Rise of the Sword Son-in-Law

Chapter 241 Who is the Whetstone?

"Now we will commence the final trial of the Holy Refinement, this trial will be fought in a one-on-one format. The hundred contenders who advanced shall draw lots, you will be divided into ten groups, with ten people each. You will fight one-on-one until only one person remains in each group, and ultimately, the first of each group will enter the top ten for the final showdown," declared General Long Yan.

The crowd around them showed no surprise.

They had already known about these rules beforehand.

Thus, they stepped forward to draw lots one after another.

Xu Ping’an and Li Qingyi also went forward to draw, and in the end, Xu Ping’an drew number seven, while Li Qingyi drew number nine.

This, in fact, gave Xu Ping’an a sigh of relief.

If he and Li Qingyi were in the same group, she would definitely give up this chance and leave the opportunity to him.

This was not a scenario Xu Ping’an wanted to see.

Soon, the draw was announced.

Xu Ping’an glanced at it and found that the draw was quite fair this time.

Basically, the promising contenders for the top ten were not in the same group, leaving one to wonder whether it was deliberate or a coincidence.

Song Kaitian was in the first group, Long Zhan in the second, Yu Chenglin in the third, Du Juan in the fifth.

Qin Yue was in the sixth group, Qin Mu in the tenth, Tang Qingyu in the eighth.

It could be said that these capable contenders were basically not in the same group.

However, when Xu Ping’an looked at the seventh group, a wry smile appeared on his face.

Because in his group, there was one name that surprised him.

Qin Hanshuang!

Yes, it was the Tenth Princess herself.

Xu Ping’an also had some understanding of the Tenth Princess.

DOMINEERING, arrogant, and proud.

Xu Ping’an found this kind of woman the least desirable to interact with.

If he defeated her, she might never let it go.

Moreover, due to her status, it would be quite troublesome.

Of course, Qin Hanshuang’s strength was not weak either; he would need to use some real strength to defeat her.

It seemed that Qin Hanshuang felt Xu Ping’an’s gaze. She looked back at him with a disdainful smile on her face.

It was as if she was saying that Xu Ping’an was doomed to lose and that it was just his bad luck to encounter her.

Seeing Qin Hanshuang’s expression, Xu Ping’an’s heart was filled with both laughter and tears.

Against such arrogant individuals, the best approach was to ignore them completely.

So Xu Ping’an directly disregarded Qin Hanshuang’s provocation as if he hadn’t seen it at all.

The frustration made her clench her teeth, almost wishing she could kill Xu Ping’an there and then.

Xu Ping’an then looked towards Li Qingyi’s group number nine.

Overall, the strength in the ninth group was decent. Only one of them posed a threat to Li Qingyi.

That was Li Daoming from the Imperial Academy.

Xu Ping’an had observed this second-best in the academy.

He was very strong; though he only appeared to have a Sixth Rank cultivation, his real combat power was likely close to Sixth Rank as well.

And it seemed he had been hiding his true strength.

"You have to be careful with this Li Daoming," Xu Ping’an said to Li Qingyi.

"I know, no matter who the opponent is, I will give it my all," Li Qingyi replied earnestly.

Xu Ping’an nodded and added no more.

He knew Li Qingyi was always like this; she would never underestimate her opponent.

After the drawing of lots concluded, Xu Ping’an and the others returned to the stands.

Those in the first group remained behind.

Song Kaitian stood with his hands behind his back, his expression indifferent.

The other contenders around him showed faces of disappointment, having hoped for good luck to make it into the top ten.

But with Song Kaitian present, their advancement seemed utterly hopeless now.

"The following will fight based on the call of their names. All others may return to prepare for battle. Wang Tao and Song Han, commence the first match," announced General Long Yan.

The next instant, everyone else returned to the stands.

Meanwhile, the two contenders on stage began their battle.

Their strengths were not far apart, both being of the Fifth Rank, Third Layer Realm.

With such abilities, they weren’t weak, but entering the top ten would still be quite a challenge.

Their fight was fierce, and in the end, Song Han prevailed by one move, advancing at the cost of minor injuries.

The second match quickly followed, pitting a Fifth Rank Second Layer against a Fifth Rank Fourth Layer, and the result was without suspense as naturally, the Fifth Rank Fourth Layer Realm combatant was victorious.

