Two goshawks flew over the white clouds, one moment towards the sun, circled around it, turned into two black dots, and the other spread their wings and glided down. It's like swimming in the sea.

Suddenly, a whistle sounded from the ground, as if they had received some kind of order, and the two goshawks turned in the air and swooped down, their bodies swept across the ground, and suddenly there was a splash of blood and the mournful cry of a pheasant.

Then, two colorful pheasants had already been grabbed by them and flew directly to the huge clearing outside the forest.

The long laugh of relief suddenly sounded, and Yu Ruipei, the lord of Tianluo, laughed heartily, and as soon as he waved his hand, naturally someone went up to serve these two falcons that had won him face.

This is a royal garden twenty miles away from the capital of Tianluo Kingdom, and in the garden, there is also an entrance to the deep mountain, which is a place specially used for hunting by the royal family and some noble children of Tianluo Kingdom.

Of course, after so many years of hunting, it is difficult to find any ferocious prey in the garden, and if you want to have a good harvest, you must go to the entrance of the deep mountains and go to a deeper place to search for prey.

The current season is not a good time for hunting, but Yu Ruipei, the lord of Tianluo, still ordered to gather warriors and accompany the princes and princesses of Kairong Kingdom and the master protector to hunt.

This is also closely related to the prosperity of martial arts in the northwest countries.

Seeing that the two falcons opened the record, Yu Rui Pei naturally smiled and said, "Zhongqing, today's envoy of the Kairong Kingdom has arrived, and the warriors of our Tianluo Kingdom will welcome each other in the warmest way. His voice could be heard far away, miles away in the open space.

Although his internal strength cultivation has not reached the peak of the tenth layer, he also has the strength of about the eighth layer, and with the support of Shui Xuanjin, the position of the lord of Tianluo is as stable as Mount Tai.

Beside him, there was a loud bang, and more than a thousand people were excited, their eyes lit up, as if they had already taken the lead in this hunt.

Yu Ruipei turned around and said, "Your Royal Highness the Third Prince, aren't your people participating?"

The third prince, Zhan Zhichao, smiled slightly and said, "Since His Majesty the Lord of the Kingdom invited, let our sons and daughters also show their hands." Apparently prepared, he strode out, followed closely behind him by four attendants.

Yu Ruipei's face changed slightly, and he said, "His Royal Highness the Third Prince wants to hunt in person?"

Zhan Zhichao laughed and said: "Yes, we are the prince alone, and we should lead by example, how can we not participate in such a grand event." ”

Yu Ruipei's face was a little stiff, and suddenly, a figure rushed out from not far behind him, bowed deeply to him, and said, "Father, what the Third Highness said is that the child is not talented, and he also wants to enter the forest." ”

Everyone raised their eyes and nodded secretly in their hearts, and it was Yu Xiaoyi, the prince of Tianluo Kingdom, who stepped forward at this moment.

Yu Ruipei's face softened, and he glanced at him deeply, unconcealing the relief and appreciation in his eyes.

"Well, in that case, the hunt begins, and you go. ”

With His Majesty's order, countless figures immediately ran towards the forest not far away.

Outside this garden, there are exquisite tents that can be seen everywhere, and these tents are temporarily set up by the Lord of Tianluo and others who came here to hunt.

The reason why no permanent houses were built here is said to be because they did not want to disturb the creatures in the garden too much.

At this time, in one of the tents, He Yiming took a sip of the fragrant milk tea handed over by Yuan Lixun. Looking at the crowd of people who were scrambling to leave, he couldn't help but shake his head slightly, this was not so much a hunt as a farce. Men are afraid of beasts, but beasts of prey are also afraid of people, especially when they are in great power.

So many people rushed in, and I was afraid that the beasts with a little brain would choose to avoid them temporarily, unless they entered the deep mountain pass, there would definitely be no good gains.

His gaze suddenly froze, and he found two extremely familiar figures among these people.

It turned out that the eldest uncle He Quanxin and the eldest brother He Yitian were also mixed in the crowd.

With the strength of the two of them, as well as the uncle's familiarity with the forest, as long as they don't encounter spirit beasts inside, then basically there will be no accidents. And in this crowded place, if there can still be a spirit beast, this is called incredible.

So He Yiming just glanced at it, and immediately retracted his gaze, for their father and son, He Yiming was very relieved.

