Chapter 105: Chapter 105: Saber Cleaves the Gate Tower, Purple Dragon Vine
Xie Yuan was recuperating in his room at the Escort Agency when he suddenly heard a tremendous crash. It seemed to have come from the direction of the Chief Escort’s study.
He subconsciously propped himself up and glanced out the window.
’Did a fight break out?’
But after that single sound, there was nothing. No sign of commotion stirred within the Escort Agency, so Xie Yuan lay back down on his bed and silently circulated his Inner Power to treat his internal injuries.
No matter who the traitor was, as long as it wasn’t Shen Longteng himself, they wouldn’t be able to make any waves in front of an expert of the Qi and Blood Metamorphosis Realm.
The gap between minor realms was already large enough, to say nothing of the chasm between major realms like this.
Besides, Xie Yuan’s own guess was that Xu Mo the Head of the Escort was most likely the one causing problems. Even though he had seen Head Escort Lu associating with the bailiff, that wasn’t how one would go about being an informant. If he were truly the traitor, he would have made a point of keeping his distance in public.
Among the remaining three, the two Fourth Training veterans, Wei Zhen and Chu Sheng, could be considered deputy chiefs. Xie Yuan couldn’t think of any reason for them to be traitors, which left only one person.
’Xu the Head of the Escort...’
Xie Yuan thought of the amiable, middle-aged man, feeling a little perplexed.
’Blackmail? Threats?’
He didn’t know the specifics, but there was nothing new under the sun. It had to be for one of those reasons.
He decided not to dwell on it for now. As long as the problem was solved, that was what mattered. The details would surely come to light eventually.
A mere Third Training Martial Artist like Xu Mo certainly couldn’t have made much of a splash.
Although Xie Yuan was currently only at the Second Training, he was sounding a little full of himself.
It was his first time killing a Third Training practitioner, and in a head-on, one-on-one fight—no, it wasn’t even one-on-one. Xie Yuan had been surrounded when he swiftly and decisively killed that Third Boss.
’My tactics were sound, my weapon is sharp, and my killing moves are ferocious. That’s how I was able to kill a stronger enemy from a higher level. This was all me, haha...’
Xie Yuan boasted to himself for a moment, but he knew that was all superficial—or rather, it was only part of the reason.
The true, most fundamental factor, the reason his combat prowess far surpassed his peers, was the Body Nourishing Art.
Inner Power truly was the benchmark that distinguished the legacies of Sects from ordinary Martial Artists. Cultivating Inner Power could nourish and strengthen the body and accelerate one’s progress on the Martial Dao. It could be integrated into moves to enhance the combat power of a Cultivation Technique, and it could stimulate Blood Qi to increase recovery speed from exertion.
In his many fights, Xie Yuan had often faced multiple enemies at once, expending immense energy, yet he rarely showed signs of exhaustion. This was because his Inner Power provided a foundation, both improving his stamina and speeding up his recovery. Therefore, he could charge and attack relentlessly, using high-cost killing moves from his Cultivation Technique without running out of steam.
Even a Fourth Training expert couldn’t achieve this level of endurance and staying power. During the bloody battle the other day, both Zhao Xingyang and Elder Song had clearly flagged toward the end, their strength dropping to less than seventy percent of their peak. Otherwise, Xie Yuan wouldn’t have dared to charge straight into the fight.
In a place like Yunzhao and its surroundings, where the Martial Dao was not particularly flourishing, an Inner Power cultivation method was the greatest treasure—something countless martial artists would fight to the death for. After all, the difference in strength between someone with Inner Power and someone without was as vast as the heavens and the earth.
To date, Xie Yuan had encountered hundreds, if not thousands, of Martial Artists, but he had yet to meet a single one in the area who practiced Inner Power, which just went to show how rare it was.
’Well, the Daoist who taught me the Body Nourishing Art doesn’t count, of course. That Daoist is unfathomably deep. This Body Nourishing Art seems unremarkable, but it’s actually vast and profound, far from an ordinary item.’
’And Situ Qin doesn’t count either. She’s a mysterious woman from a powerful clan who knows far more about Inner Power than I do.’
’And that bizarre man in black...’
Xie Yuan pushed up his sleeve to look. The black lotus petal was still there; sometimes he even forgot about it. But even though it hadn’t caused any changes in him for now, it was a constant, hidden worry. He had no idea when it might erupt.
He let out a breath, pulled down his sleeve, and pressed his lips together.
’Perhaps those three are the ones who represent the true face of the Martial Dao world.’
’Vast, mysterious, and full of wonders—far beyond what the martial arts schools in a small county town could ever encompass.’
