Chapter 38: The Master of the Imperial Court (Part 2)

  Although the old eunuch still looked shaky, Qin Yifan did not dare to underestimate him. He took the kitchen knife from Qin Xiaoling and walked up to face the old eunuch. The old eunuch only gave a curious glance and didn't say much.

  Facing the old eunuch, Qin Yifan did not dare to be careless. With a grip on his knife, he naturally had the idea of launching a preemptive attack. A killing aura slowly emanated from his body. The old eunuch was also very serious, and somehow produced a small needle from somewhere, grasping it in his hand.

  "Please, senior, teach me!" The old eunuch, regardless of his status, deserved to be called "senior" just because of his age. Someone who dared to use a needle as a weapon was not an ordinary person. Since they were going to learn from each other, it was inevitable that they would engage in a physical test of skills. Although the old eunuch spoke bluntly, he still followed the emperor's orders.

  "Attack!" The old eunuch was not polite at all, loudly commanding. Although he was also considered half a master here, his attitude of not putting Qin Yifan in his eyes was indeed somewhat infuriating.

  Qin Yifan's eyes did not show a hint of anger, but the killing aura emanating from his body grew thicker. The dragon leader beside him furrowed his brow and gave a hand signal to several imperial guards, who nodded and left, apparently to handle this matter. In the imperial palace, such intense killing aura suddenly appeared, if not handled in advance, it would definitely be a big problem.

  "Elder, my blade can cut through iron like mud, but I've gotten used to it over the years and haven't found a replacement. Be careful, elder!" Since it's a spar, he naturally had to make these things clear. Qin Yifan also didn't want anyone to lose their life when sparring with the old eunuch.

  "Our family says you, this little brat, are effortlessly ahead before the banquet, it turns out that indeed there is a cat's paw on the knife!" The old eunuch let out a few shrill laughs, but didn't have any special response to this: "Come on, use your strongest attack!"

  In the imperial palace, it was a habit to call those little eunuchs "little rascals", and this old eunuch also unhesitatingly gave Qin Yifan this title. From the previous teasing to the current nickname, all of them were constantly provoking the young Qin Yifan's anger.

  However, Qin Yifan's performance was somewhat disappointing to the old eunuch. So far, he had not shown any signs of anger, only an increasingly strong killing aura on his body. Since he wanted to attack, Qin Yifan did not have the slightest intention of holding back.

  When the killing intent had accumulated to its peak, Qin Yifan finally erupted. A loud roar, with his sword in hand, transformed into a stream of light, and pounced towards the old eunuch who was facing him with a calm expression.

  The old eunuch's eyes suddenly opened, and the sharp gaze that burst out was like a knife cutting towards Qin Yifan. His body moved slightly, and he lightly dodged like a ghostly shadow. However, Qin Yifan continued to attack, not retreating in the slightest even when his strikes didn't land. Several consecutive knives were unable to hit the old eunuch's body, always being narrowly dodged by him at incredible speed.

  Qin Yifan's attacks were getting faster and faster, the old eunuch's dodges were also getting faster and faster, gradually the two figures had already become blurred, but the sound of breaking wind with a sword never stopped.

  The two figures moved too fast, the sky was dark, and the few dim yellow lanterns were unable to illuminate the woodshed. The surrounding crowd couldn't see their movements with the naked eye, they only heard the sound of whooshing wind and saw blurry silhouettes. Occasionally, there were also a few voices of praise from the old eunuch: "This move is not bad, hmm, this one can also work!"

  It was extremely strange, and there wasn't even the sound of clashing blades. The naked eye couldn't see clearly, but Lin Qiulü and Long Tongling had already begun to use their divine sense to observe the two people's battle. Qin Yifan kept waving his knife, but the old eunuch's movements were too fast, and for a time, he was unable to catch up.

  In the midst of their exchange, there was always a moment when evasion was impossible, but the old eunuch's slender needle seemed to have grown eyes, always lightly touching the blade at the most critical moment, either using the rebounding force to dodge or deflect Qin Yifan's attack route. The needle tip was extremely fine, and the contact was silent, so no one could hear the sound of the weapons colliding.

  It was just that the old eunuch could use a small needle to block Qin Yifan's knife, and his internal strength was so strong that it made people feel shocked. Qin Yifan launched a series of fierce attacks, but he couldn't hurt the old eunuch's hair. However, Qin Yifan didn't become impatient or discouraged because of this, and he still fought with the same spirit as his first strike.

  "Alright!" The old eunuch suddenly flashed out, quickly leaving the battlefield: "This time I'll attack, you defend!" As soon as he finished speaking, he transformed into a phantasmal shadow and flew towards Qin Yifan. "Hiss!" A thin needle in the old eunuch's hand emitted a sudden gust of wind, which was like a long spear or halberd, making people's hearts tremble with fear.