Retracting his gaze, He Yiming looked at the hot air on the teacup in his hand, and his heart was also like a cloud of mist, a mess.

At this moment, seven days have passed since he eavesdropped on the conversations of Cheng Fu and others, and during these seven days, He Yiming's heart has always been hesitant, but he did not tell Shui Xuanjin the content of these conversations.

Until this moment, seven days have passed, the hunt has officially begun, and tomorrow is the moment when the hunt ends. If nothing else, it will also be the time for Cheng Fu to speak out and challenge.

He Yiming knew that he couldn't drag it out any longer.

Yuan Lixun looked at He Yiming in surprise, and He Yiming seemed to have a trace of confusion in his eyes at this moment. Since he got along with He Yiming, he has rarely found such eyes.

Inexplicably, there was a strong desire in her heart to erase this wisp of confusion.

Although her reason told herself that if it was something that even the young master couldn't solve, then she would definitely be powerless. But the ghost sent the gods, she still asked softly, "Young Master, do you have something on your mind?"

He Yiming was surprised, he turned his head, and saw the worry contained in a pair of bright eyes, and couldn't help but feel warm in his heart, he sighed lightly, and said, "Yes, there is one thing, I have never been able to make a final decision, so I feel very troubled. ”

Yuan Lixun hesitated and said, "Can you say it? Perhaps, after saying it, you will feel better." ”

The corners of He Yiming's mouth twitched slightly, he wanted to say it, but for some reason, the words stopped when he came to his mouth, he asked himself, and suddenly understood that he didn't want her to know that he had eavesdropped on other people's conversations in the royal manor.

If she knew that she had done such a thing, would her image in her mind be greatly reduced?

He Yiming smiled bitterly, when did he become so sensitive.

He shook his head, and a hint of disappointment flashed on Yuan Lixun's face. However, before she could continue to speak of relief, she heard He Yiming say: "If a person does something, although he is unintentional, and this thing is not a bad thing. However, this incident caused another person to cause some kind of misunderstanding, which is very large, and may cause some extremely bad consequences. But this consequence does not have any effect on the first person, you say, should the first person be ignored, or should he be ......"

When he said this, he raised his head and looked at Yuan Lixun quietly, as if he wanted to find the final answer from her pretty face.

Yuan Lixun was slightly stunned, although He Yiming said vaguely, this person and the other person didn't know what to say, but she understood.

After touching He Yiming's gaze, her gaze immediately jumped away like a deer. Her heart was quite excited, and there was a little bit of joy, a feeling that even she couldn't fully understand.

My heart beat violently for a few times before I slowly recovered. She bit her lower lip lightly, thought about it seriously, and her face flushed thickly, but the words that came out of her mouth carried a strange firmness.

"Young master, my mother has always taught me and my younger brother before her death. Everyone has his own responsibilities in the world. Some of these responsibilities are big, some are small, those with great ability bear the big ones, and those with small abilities bear the small ones, as long as you do what you can, then ...... Enough is enough. ”

He Yiming sat calmly, chewing on these words in his mouth.

Yuan Lixun didn't bother him, just watched silently by his side. She looked at He Yiming's eyes, which were gradually brightening because of thinking, and suddenly had a feeling as if she was about to fall into them.

This man, although he is a congenital strong man, has always given people the feeling of a big boy in his previous performance.

But think about it, no matter how level his martial arts cultivation has reached, he himself is only a sixteen-year-old boy, at this age, isn't he just a big boy.

However, at this moment, He Yiming's body seems to have a subtle change, just like a big boy who has faded away from his youthfulness and has a responsibility and charm that belongs to an adult man.

Yuan Lixun's gaze softened, and this scene seemed to reside in her heart forever.

Finally, He Yiming put down the teacup in his hand, he nodded heavily to Yuan Lixun, and said sincerely: "Thank you." ”

"Uh......" Yuan Lixun was stunned for a moment, and then came to his senses, and was at a loss for a while. It was as if the deepest secret of the heart had been pepted through, and the blush on his face became more vivid, and it spread to the back of his ears and neck, as if the smell of gentle and luscious flesh was evaporating.

He Yiming's eyes lit up, but at this moment, he had made a decision in his heart, and immediately retracted his mind and looked away.

He said softly: "Yours is right, no matter what, I am still from the Tianluo Kingdom." Then, he said loudly: "Brother Shui, please come and see me." ”

The sound of this sentence was not loud, but it spread endlessly, as if it was whispering in everyone's ear, so that everyone could hear it clearly.

