"Brother Dingguo, I'm older than you by a few years. Is it okay to call you that?”
"Of course not. Brother Jinghui is a senior, and this little brother respects you. Why would he mind such a small matter?”
According to the rules of the martial world, the two of them would definitely have to say something before fighting.
However, Zhang Dingguo and Hu Jinghui would be officials of the same dynasty in the future, so they did not say anything harsh. Instead, they were exchanging feelings.
Moreover, Hu Jinghui was already in his forties. Zhang Dingguo, who was only twenty years old, was already at an advantage by calling himself his younger brother.
"Dingguo, please be careful. This brother is about to make a move!”
"Please don't worry! I still have some skills…"
Because the Emperor was watching from the side, the two of them had no choice but to start the martial arts competition after a simple exchange.
As for Hu Jinghui, Zhang Dingguo, who was familiar with the plot, knew very well that his true identity was the sword spirit that ranked third among the six snake heads of the Snake Spirit. Moreover, in terms of actual combat power, he should be the second strongest among the Snake Spirits. This was because Xue Ling, who was ranked second, was actually two people. In a one-on-one situation, he was definitely not a match for the Sword Spirit.
Hu Jinghui, who possessed high-tier martial arts, was conservatively estimated to be one of the top ten experts in the world.
Of course, Zhang Dingguo was aware of this. With his current strength, he definitely could not defeat Hu Jinghui.
However, even though he couldn't win, he wasn't completely helpless. He could still parry a few attacks.
Moreover, Hu Jinghui didn't go all out at the beginning, or rather, both sides didn't use their strength at the beginning.
From the scene, the two of them were engaged in rapid attacks and defenses. One saber and one sword collided repeatedly. Their bodies were also moving in all directions, sometimes high and sometimes low. To an outsider, it was really lively. However, an expert could tell at a glance that these moves were all just for show.
In other words, Zhang Dingguo and Hu Jinghui were acting, putting on a good show to make the Emperor happy.
However, no one would be tactful enough to say it. Not to mention the question of whether the Emperor believed it or not, just ruining the Emperor's mood in public and offending him would be a huge problem.
The reason why Hu Jinghui did not use his full strength in the beginning was naturally to slowly probe Zhang Dingguo's depth.
Otherwise, if he attacked with all his strength from the beginning, what if Zhang Dingguo could not take it and was killed in one move? Whether Zhang Dingguo would be injured or not was a small matter. What was more important was that the Emperor would be embarrassed and unhappy!
After all, Zhang Dingguo was the Martial Arts Scholar hand-picked by the Emperor. He would be entrusted with an important task in the future. Slapping the Martial Arts Scholar's face was equivalent to slapping the Emperor's face. In that case, not only would the person who was slapped in the face be unlucky, but even the person who was slapped in the face would definitely be angered by the Emperor!
Although Hu Jinghui was a military general, he had been a guard by the Emperor's side for so many years after all, so he still understood a little of this.
Therefore, it didn't matter if he won or lost this time, but he couldn't win too easily!
As for Zhang Dingguo, he was only testing the waters at first. When he realized that Hu Jinghui wanted to put on an act with him, he cooperated with him tacitly.
Even though if he were to instantly kill the Emperor's guard captain, he would definitely face the same consequences as Hu Jinghui instantly killing the Emperor's hand-picked martial arts champion. But in reality, that was impossible. No matter how much Hu Jinghui tried to hide, he couldn't have hidden it so deeply. Otherwise, how could he survive in the Thousand Bull Guard?
The two sides exchanged more than 30 moves, and the two of them could be considered to have completed their warm-up.
After that, Hu Jinghui began to gradually exert his strength. After all, this competition could not continue like this!
With Hu Jinghui's strength, even if Zhang Dingguo responded in time, he still began to feel the pressure.
After 50 moves, Zhang Dingguo started to feel a little exhausted.
Although the current scene was as exciting as the first thirty moves, it was much more intense. As a result, the generals, who had previously been uninterested, all stared intently at the two of them when they finally began to get serious.
"Damn it, looks like with my current strength, the gap between me and Hu Jinghui is still a little big!
No, I must think of a decent way to end this competition as soon as possible.”
After experiencing the gap between him and the top experts, Zhang Dingguo had already given up on winning the martial arts competition. He only wanted to lose in a good way. Even if they both lost, being kicked out of the martial arts arena by the enemy or being beaten to the ground would definitely be much more embarrassing than deliberately showing a flaw and being forced back a few steps by the enemy before directly admitting defeat!
However, just as Zhang Dingguo was about to make a mistake, an accident happened?
Hu Jinghui jumped and slashed at Zhang Dingguo's head with the long saber in his hand. When Zhang Dingguo saw this situation, he swung his sword to block, wanting to block Hu Jinghui's long saber. However, he did not expect that as the sword and saber collided, there was a crisp sound. The weapon in Zhang Dingguo's hand was actually cut off by Hu Jinghui!
If Zhang Dingguo had not reacted quickly and used his Golden Goose Skill to retreat, he would have been severely injured if he had not been killed!
"General, you really have divine power. This little brother admits defeat, admits defeat!”
" Erm, you flatter me. I only won by half a move because of my weapon…"
How could Hu Jinghui only win by half a move? If this was a real battle, as long as Hu Jinghui pursued him, Zhang Dingguo would definitely die!
However, what he said about the advantages of weapons was true. Hu Jinghui's saber was indeed of better quality than Zhang Dingguo's sword.
Zhang Dingguo did not suspect that someone had cheated him by giving him a sword that was made of inferior materials.
This was because his sword was just an ordinary standard weapon, and its workmanship was only average. As for Hu Jinghui's long saber, although it couldn't be considered a treasured saber that could cut through iron like mud, it was also meticulously forged by the Armament Bureau using refined steel. The Emperor had personally given it to him, so the quality was definitely several levels higher.
After Zhang Dingguo and Hu Jinghui started to exert their strength, especially the last few moves, both of their strength was at least 100 Jin.
Under such a force, it was very normal for a sword of inferior quality to be broken.
Even if it wasn't cut in half by Hu Jinghui's Leap Slash, judging from the fact that there were already quite a number of cracks on the sword's body, it was likely that this sword would have to be reforged even if it continued. Unlike the saber in Hu Jinghui's hand, which was only missing a few small holes and could be used again after being repaired.
Zhang Dingguo was not discouraged by the loss of this competition.
Because he knew that Hu Jinghui, who was in his forties, was at his peak and would not be able to maintain it for a few more years. And he was only twenty years old now, and was in a period of rapid growth. He estimated that after another one or two years of hard work, he would be able to reach Hu Jinghui's current level, or even surpass him...
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