The Duke and His Face

"You wanted him to beat me?" Li Qiang looked at Wang Rouyun's subordinate. She called him Jing and he should be someone with a high degree of martial arts and can use elemental magic. Judging from his dagger, he should be able to wield the power of the wind. He could throw this dagger at Li Qiang and immediately kill him.

"I wanted to see what you are capable of. So I wanted you to fight him." Wang Rouyun was calmly sitting on the chair under the peach tree. She was eating some grapes, his posture languid and relaxed. Clearly, she was not taking this training seriously.

A sinister gleam appeared in Li Qiang's eyes. "I don't know martial arts."

"But you were the one who proposed the fight, and you even asked me to train you. I needed to see your skills before training you."

She had a reasonable argument. However, why would Li Qiang let someone hurt him? "Few people who fought me survived."

"Is that a threat?" The man named Jing walked forward. He was standing next to Wang Rouyun earlier, acting as her bodyguard. "You don't scare me, Duke."

"I don't do threats. It was a warning." Li Qiang said.

He could continue to pretend that he didn't know any martial arts and let this bloke beat him. However, he was not a very forgiving person. He would retaliate one way or the other. And when he retaliates, he would make this person suffer.

"Are you scared of me, Duke?" Jing said while removing the belt that contained his daggers and a short sword. "Don't worry, Lady Wang instructed me to take it easy. I won't kill you."

"I am only concerned that you would hit my face." Li Qiang answered without batting an eyelid. "I only had my face. What would happen if you ruin it?"

Silence.

Everyone who heard him turned speechless. Currently, there were only two other people in the practice ground. Li Qiang requested that Lady Wang send everyone away to keep his matters a secret.

Still, Wang Rouyun and Ouyang Jing were speechless when he heard his words.

How could someone like him be this shameless? The gap between the Duke's ability and Jing was huge! And yet, he was only concerned about his face?

"Shall we start?" Li Qiang smiled. "However… I hope Lady Wang would not blame me for what happens next."

Li Qiang held his arms up as if he was welcoming a friend and hugging him instead of starting a fight. "Please Warrior Jing… do your best," he smirked. Alright, his arrogance was a part of his script. However, because everyone thought he lacked skills, they thought this arrogance was simply a sign of him losing his mind.

Li Qiang might be smiling, but on the inside, he was already planning hundreds of ways to torture this man. He knew that Jing never liked him, so he was already expecting to receive a beating from him.

And he was right.

Jing didn't use his sword or dagger, but his palms and fists were just as painful. Or at least that's what everyone thought when they saw Li Qiang fall on his knees when Jing's leg hit his arm. Li Qiang let out a curse and held his arm.

"One hit and you are already on your knees?" Wang Rouyun sneered. "Duke Li… I knew you were weak. But I didn't know you were this weak."

"Heh…" Li Qiang snorted. He said nothing as he slowly held his breath and examined his body. The impact honestly surprised him. One kick could easily kill him—the normal him. However, what surprised him, even more, was him not feeling anything.

Lifting his head, his gaze landed at the smirking Jing.

The man looked oblivious that he used his internal energy to protect himself. In fact, Jing looked really proud.

"What, do we need to call the physicians now to make sure you are alright?" Ouyang Jing asked.

"No need." Slowly, Li Qiang got up. He examined his body. When he was already positive that the kick didn't give him any injuries, he added, "I was just expecting that one kick could make me lose my consciousness. It was honestly disappointing. Lady Wang… is this the kind of warrior that you have around you?"

"You—" Jing's face reddened. "I was trying to control my strength! I didn't want to give you some internal injuries inside your body."

"Oh… is that so Warrior Jing?"

"You—"

"Jing… just shut up and fight." Wang Rouyun uttered, almost lazily. Though the pretense didn't fool Li Qiang. It was obvious that Wang Rouyun's delicate brows were furrowed. A gesture that reminded Li Qiang of the Wang Rou of Earth. "Why are you staring at me like that? Are you just — "Before Wang Rouyun could finish her words, Jings punch already landed on Li Qiang's stomach.

Another grunt escaped his lips. But unlike the kick, he didn't stagger or get down on his knees. "Warrior Jing… your punch had gotten weaker. Please stop holding back warrior Jing!"

"You — Since you think my punches were weak, why don't you fight back? "

"What do you mean? I can't fight against you. I don't know any martial arts. Am I not here to learn how to defend myself? Sadly, your superior thinks that it is wise to have an expert like you beat me up. Clearly, she didn't think that if I go bedridden, the contract wouldn't be valid and she would have to marry me." Li Qiang then sent a wink towards Wang Rouyun. Then he added, "It's in the fine print."

"You—You dared to think that Lady Wang would marry you?"

*Pak*

Jing sent another kick. And while it was strong enough to easily knock down someone with no cultivation, Li Qiang easily used his forearm to block it. The action surprised both Ouyang Jing and Wang Rouyun. After all, both of them knew the effects of that kick on a normal person.

"What luck! Let's see if you can avoid this!!!" Dongfang Jing hissed before sending a torrent of punches and palm attacks. And each time, Li Qiang would just let it hit his body. No, he wasn't just letting it hit him. He was smiling while doing it.

Slowly, Dongfang Jing spotted blood trickling down Li Qiang's lips. 'Internal Injury?' he thought inwardly. Seeing this, he increased the speed of his hands. Surely, Lady Wang wouldn't blame him if he accidentally maimed his opponent, right?

....

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