Yuan Lixun opened her mouth in surprise, she didn't expect that He Yiming would invite Shui Xuanjin so abruptly.

In the distance, in the tent area of Kairong Kingdom, Cheng Fu's brows furrowed slightly, and a premonition that was not very good seemed to be enveloped. But he immediately put the slightest distraction aside, and for him, the next moment of challenge could not be missed. At this moment, there was no room for other thoughts in his mind.

※※※※

The figure in front of him flickered, and Shui Xuanjin's figure had already appeared outside the tent, he walked in with a smile, and sat down in front of He Yiming.

Yuan Lixun didn't wait for the order, and immediately served another cup of milk tea. Shui Xuanjin picked it up, drank it all, and praised: "It's very good." ”

Yuan Lixun lowered his head and smiled, "Thank you Master Shui for your praise." ”

Shui Xuanjin looked outside and sighed: "More than a hundred years ago, every time he hunted, the old man would personally participate, but now his temperament has faded, and he is not willing to work anymore. ”

He Yiming was slightly stunned and said: "Brother Shui, if you participate, then who else can compete with you, wouldn't you be able to win the first place every time." ”

Shui Xuanjin smiled dumbly and said, "Who said, although I participate every time, I have never shown off, just for fun." ”

He Yiming was relieved that if he allowed an innate powerhouse to participate in this kind of hunting activity, it would be simply cheating.

"Okay, what is the matter with you coming to me?" Shui Xuanjin put down the cup and asked casually.

He Yiming also put down the cup, he raised his eyes, and said with a straight face: "I want to know if the Tianluo Kingdom needs to pay tribute to the Kairong Kingdom every year." ”

Sighing softly, Shui Xuanjin said: "That's right, it's not just our Tianluo Kingdom, in fact, among the Northwest Kingdoms, one-third of the small countries have to pay a huge amount of tribute to the Kairong Kingdom every year. ”

"One-third?" He Yiming said in surprise: "The three major powers in the northwest?"

Shui Xuanjin raised his head slightly, and said, "Brother He is dedicated to cultivation, and he may not know the truth. In fact, among the northwestern countries, the three major powers are the real masters, and the rest of the countries are all small subordinate countries to them. In order to prevent these small countries from making great progress, the three major powers will set the terms of tribute, so that we can escort the tax money and grain over according to a certain proportion. ”

He Yiming frowned and said, "Can't we resist?"

Shui Xuanjin smiled bitterly and said, "A plate of loose sand, it's difficult......"

Just these four words have expressed all his helplessness.

Indeed, in the environment of the northwest, except for the three major powers, the rest of the countries have more than four or five counties, as few as one county, and even some countries only have the area of one county seat.

There seems to be a tacit understanding between the three great powers, and there is no intention of expansion, while the territory of many small countries is unpredictable. Often, within a few decades, countries change hands.

However, while countries have changed hands from time to time, most of them have evolved peacefully. When a family loses control over the entire country, it is natural that a new family will rise to replace the old royal family.

Subsequently, the old royal family abdicated and became a wealthy family in the country.

It is precisely because of this bizarre inheritance method that there are so many thousand-year-old inheritance families in the northwest.

Of course, this strange way only exists in the northwest, and if it is Dashen in the east, or the legendary country under the rule of the Holy See in the far west, it seems to be much bloodier and more tragic.

He Yiming pondered for a moment, now he is no longer the hairy child who knew nothing at the beginning.

More than a year of experience has taught him about this situation. At the same time, it also made him faintly feel that it seemed that above the three great powers, there was a more powerful force, and it was the existence of this force that would overwhelm all incongruous voices, and this strange way of inheritance appeared.

It's just that all this is too far out of reach for He Yiming now.

Picking up the filled cup again, He Yiming also drank it all, and then said as if he had decided something: "Brother Shui, you should know my real age." ”

Shui Xuanjin nodded slightly, and said, "Yes, Brother He, you are only sixteen years old this year, and you have already been promoted to an innate master at this age, which is simply unprecedented, unprecedented." ”

He Yiming's face turned a rare red, and said, "Brother Shui, don't talk about this, let's get down to business." He looked at the other party's eyes calmly and said, "I know that you want me to serve as the protector master of the Tianluo Kingdom. ”

Shui Xuanjin's eyes suddenly lit up, and he said, "Yes, I know that this request is indeed too difficult for a genius like you. But now that the old man is approaching the limit, he really can't bear to see the rising Tianluo Kingdom decay again. So I also asked Brother He to make it difficult. ”

The old man said, stood up from the posture of sitting cross-legged, and bowed deeply to He Yiming, although he was old, his waist was still straight and straight, and he bent down without hesitation.

