Chapter 151: Meeting the Prince of Guo (1)

Although Kong Sheng and his three companions were accommodated in this mansion, with their food and lodging meticulously cared for, Kong Sheng had not received an invitation to meet with Li Xuan or Li Fuguo by late into the night.

Yet, since he had arrived, he would take things as they came. Kong Sheng waited patiently and composedly, knowing that Li Xuan would surely grant him an audience; it was merely a matter of time. As for Li Fuguo, he was likely banqueting with Prince Yue, Li Ju, at this hour and simply could not spare the attention to see someone as insignificant as him.

Still, Kong Sheng needed to find a way to meet with Li Fuguo. His deliberate exposure of his whereabouts to be discovered by Li Fuguo this time was intended precisely as a test of the man.

The night passed in silence. Awakening early the next morning, Kong Sheng commenced his morning routine as usual. His training was strictly scheduled and unyielding, unaffected by wind or rain. Whether in the city of Jiangning or now journeying along the road, he had not slackened for a single day. In his view, physical health was the foundation of all endeavors; without a strong and agile body, any future struggles of his in the Great Tang would be like water without a source, a tree without roots.

While he engaged in intensely repetitive and monotonous physical conditioning in the courtyard, Wu Xian and Wu Jie stood idly to one side, looking bored, whereas Mu Changfeng had already stepped out to wander the city.

Wu Xian cast a depressed glance at his younger brother Wu Jie, lowering his voice. "Second brother, the Young Master's actions and conduct are utterly unfathomable. He clearly possesses divine, inborn strength and has no need to temper his physical power. What he actually needs right now is technique, not strength."

Wu Jie watched Kong Sheng's rigid, methodical movements and chuckled softly. "Eldest brother, you do not understand. The Young Master's tempering is merely to better command his strength. Moreover, I feel that while his strength training is simple, it is exceptionally practical."

The estate manager seemed to have received instructions to focus solely on Kong Sheng. As for Kong Sheng's retainers and attendants, they were ignored and allowed to come and go freely. If Kong Sheng himself had attempted to leave, however, he would likely have been intercepted.

Breathing heavily, Kong Sheng lowered himself to the ground to perform push-ups, a form of exercise difficult for people of this era to appreciate. After completing two hundred push-ups, he transitioned directly into two hundred frog leaps, concluding with a high-intensity set of chest-expansion stretching movements.

Though Kong Sheng's morning training regimen was exceedingly bizarre, Wu Xian and Wu Jie had long since grown accustomed to it.

With his physical conditioning concluded, Kong Sheng sat cross-legged on the ground, running through a full cycle of the internal breathing techniques imparted by Master Sima Chengzhen. Afterward, he rose feeling refreshed and began to wield the Halberd of Heavenly Mandate. Naturally, his movements remained entirely devoid of established form; the exercise served merely to enhance his familiarity and integration with the weapon.

Initially, Kong Sheng had considered studying authentic halberd techniques. Later, however, he discovered that with the assistance of his inner energy, his formless halberd style was actually freer and far more lethal, rendering it unnecessary to be bound by the conventional frameworks of traditional halberd play. Thus, he abandoned the idea.

Such a heavy Halberd of Heavenly Mandate felt as light as a feather in Kong Sheng's grasp, whistling through the air as he swung it like an extension of his own arm.

A trace of awe flickered in Wu Xian's eyes. No one understood the immense might of the halberd in Kong Sheng's hands better than he. In a battlefield clash, relying on Kong Sheng's innate divine strength, the weapon's sheer weight, and the momentum of a charge, virtually nothing could withstand the devastating sweep of Kong Sheng's halberd.

Furthermore, over the past two days, the Wu brothers had unexpectedly discovered that Kong Sheng was attempting to channel his inner energy into the long halberd, using his internal breath to augment the weapon's lethality. Although his success rate was not high, every successful attempt would unleash a heaven-shaking, destructive force in moments of crisis that far exceeded human imagination.

