Chapter 79: The Dragon and Elephant Ranking
Before Cao Qin finished speaking, he suddenly turned around and walked towards Su He. Under the equally puzzled gazes of Tang Afu and Su He, Cao Qin stood in front of Su He and suddenly bowed deeply and respectfully.

"Master Cao, what are you doing..."

"I am in a dilemma today. I hope Brother Su can lend me a hand." Without waiting for Su He to speak, Cao Qin pleaded without even raising his head.

"This..." Su He was not a person who liked to meddle in other people's private affairs. If Tang Afu had brought a hundred or eighty people to rob and kill him today, Su He might not like the fact that the majority was bullying the minority, and would have helped him. But now Tang Afu was alone, while Yuhu Hall had Cao Qin and a dozen disciples. It was clearly outnumbered, so how could Su He rashly attack?
As for how powerful Tang Afu's martial arts were, Su He thought that was his own ability. Cao Qin couldn't beat Tang Afu because of his incompetence, and it didn't mean that Tang Afu was bullying the weak.

"The ruthless swordsman Tang Afu is ranked fifth on the Dragon Elephant List. He is a top master among the young talents in the martial arts world." Cao Qin slowly stood up and explained, "Among the people present now, only Brother Su, who is also on the Dragon Elephant List and ranks second, can fight with him and defeat him. If Brother Su is unwilling to save me, I am afraid that Cao will not be able to get out of this leaf forest today." At the end, a resolute look appeared in Cao Qin's eyes, as if he vowed to live and die with the Jingfenghuayutu and would never take the initiative to hand it over to Tang Afu.

Hearing the words "second place on the Dragon Elephant List", Tang Afu's expression paused slightly, and when he turned to look at Su He, a hint of solemnity quietly emerged in his eyes.

The Dragon Elephant List is not self-proclaimed, but compiled by Dragon Elephant Mountain, so everyone on the list is not a undeserved name.

"Brother Su." Just when Su He was in a dilemma, Bater suddenly smiled and said, "You are the fastest swordsman in Mobei, and it is rumored that Tang Afu's swordsmanship is unparalleled and he can be regarded as one of the best swordsmen in Central Plains. I am really curious, who is faster, your sword or Tang Afu's sword?"

Su He looked at Bater in surprise and asked, "Why? Do you want me to intervene in this matter?"

"I don't object." The dwarf Chagan nodded in a hoarse voice, "If something happens to Hall Master Cao, who will introduce us to the Jade Dragon Palace Master? Helping Hall Master Cao now is actually helping ourselves. What's more..." Chagan glanced at the serious Tang Afu and sneered, "A mere Tang Afu is nothing to be afraid of for you."

"Yes! Yes!" Zhuo Ya was immediately excited when she heard this, and clapped her hands repeatedly, "Brother Su, you are the pride of our grassland. Let these Han people know how powerful we are, so that they don't think they are invincible after practicing a few fancy moves. Humph! They dare to call themselves the orthodox martial arts of the Central Plains. They are so arrogant and ridiculous!"

"Zhuo Ya, there are so many martial arts masters in the Central Plains. The martial arts of the six major sects and the four major families are all long-standing and profound. You can't speak rudely." Su He rebuked, "Don't say such nonsense again in the future. Be careful that the ridge master hears and punishes you."

"Okay, okay!" Zhuo Ya nodded and encouraged, "As long as Brother Su is willing to teach this ruthless swordsman a lesson, I will stop talking nonsense in the future." As she spoke, Zhuo Ya playfully stuck out her tongue at Tang Afu beside her, as if she was deliberately provoking him.

Su He looked at Cao Qin, Bater, Chagan, and Zhuoya, and after hesitating for a long time, he sighed helplessly and agreed: "Okay! In view of the fact that Master Cao is willing to introduce us to the Lord of Yulong Palace, Su is willing to do his best in this matter."

"With Brother Su here, I feel relieved!" Cao Qin hurriedly bowed to express his gratitude, then stepped aside and looked at Tang Afu with a hint of pride in his eyes.

Su He walked out slowly, facing the indifferent Tang Afu, and after a little thought, he bowed and advised: "Brother, can you give Master Cao and me some face and leave today to avoid hurting the relationship?"

