Urban Martial Saint

”But when a person’s body becomes old and decays, this vessel becomes useless,” Knife Saint said, and then laughed self-deprecatingly, ”Take my situation for instance; my body can no longer contain my power. Hence, I need to place my power into this Dragon-breaking Knife to preserve myself. This Dragon-breaking Knife is also a vessel of power.”

Ye Qing glanced at the Dragon-breaking Knife in the Knife Saint’s hand. He had to admit, Knife Saint’s words greatly affected him, as it was the first time he heard of such a concept regarding a power vessel. While novel, it was relatively easy to understand, as Ye Qing had experienced similar situations. When his meridians hadn’t reached acme, they couldn’t bear the power of acme, which was a matter of an insufficiently large vessel. As for vessels gradually decaying, Ye Qing had never thought about it before, because he always believed death was simply death, never considering that after transcending the Unity of Heaven and Man, the true limitation to human development is indeed the human body.

”So, you’re saying that only through orthodox Buddhist and Taoist Magic inheritance can the body avoid aging and decaying, thus achieving a higher level?” Ye Qing hesitated and continued, ”However, why is it that there aren’t many masters of Buddhist and Taoist among us now? If these people could transcend the Unity of Heaven and Man Realm, why have we scarcely seen anyone surpass this realm?”

”Because Buddhism and Daoism have their own limitations,” Knife Saint laughed as he looked at Ye Qing, ”As for what those limitations are, there’s no point in asking me, and I wouldn’t answer you. It’s not that I refuse, but it’s a significant secret tied to my agreement with Shijia and Wuji at the time. If I answer you, I’d be breaking my word to Shijia and Wuji.”

Ye Qing nodded; he did not press further. If Knife Saint were someone who breaks their word, Shijia and Wuji wouldn’t have made that agreement with him. The existence of Sword Saint Sect for three hundred years showcases Knife Saint’s reputation for discretion.

”You said that Buddhist and Taoist Magic forces are using my body as a vessel?” Ye Qing took a deep breath and asked, ”But why do they use my body as a vessel?”

”Hahaha...” Knife Saint smiled faintly and said, ”These things aren’t within my knowledge. I’ve only visited the Heaven Earth Man Three Gates once, and I couldn’t even glimpse Sage Guiguzi’s secrets, let alone the secrets of those acme visionaries of various sects. All I know is, these three forces reside within your body and can protect you in crucial moments, or even allow you to wield them. But to fully control these three forces — that’s truly impossible.”

Ye Qing sighed softly, never having thought to control these three forces. It was a fortune that these forces didn’t shatter his body. Where would he dare attempt to control them? The only thing Ye Qing currently thinks about is how to draw them out of his body and restore his meridians, so he can at least practice some martial arts for self-defense. In these chaotic times, with no power at all, how could Ye Qing survive?

”According to what you say, these Buddhist and Taoist Magic forces would definitely have a vessel preserving them all this time. For instance, Buddha Ancestor Shizun’s power resides in Buddha’s Relic, the demon power in Devouring Demon Flower inside the Demon Hideout Cave, and Daoist power in the Tomb of Ghost Valley Master.” Ye Qing said solemnly, ”Compared to Buddha’s Relic, Devouring Demon Flower, and Tomb of Ghost Valley Master, my body is much more prone to decay. Why then would these three forces choose to enter my body?”

Knife Saint shrugged again, ”As I mentioned before, I can’t clear up this question for you. However, I can tell you that your meridians haven’t vanished!”

”What?” Ye Qing was dumbfounded, and quickly asked, ”My meridians haven’t disappeared? Then... what happened?”

”Hahaha...” Knife Saint laughed and said, ”I only perceive this. I don’t know what the exact situation is. My abilities only allow me to sense this much. When you meet someone stronger than me someday, you can ask them and they might understand what’s happening!”

”Someone stronger than you?” Ye Qing widened his eyes. Knife Saint’s strength was already quite terrifying; who could possibly be stronger?

”Nonsense!” Knife Saint glanced at Ye Qing, ”Why do you think those in the Unity of Heaven and Man Realm don’t dare wield their powers that exceed acme?”

”Isn’t it because they fear Heavenly Retribution?” Ye Qing asked in surprise.

”What rubbish Heavenly Retribution, it’s all contrived!” Knife Saint waved dismissively, ”You’ll understand these things later. Since they relate to that secret, I can’t answer you. Now, it’s my turn to ask you a question: Why did Old Wang Ba send you to my Sword Saint Sect now?”

