At this time, besides the disciples of the Tiancang Sect, there were other martial artists near the city gate.
They were all the strongest members of various factions in the city.
Even the weakest among them were powerful martial artists who were close to achieving mastery of their physical and mental abilities.
Since learning of the prohibition against harming martial artists below the Innate Realm, people have become less respectful of Innate Realm experts.
Upon learning that another expert at the Innate Realm had arrived outside the city, they all rushed over.
After all, it's rare to see someone at the Innate Realm on a regular basis. Being able to observe and feel the aura of someone at the Innate Realm up close might be beneficial to their future cultivation.
Unexpectedly, upon arriving, they saw Lu Qing completely withstand Wang Cangyi's innate aura without changing his expression.
This was unbelievable to everyone.
A few days ago, they had all personally experienced just how terrifying the pressure from a Xiantian realm expert could be.
At that time, the confrontation between Wang Cangyi and Wei Shanhai was so intense that the entire county trembled under their innate pressure.
How did that boy on the other side manage to remain completely unaffected?
"It seems that Senior Wang truly disregards the sacred mountain's prohibitions. I wonder if you can bear the consequences of violating them?"
Lu Qing looked at the figure on the city gate and said loudly.
His calm and composed demeanor left the other martial artists somewhat stunned.
This young man is truly audacious, daring to question a Grandmaster of the Innate Realm in public!
Wasn't he afraid of truly angering Wang Cangyi and having him killed with a single sword strike?
Wang Cangyi looked down at Lu Qing below with a cold gaze. Just as he was about to speak, he suddenly sensed two auras emerging from the city wall beside him.
He turned his head and saw the county magistrate and the young man in plain clothes standing not far away, looking in their direction.
Seeing the calm gaze of the young man in plain clothes, Wang Cangyi paused, swallowing the harsh words he was about to utter.
But the anger in his heart was something he couldn't suppress.
If it weren't for the presence of the Tianji Tower disciples, he wouldn't have been so restrained; he would have already gone on a killing spree.
Unfortunately, no matter how angry he was, he could only think about it now.
But just because he couldn't do anything to the young man in plain clothes doesn't mean he had no way to deal with Lu Qing.
"Kid, you've got guts and a bit of cleverness. You're just a mere Bone and Tendon Realm cultivator, yet you dare to talk back to me. But do you think I can't do anything to you just because of the Holy Mountain's prohibition?"
"No, you're just courting death!"
Wang Cangyi's face was full of mockery, and he looked at Lu Qing as if he were looking at a dead man.
"Bear, capture this brat! Don't kill him yet, torture him properly after you've captured him!"
"Yes, Master!"
The eldest disciple, a burly man, responded in a deep voice and slowly stepped forward.
"Your Excellency Zhi Rui, this brat spoke rudely to me. I sent my eldest disciple to teach him a lesson. That doesn't violate the Holy Mountain's prohibitions, does it?"
Wang Cang turned to the young man in plain clothes and said.
“Of course not.” The young man in plain clothes shook his head.
"If the person below, who is at the Innate Realm, were to attack my disciple because of this, would that be considered a violation of the prohibition?" Wang Cangyi asked again.
"Fine!" the young man in plain clothes uttered expressionlessly.
"Good, very good." Wang Cangyi nodded in satisfaction.
He then said to those below, "Bear, did you hear that? If that old guy over there dares to lay a hand on you, your master will take care of it for you. Don't worry."
"Understood, Master!" the burly man shouted.
Wang Cang and the young man in plain clothes did not make any attempt to conceal their voices, so almost all the martial artists heard their conversation.
Suddenly, everyone looked at Lu Qing with pity.
Who was this burly young man? He was a powerful Inner Force Realm expert who could spar with the head of the Wei family and had already reached the pinnacle of the Acquired Martial Arts, known as a Grandmaster.
