Urban Martial Saint

Ye Qing dodged Northern Martial Zen, spun around, and directly changed direction, running toward the small mountain group he had come from earlier.

”Ye, where do you think you can run to!” Northern Martial Zen sneered continuously from behind. In his eyes, Ye Qing was a turtle in a jar.

In fact, several times he was close to catching Ye Qing, but Ye Qing, using the stepping technique of Heavenly Gangs and Northern Dipper, managed a last-minute step to narrowly avoid him. Furthermore, having learned some of the Carefree Movement, Ye Qing’s speed was much faster than before, allowing him to escape this long. Otherwise, with the gap in strength between him and Northern Martial Zen, he would have been caught long ago.

Seeing Ye Qing turn and run, Northern Martial Zen didn’t care at all, only sneering as he pursued. To him, Ye Qing’s speed was nothing significant; there was absolutely no way he could escape from his grasp.

Ye Qing was also extremely anxious at heart. His only plan now was to reach Humeng City. Northern Martial Zen, no matter how audacious, wouldn’t dare to chase him into Humeng City. However, he was still over twenty kilometers from the city’s downtown. This distance was too vast to cover before Northern Martial Zen caught up.

Ideally, Ye Qing could head towards the road and directly rush to the area guarded by the Seven Rudders of Hong Alliance for their protection. But realistically, it was of little benefit. The guards of the Seven Rudders wouldn’t be powerful enough to matter against Northern Martial Zen, and if he went in that direction, Liu Mubai and the others would be put at risk of being caught by Northern Martial Zen, making the situation even more complicated.

So now, Ye Qing could only run across the grassland, searching for the small mountain group he passed earlier. Only there could he possibly rely on the terrain for a slim chance.

Both of them sprinted across the grasslands at an incredible speed, like two agile cheetahs. Any ordinary bystander would be shocked at their speed: how could a human achieve such a pace? Furthermore, they hadn’t rested despite running for so long, which far exceeded human endurance.

Both Ye Qing and Northern Martial Zen were masters of Neijia, with Inner Strength that continuously sustained their endurance. Running at high speeds wasn’t a challenge for them.

After running for about four or five kilometers, the distance between Northern Martial Zen and Ye Qing was visibly closing. The unsettling presence behind him heightened Ye Qing’s anxiety. He was still five kilometers away from the small mountain group, yet it seemed Northern Martial Zen would catch him before he reached it. What was he to do?

”Ye, save your energy; stop this futile struggle!” Northern Martial Zen sneered continually from behind, ”Do you think you can escape?”

Ye Qing gritted his teeth, not daring to reply for fear of losing True Qi. However, he realized that no matter how much effort he exerted, he couldn’t sustain it much longer; he had to devise a plan to change the current predicament.

At this moment, Ye Qing caught a faint scent of blood. Startled into alertness, he immediately dashed in the direction of the scent.

Northern Martial Zen didn’t understand why Ye Qing suddenly changed direction, but with his seasoned skills and audacity, he paid no mind to Ye Qing. Seeing him turn, he quickly followed, sneering as if a cat toying with a mouse.

Ye Qing gritted his teeth and pushed his speed to the limit. He only knew part of the Carefree Movement, not fully understanding it, but the fragments he learned were incredibly useful, at least doubling his speed.

After running approximately three hundred meters further, Ye Qing spotted a wolf’s corpse lying in the grass ahead. Ye Qing noted the resemblance in the wolf’s injuries to those he had seen on other wolves, indicating they were inflicted by the two strange people he had encountered earlier.

Ye Qing was unsure of those two people’s identities, but given their sneaky demeanor and English language, they certainly weren’t from Huaxia. This likely meant Northern Martial Zen didn’t know them. This situation was something Ye Qing could potentially exploit. As he couldn’t shake off Northern Martial Zen, leading those two to confront Northern Martial Zen might work in his favor.

