Urban Martial Saint

As soon as Ye Qing said this, everyone in the room turned their gaze toward him in unison.

Although Du Yongwu had conceded and agreed to merge the Northern Xingyi School into the Southern Xingyi School, this meant that from now on, there would only be the Southern Xingyi School, with no Northern Xingyi School remaining. Everything passed down by the Northern Xingyi School would have to be abolished.

Of course, had the Northern Xingyi School won, then there would only have been the Northern Xingyi School, with no Southern Xingyi School remaining. Therefore, only part would continue to exist, the other part must perish.

Ye Qing’s suggestion, on the other hand, was completely different. He proposed to abolish both the Southern and Northern Xingyi Schools, merging them to become the Xingyi School. Henceforth, there would be no Southern Xingyi School, no Northern Xingyi School, just one Xingyi School!

The people of the Southern Xingyi School all remained silent, looking toward Tie Weihua. This kind of matter required the Sect Leader’s decision, and only he could make it.

As for the people from the Northern Xingyi School, they looked to Du Yongwu; in reality, they only wanted Du Yongwu to stay, and didn’t care about anything else.

If this had happened in the past, Du Yongwu would definitely not have been this way. But now that he had already conceded, and the Northern Xingyi School was essentially no more. Moreover, after witnessing the martial arts of Du Tianyi, he was quite tempted by the combined power of the North-South Xingyi Quan as proposed by Ye Qing. So, he actually found Ye Qing’s suggestion quite good, but now the key was not in his hands, it depended on whether Tie Weihua agreed.

Tie Weihua bowed his head in silence; indeed, if it had been any other time before, he would have directly rejected Ye Qing’s suggestion as soon as he spoke. However, he found himself having to consider it more carefully this time. If the schools were to merge into one Xingyi School, the sect’s strength would undoubtedly skyrocket. Moreover, with an expert like Du Yongwu to bolster the ranks, the Xingyi School would definitely regain its former glory. But, by doing so, it would entail abolishing the Southern Xingyi School, and he had to contemplate whether that would truly be worthwhile.

Everyone looked at Tie Weihua, and all understood that the decision was in his hands.

After a long silence, Tie Weihua finally lifted his head. Glancing over everyone, he paused slightly as his gaze fell on Du Yongwu, and then said, ”If Uncle Du has no objections, Mr. Tie agrees with Ye brother’s suggestion!”

As soon as these words were spoken, many people in the room cheered happily. Tie Weihua’s agreement meant the merger would happen, and the strength of the combined Xingyi School would greatly increase. Especially for the disciples of the Northern Xingyi School, they could be with Du Yongwu again, and nothing else mattered!

The people from the Southern Xingyi School also supported Tie Weihua’s decision, after all, the Southern Xingyi School had been bullied quite a bit during this period, and an increase in strength was exactly what they wished to see.

”Many thanks to Master Tie for his great kindness!” Du Yongwu bowed to Tie Weihua, saying, ”Since Master Tie also agrees, from today on, the North and South Xingyi Schools shall be united as one family, and Master Tie shall be the new Sect Leader of our united Xingyi School!”

The people from the Southern Xingyi School were even more excited, for if Tie Weihua became the Sect Leader, then it meant the Southern Xingyi School remained in charge, which was exactly what they wanted to see.

”This cannot be!” Tie Weihua hurriedly waved his hands and said, ”Uncle Du is a senior and a venerable figure, and Wei Hua is far too inexperienced to lead the entire Xingyi School. It should be Uncle Du himself who takes charge!”

”Don’t you turn it down!” Du Yongwu waved his hand and smiled, ”This old man here can’t match the vision of you younger generation, and I’m better off comfortably retired. The decision-making should be left to you young people. Also, Wei Hua, don’t think it’s easy being a Sect Leader. Only a dozen or so people from the Northern Xingyi School came today, and there are another forty or fifty who haven’t come yet, and they will all be coming later. They all need mouths to feed, Wei Hua, and it will be up to you to support them in their lives from now on!”

Hearing Du Yongwu say this, Tie Weihua could no longer object. Looking at the attire of those from the Northern Xingyi School, he could tell that they had been living a life of poverty. Although the Southern Xingyi School wasn’t as strong as it used to be during the Ding Family era, supporting these people’s lives wouldn’t be a problem. After all, many disciples from the Southern Xingyi School had significant businesses in Shenchuan City!

”Uncle Du, please let all the brothers come over, Xingyi School will be their home from now on!” Tie Weihua laughed heartily, then turned to the people behind him and said, ”Quick, prepare rooms and invite all the brothers to settle in first. Uncle Du, please come inside the house!”

However, Du Yongwu didn’t go in the house first but turned to Ye Qing and bowed, ”Thank you Mr. Ye for your proposal, Uncle Du will remember it in his heart. I owe Mr. Ye a debt of gratitude, and if there is anything you need help with in the future, let me know and I will do my utmost to assist!”