Among them, apart from the two Innate Realm masters and the mysterious and unpredictable Master Zhi Rui, he is probably the one with the highest cultivation level.
Lu Qing was merely a minor Bone and Tendon Realm cultivator; how could he possibly be his opponent?
Ironically, the very words he had used to belittle Wang Cangyi were used by Wang Cangyi to his advantage, thus binding his only backer.
"Doctor, what should we do now?"
As the burly man approached step by step, and feeling the powerful aura emanating from him, Magu knew that this was an opponent they could not possibly defeat.
This burly man felt far more powerful to him than the Inner Strength Realm expert he had encountered in the nameless valley.
"Ah Qing, you may step back."
The old doctor, of course, couldn't stand by and watch his disciple suffer a loss, so he prepared to take action to make the other party back down.
However, how could Wang Cangyi, who had been paying close attention to the situation, not have noticed this scene?
Seeing that the old doctor seemed about to make a move, he immediately condensed a sword aura from his hand.
"Old man, if you want to bully the weak, don't blame me for being impolite!"
A powerful aura rose, and just as Wang Cangyi was about to pounce on them, Lu Qing grabbed the old doctor's hand.
"Master, it's not your turn to make a move yet. Let me go and deal with this brute first."
"But Ah Qing..."
"Don't worry, Master, I'm confident that even if I'm not a match for them, I can still escape unscathed."
Seeing the faint smile on his disciple's face, the old doctor finally lowered his hand.
He knew that Lu Qing was always calm and rarely did anything without being sure of success.
Even he couldn't imagine how someone at the peak of the Bone and Tendon Realm could fight against someone at the peak of the Internal Organ Realm.
But out of trust in his disciples, he decided to believe Lu Qing.
"Young Master Lu, are you going to fight that villain?"
Madam Wei, who was on the oxcart, was greatly alarmed.
“Someone has to buy time, but Madam, the reinforcements from your Wei family are taking way too long. We’ve been waiting for so long and they still haven’t come out.”
Lu Qing said with a somewhat solemn expression.
"I...I don't know either...maybe something happened at the manor that's keeping them occupied..."
Madam Wei said with some shame.
"I hope Patriarch Wei and the others can arrive soon, otherwise I don't know how long I can hold out," Lu Qing sighed.
He took off the covered basket and let Xiaoyan hold it, then pulled his sword from the oxcart.
"Xiao Li, protect Xiao Yan. If anyone tries to harm her, kill them without hesitation."
Madam Wei and her son were taken aback. Just as they were about to ask who Xiao Li was, they saw Lu Qing already walking forward with a knife in his hand.
Only Magu was taken aback when he heard Lu Qing's words.
When he heard that Lu Qing wanted to fight the burly man opposite him, he thought that he was going to fight alongside that mysterious creature that knew how to hide, just like he did in the nameless valley.
But judging from his current words, he actually wants that mysterious creature to protect Xiaoyan, while he fights alone!
But he's only at the Bone and Tendon Realm, how could he possibly be a match for an Inner Organ Realm expert?
Unfortunately, Magu was unable to stop him in time, as Lu Qing had already gone far away, leaving him anxiously standing there.
Just as Magu was getting anxious, the warriors near the city gate were equally astonished.
Because they saw that the boy opposite them not only did not run away, but was actually carrying a weapon and walking towards the burly man.
"Has this boy gone mad? Does he actually want to fight this Inner Strength Realm Grandmaster?"
"This kid's scared out of his wits. Now our senior brother will definitely tear him to pieces!"
"Young and ignorant, can't he see how strong his opponent really is?"
"Overestimating himself, this kid is dead meat!"
...
The area below the city gate was in an uproar, and the powerful figures on the city wall were also somewhat surprised.
Wang Cangyi's face first showed a hint of surprise, which then turned into a cold smile.
As expected, they are ignorant of their own limitations, thinking they are so great just because they have some talent.
Perfect, we can let Xiong'er capture him and take him hostage.