The third and fourth matches also quickly determined victors, with those advancing having reached the Fifth Rank Fourth Layer.

The fifth match was even faster, with Song Kaitian striking with a hand-chop, directly knocking out a Fifth Rank Third Layer Realm opponent.

The five advancing contestants drew lots again, with one having a bye.

Finally, a Fifth Rank Fourth Layer had a bye, Song Kaitian was matched against a Fifth Rank Fourth Layer, while the other two were Song Han against a Fifth Rank Fourth Layer.

Song Kaitian’s side still dominated with a single move, while Song Han was defeated.

In this way, three contestants advanced.

This time, Song Kaitian had the bye.

The two Fifth Rank Fourth Layers fought, with one emerging as the winner.

The winner faced Song Kaitian in battle, and the result remained without suspense.

In the end, Song Kaitian achieved victory and advanced in first place.

Xu Ping’an too wore a disappointed expression, these opponents were too weak; Song Kaitian hadn’t even used his weapon and had easily won.

He who had wanted to gauge Song Kaitian’s strength naturally ended in failure.

The second group was much the same, with Long Zhan easily victorious.

The third group ended with Yu Chenglin victorious.

The fourth group saw Li Fuchen of the Immortal Sect securing first place.

In the fifth group, Du Juan swept through with a single sword, not a single person able to endure one strike from him.

Xu Ping’an couldn’t help but sigh; that Shangguan Lingyu was simply too strong.

As for the sixth group, Qin Yue faced the Martial King’s mansion’s Long Hen.

In the end, Qin Yue defeated Long Hen in three moves.

Zhou Mengyue was also in this group, she defeated an opponent from the Fifth Layer Realm, but still lost to Long Hen and naturally failed to advance.

Soon, it was time for the seventh group.

Tenth Princess Qin Hanshuang was the first to perform, landing a punch that severely injured a Fifth Layer Realm combatant.

After defeating her opponent, she still did not forget to cast a provocative glance at Xu Ping’an.

Xu Ping’an naturally chose to ignore it.

Seeing Xu Ping’an’s expression made her tremble with rage even more.

The second match was Huang Yu against a Fifth Rank Third Layer and Huang Yu emerged victorious to advance.

In the third match, the victor was a Fifth Rank Fifth Layer Realm named Chen Feng.

For the fourth match, two Fifth Rank Fourth Layer Realm combatants sparred, with one narrowly winning by a move, advancing to the next round.

However, due to his serious injuries, he chose to withdraw from the competition.

Soon, it was Xu Ping’an’s turn to take the stage.

His opponent was someone Xu Ping’an was familiar with.

This person was Long Shan, whom he had encountered on the Fourth Layer of the Imperial Academy.

At this moment, Long Shan’s cultivation level had reached Fifth Rank Second Layer Realm.

"Eh, Xu Ping’an’s opponent turns out to be Long Shan, the sole son of General Long Yan," someone noted.

"Yes, General Long Zhengchu is an Eighth Rank Strongman, and I heard he is extremely strict with Long Shan, having him endure training in the barracks since childhood. Although Long Shan’s cultivation is only at the Fifth Rank Second Layer, he previously defeated a genius from the Fifth Rank Fourth Layer Realm."

"Was it intentional by you, General Long Yan, to match your son against Xu Ping’an? Is this a way to discipline your son through Xu Ping’an?"

"It may not be discipline, you know. It’s not certain that Long Shan will lose. Xu Ping’an is strong, but Long Shan is not weak either."

"Hmm, this battle could be interesting."

...

There was a buzz of discussion in the stands.

For a moment, everyone was curious.

"Xu Ping’an, Long Shan, step forward," General Long Yan commanded icily.

As the words fell, Long Shan immediately sprang forth, thunderously landing on the battle platform, his gaze fierce as he looked towards Xu Ping’an.

"Xu Ping’an, do you dare to fight?" bellowed Long Shan.

Xu Ping’an glanced at Long Zhengchu, who was expressionless.

Xu Ping’an smiled faintly, thinking to himself: ’He’s using me as a whetstone for his son?’

Isn’t he afraid that this whetstone might be too rough and instead completely dull his son’s sharpness?

"Why would I not dare?"

However, Xu Ping’an quickly gathered his thoughts, his eyes sharp as he took a step forward, his figure appearing directly on the battlefield.

In an instant, the whole battlefield was on a knife’s edge.