"Cao Qin is a weak man, but he is a sinister villain. Why should you help him?" Tang Afu said calmly, "You are famous all over the world, why do you associate with such a villain? Do you know that when Cao Qin stole the Jingfenghuayu Tu from the Lu Mansion in Jiangnan, he not only killed Mo Cen who had surrendered, but also killed a baby in his cradle, and finally killed Mo Cen's family of three. If you help such a despicable villain, aren't you afraid of damaging your reputation?"

Su He was stunned when he heard this, and then his face changed slightly. He said, "I have never seen anything in the past, so I can't verify the truth. But today I have promised to block you for Master Cao. Please leave on your own and don't make it difficult for me. As for your reputation, I believe that justice lies in the hearts of the people. I just want to have a clear conscience."

"You have a clear conscience." Tang Afu nodded slowly with admiration, "Since you insist on helping him, there is no point in me saying more. If you want me to stop, you have to kill me."

Although Su He had anticipated that Tang Afu would never leave easily because of his few words, he still felt bitter when he saw the murderous intent in Tang Afu's narrow eyes.

Su He knew that Tang Afu was determined to snatch the Jingfenghuayutu. Between him and Tang Afu, he was afraid that only one person could walk out of Ye Zilin alive today.

Su He and Tang Afu had no grudges against each other, but now they had to fight to the death. This feeling really made Su He feel uncomfortable.

"The ruthless swordsman Tang... Tang Afu?" Su He slowly drew out the Blood Shadow Knife, stared at Tang Afu with complicated eyes, and said, "Do you have any other names? If Su is lucky enough to win later, I will know how to erect a monument for you."

"No need to be polite. If I die under your knife, you just leave on your own. Heaven and earth will collect my body." Tang Afu said with a smile, "When walking in the world, who doesn't use the sky as a blanket and the earth as a bed? One day is born and one night is dead. What is the difference between life and death?"

"What a great saying 'There is a world to collect my body', I admire you!" The Blood Shadow Knife was unsheathed, Su He stared at Tang Afu solemnly, and persuaded him again, "Let's go! Don't force me to take action..."

"Let's take action!"

Tang Afu turned a deaf ear to Su He's kind words of comfort. He suddenly shouted coldly, then took the initiative to attack and flew towards Su He.

Facing Tang Afu's sudden attack, Su He was not flustered at all. He quickly took a step back with his right foot, then stepped on the ground with his toes, and his body suddenly flew out like an arrow.

The swords were sharp and the knives were shining. In the blink of an eye, the two men had already started fighting. Accompanied by a series of "clang clang clang" sounds of swords clashing, Tang Afu and Su He were already fighting fiercely.

Swords flashed and clashed, back and forth. Tang Afu and Su He had no intention of dodging, one sword was faster than the other, one sword was faster than the other, and the spectators were all horrified. Bater was even more impressed by Tang Afu. Under such a swift and fierce attack, every step and every move was dangerous, and every move was full of murderous intent. If any of them made the slightest mistake, they would die on the spot.

At the very least, among the people watching the fight, no one was sure that they could keep every move perfectly in such a dangerous battle.

In the time it took to drink a cup of tea, Su He and Tang Afu had fought for seventy or eighty rounds, but there was still no winner. The two sides fought back and forth, but neither could do anything to the other. The Blood Shadow Knife and the Merciless Sword were evenly matched, competing against each other. "Good knife!" Tang Afu said with emotion, "In all these years, you are the first swordsman who can keep up with me in swordplay."

As Tang Afu sighed, his figure suddenly flew up into the sky, and flew backwards diagonally to a height of seven or eight feet. He suddenly stopped in the air, and swung the ruthless sword in his hand continuously. In an instant, silver light splashed everywhere, and the sharp sword energy turned into a gust of wind and sword rain, attacking Su He like thousands of arrows.

“Haha… good job!”

Su He's feet suddenly sank, and the soles of his feet immediately sank into the mud. After he stabilized his lower body in a flash, the Blood Shadow Knife in his hand suddenly made a sharp sound. Then Su He swung the knife rapidly, crossing left and right. In an instant, green ripples that were almost visible to the naked eye whizzed out along the blade, directly facing the sword rain that covered the sky.

