Urban Martial Saint

Wolf Monk shouted out loud, making everyone certain that the person up there on the mountaintop must be Shijia.

Now that they knew this person was Shijia, everyone’s doubts dissipated. In today’s world, who else besides Shijia could evade the eyes of everyone and lurk on that mountaintop? Moreover, since Shijia was on the mountaintop, he wouldn’t fear the aftermath of battle between these two men, as he himself is a Beyond The Pinnacle Master.

The Immortal Lord also recognized Shijia’s voice; he turned his head towards the direction of the voice, speaking in a deep voice: ”Shijia, you came as well. You cowardly waste, this battle was supposed to be between you and me. Instead, you found someone to fight in your stead. Are you afraid of losing to me and bringing disgrace to your Xiaolin Temple?”

”Ah, you shouldn’t say things like that!” As the voice echoed, a greasy monk floated down from a distant tall tree. This monk was none other than Shijia, the foremost master of the present-day Buddhist Sect.

Seeing Shijia, the scene was filled with exclamations of surprise. Many had only heard of the name of this top master of the Buddhist Sect, but none had seen him. Now seeing Shijia, the crowd was naturally excited.

However, upon seeing Shijia, Ye Qing and the others furrowed their brows. Though this old man had a loud name, he was in fact very similar to Old Wang Ba—a sly and shameless fellow. Ye Qing knew Shijia’s character best, so his appearance only made Ye Qing feel alarmed. His presence surely boded no good.

Shijia seemed not to notice Ye Qing’s expression, waving his hand from afar like they were quite familiar.

Seeing Shijia waving at Ye Qing, the crowd’s view of Ye Qing’s expression became intriguing. This top master of the Buddhist Sect had just shown up, hadn’t greeted his two junior disciples, but first waved at Ye Qing—showing surely that Ye Qing’s relationship with him was extraordinary. Therefore, everyone’s assessment of Ye Qing’s strength grew by another measure.

Especially Aolingyun of the Seven Rudders of Hong Alliance. He couldn’t help but widen his eyes, looking at Ye Qing in puzzlement. He couldn’t understand why someone like Shijia, upon appearing, would greet Ye Qing first. What capability did Ye Qing possess for Shijia to be so courteous?

Indeed, Aolingyun had only recently exited seclusion and hadn’t yet grasped the external circumstances, nor had he properly assessed Ye Qing’s strength. He knew nothing of the relationship between Ye Qing and Shijia or of when Wuji helped Ye Qing, and was even unaware of Ye Qing’s deeds concerning the True Buddha. Thus, he treated Ye Qing so, even announcing Seven Rudders of Hong Alliance’s withdrawal from the World Alliance to confront Ye Qing. Had he known these connections, he wouldn’t dare treat Ye Qing like this even at the risk of his life!

Seeing Shijia waving, Ye Qing felt uncomfortable all over. This old fellow, what scheme he’s plotting, surely will seek him soon, and it won’t be anything good. Something must be done to evade him for now!

The grand battle had reached this point, with Ye Qing knowing Fu Qingping would certainly win, so there was no more worry left. Seeing Shijia appear, the first thing he considered was how to avoid this old man’s trap.

”What do you mean by ’you shouldn’t say things like that’?” The Immortal Lord gritted his teeth at Shijia, speaking in a deep voice: ”Am I wrong? You coward, not daring to fight yourself, sending someone else instead. Then you immediately appear. Humph, what rubbish Xiaolin Temple monks, what top master of the present-day Buddhist Sect—it’s nothing impressive. Shijia, today I’ve lost, but not to you. So don’t you get smug, one day I’ll defeat you!”

”You’re saying it wrong.” Shijia waved his hand and said, ”I truly had urgent matters and feared I couldn’t come in time, so I found someone to fight you in my stead. I didn’t want you to be lonely and bored up on the mountain by yourself, so I sent someone to play with you. Look, I just finished my business and rushed over immediately. Originally I wanted to fight with you personally, but who knew, as soon as I arrived, you had already finished fighting, not leaving room for me. It’s not that I didn’t dare come, but only arrived late—isn’t that out of my control? Besides, you couldn’t defeat the person I sent, and here you still want to fight me, aren’t you setting yourself up for failure?”

The Immortal Lord was exceedingly furious, knowing Shijia must have been up on Mount Tai all along, only making excuses with his words.

”Shijia, I’ll say it again, I lost to Fu Qingping, not you. So don’t be smug!” The Immortal Lord roared.

”I’m not smug.” Shijia replied, looking at the Immortal Lord, ”You still feel I were wrong? If you still insist I was wrong, I can make up for it—we can fight again, to settle the score between us. How about it?”

As Shijia spoke, he rolled up his sleeves, wiping his arms, ready to approach the Immortal Lord. The Immortal Lord was wounded, having little strength to fight again. Seeing Shijia approaching, his heart couldn’t help but jump in fear, he glared and said, ”Shijia, I’m injured and you want to fight me now—you’re taking advantage of my weakness. That’s the most despicable thing!”

