Urban Martial Saint

In Shenchuan City, in the few days since Ye Qing left, the situation could truly be described as rapidly changing.

The night the Shen Family Manor was attacked, the venues under Ye Qing and Li Lianshan’s names were also struck by a group of unidentified assailants. Li Lianshan could now be called the underground king of Shenchuan City, and daring to provoke him at this time was surely asking for trouble.

Li Lianshan immediately dispatched most of his men to intercept the attackers, but their strength completely exceeded his expectations. Although his men arrived, they were no match for the attackers and were beaten back step by step. The venues owned by him and Ye Qing were gradually overrun by these people, and he was utterly unable to stop them.

Just as Li Lianshan was frantically at a loss, another group of unidentified people suddenly appeared, helping him to fend off the attackers. These newcomers clashed directly with the previous group in Shenchuan City, and as a result, he, the supposed master of the city, became merely a bystander, unable to intervene.

Fortunately, the latter group was also strong and managed to drive away those who had stealthily attacked Li Lianshan and Ye Qing’s venues. At a time when Li Lianshan was anxious and uncertain about the purpose of these newcomers, he suddenly received a call personally from the Xikou Fire Butterfly, and only then did he realize that the second group of people were sent by Fire Butterfly.

Li Lianshan didn’t have much of a relationship with Fire Butterfly, but he knew that Ye Qing had some interactions with her. Especially during the opening of the Southern Suburbs Dogfight Arena, Fire Butterfly had personally come from West Gate to support Ye Qing and on the spot killed the leaders of several groups from the Western Province, effectively shocking everyone present. Therefore, Li Lianshan did not dare to underestimate this woman.

Knowing that the people were sent by Fire Butterfly, Li Lianshan felt much more at ease. Since they were Fire Butterfly’s people, they certainly wouldn’t be there to oust Ye Qing’s establishments. He immediately arranged accommodations for Fire Butterfly’s subordinates.

However, things did not end there. Fire Butterfly’s group stayed in Shenchuan City for several days without any sign of leaving. Although Li Lianshan knew that Fire Butterfly had a decent relationship with Ye Qing, the presence of such a strong group of people stationed in his territory made him anxious. But he couldn’t go and ask Fire Butterfly when she would take her people back, so he spent the following days in fear and trepidation, worried every day whether Fire Butterfly had come to take over his territory in Shenchuan City. If not, why wouldn’t she withdraw her followers?

Yet as events unfolded, the situation exceeded Li Lianshan’s expectations again. While Fire Butterfly’s subordinates had not yet left, a considerable number of unidentified individuals began to appear in the outskirts of Shenchuan City, seemingly encircling the urban area purposefully, as though they harbored intentions towards the city itself.

Though Li Lianshan himself lacked personal strength, his information network in Shenchuan was highly accurate. He sent out people to investigate this new group, and the answer he received was a shock: this group was allied with those who had previously stealthily attacked his establishments!

Hearing this news, Li Lianshan was dumbfounded. He had been helpless during the last assault, completely unable to stop it. Thankfully, Fire Butterfly had helped to repel the attackers, and he had thought that would be the end of it. But now, these people had returned so quickly. Moreover, based on the intelligence he received, the number of people involved this time was much greater than before, suggesting they had a significant intention to launch a major attack on Shenchuan City!

Only at this moment did Li Lianshan realize why Fire Butterfly had not withdrawn her people from Shenchuan City; she had anticipated that these people would return. It was precisely because of Fire Butterfly’s forces that Shenchuan City had not been immediately swallowed up. After all, his own power was no match for these invaders.

Even with Fire Butterfly’s people helping to defend, Li Lianshan felt quite dejected. And no wonder; Shenchuan City was his territory, and he was its underground king. Yet, now, both factions stationed in Shenchuan City were much stronger than him, turning the host into an insignificant figure. The sense of frustration was palpable, and crucially, the main battleground between these two forces was Shenchuan City. No matter which side won, it was Li Lianshan who would suffer the greatest loss, and his discontent was understandable.

In fact, by now, Li Lianshan was very clear that these two factions converging in Shenchuan City had little to do with him; it was their own grudge. But their personal vendetta was not being settled on their own turf; instead, it had spilled into someone else’s domain, and his feelings about this were as one could imagine. It was like two countries at war, not fighting on their own soil but in a third country, raining down bombs, missiles, and nuclear weapons without considering the third country’s plight.

Li Lianshan now felt like the leader of this third country, burying his frustration deep inside while facing these two superpowers. At the same time, every day he yearned for Ye Qing to return quickly. He was acutely aware of the gap between himself and Ye Qing. Not to mention anything else, at least Ye Qing could speak in front of Fire Butterfly, while he couldn’t even get an audience with her, and that was the difference!