He Yiming hurriedly stretched out his hand to support him and said, "Brother Shui, if you can promise me something, then I will accept it." ”

Shui Xuanjin suddenly raised her head, and her eyes showed a look of surprise.

In fact, after he learned He Yiming's true age, he also didn't have much hope. This is the same as Ting Shiguang in the past, after seeing He Yiming, he immediately never mentioned this matter.

If it weren't for Shui Xuanjin, who knew that his life would not last long, and was too worried about the future of Tianluo Kingdom, he would be like the last straw seen by a drowning person after seeing He Yiming. Although he knew that it was unlikely to be rescued, he still couldn't help but hold on tightly.

At this moment, after receiving He Yiming's reply, the old man's heart was suddenly surging, and even the aura of death on his body seemed to have dissipated a lot at this moment.

He thought that this hope was as vague as a mist, but when he caught it, he realized that it was not a straw, but a log, a huge log. This makes the drowning man who is sure to die by himself naturally ecstatic.

Taking a deep breath, Shui Xuanjin said: "As long as Brother He's request is not to let the Yu family abdicate, then no matter what the conditions, I will agree on behalf of the Yu family." ”

With his status in the Tianluo Kingdom, he is naturally qualified to say this.

He Yiming nodded slightly and said, "Brother Shui, I'm still young, so I still want to travel the world, and I also want to pursue a higher level in martial arts." Therefore, I cannot live in the kingdom of Tenra for a long time like you. So my request is that I can become the protector master of the Tianluo Kingdom, but I have the qualifications to travel freely. ”

Shui Xuanjin was stunned for a moment, then nodded deeply, and said, "Brother He, what you said is very right, with your age, you will naturally have greater achievements in the future, and you really shouldn't stay in one place for a long time." He thought for a moment and said, "Brother He, I have a compromise method, you see how it is." ”

"Brother Shui, please speak. ”

"Our Tianluo Kingdom is a subject country, as long as the Protector Master can be recognized by them, or fearful, then the Tianluo Kingdom can continue to develop steadily. Shui Xuanjin said with a solemn face: "If Brother He can personally go to Kairong Country and defeat any of the masters in their Master Hall on behalf of our Tianluo Kingdom, then it will definitely ensure the peace of my Tianluo Kingdom for ten years." From now on, as long as Brother He can come forward once in ten years and challenge and win in the Master Hall, then no matter where you travel, no one in our Tianluo Kingdom will dare to provoke without incident. ”

He Yiming was slightly stunned, and his face suddenly became extremely interesting.

"Brother Shui, are you saying that as long as you can defeat any master of Kairong Kingdom, you can keep Tianluo safe for ten years?"

"Exactly. Shui Xuanjin's eyes lit up faintly, and said: "The enlightenment seven days ago should have made Brother He's cultivation a great advancement, and even the old man couldn't hear your true strength." So as long as Brother He is willing to make a move, then I believe that he will be able to win the battle. ”

He Yiming's gaze moved in a certain direction, his face seemed to be smiling, and he said, "Why bother so much, isn't there a protector of the country here." ”

Shui Xuanjin's face changed, and he hurriedly said: "Brother He, don't be reckless, challenging in the Master Hall is the power of our small countries, and it is in this way of challenge that we decide the amount of money and food to pay tribute from all over the country." However, if it is challenged to the masters of the Kairong Kingdom in other places, it is a deliberate provocation that will bring danger to the country. He paused and said, "And although Cheng Fu is young, he has a great reputation in the Kairong Kingdom, he once went to the Southern Xinjiang Islands and had an epiphany in the crater. This person's strength is unfathomable, and in the future, Brother He will go to the Master Hall, and it is better to change to an opponent. ”

This person is young?

He Yiming smiled dumbly, and then said, "What if we didn't challenge, and they challenged it as a protector master?"

Shui Xuanjin was stunned for a moment and said, "If this is the case, it will naturally be the same as the result of the Master's Hall challenge." ”

He Yiming nodded, an unfathomable smile crossed his face, and then he was silent.