Ye Qing was still contemplating Knife Saint’s earlier words when Fat Wang intervened, ”He sent us to see if you were dead or not?”

Ye Qing shot Fat Wang a look, seeing his blunt remark.

”Impossible, isn’t it?” Knife Saint furrowed his brows slightly, ”He knows whether I’m dead or alive, so there must be another reason!”

Fat Wang spread his hands, ”That’s all there is; what else could there be?”

”No way,” Knife Saint seemed surprised, evidently skeptical of Fat Wang’s words.

”Do you know about the ambush on Sword Saint Sect?” Ye Qing suddenly asked.

”What!?” Knife Saint turned immediately to look at Ye Qing, eyes wide, ”Sword Saint Sect ambushed? When did this happen?”

”Right now...” Ye Qing didn’t try to conceal and explained the Wanyan Family’s siege of Sword Saint Sect. After hearing Ye Qing’s account, Knife Saint’s brows furrowed tightly.

”You mean, the Wanyan Family not only has those Long-toothed Rats but also a scabbard for the Minghong Knife?” Knife Saint asked gravely.

”Correct!” Ye Qing nodded, ”It’s precisely because of this that they dared to attack Sword Saint Sect. Otherwise, after all these years of accumulation, Sword Saint Sect is so powerful; how could they dare attempt this?”

”Unbelievable, to think that in over three hundred years, the Wanyan Family’s strength has reached such heights!” Knife Saint inhaled deeply, paced back and forth, and said solemnly, ”So, Old Wang Ba sent you to inform me of this. Alas, I can’t escape after all!”

”What can’t be escaped?” Ye Qing asked in surprise, always feeling Knife Saint spoke cryptically without fully explaining his thoughts.

Knife Saint didn’t answer Ye Qing directly, but after a moment of silence, he said, ”Humph, since they’ve come to the doorstep, let me face the Minghong Knife’s scabbard!”

With that statement, Knife Saint grabbed the Dragon-breaking Knife on the ground, swung his right palm outward, and his palm’s force slammed onto a distant stone wall. The stone wall seemed pushed by Knife Saint’s palm, gradually retreating to reveal a passage.

”You two, wait here; don’t leave!” Knife Saint gripped the Dragon-breaking Knife, ”I’ll be back shortly!”

As soon as he finished, Knife Saint turned around, stepped towards the passage, and, surprisingly, with only a single step forward, vanished where he stood, appearing instantly within the passage like instantaneous movement. With another step, he disappeared again, reappearing even further; the movement technique was eerie indeed.

”What’s going on now?” Fat Wang exclaimed in surprise, having never seen anything like it.

Ye Qing was also dumbfounded; seeing Knife Saint’s incredible movement technique, he had to acknowledge Knife Saint’s strength truly is formidable.

Within just two or three steps, Knife Saint rushed through the passage, leaving Ye Qing and Fat Wang alone in the cave. Fat Wang glanced around and whispered, ”Young Ye, what do we do now? Should we really stay here waiting for him?”

Ye Qing wasn’t sure whether Knife Saint was good or evil, but Knife Saint indeed seemed fair, which left Ye Qing without much worry. Moreover, those who entered Heaven Earth Man Three Gates weren’t typically malevolent either, providing Ye Qing some degree of trust towards Knife Saint.

”No need to rush; let’s wait and see how things develop!” Ye Qing calmly replied.

Fat Wang pondered for a moment and suddenly exclaimed excitedly, ”If that old guy goes out, wouldn’t the Wanyan Family be in trouble?”

Ye Qing was also considering this matter; when Knife Saint confronts Wanyan Hongfeng with Minghong Knife’s scabbard, who really holds the advantage? Could Knife Saint defeat Wanyan Hongfeng this time?

Meanwhile, outside at the training ground in front of Sword Saint Sect, the battle had already started a while ago.

Over there, Nalan Jingwei was still waiting with Helian Tiehua and others. Although the fight had started, Nalan Jingwei hadn’t made a move immediately but bided his time, waiting for the battle’s peak to strike. Attacking now would catch the Wanyan Family off guard, delivering a devastating blow.

Moreover, after some fighting, Sword Saint Sect would gauge Wanyan Family’s capabilities. In such circumstances, their help would also underscore its significance to Sword Saint Sect. As Nalan Jingwei aimed to confront the Wanyan Family while also aligning with Sword Saint Sect, choosing the right moment was essential.

Watching the battle’s intensity surge, Nalan Jingwei slowly raised his hand and whispered, ”General Helian, as we’ve discussed before, we’ll split into three groups and follow my command to charge in!”