Then force that old man on the other side to hand over the Wei mother and son.
"Zhi Rui, who is this young man? He's so reckless!"
The county magistrate couldn't help but ask his friend.
"I don't know either."
The young man in plain clothes shook his head, but his gaze toward Lu Qing held a strange quality.
When he saw Lu Qing at the hillside courtyard yesterday, he felt that Lu Qing was somewhat special, always giving him a feeling of being in a fog.
However, at the time, most of his attention was on the old doctor, so he didn't pay much attention.
Now it seems that Lu Qing is probably even more special than he imagined.
The young man in plain clothes had a sudden thought, and a peculiar aura silently appeared in his eyes.
Under the watchful eyes of many martial artists, Lu Qing walked up to the burly man.
Information about the burly man had already surfaced in his field of vision.
Within the dense red glow of supernatural energy, several words were displayed.
【Zhao Xiong: A disciple of the Tiancang Sect, the eldest disciple of Wang Cangyi, a martial artist at the Innate Realm. He is calm, composed, and mature.】
【Cultivation Level: Perfected Inner Visceral Realm, skilled in swordsmanship.】
【Possessing a secret technique, one's combat power can double for a short period of time.】
Looking at the information in his field of vision, Lu Qing was somewhat surprised.
Although both were disciples of Wang Cangyi, this eldest disciple was surprisingly not as wicked in temperament.
You should know that the few people he and Xiao Li killed before were no good.
"Boy, you have some guts. If you kneel down and beg for mercy now, perhaps I can ask my master to spare your body."
The burly man looked at Lu Qing with a hint of admiration in his eyes.
This was the first time he had ever seen a martial artist at the Bone and Tendon Realm who had the courage to stand in front of him.
Whether Lu Qing is arrogant or has something to rely on, it doesn't matter.
That courage alone was enough for him to admire.
"Thank you for your kindness, but I'm a naturally tough person and I've never had the habit of begging for mercy. I'd rather die standing than crawl in front of someone and beg to live," Lu Qing said with a smile.
"Good, you have backbone. I just don't know if your strength is as tough as your backbone."
The burly man shouted in approval.
"What's the use of saying all this? Let's see who's the real deal. Judging from the sword on your back, you must be a swordsman too. Draw your sword," Lu Qing said.
“To deal with someone at the Bone and Tendon Realm like you, I would need to draw my sword, which would be a real joke.” The burly man grinned. “If you can force me to draw my sword, you don’t need to plead with my master. I can make the decision to leave you with a whole corpse.”
"Is that so? Then I am extremely grateful."
Lu Qing smiled, lowered his body slightly, and assumed a starting stance for swordsmanship.
"But you must be careful, my swordsmanship is not so easy to withstand with just my fists."
As soon as he finished speaking, a powerful killing intent suddenly rose from Lu Qing's body.
Immediately afterwards, the ground shook, and Lu Qing's figure disappeared from the spot. When he reappeared, he was already in front of the burly man.
A gleaming blade of light, carrying overwhelming killing intent, struck down like a thunderbolt from a clear sky, aiming for the burly man's head!
"What?!"
The burly man was taken aback.
In just a moment, he sensed the profound mystery of Lu Qing's strike.
It completely locked down the space around him, giving him the feeling that no matter where he dodged, he would definitely be hit.
Feeling the sharp, inescapable blade that had completely locked onto him, filled with murderous intent, the burly man instinctively reached behind him, drew his own sword, and met the approaching blade head-on.
Clang!
The ear-piercing sound of clashing swords rang out. The powerful impact of the collision stirred up the air currents, and Lu Qing and the burly man each took several steps back.
"See? I told you, my swordsmanship isn't so easy to parry."
Lu Qing glanced at his battle sword, which had a chip in it, but didn't seem to care.
Instead, he looked at the burly man holding a long sword, which also had a chipped edge, and who looked shocked, and smiled.