This idea formed in Ye Qing’s mind without hesitation, and he quickly sped toward the direction of the wolf carcass. He wasn’t sure where the two had gone, but since the wolf died here, they couldn’t be far. If he pursued, he might encounter them.

Northern Martial Zen, relentlessly pursuing, saw the wolf carcass and was slightly puzzled. But he dismissed it quickly since it was just a wolf, not a human. He had also slain a couple of wolves on his way, which wasn’t significant.

The two continued, one ahead of the other, for another seven or eight hundred meters when another wolf carcass appeared. This sight invigorated Ye Qing, confirming he was heading in the right direction. If he continued, he might indeed meet the two strangers.

Ye Qing now only aimed to find those two and lead Northern Martial Zen into conflict with them, so he continued in that direction.

Trailing behind, Northern Martial Zen saw another wolf carcass and slightly furrowed his brow. He wasn’t stupid and sensed something was amiss, as the presence of two wolf carcasses suggested someone had slain them. Surely all those heading to Humeng City were skilled individuals; encountering them was undesirable. If they were acquaintances of Ye Qing, the situation could become troublesome.

”Ye, I’ve had enough fun!” Northern Martial Zen shouted furiously, suddenly leaping forward like an arrow toward Ye Qing. This was one of his secret techniques, temporarily boosting speed but consuming considerable Inner Strength, which he typically avoided using. To prevent Ye Qing from rendezvousing with those people, he grudgingly unleashed it, intending to capture Ye Qing quickly.

Ye Qing sensed a powerful surge behind him and swiftly rolled on the ground to evade Northern Martial Zen. Yet Northern Martial Zen was incredibly fast, his toe barely touched the ground as he leaped forward again, grabbing Ye Qing’s collar, attempting to lift him. However, with a sudden lightness in his grip, he looked down to find that Ye Qing had deftly shed his coat, executing a Golden Cicada Shedding to escape past him.

”Ah!” Northern Martial Zen roared in anger, bolting after Ye Qing again. Then, from afar, a sharp wolf’s howl interrupted. Northern Martial Zen hesitated slightly, realizing the wolf was nearby, as howls indicated distress from an attack. This implied someone was assaulting wolves up ahead!

Northern Martial Zen’s expression changed immediately, worried about encountering others. Unexpectedly, it happened. Though Ye Qing had used the Golden Silkworm Shedding to escape, he couldn’t pursue Ye Qing without considerable effort, certainly close to where those voices originated. This undoubtedly ensured he would meet whoever was attacking the wolves!

Northern Martial Zen truly wished to avoid such encounters, but circumstances left him no choice. Seeing Ye Qing sprint furiously, he relentlessly clenched his teeth and pursued, fixated on reclaiming the significant item Ye Qing possessed, regardless of who awaited ahead!

Ye Qing also heard the wolf’s howl earlier. For him, the sound was heavenly music. Without a pause, he sprinted desperately, covering under a kilometer distance to glimpse two figures in black moving ahead on the grassland. These two were the same ones Ye Qing had previously seen near the small mountain group, clad entirely in black in an eerie guise.

At this point, Northern Martial Zen was also closing in. Seeing the situation, Ye Qing shouted loudly, ”Hey, you two, stop!”

The nighttime grasslands were silent, so Ye Qing’s voice carried far, and those two heard it clearly.

They both turned toward Ye Qing, but with faces masked by dark cloth, Ye Qing couldn’t discern their features. However, their puzzled demeanors revealed their confusion about Ye Qing’s intent.

Ye Qing suddenly recalled that these two might not understand Huaxia, but since his English was decent, he repeated his words in English.

This cleared the confusion for them. They exchanged a glance, seemingly deliberating. Yet their eyes began to glitter ominously.

Spotting this dangerous glint, Ye Qing exhaled in relief. His guess was correct; these foreigners, sneaking around Humeng City, were clearly plotting something unscrupulous. As they were exposed, they intended to eliminate witnesses, evident by their growing murderous aura toward Ye Qing.

This was precisely the outcome Ye Qing sought!