“Senior Jiang, Senior Jiang!” Qiao Lin urgently transmitted, “Look at the viewing platform on the right! There’s a peerless beauty! Trust me, even though her face is veiled, she is definitely a great beauty!”

Do you know that your transmitted message is as clear as a drumbeat to a True Person’s ears, with absolutely no secrecy?

Jiang Wang righteously retorted, “Look at what? Go look at your own combat!”

Qiao Lin closed his mouth, feeling wronged.

This Senior Jiang is too fickle!

Last time, regarding that Princess of Mu, weren’t you upset that I didn’t tell you? This time I told you, and you’re acting all proper again!

Jiang Wang stared at the viewing platform with a serious expression, his attitude very upright.

He was someone who listened to advice.

He wouldn’t be obsequious just because he was alone and helpless before, and he certainly wouldn’t be arrogant and disregard others just because he had the support of powerful nations now.

The Lingxiao Pavilion had always protected Jiang Anan, leaving him with no worries, allowing him to travel the world and rapidly increase his strength. He felt nothing but gratitude in his heart.

Since the dignified True Person Ye “suggested” that he protect the news of his sister from being discovered by the officials of the Zhuang Kingdom, he naturally had to listen.

In fact, after thinking about it briefly, he also felt that he had been somewhat reckless.

Not to mention that the Yellow River Convention had not yet ended, and his final ranking was still unknown.

Even if he really won the championship and became famous throughout the world, and decided to bring his sister to Qi, he wouldn’t need to worry about Zhuang Gaoxian anymore.

But given his inevitable adversarial relationship with Zhuang Gaoxian and Du Ruhui, if the Lingxiao Pavilion so openly protected him, wouldn’t the Zhuang Kingdom become hostile towards the Yun Kingdom?

Even if the Lingxiao Pavilion wasn’t afraid, how could he feel at ease and bring trouble to the Lingxiao Pavilion?

Therefore, maintaining a distance from Ye Qingyu on the surface was the correct choice.

Upon closer thought, the only time he appeared in front of others with Anan was when he first went to Yun City, and Ye Qingyu broke open the “Heavenly Curtain” to greet him. But at that time, he had white hair, completely different from today.

After that, when he went to Yun Kingdom to play with Anan, he had concealed their appearances.

In Qi, apart from Chongxuan Sheng, he hadn’t told anyone about Anan, and had protected his sister’s news very well. Even to Xiang Qian, he only told him after leaving Qi…

No.

Jiang Wang suddenly remembered that he was blocked by Du Ruhui near the Qichang Mountain Range at that time, and only escaped thanks to Ye Lingxiao.

In other words, as long as Du Ruhui saw him again today, he would definitely be able to guess that he had some kind of relationship with the Lingxiao Pavilion. So, could the matter of his sister being in the Lingxiao Pavilion still be hidden from Du Ruhui?

How could such a cunning and experienced person overlook this point?

From this perspective, True Person Ye’s statement about “protecting your sister from being discovered by the officials of the Zhuang Kingdom” seemed a bit untenable.

However, since the dignified True Person, Pavilion Master Ye, said so, there must be his reasons, right?

Perhaps there are other things I don’t know, perhaps my level is too low to understand a True Person’s will…

Jiang Wang thought silently, but indeed, he didn’t look towards Ye Lingxiao and his daughter again.

And on the viewing platform on that side, True Person Ye calmly dealt with various high-level figures, discussing various issues with profound insights and a grand vision, his demeanor and bearing captivating.

Watching the battle of geniuses was just a formality; the main purpose was to discuss cooperation. Those who did not plan to contend for anything in the Yellow River Convention specially came here to observe the ceremony, and of course, they also had their own goals.

Specific trade matters would be handled by the high-level officials of the Yun Kingdom. He was just communicating intentions with these powerful figures from small countries to reach a consensus at the upper level.

However, it was a simple matter for the dignified Pavilion Master Ye, the Great True Person, to multitask.

So, a transmitted message also sounded in his daughter’s ear simultaneously—

“You treat him as a friend, care about him so much, helped him so much, yet he doesn’t even look at you. Alas, your father is not trying to cause trouble, but this kid seems to be no good!”

