Martial Arts Longevity Begins with the Equipment Slot

Chapter 72 After the Day, a Duel to the Death

Sha Bao looked over upon hearing this.

The young master that Murong Chunfeng mentioned is Ye Chengying, the daughter of the manor lord Ye Qingcang.

Ye Qingcang lived in Tinglan Pavilion, always keeping to himself and remaining very mysterious.

Ye Chengying personally oversaw the daily affairs of the villa.

Once she speaks up and defines a matter, that matter is considered closed.

Chen Yu and Liu Chenyu were both sensible and quickly put their knives away.

The two of them each took a big step back, clearing the space in the middle for Ye Chengying.

"Murong, tell me, what kind of justice do you want me to uphold?"

Ye Chengying's eyes flickered slightly as he looked calmly at Murong Chunfeng.

"Young Master, you saw it all. Chen Yu, a disciple of the Central Courtyard, wielding a sharp blade, committed murder in public. According to the rules of the manor, he should be executed on the spot!"

Murong Chunfeng was very excited, and his spittle flew everywhere as he spoke.

"Murder? Liu Chenyu is perfectly fine. How could he have killed him?"

Ye Chengying walked to Liu Chenyu's side and placed her finger under his nose.

After three breaths, she continued speaking.

"Isn't this person perfectly fine, venting their anger? How can you say they're dead?"

Liu Chenyu stared at Ye Chengying, not daring to move.

Murong Chunfeng's expression was strange, and for a moment he didn't know what to say.

"Young Master, it wasn't Senior Brother Liu Chenyu who was killed, but my Senior Brother Xiao Tianlu!"

Lin Wan'er pointed at Xiao Tianlu's cold corpse, looking utterly grief-stricken.

"Really? You killed this person?"

Ye Chengying walked over and touched Xiao Tianlu's body.

It's definitely cooled down completely; it'll be hard almost completely.

"Hey, wake up! Wake up! You're not allowed to sleep here!"

Ye Chengying kicked the corpse twice.

Xiao Tianlu remained silent and motionless.

"It seems he really is dead."

Ye Chengying clasped his hands together, bowed his head, and silently mourned for three seconds.

Then, she walked up to Chen Yu, stared into his eyes, and asked:

"Did you really kill this person? Just tell me the truth, and I won't make things difficult for you. At most, I'll kill you too!"

Chen Yu felt that this young master of the manor was not a normal person.

His thinking and behavior are all different from those of ordinary people.

However, their strength is terrifying.

The fact that she could stop two experts at the Tendon Refining Realm with a single finger means her strength is at least above the Bone Refining Realm.

Within the villa, few dared to discuss topics related to her.

Moreover, Chen Yu had never seen her make a move before, so he couldn't judge her strength.

"This person is most likely a Qi Refining Realm martial artist, someone I cannot currently contend with. I cannot engage her in a direct confrontation!"

Chen Yu thought to himself.

When dealing with her deceptive tactics, it's best to be tactful and indirect, and never confront her head-on.

"Young Master, this person was not killed by this disciple!"

"You're talking nonsense! I saw it with my own eyes! You were the one who killed Xiao Tianlu with a knife!"

Murong Chunfeng pointed at Chen Yu and cursed him, as if she were about to uphold justice.

"No, you say you saw him kill someone, but that's just your side of the story. How come I didn't see it? If I didn't see it, then it doesn't count!"

Ye Chengying shook his head and said.

Hearing this familiar rhetoric, Murong Chunfeng was speechless for a moment.

I didn't expect the boomerang to arrive so quickly.

The same excuse he used to suppress Sha Bao is now being used on himself.

Upon hearing Chen Yu's words, Liu Chenyu immediately flew into a rage.

"If you didn't kill him, did he commit suicide?"

"Then you're right, he really did commit suicide!"

Chen Yu shrugged and replied helplessly.

"Nonsense! I'll smash your mouth in!"

Murong Chunfeng was furious and raised his right hand to slap Chen Yu across the face.

He hadn't taken two steps when he suddenly started wailing incessantly.

"Ouch! It hurts! It hurts so much!"

Ye Chengying tapped it gently.

A burst of energy shot out, instantly shattering three of Murong Chunfeng's fingers.

"I'm asking him a question, so don't move! If you move again, I'll kill you!"

Murong Chunfeng was in so much pain that he was covered in sweat, but he didn't dare to utter a sound and had no choice but to obediently retreat to his original position.

