Urban Martial Saint

(This book has been renamed ”Urban Martial Saint,” please search for Urban Martial Saint next time.)

Following the underground river, we walked about two to three hundred meters, and as we turned a corner, Handsome Fatty Wang suddenly exclaimed.

Ye Qing was startled, quickening his pace to rush over. After passing the corner, he saw Handsome Fatty Wang staring ahead with a look of utter astonishment on his face.

Following Handsome Fatty Wang’s gaze, Ye Qing was also stunned. On the stone wall at the corner, there was a massive stone gate. This gate was roughly ten meters high and seven or eight meters wide, much larger than the gates of any typical factory building. Moreover, it was carved from a single piece of stone. Not to mention where to find such a huge piece of stone, just placing it here as a gate seems impossible.

This tomb must be quite ancient, from a time when everything was manually operated, without the modern machinery we have today. Transporting such a large stone gate here is virtually impossible. Erecting the stone gate would be beyond human capability. How exactly was this stone gate erected here?

Later, Nine-Fingers Wu Yong and the others arrived and were equally shocked by the sight. Everyone stood there dumbfounded for a while before finally regaining their composure.

”This... such a big gate?” Handsome Fatty Wang widened his eyes and said, ”Who is supposed to enter here? Are there giants buried inside?”

”What is that sphere on the gate?” someone else whispered.

Upon hearing this, Ye Qing noticed that indeed there was a large sphere embedded on the stone gate, with a diameter of over a meter. This sphere appeared extremely beautiful, emitting a soft, faint glow, illuminating the entire cave and allowing everyone to see everything inside.

Nine-Fingers Wu Yong immediately walked over, staring at the large sphere for a long while, and said in shock, ”This... this is actually a Luminous Pearl. How in the world is there such a large Luminous Pearl?”

Having been to many tombs and seen many treasures, Nine-Fingers Wu Yong was extremely knowledgeable. But upon seeing this Luminous Pearl, he was equally as astonished.

A Luminous Pearl itself is extremely rare, and to find one the size of a bowl is already considered large. Yet, here, everyone had stumbled upon one over a meter in diameter, completely overturning their understanding.

”How much would this thing sell for?” Handsome Fatty Wang stared at the Luminous Pearl, almost drooling. He was greedier than the rest, as his first thought was its value.

”I heard the largest Luminous Pearl in the world is about one meter in diameter. This Luminous Pearl is definitely larger than that!” Nine-Fingers Wu Yong took a deep breath and said solemnly, ”The value of this Luminous Pearl is incalculable. Things so rare, it’s not about how much they are worth, but who could afford to buy them?”

Handsome Fatty Wang nodded repeatedly as Nine-Fingers Wu Yong’s words made sense. Such a rare thing could be considered priceless. Even the world’s richest would struggle to pay such a high price. Who would spend so much to buy it? Even if bought, reselling it later wouldn’t be easy.

”Who cares how much it’s worth, we don’t need to sell it for too much. Selling it broadly could fetch several billion,” a man beside Nine-Fingers Wu Yong exclaimed excitedly, reaching toward the Luminous Pearl.

”Don’t touch!” Nine-Fingers Wu Yong suddenly shouted, startling the man, who looked at Nine-Fingers Wu Yong with surprise and asked, ”Ninth Master, what... what’s wrong?”

”Is this your first time robbing a tomb with me? Can you touch anything recklessly?” Nine-Fingers Wu Yong glared at him fiercely and said in a deep voice, ”Are you looking to die?”

The man quickly retreated to Nine-Fingers Wu Yong’s side, whispering, ”Ninth Master, I... I got a bit excited.”

”I’ve told you many times, when in a tomb, the value of the items inside is not important; what’s important is how much you can take out alive.” Nine-Fingers Wu Yong said in a low voice, ”Whether the tomb holds mountains of gold or silver, if you leave your life behind, it’s all for nothing.”

”Right, right, Ninth Master, I... I was wrong...” the man replied softly, having been chastised by Nine-Fingers Wu Yong, he had no temper left.

Nine-Fingers Wu Yong ignored him, instead looking at Ye Qing with a serious expression, saying, ”Mr. Ye, this matter might be a bit troublesome.”

