Urban Martial Saint

The two men from the Nalan family were incredibly tense, nearly being injured by Huangfu Ziyu several times. If not for the fact that they were working together and able to support each other, they would have likely already lost.

Although Huangfu Ziyu had the upper hand, Ye Qing did not dare to be careless in the slightest. He knew that Huangfu Ziyu might not be able to hold on for long. During this period, Ye Qing’s attacks became much more ferocious than before, with the intention of quickly defeating these two opponents so that he could assist Huangfu Ziyu.

These two men seemed to have seen through Ye Qing’s intentions and were clinging to him tightly, refusing to give him any chance to leave.

As expected, the situation unfolded just as Ye Qing had anticipated. The fierce battle did not last long. After a while, Huangfu Ziyu’s movements began to slow significantly. Originally, Huangfu Ziyu had the upper hand, but for some unknown reason, her strength seemed to be dwindling, causing her to gradually fall into a disadvantageous position. By the later stages, she was entirely on the defensive.

On Ye Qing’s side, he saw everything clearly. He noticed that Huangfu Ziyu’s complexion had become deathly pale within moments. Alarmed, though unsure of the exact cause, he was almost certain that this was a sign of the Twin Life Gu awakening!

”Zi Yu!” Ye Qing shouted anxiously, ”Stop fighting! Your... your injury is flaring up!”

Huangfu Ziyu gasped for breath. She too could feel something inside her stirring restlessly, as if it were on the verge of waking. She was acutely aware that this was most likely the Twin Life Gu insect she had swallowed. Huangfu Ziyu had personally witnessed the horrifying power of the Twin Life Gu. If it were to awaken now, her life would undoubtedly end here.

At that moment, Huangfu Ziyu genuinely had no desire to continue fighting, and she retreated several steps in succession. However, the two men from the Nalan family, who had just been dominated by Huangfu Ziyu with no chance to retaliate, were filled with frustration. Now that they finally had the advantage, they would never let Huangfu Ziyu slip away. They advanced swiftly, pursuing Huangfu Ziyu and denying her any chance to recover.

”She’s running out of strength—keep it up! She’s bound to lose!” the leading man shouted grimly. The string of setbacks he had suffered had twisted his mood, and the originally calm expression on his face now displayed a snarling ferocity, as if he wished to massacre both Ye Qing and Huangfu Ziyu on the spot.

Seeing these two relentlessly bearing down on Huangfu Ziyu while her steps grew increasingly unsteady, Ye Qing snapped with rage. He roared furiously, ”You scoundrels dare?!”

The two men completely ignored Ye Qing and continued their attacks. Huangfu Ziyu could no longer defend herself. One of them landed a punch against her, sending her staggering back several steps before she vomited blood and collapsed to the ground.

In truth, given Huangfu Ziyu’s level of skill, even a blow like this would not usually pose much of a threat. However, because she was suppressing the Twin Life Gu to prevent its awakening, she had not dared to cultivate her inner strength. Without inner strength to protect her, this punch inflicted significant harm.

Seeing Huangfu Ziyu spit blood, Ye Qing was beside himself with fury. Clenching his teeth, he bellowed, ”You’re courting death!”

Without another word, Ye Qing reached behind him and retrieved the long box strapped to his back. Within this box was none other than the Seven-Star Ancient Sword.

Ye Qing tossed the box into the air and slapped its lid. The box sprang open, and the Seven-Star Ancient Sword burst forth. Ye Qing reached out, grabbed the sword, and drew it in one swift motion. A desolate sword chant echoed across the scene, startling the two men who had been chasing after Huangfu Ziyu.

As for the two men currently engaged in combat with Ye Qing, their expressions shifted to one of utter shock. In those brief moments, they had already sensed that the situation had grown dire. Without hesitation, the two simultaneously began to retreat.

But by this point, retreating was far too late. Ye Qing gripped the Seven-Star Ancient Sword tightly, shouted loudly, and swung the sword—a single blow that seemed to sweep through thousands of opponents—directly at the two men.

The two were startled, stepping back one after another in an attempt to evade the longsword. Admittedly, their speed was indeed impressive. However, the Seven-Star Ancient Sword was Ye Qing’s famed instrument, capable of amplifying his inner strength. Despite the sword’s limited reach, the extending sword qi severed one man’s left arm entirely while the other was comparatively lucky, though his abdomen was slashed deeply, causing blood to gush out.

The two men screamed simultaneously, collapsing to the ground. The man who had lost his arm wailed miserably, clutching his shoulder and shrieking on the floor. The other man, though in slightly better condition, found the pain in his stomach unbearable, leaving him without the strength to retreat further. He could only watch helplessly as Ye Qing approached with the Seven-Star Ancient Sword, one decisive step at a time!

”What… what are you doing?” the leading man was dumbfounded, staring at Ye Qing anxiously. He shouted, ”Duels end with a touch only! If you kill members of the Nalan family, Prince Nalan will never let you go!”

Ye Qing suddenly turned around and, wielding the sword, charged toward him.

