Urban Martial Saint

Zhou Haoyang was originally guarding inside the main building. Upon hearing commotion from this side, he rushed out to check the situation. However, before he reached the pond, he encountered someone running towards him.

”Who goes there!” Zhou Haoyang shouted loudly, primarily to alert those inside the main building, letting them know someone was attacking from behind.

Sure enough, upon hearing Zhou Haoyang’s voice, footsteps could be heard again from the direction of the main building, as the Seven Steering Committees of Hong Alliance members came over.

Wanyan Hongsheng was extremely powerful, though defeated once by the Bloody Monk. Still, Zhou Haoyang was definitely not his match. But, at the current moment, Wanyan Hongsheng had no time to engage Zhou Haoyang directly. Upon seeing Zhou Haoyang, he immediately turned and ran in another direction, aiming to lead Zhou Haoyang away and buy Wanyan Old Sixth some time to search for the small box!

Zhou Haoyang wasn’t particularly bright, seeing Wanyan Hongsheng flee without suspecting deceit, shouted loudly and chased after him.

Meanwhile, the Purple Robe Lama listened to the footsteps grow distant and secretly sighed. This Zhou Haoyang was truly foolish, easily deceived. It seemed that this Wanyan Old Sixth would have to be dealt with personally!

Wanyan Hongsheng had previously seen the Bloody Monk defeat Zhou Haoyang and knew Zhou Haoyang’s strength was negligible. So, upon encountering him, he was hardly flustered, leading Zhou Haoyang away without leaving the main building, but rather running towards the door Zhou Haoyang had just exited from. Zhou Haoyang’s shout was bound to be heard by those inside, prompting others to come out, and Wanyan Hongsheng needed to lead this next batch away as well, so that Wanyan Old Sixth could act uninterrupted.

Soon after Wanyan Hongsheng reached the door, a group of people rushed out. Among them, however, were no Peak Masters. The only remaining Peak Master from Seven Steering Committees left was Bai Yonghui, who stayed in the main building to protect Ye Qing. In such circumstances, Bai Yonghui certainly wouldn’t leave the main building, fearing someone might enter and attack Ye Qing, leaving him defenseless.

Bai Yonghui’s attitude towards Ye Qing was due to Ye Qing employing Bai Li Xi to detoxify them. Though both Zhou Haoyang and Bai Yonghui believed the incident was caused by Ye Qing, harboring resentment, they couldn’t dismiss Ye Qing’s role in resolving their poison; this gratitude was acknowledged by the Seven Rudders of the Hong Alliance and all Seven Great Families. At least on the surface, they had to play their part. Before Helian Tiehua left, he instructed them to protect Ye Qing thoroughly. If Ye Qing encountered any misfortune under their protection, they couldn’t justify it. Conversely, if word spread, they would be seen as ungrateful, utterly ruining their reputation. So, when it came to protecting Ye Qing, they had to be wholeheartedly committed to prevent any unintended consequences.

After leading away Zhou Haoyang and the group that rushed out, Wanyan Hongsheng bought time for Wanyan Old Sixth. Wanyan Old Sixth continued to stir in the water for a while but still found nothing. Resurfacing, he called to the ”Seventh Elder” on the shore, ”Lao Qi, are you mistaken? There’s nothing in this water. Are you sure it’s the right place?”

”I’m definitely not mistaken; it’s right here!” The Purple Robe Lama replied bluntly, enjoying the spectacle as Wanyan Old Sixth floundered in the water amusingly.

”Why can’t I find it then?” Wanyan Old Sixth scratched his head, looking at the Purple Robe Lama, ”How big is this box supposed to be?”

”About the size of a fist,” the Purple Robe Lama casually lied.

”Fist-sized?” Wanyan Old Sixth turned to look at the pond behind him, spanning roughly two acres, and couldn’t help but gasp.

”Such a small thing, could I have overlooked it?” Without suspicion, Wanyan Old Sixth dove back into the water grumbling, ”I’ll search thoroughly again!”

Watching Wanyan Old Sixth’s antics in the pond, the Purple Robe Lama laughed inwardly. Wanyan Old Sixth was indeed foolish, failing to realize he was deceived, still searching. Nonetheless, it was fine to let him continue; for now, the Purple Robe Lama had no intention of attacking him. After all, making a move against Wanyan Old Sixth meant opposing the Wanyan Family, a serious matter. Although he was a protector of Brahmanism, he couldn’t decide on such a significant issue!

