Some of them were cultivating their swordplay while the others were practicing theirs punches and kicks.
They were all disciples of the elders in the village. After all, those elders used to be highly active experts 70 years ago, but most of their life spans were now stretched to their limits.
Ren Baqian watched from the sidelines for quite some time. He realized that their techniques were very different from the [Boxing of Death] that he learned.
Compared to their techniques, the [Boxing of Death] was more direct, more widespread, and more suited for mass slaughter on the battlefield. It also accentuated the aboriginals' tremendous strength and power.
On the other hand, their techniques were entirely based on the rules of the society, which inclined toward close quarters evasion and one on one dueling. There were also more feints.
In addition, there was still another very important point—their moves were very fancy and pleasant to watch! At the very least, the way they turned and evaded look very graceful.
Unlike the [Boxing of Death] and apart from the [Black Tiger Steals Heart], there was only [Black Tiger Steals Heart] which wasn't as smoothly executed and nice-looking as these techniques that were practiced by the remnants of the Hao Nation.
The execution of the [Boxing of Death] by the aboriginals was fully aimed at taking down ten enemies in one move. Its strength was indeed pretty formidable.
However, Ren Baqian didn't possess the strength of the aboriginals. When he executed the [Boxing of Death], the effects were very much weaker.
Ren Baqian felt that if he were to face off against these youngsters, he wouldn't be their match.
At the thought of this, Ren Baqian felt even more miserable. Not only was he unable to defeat the ten year old lolita, he probably wouldn't be able to defeat any Tom, Dick, or Harry who might come at him. This was something that he found hard to endure.
Something that he felt really suited toward was actually another fighting technique that the empress had taught him. It had a weird style that was purely focused on taking the opponent's life. Many of the moves mimicked how a ferocious beast would attack and kill humans.
Such moves were entirely techniques that "preyed on men."
Unfortunately, the moves of this technique were extremely difficult and strange. Plus, they didn't correspond with the skeletal structure of a human or the amount of force exertion. Back then, Ren Baqian witnessed how naturally the empress was able to execute the technique. However, when it was his turn, there were many moves that he couldn't even perform at all. This meant that additional cultivation was out of the question.
Even to this point, he still couldn't perform all of those moves and still mainly relied on practicing the [Boxing of Death].
"Brother Lin, you've executed this technique incorrectly. You have to lean lower!"
"Sister Hua, your move was short by two sparks from your sword. You need to apply more strength from your wrist." A crisp and beautiful voice sounded in the training ground.
The little girl, Zhan Caixian, was running around and helping everyone correct their moves.
It was hard to imagine that a little girl like Zhan Caixian could actually execute fighting techniques better than those people.
Zhan Caixian's character made the elders really fond of her. The last time she came, many of the elders passed down some moves to her. She had pretty good innate skills as well and had performed much better than the elders' disciples. After staying here for just two days, she had already been called over by the elders to correct their disciples' mistakes during training.
If someone else were to take her place, many of the disciples would definitely resent that person and think, I cultivate everyday, while you only cultivate from time to time. How can I not be angry when you are actually better than me?
On the contrary, because of Zhan Caixian's innocent and naive character, one would be unable to bear resentment toward her.
Ren Baqian stood at the side for quite some time and felt that he wanted to give it a try. After all, he hadn't fought with anyone who was at his level, so he didn't know where he stood either.
However, after thinking about the only two fighting techniques that he knew, he could only forgo this impulse.
The [Boxing of Death] was too distinct of a fighting technique, originated from the aboriginal army, an was something that he absolutely couldn't display.
The only other technique that Ren Baqian could use was the [Tortoise Fist].
After some hesitation, he still decided to drop the idea.
Ren Baqian was ready to take his leave after finishing his breakfast. He still had to leave the mountains to "notify" the Yun Nation about sending weapons over and also needed to prepare to take a look at the other cities.
When Ren Baqian located the residence of the old village chief, over 20 of the elders were actually already seated in the courtyard.
"There's nothing more to say. Kill her, and they are bound to wreak havoc. It will be worth it even if they take revenge and purge us all. When was there ever a war that didn't have casualties?! Even if they don't die now, they still will die in the future!" one of the elders declared. He was the tall, lofty, and white-haired elder that Ren Baqian had previously seen. He had a very threatening vigor, and his headful of white hair swayed even without the presence of the wind.
