Urban Martial Saint

At 10:30 a.m., in a rented apartment in Shenchuan City, three men sat facing each other. One of them was the Executioner Scholar, another was Wanyan Hongsheng, and the third was a member of the Wanyan family.

Last night, after receiving the news, Wanyan Hongsheng and his team rushed over to Shenchuan City overnight. After their flight landed, they headed straight to the place where the Executioner Scholar was staying.

Seeing Wanyan Hongsheng, the Executioner Scholar was full of hatred inside but dared not show it. He knew well that in the current situation, he had to pretend as if he knew nothing and temporarily cooperate with Wanyan’s people to keep himself alive.

So, under Wanyan Hongsheng’s inquiry, the Executioner Scholar recounted everything he knew. Of course, because he dared not approach the Hong Alliance’s Seven Rudders’ manor, he was entirely unaware of how many of Ye Qing’s group had returned.

In fact, even the members of the Hong Alliance’s Seven Rudders did not know how many of Ye Qing’s group had returned. Because when Ye Qing and his team returned to the Hong Alliance’s Seven Rudders’ manor, it was very late, and the vehicle drove directly into the courtyard. Handsome Fatty Wang’s vehicle was even a type of truck. Thus, no one knew if anyone or anything was hidden inside, which provided favorable conditions for Ye Qing’s plan.

Upon hearing what the Executioner Scholar had to say about Ye Qing’s return, Wanyan Hongsheng furrowed his brow. The clues provided by the Executioner Scholar were too few, and he couldn’t figure out the current situation in the Hong Alliance’s Seven Rudders manor. He was most worried about two people; one was Fu Qingping, and the other was the Seventh Elder. He urgently needed to know whether Fu Qingping had regained his full strength and whether the Seventh Elder had come back alive. However, these were details the Executioner Scholar couldn’t provide, leaving him at a loss about what to do.

While the three of them were exchanging glances and discussing how to acquire more information, a text message arrived on Wanyan Hongsheng’s phone. Wanyan Hongsheng glanced at the phone; the message was from Wanyan Second Master.

Wanyan Second Master had received the message sent over by the Seventh Elder, prompting him to immediately text Wanyan Hongsheng, instructing him to prepare to assist the Seventh Elder in retrieving items from the Tomb of Ghost Valley Master.

Seeing this information, Wanyan Hongsheng was greatly surprised. In fact, what he was most concerned about was that the Seventh Elder might betray the Wanyan family over this incident; he had even contemplated killing the Seventh Elder to silence him. Who would have thought that, instead of holding a grudge against the family, the Seventh Elder even sent a message to Wanyan Second Master to retrieve items from the Tomb of Ghost Valley Master? This left Wanyan Hongsheng perplexed.

To start with, the question of whether the message was genuine. Even though it was sent by the Seventh Elder, nobody knew if he had already conspired with Ye Qing’s group and purposely sent this message to bait them. So, although he received the message, Wanyan Hongsheng remained skeptical about the Seventh Elder’s intentions.

After contemplating for a moment, Wanyan Hongsheng decided to put the phone away. He turned to the Executioner Scholar, who was still silently contemplating in the room, with a smirk on his lips, and said, ”It seems we’re getting nowhere by just sitting here. How about this: Scholar, you continue to help us gather information while we make some preparations. If I’m not mistaken, the people from the Hong Alliance’s Seven Rudders should return this afternoon. At that time, there might be more news, and we can act accordingly!”

The Executioner Scholar nodded placidly. In truth, he noticed Wanyan Hongsheng’s expression when looking at the phone, and deduced that something significant must have happened. However, he didn’t probe further and pretended not to know anything. Involved in this matter, he just acted as an information gatherer, and he wouldn’t move rashly until he could completely rid himself of the Wanyan family.

After sending the Executioner Scholar away, Wanyan Hongsheng took out his phone and handed it to the Wanyan family member sitting next to him.

”Old Sixth, take a look, this is the message Second Brother just sent!” Wanyan Hongsheng said.

The person, indeed Wanyan’s Old Sixth, was a direct member of the Wanyan family, and thus held a high position within the family. Taking a glance at the phone, his expression slightly changed, and he looked up at Wanyan Hongsheng, saying softly, ”Third Brother, this seems like good news. It looks like Old Seventh hasn’t betrayed us and even helped us get what we needed from the Tomb of Ghost Valley Master!”

”Hmph, I don’t think it’s that simple!” Wanyan Hongsheng slowly shook his head and said, ”Don’t forget, based on our information, Old Seventh is also in the Hong Alliance’s Seven Rudders manor. Do you know what that signifies?”

”What does it signify?” Old Sixth asked curiously.

Wanyan Hongsheng said, ”There are two possibilities. One is that Old Seventh has been exposed and is collaborating with Ye Qing and his group.”

