Urban Martial Saint

Ye Qing originally came here to seek Li Changshan, and unexpectedly found himself right outside Li Changshan’s room.

Yet, upon further thought, it seemed normal. With Ao Yangrong, the first disciple of Northern Martial Zen, about to attack the Li Family, this was naturally the most anxious person. If anyone inside here couldn’t sleep, it surely would be Li Changshan, given he is the Family Head of the Li Family. The approach of Northern Martial Zen concerns the survival of the Li Family, so of course, Li Changshan wouldn’t be able to sleep either. Thus, the room with the light on must be his.

After a period of silence in the room, a somewhat aged voice finally spoke: ”What should come will come; there’s no avoiding it.”

There was no doubt that it was Li Changshan’s voice. Hearing it, Ye Qing felt a sudden pang in his heart; this voice reminded him of Third Master Li, who taught him boxing for years. He never imagined that the elderly, hunched man would be the renowned Northern Fist King. In Ye Qing’s memory, the old man’s presence was merely him sitting in a rocking chair, leisurely smoking a dry cigarette while guiding Ye Qing on his boxing technique.

Li Changshan’s disciple clearly did not understand the meaning of his words and curiously asked: ”Master, who should come? If the senior brother returns, he might not lose to Ao Yangrong!”

”And what if he can defeat Ao Yangrong?” Li Changshan said softly, ”The true challenger of our Li Family is Northern Martial Zen, not Ao Yangrong. Ao Yangrong is merely a pawn; if he is defeated, Northern Martial Zen will come personally. Even if he can repel Ao Yangrong, can you repel Northern Martial Zen?”

”This...” Li Changshan’s disciple fell silent for a moment before speaking softly, ”Master, are we going to do nothing and just wait for Northern Martial Zen to come and wipe us out? I’ve heard that Li Changyuan is trying to use this opportunity to force you to step down and hand over the position of Family Head. Li Changyuan has been blinded by profit over the years and has done many unethical things, bringing many family members along with him. If he becomes Family Head and gains absolute authority, our Li Family will be finished, won’t it?”

Li Changshan sighed and said softly: ”Twenty years ago, the Li Family was already gone in name.”

Ye Qing understood that the ”twenty years ago” referred to by Li Changshan was when Li Changqing was defeated by Shen Tianjun. In the battle between the Southern and Northern Fist Kings, Li Changqing represented the Northern Fist. His defeat at the hands of Southern Fist King Shen Tianjun made him the sinner of the Northern Fist, and all those who practiced it felt he had lost face for the Northern Fist, without anyone caring about how Li Changqing actually lost. Thus, starting from the battle, the Li Family’s status in the North began to decline, and it can be said that the Li Family has long been gone in name.

Ye Qing did not expect Li Changshan to be so defeatist. It seemed that Li Changqing’s defeat had greatly affected him, causing his spirit to dwindle. With Li Changshan’s diminished spirit, the Li Family he led gradually fell into decline, which was not at all unusual.

”Master, you mustn’t be so defeatist!” Li Changshan’s disciple said urgently, ”If Li Changyuan takes over the Li Family, what will happen then? Look at the current Li Family; it has turned into a place that shelters all kinds of wrongdoing, losing its image as a Martial Arts Family. If Li Changyuan becomes Family Head, it will be disastrous! Our Li Family has a heritage of hundreds of years in the North; if we let it perish like this, how could we face our ancestors?”

”Ah!” Li Changshan sighed again, paused for a moment, and suddenly said: ”It seems I am indeed old. This friend has been here for quite a while, yet I’ve only just noticed.”

”Hm?” Li Changshan’s disciple was taken aback, not understanding why Li Changshan suddenly uttered such words.

Outside, Ye Qing was startled. He was holding his breath and hiding here without making a sound. Unexpectedly, Li Changshan was still able to discover him. It seems that Li Changshan’s abilities are indeed not weak.

Ignoring his disciple, Li Changshan called out loudly: ”Friend outside, in this cold weather, why not come in and have a seat?”

Since he had been discovered, Ye Qing had nothing to worry about. He stood up directly, walked to the door and was about to push it open when the door suddenly swung open by itself, and a young man in his twenties rushed out.

Upon seeing Ye Qing, the young man’s expression changed immediately; he said sternly, ”Indeed someone is here! Such audacity to come here and eavesdrop; you’re courting death!”

As he spoke, the young man raised his hands and launched a side attack towards Ye Qing. This attack was a textbook Bajiquan technique, indeed a true transmission from the Li Family.

Such Bajiquan techniques were very familiar to Ye Qing. As the young man charged, Ye Qing smiled faintly, reached out to hold the young man’s shoulder, stepped forward, lifted the young man’s arm with his right shoulder and, with his right elbow, directly hit the young man’s chest.

This Bajiquan move, Elbow Collapse, was something Ye Qing practiced extremely well, and it was one of the more practical moves within Bajiquan. The young man was not prepared and was hit by Ye Qing’s elbow. Fortunately, Ye Qing did not exert much force, merely pushing him aside without hurting him.

However, the young man’s expression changed; he exclaimed, ”Bajiquan!?”

