Chapter 121: Chapter 114: The Tree Wants to be Still but the Wind Won’t Stop_2
Lu Yan silently scoffed in his heart.
Are they still putting on this show for me?
He knew from long ago, the various martial arts schools had deep connections with the Li Family, and most of these ties were with Li Wenxuan’s faction.
Hence, if the Martial School Alliance were to choose a faction to support, it would certainly be Li Wenxuan’s.
Furthermore, observing that the thirteen martial art schools had chosen Li Wenxuan without any hesitation showed that the decision had been made much earlier.
Today, were they trying to assert pressure on him to make a choice?
"Pavilion Master Lu, what is your choice?"
Feng Yueming asked.
"All I, Lu Shanchuan, want is to manage my martial school peacefully and pass on all my knowledge. I have no other ambitions, nor do I wish to get involved in the internal competition within the Li family. So, I choose neither."
Lu Yan shook his head.
Feng Yueming shook his head with a bitter smile, while the faces of the other Pavilion Masters were a mixed batch, their thoughts unknown.
"Shanchuan, I know your independent personality well, but I must advise you, at present, the situation in Baicao City is black and white. If you wish to keep yourself aloof, it would be difficult."
Feng Yueming said.
"I appreciate your good intentions, Alliance Hierarch."
Lu Yan replied with a fist salute, his attitude was firm.
Firstly, he genuinely had no desire to get involved in the competition between the two major factions. He simply wanted to accumulate power quietly and peacefully.
Secondly, even if he had to choose a faction to align with, he couldn’t choose Li Wenxuan.
It could have been a possibility in the past, but since he had killed Li Cangxin, it was absolutely impossible now.
He and Li Wenxuan could never reconcile. Once Li Wenxuan found some clue, a conflict between them was inevitable.
Besides, aligning with Li Wenxuan would risk exposure due to prolonged interaction.
If a faction had to be chosen, it could only be Li Wenxin’s.
"Lu Shanchuan, we, the fourteen martial schools of the Alliance, are of the same branch and share the same fate. We all chose Li Wenxuan. Your sole dissent will make others wonder. How would Lord Wenxuan view our Alliance? Would he think that our Alliance is disloyal?"
Duan Shenfei said coldly.
"Indeed, in future discussions, who would dare to include you?"
"It’s better for the Sanjue Martial Arts School to simply withdraw from the Alliance."
The Pavilion Masters chimed in one after another.
However, Liu Zong of the Black Blade Martial Arts Hall remained silent.
After unexpectedly getting a visit from a Martial Marquis last time, he decided to stick to his resolve to avoid offending others.
A few Pavilion Masters didn’t speak, but they were formulating their own schemes in their hearts.
They planned to see if the Sanjue Martial Arts School could manage to stay neutral. If it could, they may consider following suit.
"In that case, it’s better to part ways if our paths diverged. I will exit the Alliance."
Lu Yan stood up, took out the token of the Martial School Alliance, placed it on the table, and left with firm steps.
"Hmph, this Lu Shanchuan, thinking he has a bit of strength, he is overestimating himself. He will suffer a great loss sooner or later."
"Correct, he wants to keep himself aloof, but in the end, he will end up offending both factions. We shall see how his Sanjue Martial Arts School will disband."
"In Baicao City, even having broken his limits five times, it means nothing."
A few people spoke up dissatisfied.
In the end, someone turned to Feng Yueming and asked: "Alliance Hierarch, now that Lu Shanchuan has withdrawn from the Alliance, what should we do now?"
"Tomorrow morning, meet with Young Master Lin. Inform him of the truth."
Feng Yueming ordered.
...
Li Canglin’s mansion was located to the east of Baicao City. It occupied a hundred-acre plot, with multiple buildings and pavilions adorned with prosperous decorations.
In the reception hall, after the thirteen Pavilion Masters of the martial schools left, only Li Canglin and a few of his confidantes remained.
"Sanjue Martial Arts School, they want to keep themselves aloof?"
Li Canglin lounged on his chair, a hint of mockery visible on his face.
"Young Master, shall I send someone to teach them a lesson?"
At his side, a long-robed elder with a goat beard suggested.
This elder was well-known as Li Canglin’s strategist, named Jia Xun.
"Hmm, send someone, check out Lu Shanchuan’s background."
"At the same time, teach them a lesson. If they do not know better, let’s disband the Sanjue Martial Arts School."
Li Canglin casually commanded and left.
"I remember last time the Young Master did not permit us to take action against the Sanjue Martial Arts School, fearing that we may push them to Li Cangqing’s side. Why does he agree now?"
After Li Canglin left, another follower named Zhao Lu asked Jia Xun.
