Urban Martial Saint

”Hahaha...,” the Great Lord laughed wildly and said, ”What nonsense about Shakyamuni. In our Church’s view, there’s no real threat at all. He’s already dead, and whatever remains of the Buddha’s Relic, what use could it possibly have? Our Church has numerous masters, why would we fear a piece of bone? It’s just that you people from Huaxia regard this bone as some precious item. In that case, our Church plans to take this bone back and display it inside our Church, so you can visit it if you like?”

Ye Qing’s expression changed slightly; these Church people sure are arrogant. Shakyamuni’s Buddha’s Relic is the supreme treasure of the Buddhist Sect; all Buddha’s Sons must kneel before it thrice and kowtow nine times upon seeing it. But here, the Church intends to exhibit it which is a blatant insult to the Buddhist Sect!

”You have a good plan, but it’s useless coming to me now!” Ye Qing said, ”Since you know about my situation, you should know that last time I was captured by Du Canglang. Do you really think with Du Canglang’s power, he would let me off so easily?”

”What do you mean by that?” the Great Lord asked sternly.

”It’s simple,” Ye Qing said, ”I used the Buddha’s Relic as a trade to escape from him. Otherwise, do you really think I could have gotten away?”

This was just a random lie Ye Qing concocted; he would never tell the truth to these Church people. Regardless, everyone knew he was indeed captured by Du Canglang. By pinning the blame on Du Canglang, who wasn’t present to refute it, Ye Qing could direct the Church against him, easing the pressure on himself.

The Great Lord coldly eyed Ye Qing, and truth be told, Ye Qing’s words somewhat convinced him. After all, he was aware of Ye Qing being captured by Du Canglang, but not of the subsequent events at Mount Duwang. To him, given Du Canglang’s power, without the trade of the Buddha’s Relic, Ye Qing couldn’t possibly have escaped.

Seeing the Great Lord’s silence, an old man hurriedly said, ”Great Lord, Ye Qing is extremely cunning and deceitful; we must not be fooled by him. At Mount Wendao, he even tricked us into believing he was some kind of Hunter. You can’t trust a thing he says!”

Listening to the old man’s words, Ye Qing wished he could kick him in the face, but he dared not show any sign of emotion, only maintaining a light smile and calmly looking at the Great Lord, as though he was completely confident.

The Great Lord glanced at Ye Qing and suddenly said coldly, ”Whether the Buddha’s Relic is with you or not, you will come with us. Once we’re back at the Church, regardless of the truth of your words, we have our ways to make you speak!”

Ye Qing’s expression shifted slightly; his previous words had indeed misled the Great Lord. However, the Great Lord was not foolish, though he suspected Du Canglang had the Buddha’s Relic, he wouldn’t let Ye Qing go once captured. He planned to take Ye Qing back to the Church for thorough questioning.

In Ye Qing’s current situation, if truly taken to the Church, it would be disastrous. His enmity with the Church was no small thing, and they had long set their sights on Huaxia with ill intentions. Given Ye Qing’s connections in Huaxia, if the Church intended to use him against Shen Tianjun, Huangfu Ziyu, and others, trouble would surely follow.

Though anxious inside, Ye Qing maintained a calm exterior, coldly saying to these foreigners, ”With just a few of you, it’s unlikely you’ll be able to take me to the Church so easily!”

A red-robed Archbishop immediately retorted, ”Hmph, we are nine peak masters, and the Great Lord is the best among acme masters, one step away from surpassing the acme level. If we ten cannot capture even you, we would have no face to meet our Lord!”

Looking at the formidable lineup of ten opponents, Ye Qing inwardly marveled. Even if faced with this group, the Seven Steering Committees of Hong Alliance or the Twelve Green Halls would struggle. Without the hidden masters of those groups, neither could contend against these ten. These ten really could take him to the Church without much difficulty.

”Ye Qing, forget about your tricks!” the Great Lord said sternly, ”Obey us willingly and spare yourself pain. Otherwise, we will cripple you and then take you along!”