The man had witnessed the earlier power of Ye Qing’s Seven-Star Ancient Sword. Now, he dared not engage Ye Qing head-on, choosing instead to turn tail and run. But barely after running two steps, Ye Qing shouted and hurled the Seven-Star Ancient Sword directly at his back.

The man proved agile and alert. Hearing the sound behind him, he twisted his body sharply, narrowly evading the catastrophe of having the sword pierce his chest. Still, the sword punctured his right shoulder, the pain so intense it nearly brought tears to his eyes.

Ye Qing took two steps forward, kicked the man to the ground, and stomped on his shoulder as he drew the Seven-Star Ancient Sword out. Coldly, he said, ”Don’t you dare try to intimidate me with Prince Nalan. If something happens to Zi Yu, I’ll make the entire Nalan family pay with their lives!”

The man gave an involuntary shiver, his entire body trembling at Ye Qing’s words. Staring into Ye Qing’s slightly bloodshot eyes, he could not muster even an ounce of doubt toward the threat. Others might hesitate to provoke Prince Nalan, but Ye Qing clearly didn’t care about him in the slightest. If enraged, Ye Qing was undoubtedly capable of killing without remorse!

”Ye Zi, I… I’m fine…” Huangfu Ziyu, from the other side, struggled to stand up, exhaled deeply, and said, ”That thing hasn’t awakened yet. I… just suffered some internal injuries. Don’t kill them…”

Seeing that Huangfu Ziyu was unharmed, Ye Qing finally breathed a sigh of relief. He hurried toward her, supporting her carefully as he asked tensely, ”How are your internal injuries?”

”I have Ziyu Chenxiang Pills with me. If I take one later, I’ll be fine,” Huangfu Ziyu reassured.

”Good!” Ye Qing finally felt at ease. Turning back, he glared furiously at the members of the Nalan family and said darkly, ”Consider yourselves lucky that Zi Yu is unharmed. Otherwise, I’d have killed every one of you here. Get lost, and don’t let me catch sight of you again!”

The Nalan family members, by now too frightened to even speak, scrambled to their feet and fled in panic. At this point, none dared linger a second longer.

Watching the Nalan flunkies flee, Huangfu Ziyu frowned deeply. She was more familiar than Ye Qing with Prince Nalan’s affairs, fully aware that offending him in the Capital was genuinely unwise. Earlier, if it were no more than an ordinary sparring session, it would have been manageable. But now that Ye Qing had injured members of the Nalan family, resolving the matter would be much more complicated.

”Let’s head to the airport,” Huangfu Ziyu suggested. ”The plane is about to take off.”

Not daring to linger, she breathed a sigh of relief that their flight was imminent. Once they left the Capital, the danger would be significantly reduced. The Nalan family would definitely not chase them into the Miao Borderlands. And as for the Southern Six Provinces, where Southern Fist King Shen Tianjun presided, the Nalan family wouldn’t dare provoke him there either.

Ye Qing checked the time and realized she was correct. He carefully supported Huangfu Ziyu as they made their way toward the boarding gate.

The two waited in the terminal for around half an hour when a tall man suddenly walked through the entrance. The man, in his thirties, had a sharp gaze akin to a hawk, clearly not someone simple.

The man strode into the terminal, scanning the crowd before finally locking eyes on Ye Qing and Huangfu Ziyu. A flicker of brilliance appeared in his gaze as he walked straight toward them.

Ye Qing had already noticed this man and frowned. This appearance at this precise moment could not bode well.

Huangfu Ziyu, too, felt her heart sink. Just as they were about to board, a member of the Nalan family had ultimately tracked them down. She clutched Ye Qing’s hand tightly, her nerves stretched taut. If this caused them to miss their flight, they would truly be trapped.

The man approached Ye Qing and Huangfu Ziyu and cupped his hands in greeting. ”The two of you must be the disciples of the Northern and Southern Fist Kings. I am Nalan Fangyuan,” he said. ”I heard that some unworthy disciples of my family offended you earlier. I have come to offer my apologies. Please forgive any offense.”

As he spoke, the man bowed deeply, his attitude extremely sincere.

Ye Qing and Huangfu Ziyu exchanged a glance. His demeanor genuinely caught them off guard. Could this man truly not be here seeking retribution for those clowns earlier?

Before they could reply, however, the man straightened his posture and continued, ”I’ve also heard of your mastery of the Kings’ Southern and Northern Fist techniques. I am ashamed to say I am curious to witness your skill firsthand. Would you do me the honor of a friendly spar?”

Ye Qing and Huangfu Ziyu immediately furrowed their brows. So, after all his talk, this man had still come here to fight. It appeared that departing the Capital would be more difficult than expected. Judging by his aura, Nalan Fangyuan was most likely a top-tier fighter in the Nalan family, far exceeding the earlier combatants. Whether Ye Qing could defeat him or not was uncertain, but it would undoubtedly take time. And with the flight about to take off, they had no time to waste.

Ye Qing clenched his fists, but fighting was something he couldn’t afford at this moment. With Huangfu Ziyu’s life on the line, how could he indulge in mere bravado?

”I’ll fight you!”

At that moment, a sudden, cheerful voice rang out from afar. All three turned to look, only to see a cold-faced man standing at the terminal’s entrance, his appearance unheralded!