Chapter Ninety-Four: Boldness

With nothing better to do, Jiang Xiaotian wandered over to the beggars’ quarter in the east of the city for a look. To his surprise, those people were still loafing about doing nothing at all. He had changed his clothes and cleaned himself up, so the beggars did not recognize him.

They looked just as idle as before, basking in the sun with leisurely ease, as though nothing had ever happened the last time.

Jiang Xiaotian smiled and paid them no mind. He went straight to the city park to see what was going on.

The first two times he had gone there, he had crept about with great caution, terrified of being seen. This time, however, he could walk in openly and did not need to fret over every little thing.

Along the way, the closer he got to the park, the fewer people there were. Many constables were driving people away, saying that from today onward no one was allowed to go near the place, because some great official was coming to inspect it.

The excuse was plausible enough, and with the announcement a few days earlier that a ceremony would be held in the city park, ordinary people did not suspect anything.

Barricades had been set up all around the area, so common folk who knew nothing of the truth would not come close again. When they saw Jiang Xiaotian approaching, someone immediately moved to stop him, but after seeing that he was a martial artist of the outer force, they questioned him briefly and let him through. Martial artists were allowed in.

In recent days, quite a few martial artists had come to the city park to scout the terrain. Though the interior had already been sealed off, one could still look around the perimeter and choose a good starting point, which counted as an advantage.

Once he stepped inside, however, it was nothing like the deserted scene Jiang Xiaotian had imagined. Instead, it was packed wall to wall with a roaring crowd.

Everywhere he looked, heads bobbed and swayed, and quite a number of young men and women had already gathered there.

They were all young martial artists from the various clans. One had to know that in Longcheng, there were not only the Three Great Clans. Apart from them, there were many others with formidable strength, though because they lacked a true foundation, they could not earn a place among the great names.

If these people had gone to places like Linhai or Beihai, they would have been major figures without question. Here, however, they were nothing more than nameless minor players.

Jiang Xiaotian’s arrival drew no attention at all. In a place like this, an outer-force fighter in the early stage truly had no standing. A glance around showed that only those in the middle stage of outer force could even get a word in, while inner-force martial artists were the ones who truly held power.

There were even a few whose auras surpassed everyone present, giving Jiang Xiaotian a faint sense of threat. They were likely super experts in the middle stage of inner force.

Such people were clearly the strongest among their groups. Though advanced in years, their eyes were clear and bright, and they possessed the bearing of true immortals, the air of masters.

But this was precisely the gap between smaller clans and major ones. Among the lesser families, the strongest might be a single inner-force middle-stage expert. Yet the Ouyang family alone had three in the later stage of inner force, not to mention the old ancestor who had never shown himself.

No wonder the three-way balance had held for so many years. It was far too difficult for anyone else to carve out a faction of their own.

Mingling with the crowd, Jiang Xiaotian saw a large group gathered ahead and quickly asked the person beside him what was happening.

“What else could it be? The Cao family and the Zheng family are at odds again. This time the Cao family is backing the Ouyang family, and the Zheng family is backing the Zhao family. How could a fight not break out?”

Jiang Xiaotian followed the direction of his gaze and indeed saw two young men standing face to face. One wore a grave expression, while the other held a fan and smiled faintly.

He had heard of the Cao and Zheng families before. They were the sort that stood beneath the three great houses, yet above the rest of the world.

The Zheng family had two martial artists in the middle stage of inner force, while the Cao family had only one, though rumor said he was on the verge of breaking through to the later stage. In strength, then, they were more or less evenly matched.

They had never lacked conflict, and now that they were supporting opposing archrival families, a clash was hardly surprising.

The two young men were both around the middle stage of outer force, but the man with the folding fan had a deeper and more refined true energy, and was clearly the stronger of the two. He suddenly snapped his fan shut and said with a shake of his head, “Cao Ren, that’s all you’ve got, and you still dare bark at me? I’m not trying to insult you, but as a grown man, following some family ruled by women in all but name—do you even have any ambition?”

At that, the young man opposite him flushed bright red with anger. “Zheng Yang, what did you say? If you’ve got the guts, say that in front of Ouyang Zijing! What sort of ability is it to talk behind someone’s back? Your family thinks so highly of itself—so why isn’t it as good as the Ouyang family?”

Cao Ren’s words struck a sore spot, and Zheng Yang’s expression darkened at once. His voice turned icy. “Say that again.”

