Chapter 163: The First Match

Seeing that the two were about to come to blows, Feng Yewu spoke up.

"Since we are having a spar, it is naturally out of the question to mess around in My palace. Fists and kicks have no eyes, and if anything gets broken, no one will compensate Me. Let us go to the martial arts arena outside the hall."

At Feng Yewu's command, accompanied by a throng of officials, the entourage moved toward the martial arts arena in the square.

This arena was normally a place for the palace guards to practice and warm up. Boundlessly spacious, it could easily accommodate over a thousand people.

Once everyone was in position, Lu Jue was already standing in the center of the square, holding his sword with his eyes closed, waiting.

A moment later, Li Siyuan also changed into battle armor and walked over.

"Young Master Lu, Li knows your martial arts are formidable. However, in military campaigns and marching, battles are fought on horseback. I wonder if you would be willing?"

Li Siyuan looked at Lu Jue and asked solemnly.

Lu Jue opened his eyes, looked at the man before him, and replied calmly, "Very well."

Seeing that the two had reached an agreement, Xiao Han ordered the guards nearby to lead over two fine steeds.

Li Siyuan mounted first, then had a guard hand him a long saber. Reining in his horse and standing tall, his entire aura instantly became exceptionally fierce, possessing the demeanor of a great general.

"Young Master Lu, in mounted combat, an inch longer means an inch stronger. I advise you to change your weapon."

Upon hearing Li Siyuan's words after mounting his horse, Lu Jue smiled faintly, a trace of amusement flashing in the depths of his eyes, and then spoke.

"I am most accustomed to using a sword. But since you request it, I shall change."

Lu Jue tossed the long sword in his hand to a nearby guard, then raised his head to scan the surroundings. Spotting a wooden drill-pole standing to the side, he rode straight toward it, casually picked up the pole, and looking at Li Siyuan, said,

"Very well, I shall use this drill-pole."

"You...!"

Li Siyuan was considered a martial artist of a straightforward disposition. His previous proposal for mounted combat was to test Lu Jue's horsemanship, and his subsequent suggestion to change weapons was out of kindness, believing that since he himself excelled in mounted warfare, they should fight on fair terms.

Never had he expected Lu Jue to treat a wooden drill-pole as a weapon, which clearly showed a lack of regard for him.

Burning with anger inside, Li Siyuan felt that Lu Jue was simply too young and arrogant.

Watching Lu Jue so casually pick up the drill-pole, Xiao Han showed not the slightest trace of surprise in his eyes. Instead, the corners of his mouth curved into a slight smile, as if he had already guessed the outcome.

"General Xiao Han, you shall act as the referee."

With a gloomy expression and eyes glaring fiercely at Lu Jue, Li Siyuan spoke in a deep voice to Xiao Han nearby.

Xiao Han nodded slightly, then walked to the central position between the two combatants. Raising both hands high, he shouted loudly,

"Begin!"

The moment the word fell, Xiao Han withdrew from the combat range of the two horses.

With a loud roar, Li Siyuan kicked his legs against the horse's flanks and galloped furiously toward Lu Jue.

Though holding only a drill-pole, Lu Jue did not underestimate his opponent in the slightest. Seeing Li Siyuan charge at him, he too let out a mighty shout, transforming the drill-pole into a long spear as he galloped forward to meet the charge.

Before it could be said to be too late, the two riders passed each other side by side. Li Siyuan was the first to ruthlessly slash downward at Lu Jue with his sweeping saber.

A biting aura, combined with overbearing tactics, had clearly completely sealed off the space above Lu Jue's head.

Faced with Li Siyuan's massive saber, Lu Jue leaned forward, pressing tightly against his horse's back. He swept the drill-pole horizontally behind him, dodging the sharp edge of the saber, and with a clever exertion of subtle force, he deflected the momentum of the strike, causing it to miss completely.

