Urban Martial Saint

As for the identity of the one who rescued Wanyan Hongsheng, everyone speculated for a long time, yet in the end it still came to nothing. One thing, however, was generally agreed upon: this person’s strength had definitely reached the realm of a beyond peerless master; otherwise it would have been impossible for him to injure the Bloody Monk with a single palm strike.

It was just that no one could agree on who this person actually was. Some suspected he was the Immortal Lord, others suspected he was another Acme expert from the Wanyan Family. In any case, whoever he was, one thing was certain: he was definitely from the Wanyan Family’s side, or he wouldn’t have stepped in at this moment to rescue Wanyan Hongsheng.

This situation also gave everyone a new understanding of the Wanyan Family’s strength. And this new understanding made people even more wary and guarded toward the Wanyan Family. After all, these people understood very clearly that the Wanyan Family had hidden themselves and accumulated strength for so many years; they were surely plotting something major—very likely intending to swallow the Heaven Earth Man Three Gates all by themselves. And that was precisely what no one wanted to see, since everyone had their own designs on the Heaven Earth Man Three Gates. If the Wanyan Family devoured them alone, wouldn’t everyone else be left with nothing to even think about?

Originally, these Acme experts could be said to act independently, or at most a few of them would join together to form a small faction. But after this incident with the Wanyan Family, their goals gradually aligned: they had to oppose the Wanyan Family. Under the initiative of the Seven Steering Committees of Hong Alliance, they even formed an alliance to confront the Wanyan Family together. After all, if they did not unite, they would definitely be no match for the Wanyan Family and would completely lose their chance to fight over the Heaven Earth Man Three Gates.

The Seven Steering Committees of Hong Alliance had not expected that, after returning this time, matters would progress so smoothly. Those who had originally been at sword’s point with them, filled with hostility toward the Seven Steering Committees, not only shed their hostility after this incident, but even united together. This was truly unexpected. Of course, it was also the best possible outcome, for the Seven Steering Committees knew very well how strong the Wanyan Family was; relying on the Seven Steering Committees alone, they might not be able to contend with the Wanyan Family. If they could unite the masters of the world, their chances of resisting the Wanyan Family would be that much greater!

Of course, when everyone united, there were also some who did not join. For example, the Twelve Green Halls, who had deep grievances with the Seven Steering Committees of Hong Alliance and naturally would not unite with them. That said, their target was also the Wanyan Family. The Twelve Green Halls were by no means fools; when the Wanyan Family had just tried to incite the world against Li Qianqiu and Lu Zian, their intent was to use the hands of the world to deal with the Seven Steering Committees and the Twelve Green Halls. In other words, the Wanyan Family had already begun to strike at them; how could the Twelve Green Halls not strike back?

There were also a few others who did not participate in the alliance, having their own plans. These few were usually rather sinister types; judging from their demeanor, it was obvious they wanted to watch from the sidelines when the Wanyan Family and the Seven Steering Committees with the Twelve Green Halls clashed, then sit back and reap the fisherman’s profit. In this matter, the Seven Steering Committees did not insist, because Helian Tiehua knew full well that these people could not possibly gain any advantage in such a great war.

Once war began, whether it was the Wanyan Family or the Seven Steering Committees with the Twelve Green Halls, they would first sweep away the scattered forces. So if these people still hadn’t taken refuge with either side before the war broke out, the first to die would be them. Neither the Wanyan Family nor the Seven Steering Committees with the Twelve Green Halls would ever allow anyone to stand by and watch, waiting to reap the fisherman’s profit.

Of course, this alliance was merely the result of everyone temporarily sitting together to discuss; a true formal alliance could not be so hasty. After all, though many people joined the Seven Steering Committees, not a few still did not quite trust them. Thus, after a bout of heated debate, they finally pushed Ye Qing out as leader of the alliance, putting him in charge of coordinating and deploying their forces. To put it bluntly, they handed the authority of the alliance to Ye Qing. As for how much real power Ye Qing would have, that would depend on how far this alliance developed in the future.

There were many reasons why everyone pushed Ye Qing forward as the alliance leader. First of all, Ye Qing had braved nine deaths to bring things out from the Tomb of Ghost Valley Master, and actually took them out for everyone to share; this alone made many people look at him with new eyes. Furthermore, Ye Qing seemed to have an excellent relationship with the True Buddha of Brahmanism. This too was deeply astonishing, for the True Buddha was by no means an ordinary figure. If the Wanyan Family truly had two Beyond The Pinnacle experts, then being able to invite Brahmanism for support would be the best possible outcome. With the True Buddha backing Ye Qing, even though Ye Qing was very young, everyone was still willing to submit to him.