Old Sixth immediately frowned and replied in a low tone, ”Isn’t that unlikely? After all, Old Seventh is a member of the Wanyan family; serving the family is his duty. Why would he expose himself? Even if he did, it wouldn’t be of much use. He doesn’t know much about our family’s core secrets, nor does he know much about Iga-ryu’s secrets. How would he have the grounds to cooperate with Ye Qing?”

”That’s why there’s a second possibility!” Wanyan Hongsheng spoke in a low voice, ”The second possibility is that these Wo Country’s Ninja have all been captured by Ye Qing, otherwise Old Seventh wouldn’t be at the Hong Alliance’s Seven Rudders!”

”That could be the case!” Old Sixth slowly nodded, ”However, does Ye Qing have such capability to capture all those people? If so, could it be that Fu Qingping has regained his full strength?”

Wanyan Hongsheng shook his head and said, ”These are not our concerns. The key consideration now is, if Old Seventh was captured by Ye Qing’s group, how did he manage to obtain items from the Tomb of Ghost Valley Master?”

”Right, that’s indeed a question!” Old Sixth quickly said, ”Third Brother, are you suggesting that Old Seventh is still deceiving us?”

”Better safe than sorry!” Wanyan Hongsheng spoke softly, ”After all, we did blow up the entrance and exit, burying Old Seventh inside. If Old Seventh wants to betray us, it’s not impossible. Therefore, regarding this matter, I think we need to carefully deliberate and not rush to ask Old Seventh for the Tomb of Ghost Valley Master’s items!”

”If we can’t ask him directly, then what should we do?” Old Sixth asked, ”Since Old Seventh sent this key piece of information to Second Brother, it is a crucial clue. Second Brother gave this information to us for a reason; to verify its authenticity. But if we avoid handling it out of concern that Old Seventh might deceive us, we won’t be able to account for it to the family!”

”So, this must be approached differently.” Wanyan Hongsheng thought for a while, then said in a low voice, ”At the very least, we need to find an opportunity to meet Old Seventh one-on-one!”

”Find an opportunity to meet Old Seventh alone?” Old Sixth scratched his head and asked, ”How can we find such an opportunity?”

Wanyan Hongsheng himself didn’t have a direct solution, so he could only shrug and say, ”I don’t know yet, we’ll have to wait and see.”

”What if we can’t find such an opportunity?” Old Sixth paused and added, ”Besides, judging from the situation now, it’s quite possible that Fu Qingping has regained his full strength. This is not good news; Fu Qingping’s combat prowess is formidable, and with him in Shenchuan City, it would be difficult for us to gain an advantage.”

”Hmph, what good is Fu Qingping’s strength? The Mount Tai Convention is approaching, and his battle with The Immortal Lord is about to commence. Currently, The Immortal Lord has regained 80% of his peak strength. Before the great battle on Mount Tai, he will surely fully recover. Even if Fu Qingping is strong, he hasn’t broken past the Acme threshold. Besides...” Wanyan Hongsheng chuckled coldly, ”Fu Qingping is without the Qingping Sword. Now, he’s like a toothless tiger, what’s there to fear?”

”Right, without the Qingping Sword, he’s nothing!” Old Sixth laughed aloud as well, ”Fu Qingping’s ultimate moves all rely on the Qingping Sword. Especially that Heavenly Punishment strike, without the Qingping Sword, how could he possibly execute such a grand move!”

”In the battle on Mount Tai, we’ll let The Immortal Lord kill Fu Qingping and crush all their hopes. After that, with the Wanyan family possessing the Corpse Ghost Dragon and The Immortal Lord, acquiring the Heaven, Earth, and Man Three Gates would be as easy as pocketing them.” Wanyan Hongsheng sneered, ”Once we have the Heaven, Earth, and Man Three Gates, then our Wanyan family will reign supreme!

Old Sixth was also extremely excited, but he still had some doubts and whispered, ”Third Brother, even if we eliminate Fu Qingping, there’s still Shijia and Wuji. If those two old guys intervene, it won’t be easy to get the Three Gates!”

”Hmph, those two old guys are not a concern!” Wanyan Hongsheng sneered, ”Big Brother already devised a plan to deal with them. Rest assured, it won’t be long before they’re in the same boat as Fu Qingping. Then, there will be no one left to stand in our way!”

”Big Brother?” Old Sixth exclaimed in astonishment, deeply shocked by Wanyan Hongsheng’s words. After all, their big brother, Wanyan Zong’s father, the previous Family Head of the Wanyan family, hailed as their most brilliant member in a thousand years, Wanyan Hongfeng, had long passed away. So why did Wanyan Hongsheng suddenly mention him?

Wanyan Hongsheng’s expression changed, quickly saying, ”Damn it, I misspoke. I meant Second Brother. Second Brother has long laid out plans to deal with Shijia and Wuji!”