Urban Martial Saint

Huangfu Ziyu’s question made Ye Qing fall into thought once again. After thinking for a while, he said, ”If I were to fiercely compete using Li Style Bajiquan, I could last for a maximum of five minutes, and that’s if he doesn’t use a blade. If he pulls out a knife, then it’s hard to say!”

Ye Qing recalled the sight of the Shen Family’s bodyguard being chopped into fragments last night. The man’s martial prowess was extraordinary, and that Ink Pattern Black Gold Blade was incomparably sharp. If he were to use the blade, it would be impossible to fight at all.

Huangfu Ziyu was very satisfied with Ye Qing’s answer; she slowly nodded her head, having roughly estimated the man’s strength.

”It looks like he has really put in a lot of effort over these years!” A faint smile crossed Huangfu Ziyu’s lips as she said, ”Next, the Shen Family is likely going to have trouble.”

Ye Qing looked at Huangfu Ziyu; he knew that these people and the Shen Family seemed to have grievances. Moreover, these grievances involved issues from a long time ago which, logically, had nothing to do with him. Yet, he was caught in the middle simply because he was Third Master Li’s only successor. If the Shen Family were truly provoked by this matter, what would happen next?

Huangfu Ziyu stood up and slowly walked towards Ye Qing, stopping only when she was right in front of him, not pausing at all, the distance between them narrowed greatly, her face now less than a foot from Ye Qing’s.

Ye Qing looked at Huangfu Ziyu in astonishment, unsure of what she was intending and instinctively wanted to step back. However, Huangfu Ziyu stared intently at him, making him too afraid to move even slightly; the situation momentarily stilled.

Huangfu Ziyu smiled faintly at Ye Qing at such close proximity; her body was almost leaning against him. Yet, it was as if she felt nothing and slowly brought her red lips close to Ye Qing’s ear, whispering softly, ”Do I scare you that much?”

”No,” Ye Qing turned his head aside, the faint fragrance from Huangfu Ziyu’s breath stirred him profoundly, and his body reacted involuntarily.

Huangfu Ziyu: ”Then why won’t you look at me?”

Suppressing the fervor in his heart, Ye Qing glanced at Huangfu Ziyu and said, ”I’m not afraid to look at you!”

”Is that so?” Huangfu Ziyu smiled lightly and said, ”Don’t worry, other people might lose their eyes if they stare at me too long. But you don’t have to. Soon enough, we are going to be seeing each other frequently!”

Huangfu Ziyu slowly stepped back a few paces, watching Ye Qing with a light smile, and waved her hand, ”I’ll be going now, don’t miss me too much!”

Having said that, Huangfu Ziyu covered her mouth with her hand and laughed coquettishly for a while before turning around and slowly leaving the room. Her graceful figure tumbled endlessly in Ye Qing’s mind, leaving him momentarily unable to regain his composure.

After sitting in the room for a long while, Ye Qing finally suppressed the raging heat within him and stood up to leave, only to see Li Lianshan and Zhao Chengshuang entering from the door.

”Ye Zi, did Miss Huangfu just leave?” asked Li Lianshan in surprise. ”I just saw her car leaving. Why did she leave without saying goodbye?”

”Cut it out. Are you that close to her to expect a goodbye?” Zhao Chengshuang teased Li Lianshan, then looked excitedly at Ye Qing, ”Ye Zi, you two were alone in the room for so long; what were you doing?”

Ye Qing, wordlessly, glanced at the two men and simply squinted his eyes while leaning back on the couch, not deigning to speak to them.

Meanwhile, Shangguan Tian and Li Wenyuan were sitting in the same room, both with grim expressions on their faces.

They had rushed to the Southern Suburbs Dogfight Arena the night before, originally hoping to relish the scene of the opening ceremony being disrupted. However, the development of events had completely exceeded their expectations. Not only was the ceremony not ruined, but it also went very smoothly and had a significant impact.

When the East State Poisonous Mantis and the Xikou Fire Butterfly—these two demonic women—attended the opening ceremony together, regardless of their purposes or actions, it appeared as though they had shown great respect to Ye Qing. And such respect was something that neither Shangguan Tian nor Li Wenyuan dared even to dream of.

Moreover, the key point was that the Xikou Fire Butterfly had come over and killed key figures from five gangs in the Western Province, clearly supporting Ye Qing. In addition, she killed Xu Yingshi right there in the courtyard, in front of everyone, which seemed more like a form of deterrence. Shangguan Tian and Li Wenyuan had previously dared not provoke her, and after witnessing her thunderous methods last night, they were utterly shocked, not even daring to entertain the thought of opposing her.

Apart from the East State Poisonous Mantis and the Xikou Fire Butterfly, looking at Shenchuan City itself, Tie Yongwen and the people from the teahouse had also arrived, sending another signal. Although Shangguan Tian and Li Wenyuan were not martial artists, they understood all too well that both Tie Yongwen and the teahouse could easily dispose of them if they wished. Now that these two forces had also attended the opening ceremony, this too was a significant show of respect for Ye Qing. Particularly Tie Yongwen, who had declared in front of everyone that Ye Qing was his junior—this was an overt warning to others not to mess with Ye Qing. This put Shangguan Tian and Li Wenyuan even more at a disadvantage, as they also didn’t dare to provoke Tie Yongwen.