”What’s troublesome?” Ye Qing asked with a puzzled look at Nine-Fingers Wu Yong, ”We found the gate, didn’t we?”

”That’s the most troublesome part.” Nine-Fingers Wu Yong pointed to the gate and said, ”Mr. Ye, if this is the entrance to the tomb, things will be very complicated.”

”How complicated?” Ye Qing asked, surprised.

Nine-Fingers Wu Yong said, ”Mr. Ye, if you were building a tomb, would you place the most valuable items at the entrance?”

Ye Qing looked at the Luminous Pearl and frowned, suddenly understanding why Nine-Fingers Wu Yong prevented the man from touching it.

”This method of burial is called ’Opening Door to Invite Thieves, Heavy Payments to Retreat Foes’ in our field,” Nine-Fingers Wu Yong explained. ”In ancient times, many people placed valuable items at the entrance of the tomb. Tomb robbers, greedy for wealth, would try to take them. However, these valuable items must have traps behind them. Touching these items will trigger the traps. This method emerged over one thousand three hundred years ago, initially highly effective, causing many grave robbers to die from the traps. It took another five hundred years for people to learn from the experience, and seasoned veterans wouldn’t touch the items at the entrance. Yet, some novices still died on these traps.”

”It took five hundred years for people to learn?” Ye Qing asked, puzzled, ”Why did it take so long?”

”Five hundred years is actually short,” Nine-Fingers Wu Yong said. ”This method began over one thousand three hundred years ago, but grave robbers usually targeted ancient tombs, those at least hundreds of years old. Even now, known rich burials are left alone, because their descendants are still around, robbing them would cause grudges. So, grave robbers usually target tombs with a history of at least a century. Thus, the traps from over one thousand three hundred years ago took at least over a hundred years to be triggered. Additionally, those who triggered the traps often perished, so the information didn’t spread. Hence, it took so long for people to learn from blood-stained lessons from their predecessors.”

Ye Qing, unfamiliar with tomb-robbing, was equally shaken by Nine-Fingers Wu Yong’s explanation. It seemed tomb-robbing is quite a scholarly pursuit. Thankfully, Handsome Fatty Wang and Nine-Fingers Wu Yong were brought along. If Ye Qing had come alone, finding the entrance would be uncertain, and the traps inside would be unavoidable. Honestly, seeing the Luminous Pearl, Ye Qing did feel like touching it to see its material.

”Such a large Luminous Pearl, no wonder the cave is completely illuminated,” Nine-Fingers Wu Yong marveled, then looked around and said, ”How large is this cave? We’ve reached this stone gate, yet the cave keeps extending.”

The cave extended with the underground river, continuing onward, with no end in sight. Yet, the tranquil underground river seemed frightening. The great dragon crocodile could be lurking beneath the waters, poised to strike anytime.

”Let’s not dwell on the cave,” Handsome Fatty Wang turned to Ye Qing and said, ”We’ve come this far, let’s bring out the map and have a thorough look.”

”No need,” Nine-Fingers Wu Yong shook his head and said, ”I’ve seen the map. It’s not very clear and mainly outlines the route inside the tomb, not outside. This means we haven’t entered the tomb yet!”

”What do we do then?” Handsome Fatty Wang looked at the gigantic stone gate and asked, ”There’s a gate here, you say it’s dangerous, are we not going inside?”

Nine-Fingers Wu Yong gazed deep into the cave, baffled by the twists and turns ahead. After a pause, he said softly, ”I suggest we first investigate the surroundings outside the cave. This stone gate may not be the entrance. Let’s proceed forward and survey the front before deciding!”

Ye Qing nodded, finding Nine-Fingers Wu Yong’s suggestion reasonable. Thus, everyone continued along the underground river.

The journey remained similar to before with no peculiarities. After about five minutes, the cave reached its end, presenting a stone wall. The underground river led into a dark channel, with water only a foot below the top, and where it flowed remained unknown.

Seeing the situation, everyone looked at each other. They expected something special ahead, yet the reality was contrary, with nothing extraordinary.

Nine-Fingers Wu Yong frowned deeply, gazing at the underground river channel. Suddenly, he asked, ”Do you see something at the riverbed?”

Upon hearing this, everyone looked in the direction Nine-Fingers Wu Yong pointed.