Xie Yuan had walked out of a mountain village, an ordinary boy who knew nothing, and step by step, he had peeled back a corner of the world of cultivation.
’As long as I keep walking this path, I’m sure I’ll see many more sights.’
Xie Yuan clenched his fists. He planned to first fully heal his internal injuries, then exchange all his first-class merits for powerful restorative items that could nourish his blood and strengthen his tendons. He would raise his strength to the peak of the Third Training as quickly as possible.
Over the next few days, Xie Yuan didn’t leave his room, quietly recuperating within the Escort Agency. But in that time, he heard several pieces of news, one after another.
The first piece of news stunned Xie Yuan for a moment, leaving him feeling both excited and gratified.
On the second day after the Escort Team returned to the Agency, the Chief Escort went alone, saber in hand, to the main entrance of the Vajra Sect’s martial arts school. With a single slash, he cleaved its signboard in two, along with the three-story gatehouse that took up half the street!
To destroy someone’s signboard like that was to declare a feud to the death. But for the Escort Agency, the Vajra Sect’s recent actions had already made them irreconcilable enemies. Shen Longteng was now simply raising the curtain on the conflict himself.
But the Chief Escort just stood there after that one slash. The Vajra Sect’s members surrounded him layer upon layer, yet no one dared to make him draw his saber a second time. The Vajra Sect’s Sect Leader, Xu Jie, merely set a date for a deathmatch between the two factions a month later, then recalled his men, shut the gates, and played the coward.
It took many disciples to support the gate and struggle to set it upright again. That it took so much effort showed just how imposing the gatehouse truly was.
For a martial arts school to be so forbearing, the Vajra Sect’s reputation plummeted overnight. Taunts echoed through teahouses and taverns, saying the adage, "A golden saber and feathered sword can hardly leap the Dragon Gate," was indeed true.
Meanwhile, the might of Shen Longteng’s single, public slash after so long in seclusion was simply incredible. He had obliterated the tall, costly gatehouse from a distance, cementing his title as Yunzhao’s number one Martial Artist. His prestige became unparalleled for a time.
The Escort Agency’s members were naturally in high spirits. But on that very same day, a rumor began to spread like wildfire through the streets and alleys of Yunzhao: "The Longteng Escort Agency murdered for money, coveting Landlord Chang’s fortune and then silencing him."
Discerning people naturally scoffed at such a rumor, but in the end, discerning people were a minority in this world.
But with enough voices, slander can melt gold, and with just three tellings, a tiger can appear in the market. The rumor flew across Yunzhao in a single day and even showed signs of spreading further. Amid the uproar, the people of Yunzhao became half-convinced, pointing fingers at anyone wearing the Escort Agency’s uniform. This was especially true because Landlord Chang, in an effort to keep a low profile, had previously done many good deeds like setting up soup kitchens and repairing roads. The common folk who had benefited from his charity would even spit on the ground as they passed the Escort Agency’s entrance.
The only ones who could spread a rumor that fast would be the county yamen.
Reputation could be unimportant, but it could also be more important than life itself, especially for an Escort Agency. Even if the common folk weren’t their target clientele, if the rumors were repeated enough, the consequences would be unimaginable.
Besides, it had only been two days. This was surely just the beginning.
Aside from the slowly spreading smoke of conflict, another obituary was posted within the Escort Agency.
One was for the escorts who had died in the previous battle. The other was for Xu Mo the Head of the Escort, who had passed away from a sudden illness.
Anyone with a bit of sense knew what that meant.
But the Chief Escort also announced publicly that Xu Mo the Head of the Escort had made outstanding contributions to the Escort Agency’s development. On the day of the funeral procession, he would personally act as a pallbearer, which left Xie Yuan deep in thought.
A single stone stirs a thousand ripples. As the conflict between the Longteng Escort Agency and the Vajra Sect erupted, the other major martial arts schools also seemed to be stirring restlessly. These major schools were effectively Major Gangs, each with their own businesses in the county seat. Recently, friction between them, both overt and covert, had increased rapidly.
The situation in Yunzhao grew increasingly turbulent. The Escort Agency’s members became more cautious when they went out, and even Xie Yuan, staying within the agency, felt a sense of urgency.
The Vajra Sect had been the one to propose the deathmatch. Although it seemed like a move forced by the circumstances to save face, no one could say for sure if they had some dirty tricks up their sleeve.
While conflicts were gradually breaking out outside, Xie Yuan finally finished healing his injuries within the Escort Agency. He stood in the pharmacy, looking at the description on a list:
"Purple Dragon Vine: nourishes essence and replenishes blood, clears meridians and strengthens tendons. Exceptionally effective. One first-class merit can be exchanged for one stalk."
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