After all, the drill-pole was made of wood. If it were to collide head-on with Li Siyuan's heavy saber, it would likely have been chopped in two within three exchanges.

Lu Jue executed this delicate deflection with effortless mastery. The moment his pole came into contact with Li Siyuan's saber, the latter instantly understood, and the anger in his heart naturally dissipated.

Lu Jue was treating the drill-pole as a long spear, and this technique of deflecting force from horseback was something absolute novices to mounted combat could never have pulled off.

Having grown up in the Zhenbei General's Estate, Lu Youxu's legendary spearmanship in battles against the Tidi tribe was renowned far and wide.

Even the spearmanship practiced by Xiao Han had been taught to him by Lu Youxu.

The Tidi tribe had always been known for their boundless strength, and Lu Youxu had naturally passed this spear-deflection technique down to Lu Jue.

Later, upon entering the palace and being demoted to a slave, Lu Jue naturally lost the privilege of wielding weapons.

When Feng Yewu had Lu Jue teach her how to use a weapon, only a long sword was convenient.

After all, he could hardly carry a long spear on his back every time he followed Feng Yewu in and out of the palace.

After the exchange, the two horses separated. This bout had clearly filled Li Siyuan with genuine recognition for Lu Jue. However, in literature there is no first place, and in martial arts no second; coming from a military background, Li Siyuan now simply wanted to know just how vast the gap was between himself and Lu Jue.

"It seems Li worried needlessly. Young Master Lu's horsemanship is indeed remarkable. Please unleash your true strength and let Li see what the future Northern Expedition General is truly capable of!"

Li Siyuan called out loudly to Lu Jue, his tone devoid of its previous anger, replaced instead by a sense of excitement.

Appreciating Li Siyuan's bold and forthright character, Lu Jue felt a growing fondness for him and shouted back in response,

"Then let you and me settle the victory in one go!"

As his voice trailed off, the two clashed once more. This time, Li Siyuan did not rush to deliver a full-force cleave, knowing that heavy saber strikes often became sluggish due to excessive force, leaving no choice but to widen the distance and charge anew.

Lu Jue would certainly not allow him to create distance this time; if a single blow missed, he would immediately fall into a disadvantageous position.

Li Siyuan slashed horizontally toward Lu Jue, the blade's edge gleaming with a biting frost. The horses beneath them were panicked by the sheer force of the wind pressure.

Although these horses were of fine breed, they were palace mounts after all—how could they have ever truly experienced the bloody horrors of battle?

As his mount stumbled, the trajectory of Li Siyuan's blade, originally aimed at Lu Jue's chest, suddenly veered toward his neck.

If there was even the slightest slip of hand now, Lu Jue would likely be decapitated.

With the momentum already fully committed, it was impossible for Li Siyuan to pull back the strike.

Sensing something amiss, Lu Jue immediately leaned sideways against the horse's flank, dodging the deadly blade. Simultaneously, he swung the drill-pole, leveraging the force to strike heavily against the back of the saber.

Feeling a sudden, violent surge of force through his weapon and losing control of his frantic mount, Li Siyuan decisively leaped down from his horse.

Seeing this, Lu Jue likewise executed a sideways dismount.

Armed respectively with the drill-pole and the long saber, the two engaged in close combat once more.

Li Siyuan unleashed three consecutive horizontal and vertical slashes toward Lu Jue. Unflustered, Lu Jue dodged gracefully to the left and right, accelerating his footsteps to close the distance. The drill-pole in his hands struck out in rapid succession. After three moves, a single thrust of the pole came to a halt right against Li Siyuan's chest, while a swift kick knocked the saber from Li Siyuan's hand.

It was all over. Despite its complex appearance, the entire sequence had transpired in the span of mere breaths.

"Well struck!"

Watching Lu Jue's swift and decisive spearmanship, Xiao Han felt as though he were once again gazing upon the figure of Lu Youxu from years past, and he loudly applauded in acclaim.