This was still not including the power of the Lin family and the Xihang Shen Family. Both families had sent representatives, especially the Xihang Shen Family who had not visited Shenchuan City for many years. Their first visit being to the Southern Suburbs Dogfight Arena was indeed a significant mark of respect. Though many events had occurred the previous night, the presence of the Shen Family itself underscored their regard for Ye Qing. From any perspective, Shangguan Tian and Li Wenyuan were well aware that in the eyes of these great figures and powers, the newly risen Ye Qing was much more important than they, who had been operating in Shenchuan City for many years!

”Damn it, this Ye used to be just a bumpkin. How did he manage to get such a chance and rise up!” Li Wenyuan gritted his teeth and slammed his palm heavily on the table, angrily saying, ”Even a jumping clown has stood up, where will there be any place for us in Shenchuan City in the future?”

Shangguan Tian furrowed his brows, glanced at Li Wenyuan, and sighed, ”Whether he was a bumpkin or a jumping clown, it doesn’t matter. With so many people supporting him, there’s nothing we can do about him. To deal with him, it might not even require the Poisonous Mantis and Fire Butterfly to take action—just Tie Yongwen alone wouldn’t let us off easily!”

Tie Yongwen made Li Wenyuan truly apprehensive. Grinding his teeth, he said angrily, ”Is this old man senile? Why would he go and support some outsider like that?”

Shangguan Tian shrugged. He too was puzzled about how Ye Qing managed to gain the support of so many important figures. But indeed, Ye Qing had such powerful backing behind him, whether he accepted it or not.

”Ye is no kind soul. After this, we can’t touch him. But, he might not leave us alone either!” Li Wenyuan looked at Shangguan Tian and said gravely, ”If we keep waiting like this, in the end, we’ll just be sitting ducks. Gang Leader Shangguan, do you want to be devoured bit by bit by Ye?”

Shangguan Tian frowned and was silent for a while, then said, ”Even though Ye has many supporters behind him, swallowing us won’t be easy. How many years has he accumulated in Shenchuan City, and how many hands does he have at his disposal? My Tianqing Gang and your Fu Bang—doesn’t each have manpower several times, even ten times greater, than his? If he wants to swallow us, he must at least have as many hands as we do first, right?”

”Ah, now that you mention it, it reminds me of something.” Li Wenyuan’s expression changed slightly, and he spoke gravely, ”Ye has a somewhat strange relationship with the leader of the Fierce Tiger Gang, Pi Junchao.”

Shangguan Tian said, ”I think Pi Junchao has no liking for Ye at all; in fact, he seems to hate Ye Qing!”

”Well, that’s hard to say!” Li Wenyuan shook his head and said gravely, ”Don’t forget, Pi Junchao also sent fifty men to protect Li Lianshan. Maybe he has already reached some agreement with Ye, or perhaps they have even allied themselves!”

Shangguan Tian furrowed his brow and said solemnly, ”Surely not? Ye has taken over so many of the Fierce Tiger Gang’s venues, most of which belonged to Pi Junchao. With such a deep grudge, how could Pi Junchao possibly ally with him?”

”We can’t be sure about these things—who knows whether they’ve allied themselves or not,” Li Wenyuan said gravely. ”However, personally, I believe it’s better to assume that they have rather than they haven’t!”

As he spoke, Li Wenyuan made a slashing gesture and said sternly, ”Better to wrongly kill one thousand than to let one go. If Pi Junchao has allied with Ye, then he has the power to stand up to us or even swallow us. Even if Pi Junchao hasn’t allied with Ye, I’m afraid Ye will find a way to take over the Fierce Tiger Gang—it’s the perfect opportunity for him to grow. Gang Leader Shangguan, if we don’t take the opportunity to decisively eliminate the problem while his wings are not yet full, we might suffer losses once he grows stronger!”

Shangguan Tian pondered for a long while, looked at Li Wenyuan, and said solemnly, ”Gang Leader Li, you mentioned just now that we simply can’t touch Ye Qing at this moment. If we try to deal with him, Tie Yongwen will be the first who won’t let us off. And then there are the Poisonous Mantis and Fire Butterfly—if either of them strike, we won’t stand a chance. Attacking Ye Qing is not a good idea!”

”When did I ever suggest that we attack Ye Qing!” Li Wenyuan shook his head and said, ”What I mean is, we two should unite now, take advantage of the uncertain situation, and swallow up the Fierce Tiger Gang first. That way, whether Pi Junchao wants to ally with Ye Qing or Ye Qing wants to swallow the Fierce Tiger Gang, it will be too late. Once we’ve divided up the strength of the Fierce Tiger Gang, what’s left for Ye?”

Upon hearing this, Shangguan Tian’s eyes suddenly lit up and he said, ”That’s a good plan. No matter what, we’ll cut off Ye Qing’s backup first and prevent him from using the strength of the Fierce Tiger Gang to enhance his own!”

”Not just that!” Li Wenyuan said with a cold smile, ”Key figures from the five gangs in the Western Province died at the Southern Suburbs Dogfight Arena—those five gangs will certainly not rest easy. I expect they’ll soon make their way to Shenchuan City. If we absorb the strength of the Fierce Tiger Gang, Ye won’t be able to develop quickly. By the time those five gangs storm in, we won’t even need to lift a finger—Ye Qing will be finished!”