"You said he committed suicide, but the wound on his right arm looks like it was inflicted by your deer-slaying knife!"

Ye Chengying turned to Chen Yu and asked in an unfriendly tone.

Chen Yu straightened his chest, stating openly and honestly: "That's right, I did cut off his arm, but I didn't kill him!"

"How so?"

Ye Chengying stared intently at Chen Yu, the scars on his face taut as if they were about to burst open.

"I only cut off his right arm, not his head, so he shouldn't have died."

Chen Yu patiently explained to Ye Chengying.

"A person can live without an arm, but only dies without a head, young master, don't you agree?"

Ye Chengying nodded in agreement.

Chen Yu paused, then continued, "I only cut off Xiao Tianlu's arm. Normally, he shouldn't be dead, but he is. I ask everyone to think carefully about why this is."

Why?

Ye Chengying blinked and asked, she was very interested in Chen Yu at the moment and wanted to see what kind of nonsense he could come up with.

"Xiao Tianlu died because he wanted to die!"

Chen Yu spread his hands again and explained expressionlessly.

"He's only lost an arm; if he wants to live, he can easily go to the pharmacy for treatment!"

"There's an even simpler method: he could simply tear a strip of cloth from his clothes, use it to bandage the wound, and effectively stop the loss of blood and energy, thus easily saving his life!"

"He could have easily taken all these self-rescue measures, and no one was stopping him, but he simply didn't. This shows that he didn't want to live anymore and was determined to die!"

As soon as Chen Yu finished speaking, a round of applause suddenly came from beside him.

"Clap clap clap!"

Ye Chengying's eyes lit up, and he clapped his hands.

"Okay! That makes sense! But why doesn't he want to live anymore?"

"Perhaps he wanted to frame me by killing myself, falsely accusing me of killing him, so that I would be executed by the manor, achieving the effect of one life for another."

"Perhaps he was heartbroken in love, or his martial arts training was not going well, or perhaps he had been coerced by someone for a long time and had long wanted to die."

"No matter what, his death has nothing to do with me. I am actually the real victim, misunderstood by Steward Murong, and subjected to criticism from all sides! I was even almost killed by him!"

As Chen Yu spoke, a tear of grievance rolled down his cheek.

"What you say makes sense. It seems the only conclusion is that Xiao Tianlu committed suicide after being stabbed!"

Ye Chengying stroked his chin and nodded.

Upon hearing this, Lin Wan'er ran to Xiao Tianlu's body, squatted down, and wailed loudly.

"Ahhh, my Senior Brother Xiao! You died so tragically! You died so unjustly!"

"The young master has been deceived by treacherous people and can't distinguish right from wrong! It's true what they say, good people don't live long, but evil people live on for a thousand years!"

"Pay him money! Chen Yu has to pay! He killed you, we can't let this go!"

Lin Wan'er covered her face and wailed, but not a single tear fell from her eyes.

She had no feelings for Xiao Tianlu at all; she just wanted to take advantage of the situation to cause trouble and gain some benefits.

Since they couldn't squeeze every last drop of value out of Xiao Tianlu while he was alive, they would make the most of his remaining resources after his death, extorting as much money as they could.

"Get lost! Who do you think you are? Who gave you the right to speak here?"

Ye Chengying kicked her, sending her flying three zhang away.

She held back her kick, not aiming to kill him.

Lin Wan'er got up from the ground and ran out in a panic.

Seeing that Ye Chengying favored Chen Yu, Murong Chunfeng's mind raced.

He didn't have much of a relationship with Xiao Tianlu to begin with, and only had a cooperative relationship with Lin Wan'er in the area of ​​human body docking.

The reason he was so aggressive towards Chen Yu was simply this.

Now that Lin Wan'er has run away, what's the point of me persisting?

After much deliberation, Murong Chunfeng decided to flexibly change her stance.

"Young Master, I could tell at a glance that Xiao Tianlu is no good person. He actually tried to frame Chen Yu by committing suicide. It would be one thing if he died himself, but he also wanted to drag others down with him. He is truly a vicious person!"

Murong Chunfeng spoke passionately, not forgetting to flatter Ye Chengying.

"Fortunately, the young master is exceptionally wise and insightful, seeing through Xiao Tianlu's treacherous scheme and clearing Chen Yu's name!"