  "Ding", this time, Qin Yifan's knife surface was horizontal again, still blocking the old eunuch's needle tip. The needle tip and the knife surface intersected, and a clear sound was emitted. Then, before everyone could react, a series of rapid "ding" sounds rang out in succession, finally getting faster and faster, merging into a long, trembling tone that was almost impossible to distinguish any intervals.

  Even those who were watching with their divine sense couldn't help but sweat profusely. It was so swift and sudden.

  Attack, even if they are these ascetic practitioners, without using some kind of protective art that ordinary people can't use, how many people can withstand it? Previously, relying on the Taoist arts cultivated for decades or even hundreds of years to dominate the world, I really didn't expect that a few decades of martial arts cultivation could also make one's strength grow to such a terrifying extent.

  The sound of the needle tip and Qin Yifan's knife face has almost never stopped, and it is also interspersed with a burst of air explosions caused by the needle tip cutting through the air without stopping. This time, it doesn't seem like the old eunuch only defended but didn't attack. Just listening to the sound can tell how terrifying the attack is. Qin Yifan was able to take them all on, and he's a rare talent.

  The attack didn't last long, and the two figures suddenly separated. The old eunuch was unscathed, standing still on the other side. Qin Yifan's body seemed fine, but his face had several needle marks, with tiny bloodstains seeping out. The outcome of their duel was clear.

  "Is that all you can take?" The old eunuch seemed to be reasoning with someone, still speaking sarcastically: "If it's just like this, our family has some doubts. How did you rush through the Forbidden Guard back then? Those little brats may not have been up to par, but they weren't at the point of being slaughtered by anyone." It seemed that after saying this, the old eunuch returned to his half-dead state, speaking in a weak and listless tone.

  Qin Yifan learned to maintain his endurance during the long confrontation with Hu Zhong's brother, and even if the time was doubled in the recent battle against Lao Taitai, it would not affect his fighting spirit.

  The old eunuch spoke as if he didn't care about anyone's feelings, and was extremely provocative. However, Qin Yifan couldn't help but smile: "This trick won't work on me, senior!" He still addressed him as senior as usual.

  He took out a white and shiny bead from his body and handed it to Qin Xiaoling. Turning around to face the old eunuch, Qin Yifan made another request: "Senior, please teach me!" He put away the bead that condensed the evil spirit's energy, and without the oppressive aura, he was ready to go all out.

  The old eunuch opposite, although he didn't know what kind of pearl Qin Yifan had taken away, was a seasoned and experienced man who could roughly guess the purpose of something based on his years. He let out a few shrill laughs: "Little brat, not using your full strength, looking down on me?"

  Facing the old eunuch again, Qin Yifan completely let go of his reserve, and with a low growl, he charged forward once more. Without that kind of restraint from the True Origin, the unbridled freedom that burst out from within him made Qin Yifan almost want to let out a comfortable sigh. His movements were also three times more swift and fierce than before.

  The old eunuch rarely took action, and occasionally encountering an opponent made him extremely excited. Seeing Qin Yifan's appearance, he no longer had that trembling weak pretence, his eyes shining like bright stars in the dark night, occasionally emitting a burst of light: "Good kid, take this!" His words also changed from "young master" to "kid".

  This time, there was no restriction on who attacked and who defended, both sides let go of their hands and feet, like sworn enemies, fighting to the death in one place. At first, it was still within a circle of several steps, with attacks and defenses, neither side could gain the upper hand. The crowd could only hear the sound of needles and cleavers colliding together.

  However, after a while, the battle circle began to retreat in one direction. The surrounding crowd's divine sense saw clearly that Qin Yifan was pressing step by step, and the old eunuch could no longer maintain his offensive against Qin Yifan, retreating step by step.

  "At that moment", a loud crash, the two figures suddenly separated and retreated to their original positions. This time, both of them were equally exhausted, although there was no obvious damage or injury, but the sound of heavy panting could not deceive anyone.

  "You're a freak, kid! Your inner strength is freaky!" After panting for a while, the old eunuch's age was already advanced, and he couldn't compare to Qin Yifan's youth. His voice still carried an uncontrollable gasp. However, he still spoke with great pleasure: "Refreshing!" As the Grand Eunuch, surrounded by Imperial Guards and Palace Guards protecting the Emperor's safety, the opportunities for the old eunuch to take action had become extremely rare. This match with Qin Yifan was also a chance for the old eunuch to indulge in a refreshing experience.

  "Senior's martial arts are strong, if I didn't take advantage of the situation with the soldier's blade, I'm afraid it wouldn't have ended well." Qin Yifan spoke the truth, indeed he had taken advantage of the weapon. The final blow, the old eunuch's needle was unable to withstand Qin Yifan's knife momentum and was cut into two segments. Only then did the two separate.

  "With your current martial arts skills, where can't you go in the world? What else is there to ask?" The old eunuch asked with great surprise.