Urban Martial Saint

The matter of Wu Tianchi left Ye Qing unprecedentedly shocked, and his heart filled with curiosity. What kind of legendary figure could have found such a method to extend their life?

”Does someone like Wu Tianchi count as achieving immortality?” Ye Qing asked.

”This...” Old Wang Ba scratched his head, looking at Ye Qing, and said, ”How should I put this? Some say, the reason people are alive is because of the existence of consciousness and memory. That’s why some people are fully paralyzed but are still considered living. Even vegetative people are alive. Wu Tianchi, having preserved his consciousness and memory, is indeed not dead.”

Ye Qing was silent for a moment and said, ”With only consciousness and memory left, does living like that still hold any meaning?”

”Humph, when you’re close to death, you’ll find that living is the only meaning. As for how you live, it’s no longer important!” Old Wang Ba said, ”As long as one is a normal person, they fear death. That’s why, from ancient times to the present, humans have been pursuing immortality. Not only us martial artists, but even those scientists abroad are researching ways to extend human life, aren’t they? Who wouldn’t want to be immortal?”

Ye Qing was at a loss for words; the allure of immortality for humans was indeed too great. However, from ancient times to the present, no one has truly achieved it, at most only extending life. Is immortality truly possible?

”When you went to the innermost part of Beimang Mountain, besides seeing the things left by Wu Tianchi and Ancestor Chen Tuan, did you see any other traces?” Old Wang Ba asked.

Ye Qing looked at Old Wang Ba and said, ”Can’t you divine the situations inside Beimang Mountain?”

”Nonsense, if I could divine them, why would I ask you!” Old Wang Ba glanced at Ye Qing and said, ”You boy, don’t really think I can fathom everything in the world. Let me tell you, I don’t have that ability. If I want to know something, I have to specifically focus on divining it. But, the art of divination isn’t as simple as you imagine, where you can just snap your fingers and know everything. So, unless it’s necessary, I won’t casually divine!”

”I see.” Ye Qing finally understood why Old Wang Ba was skilled at divination, yet there were still so many things he didn’t know.

”Of the last five caves in Beimang Mountain, only four people have been inside. One was Wu Tianchi, another was Ancestor Chen Tuan, another was Corpse Ghost Dragon, and these you’re aware of. The fourth was a monk.” Ye Qing turned to the page in his notebook where he had copied the Buddhist texts and said, ”He left these Buddhist texts inside, as well as a set of secret techniques for gathering Inner Strength. Can you recognize them?”

”Nonsense, how could I recognize this stuff?” Old Wang Ba glanced at it and said, ”These are definitely Buddhist texts; we might ask that old fellow Shijia, he might recognize them.”

”Where is Shijia now?” Ye Qing asked in surprise.

”I don’t know either, he said something big was going to happen and then left. It’s been several days, and I haven’t seen him!” Old Wang Ba said, ”If that old fellow were here, would rescuing Yelu Ying be so troublesome?”

Shijia’s strength can truly be described as unfathomable. Ye Qing had previously witnessed his fight with Prince Nalan in the Capital and had some understanding of his power. Moreover, Shijia was over two hundred years old, his strength probably far surpassed the Five Unmatches of the World!

”With Shijia’s strength, is there anything beyond his control?” Ye Qing asked, ”If he didn’t want the Heaven Earth Man Three Gates to open, couldn’t he just take the Seven Keys or the Heaven Earth Man Tri-Map? Who could take them from him?”

”Things aren’t as simple as you think.” Old Wang Ba shook his head and said, ”Fate is predetermined, and people cannot defy it. To go against the heavens, a heavy price must be paid, and even Shijia cannot afford such a price!”

”What kind of price?” Ye Qing was surprised. ”Could anyone defeat him with his level of power?”

”Ah, you boy, do you really think power can represent everything?” Old Wang Ba shook his head and said, ”Back in the day, Dalin Temple was so glorious, yet it crumbled overnight. Xiaolin Temple had such a Peak Master like Shijia, but it was still destroyed in an instant. The mandate of heaven, who can change it?”

Ye Qing said, ”Xiaolin Temple was destroyed by the Bloody Monk alone, and Shijia wasn’t at Xiaolin Temple at the time!”

”Hehe...” Old Wang Ba glanced at Ye Qing and said, ”Up to now, how many monks from Xiaolin Temple have you met?”

Ye Qing thought for a moment and said, ”Three, Shijia, the Bloody Monk, and Joyous Monk.”

”What about the strength of these three monks?” Old Wang Ba asked again.

”The strength of these three monks is extremely strong,” Ye Qing replied. After all, he had personally witnessed these three monks in action. Among them, the weakest, Joyous Monk, had strength far surpassing Prince Wan Yan and others. As for the Bloody Monk, he could stand shoulder to shoulder with the Five Uniques. And Shijia, he is someone far beyond the Five Uniques.

