Urban Martial Saint

At around noon, according to the previously agreed time, basically all the participants of the alliance rushed to the Manor of the Seven Rudders of the Hong Alliance and began to discuss the concrete matters of the alliance.

The reason they had not discussed these concrete matters the day before was that it was very hard to unify all sides’ opinions. Moreover, at that time it was the strength displayed by the Wanyan Family that pushed this alliance into being. One could also say this alliance had been formed somewhat hastily; everyone wanted to fight for benefits and status for themselves. Under such circumstances, it was already not easy for the alliance to temporarily come together, let alone to discuss the concrete details of the alliance.

They gave everyone a day to go back in between, saying it was to let everyone rest, but in fact there was another reason: to gain a bit of time to think over this alliance. To put it bluntly, these people just wanted to get some time to think about how they could obtain the greatest benefit for themselves from the alliance.

So in the afternoon, when they discussed the concrete matters of the alliance, things were actually even more chaotic than yesterday. However, despite the chaos, under the pressure of the Wanyan Family this alliance would not fall apart because of everyone’s disputes; everyone knew very clearly the outcome if the alliance disbanded—taken separately, they definitely could not fight the Wanyan Family. Therefore, amid argument and discussion, everyone ultimately made some compromises more or less; only then did they manage to agree on some concrete matters of the alliance and barely settle the affairs of the alliance.

In this process, although Ye Qing was the leader of the alliance, he basically had no say; the ones speaking were still those powerful forces. In such an alliance, only Peak Masters had the right to speak. Although Ye Qing was the leader of the alliance, he now no longer had any Martial Arts, and was just an empty shell. In fact, the reason they had found him to come out and serve as this leader was precisely because they had taken a fancy to the fact that he had no Martial Arts; this way they did not have to fear the leader. Conversely, if any other Peak Master were made leader of the alliance, everyone would instead have to divert more energy to guard against this chief.

Ye Qing was also very clear about everyone’s attitude toward him, so when they discussed the concrete matters of the alliance, he basically did not say anything. And in fact, he actually wanted to give this identity of alliance leader to Helian Tiehua. The Great General commanded the entire Seven Rudders of the Hong Alliance and had been able to develop it to this point; from this one could see the Great General’s leadership ability. If he were to lead this alliance, it would surely be easier to deal with the Wanyan Family.

However, everyone was very clear about the abilities of Great General Helian Tiehua. Although they knew that if he led this alliance, the alliance’s capacity for action would certainly be stronger, they also feared that the Great General would completely seize control of this alliance—that would be troublesome. So, when discussing concrete matters, they even deliberately targeted Helian Tiehua, causing the status of the Seven Rudders of the Hong Alliance within this alliance to become not so important, and the Seven Rudders of the Hong Alliance to be unable to play much of a role in this alliance.

In fact, if people from the Wanyan Family or the Sword Saint Sect were here and heard the outcome of these discussions, they would surely snicker to themselves; their original worries would probably all vanish. Because although everyone had formed an alliance, in truth they were far from united; almost each person was arguing for his own interests. Put bluntly, the inside of the alliance was full of scheming and infighting—how much strength could there be left to deal with outsiders?

It was just a pity that neither people from the Wanyan Family nor people from the Sword Saint Sect could possibly know about this alliance. Right now, the two sides were worrying about this alliance, because they were very clear about the strength of Great General Helian Tiehua and both feared that Helian Tiehua would take control of the alliance; that would be troublesome for them.

Outside the Manor of the Seven Rudders of the Hong Alliance, in a secluded corner, a black business carriage was parked. Five people sat inside; the one in the lead was precisely the Young Master of the Sword Saint Sect. The four people beside him were the four servants who had come out with him.

They had come here to hide already in the afternoon. They had intelligence personnel arranged inside the Seven Rudders of the Hong Alliance; when Ye Qing was alone, they would immediately inform them. By then, the Young Master of the Sword Saint Sect would have his four servants join forces to lock down those people who were in the middle of a meeting, while he himself would go personally to kill Ye Qing. If there was time, he could also conveniently abduct Shen Qingyi.

Sitting in the carriage, the Young Master of the Sword Saint Sect kept fantasizing about personally killing Ye Qing and abducting Shen Qingyi; the light in his eyes flashed constantly. Thinking of Shen Qingyi’s incomparably beautiful face, at this moment he practically itched to immediately charge into the manor, kill Ye Qing, and seize Shen Qingyi!

While the few people of the Sword Saint Sect were silently waiting here, on a pavilion more than one hundred meters away from them, there were also three people staring at these few men of the Sword Saint Sect. These three were precisely Wanyan Hongsheng, Old Sixth Wan Yan, and the Executioner Scholar.

The three had secretly tailed this group from the Sword Saint Sect starting last night and had followed them all the way here. The strength of Wanyan Hongsheng and his two companions was very strong, and while tracking they deliberately kept their distance from these people of the Sword Saint Sect. So although the people of the Sword Saint Sect were very strong, they had not discovered them at all.

