226: Chapter 9: Entering the Fray 226: Chapter 9: Entering the Fray “???”
Qin Wanyang’s expression darkened as he saw the shadow hurtling toward himself, and he quickly retreated backward.
What was happening?
How did it end up coming at me?!
Qin Wanyang retreated very quickly.
But Xie Xuanyi was even faster.
After striking Lin Yu away, he didn’t stop there but followed up with a second strike!
Boom!
A sound like a muffled drum exploded.
Even though layers of array patterns emerged atop the ramparts of Great Chu Imperial City, this eighth-level Golden Body Realm martial artist had a formidable physique.
With a force that could smash dry weeds and rotten wood, he directly shattered the array patterns on the ramparts, charging at Qin Wanyang!
The little Prince of the Qin Family’s face instantly turned pale.
But fortunately, the “target” that Lin Yu threw didn’t aim directly at him.
After taking the second hit, the body that flew like a kite with its string cut abruptly accelerated in mid-air, quickly brushing past Qin Wanyang’s body, and flew out like a cannonball.
The big robe flapped and settled.
In an instant.
The top of Imperial City became quiet.
Dust filled the air.
“Cough…”
The small Prince, draped in an embroidered golden black robe, quietly covered his mouth and nose with his sleeve, also hiding his pale face, and turned around with a racing heart to glance back.
His expression was quite spectacular.
Qin Wanyang never expected.
Lin Yu to be struck by Xie Zhen so hard that he got embedded in the stone wall, unable to continue the fight.
Is it over just like that?
After all, that was a martial artist of the eighth-level Golden Body Realm.
With one move.
To be precise…
actually, it was two moves.
And he was knocked out?!
“It is widely known that the Qin Family is a martial arts lineage.”
Xie Xuanyi asked indifferently, “Young Prince Qin’s martial arts realm is quite extraordinary, having developed a Golden Body at such a young age…
I wonder if today, you also intend to ‘ask fists’ with me?”
“…”
Fear was written all over Qin Wanyang’s face.
He squeezed out a smile and took a step back slowly: “Brother Xie Zhen is indeed formidable, I am truly impressed.
I am here today by mere coincidence.”
“Coincidence?”
Xie Xuanyi smiled too: “Do such convenient coincidences really exist in this world?”
Without the slightest semblance of a Prince’s demeanor, Qin Wanyang continued to retreat while forcing a laugh: “There are no coincidences that cannot happen, some things are just that coincidental.
Hearing that Brother Lin was coming to ‘ask fists’…
I happened to pass by to join in the excitement.”
He was indeed a smart person who knew how to judge the situation.
Knowing he couldn’t win, at such a critical moment, one cannot forcefully confront.
But Xie Xuanyi had no intention of giving up on teaching the little Prince of the Qin Family a lesson.
He continued to walk forward, his aura directly locking onto the young master.
“Wait—”
Qin Wanyang seemed to sense the sharp aura locking on him and broke out in cold sweat on his forehead: “Xie Zhen, you should know what the Qin Family signifies, right?”
“The Qin Family?
I am well aware.”
As Xie Xuanyi closed in, he smiled: “As one of Da Chu’s three great non-imperial Prince families, a noble lineage second only to the Imperial Family in the Imperial City.”
Qin Wanyang breathed a small sigh of relief and asked, “You wouldn’t think of laying hands on me here, would you?”
“Why not?”
Xie Xuanyi stopped in his tracks, speaking softly: “You don’t think that, just by virtue of being a young master of the Qin Family, making mistakes means you don’t deserve to be hit, do you?”
Qin Wanyang was completely stunned.
Only then did he realize that the man he’d provoked had not long ago given the Princely Heir of Prince Jiangning’s mansion a thrashing!
To this man with the surname Xie, it seemed that the non-imperial King families amounted to nothing!
Mentioning the Qin Family had the opposite effect!
Xie Xuanyi extended his hand.
In the skies above the Imperial City, the air solidified.
Qin Wanyang wanted to run, but under the lock of the aura, his Golden Body was simply unable to escape Xie Xuanyi’s control.