Initially, when Ye Qing had arrived, Du Yongwu was dissatisfied with him. But after the subsequent events and the help Ye Qing had provided, Du Yongwu recognized his earlier mistake and was especially grateful to Ye Qing.

As for Du Yongwu, it goes without saying for the people from the Northern Xingyi School. The disciples of the Southern Xingyi School were naturally also extremely thankful to Ye Qing. From today on, the entire Xingyi School would be on good terms with Ye Qing, and any past tensions were completely dissolved.

”The merging of the North and South Xingyi Schools was Uncle Tie’s greatest wish. Senior Du’s profound understanding and righteousness command my utmost respect,” Ye Qing replied with a smile.

With a stroke of his beard, Du Yongwu laughed heartily and exchanged pleasantries with Ye Qing before they all finally entered the house.

The disciples of the Southern Xingyi School quickly tidied up the rooms. The Xingyi Martial Arts School occupied a vast area of land, which was a plot left by the Ding Family for the Southern Xingyi School. Although the buildings were not very beautiful, there were several courtyards inside and four three-story houses with hundreds of rooms, most of which were vacant. After all, most of the people from the Southern Xingyi School were wealthy, living at home, and thus, the rooms were unoccupied.

Now, the disciples from the Northern Xingyi School had come to stay, and arranging accommodations for them was incredibly easy. The only issue was that the rooms lacked furnishings, which would need to be arranged temporarily. However, for the people from the Northern Xingyi School, just having a private room to themselves was already cause for great happiness.

Ye Qing chatted with Du Yongwu for a while and basically got a sense of the situation at the Northern Xingyi School.

The Northern Xingyi School had fallen on hard times in the North due to past events. Although Du Yongwu was personally quite capable, the incompleteness of the Northern Xingyi Fist meant that amidst the multitude of martial arts schools in the North, the Northern Xingyi School couldn’t gain a firm foothold. His disciples were orphans he had adopted from a young age, and they had been with him ever since, thus they had a strong emotional bond with him.

However, the Northern Xingyi School, without the backing of a consortium and Du Yongwu having spent all of his personal wealth on supporting these children, was in a rough state. In fact, what was called the Northern Xingyi School was just the courtyard house where Du Yongwu had lived previously. His sixty to seventy disciples all shared large communal beds, with a dozen or so people in one room, with none having their private rooms. As for daily life, there’s even less need to elaborate; they lived off the land they cultivated, and these martial artists were more like peasant farmers when it came to their livelihoods.

This time, Du Yongwu led his disciples south because one of them was seriously ill and there was no money for treatment. Out of sheer desperation, he made this decision, hoping to also find an opportunity to defeat the Southern Xingyi School and then take its place. After all, the South was prosperous, and seeing that the disciples of the Southern Xingyi School were wealthy, he hoped to use this chance to open a school in the South to teach students and improve his own disciples’ standard of living without much ambition.

When they came, they even hitched rides to save money. When they encountered the Shen Family on the road, Du Yongwu’s intention in taking action was to make the Northern Xingyi School’s reputation known and pave the way for entering Shenchuan City. Although he was defeated by the Shen Family, his talent indeed made an impression on those from the Taekwondo Gym. After arriving here, their livelihood was supported by those from the Taekwondo Gym!

Now, although the Northern Xingyi School was gone, so was the Southern Xingyi School, and neither side could be said to be at a loss with the merger. This also preserved the dignity of the Northern Xingyi School. Moreover, they would not have to worry about their livelihoods in the future, and one can imagine the relief felt by the disciples of the Northern Xingyi School.

”Wow, Big Brother, did you know? My room is so spacious!” said a disciple of the Northern Xingyi School who had just checked out his room as they came over discussing their room situations.

”What’s that compared to mine? The windows in my room are huge!” another exclaimed. Having lived in old houses without windows in the North, they were naturally thrilled to see large windows.

”My room is so strange, why is the bedsheet hanging on the window?” yet another disciple wondered.

”You idiot, that’s not a bedsheet, that’s a curtain!” was the response.

Hearing their conversation, Du Yongwu felt both sentimental and heartbroken. He had raised these disciples himself, and from childhood to adulthood, they had neither enjoyed many blessings nor seen much of the world. This time, finally, things were about to change for them!

Tie Weihua said, ”I’m truly sorry, the house was renovated quite early on, and because not many people lived in it, the rooms lack some basic facilities. I’ll send someone to buy beds right now. Tonight, everyone can settle in first. Other furnishings will be added gradually, and we won’t neglect our fellow disciples’ needs!”

”There’s no need for so much, beds and blankets are enough,” Du Yongwu quickly responded.

”How could that be sufficient?” Tie Weihua insisted. ”Uncle Du, please leave these matters to me, you don’t need to worry. Fifth Brother, why don’t you find someone to help with the beds?”

”Alright!” Fifth Brother agreed and was about to leave, but Ye Qing stood up and stopped him.

”No need to send someone. Let me make arrangements for you,” Ye Qing said with a smile. ”Regarding the renovations, I have a few contacts who can surely get things done for you the fastest!”