Shui Xuanjin hesitated for a moment, and his eyes also glanced in a certain direction, and his heart seemed to have a trance.

※※※※

The time of the day passed as if it had flown by.

At noon on the second day, the loud sound of the horn suddenly pierced the sky above the garden.

The sound was melodious and long, and hundreds of horns sounded at the same time, even if it was deep in the mountains, it was still clearly audible.

A huge hourglass was placed in front of everyone's eyes, and after the sound of the horn disappeared, a strong man pulled out the plug below, and suddenly a grain of sand "swished" down.

A few moments later, people returned from the garden.

When the horn sounds, all those who enter the forest must return within an hour, and if they do not reach the place when all the sand in the hourglass is exhausted, they will be disqualified.

Although you can have a better harvest when you go into the mountains, if you don't have enough strength, then it is impossible to give people time to go back and forth smoothly.

The first batch of people who came out were naturally the ones with the worst strength, and they could only wander in the garden, they didn't have the strength to enter the mountains at all, although they hunted some small animals, but no one looked at them at all.

As time goes by, more and more strong people come back, and the prey in their hands is more dazzling than the other. Although it is impossible for spirit beasts to appear, there is no shortage of ordinary beasts.

He Yiming sighed secretly in his heart, if he wanted to hunt these fierce beasts, he not only had to be strong, but also had to have a certain level of understanding of the jungle. Of course, the most important thing is luck, if you are unlucky, in the case of so many people entering the mountain at the same time, let alone encountering a fierce beast, even a rabbit may not be able to meet.

Suddenly, the crowd stirred, and the three princes of Kairong Kingdom and others returned smoothly, and they were a group of five, and what they hunted turned out to be three fierce leopards and two fox bears.

This achievement immediately impressed everyone, and being able to find the beast in front of so many masters also shows the strong strength of this line.

A moment later, Yu Xiaoyi, He Quanxin and others also returned one after another.

Although they also gained a lot, compared to Zhan Zhichao, they were inevitably slightly inferior, and the faces of all the subjects of Tianluo Kingdom were a little ugly.

Yu Ruipei seemed to be unconscious, and said: "His Royal Highness the Third Prince is indeed the dragon and phoenix among people, and this hunt takes you as the first." ”

Loud cheers suddenly came from the tent in Kairong Country, and the faces of Yu Xiaoyi and the others became more and more unsightly.

Suddenly, Zhan Zhichao stretched out his hand and suppressed the cheers.

Then, a tall figure slowly stepped out of a tent.

Once this person appeared, he immediately attracted everyone's attention, and he was like a huge sun, exuding his own brilliance anytime and anywhere.

He Yiming's eyes were slightly closed, and his heart instantly entered a wonderful, ancient well and unwavering realm.

Cheng Fu walked forward step by step, and with his footsteps, the atmosphere in the entire garden became frozen in an instant.

Yu Ruipei's face could no longer remain calm, and he had a faint bad feeling in his heart.

Cheng Fu finally came to the thirty meters in front of Yu Ruipei, he raised his head, and his eyes as dazzling as sunlight tightly locked Shui Xuanjian.

"At the request of His Majesty Kairong, Cheng is willing to make a bet with your country's annual tribute within ten years, and invite your country to protect the country's master, please Your Majesty agree. ”

Outside the entire garden, there was silence and a pin drop could be heard.

No one could have imagined that Cheng Fu would propose an invitation to fight at this time, and it was such a challenge that could not be refused at all.

Everyone knows that if Shui Xuanjin is not present, this battle can naturally be postponed. But at this moment, in the face of such a challenge, even if he died on the spot, he must not shirk it.

Shui Xuanjin smiled dumbly, he was not the slightest surprised, it seemed that he had known it for a long time.

In the eyes of countless people, he slowly stood up, although he did not have that strong, as if the presence of the sun, but the moment he stood up, it immediately reassured all the subjects of the Tianluo Kingdom.

Shui Xuanjin has guarded Tianluo for a hundred years, and that strong confidence that is almost blind spreads in an instant.

However, only the Heavenly Luo Nation Lord Yu Ruipei and Shui Xuanjin's eldest disciple Xue Lie, their faces were still extremely ugly, their fists clenched, and there was a faint trace of unknown fear in their eyes.

At this moment, a clear, unrestrained cloud in the sky sounded.

"If you want to fight, I will fight......"