Urban Martial Saint

Those who could swim didn’t hesitate and quickly followed Ding Lianshun into the water to search. Meanwhile, those who couldn’t swim hurriedly contacted others to send boats to find Ye Qing.

Nalan Jingwei stood behind the group, not entering the water, but instead staring intently at the water’s surface. He wanted to find Ye Qing more than anyone else because he had just witnessed the power of the Buddha’s Relic. Now that the Corpse Ghost Dragon was dead, the greatest worry was gone. If he could obtain the Buddha’s Relic, he would have hit the jackpot.

If he could control this Buddha’s Relic, he would be the most powerful under heaven, and his ambitions could finally be unleashed.

The sea was vast, and Ye Qing had charged far out with the Corpse Ghost Dragon. Although the group dived in to search, they couldn’t find him immediately. The called boats hadn’t arrived either, so the hope of finding Ye Qing was growing dimmer and dimmer.

At this time, approximately two miles downstream, the Second Master was there with the sunglasses-wearing man, both standing by the shore waiting.

”The current is fast; they’ll definitely be washed down here if they fall in,” said the Second Master calmly. ”Remember, you must retrieve the Corpse Ghost Dragon’s body. His body, having cultivated the Indestructible Demon Body, is quite useful to us!”

”Yes!” The sunglasses-wearing man nodded in response, holding a long rope, standing by the shore, intently watching the water’s surface.

After about three minutes, a black shadow drifted over from afar on the water’s surface. Seeing this shadow, the sunglasses-wearing man was taken aback and asked in confusion, ”What is that thing?”

The Second Master was also surprised. Upon a closer look, his face suddenly changed, and he exclaimed, ”That...that’s the Corpse Ghost Dragon’s corpse; it’s been smashed to pieces!”

”Ah?” The sunglasses-wearing man looked at the pieces of the corpse floating on the water, even more shocked, and said, ”How did it get shattered like this? There’s...there are over a dozen pieces, right?”

”Stop dawdling and haul it up quickly!” commanded the Second Master in a stern voice, while carefully looking ahead, he continued, ”If the Corpse Ghost Dragon has been washed down, then Ye Qing must have as well. Keep your eyes open, and if you see Ye Qing, bring him over too.”

”Second Master, the body is in such pieces, what use is there in hauling it up?” the sunglasses-wearing man muttered quietly, but still hurriedly used the rope and net to gather the fragmented corpse from the water’s surface.

The Corpse Ghost Dragon’s body had been completely shattered, retrieving only severed limbs and organs. Oddly enough, there was no blood flowing from these remains, as if the blood had solidified inside, fused tightly with the fragmented body.

”Second Master, why isn’t this body bleeding?” asked the sunglasses-wearing man with curiosity.

”That’s the aftermath of practicing the Human-shaped Gu,” the Second Master replied solemnly. ”When one masters the Human-shaped Gu, they become like a Gu Insect, with blood as cold as ice, losing all human emotions, becoming a pure beast. The Corpse Ghost Dragon wanted to escape this monstrous state, so he forcibly transformed the Human-shaped Gu into the Indestructible Demon Body, melting his icy blood, leading to this situation. The blood not flowing is the main reason he couldn’t achieve the ultimate Undying and Indestructible state.”

The sunglasses-wearing man was dumbfounded by the Second Master’s lengthy explanation, though he didn’t quite understand it all. Meanwhile, he had already collected all the floating remains into a pile. Fortunately, he carried two burlap bags with him, which were just enough to pack all the fragments into, completely filling one.

Of course, whether these pieces could be pieced back together into a whole person, he didn’t know yet. However, by now, there were no more fragments on the water’s surface.

”Second Master, it’s all collected. But still no sign of Ye Qing; could it be that Shen Tianjun’s people have rescued him?” asked the sunglasses-wearing man.

The Second Master glanced at Shen Tianjun and his people busily searching on the distant shore, shook his head, and said, ”Impossible; if they had rescued Ye Qing, they wouldn’t still be fussing around over there.”

”But Ye Qing didn’t come down with the Corpse Ghost Dragon,” the sunglasses-wearing man said in confusion. ”Could he have sunk to the bottom? Or perhaps he still has the strength to swim back himself? Second Master, waiting here isn’t going to do any good. Those people are desperately searching for Ye Qing, and if they find us, it’ll be trouble,” he added.

The Second Master frowned deeply and said grimly, ”In any case, we can’t let Ye Qing leave with that Buddha’s Relic. Otherwise, no one on earth will be able to oppose him. Seizing this moment when he’s exhausted is the best opportunity to snatch the Buddha’s Relic. If we miss this chance and he recovers, it will be much more difficult to seize it next time!”

