Chapter 100: The First Move

"How about this: three moves. If I can hold my ground against you for three moves, you and your men will leave, agreed?" Sikong Xu met Wei Zhuang’s cold gaze head-on.

In "The Legend of Qin," only a handful could exchange even a few moves with Wei Zhuang. Sikong Xu dared not be arrogant enough to believe he could defeat him, but if he could just endure three moves, there might be a sliver of hope.

"Three moves?" Wei Zhuang said expressionlessly upon hearing Sikong Xu's proposal. "Why should I listen to you?"

Well, provocation was useless against a seasoned veteran like Wei Zhuang. Sikong Xu weighed his chances carefully—if this erupted into a fight, how likely was survival? After much contemplation, he found no way out of the predicament.

Hmph, I’m well-versed in both the heavens and the earth—there’s no way you won’t agree! Sikong Xu’s anger flared. If Wei Zhuang in "The Legend of Qin" was this ruthless, how much more so the Wei Zhuang of "Nine Songs of the Moving Heavens"?

"If you agree to my terms, I’ll tell you what happened to Han Fei—how he died!" Sikong Xu dropped his trump card.

Linking the stories of "The Legend of Qin" and "Nine Songs of the Moving Heavens," one sees that after Wei Zhuang became the leader of the ‘Flowing Sand’ organization, assassination was no longer their main pursuit; investigating Han Fei’s death was the true purpose of ‘Flowing Sand.’

"Han Fei!" Wei Zhuang’s brows furrowed sternly.

"Brother!" Chilian, who had just awakened nearby, exclaimed. As the Scarlet Lotus Princess of Han and Han Fei’s sister, she was astonished that someone knew the truth behind her brother’s death.

"You brat, you’re not deceiving us, are you?" Chilian asked anxiously behind Wei Zhuang.

"Impossible. Even if I wanted to deceive you, Han Fei’s identity is hardly known to many, so why target him?" Sikong Xu replied with interest, glancing at Chilian before turning his gaze back to Wei Zhuang.

In truth, Sikong Xu wasn’t entirely sure who killed Han Fei, but the "Nine Songs of the Moving Heavens" animation hinted at the matter.

"Speak," Wei Zhuang said abruptly, seemingly agreeing.

But Sikong Xu held back, casting a glance at Gai Nie, wary of any sudden betrayal from Wei Zhuang.

"Don’t worry," Gai Nie nodded, "Xiao Zhuang always keeps his word." He knew the situation was unfavorable; if a fight broke out, he might be safe, but others might not be so lucky.

With Gai Nie’s affirmation, Sikong Xu took a breath and began, "Han Fei’s true cause of death was the Yin-Yang School’s Six Soul Terror Curse!"

"Six Soul Terror Curse!" Chilian gasped, her beautiful eyes blazing with anger.

"Explain in detail," Wei Zhuang demanded.

"You know Han Fei and Li Si were both students of Xunzi, but they disliked each other. Li Si framed Han Fei and had him imprisoned before colluding with the Yin-Yang School to kill him. That’s why Han Fei died in Qin."

"As for why the Yin-Yang School agreed to conspire with Li Si? It’s likely because of the 'Seven Mansions of the Azure Dragon.'"

"‘Seven Mansions of the Azure Dragon’!"

When Sikong Xu uttered those words, both Gai Nie and Wei Zhuang’s faces changed. Clearly, they knew some secret about the ‘Seven Mansions.’ They understood that Jing Ke’s death was deeply connected to this secret, so hearing it again unsettled them.

Sikong Xu was somewhat familiar with the ‘Seven Mansions’ as well. Apart from the struggles among the Hundred Schools of Thought, the secret of the ‘Seven Mansions’ was the hidden main plot of the latter part of "The Legend of Qin."

Seven stars, seven states, seven secrets—the core of the Seven Mansions of the Azure Dragon was always held by the sole heir of each state throughout history. Legend says whoever holds the secret wields the power to control the world.

Ying Zheng’s destruction of the other six states was precisely because of this!

Judging by Wei Zhuang’s expression, he tentatively believed Sikong Xu, though further proof was needed.

After a moment, Wei Zhuang snapped out of his thoughts and said coldly, "Take three moves from me, and you may leave."

"Ha… come on…" The first step of the plan had succeeded; only the final, most difficult step remained.

Taking three moves from Wei Zhuang alone was enough to frighten countless martial artists. In the entire "Legend of Qin," only a few could withstand even one move from Wei Zhuang. At full power, even masters like Gao Jianli or Da Tiechui from the Mohist school likely wouldn’t last ten moves—assuming a direct, full-on fight.

If one could dodge, surviving ten moves was possible—like Bai Feng, who relied on unparalleled agility to avoid Wei Zhuang’s strikes, making it nearly impossible for Wei Zhuang to land a killing blow.

Yet this didn’t change the fact that Wei Zhuang was the pinnacle expert of the series. Only Gai Nie could defeat Wei Zhuang at his peak.

Sikong Xu guessed that Wei Zhuang and Gai Nie’s ranks far surpassed the Golden Yellow level; Golden Yellow experts would flee upon encountering them. As a Mohist Black rank below Golden Yellow, Sikong Xu had no chance.

"First move!"

In battle, neither Wei Zhuang nor Gai Nie wasted words—drawing their swords meant striking immediately.

Whoosh—

Before Sikong Xu could react, Wei Zhuang’s blood-red sword aura sliced through the air, towering three meters high, suffused with such oppressive power it nearly suffocated Sikong Xu.

Where the sword aura passed, deep scars marked the ground. If the sword aura struck him, Sikong Xu was certain it would be a clean, deadly cut.

"Don’t underestimate me! Just your sword aura…" Instinctively, Sikong Xu raised his own sword, the Interpreter, channeling all his internal energy into the blade, forming a thick transparent sword aura. For just the first move, he had already expended all his strength.

Sikong Xu usually uttered a few taunts in battle, but now—with death looming—there was no time for trash talk.

Boom——

The blood-red sword aura collided fiercely with Sikong Xu’s transparent aura. The explosion of energy kicked up dust, which billowed into the air and spread around.

The dust obscured the center, hiding Sikong Xu’s condition. Whether he lived or died, no one knew. Perhaps he was dead, or perhaps he truly withstood Wei Zhuang’s first move without mercy.