Ye Qing frowned; facing these ten acme masters, he had no solution. If this were atop Mount Wendao, it would be better, given that it’s Fat Jiao’s territory. If Fat Jiao intervened, these Church masters would be like decorations. But now, he was within the canyon below Mount Wendao, far from the cave where Fat Jiao resided. Even if he could call upon Fat Jiao, it would not be timely enough to rescue him. Hence, in this situation, he could only surrender.

”Fine, fine, I’ll go. No need to scare me,” Ye Qing walked slowly towards the Great Lord and the others, internally calculating how to change the current situation. But from what he could see now, altering the situation wasn’t an easy feat.

Seeing Ye Qing’s sluggish pace, an old man suddenly erupted in anger, shouting, ”Walk faster!”

Seeing the anger of the Church members, Ye Qing slightly quickened his pace, knowing full well it would be foolish to suffer unnecessary losses over minor matters.

When Ye Qing entered Mount Wendao, it was Wuji who led him inside. Therefore, Ye Qing had no idea what the surrounding area was like outside Mount Wendao. Now, stepping out, he finally saw the surrounding environment of Mount Wendao.

Mount Wendao, like the Beimang Mountain and Mount Duwang Ye Qing had visited before, lay within the deepest parts surrounded by mountains. The outskirts were already remote and uninhabited, and the hidden Mount Wendao was even more untraveled.

Outside the mountain range, wild beasts were plentiful, thriving with tigers, leopards, boars, wolves, and the like. Yet these ten acme masters of the Church were formidable; these beasts posed no threat to them. They were devoured as food without causing any harm. So along this journey out, food was no issue for Ye Qing and the others.

Traversing many forests, Ye Qing gradually understood the situation within. This particular range had few snake species outside of Mount Wendao; other beasts were abundant. On the contrary, within Mount Wendao, snake species were prevalent while other beasts were scarce. It seemed Fat Jiao’s presence had attracted most of the snakes to Mount Wendao, making it a true Snake Mountain.

Due to Fat Jiao’s presence, even the fiercest beasts didn’t dare enter Mount Wendao. Thus, beasts were abundant in the outer woods while snakes were quite rare. Occasionally encountering a snake, the foreigners would fiercely reduce it to pulp, venting their frustrations as if directing their annoyance with the snakes in Mount Wendao. After all, they suffered considerable losses at Mount Wendao.

As they journeyed out, Ye Qing contemplated his escape. It wasn’t easy to shake these people off, but he considered two viable options. The first was luring them to Mount Wendao for Fat Jiao to handle. But given their hatred for snake species, they were unlikely to return. The first option seemed impractical.

The second solution was similar to the first, except it involved leading them to Beimang Mountain. Within Beimang Mountain lies the even more perilous Demon Hideout Cave, which houses the mighty Demon Pet, who shares a good relationship with Ye Qing. If he could draw them into the Demon Hideout Cave, the conditions there, coupled with the powerful Demon Pet, should be enough to fend them off.

Upon weighing options, Ye Qing deemed the second more feasible. However, figuring how to steer them towards Beimang was a challenge. These were no fools, especially the cunning Great Lord. He needed a way to lead them unsuspectingly to Beimang Mountain.

The foreigners, unaware of Ye Qing’s plans, continued slaughtering snakes along the way, venting their displeasure while expressing their resentment against Ye Qing. Due to the lack of Inner Strength, Ye Qing’s pace was excruciatingly slow, frustrating them and causing repeated demands for him to increase speed.

In truth, if not for their failures and losses at Mount Wendao, with Fat Jiao escaping their capture, they wouldn’t have considered taking Ye Qing back. With the losses incurred and tasks unfulfilled according to Church’s orders, bringing Ye Qing back was the sole means to appease the Church.

In the dense forest, they took two full days to emerge from the woods into a nearby small town, leaving Ye Qing utterly astonished.

According to Wuji, Ye Qing had been unconscious for three days, during which Wuji transported him from Mount Duwang to Mount Wendao. Ignoring the distance between these mountains, traversing the forest alone in three days was no simple feat. Wuji’s prowess beyond acme indeed proved remarkable!