Over these two days, Ren Baqian came to know of his nickname, which was the Celestial Hound…
It was said that whoever he fixed his attention on, he would bite onto that person like a dog without letting go.
Moreover, he had a bad temper. Even if it was God, he would still bark at him. That was how his nickname came about. However, most people actually didn't dare to rebut him directly to his face since it would bring about an endless argument.
"The old dog said it right." Another elder tapped on the bamboo cane he was holding.
"It's a good opportunity, and there's no need to hesitate," another man added.
"Xi Wanya will definitely go crazy with revenge. Only God knows how many people will perish at that time."
"That's a future problem. Like what the old dog said, which war doesn't have casualties? We must not miss out on this opportunity!"
"Get in touch with all the experts at the Earth Wheel level and above. No matter how powerful she is, she is just one person. I don't believe that we, the whole of Tianjing Basin, can't succeed in killing one person."
Ren Baqian came to a halt at the door and overheard the entire conversation.
Who were they planning to kill?
Based on their conversation, it should be a high level aboriginal. Otherwise, it wouldn't have involved Xi Wanya, his crazy revenge, etc.
Their target must be someone strong, someone over the limit of strong.
Someone so strong that they needed to gather all the experts in Tianjing Basin to kill him.
At the thought of this, Ren Baqian suddenly got distracted.
There was no need to think any further. Besides the empress, no one else fulfilled those criteria.
However, what was the current situation?
Was the empress still in Gu City or was she somewhere else?
"Please come in, the two of you," Qingyun Sword, the village chief, said in a clear voice.
"Seeing that everyone is in the middle of a discussion, I wasn't sure if I should interrupt," Ren Baqian replied after calming his mind down.
"Come in and talk," Qingyun Sword insisted.
Both Ren Baqian and Lin Qiaole stood at the side. Lin Qiaole was still holding the jiexue's head that was almost half the size of her body. After two and a half days, she had eaten a huge chunk of it. The purplish-red color of the dried out flesh and the white bones were extremely eye-catching, and it looked very brutal.
"There is a piece of news that we have just received. Whether it's with regard to you or to me, it's still a very important piece of news. You guys need to help out as well," Qingyun Sword claimed after taking a look at Lin Qiaole.
"Please speak." Ren Baqian cupped his hands, but he felt completely tensed up.
"Qi Zixiao has appeared in Tianjing Basin by herself!"
"What?" Even though Ren Baqian had already prepared himself for this, he still couldn't help but be surprised after listening to what Qingyun Sword said. How could the empress possibly be in Tianjing Basin alone? What was she here for?
With regard to Ren Baqian's reaction, Qingyun Sword felt that it was very normal. He was also astonished when he heard this news.
After all, she was the Empress of Dayao. It was indeed incomprehensible that she had actually come here alone.
Of course, she wasn't exactly alone as she still had two servants by her side. However, she was considered alone in everyone's eyes.
"You guys are intending to…?" Ren Baqian already knew of their plans, but still subconsciously asked.
"You're right. Gather all of the experts to surround and kill her! That's why we need your assistance," Qingyun Sword said with a low voice as he focused all of his attention on Lin Qiaole.
He was referring to Lin Qiaole.
As for Ren Baqian… It wasn't that Qingyun Sword looked down on him, but he was really a piece of trash in terms of martial arts.
"That's how it shall be!" Seeing that Qingyun Sword had already made his decision, Celestial Hound immediately slapped his thighs, threw his head back, and let out a hearty laughter.
"It'll be worth it even if we die there."
Killing the fifth most powerful expert in the world who was also the Empress of Dayao, how major was this matter? After accomplishing such a major task, would it matter even if you died?
Once Qi Zixiao was dead, Dayao would definitely be in massive disorder. As long as they were able to withstand Xi Wanya's crazy revenge, their descendents would be able to step out of this prison cage.
Everyone looked at each other and laughed out loud in succession. The heroic spirit that they had possessed when they fought through hardships during the days of their youth had returned to their bodies once again.
To be able to exchange blows with the fifth most powerful expert in the world and to be able to kill the Empress of Dayao, it would all be worth it even if they were to die immediately.