With just one grab, he involuntarily lunged toward Xie Zhen.
In this moment.
Qin Wanyang started to panic.
He shouted loudly towards a direction of a teahouse within the city: “Brother Wu Yue, how long do you plan to watch?
Hurry and save me!!”
Wu Yue was none other than the eldest senior brother who, a few days ago, had triumphantly secured first place in the Martial Sect competition with an overwhelming presence.
He was also the Perfect Cave Heaven tough guy who had pressed Lin Yu into admitting defeat wholeheartedly!
Upon hearing this.
Xie Xuanyi narrowed his eyes, his Divine Thought instinctively swept toward the direction Qin Wanyang was shouting at.
The teahouse was bustling with noise.
As Divine Thought passed over.
Xie Xuanyi felt no “threat.”
By the time he realized he’d been “tricked,” it was already too late.
In that brief moment, Qin Wanyang broke free from the aura lock.
He quickly pulled his hand back, breaking the jade pendant around his neck and fiercely threw it at Xie Zhen.
This, indeed, was an eighth-grade Treasure.
A Treasure that would activate upon being crushed!
This kind of Treasure, in terms of lethality, was several times that of same-grade Treasures, but its downside was also clear—once made, it could only be used once.
With a boom.
The jade pendant shattered into countless Sword Intent beams, slamming into the youth in black who had already taken control of the situation above the city ramparts.
Xie Xuanyi, who had been caught off-guard, scowled, huffed coldly, lifted his foot and lightly stamped it down.
The green bricks cracked, and the ground produced a ring of Sword Qi that enveloped him like an inverted bell.
The falling jade pendant’s Sword Intent smashed against Xie Xuanyi’s Sword Energy Barrier, sounding like light rain hitting the ground.
This strike, although it didn’t harm Xie Xuanyi.
But Qin Wanyang got the breathing space he wanted.
After crushing the jade pendant and escaping the aura lock, he did not hesitate and fled in the opposite direction.
But the next moment, the little prince from the Qin Family let out a cry as he fell to the ground.
He looked up.
All he saw was a towering figure, like a mountain, standing before him.
…
…
The library.
Jiang Qihu knelt before the jade desk, his face full of grievance.
“Teacher, Qihu doesn’t understand.”
He clenched his teeth and, gathering his courage, spoke up, “Xie Zhen is after all a disciple of the library.
Even if he’s just a ‘Dark Child’ you’ve deployed, he’s returning to the Imperial City today… Whatever the case, he should be welcomed.”
Chen Jingxuan, seated at the head of the jade desk, heard this but did not respond, simply continuing to silently flip through the scrolls.
“Qihu knows that Teacher is busy and can’t spare the time to greet him outside the city.”
Jiang Qihu said with a woebegone expression, “Qihu took the initiative to offer his help; did he make a mistake in doing so?”
“You’re not permitted to go anywhere today.”
Chen Jingxuan, with an impassive face, glanced at the clumsy Qihu and coldly ordered, “Just kneel here and grind ink for me.”
Jiang Qihu’s expression was conflicted.
But after a struggle between duty and emotion, he ultimately moved forward obediently, shuffling a couple of steps on his knees to approach the Teacher’s ink slab, picked up the small jug of clean water, and poured water onto the slab before slowly beginning to grind the ink stick.
He simply couldn’t refuse Teacher’s command.
Yet the turmoil in his heart was not something Qihu could easily suppress.
He spoke again, “Teacher… I’ve heard that there are people challenging each other to a fight at the city gates; I reckon they have already started fighting by now.”
Jiang Qihu served as the deputy director of the Imperial City.
All the trivial matters happening in the streets and alleys of the Great Chu Imperial City were bound to reach his ears.
The affair of Lin Yu asking to fight was not a secret.
Through the agency of the wood master and the gossip of the local haunts, the news had already spread through the streets, and naturally, Jiang Qihu had heard about it.
“So?”
“So, I was thinking… we can’t allow Xie Zhen to suffer a disadvantage,” responded Jiang Qihu, blinking and sensing an opportunity.
