The hurricane unleashed by the Five Poisons Cult’s resurgence in Jianghu came to a halt at the towering mountain of Yang Ge, who dominated the martial arts community.
Without many words from Yang Ge, whispers of Yang Erlang’s conflict with the Five Poisons Cult spread rapidly across Jiangnan and beyond in very little time, as if a bucket of ice-cold water was poured over the burning enthusiasm for the Cult’s comeback, cooling down everyone keenly monitoring the situation.
Those who previously wouldn’t stop talking about the Five Poisons Cult, spitting while they spoke, have now all clamped their mouths shut and mentioned the Cult no more.
However, this was not simply a matter of favoring one and stepping on another.
New novel chapters are published on freewёbn૦νeɭ.com.
Rather, everyone knew well in their hearts... whether the Cult’s three-pronged effort to make a splash in Jianghu could succeed hinged on their ability to pass the Yang Erlang test!
Looking at Yang Erlang’s formidable war record and the profound resources of the Five Poisons Cult...
Whichever side one took at this moment, one might end up slapping their own face in the future.
Hence, the wisest approach was naturally to remain neutral and sensibly watch from afar.
Yet, while their mouths were shut in public, deep down they were all secretly egging both parties on: ’Boring, I want to see blood flow like rivers!’
Even though Yang Ge could not grasp these onlookers’ thoughts, he certainly wouldn’t go out of his way to pick a fight with a deep-water Jiaolong over a few million taels of silver.
It wasn’t that he didn’t dare.
It was simply that he didn’t want to.
Despite being ranked as the world’s number one by the outside world...
Yang Ge had never seen himself as the leader of Wei’s martial arts community, nor had he ever regarded himself as a part of it.
Therefore, whether someone wanted to dominate Jianghu or have glory for a thousand years... what did it have to do with Yang Ge?
If the Five Poisons Cult didn’t touch his money, he would be more enthusiastic about watching the spectacle than Zhao Cha!
Even now, as the Cult had actively dragged him into this mess, and the spectacle had turned on him, he still couldn’t muster any enthusiasm, lacking even the desire to take a trip to teach them a lesson.
The money?
Of course, he wasn’t generous enough to gift three million taels of silver to the Five Poisons Cult as a congratulatory present for their comeback.
However, he believed that he just needed to live his life earnestly, and the Five Poisons Cult would naturally come knocking with money again.
Just as he had never deliberately tried to change his own environment, yet his environment naturally changed for him.
The mighty should remain unshaken like a boulder, unaffected whether by fierce winds and storms or by crashing waves, turning all into nothing more than a gentle spring breeze upon passing by.
Those who always make waves without cause, never resting for a moment, and generate trouble out of nothing... they are the truly despicable ones.
Of course, should the Five Poisons Cult really overstep their bounds and force this boulder that refuses to budge to come down the mountain...
Then the earth would shake and the mountains would tremble.
But clearly, it had not come to that point yet.
As everyone covertly speculated when Yang Ge would head to the southern borders to confront the Five Poisons Cult head-on...
"Wah wah wah..."
Yang Ge, lying on the counter rubbing his eyes and yawning, shook his head and hummed with self-satisfaction: "Spring is not for studying, summer’s heat is just for napping. Mosquitoes in autumn, winter’s snow aplenty, if you wish to study, wait for the coming year..."
The lackluster and half-dead look prompted even the salted fishes in the front hall to think he was too much of a salted fish.
Xiao Baoqi, from a distance, berated him for his lack of ambition, "Erlang, can’t you be a bit more lively? You’re hailed as the world’s number one!"
The rascal loudly agreed, "Yeah, Erlang, doesn’t it bother you that the Five Poisons Cult is showing you such disrespect without any response from you?"
"Right, in my opinion, those who dare start a dye works with just a swatch of color need to be cut down and scattered like peach blossoms on their faces!"
"Just say the word, Erlang, and I, Old Cat, will be the first to head to the southern border to tackle them!"
"Yes, no one picks a fight with our Erlang and gets away with it!"
"Deal with them..."
The salted fishes banged the table, their jeering growing louder and more spirited.
Yang Ge, too lazy to pay attention to this group excited by the prospect of chaos, turned his head the other way and said indifferently, "Be content, all of you. If I stirred up trouble like the Five Poisons Cult, would any of you lowlifes ever have a peaceful day?"
The salted fishes laughed loudly, chorusing, "Shared joy is double joy," "We’ve been waiting for you, Erlang, to raise the flag," and "If you ever decided to start your own school and sect, I guarantee I’d be the first to come and pledge my allegiance," along with other insincere and poorly phrased comments.
But in reality, they all knew Yang Ge had a point... With just the Five Poisons Cult making waves, the martial arts community was already in an uproar. If Erlang, that Jiaolong, also started causing trouble in Jianghu, or directly confronted the Five Poisons Cult, wouldn’t the whole community go mad with fright?
Didn’t each of them have masters, brothers, friends, and relatives in the community? If a real battle were to occur and the community was bathed in blood, how many could remain uninvolved?
While the salted fishes were hypocritically causing a ruckus, suddenly Li Qing entered the front hall from the backyard with his small bundle and treasured sword slung over his shoulder.
Upon sighting this, the salted fishes were taken aback and gradually fell silent...
Hearing the commotion, Yang Ge twisted around to see Li Qing approaching with the bundle on his back, startled, he asked, "What’s this... are you leaving?"
Li Qing let out a light sigh, "Erlang, your place is indeed a comfortable nest. If possible, I would like to linger longer to immerse myself in your worldly way of refining the heart, pity that... worldly affairs encumber me, leaving no room for leisure."
Yang Ge frowned, "The Five Poisons Cult? Isn’t your Quanzhen Sect at Zhongnan Mountain? Has the Cult’s grasps reached Shaanxi too?"
Li Qing replied helplessly, "Wudang Mountains in Hubei also fall under the Quanzhen lineage. Recently, the Wudang sect’s leader sought help from our ancestral temple; my teacher will soon head south to seek a dialogue with Sect Hierarch Yan Shijun of the Five Poisons Cult, and as a disciple, I must attend to my duties."