The sunglasses-wearing man looked at the approaching boats and said in a low voice, ”But Second Master, their people have already expanded their search area. It’s impossible for the two of us to take Ye Qing from them and seize the Buddha’s Relic. Besides, if they discover us, we might not even get the Corpse Ghost Dragon’s body and we’d be in danger here. I say, a wise man knows when to retreat, and staying here is not a good idea.”

Seeing the nearing boats, the Second Master sighed in frustration and said grimly, ”It seems we really can’t get the Buddha’s Relic today. Oh well, getting the Corpse Ghost Dragon’s body still counts as completing the task.”

Hearing what Second Master said, the man with sunglasses immediately shouldered the sack and made to leave.

”However, we can’t let Ye Qing off that easily!” Second Master paused for a moment, then said in a deep voice, ”Immediately send out a message to all martial artists and hidden world clan sects, saying Ye Qing has obtained the Buddha’s Relic, of infinite power, and single-handedly killed the Corpse Ghost Dragon.”

”Huh?” The man with sunglasses was taken aback and curiously asked, ”Second Master, are we still going to help promote Ye Qing? The Corpse Ghost Dragon has been pressing down on everyone. If we let the world know it was Ye Qing who killed it, wouldn’t his fame rise even more?”

”What do you know?” Second Master said sternly, ”Men die for wealth and birds for food. Even if Ye Qing killed the Corpse Ghost Dragon, how many truly grateful ones will there be? Conversely, everyone will notice the Buddha’s Relic in his possession, believing its great power is the reason the dragon was slain. People are greedy, and knowing the power of this Relic, do you think no one would covet it?”

”Well...” The man with sunglasses scratched his head, ”There’s a possibility, but if Ye Qing can kill the Corpse Ghost Dragon, who would dare snatch the Relic from him?”

”That’s why the most crucial information must also spread,” Second Master sneered, ”Tell the world, Ye Qing, due to insufficient strength, recklessly activated the Relic’s power and ruptured his meridians, becoming a cripple.”

”What?” The sunglasses man was shocked again, ”Has Ye Qing become a cripple?”

”Does it matter if he’s actually a cripple? Just spread the news,” Second Master said coldly, ”I don’t believe his use of such great power didn’t backfire. Whether injured or not, as long as people think he is, it’s enough. This news will draw out many hidden world experts and families. Once these people make a move to seize the Buddha’s Relic, Ye Qing won’t find peace. By then, we can just sit back and reap the benefits!”

The man with sunglasses nodded repeatedly, gleefully saying, ”Second Master, you are truly unrivaled in strategy!”

”Hmph, dealing with just Ye Qing, do we need any strategy?” Second Master coldly chuckled, glanced at the approaching boats, and said, ”Once the matter of the Buddha’s Relic is resolved, no one in the world will be able to suppress us. Then, we’ll invade Shenchuan City, and I want to see if those so-called peak masters there can stop us.”

After finishing, Second Master didn’t linger and hurried away with the man in sunglasses along a small path. At this moment, the Seven Steering Committees members of the Hong Alliance sent by Helian Tiehua had not yet completely surrounded the area, so they left easily.

The entire Hong Alliance’s Seven Rudders mobilized, and after about an hour, they had sealed off the nearby sea area with over ten speedboats, and hundreds submerged to search for Ye Qing. However, after all this time, there was still no result.

On the shore, Shen Tianjun and others waited anxiously; without finding Ye Qing, everyone’s heart was on edge. Moreover, as time passed, they grew more worried. Not seeing Ye Qing for so long left only two possibilities: either he sank or was washed away. But either way, Ye Qing’s chances of survival seemed bleak.

Suddenly, a distant speedboat appeared to have found something and rushed toward the shore.

Everyone on the shore noticed and hurriedly gathered around as the boat approached. Before it even reached the shore, Helian Tiehua anxiously shouted, ”What did you find? Did you find Ye Qing?”

Helian Tiehua’s voice carried far, and those on the boat could hear clearly. However, their reply couldn’t be heard by those on the shore until the boat got closer.

”Great General, it’s not Ye Qing, it’s... pieces of a human corpse...” shouted someone on the boat.

Hearing this, everyone’s hearts sank, and their expressions turned extremely grim. Regardless of whose corpse it was, it sounded like an ominous sign.

”Whose corpse is it?” Ding Lianshun shouted nervously, having just climbed out of the water, still drenched and anxiously searching.

”This... this shouldn’t be Mr. Ye’s corpse...” said someone on the boat, ”And the corpse is strange. It shouldn’t have been dead long, but the blood has coagulated.”

Everyone exchanged puzzled looks; indeed, this was peculiar.

”Bring the body up first, then continue the search,” Helian Tiehua said sternly, ”Once the body is ashore, expand the search radius. No matter what, we must find Ye Qing!”