"There’s a time for everything. Now that the Martial School Alliance is aligned with us, but Sanjue Martial Arts School alone withdrew, if we don’t teach them a lesson, what would the other martial schools think? They might consider staying neutral as well?"
"Therefore, even if we push the Sanjue Martial Arts School towards Li Cangqing, it doesn’t matter. Compared to the Martial School Alliance, Sanjue Martial Arts School is insignificant. However, we must show our attitude clearly, to assure the Martial School Alliance follows us."
Jia Xun explained with a smile.
"I see, I have learned a lot."
Zhao Lu saluted.
...
Three days later, five tall men dressed in green robes with long swords hanging at their waists arrived in front of the Sanjue Martial Arts School.
The two gatekeepers saw them and immediately went up to greet them, carefully salivating, "We’ve seen the five gentlemen from Baicao Guard, do you have any business coming to our Sanjue Martial Arts Hall?"
The Baicao Guards are the law-enforcing force under the command of the Li Family, similar to the Red-clad Guards of the Liu Family, replacing the previous arresters.
However, the overall strength of the Baicao Guard far exceeds that of the Red-clad Guard, with team leaders and sub-team leaders all having broken limits five times.
In addition, it is said that there is a large leader and two deputy leaders, all figures in the Martial Marquis realm.
"Get out of the way."
A Baicao Guard barked coldly, grabbed the two gatekeepers and threw them several metres away. They fell to the ground and couldn’t get up for a while.
The five Baicao Guards proceeded to stride into the martial arts hall.
The apprentices of the martial arts hall all stared at the five Baicao Guards in surprise and halted their activities.
"My apologies for not greeting you earlier, noble sirs."
Li Quan immediately came to greet them with a smile on his face when he saw something was amiss, smoothly pulling out a hundred-two silver ticket from his sleeve and handing it to the leading Baicao Guard.
The Baicao Guard in charge took it and his face eased a little, "Does your Sanjue Martial Arts Hall have official documents for teaching apprentices martial arts?"
"Official documents?"
The color drained from Li Quan’s face. He had never heard Lu Yan mention this before.
The previous official documents were issued by the Da Chu Dynasty.
Now, the official documents naturally refer to those issued by the Li Family.
"You dare to establish a martial arts school, teach martial arts privately, cultivate your own martial arts power without official documents. What are you trying to do? Are you planning a rebellion?"
The leading Baicao Guard shouted, his voice booming like a lion’s roar, shaking the entire Sanjue Martial Arts Hall.
"This..."
Li Quan, despite being clever, was taken aback and stood there, stunned, by such a heavy accusation.
In the practice room, Lu Yan frowned.
"They’ve finally come."
He stopped his practice and came out of the room.
"Pavilion Master."
Li Quan quickly jogged over.
"I’ve heard it all."
Lu Yan nodded and walked over to the five Baicao Guards.
"I am Lu Shanchuan, I greet you gentlemen."
Lu Yan saluted with his fist.
"Lu Shanchuan, you have heard our words. If you have official documents, present them for inspection," the leading Baicao Guard said.
"When we initially established the martial arts hall, we were not informed that official documents were required."
Lu Yan shook his head.
Furthermore, as far as he knew, other martial arts halls had never required official documents when opening.
This was most likely the work of Li Wenxuan’s faction.
What else could it be? As soon as his refusal to join was confirmed, the Baicao Guards showed up?
"You don’t have the official documents?"
The leading Baicao Guard scoffed, "Then... pick a date to close the martial arts hall, dismiss the apprentices, and don’t teach martial arts privately. We will be back in a few days, and if the hall is still not closed... we will treat it as an act of rebellion."
"Let’s go!"
With that, the five Baicao Guards left with large strides.
On the practice field, the apprentices exchanged bewildered glances, at a loss for what to do next.
"Pavilion Master, what should we do now?"
Li Quan asked.
Lu Yan’s brow was furrowed.
Honestly, he had no good solution.
It was clear that they were pressing him to take a stand.
Either he joined voluntarily, or he closed the hall.
"Why is it so difficult to live a peaceful life, to build up our strength in peace," Lu Yan sighed.
"Carry on as usual for now and see how things develop. I have my ways to deal with it," Lu Yan commanded.
If necessary, he could go to Li Cangqing for help.
But if he actively sought Li Cangqing’s help, it would be equivalent to jumping onto Li Cangqing’s boat.
The tree desires peace, but the wind does not cease.
Clang, clang, clang...
In the courtyard of Wang Dao’s residence, two figures were clashing quickly. Two trails of light from the blades shimmered and flashed like a horse of pair, dazzlingly fast.
In the blink of an eye, they had exchanged dozens of moves.
After dozens of moves, one blade blazed brilliantly while the other began to shrink rapidly, being pressed within a few feet.
With a clang, one figure stumbled backward.
