Urban Martial Saint

Shen Tianjun flipped to the page where Ye Qing copied the sword marks and looked at it carefully for a while. Astonished, he said, ”These three sword marks look very ordinary. Did you copy them incorrectly?”

”No way?” Ye Qing was also astonished. When he saw those sword marks with his own eyes, they were quite astounding. How could they be ordinary in Shen Tianjun’s words? Could it really be that he copied them wrong?

He took the notebook, glanced at it, and immediately wondered, ”Huh, what’s going on? Now that I’m looking at it, it does seem ordinary. But at the time, it wasn’t like this!”

”Is that so?” Shen Tianjun was also a bit startled. He pondered for a while and said, ”It seems that the truly shocking thing about these three sword marks is the sword intent hidden within them. You can simulate the sword form but can’t replicate its sword intent, and naturally cannot capture its essence. To see the true situation of these three sword marks, you must witness them firsthand; copying them is useless!”

Ye Qing nodded. He had seen those three sword marks with his own eyes, so he was very clear about their situation. Shen Tianjun’s words were similar to what Yin Xianzi had noted, both pointing to the astounding sword intent contained within those sword marks.

”You say the characters left by Wu Tianchi are not far from now?” Shen Tianjun looked at Ye Qing and said, ”So, this Wu Tianchi is a person from modern times?”

Ye Qing nodded and said, ”Based on the character marks on the stone wall, Wu Tianchi and Corpse Ghost Dragon’s entry into Beimang Mountain should have been around the same time.”

”So, it happened in recent decades!” Shen Tianjun frowned more deeply and whispered, ”Yet there are such masters in this world, and we are completely unaware. We claim to be the Five Unmatches, but compared to this Wu Tianchi, we are simply insignificant!”

The masked elder beside him also had a glint in his eyes, but he remained silent the whole time, and nobody knew what he was thinking. However, it was clear that Wu Tianchi’s matter had shocked him.

After a long silence, Shen Tianjun finally picked up the notebook on the table and continued to look through the characters Ye Qing had copied.

”These Buddhist texts and Taoist incantations can only be deciphered by someone versed in them to understand their true meanings!” Shen Tianjun said, ”But can you infer the time period of these Buddhist texts and Taoist incantations?”

Ye Qing thought for a moment and said, ”I find it difficult to infer the exact time, but I think it should be quite long – at least several hundred years old.”

”Several hundred years!” Shen Tianjun nodded slowly and said, ”Then they must be from a previous era, the works of high monks and Taoists from long ago. Alas, this Beimang Mountain can truly be called a forbidden place for the living. For thousands of years, countless people have ventured inside, yet only these four reached the end. Before them, the casualties were far more than just thousands!”

Ye Qing nodded, thinking about the marks left inside the cave, his heart skipped a bit. At the entrance of the cave, the marks were in the thousands, but by the end, only these four managed to leave marks. The others left their lives in Beimang Mountain, becoming the nourishment for the Devouring Demon Flower.

Shen Tianjun sighed softly a few times and finally handed the notebook back to Ye Qing, saying, ”Corpse Ghost Dragon hiding within Beimang Mountain shows that he is indeed cautious. It won’t be easy to deal with him. Looks like we must adopt the ’decapitation strategy’. First, eliminate those sorcerers, leaving no one to unseal him, and let him remain trapped in the Devouring Demon Flower forever!”

Ye Qing nodded and said, ”Senior Shen, I’ve seen the condition of the Devouring Demon Flower. It’s truly formidable; ordinary famed instruments cannot harm it. I estimate even a famed instrument like the Seven-Star Ancient Sword cannot break through it. Truly defeating Corpse Ghost Dragon seems to have just one method. However, there are so many sorcerers; dealing with them one by one will take time!”

”That won’t take much time.” Shen Tianjun chuckled and said, ”Actually, we only need to deal with one sorcerer – the Master Naikun!”

”Why?” Ye Qing asked curiously, ”Senior Shen, Master Naikun brought a group into Huaxia, cultivating living corpses everywhere intending to rescue Corpse Ghost Dragon. If we only deal with him, won’t the other sorcerers continue cultivating living corpses without interruption?”

”You don’t need to worry about the other sorcerers.” Shen Tianjun said, ”Bloody Monk has been more active than anyone, tirelessly dealing with those sorcerers. Leave them to him. What we need to do is to solve Master Naikun first, leaving the sorcerers leaderless. They will fall into chaos, and Bloody Monk can chase them down. The remaining sorcerers won’t amount to much!”