"Clang clang clang!"

In an instant, the flashing of swords and the shadows of knives collided with each other with a loud bang, and the violent sound of golden weapons and iron weapons and the deafening sound of air exploding were like the terrifying momentum of thousands of troops and horses, and like a bloody battle between cavalry and swords.

In an instant, Ye Zilin's vigorous energy rushed in all directions, and a strong wind blew. This fight made the area within a radius of ten miles full of murderous intent. The wind was howling within a radius of five miles, and the fallen leaves were all over the sky within a radius of three miles. The sky and the earth were shaking within a radius of one mile. All the trees within a hundred meters had broken branches and were riddled with holes, which made the spectators hurriedly use their strength to resist and stepped back again and again.

Just as the people around were marveling at the unfathomable martial arts of the two men, Su He's Blood Shadow Knife had completely dissolved the rain of swords in the sky. The void in the air seemed to become a little distorted because of the turbulence just now.

Tang Afu's strength lies in his sharpness and speed, while Su He's strength lies not only in his speed but also in his immense strength.

Tang Afu's advantages against ordinary opponents were completely useless against Su He, because whether in speed, offensiveness, moves, internal strength or experience, Su He was an expert among experts, and Tang Afu could not find any flaws in Su He at all.

On the other hand, although Su He cannot win in terms of speed and moves, he can suppress Tang Afu in terms of internal strength, which is his chance of winning.

Tang Afu did not expect that his rain of swords could not hurt Su He at all. Instead, they were all dissolved by Su He's Blood Shadow Knife in the blink of an eye. He was shocked.

But Su He did not intend to give Tang Afu a chance to catch his breath. He took this opportunity to shake his feet violently, and two deep pits suddenly appeared in the mud. Su He soared into the sky like a meteor, and swung the Blood Shadow Knife in the air, roaring like a tiger and a dragon, and went straight towards Tang Afu.

"what!"

"Keng!"

"puff!"

Tang Afu was shocked and hurriedly drew his sword to block, but when the powerful Blood Shadow Knife fell fiercely on the Merciless Sword, Tang Afu only felt an unmatched strong force that suddenly broke through his defense and forced the sword energy generated by his internal force back into his body. In an instant, his internal force reversed and his meridians flowed backwards, causing Tang Afu's chest to sink, and then his throat felt sweet, and a large mouthful of blood sprayed out involuntarily. Then his body became lighter, and Tang Afu fell heavily to the ground along with the downward force of the Blood Shadow Knife.

"We won!" At this moment, Bater could no longer restrain himself from cheering loudly, "You are worthy of being my big brother Su, you are truly invincible. Haha..."

Tang Afu, who was falling at a high speed, stared coldly at Su He who was about to put away his knife and retreat in mid-air, with a sneer of unwillingness to surrender on the corner of his mouth.

Su He's eyes suddenly changed when he saw this. He had understood Tang Afu's intention, so he held the half-sheathed Blood Shadow Knife in front of him again, glared with his tiger eyes, let out a loud roar, and stabbed the sharp tip of the knife fiercely towards Tang Afu who was falling continuously.

"Oh!"

With a muffled thud, Tang Afu fell to the ground in a mess. Before he could even get up, the Blood Shadow Knife was whistling towards him. The tip of the knife kept getting bigger in Tang Afu's eyes, but he showed no fear, still staring coldly at the Blood Shadow Knife that was about to stab him to death.

"Leave people under the knife!"

Suddenly, a loud shout was heard from the forest, and then a sword light came towards Su He like a meteor chasing the moon. Su He was secretly startled, and subconsciously swung his sword to knock the sword away. Then he flipped over and landed steadily on the left of Tang Afu.

A swift figure flew out from the forest, caught the flying sword in mid-air, and then did a beautiful somersault and landed on the right side of Tang Afu. His movements were smooth and flowing, without any sign of panic.

"Brother Su, please spare his life!" Following the man's slightly awkward smile, Su He's tightly furrowed brows suddenly relaxed, and a hint of surprise appeared in his eyes.

"Brother Liu? Why are you here?"

……

(End of this chapter)