As the two brothers drifted into distant thoughts, a sudden rush of wind whistled through the air. Snapping their heads upward, they saw Kong Sheng leap from the spot, his body spinning rapidly in mid-air. The Halberd of Heavenly Mandate in his hands twirled along with him, emitting a deep, humming drone. Just as Kong Sheng was about to land, he suddenly let out a thunderous shout, thrusting the halberd downward with all his might. A flash of white light materialized instantly, striking a stone bench together with the tip of the halberd.

Bang!

Following a deafening crash, dust and debris billowed into the air. The stone bench, measuring half a foot wide and over three feet long, was forcefully blasted into two halves, sinking deep into the ground.

Wu Xian and Wu Jie stood dumbstruck, drawing in sharp breaths of cold air.

Not far away, the manager and servants of Li Xuan's residence, having been alarmed by the commotion, arrived just in time to witness this astonishing scene. Seeing Kong Sheng standing majestically with the Halberd of Heavenly Mandate in hand, they were all struck with shock, some even letting out involuntary gasps of disbelief.

The Halberd of Heavenly Mandate was by no means a common weapon, especially one as heavy as the piece in Kong Sheng's possession. In the eyes of ordinary people, those capable of wielding such armaments were invariably peerless heroes, akin to Lü Bu of the Three Kingdoms era.

Yet Kong Sheng's initial impression upon them had always been that of a refined, scholarly youth. For such a delicate scholar to suddenly display such supernatural valor created a stark contrast that left two maids who had previously served Kong Sheng with their mouths hanging open, unable to close them for a long time.

Outwardly, Kong Sheng remained nonchalant, but inward jubilation surged within him. He had accidentally discovered during his time at the Chemen Mountain stronghold that channeling inner energy through a weapon could trigger an instantaneous, externalized burst, driving the weapon to unleash extraordinary and terrifying power. He had attempted it several times thereafter, yet most of those tries had ended in failure, resulting in a very low success rate.

As of today, however, he had vaguely grasped a certain knack and caught a first glimpse of the threshold. Given time, if he could master the secret art of infusing internal energy into a weapon to release it outwardly and harm enemies, the entire world would lie open before him, and no one could stand against him in direct combat.

Clap, clap, clap!

Crisp applause suddenly echoed from the courtyard entrance. A tall, graceful woman with an ethereal cloud bun, dressed in a multicolored palace gown with a translucent silk shawl draped over her shoulders, stepped leisurely into the courtyard, smiling faintly under the escort of more than a dozen maidservants and guards.

The original maids and servants of the estate dropped to their knees in a flurry upon seeing this, shouting in unison, "Greetings, Princess!"

Kong Sheng glanced over and was slightly startled: it was Fengyang Princess Li Xuan, transformed into formal, enchanting female attire. Dressed and coiffed in this manner, her aura and demeanor were vastly different from usual; had he not been so familiar with her, he almost would not have recognized her.

Wu Xian and Wu Jie lowered their heads, cupping their hands in a gesture of greeting.

Gathering his composure, Kong Sheng thrust the Halberd of Heavenly Mandate into the earth with a soft thud, then stepped forward two paces and saluted, "Your subordinate Kong Sheng pays his respects to the Princess of Fengyang!"

Contrary to her usual demeanor, Li Xuan's attitude today was remarkably pleasant and cordial. She waved a hand and smiled gently, "County Magistrate Kong, no need for such formalities. Please rise!"

Li Xuan's spring-breeze-like warmth left Kong Sheng, Wu Xian, and Wu Jie somewhat astonished and bewildered. Unaware of what scheme she was hatching anew, and adhering to the principle of high vigilance and extreme caution, Kong Sheng retreated to the side after returning the greeting, quietly awaiting her next move.

Li Xuan walked around Kong Sheng's Halberd of Heavenly Mandate with brimming enthusiasm, circling it twice. She carefully observed the exquisite hollowed-out carvings along the shaft, reached out to test its grip, gauged the weight of the halberd, and clicked her tongue in continuous praise. "What a rare and precious halberd! So heavy, it is practically tailor-made for you. Kong Sheng, where did you acquire this halberd?"

