My Wife is Unbeatable in the Whole World, Touch Me If You Dare!-Chapter 362 - 236: Offering Plans and Strategies

Li Nuo did not notice Su Qing.

All his attention was focused on the meridian map in front of him.

It was so close, just that little bit.

Tens of Grandmasters had poured their understanding of the Martial Path into his mind.

He was well-versed in dozens of Martial Arts mental methods and knew the characteristics of each.

True Qi flowed through different acupoints, exhibiting various attributes. An additional acupoint or one less could completely reverse the properties of the True Qi. The order in which it moved through these points could also result in entirely different outcomes.

So many Grandmasters' understandings and insights seemed to bring him closer to what he wanted.

But it always seemed just a bit short.

He needed to increase his efforts.

...

The Martial Arts Tournament had been convened for five days.

Never had a sect or any organization gathered so many Grandmasters at once.

Every Grandmaster had their unique perspective on the Martial Path.

Everyone gathered daily to exchange and discuss Martial Path insights, benefiting greatly. Even the Grandmasters from the Sanqing Sect felt that the trip was worthwhile.

But there was one thing that indeed made these Grandmasters extremely helpless.

Whether it was the super first-class Sanqing Sect, first-class sects like the Shu Mountain or Five Mountains Sword Sect, or the second-class sects, from the Grandmasters down to the disciples, very few could avoid the punishment of self-reflection in the Confinement Room.

Wasting food, punished!

Littering, punished!

Being late to a match, punished!

Not returning at night, punished!

Drinking in Martial Arts Village, punished!

Not greeting or acknowledging one's opponent before or after a match, punished!

...

There was no escaping it.

If a disciple from any sect broke the rules, their Sect Leader also had to join them in the Confinement Room for reflection.

To avoid embarrassing their Sect Leader, the disciples from various sects licked their plates clean in the canteen these days.

Yet, even so, over five days, eighty percent of the Grandmasters had been to the Confinement Room.

Eventually, they even got used to it.

Having been in Chang'an for a few days, they had also learned a few things from the locals.

Even court officials would be imprisoned for reflection for spitting on the streets or being late to or leaving the government office early. The reasons they were captured went beyond these, including being unkind to one's wife or disrespectful to one's parents. These were all reasons used by the Ministry of Rites to detain people.

It seemed that it wasn't just the Ministry of Rites targeting them.

That's just how they operated.

Today was the third round of the competition for the Ten Great Grandmasters.

After the first two rounds, from sixty-two Grandmasters, only sixteen remained.

Today, eight matches would be held, and the winner of each match would tentatively secure their position among the Ten Great Grandmasters.

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The losers of today would have one more chance tomorrow to compete for the last two seats.

As the competition progressed to this day, the Sanqing Sect and Shu Mountain's Grandmasters demonstrated a terrifying dominance.

Of the sixteen who advanced, eight were from the Sanqing Sect, five from Shu Mountain, and from the Five Mountains Sword Sect, only the Taishan and Heng Mountain Sect Leaders remained, with the last one being Old Huang from Li Nuo's household.

Thirteen Grandmasters from the Sanqing Sect came, and eight made it to the third round.

Shu Mountain brought five Grandmasters, and after three rounds, none was eliminated.

The Five Mountains Sword Sect, too, had two Sect Leaders left.

A few matches were enough to clearly reveal the difference between the first-class and second-class sects.

Old Huang, though, made Li Nuo see him in a new light.

Without using any weapons, he won three consecutive matches with just his bare fists and a fierce set of boxing, defeating a Master of Hand Technique, a Sword Path Master, and a Spear Path Master.

Li Nuo was already curious, how much salary did his father give him each month?

Today's first match was with Senior Xu, whom his mother-in-law didn't get along with too well.

Although she was a bit annoying, her strength was undeniable.

Within less than half a two-hour period, she had eliminated the Taishan Sect Leader, who was over twenty years older than her.

In the Martial Path, being too young meant a lack of experience, and with age came unavoidable physical decline. The age of forty was the peak period for one's strength.

In the stands above, Su Qing held her sword with a somewhat serious expression.

Her next match was up soon.

Her luck wasn't great this round; she drew the Shu Mountain Sect Leader.

When she had just started learning swordsmanship, he was already a renowned figure in the Martial Arts world, a Master of a Generation.

The swordsmanship of Shu Mountain was even above that of the Sanqing Sect, so she was likely to lose this match.

If she lost this match, she would have to compete with the other seven tomorrow for the final two seats, which would undoubtedly be even more intense.

As she felt a bit nervous, Song Yiren walked by and handed her a piece of paper, saying, "Mother, this is from Li Nuo."

Su Qing took the paper, her gaze fixing on it and her expression slightly startled.

Written on the paper were several sets of sword moves.

They were not from any complete set of swordsmanship, but rather individual moves taken from various sword techniques and then scrambled.

Having learned swordsmanship from a young age, she wouldn't claim to be an expert in all sword techniques, but she was very familiar with the moves. Just one glance at the name of a move, and a specific picture would emerge in her mind.

Su Qing had not expected the randomly assembled sword moves to feel so seamless; they flowed naturally as though they formed a completely new swordsmanship technique.

Song Yiren said, "He mentioned that as long as you remember these sets of sword moves, even if you lose during the competition, you won't lose disgracefully."

Su Qing glanced at Li Nuo, who was not far away, accompanying Jiaren and those two busty women. Did this boy really have such little confidence in his mother-in-law?

Indeed, she lacked confidence.

Having experienced Li Nuo's prowess in Sword Dao personally, Su Qing lowered her head and carefully observed the sword moves, hastily memorizing them without hesitation.