Of course, the most crucial point was Ye Qing’s relationships with the various factions. With the Wanyan Family, that went without saying: Ye Qing and the Wanyan Family were definitely mortal enemies, so there was no need to worry that he might join hands with them. As for the others, Ye Qing had good relations with the Twelve Green Halls, with Sha Men, and with the Shen Family Manor. With Ye Qing stepping forward to take the lead, he would naturally gain the support of these powers. Most importantly, Ye Qing’s relationship with the Seven Steering Committees was neither too close nor too distant—this was the main reason they truly pushed him out to lead.

If Ye Qing had been too close to the Seven Steering Committees, they would never have let him lead, for that would mean letting the Seven Steering Committees control the alliance. But from the affair involving Zhou Haoyang and Bai Yonghui, everyone could see that there was actually a bit of friction between Ye Qing and the Seven Steering Committees; this made him the most suitable choice. At least, Ye Qing would not be under the Seven Steering Committees’ control, and everyone would therefore retain a certain say within this alliance.

The alliance was something Ye Qing had never anticipated. By the time he finally managed to make temporary arrangements for the alliance, it was already dawn. Moreover, under the translation of the Blue-robed Elder Daoist, everyone had obtained a translated copy of the Returning Origin Technique. Only then, satisfied at last, did people gradually disperse.

Of course, there were also some, like Du Canglang—loners who had re-emerged after hiding from the world for decades, with all their relatives and friends long dead and nowhere to go—who temporarily stayed on the side of the Seven Steering Committees of Hong Alliance. For such Acme experts, the Seven Steering Committees naturally treated them with the best food and drink. Being able to bring about this alliance also made the Seven Steering Committees very happy.

It was late into the night when Ye Qing finally saw off the last batch, Yin Xianzi and Ding Lianshun of the Twelve Green Halls, and he could finally let out a breath. The people from the Shen Family Manor were also temporarily staying in the Seven Steering Committees of Hong Alliance, and the people of Sha Men were here as well.

Ye Qing went to the Sha Men side first. The Bloody Monk had fully recovered and was sitting in the main hall. His expression was very ugly. Being injured by someone in a single palm strike was something the Bloody Monk himself found hard to accept.

With the Bloody Monk’s current strength, he dared challenge any Acme expert in the world. Even when facing the strongest of them, he might lose, but he would never lose so miserably. Yet with that palm today, he saw clearly the gap between an Acme expert and a beyond peerless master. His heart was weighed down with gloom, and he was pondering how he might break through the shackles of the Acme realm and reach the realm of a beyond peerless master.

Seeing Ye Qing arrive, the Bloody Monk stood up at once and said, ”Ye Qing, you’re here at last; I’ve been waiting for you a long time!”

Ye Qing had not expected the Bloody Monk to still be waiting for him here, and couldn’t help feeling surprised. ”Blood Robe Sect Leader, is something the matter?”

The Bloody Monk said, ”You told me before that the Green Reed Swordsman heard you describe the power of the Buddha’s Relic, then witnessed its power with his own eyes, and only then suddenly achieved enlightenment and soared in strength?”

”Y-yes…” Ye Qing replied softly. ”Of course, afterwards he gained many of his own insights, and even comprehended Wu Tianchi’s three Sword Marks, so his attainment kept growing stronger.”

Ye Qing did not mention the Innate Nine Diagrams. If that were spoken of, it would surely attract countless covetous eyes. Ye Qing only planned to pass on the Innate Nine Diagrams to those he truly trusted, such as Shen Tianjun, whom he did trust.

”Good.” The Bloody Monk nodded, then fell silent for a moment before saying, ”Can you tell me in detail about the power of the Buddha’s Relic, and, if possible, let me witness its power as well?”

”Ah?” Ye Qing froze for a moment, looking at the Bloody Monk in surprise. ”Blood Robe Sect Leader, you… you mean…”

”That’s right, I also want to break through the shackles of the Acme realm!” the Bloody Monk said bluntly. ”The state of the world today is not what it once was; several Beyond The Pinnacle experts have already appeared. Especially on the Wanyan Family’s side—there might be two Beyond The Pinnacle experts. If I don’t break through the shackles of Acme soon, once they come to kill us, Sha Men will likely be impossible to preserve!”

Ye Qing very much agreed with the Bloody Monk’s thinking. However, to break through the shackles of Acme was not an easy matter. With strength like Fu Qingping’s, after witnessing and comprehending so much, he was still half a step short of Beyond The Pinnacle. For the Bloody Monk to break through the shackles of Acme in a short time was certainly no easy task. According to Fu Qingping, strength was only an aid in breaking that barrier; the most crucial thing was one’s own heart. Whether the Bloody Monk could, like Fu Qingping, break through the shackles of Acme remained to be seen.

Still, since the Bloody Monk had spoken so, Ye Qing would not be stingy. He nodded and said, ”That’s no problem at all, but it’s a bit late now. Tomorrow morning I’ll explain it to Sect Leader in detail, how about that?”

”Very well!” The Bloody Monk nodded, looked at Ye Qing, and suddenly asked, ”By the way, how has the Green Reed Swordsman been lately? Why didn’t he show up today?”