Kong Sheng smiled faintly and replied softly, "It was obtained by chance; it is not worth mentioning."

As he spoke, Kong Sheng's thoughts drifted toward Nie Chuchen, the woman whose attire was as fiery as red and whose charm was captivating. He knew very well that not only had he fled down the mountain, but he had also absconded with the Halberd of Heavenly Mandate, which served as Nie Chuchen's engagement token. Fiery-tempered as she was, Nie Chuchen would certainly not let the matter rest, and there was a strong likelihood she would come looking for trouble with him directly in the future.

Observing the flicker in Kong Sheng's eyes, Li Xuan guessed that the halberd undoubtedly had an obscure and unusual origin, yet she refrained from pressing further. Instead, she exclaimed in wonder, "Kong Sheng, to think you could integrate internal energy with your weapon, cultivating to the advanced realm of using your true breath to project outward through the weapon and harm foes—it truly astonishes this Princess. In all the world, those capable of reaching such a realm are few and far between."

"That is only because the internal breathing techniques imparted by Grandmaster Sima are profound and supreme. I merely had a bit of luck, stumbling upon such a method by chance and occasionally succeeding," Kong Sheng replied with modest humility. "The Princess flatters me; Kong Sheng is deeply unworthy of such praise."

Li Xuan's gaze grew somewhat fervent. Staring deeply at Kong Sheng, her desire to recruit him to serve under Prince Yue intensified further.

In her mind, Kong Sheng was now unequivocally a one-in-a-million super talent. In civil affairs, he could pacify the state and secure the nation; in martial prowess, he could shatter battle formations and slay enemies. His literary and martial achievements were the finest of the current age. If such a talent were lost, or perished at the hands of rebels in a perilous place like Suiyang, it would be an absolute catastrophe for the state and dynasty of the Great Tang.

Having studied under renowned masters herself, she was well-versed in martial arts. Her teacher, Abbots Huixin of the Yuexin Nunnery on Mount Pengcheng, was one of the realm's celebrated sword immortals, just as Fan Cong, the master of Nie Chuchen and Nangong Wang, was another.

Li Xuan understood clearly that, broadly speaking, martial artists could be simply divided into two tiers: swordsmen and sword immortals. Swordsmen had merely caught a glimpse of the threshold of martial dao, mastering and skillfully applying sword techniques either to uphold justice or to protect themselves; this was merely the preliminary stage. When one reached the realm of her master, Abbots Huixin—capable of plucking leaves and flying flowers, tearing through the air to wound enemies with mere blades of grass, commanding swords with breath, soaring weightlessly across the land, and vanishing like a divine dragon—one became a sword immortal.

Naturally, Li Xuan was a swordsman. To become a sword immortal required a prolonged period of cultivation.

The distinguishing hallmark between a swordsman and a sword immortal lay in whether true breath could be projected outward through a medium or vehicle. By some twist of fate, Kong Sheng had mastered this supreme method, stepping into the realm of a sword immortal. How could Li Xuan not feel envy and hold him in even higher regard?

Of course, Kong Sheng could by no means be equated with a true sword immortal. Compared to the legendary sword immortals who could spit out flying pellets to take a person's head from a thousand miles away, he was still far inferior.

Not lingering on this subject, Li Xuan turned her gaze to sweep over Wu Xian and Wu Jie, asking with intentional casualness, "Wu Xian, Wu Jie, the two of you originally served under the Imperial Envoy Lord Li. Do you understand his preferences?"

Wu Xian chuckled. "Replying to the Princess, Lord Li is bold and unrestrained, paying little heed to minor details. However, back in the imperial palace, he was notorious for his fondness of jewels, gold, silver, and famous treasures. Previously in the city of Jiangning, the local gentry all catered to his tastes and presented him with quite a few gifts... Hehe!"