”In the most prosperous time of Xiaolin Temple, it was said to be filled with high monks, and masters like clouds!” Old Wang Ba paused and said, ”Let’s not discuss whether Xiaolin Temple was filled with masters now. Even if Xiaolin Temple didn’t have many masters, it was certainly filled with martial artists. At that time, Xiaolin Temple had hundreds of monks, meaning there were hundreds of Martial Monks. And all these people were killed in one night. Don’t you think there’s a problem with that?”

Ye Qing had no idea what was going on at Xiaolin Temple at the time. Hearing Old Wang Ba say this, his heart skipped a beat.

”Could it be...” Ye Qing looked at Old Wang Ba and said, ”Did someone else interfere in this matter?”

”Oddly enough, no one interfered in this matter.” Old Wang Ba said, ”Both Shijia and I calculated it personally, it was indeed the Bloody Monk who killed those people at Xiaolin Temple. Besides, the Bloody Monk himself admitted to it!”

”How is that possible?” Ye Qing was astonished, ”He killed hundreds of martial artists in one night? Among them were people whose strengths were not much inferior to his!”

”This is the key issue here,” Old Wang Ba said, ”Do you still think strength can represent everything?”

Ye Qing fell silent; the incident at Xiaolin Temple was indeed hard to explain.

”Could it be that the Bloody Monk poisoned them?” Ye Qing asked.

”No poisoning at all, he did it while they were fully conscious!” Old Wang Ba replied.

”How could he do that?” Ye Qing was bewildered.

”You’re asking me, who am I supposed to ask?” Old Wang Ba shrugged, ”Just like Dalin Temple back then, with a master like Bodhidharma overseeing it, and yet it still got destroyed. Many things aren’t as simple as we imagine!”

Ye Qing nodded, feeling a bit of resonance with Old Wang Ba’s words. However, he was still puzzled by the destruction of Xiaolin Temple and Dalin Temple. The two holy lands of the Buddhist Sect vanished without explanation; what was going on?

”Alright, these matters aren’t your concern. Even that old Shijia hasn’t spoken up; why worry yourself?” Old Wang Ba stood up, patting Ye Qing’s shoulder, saying, ”Your priority should be resolving the Yelu family issue. So, when are you planning to enter the Yelu family’s ancestral tomb?”

”Enter what?” Ye Qing widened his eyes, ”Why should I enter their ancestral tomb?”

”Goodness, you’re being quite arrogant here.” Old Wang Ba spat, ”What do you mean, why should you enter their ancestral tomb? Aren’t you interested in the clues to the Xuanyuan Sword?”

”I never said I wanted the Xuanyuan Sword!” Ye Qing replied.

”What nonsense is that? The Xuanyuan Sword, the first famed instrument in the world, don’t you want it?” Old Wang Ba smirked, ”Do you believe your own boast?”

”Uh...” Ye Qing scratched his head, truthfully having some longing for the Xuanyuan Sword. However, he wouldn’t deliberately fight for it because too many people were already vying for this famed instrument. Joining the fray would certainly make him cannon fodder, so he didn’t have many extravagant hopes.

”This sort of thing, if I’m lucky, I’ll have it, if not, it’s my fate.” Ye Qing shook his head, ”Besides, entering the Yelu family’s ancestral tomb means I have to become a son-in-law of the Yelu family, how’s that possible? You know my situation with Zi Yu, I won’t marry anyone else.”

”Is that so?” Old Wang Ba gave a cold smile, ”What if I tell you that you can never marry Huangfu Ziyu, would you still be so confident?”

”What’s that supposed to mean?” Ye Qing instantly frowned, looking at Old Wang Ba, he said in a deep voice, ”Why would you say something like that?”

”Nothing!” Old Wang Ba shook his head, changing the subject, ”Let’s not talk about it now; let’s continue the topic of Xuanyuan Sword. The key issue isn’t whether you want the Xuanyuan Sword, but you have to give the Yelu family an answer. You’ve seen it, those two tomb-guarding elders are just old stubborns. If you don’t inherit the Yelu family legacy, they’ll either kill you or kill the Yelu family members. So, are you planning to die yourself or let the Yelu family members die for you?”

Ye Qing was immediately left speechless. This problem was indeed the one that troubled him most. Those two tomb-guarding elders were undeniably old stubborns. Ye Qing had no doubt that if he didn’t inherit the Yelu family legacy, those two would certainly slaughter the remaining Yelu family members.

”What do we do now?” Ye Qing looked at Old Wang Ba helplessly, ”I say, why did you lure me here just for this? Now it’s out, how do you propose to solve the Yelu family issue?”

”What nonsense, Eighth Master, I’m also thinking of you, wanting you to get the Xuanyuan Sword!” Old Wang Ba said, ”How is this my fault?”

Ye Qing was speechless. Old Wang Ba did think for his sake; he couldn’t blame him for anything.