Urban Martial Saint

An Shiping did not stay long in Shenchuan City; he only spent one night there, chatting with his two disciples before leaving Shenchuan City alone.

Bai Li Xi and Ning Qianshu watched An Shiping leave, their eyes filled with endless sorrow and longing. Both understood that this farewell was indeed a final goodbye. No one knew exactly where An Shiping was going, and with only one day left, what kind of promise compelled him to go in person on his last day?

The previous manor had been completely burned, and Helian Tiehua had moved to a different manor. Apart from Bloody Monk and Wolf Monk, everyone else was staying at this manor, including Ding Lianshun and Ning Qianshu.

Although the grudges between the Seven Steering Committees of Hong Alliance and the Twelve Green Halls were deep, the most crucial task at the moment was dealing with the Corpse Ghost Dragon. Therefore, both parties temporarily set aside their grudges, and even though they were not individually a match for the Corpse Ghost Dragon, they at least would not be defeated one by one.

Moreover, according to An Shiping, the Corpse Ghost Dragon was injured this time and would need at least ten to fifteen days to fully recover. Before his recovery, he certainly wouldn’t attack Shenchuan City, giving everyone there a temporary respite.

In the main hall, except for Bloody Monk and Wolf Monk, all the peak masters were gathered there, including Ye Qing and Huangfu Ziyu.

Bai Li Xi and Ning Qianshu came rushing in after seeing An Shiping off. As soon as they entered the hall, they sensed something was amiss—the gazes of everyone were fixed on Ning Qianshu, including Ding Lianshun.

Feeling uneasy under everyone’s scrutiny, Ning Qianshu couldn’t help but ask, ”Has something happened?”

Ye Qing stood up and bowed to Ning Qianshu first, saying, ”Mr. Ning, thank you for saving my life last time in Humeng City!”

Hearing this, Ning Qianshu did not feel glad but rather frowned tightly. Indeed, he had saved Ye Qing in Humeng City, but he had also left a hidden hand in Ye Qing’s system. Although the Rebirth Pill had miraculous effects and could restore Ye Qing’s meridians, its potency was too strong for Ye Qing to fully absorb, causing the remaining power to sediment in his body, leaving his meridians in a continual regenerative state. This regeneration state was extremely fragile, and under such conditions, Ye Qing could practice for a lifetime, but if the medicinal effect was not entirely exhausted, he would never be able to temper his meridians to their strongest. In other words, despite having peak inner strength, Ye Qing could never become a peak master in this lifetime.

Ning Qianshu’s assistance, coupled with leaving such a hidden hand, restricted Ye Qing’s future development. Therefore, Ye Qing’s gratitude only made Ning Qianshu feel embarrassed.

”So, you knew all along.” Ning Qianshu tried to maintain his composure and said, ”There’s no need to thank me for the events in Humeng City; I saved you because I wanted to enter Medicine King Mountain. If you had died, my senior brother wouldn’t open Medicine King Mountain, so I was merely serving my own interest.”

”So, in that case, we should thank Mr. Bai Li for this matter,” Shen Tianjun remarked softly.

”No need to thank me!” Bai Li Xi responded briskly, waving his hand. ”Ye Qing was the one who saved me from Wan Yan Manor, so I’m just repaying the favor. All in all, Ye Qing’s goodness led to good returns; there’s no need to be grateful to anyone!”

”That’s true.” Shen Tianjun slowly nodded, saying, ”As the saying goes, ’Good deeds bring good returns, and evil deeds bring evil returns; the cycle of karma is inevitable.’ Ye Qing saved Mr. Bai Li before, leading to this good fortune, which he rightfully deserves!”

Everyone nodded in agreement; most people present were familiar with Ning Qianshu’s character and naturally understood he wouldn’t save someone without reason. Thus, Ye Qing didn’t owe Ning Qianshu any words of gratitude in this regard.

”Since Ye Qing deserves this, there’s no need to thank Mr. Ning anymore!” Shen Tianjun said, gradually standing up and moving in front of Ning Qianshu. ”Now that we’ve addressed the gratitude, it’s time to discuss the grudges.”

Ning Qianshu furrowed his brows and coldly looked at Shen Tianjun, saying in a low voice, ”Does Shen intend to settle old scores with me today? Hmm, for the past issues, if you want to seek revenge on me, Ning Qianshu, there’s nothing wrong with that. But don’t forget, I came to help you fight the Corpse Ghost Dragon, which is why I’m here on the Seven Steering Committees’ turf. Regardless of the enmity, you should remember that it won’t end well if you’re dependent on numbers to kill me today, because if I die here, your reputations will be tarnished beyond redemption!”

