36: Chapter 36 Wang Shan was defeated!

The people of the Third Banner—Li Kai, Zhang Da, Zhou Jie, and Wu Chuan—all had looks of disbelief on their faces.

Their Banner Master could not only parry Banner Master Wang's attacks but also counterattack; now, anyone could see that Zhao Zilong had wounded Wang Shan.

"How did the Banner Master suddenly become so powerful?" Zhou Jie asked in surprise.

Wu Chuan said, "A hidden dragon in the abyss. I think the Banner Master never had a chance before, so he was always hiding his strength. Now that the opportunity has come, the hidden dragon is about to soar into the sky."

Ge Yun's expression turned extremely ugly again; there wasn't a trace of a smile on his face, and now he even looked like he was about to cry.

If he had known Zhao Zilong was this powerful, he would have persuaded Wang Shan not to compete no matter what.

It would have been better to just fulfill the bet.

Now, if Wang Shan lost, the previous bet would have to be honored, and he would also have to fork over five hundred taels of silver—that was almost three years of his salary!

This was even more depressing and painful for him than having to kowtow and work under Zhao Zilong.

At this moment, he really wanted to cry.

He even felt a little bit of resentment toward Wang Shan.

If he didn't know that Wang Shan genuinely wanted to deal with Zhao Zilong, he would have suspected that Wang Shan and Zhao Zilong were in cahoots, deliberately using tricks to set him up here.

The others from the Second Banner also had very grim expressions; if Wang Shan lost, they would lose a lot of face.

Wang Shan naturally understood that if he lost, he probably wouldn't be able to hold his head up in the Fuzheng Division for quite some time.

He absolutely could not lose.

"Ge Yun, give me your blade." Wang Shan shouted loudly.

Ge Yun was stunned: "Banner Master, you..."

"Give it here." Wang Shan scolded him with dissatisfaction.

Ge Yun had no choice but to toss the blade to Wang Shan, who reached out and caught it.

"Banner Master Wang, you're being a bit shameless now. Didn't you say you wouldn't use a blade?" Wu Chuan couldn't help but speak up in accusation.

Wang Shan's expression darkened further, and he glared at Wu Chuan.

Zhao Zilong slowly spoke, "It doesn't matter. The result will be the same. Banner Master Wang can use whatever he wants."

Zhao Zilong's words were too sarcastic, too insulting.

Wang Shan was enraged; he charged toward Zhao Zilong, brandishing the blade in his left hand.

Zhao Zilong was full of confidence at this moment, it was almost overflowing.

He snorted lightly, his eyes filled with disdain, and he met the charge with his own blade.

The two clashed.

Wang Shan feinted with his blade, looking as if he were slashing at Zhao Zilong's chest, but in reality, he was aiming for Zhao Zilong's right shoulder.

However, Zhao Zilong had anticipated this.

Just as Wang Shan's blade came down, Zhao Zilong dodged to the side.

At the same time, he slashed out with his own blade, again aiming straight for Wang Shan's face.

Zhao Zilong not only dodged the blade but was also able to effectively counterattack, and the shift was so sudden that Wang Shan was shocked.

Seeing Zhao Zilong's blade slashing toward his face, he relied on his speed advantage to instantly bring his blade back to block horizontally.

And Zhao Zilong's blade fell as usual, with great force and weight.

Zhao Zilong used almost all his strength.

As this blade slashed down, the two weapons collided with a crisp clanging sound.

Yet, this strike was only the beginning.

Zhao Zilong slashed down frantically and rapidly.

Although all of them were blocked by Wang Shan's blade, Wang Shan was forced to retreat continuously.

It was clear that he was already struggling to parry.

Wang Shan's blade was already covered in dense notches.

Watching Zhao Zilong, who held his blade with both hands and slashed at Wang Shan frantically, everyone felt a tingling sensation in their scalps.

Before the battle, everyone thought Zhao Zilong wouldn't be able to take ten moves from Wang Shan.

As it turned out, once they actually started fighting, Wang Shan couldn't even withstand Zhao Zilong's offensive for ten moves.

Judging by the current situation, Wang Shan was destined to lose.

Wang Shan held his blade horizontally to block, but he couldn't withstand the sheer ferocity of Zhao Zilong's slashing.

One of his knees had already buckled, and he was kneeling on one knee, holding his blade up to block.

However, his right arm was numb and immobile.

He was only relying on one hand to hold the blade, while Zhao Zilong held his with both hands, slashing down from above.

Wang Shan was about to reach his limit.

If the fight continued like this, not only would he lose, but he might also suffer serious injuries.

Although Zhao Zilong said it wasn't good to hurt people, in reality, he was practically itching to hack Wang Shan into pieces.