He hurriedly added with a smile, “Teacher has shown great favor towards Xie Zhen, Qihu can see that.”
“Xie Zhen suffer a disadvantage?”
Chen Jingxuan let out a sneer, put down the scroll, and said indifferently, “Rest assured… he won’t be taken advantage of.”
Jiang Qihu sighed, “Even if Xie Zhen won’t be at a disadvantage, bringing people to show support would still be a good thing, right?”
“Do you know who has caused this trouble?”
Chen Jingxuan raised his eyebrows, speaking with profound implication.
Jiang Qihu fell silent.
After pondering for a long time, he offered his answer, “The Qin Family?”
“Not too foolish.”
Chen Jingxuan expressed approval, “Though it is Martial Sect Lin Yu challenging Xie Zhen to a fight… the motive for Lin Yu’s challenge actually comes from the young prince of the Qin Family, Qin Wanyang.
Elder Lin was seriously ill a few days ago, and Qin Wanyang brought him a ‘Divine Origin Pill.’ The true instigator behind the challenge is the Qin Family, as well as Fangyuan Fang.”
Jiang Qihu said earnestly, “Teacher, Qihu is aware of all this.”
“If you know, how could you intervene?”
Chen Jingxuan sternly reprimanded, “The Qin Family is the guardian of the great martial fortunes of Da Chu, rooted in the Imperial City for nearly a thousand years… If you rush to the scene today, have you considered what identity you will take with you?”
“Naturally, it will be as the…”
Jiang Qihu was halfway through speaking when he suddenly fell silent.
The Deputy Director of the Imperial City was a direct extension of the Da Chu royal power.
If he showed up in this conflict, siding with Xie Zhen, how would His Majesty view his role as the deputy director?
“As the library…”
That was still improper.
The library belongs to Teacher.
For the same reason, he could not let Teacher bear the consequences of the trouble he might cause this time.
That left only one identity.
“If I hurry to the scene, I can only go as a member of the Jiang Family.”
Jiang Qihu’s voice grew fainter.
“Do you think that Old Master Jiang’s health is too good, so you can’t wait to cause him some trouble?”
Chen Jingxuan spoke in a chilling tone, “Looking around the Imperial City, how many can boast such good fortune as the Jiang Family?
If the Holy Empress allows the old man to retire and return to his hometown, it’s because you are ‘greatly useful’ in the Imperial City.
Once you involve yourself in this matter and stand against the Qin Family, with the Jiang Family’s assets in Qing State, can you really compete against this thousand-year-old household?”
Jiang Qihu was thoroughly silenced.
After a long time,
he tentatively asked, “Teacher, are we just going to sit and watch?”
“Of course not.”
Chen Jingxuan said irritably, “Do I have to rely on you when troubles arise?
If that were the case, the library would have collapsed long ago.”
Jiang Qihu blinked.
“This matter… has nothing to do with you, and you need not worry about it.
Just kneel here.”
Chen Jingxuan said calmly, “I have my own arrangements.”
Jiang Qihu chuckled, scratching his head as he said, “It’s no wonder you’re the Teacher… It’s just that, Teacher, Qihu always feels that today’s fight is very strange.
It reeks of conspiracy at every turn…”
“Conspiracy?”
These two words, coming from Jiang Qihu’s mouth, did seem rather amusing.
This simple-minded man, did he really understand what a conspiracy was?
Chen Jingxuan shook his head, saying softly, “Of course, it’s not that simple, but it’s also not as complicated as you think.”
Having said this,
he picked up the sleeve of his robe, ready to write something.
But at the moment he was about to put the brush to paper,
Chen Jingxuan suddenly had a thought.
Perhaps Jiang Qihu was not wrong.
Qin Wanyang, who had always been law-abiding, suddenly prompting Lin Yu, through the Fangroun Fang wood master, to challenge Xie Zhen to a fight today…
Could it really be, that it was just about the fight?
…
…
(PS: Adjusting my biological clock, the next update will be before 10:30 am tomorrow, not counted as tomorrow’s update.)