”Mr. Ning, you misunderstand.” Shen Tianjun shook his head. ”You came to help us with the Corpse Ghost Dragon, which makes us allies in this battle. Until we resolve the Corpse Ghost Dragon issue, we’ll overlook past grievances and settle the matter afterward.”

Only then did Ning Qianshu’s brows relax as he said, ”I find Shen’s words agreeable. Since we are allies, we should share life and death alike. The Corpse Ghost Dragon is extraordinarily powerful; if we can’t defeat him, we’ll likely face dire circumstances!”

Helian Tiehua nodded and said in a booming voice, ”Mr. Ning is right; as allies, we must share everything, including honesty!”

Ning Qianshu glanced at Helian Tiehua in surprise. He couldn’t shake off the lingering feeling that something was strange about everyone around him, and he wasn’t sure what their intentions were.

”Ning Qianshu, just be straightforward!” Ding Lianshun suddenly stood up, slamming the table, and said loudly, ”When you helped Ye Qing reconnect his meridians last time, did you leave any hidden actions in his body? Why can’t his meridians withstand powerful forces?”

Both Ding Lianshun and Ning Qianshu were from the Twelve Green Halls, with Ding Lianshun actually leaning toward Ning’s side. The gathered crowd had already discussed Ye Qing’s situation, suspecting that Ning had tampered with Ye Qing’s meridians; hence the focused looks on him. Ding Lianshun was the first to speak up as he sought a quicker confession from Ning to resolve Ye Qing’s problem and avoid infuriating everyone.

Ning felt his heart skip a beat; he hadn’t expected everyone to guess at this matter. No wonder everyone’s expression was so peculiar; it seemed they intended to press him for answers on this.

”Ye Qing’s meridians hadn’t been tempered; suddenly acquiring such powerful inner strength, causing their rupture from the impact, is normal,” Ning Qianshu replied, still trying to feign ignorance at this moment.

”We are aware that weak meridians can rupture from inner strength impact. However, Ye Qing’s situation appears peculiar,” Shen Tianjun responded, watching Ning closely. ”For ordinary individuals, after their meridians were consecutively ruptured a few times, the meridians should have widened enough to hold peak strength. Yet, Ye Qing’s current meridians can’t even withstand a tenth of that force, let alone peak strength. Why is that?”

Shen Tianjun was still polite with Ning because Ning was working with them against the Corpse Ghost Dragon. Furthermore, Ye Qing’s meridians had indeed been reconnected by Ning.

Eyeing the expressions of everyone around, Ning understood that his actions couldn’t escape the scrutiny of these peak masters. It seemed they had already been suspecting this for some time.

If not for the Corpse Ghost Dragon issue, Ning naturally wouldn’t need to confront these people; causing trouble for Ye Qing benefited the Twelve Green Halls, after all. However, now that they’re on the same boat because of the Corpse Ghost Dragon, he couldn’t avoid addressing the matter.

”I had intended to mention this before,” Ning Qianshu took a deep breath, saying, ”Ye Qing’s meridians were reconnected using the Rebirth Pill left by my master.”

”Rebirth Pill?” Bai Li Xi exclaimed in shock, visibly shaken.

”What is the Rebirth Pill?” Shen Tianjun quickly inquired, while others curiously watched Bai Li Xi. Judging by his reaction, the Rebirth Pill seemed extraordinary.

”The Rebirth Pill is an elixir crafted by my master, possessing extremely potent effects capable of quickly repairing even physical injuries. Restoring meridians is no problem at all,” Bai Li Xi sighed and continued, ”Moreover, the Rebirth Pill is incredibly rare, even in my master’s possession—a scarce and precious elixir. A single Rebirth Pill can even bring a dead person back to life.”

”Really?” Everyone was astounded, and Ye Qing looked at Ning Qianshu in awe. He never imagined that Ning would use such a precious elixir on him.

”Rebirth Pills are extremely rare and valuable, arguably the most treasured among my master’s concoctions,” Bai Li Xi paused briefly before speaking in a somber tone, ”However, the Rebirth Pill has a significant issue.”

”What issue?” Shen Tianjun promptly questioned.

”Due to the Rebirth Pill’s potent effects, typically only near-death individuals take it, utilizing roughly half of its efficacy. The remaining potency requires careful extraction through other means to successfully heal,” Bai Li Xi explained seriously. ”If this residual efficacy isn’t removed, it poses a major problem. The Rebirth Pill, as its name suggests, induces a regrowth state in the body. And when a body is growing, it’s particularly fragile—just like children who are easily harmed. Consequently, this accumulated efficacy within will render the body exceedingly vulnerable!”