Shijia replied helplessly, ”Why are you so hard to please? If I don’t fight you, you call me despicable. If I do, you say I’m even more despicable—what exactly do you want me to do?”

The Immortal Lord furrowed his brows tightly, long knowing Shijia and familiar with his shameless ways. Realizing further arguments would be futile, he decided not to pursue this topic any longer.

”Shijia!” The Immortal Lord took a deep breath and changed the topic, ”What exactly do you mean by saying ’What’s impossible about that’? Do you truly think Fu Qingping’s Form Transformation power defeating my Form Transformation power is a reasonable thing?”

”Of course.” Shijia glanced at Fu Qingping behind him and said, ”Fu Qingping practices Sword Dao, and although it has evolved from the power of the Taoist Sect, he uses the sword to enter the Dao. His martial arts, his power, even his mental state, all embody the essence of the sword. The sword focuses on attack, and everything he understands is also about attack power. Therefore, as long as Fu Qingping breaks the shackles of the pinnacle, among people of the same realm, his attack power is unquestionably the strongest. It serves you right for using two Form Transformation Long Snakes against him; was that not asking for trouble? The fact that he didn’t cut your two snakes entirely or completely destroy your Form Transformation power is already quite considerate!”

The Immortal Lord gasped; although he had broken through the pinnacle’s shackles centuries ago, he wasn’t well versed in these matters. Hearing Shijia’s explanation now, he couldn’t help but be shaken. Reflecting carefully, it seems indeed so; the power of Fu Qingping’s sword shadow was extremely terrifying, could this be the true attack power? The Immortal Lord had fought Wuji before, but Wuji’s attack power still had some disparity compared to Fu Qingping’s.

Thinking about this, the Immortal Lord couldn’t help but regret. Had he known Fu Qingping’s attack power would be so formidable after becoming beyond peerless master, he would have gone all out to kill Fu Qingping back then; then this wouldn’t have happened now. As it stands, Fu Qingping has broken through the pinnacle’s shackles and become a Beyond The Pinnacle master, making it impossible to kill him now.

In fact, had the Immortal Lord not engaged Fu Qingping head-on in the battle earlier but used a more evasive method to entangle with Fu Qingping, he wouldn’t have been defeated so quickly. Even if defeated, he wouldn’t have suffered such heavy injuries from Fu Qingping, losing a Long Snake. Given Fu Qingping’s formidable attack power, he merely needed to avoid his strikes, and this battle wouldn’t have resulted in such significant losses.

Shijia looked at the Immortal Lord and said, ”So, have you conceded now?”

The Immortal Lord caught his breath, staring intently at Shijia and Fu Qingping. Although defeated, he would absolutely not yield.

”Since I’ve lost, do as you please with me; no need for idle talks!” the Immortal Lord said in a deep voice, ”I will never bow down to you!”

”Who asked you to bow down...” Shijia sneered and said, ”I’m telling you, old undying, you’d better run away!”

”I... why should I run?” the Immortal Lord’s voice quivered.

”Hmph, we’ve both surpassed the pinnacle’s shackles; do you really think I know nothing?” Shijia laughed and said, ”I won’t say anything more; run as far as you can. However, I doubt you can get very far!”

The Immortal Lord’s face immediately turned pale. He took a deep breath and looked at Shijia, ”So you know about this too; do you understand what’s happening here?”

Shijia laughed and said, ”Once you get there, you’ll understand, won’t you?”

The Immortal Lord’s face changed again, ”You... if you know something, tell me. Will I... will I die?”

”That depends on your fate.” Shijia chuckled, no longer paying attention to the Immortal Lord, and turned to Fu Qingping, ”Let’s go. It’s no longer our concern, let’s descend the mountain.”

Fu Qingping didn’t speak, following Shijia as they descended from the mountain peak. On top of the mountain, only the Immortal Lord stood, looking deathly pale, not knowing what he’s scared of. After a while, he suddenly took a deep breath and shouted loudly, ”Shijia, don’t think I’m really afraid. If I remain undying, I will challenge you again in the future!”

”That will depend on how long you can live,” Shijia replied loudly, already leading Fu Qingping towards the Seven Steering Committees of Hong Alliance.

The people of the Seven Steering Committees of Hong Alliance and the Twelve Green Halls now stood there. Upon seeing Shijia and Fu Qingping descending, their expressions were filled with reverence.

There is no choice, Shijia is the foremost master of the Buddhist Sect today, a Beyond The Pinnacle master with over two hundred years of renown. And Fu Qingping, not only is he highly respected but also a Beyond The Pinnacle master, elevating his status to the acme. Despite the considerable age of the present crowd, facing these two, they couldn’t help but be deferential.