Chapter 323: Conflict On The Streets
“But of course! Headmaster Lei’s disciples and friends must have killed him for his wealth. That is why Headmaster Lei’s vengeful spirit is haunting them and seeking revenge!” The middle-aged woman declared with absolute certainty.
“Makes sense. You’re quite the investigator, aren’t you auntie?” Ye Qing clapped encouragingly.
“And you’re a discerning man, boy! I can tell you’re a scholar!” The auntie looked incredibly happy with the praise. “Anyway, I need to leave for the market now. If you would listen to my advice, leave this place before Headmaster Lei’s vengeful soul haunts you!”
Ye Qing replied smilingly, “Thank you for the warning, auntie.”
After the middle-aged woman was gone, Chu Nianjiu looked at his companions and asked, “What do you guys think?”
Lin Yuhuai answered, “Headmaster Lei and the rest of the victims must have been killed by someone. The auntie is right on the mark about this. But the haunting? That’s just a baseless rumor, though I suspect that it’s spread by the real killers to conceal their involvement.”
“I’m of the same opinion,” Ye Qing echoed in agreement.
“What do we do now?” Chu Nianjiu asked.
Ye Qing thought for a second before answering, “We don’t need to worry about this. Unless everyone in the Feng Yang administration division is an idiot, they should know that Headmaster Lei was murdered as well. I don’t think our presence is going to help the investigation much, so I think we should just leave this case to the Feng Yang government and Chief Gu to handle!”
Chu Nianjiu shrugged. “Makes sense. We still need to go to Tian Yong. We can’t afford to waste time here.”
“I agree. I’ll send a message to Chief Gu later. I have no doubt he’ll find out Headmaster Lei’s murderer one way or another.” Lin Yuhuai nodded.
“Alright. Let’s stop wasting time and resume our journey,” Ye Qing said.
The trio was going to leave the city after walking away from Lei Martial School. When they set foot on a main street, they discovered that it was blocked by a massive throng of people.
“What’s going on, brother?” Ye Qing grabbed a guy and asked.
“Someone is challenging Feng Yang Gentleman... I think,” he answered uncertainly.
“Someone is definitely challenging Feng Yang Gentleman,” A guy at the front turned back and said.
“Wow, who are they? In any case, they must be suicidal. Feng Yang Gentleman is a genius whose talent was spotted by an elder of Purity Sword not long ago. He’s now a named disciple.”
“Really? That’s quite impressive.”
“Feng Yang Gentleman? Who’s that?” Ye Qing looked at Chu Nianjiu.
“Duanmu Yu, Feng Yang Gentleman, hails from the Duanmu Clan of Feng Yang. Due to his exceptional talent, he was recruited as an inner disciple by a major sect in Feng Yang, the Rainmaker. Since he embarked on the path of martial arts, he had never experienced defeat in Feng Yang. He is without a doubt the strongest warrior of his age in Feng Yang, which is why they call him Feng Yang Gentleman.”
Chu Nianjiu sipped his wine after he finished narrating Duanmu Yu’s achievements. Despite calling the youngster the strongest warrior of his age in Feng Yang, he didn’t seem concerned in the slightest.
“Not long ago, an elder from Purity Sword had purposely come to Feng Yang to recruit him as a named disciple. He even praised the guy claiming that he had the mark of a qilin on him,” Lin Yuhuai added.
“Sounds impressive,” Ye Qing commented while rubbing his nose.
“What do you mean ‘sound’? Our Feng Yang Gentleman is the greatest!” A beautiful woman in her twenties frowned slightly when she heard Ye Qing’s remark.
“Yeah! My Feng Yang Gentleman is the best!”
“He’s not yours, you slime! He’s mine!”
“No, he’s mine! Get away from him, you thots!”
The group of women began tearing into each other. It was a riot to put it mildly. Before a conclusion could be reached though, a roar suddenly drew everyone’s attention. “You don’t even have a bush down your crack yet, you children! Feng Yang Gentleman is mine!”
The roar came from a tall, broad woman who reminded Ye Qing of a barn wall. Despite being in her forties or fifties, her roar easily overpowered the girls’ voices and some more.
When the woman noticed that everyone in the vicinity was looking at her, she immediately put her hands on her waist and threatened, “What are you looking at? Never seen a beautiful woman in your life?”
Everyone quietly turned away and pretended she didn’t exist. You win.
“Holy shit, just how popular is this Feng Yang Gentleman with the girls?” Ye Qing rubbed his nose.
The guy from before harrumphed in displeasure, “Hmph! He’s a little more handsome than most, but he lacks the rugged maturity of a true man! I just don’t understand what these girls see in him.”
“What did you just say? Did you just slander my Feng Yang?!”
“Yeah, yeah! Feng Yang Gentleman is a handsome, scholarly man you’ll never compare to!”
“Don’t you dare criticize our baby!”
Just a moment ago, the girls were tearing into each other like they were sworn enemies. Now, they were all united against the guy who slandered their idol.
The giant woman from before chimed in, “Indeed. You claim my Feng Yang Gentleman is immature, but why don’t you take a look at yourself? You’re black as coal and ugly as sin. You are mature, you’re so mature I can smell the overripeness all the way from here. Now get out of the way and stop blocking my view.”
She shoved the guy out of her way after saying her piece. Then, she bulldozed her way through the crowd all the way to the front. No one could stop her.