"If the young master hadn't been there, I... I might have been deceived by that scoundrel Lin Wan'er. Alas, it's impossible to guard against such people! There are just too many scoundrels out there. It's all that slut Lin Wan'er's fault for spreading her lies!"

Murong Chunfeng shifted all the blame onto Lin Wan'er, without mentioning her own problems at all.

Anyway, Lin Wan'er has already run away, so she can say whatever she wants.

"Steward Murong, you are truly a weak-willed hypocrite!"

Liu Chenyu was furious. He hadn't expected Murong Chunfeng to be so shameless, lying through his teeth as naturally as breathing.

He walked step by step toward Xiao Tianlu and embraced him.

"Tianlu..."

Warm tears fell onto Xiao Tianlu's cold face.

The person he loved died tragically by the knife, and he was powerless to do anything but watch helplessly.

At this moment, Liu Chenyu was filled with grief and indignation, which he could not suppress at all.

"Chen Yu, I told you, I would definitely kill you!"

"What's wrong with you? How could you kill someone? Murder is wrong!"

Ye Chengying looked at Liu Chenyu, and his brows furrowed involuntarily.

"At Sword Forging Manor, only I can kill at will; none of you are allowed to kill indiscriminately!"

Liu Chenyu wiped away his tears, and the anger in his eyes subsided.

"Young Master, I challenge Chen Yu to a duel to the death!"

He gritted his teeth and said, word by word.

"Brother Liu, this 'duel to the death' is no joke. Once it begins, both sides must fight to the death. Have you thought it through?"

Murong Chunfeng was somewhat shocked.

Unexpectedly, Liu Chenyu is quite the romantic.

They actually went to such lengths for Xiao Tianlu.

The so-called life-or-death duel is an old rule that has been passed down for many years in the Sword Forging Manor.

When the conflict between the people of two villages develops to an irreconcilable point, they can settle the matter completely through a life-or-death duel.

This is the most extreme way to resolve conflicts in a one-on-one manner, completely entrusting the dispute, honor, or fate of both parties to a life-or-death battle for judgment, until one of them dies.

"Oh? A 'duel to the death'? That's interesting!"

Ye Chengying turned to Chen Yu and asked softly.

"Will you accept Liu Chenyu's challenge to a life-or-death duel?"

"Young Master, I refuse!"

Chen Yu replied decisively.

His reason for not accepting was simple: a life-or-death duel would do him more harm than good.

After a brief exchange with Liu Chenyu, Chen Yu realized that this person's strength was at least at the peak of the Tendon Refining stage, and his strength and speed were no less than his own.

Fighting to the death with such a person is not an easy task.

In fact, if Liu Chenyu hadn't attacked him first, he might not have drawn his sword in retaliation.

Of course, none of these are the key points.

If it really comes down to a life-or-death struggle, the outcome is uncertain.

The main problem is that there are no visible benefits.

Chen Yu felt that even if he killed Liu Chenyu, he wouldn't gain anything.

Since that's the case, then let's not bother with this effort.

Seemingly sensing his thoughts, Ye Chengying cleared his throat and continued:

"A dry duel is too boring. Let's add some stakes to make it more interesting. Take a look at the conditions I've added, and then you can make your decision."

"Chen Yu, you are now a disciple of the Middle Academy. If you want to enter the Inner Academy, you will have to wait for the selection held every three years, and even then, you may not be selected."

"I'm giving you a chance now. If you can win the 'Life-or-Death Duel,' I'll let you directly enter the Inner Court, and you can freely choose where to go among the nine halls within the Inner Court. How about it?"

This opportunity to enter the inner courtyard was exactly what Chen Yu wanted.

Only by entering the inner courtyard can one challenge the Xuanfeng Tower and obtain the Xuanfeng Token to exchange for weapons in the Cangfeng Cave.

Moreover, books on the third floor and above of the library can only be borrowed after entering the inner courtyard.

Faced with the allure of advanced weapons and techniques, Chen Yu simply could not resist.

"Young Master, if that's truly the case, then I accept the 'duel to the death'!"

"Okay, it's a deal!"

After Ye Chengying finished speaking, he turned to Liu Chenyu.

"If you win the 'Duel to the Death,' I'll promote you to Commander of the Sword Guards, how about it?"

"Young Master Xie, I must win! I can win! Not just for this leadership position, but also to avenge my Tianlu clan!"

Liu Chenyu stared intently at Chen Yu, gritting his teeth as he spoke.

Ye Chengying nodded and continued talking as he walked.