And what terrified Wang Shan even more was that just then, Zhao Zilong leaped high into the air, raising his blade with both hands to hack at him.

This would undoubtedly increase the force of the strike, and Wang Shan had no confidence that he could block this blow horizontally.

Once it landed, he would surely be seriously injured.

"Banner Master Zhao, stop! I concede!"

However, it was clearly a little too late; Zhao Zilong's blade still came slashing down.

With a clanging sound, Wang Shan's blade snapped in two, and Zhao Zilong's blade came slashing straight toward Wang Shan's face.

Seeing this strike come down, Wang Shan was nearly scared to the point of wetting himself.

Fortunately, Zhao Zilong did not want to kill Wang Shan.

At the critical moment, he reined in his strength, and the tip of his blade stopped less than an inch from Wang Shan's face.

Wang Shan went cross-eyed, looking at the blade tip in front of his nose.

Thank goodness it stopped; otherwise, he would have been dead for sure.

A wave of fear instantly spread deep in his heart.

Wang Shan's body couldn't help but go limp.

He collapsed weakly onto the ground, gasping for breath, feeling intense regret.

"Banner Master Wang, didn't you concede a bit too early? It was only the ninth move, not even ten moves yet. Wouldn't you like to hold out a little longer?" Zhao Zilong said with a triumphant smile.

He admitted that he was able to defeat Wang Shan so quickly partly because Wang Shan underestimated him, but his own ability still played an absolutely critical role.

Hearing Zhao Zilong's words, Wang Shan looked up at Zhao Zilong: "Banner Master Zhao, I have already lost. Why must you humiliate me like this? Leave a margin in everything you do, so that we may meet again in the future."

Zhao Zilong raised his hand to stroke his chin and said, "Banner Master Wang makes sense. However, since Banner Master Wang has lost, do the three conditions you promised me still hold?"

As he said this, Zhao Zilong deliberately shook the blade, the glint of the metal shining into Wang Shan's eyes.

Wang Shan averted his gaze and looked at Zhao Zilong, saying, "Banner Master Zhao, speak."

Zhao Zilong thought for a moment and said, "I won't make things difficult for you, Banner Master Wang. The first condition is that you, Banner Master Wang, will be responsible for all the expenses of our Third Banner brothers going to Linglong Pavilion tonight."

"You..."

That would cost quite a bit of silver; this was pure extortion.

Wang Shan was displeased.

Zhao Zilong shook the blade in his hand and said, "Banner Master Wang is unwilling?"

"Fine, I agree."

Wang Shan agreed unwillingly.

Zhao Zilong looked at the people of the Third Banner and said, "All expenses at Linglong Pavilion tonight will be paid for by Banner Master Wang. Everyone, why don't you thank Banner Master Wang? No, you should thank Young Master Wang."

"Thank you, Young Master Wang!"

The men of the Third Banner shouted in unison, all of them overjoyed, laughing heartily.

The corners of Cai Wenjing's mouth also curled into a smile.

"When this guy acts like a jerk, he's really quite hateful."

"What about the second condition?"

Wang Shan knew that he had fallen into Zhao Zilong's hands today.

He accepted it; there would be plenty of time in the future, and he would find a chance to avenge today's humiliation later.

Zhao Zilong said, "Banner Master Wang made a bet with me today, clearly not wanting to let Ge Yun leave. However, one must get used to certain things. As for this second condition, Banner Master Wang, just send your subordinate Tong Yun to work under me as well."

"Zhao Zilong, don't go too far."

Wang Shan was truly enraged now.

Losing some silver was acceptable, but now Zhao Zilong wanted his people too.

The most critical thing was that Tong Yun was also a Second-Grade Martial Artist.

And he only had two Second-Grade Martial Artists under his command: one was Ge Yun, and the other was Tong Yun.

They were his "Double Cloud" warriors.

They were the backbone of his Second Banner.

Now that they were both being taken away by Zhao Zilong, this was like drawing the firewood from under his cauldron.

"Banner Master Wang, are you trying to go back on your word? But it doesn't matter. Let's keep fighting. As long as Banner Master Wang can take three moves from me, you can propose any condition to me."

As he said this, Zhao Zilong raised his blade.

"Zhao Zilong, your mo—"

"Hmm?"

Zhao Zilong's eyes sharpened.

Wang Shan quickly choked back the words he was about to swear.

He said unwillingly, "Fine, I'll give him to you. What is the third condition?"

Zhao Zilong said, "As for the third condition, I think it would be better if you, Banner Master Wang, brought all the people from the Second Banner to work under my Third Banner."

As soon as Zhao Zilong said this, everyone was stunned.