Ye Qing didn’t expect Bloody Monk to play such a huge role in this matter. In fact, Bloody Monk has killed far more sorcerers than they have. Last time, Ye Qing brought Ding Lianshun and Yin Xianzi and dealt with only two sorcerers, while Bloody Monk had already killed more than a dozen. He has been relentlessly hunting those sorcerers to help increase White-haired Ding San’s power. It seems Bloody Monk is determined to wipe them out this time!

”So, only dealing with Master Naikun will suffice?” Ye Qing asked surprised.

”Indeed!” Shen Tianjun nodded slowly, looked at Ye Qing, and said, ”We’ve already located Master Naikun. Rest for a bit; in the afternoon we’ll go find him!”

”This…” Ye Qing hesitated slightly and said, ”Could we wait a bit? I have an urgent matter that will take a couple of days.”

”An urgent matter?” Shen Tianjun looked at Ye Qing with a slight frown and said, ”You wouldn’t be wanting to rescue Ding Lianshun and Yin Xianzi, would you?”

Shen Tianjun truly had an insightful mind, immediately seeing through Ye Qing’s thoughts.

Ye Qing did not hide it, nodded and said, ”Senior Shen, Ding Lianshun and Yin Xianzi have saved me multiple times. If it weren’t for them, I wouldn’t have walked out of Beimang Mountain. I must rescue them!”

”Ye Qing, don’t forget!” Shen Tianjun said sternly, ”They saved you for a reason, not out of true kindness. I received word that Sai Hua Tuo Baili Xi declared that before Medicine King Mountain opens on the fifteenth of next month, he would abandon opening it if you face any danger. Heavenly Master Lin Xuan Yue sent Ding Lianshun and Yin Xianzi to protect you to ensure you face no accident, to help Ning Qianshu seize Divine Doctor An Shiping’s legacy, aiming to gain control in the Heaven Earth Man Three Gates. Don’t trust them as true allies!”

Ye Qing was silent for a while, then looked at Shen Tianjun and said, ”Senior Shen, regardless of their motives, the fact remains they saved my life. True gratitude calls for reciprocation, repaying their life-saving act. If they encounter danger now and I refuse to help due to various reasons, wouldn’t even you think less of me?”

Shen Tianjun’s eyes flashed with brilliance as he said, ”But have you considered that if you rescue them, they might become your killers next time? Though they are currently guarding you closely, once Medicine King Mountain opens on the fifteenth of next month, they might be the first to kill you!”

”Future matters are for the future!” Ye Qing said, ”They saved me, so I must save them. Only then will we be even. To forgo saving them out of fear for the future means I’d constantly owe them, never at peace even if I live a long life!”

Hearing Ye Qing’s words, Shen Tianjun suddenly laughed heartily, patted the shoulder of the masked elder beside him, and said, ”Well said! It’s no wonder Brother Li San wants to take you as a disciple; just possessing this spirit is commendable.”

The masked elder’s eyes also flashed with a hint of approval, acknowledging Ye Qing with a slight nod but still remained silent.

Shen Tianjun’s sudden laughter left Ye Qing somewhat confused. In fact, he had been quite anxious when Shen Tianjun asked him so many questions earlier, thinking Shen Tianjun was against him rescuing Ding Lianshun and Yin Xianzi. But now, hearing Shen Tianjun’s words, he finally understood that Shen Tianjun was simply testing him.

The character of Southern Fist King Shen Tianjun was very similar to Ye Qing’s, and in this matter, his attitude was identical to Ye Qing’s. Shen Tianjun was known for repaying vengeance and gratitude alike. Such character is one of the main reasons why Southern Fist King Shen Tianjun commands such influence among the Five Unmatches!

Looking at the Five Unmatches, Northern Fist King Li Changqing died early, and his reputation diminished. Prince Nalan of the Capital is not well reputed, with many actions of questionable ilk. As for the Western Xinjiang Purple-Robed Lama, most of his time is spent in Tianzhu Country, so his fame isn’t very loud. Only Meng District General Helian Tiehua and Southern Fist King Shen Tianjun truly hold worldwide renown!

Great General Helian Tiehua’s bravado and unmatched power is a long-standing legend. However, despite Helian Tiehua’s unmatched prowess, his reputation doesn’t quite match that of the Grandmaster Shen Tianjun. Their character differences mark the greatest distinction between the two!

Upon seeing Shen Tianjun did not prevent him and instead supported him, Ye Qing was delighted. He looked at Shen Tianjun and said, ”Senior Shen, in that case, can this matter be postponed for two days? I’ll take a trip to Tai Island, inform Heavenly Master Lin Xuan Yue, and upon returning, immediately join you in dealing with Master Naikun!”