She believed he wouldn't give her this piece of paper without a reason.

Elsewhere, Li Nuo and Anning Phoenix were sitting together. Seeing Lady Mother-in-law earnestly examining the paper, they withdrew their gazes.

Two days ago, a disciple from Shu Mountain Sect had not returned for the night and had a joyous time at the brothel, discovered during a random check by the Ministry of Rites.

During the competition, disciples could freely go out during the day, but they had to return to Martial Arts Village before curfew at night, not staying out overnight, a rule set by Li Nuo.

With numerous high officials from Chang'an and countless nobles gathered for the Martial Arts Tournament, the security pressure on the Capital Prefecture, Chang'an County Government, and the Imperial Guard was immense.

With these grandmasters' capabilities, entering high households was as easy as walking on flat ground.

Taking the heads of most of the nobles would be akin to taking something out of one's own bag.

If they were allowed to run around at night, any resulting troubles would be challenging to absolve the Ministry of Rites of responsibility.

Hence, several days earlier, Li Nuo reiterated this rule strictly with them, and all sects expressed understanding.

The following day, the Shu Mountain disciple was confined for a day as punishment.

As the Shu Mountain Sect Leader, he was also detained for two hours in the Confinement Room for his lax discipline over his disciples.

In this world, other than Shu Mountain Sect Leader himself, Li Nuo knew him best.

Both were grandmasters, yet his cultivation was much higher than Lady Mother-in-law's.

His experience in Sword Dao was also far superior to hers.

Facing such a formidable opponent, her defeat was inevitable.

But after all, she was Jiaren's mother, and as long as there was a way, Li Nuo still did not want to see her lose.

These sets of sword moves were specifically tailored against the Shu Mountain Sect Leader.

Shu Mountain was the ancestral origin of swordplay, possessing deep knowledge of various sects' sword techniques and had already devised countermeasures.

Whether she used the Sanqing Sect's Swordsmanship, the Five Mountains Sword Sect's techniques, or her own created moves, none could withstand half a moment in his hands.

To achieve victory, or at least not to lose too disgracefully, one needed to think outside the box.

Shu Mountain's Swordmanship excelled in breaking patterns, but if there were no patterns, naturally, there could be no counter.

The hodgepodge sword moves devised by Li Nuo not only lacked a fixed pattern but also set a trap for the Shu Mountain Sect Leader.

The second bout of the day was quickly concluded.

The Heng Mountain Sect Leader was eliminated by a grandmaster from the Shu Mountain Sect.

Although their cultivation was similar, their Sword Dao had vastly diverged.

With a light sigh, the Heng Mountain Sect Leader bowed with his fists and exited the arena.

The Shu Mountain grandmaster returned the gesture with a bow.

An official from the Ministry of Rites perused the list and loudly declared, "Next, Sect Master Qi of Shu Mountain versus Elder Su of Sanqing Sect!"

This bout, in the eyes of other grandmasters, carried no suspense.

Although Elder Su was extraordinarily talented, her experience was limited, and her strength could not compare with the Shu Mountain Sect Leader.

Xu Ying, who had just won, crossed her arms, already waiting to see how Su Qing would lose.

Both figures had already taken the stage; Su Qing first respectfully made a gesture with her fists, "Su Qing greets Senior Qi, please enlighten me."

In the martial arts community, seniors were not required to return gestures to juniors, but the etiquette of the tournament demanded it, so the Shu Mountain Sect Leader also returned the gesture with his sword and smiled, "You make the first move."

Su Qing nodded, and her long sword issued a soft hum as she raised her hand to execute a move from Shangqing Swordsmanship.

Li Nuo had told her to start with Shangqing Swordsmanship.

The Shu Mountain Sect Leader casually deflected her attacks with a few strokes.

As everyone expected, Su Qing was immediately at a disadvantage.

From the Sanqing Sect's position, a Sword Path Master shook his head, "Our sword technique has been thoroughly deciphered by Shu Mountain; our Junior Sister might… Eh, what sword technique is Junior Sister using?"

He hadn't finished speaking when his eyes widened.

Junior Sister Su had just used Shangqing Swordsmanship, which was suppressed by a technique from the Shu Mountain Sect Leader.

But she suddenly switched to a different set of sword moves; within a few strokes, she turned the tables and gained some initiative.

A look of surprise also appeared on the face of the Shu Mountain Sect Leader. However, with his vast experience in Sword Dao, he thought of a countermeasure after retreating a few steps. But just then, Su Qing's sword moves changed again.

The countermeasure he had thought of was once again countered by her.

As he figured out a move to counter hers, her sword moves underwent a massive change yet again.

The Shu Mountain Sect Leader was forced into a continuous retreat, only managing to defend and think, and by the time he realized what was happening, he had already stepped out of bounds.

Looking at the woman opposite him, he quickly grasped what had happened, his face showing shock.

Her Shangqing Swordsmanship was merely a trap.

Once he began to unravel the Shangqing Swordsmanship, he had already fallen into her scheme.

From that point on, the situation on the field was no longer under his control.

He solved the Shangqing Swordsmanship, Su Qing broke the solution to the Shangqing Swordsmanship, he resolved again, Su Qing counter-resolved; it was a continuous cycle, and he was always a step behind...

It was impossible for someone to have such on-the-spot reactions.

She had calculated all the sword moves before the competition.

This was all her strategy.

From start to finish, he had been led by the nose; this match—he lost, but not unjustly...

The only thing he couldn't understand was that having observed Su Qing's three bouts, this was beyond her capabilities; there definitely had to be someone highly accomplished in Sword Dao behind her, providing strategic advice. Not even the grandmasters of the Sanqing Sect had this ability; could it be that her master had come?