Meanwhile, on the other side of Shenchuan City, another fierce battle for survival was unfolding.

The Xingyi Martial Arts School was unusually crowded today. Since the death of Tie Yongwen, the Sect Leader of the Southern Xingyi School, the martial arts school hadn’t seen such liveliness in a long time. Yet today, the place was exceptionally bustling, with the entire courtyard filled with people.

Tie Yongwen’s son, Tie Weihua, was now the Sect Leader of the Southern Xingyi School. Although he held great power, he didn’t look happy at all; instead, he sat in a chair in the courtyard with a face as dark as iron.

Next to him sat an old man with gray hair. The old man looked frail, but his eyes sparkled with vitality, clearly the result of having cultivated Neijia Kung Fu to a certain level.

If Shen Qianyue were here, he would undoubtedly have recognized the identity of the old man. Back when Shen Jiu and Shen Anyun led the Shen Family into Shenchuan City, they had an altercation with this old man and his followers on the outskirts of Shenchuan City. This old man was from the Northern Xingyi School, and when Shen Qianyue had faced him, he had suffered a defeat under the old man’s hands. In the end, it was Shen Anyun who had stepped in and subdued him. The old man’s strength was certainly not weak—almost on par with that of Li Ruoyuan and alike.

The Southern and Northern Xingyi Schools had always regarded each other as adversaries, and it had been many years since they had any contact. The appearance of the elder here today was surely not a good omen.

In the center of the courtyard, two men were engaged in combat. One was a member of the Southern Xingyi School, and his opponent was a disciple brought by the elder. As the two fought, the member of the Southern Xingyi School was gradually falling behind, and it was obvious that he was no match. On the other hand, the fighter from the Northern Xingyi School was growing more vigorous and striking with extraordinary ferocity.

”Nephew Tie, it seems that this senior brother of yours is probably no match for my unworthy disciple!” The elder stroked his beard, seemingly smiling faintly, but in fact, he was taunting, ”With this victory, we’ve won three rounds this morning. Nephew Tie, you might as well send out the experts from your Xingyi School. It’s not good to let us win so easily, hahaha...”

Tie Weihua was so angry that his complexion turned iron blue, and his teeth gnashed noisily, yet he felt helpless. The elder had brought people from the Northern Xingyi School over today with the clear intention of challenging them. But Tie Yongwen was no more, the leading disciple Gao Shusen was not present, the second disciple Xiang Yunpeng was also absent, and Du Tianyi, the disciple that Tie Yongwen valued highly, wasn’t here either. Now, the Southern Xingyi School was short of top fighters, and he simply had no options left. Having lost two rounds in a row, his face as the Sect Leader was nearly lost. If they lost this third match, the Southern Xingyi School would be thoroughly defeated this time.

”Tie Yongwen’s Xingyi Quan was second to none in our Xingyi School. Are these the only skills his disciples possess?” The elder stroked his beard and sighed, his expression one of mockery toward Tie Yongwen.

Someone at Tie Weihua’s side couldn’t hold back any longer and said, ”Uncle Du, my Master has just passed away, and you’ve already brought so many people here to challenge us. Is this the behavior befitting a fellow sect member?”

The elder glanced at the man and said, ”A battle every twenty years—this was the arrangement that Tie Yongwen and I agreed upon. It’s not really a challenge; it’s a mutual exchange of martial skills between the South and North Xingyi Schools. Even though Tie Yongwen is no longer here, the Southern Xingyi School still exists, doesn’t it? Could it be that the Southern Xingyi School wishes to deny the agreement of the past twenty years?”

As he spoke, the elder chuckled and glanced at Tie Weihua again, that look in his eyes suggesting: If you don’t honor the agreement, it means Tie Yongwen’s word counts for nothing. And if his word counts for nothing, then what’s the point of the Southern Xingyi School’s existence?

”Uncle Du, rest assured. Although we in the Southern Xingyi School wouldn’t take advantage of others in their time of need, once a word is spoken, we absolutely stand by it!” said Tie Weihua with a grave voice. ”Since Uncle Du has come, then we in the Southern Xingyi School will accept today’s battle!”

”Magnanimous!” The elder laughed heartily and said, ”Nephew Tie, you truly possess your father’s spirit, indeed the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree. Hahaha, but don’t blame your Uncle for not warning you. This battle between the South and North Xingyi Schools will determine who is the true orthodox school. If your Southern Xingyi School cannot withstand this challenge, from today onwards, the Southern Xingyi School must merge into the Northern Xingyi School and follow our dispatch!”

”On what grounds?” The people from the Southern Xingyi School instantly widened their eyes and shouted their objections. The elder’s challenge was already quite irritating, and now he had the audacity to take it further, which one could only imagine how that made everyone feel.