Ye Qingyu appeared very serious while watching the battle on the viewing platform, and transmitted back, “Question!”

“Ask.”

“Who is more childish, the Lingxiao Pavilion Master or Uncle Achoo?”

“That would definitely be Achoo… What do you mean? How is your father childish!”

“Figure it out yourself.”

“How am I childish! No, you have to tell me clearly, what kind of person is Ye Lingxiao, who roams the world and is the master of a pavilion, how could he be childish?”

Ye Qingyu silently got up and moved a few seats to the side, still staring at the battle on the field, and no longer replied.

Ye Lingxiao sighed in his heart.

Looking at the core figures of the several small countries next to him, he suddenly felt a bit dispirited.

But he was not the kind of person who put his personal feelings above the interests of his sect, so he still responded appropriately, maintaining his demeanor.

It was just…

A furious roar suddenly echoed in Jiang Wang’s ears: “You be careful!”

The Qi genius Jiang Qingyang was secretly startled, not knowing what had happened, and quickly transmitted back, “Pavilion Master, what’s wrong?”

“It’s nothing, I’m telling you to be careful. Du Ruhui also came to Guanhai Platform this time. That old fellow is not easy to deal with.”

Jiang Wang repeatedly thanked him: “This junior understands, and will definitely be careful. Thank you, True Person Ye, for your guidance.”

He waited for a while, and seeing that True Person Ye no longer replied, he finally relaxed the tension in his heart.

Anan did not come to Guanhai Platform with Ye Lingxiao. He was relieved, yet also a little disappointed.

He didn’t want Anan to see him fighting for his life, so he didn’t mention participating in the Yellow River Convention in his letter to Anan this time, only chatted with Ye Qingyu about it. But if Anan could really come and see his glory, he would also be very happy.

A brother’s feelings are quite contradictory.

“Chumin is on stage!” Qiao Lin reminded him again via transmission.

This kid was indeed clever and knew how to gauge the “superior’s” intentions. Such a “talent,” yet not even a commander, shows that the Sky Covering Army is still very strict, focusing only on hard power and true achievements.

Jiang Wang subtly shifted his gaze.

The sallow-faced Chumin just flew onto the martial arts platform.

Standing opposite him was a young man with a childish face, wearing a short jacket with a cross-buttoned front.

“He’s a genius from the Rong Kingdom, but he wasn’t very famous before participating in this Yellow River Convention. His name is… Lin Xian.”

Qiao Lin explained diligently: “It seems that Chumin won’t be forced to show his full capabilities.”

The Xia Kingdom was a powerful nation that once contended with the Qi Kingdom. Although it has declined now, it is still a first-class great nation.

And the Rong Kingdom…

When Jiang Wang was fighting against the rat plague spread by the White Bone Path in Qingyang Town, he had some understanding of this neighbor of the Yang Kingdom.

Its strength is similar to that of the Yang Kingdom, and it can only tremble under the military might of the Qi Kingdom. Although it still maintains its independence with difficulty, it is only a matter of time before it submits a petition to become a vassal state of the Qi Kingdom.

It is truly bad luck for the Rong Kingdom’s team to meet the Xia Kingdom’s team.

Jiang Wang looked at Chumin and Lin Xian, particularly noticing Lin Xian’s knife and the hand holding the knife.

He suddenly sighed and said, “Not necessarily.”

Lin Xian’s knife was a cleaver.

The blade head was extremely heavy, the spine was extremely thick, the edge was extremely sharp, and the wooden handle was about one-third the length of the entire knife.

And Lin Xian’s hand, covered in calluses, held the wooden handle steadily, without any wavering.

His weathered hand and his young, slightly childish face were quite mismatched.

But this hand and this knife were very harmonious.

Jiang Wang looked at them intently, and for a moment, he had a feeling. The hand seemed to be the long handle of the knife, and the knife seemed to be an extension of the hand.

That kind of intimate connection was something he was very familiar with.

Because it was the same when he held Chang Xiangsi.