"Let me first explain the rules of this 'duel to the death'."

"First, only hand-to-hand combat is allowed. Neither side may use weapons, and neither side may wear any protective gear other than clothing. Both sides must bear all damage with their bare bodies."

"Second, the designated battlefield is a death trap. You cannot admit defeat, you cannot pause, and you cannot run away. Falling to the ground does not mean the end. The battle is only over when one side confirms that the other side is completely dead."

"Third, no one may interfere. Anyone who violates this rule will be considered an enemy of the entire arena. The victor will take the life of the victor, and the feud will end there!"

"That's all the rules. Do you have any other objections?"

"No!"

Chen Yu and Liu Chenyu said in unison.

"Alright, since both sides have no objections, then this matter is settled. I'll give you ten days to prepare."

"Ten days from now, on the testing ground, I'm really looking forward to seeing how you two perform!"

After saying that, Ye Chengying flicked his sleeve and instantly left the scene.

Chen Yu and Liu Chenyu stared at each other, speechless for a long time.

Seeing that the atmosphere was not right, Murong Chunfeng did not dare to stay any longer and left in a dejected manner.

A crowd of onlookers had already gathered around, but no one dared to speak much when Ye Chengying was there.

"Let's start now. Waiting ten days is too long!"

A busybody stirred things up.

"Exactly. In ten days, that guy surnamed Chen might have already run away. Where will you find him then?"

"Still thinking about revenge? By then, you won't even be able to find them!"

"I think Liu Chenyu is just talking big. If he really wanted to avenge Xiao Tianlu, would he have waited ten days?"

"That's right. With Senior Brother Liu's strength, he could easily kill Chen Yu, so why doesn't he make a move?"

Everyone chimed in with their own opinions, each acting as if they knew a lot.

Liu Chenyu ignored the rumors and gossip.

He held Xiao Tianlu's body tightly as he walked step by step into the distance.

Wherever he went, people made way for him.

Although people were blunt with their words, they were still very moved by the genuine love between them.

"Chen Yu looks like he's about to die. He's definitely going to get beaten to death. He's such bad luck. Everyone'd better stay away from him, or you'll get bad luck on him!"

Wu Chenyi said gloatingly.

When Chen Yu was selected in the Intermediate People's Court, he won first place and stole the limelight, which made him very unhappy.

Now that Chen Yu is in trouble, Wu Chenyi is so happy he wants to set off fireworks to celebrate.

"Senior Brother Chen, why did you act so impulsively!"

Sha Bao took a deep breath and spoke cautiously.

"Having killed Xiao Tianlu already settled our score, so why risk fighting Liu Chenyu again!"

Chen Yu shook his head and said calmly, "Xiao Tianlu died because of me, and Liu Chenyu will not let me go. There will definitely be a fierce battle between us. It would be best to resolve it through a formal method like a 'life-or-death duel'."

"But Liu Chenyu is a renowned expert who has earned his position as a squad leader of the Sword Guard through sheer hard work and battles. With your current strength, how can you possibly defeat him?"

"You don't need to worry about that. I wouldn't accept the challenge if I wasn't confident!"

Before Chen Yu could finish speaking, Wu Chenyi immediately made a sarcastic remark.

"Hey everyone, listen to his boasting! He's only come because he's confident! I bet he's certain of dying!"

"Do you really think Liu Chenyu is a good-for-nothing? He's a master who has reached the peak of the Tendon Refining Realm and has one foot in the Bone Refining Realm!"

"Back when the Fierce Tiger Stronghold robbed our manor's goods, Liu Chenyu only brought ten men, yet he killed over a hundred of them. The third leader of the Fierce Tiger Stronghold was even beheaded on the spot!"

"After this battle, Liu Chenyu's reputation soared, and it was around this time that Xiao Tianlu got involved with him."

As Wu Chenyi spoke, he circled around Chen Yu.

"Kid, I advise you to run away, lest you die needlessly."

"But with so many people watching, it's not certain we can escape!"

"Since things have come to this, eat whatever you want. Don't be stingy with your money, since you're going to die soon anyway, hahaha!"

Chen Yu ignored him, picked up the deer-slaying knife, and walked out of the crowd.

All he wanted to do now was go to Sunset City to check on his senior brothers and sisters' injuries.

Then, it's time to continue practicing the Five Elements Health Preservation Exercise.

Strive to break through to the Bone Refining Realm, and prepare for the life-or-death duel ten days from now.