Cao Ren was not afraid of him. Staring straight into Zheng Yang’s eyes, he said word for word, “I said, you’re just like the Zhao family. You only dare to play petty tricks behind people’s backs. No wonder you’re the Zhao family’s dog!”

No sooner had he spoken than Zheng Yang’s aura exploded all at once.

With a flick of his hand, the folding fan flew out like a sharp blade, stabbing straight for Cao Ren’s throat.

But how could Cao Ren simply stand there and take it? He leaped backward, drew a curved saber from his waist, and slashed at the fan. With a crisp clang, his blade trembled violently from the impact, nearly slipping from his grip. By the same token, however, the folding fan lost all force and fell to the ground.

Zheng Yang was not surprised. Instead, he even applauded. “Impressive, impressive! No wonder you’ve grown so bold. So you can actually take one move from me now. Good, you’ve improved!”

His mockery was blatant, and the Zheng family members around him burst into laughter.

Cao Ren’s face turned ashen. He was indeed no match for Zheng Yang; in the past, he had not even been able to receive a single strike.

But this concerned the dignity of his family. Even if he could not win, he could not back down.

“You’ve misunderstood. It’s you who’s grown weaker. Playing with a fan all day like some woman—you’ll end up ruining your own manhood sooner or later!” Cao Ren spat.

That drew laughter from even some of the other families.

Zheng Yang fixed him with a look, murderous intent gradually surfacing in his eyes. “Sooner or later I’m going to sew that filthy mouth of yours shut.”

With that, he beckoned, and the folding fan flew back into his hand.

But Zheng Yang had no intention of letting things rest. In Jiang Xiaotian’s eyes, he continuously drew upon the martial force within his body, gathering it all into his palm. He was likely preparing a truly devastating blow.

At the same moment, Cao Ren also realized Zheng Yang’s intent. No longer daring to be overconfident, he gathered his strength and prepared to defend himself with all he had.

Yet Jiang Xiaotian understood very clearly: Cao Ren would not be able to block it.

The elders of both families were also watching each other warily, but none dared to make a move, for that would turn the matter into a large-scale brawl. They could only allow the younger generation to test one another.

A few seconds later, Zheng Yang’s power reached its peak. He took a deep breath and, like a thrown card, hurled the folding fan out.

That full-force strike sent the fan carving a perfect arc through the air. It seemed to come from all directions at once, with afterimages everywhere. Its speed was so great that Cao Ren had no way to resist.

His expression changed drastically. Zheng Yang was trying to cripple him!

No one had expected such ruthless action. The Cao family elders were already about to intervene, but the Zheng family would not sit idle either. If one side moved, then everyone would move.

At that critical moment, a tongue of flame appeared out of nowhere and instantly wrapped itself around the folding fan in midair.

Zheng Yang, who sensed the change first, reacted immediately. He hurriedly looked over, only to see the folding fan already engulfed in fierce flames. Before he could stop it, the connection between him and the weapon was severed outright.

The smile on Zheng Yang’s face froze. Then, as the ashes of the fan drifted down before his eyes, fury swept through him like a storm. “Who! Who dares meddle in my Zheng family’s affairs!”

He was not the only one. Everyone from the Zheng family moved at once, searching for the hidden hand behind it all.

Cao Ren let out a long breath of relief, then looked down toward the arena as if also trying to find the person who had helped him.

And the instigator was naturally Jiang Xiaotian. By now he had already restrained his aura. In such a place of dense spiritual energy, no one would be able to detect anything unusual about him.

The result was predictable: no matter how thoroughly the Zheng family searched, they could not uncover who had done it. Meanwhile, the onlookers began whispering that the Zheng family had broken the rules, striking so heavily when the treasure-snatching had not even begun yet. Zheng Yang nearly coughed up blood with rage upon hearing it.

At the same time, many people no longer dared to watch, afraid of drawing disaster upon themselves, and hurriedly tried to disperse.

But the Zheng family had been humiliated, and in front of the Cao family no less. Their anger was easy to imagine. Zheng Yang immediately waved a hand and barked, “Who the hell thinks they can leave? You meddle in other people’s business and then want to run? I say the culprit is hiding among you people trying to flee! Which beast was it? Dare to do it and not dare to own it!”

No one spoke. None of them dared to offend the Zheng family lightly.

Just as the silence deepened, and Cao Ren was about to say something, a voice came from afar.

“Oh? And who made Young Master Zheng so angry?”

Jiang Xiaotian, who had been lurking nearby and enjoying the show, suddenly stiffened.

How could he not recognize that voice?

It was Zhao Zheng, that little bastard.