If a person and a knife can be so harmonious, their knife skills must be extraordinary.

This Lin Xian…

He was probably unknown before because the Rong Kingdom wanted to make a splash at this Yellow River Convention.

In this magnificent era, many countries and many individuals are also striving to the best of their abilities…

As an elite of the Sky Covering Army, Qiao Lin himself had extensive combat experience and his own understanding of the outcome of battles.

But he unconditionally believed in Jiang Wang’s judgment.

So, he immediately changed his stance and said with a bit of schadenfreude: “So Lin Xian is pretending to be a pig to eat a tiger? That’s interesting. Looking at Chumin’s arrogant and careless appearance, he might just stop here and not even get a spot in the main competition! Haha, people from Xia!”

The reason he believed Jiang Wang so much and changed his stance without hesitation was not because Jiang Wang had obtained a spot in the Yellow River Convention.

It was because of Wang Yi Wu.

Wang Yi Wu, who had come all this way, was invincible in the army and was admired by many soldiers. After winning the honor of being the number one Tongtian realm in history, he was defeated by Jiang Wang in the Tenglong realm at the same level, and was defeated again after advancing to the Neifu realm.

This record shook Linzi and caused a huge stir in the army.

It was precisely because Wang Yi Wu had been overwhelmingly strong in the army in every realm he had reached. For the soldiers of Qi, defeating Wang Yi Wu at the same level was more convincing than anything else.

Jiang Wang sat upright, his hands on his knees, without speaking. He had entered the “battle,” sensing the qi of the two sides in combat.

On the field, under the gaze of many eyes, Lin Xian held his knife and looked at his opponent motionlessly.

Chumin quietly met his gaze.

The cleaver had no sheath. Such a heavy knife, of this style, also had no sheath for maintenance.

But it did not appear solitary.

The hand was its support, its source of power. It was closely connected to it, working together in harmony.

When the general of the Divine Strategy Army announced the start of the battle.

Lin Xian’s hand had already moved.

His expression remained reserved, with a hint of shyness around strangers.

But his knife swung forward, as naturally as chopping wood.

Even a young, shy boy could chop wood with great force.

Because… killing people is a sin, but felling trees is justified.

There was no opponent in his eyes, only a “tree.”

A tree for him to fell and return with.

So this strike was, naturally, justified.

Extremely heavy and fierce, yet without killing intent.

Precisely because of this, this strike was difficult to block.

A non-metallic, non-wooden square block just at this moment fell in front of the cleaver’s edge.

Like a fated encounter.

At the same time the cleaver struck the block, the block suddenly blossomed like a flower bud.

It expanded rapidly, extending five metal-gleaming fingers, and grabbed the blade!

Simultaneously, the torso, head, legs, and other hand… unfolded one by one.

This was a mechanical iron man the same height as a normal person, with terrifying defense, capable of catching a knife with bare hands. And it caught such a heavy, fierce strike.

Judging from the precision of this bare-handed blade snatch, in terms of unarmed combat, this mechanical iron man was likely pre-programmed with no less than a hundred sets of combat methods.

Its reaction was more direct and tougher than that of ordinary Neifu realm experts. Because it had no perception of life and death, it naturally had more options!

Jiang Wang was not surprised that Chumin was a Mohist cultivator. If Qiao Lin didn’t even know this, he wouldn’t deserve the name of being talkative; he had already told him.

At this moment, Lin Xian made a very simple movement.

He drew his knife.

Just like when chopping wood, the edge of the cleaver accidentally gets stuck in the tree, so he pulls it out and chops again.

This is of course a simple movement, and his knife-drawing movement was also very relaxed.

But the problem is…

This knife was clearly already in the hand of Chumin’s mechanical iron man, clearly already firmly grasped by the blade!

This is absolutely not simple!

The cleaver seemed to suddenly lose its restraint, reappeared in Lin Xian’s hand, and once again swung down freely and naturally.

The mechanical man was unable to dodge in time, and did not have time to block, and was directly struck on the left arm by a single blow.

Sparks flew everywhere!

That was not a fire element Daoist technique, it was the raw, genuine sparks created by the clash of metal when the cleaver struck the iron hand!