On the other side, Wanyan Hongsheng continued to circle in the Hong Alliance’s estate with Zhou Haoyang and others. He kept awaiting news from Wanyan Old Sixth. Once the box was found, he planned to leave immediately, not staying a moment longer in the Hong Alliance’s estate. Having suffered losses here twice before, he was adamant about not lingering any longer. Each minute spent in this estate felt like an increased danger, as if crises lurked everywhere.

But, Wanyan Hongsheng had been stalling for nearly ten minutes without hearing from Wanyan Old Sixth, leaving him frantic and bewildered. What was Wanyan Old Sixth doing? After ten minutes, at least a signal should show the progress, unaware that others were risking to buy him time.

After running for a while without news from Wanyan Old Sixth, Wanyan Hongsheng couldn’t hold back any longer. Unsure of Wanyan Old Sixth’s situation, worried about unforeseen incidents, he gritted his teeth and, ignoring the group chasing him, turned towards the pond. In the absence of Wanyan Old Sixth’s news, at least he could take a distant glance to understand his situation better.

Zhou Haoyang and his followers, panting heavily in pursuit, lagged behind Wanyan Hongsheng, whose strength far surpassed theirs, making catching up impossible. By then, Zhou Haoyang’s sluggish mind realized that with Wanyan Hongsheng’s capabilities, he would’ve escaped already if he wanted. Yet, Wanyan Hongsheng continued circling with them deliberately, indicating he aimed to stall them for something more significant, involving other accomplices.

Considering this, Zhou Haoyang halted and stopped the pursuing crowd.

”Everyone, stop chasing!” Zhou Haoyang shouted.

”Why stop chasing?” a surprised man asked; this man belonged to the Hong Alliance Steering Committees, not the Seven Great Families, hence dared question Zhou Haoyang.

”Are you stupid? Haven’t you noticed?” Zhou Haoyang glared, ”The person ahead is capable of escaping us but hasn’t, clearly aiming to stall us while his accomplice does something else. We certainly can’t catch this person, and it’s uncertain what his accomplice is doing. So, chasing is pointless!”

Zhou Haoyang’s words enlightened the crowd, with one member exclaiming, ”Then he has accomplices? What should we do now?”

”Immediately disperse, assign people to guard all estate exits and its key locations. Then, send four teams to conduct a thorough search from the estate’s perimeter, ensuring we find his accomplice whatever it takes!” Zhou Haoyang ordered loudly.

Upon hearing Zhou Haoyang, the crowd quickly scattered to arrange the search, while Zhou Haoyang glanced towards Wanyan Hongsheng running in the distance, frowning, choosing not to pursue but instead head back to the main building.

He knew Ye Qing was doing something significant tonight, with Helian Tiehua helping Ye Qing. Before leaving, Helian Tiehua specifically asked Zhou Haoyang to protect Ye Qing. With strangers invading the Hong Alliance estate, he feared they targeted Ye Qing. Realizing the odd situation, Zhou Haoyang immediately thought of Ye Qing in the main building. If someone intended to distract, the main building’s Ye Qing would be in grave danger.

Though Zhou Haoyang resented Ye Qing, he harbored less disdain than Bai Yonghui, remembering kindness. His poison was detoxified by Ye Qing through Bai Li Xi, essentially lifesaving, never to be forgotten. So, realizing Ye Qing’s danger, he instinctively rushed to protect Ye Qing at the main building.

The direction Zhou Haoyang took back to the main building led just outside to the pond’s location. Originally, Wanyan Hongsheng intended to lead them away, but Zhou Haoyang realized this by chance, seemingly lucky.

Before reaching the pond, Zhou Haoyang heard some commotion there, a situation perplexing him as the pond lay outside the main building. Could this noise be from the previous attacker’s accomplice?

With this thought, Zhou Haoyang held his breath, stealthily approaching the pond. Under the light from the main building, he could see from afar a man in black standing by the pond. Though he couldn’t see the man’s features, Zhou Haoyang was sure this person wasn’t part of the Hong Alliance’s Seven Rudders!