Bajiquan is an Ultimate Technique of the Li Family; he certainly didn’t expect the outsider eavesdropping to also be familiar with Bajiquan. Moreover, the outsider’s movements were very orthodox, practicing the true Bajiquan of the Li Family; how could he not be shocked?

At this moment, Ye Qing had already entered the room and saw an elderly man sitting cross-legged on the kang bed. This elderly man appeared to be around seventy years old, looking weathered and somewhat resembling the Northern Fist King Li San. Seeing him, Ye Qing felt as though he was seeing Third Master Li, causing his heart to beat wildly a few times.

The young man stared intently at Ye Qing and said in a deep voice, ”Who exactly are you? How do you know our Li Family’s Bajiquan!”

In the brief moment they exchanged blows, the young man already understood that Ye Qing’s strength was far above his own, so he didn’t dare to act rashly again.

Ye Qing smiled slightly at the young man and suddenly turned around to bow to the elderly man on the kang, loudly saying, ”Greetings, Uncle Master!”

”Uncle Master?” The elderly man glanced at Ye Qing, slightly surprised, and said, ”You... you call me Uncle Master? You... you...”

This elderly man was Li Changshan, who held a very high status in the Li Family, second only to the former Northern Fist King Li Changqing. After Li Changqing was gone, the younger members of the Li Family were either his disciples or had to call him Senior Brother. But with Ye Qing suddenly appearing and calling him Uncle Master, there was only one explanation: Ye Qing was the disciple of Northern Fist King Li Changqing!

Only the disciples of Li Changqing had the privilege of calling him Uncle Master. If they were disciples of others in the Li Family, they would at least have to call him Senior Brother!

”Junior Ye Qing...” Ye Qing looked at Li Changshan and said, ”My master is none other than Northern Fist King Li Changqing!”

Upon hearing these words, both people in the room were visibly changed in complexion. Especially Li Changshan, who stood up directly from the kang, looked at Ye Qing with surprise and delight, his face full of incredulous expression.

”Ye Qing! Ye Qing! Ye Qing!” Li Changshan mumbled this name, stepping forward one step at a time until he was in front of Ye Qing, slowly bending down to look at Ye Qing, ”Are you really Ye Qing!? Are you really Ye Qing?”

Ye Qing nodded, and Li Changshan’s eyes immediately reddened. He grabbed Ye Qing’s arm, trembling, and said, ”I’d long heard that my elder brother in his later years took in a disciple named Ye Qing. I never expected that today, I could still have the fortune to meet my elder brother’s closed-door disciple!”

As he said these words, tears directly flowed from Li Changshan’s eyes, evidently from being overwhelmingly emotional.

Seeing Li Changshan like this, Ye Qing also felt somewhat moved in his heart. No matter what, Li Changshan’s brotherly feelings towards Li Changqing were genuine.

”Are you Brother Ye Qing?” The young man beside them was also excited and said, ”Hello, my name is Li Bingyu!”

”Alright, don’t introduce yourself for now!” Li Changshan wiped away his tears, pulled Ye Qing to stand up, and said, ”Come, come, let me hear about how my elder brother spent his later years. Was he... was he suffering when he passed away?”

Details about Ye Qing had long been spread across the world, and the Li Family also knew about Ye Qing’s existence. Naturally, they also knew about Li Changqing taking in a disciple during his later years. However, the Li Family had never met Ye Qing. Now that Li Changshan met Ye Qing, the first thing he wanted to know was about Li Changqing, which showed his longing for his elder brother.

Ye Qing didn’t want to upset the old man’s wishes, so he sat down by the kang and told the story of Third Master Li’s later years in detail.

After listening to Ye Qing’s words, Li Changshan was even more overwhelmed with tears, trembling as he said, ”I never thought that my elder brother, a hero all his life, would have such a desolate old age.”

”Since Uncle Master had a difficult time in his later years, why didn’t he return to the Li Family?” Li Bingyu asked anxiously, ”In the Li Family, at least Uncle Master wouldn’t have suffered so much!”

”Your Uncle Master was defeated back then, and the poison in his body was never completely eliminated. He certainly wouldn’t want to return to the Li Family.” Li Changshan sighed and said, ”Your Uncle Master, a hero all his life, didn’t want others to see him in a helpless state due to the poison!”

Hearing this, Li Bingyu immediately clenched his teeth and angrily said, ”It’s all because of those shameless people from the Shen Family, using such despicable means as poisoning in a contest with Uncle Master. If not for this, how could Uncle Master have been defeated, and how could our Li Family have fallen to this state?”

Ye Qing glanced at Li Bingyu and finally understood the remarks previously made by the people of the Shen Family. The people of the Northern Li Family had always held enmity towards the Shen Family because they believed the poison was administered by the Shen Family.

Ye Qing initially wanted to speak a fair word for the Shen Family members, but before he could open his mouth, Li Changshan waved his hand directly, saying gravely, ”The poison was not administered by the Shen Family. Southern Fist King Shen Tianjun, like my elder brother, is also a hero and would definitely not stoop to such a lowly act!”