Crack crack crack…

The mechanical iron man made a very difficult noise, but its entire mechanical left arm flew up and fell down incredibly smoothly!

The cleaver had cut down a piece of firewood.

The woodcutter would naturally not stop there.

He wanted to cut down more firewood, he wanted to return with a full load.

Many people were waiting for his harvest.

The woodcutter’s home was waiting for him!

So Lin Xian walked forward.

His footsteps were very simple, very ordinary.

Lifting his foot, taking a step, it was as simple as a woodcutter walking towards the next tree.

But this step had already bypassed the mechanical iron man and was facing Chumin.

The feeling of this step even reminded Jiang Wang of his own Pingbu Qingyun.

And Lin Xian just lifted his knife and chopped again.

Anyone who has chopped down a tree knows that it is difficult to cut down a tree with a single blow. It requires cutting in from different angles and applying force to the same horizontal cut.

So Lin Xian’s knife also changed angle, slashing diagonally towards Chumin’s waist.

It was too natural, and also too “real” a strike.

Lin Xian seemed to have already pressed down on this “tree,” and was about to cut it in half at the waist.

If this strike were to land, Chumin’s upper and lower body would likely be separated.

But before Lin Xian’s footsteps, there was a dark, round ball.

This round ball, no one knew when it appeared there, at this moment, suddenly swelled up,

The outer shell opened, and a tiger-like mechanical beast rushed out of the shell, biting onto the blade in one gulp!

The outer shell retracted behind it, actually becoming wings.

At first glance, it even looked a bit like a ladybug.

This was a gourd-tiger!

“Puppet Theory” states: Like a tiger with wings, like a gourd with power. Its ferocity surpasses that of a tiger, and its might is even greater.

It was clear that Chumin did not neglect and make careless mistakes as Qiao Lin had hoped. He was very serious about his opponent, and his second puppet was already prepared.

The Yellow River Convention strictly prohibits the use of magic tools, armor, Taoist robes, and all other external objects. Except for weapons, cultivators can only rely on their own strength to win.

For cultivators who practice Mohist arts, there are other restrictions.

Cultivators from the Mohist school can only use puppets they have refined themselves, and the number cannot exceed five.

This is to prevent Mohist cultivators from winning by using puppets that far exceed their own strength, turning the Yellow River Convention into a competition of national strength.

Before the competition, the puppets that Mohist cultivators plan to use in battle must be inspected by special personnel to ensure that the owner and refiner of the puppets are indeed the same before they are allowed to be used.

Once a puppet outside of the certified ones is used, the cultivator will be immediately declared defeated and lose the qualification to continue fighting.

This may not be fair to Mohist cultivators, after all, “skillfully utilizing objects” is the pursuit of Mohist cultivators, and the objects used are naturally the stronger the better. Who refined them is not important. It would be wonderful if a Youmai realm cultivator could control a True Monarch level puppet!

Many Mohist cultivators put all their wealth into puppets. Some Mohist cultivators win by the number of puppets…

However, there is no absolute fairness in the world. The formulation of any rules is just to meet the “fairness” of the vast majority of people.

When the Yong Kingdom becomes one of the powerful nations, the restrictions on this aspect of the Yellow River Convention may change. As for now, although the Mohist school is a prominent sect in the world, the Yellow River Convention is a gathering of feudal states. It is impossible to interfere in the name of the sect.

Because of these rule restrictions, Chumin, after summoning an equal-height mechanical iron man and a gourd-tiger, still had a vacant slot for three puppets.

Chumin and Lin Xian both knew this very well.

Whether it was this mechanical iron man or this gourd-tiger, they were both very impressive. How strong would the remaining three puppets that had not yet been released be?

Chumin’s chances of winning were too high.

But Lin Xian still just drew his knife.

He naturally drew out the cleaver again. This knife somehow detached itself from the gourd-tiger’s mouth.

And with a single slash, it struck directly at Chumin’s heavenly spirit!

PS: “Puppet Theory” has no source, it was made up by the author. There will be more in the future, and it will not be explained separately.