The three had been waiting here all along, waiting for the moment when the people of the Sword Saint Sect would act. Just as in the plan the Executioner Scholar had proposed yesterday, after the Young Master of the Sword Saint Sect killed Ye Qing, they would immediately make a move to snatch the things on Ye Qing. In this way, not only could they kill Ye Qing, they could also seize the items they wanted. Moreover, the crucial point was that as long as word spread that Ye Qing had died at the hands of the Young Master of the Sword Saint Sect, there would surely be quite a few people who would seek revenge for Ye Qing and go head‑to‑head with the Sword Saint Sect. This would naturally be even more advantageous to the Wanyan Family.

Thus, under such a plan, Wanyan Hongsheng was of course very supportive in his heart. The three had already finished disguising themselves, changing clothes and covering their faces. Let alone the Young Master of the Sword Saint Sect; even those who had seen Wanyan Hongsheng yesterday might not be able to recognize him now. Wanyan Hongsheng’s Facial Disguise Technique could be considered quite good.

After waiting here for about two or three hours and seeing that the people of the Sword Saint Sect had made no move, Old Sixth Wan Yan could not help feeling somewhat impatient and said, ”Why haven’t they acted yet?”

”Don’t be anxious.” Wanyan Hongsheng smiled faintly and said, ”They’ve been waiting here for so long; there’s no way they won’t act. The only reason they’re not acting now is probably that Ye Qing still hasn’t been alone. Anyway, we’re right here: when the people of the Sword Saint Sect act, we act; if they don’t act, then we also don’t act. No matter what, for us there’s no loss—those people of the Sword Saint Sect should be more anxious than we are!”

Hearing this explanation from Wanyan Hongsheng, Old Sixth Wan Yan said no more. The three of them waited here for another two hours or so; until the sky was completely dark and still there was no movement from the people of the Sword Saint Sect, even Wanyan Hongsheng could not sit still anymore.

”Is Ye Qing planning to stay with those people the whole time? At this hour, he still hasn’t been alone—how are the people of the Sword Saint Sect supposed to act?” Wanyan Hongsheng said in a deep voice.

The Executioner Scholar did not speak. He knew that after Wanyan Hongsheng had suffered a big loss yesterday, he was no longer as calm as before. At this moment, even he couldn’t contain himself; it seemed there was definitely no problem with this plan to deal with the Wanyan Family.

Ever since the Executioner Scholar had eavesdropped on the Wanyan Family’s conversation at Chatiang Peak last time, he had been thinking of ways to deal with the Wanyan Family. It was just that before he had sufficient odds of success, he would not act. This time, however, was a very good opportunity for him. He appeared to be dealing with Ye Qing and helping Wanyan Hongsheng by coming up with such a plan; in reality, he intended to lure Wanyan Hongsheng into going against the people of the Sword Saint Sect.

Although Wanyan Hongsheng and the others had changed their faces, the Executioner Scholar still had ways to expose their identities. In this way, when the people of the Wanyan Family went to seize the belongings of the Young Master of the Sword Saint Sect, they would inevitably infuriate this Young Master; the two sides might very well start fighting. If the Young Master of the Sword Saint Sect could be killed amid the chaos, that would be ideal. In this way, the grievances between the Wanyan Family and the Sword Saint Sect would be completely forged, and the Sword Saint Sect would absolutely not let the Wanyan Family off.

To the Executioner Scholar, the Wanyan Family was an enemy, and the Sword Saint Sect was also an enemy. If he could make these two enemies fight each other, that would of course be the best outcome. These two forces were both ones the Executioner Scholar could not cope with. But if these two forces fought, then the Executioner Scholar could sit on the mountain and watch the tigers fight and would no longer have to worry that either side would make a move against him.

With precisely this in mind, the Executioner Scholar had patiently waited here together with the two men of the Wanyan Family. The night grew completely dark; soon it was past nine in the evening, and the entire Manor of the Seven Rudders of the Hong Alliance was lit up brightly. The lights at the main building were especially bright; from the looks of it, they were still discussing endlessly.

Just when the two men of the Wanyan Family were anxious over here and felt that the people of the Sword Saint Sect would not act, the carriage of the Sword Saint Sect moved.

”Third Brother, Third Brother!” Old Sixth Wan Yan was the first to see it; excitedly he said to Wanyan Hongsheng, ”Look, the people of the Sword Saint Sect are moving out!”

Wanyan Hongsheng was watching as well; he saw clearly that four people emerged from the carriage first—those four servants. After the four servants got out, they slipped quietly into the Manor of the Seven Rudders of the Hong Alliance from four directions and headed toward the main building respectively.

These four were all outstanding figures among Peak Masters. They slipped into the manor with extreme caution, and those Peak Masters who were still endlessly discussing in the main building did not hear a single sound.

”Sure enough, those four are the first to act!” Wanyan Hongsheng looked toward the Executioner Scholar and said approvingly, ”Executioner Scholar, you were indeed right. It seems these four really intend to go and seal off those Peak Masters in the main building!”