strike was far more quicker and caused an even a whistling sound that was even more piercing and cacophonous.

“Fifty thousand Jin of strength!”

Teng Qingshan’s eyes were indifferent and fierce! At this point, he had to make Bai Qi suffer a crushing defeat. Thus, he released fifty thousand Jin of strength! During the fight against Yue Song, he was able to fight on a par with Yue Song because of the ten thousand Jin from his Pursuing Shadow Spear Technique. Now that he was using fifty thousand Jin of strength, how could Bai Qi possibly to defend against it?

“Pu!”

Teng Qingshan’s long spear, possessing rotational force, forcefully knocked Bai Qi’s fierce strike to the side. The tip of Bai Qi’s long spear landed on the floor and made loud crashing noises. Immediately after, the earth cracked, and large amount of pebbles flew in every direction. The soldiers that were watching in the surrounding hastily moved, dodging the flying pebbles.

“Impossible!” Bai Qi’s facial expression changed drastically.

“Prepare yourself!” Teng Qingshan roared. The Reincarnation Spear shuddered, hitting the part of the spear shaft near Bai Qi’s hand.

Bai Qi only felt an intense pain on his right hand. Due to a muscle reflex, he released his grip, allowing his long spear to fly upward.

Borrowing the force of the impact, the shaft of the long spear in Teng Qingshan’s hand landed directly on Bai Qi’s chest.

“Peng!”

Bai Qi’s eyes instantly glared at Teng Qingshan as his whole body was sent flying. Once he dropped to the ground, he spat out blood; his whole body was tainted with wet mud, dried twigs, and fallen leaves, giving Bai Qi a very miserable appearance.
……

“How is this possible? I, I.. How is this possible?” Bai Qi collapsed to the ground as blood seeped out of his right hand. He was completely shocked by Teng Qingshan’s strike, which had casually broken the technique he was most proud of, Cloud dispelling blazing sun, and even knocked away his weapon.

That long spear cut diagonally into an area of land in the distance.

“Qingshan, great spear art!”

“Before I could see clearly, Lord Lieutenant’s long spear had already flown up.”

“Qingshan is too powerful!”

The nearby soldiers discussed what had happened during the battle.

While fifty thousand Jin of strength burst forth, Teng Qingshan instantly performed the Pursuing Shadow Spear Technique, making the speed of his spear as fast as lightning. In the eyes of the soldiers, all they could see was the shadow of the spear in Teng Qingshan’s hand moving, followed by the long spear held in Bai Qi’s hand flying away while Bai Qi himself was launched into the air.

Bai Qi and Teng Qingshan were on totally different levels!

“Lord Lieutenant, is this your ‘Nine Spears facing the Morning Sun’?” Teng Qingshan walked to Bai Qi’s side.

Bai Qi trembled and stared at Teng Qingshan, who was standing before his eyes.

“You, you…..” Bai Qi wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth and grabbed a tree to support himself.

Teng Qingshan suddenly drew near, causing Bai Qi to step backwards in shock. Bai Qi then yelled, “What do you want to do?” At this moment, Bai Qi was truly afraid of Teng Qingshan.

“Nothing.” Teng Qingshan approached Bai Qi and whispered, “Lieutenant Bai Qi, you are a lieutenant, and I am a centurion! But……you better not push the limits. After all, the length of our service in our Black Armored Army is still quite long. If you go too far, you should be careful in case I, your subordinate, do something bloody after I lose my temper. Don’t you think so?”

Teng Qingshan’s eyes instantly became sharp knives as he glared at Bai Qi from afar.

Bai shuddered coldly.

He felt the murderous intent in Teng Qingshan’s words and thought to himself, “This Teng Qingshan…….Right. Although he seems old and mature, he is still seventeen years old. If I oppress him to the point that he became humiliated and enraged, he might kill me secretly in a fit of anger!” Although order and rules were very important in this chaotic era, the powerful ones were still superior in world of the warriors.

If no one saw Teng Qingshan attacking secretly, who would argue in Bai Qi’s favor?

Earlier, Bai Qi wasn’t afraid because he thought that the was stronger than Teng Qingshan. However, he finally realized that the difference between the him and Teng Qingshan was too great.

“Lord Lieutenant, are you alright?” Teng Qingshan’s voice suddenly became louder.

Bai Qi’s facial expression changed slightly. Immediately coming to his senses, he replied, “I am fine. It’s just a minor injury.” With this, he began walking towards the long spear that had fallen to the ground.