The poor guy exchanged a glance with Ye Qing, and they both wiped the cold sweat on their forehead. A fangirl was already unstoppable, but a fanwoman as broad as the flat side of a barn? Only someone with a death wish would dare to stand in her way.
“Let’s go check out the fight.”
Even Lin Yuhuai would rather be anywhere but near these thirsty, thirsty women, so he leaped onto a nearby rooftop to avoid them. Chu Nianjiu and Ye Qing did the same thing and quickly realized that the rooftops were covered in people as well.
“Huh? It’s that young Taoist!” Ye Qing exclaimed in surprise when he saw the two men standing at the center of the crowd. He wasn’t expecting the young Taoist who called himself Qi Xuanyun to be the one challenging Feng Yang Gentleman.
Standing on the opposite side of the young Taoist was a tall, handsome man wearing a moon white-colored robe. He looked to be twenty three or four years old. He had to be Feng Yang Gentleman, Duanmu Yu.
“A middle-stage Spirit Purifier? I see why he’s considered the number one young warrior in Feng Yang,” Ye Qing commented while leaning against the eaves and sipping his wine.
“You first, young Reverend.”
On the street, Duanmu Yu extended a hand right before a cool breeze blew past him and fluttered his clothes, giving him a refined and picturesque appearance.
“Oh my heavens! He’s so handsome!”
“How graceful! How elegant!”
“He’s like a celestial from the heavens! I’m swooning!”
“That little Taoist is pretty cute as well. Look at him blushing like a kid. I just want to pinch his cheeks.”
The crowd couldn’t stop cheering for a time.
“Al... Alright. I’m going to make my move now,” the young Taoist mumbled with reddened cheeks.
The next moment, the young Taoist pressed his index finger and middle finger together and pointed toward the sky.
“Command: Lightning!”
Suddenly, a bolt of purple lightning the size of a human’s arm descended toward Duanmu Yu. It was so fast that it reached the Spirit Purifier’s head in just the blink of an eye.
Surprise flickered in Duanmu Yu’s eyes. He wasn’t anticipating the young Taoist’s purple lightning to be this quick either. Realizing that his opponent wasn’t someone he could underestimate, he immediately raised his left arm and summoned a whirlpool of force above his head.
The purple lightning disappeared without a trace as soon as it struck the whirlpool. It looked like it didn’t do anything at all.
“Impressive! It is clear that Feng Yang Gentleman has mastered the essence of the Rainmaker Palm! How impressive!” A refined-looking scholar on the rooftop praised.
“Impressive! That lightning attack looks weak, but it contains an unbelievable amount of power! How impressive!” Ye Qing complimented the young Taoist in the exact same tone.
The scholar immediately glared at Ye Qing. Is that a challenge? And what’s so impressive about that lightning anyway? Didn’t you see Duanmu Yu absorbing it like nothing? He has eyes, but he can’t see Mount Tai!
The scholar was just about to taunt Ye Qing when suddenly, Duanmu Yu’s relaxed expression morphed into shock. The next moment, the whirlpool he conjured with his palm force disintegrated and scattered purple lightning everywhere.
The purple lightning came and went quickly, but the damage it did could only be described as permanent. One second ago, Duanmu Yu was still an elegant gentleman. Now, his clothes had become ashen, his hair was standing like a porcupine’s quills, and he was smoking like he was on fire.
The uproarious cheers abruptly disappeared into nothing. Even the crowd suddenly froze as if someone had immobilized them with a spell.
Where am I?
What happened?
What did I just see?
For a time, no one could process what they just saw. Then, the young Taoist said seriously as if he was displeased with Duanmu Yu’s performance, “Can you please be a little more serious, Feng Yang Gentleman? This is a duel.”
Duanmu Yu’s expression turned ugly as something flinty flickered in his eyes. His tone was casual and relaxed, however. “You are right, young Reverend. I shan’t take you lightly any longer.”
“Phew! I knew there’s no way Feng Yang Gentleman would fail to block a single lightning bolt. He was just giving the little guy a handicap!”
“But of course! There’s no way Feng Yang Gentleman could fight such a cute little guy seriously, could he?”
“True. But the little guy has proven his worth, and now Feng Yang Gentleman is about to turn serious.”
The spectators thought they figured out the truth and voiced their opinions out loud, not knowing that Duanmu Yu was just barely keeping himself from reacting to them. He was lucky he was too blackened for them to spot the deep blush on his cheeks right now.
“Come, my sword!” Duanmu Yu called out, and a sword flew out of a nearby restaurant and fell into his grip, ringing.
“This sword is called Rainmaker. Be careful now, young Reverend.”
The next moment, Duanmu Yu thrust his sword forward and fired droplets of light at the young Taoist. It was similar to a downpour, but one that was coming from every direction. Everyone felt a chill when they saw the attack.
“Hahaha! That's one of the techniques of the Rainmaker Sword Art, the Rainmaker Sword Will. Judging from how his sword qi is pouring like the rain, it is clear that Feng Yang Gentleman has mastered the technique. Is there anyone who could avoid a downpour?”
This time, the scholar was staring at Ye Qing directly while shouting his commentary. Ye Qing ignored him though. He continued to sip his wine as if he couldn’t hear the guy.
The scholar thought that Ye Qing was conceding defeat and became even more arrogant. “That Taoist is going to lose for sure.”
Back on the street, the young Taoist pointed his finger at the incoming sword qi and cried, “Command: Five Lightning!”
Rumble!
The clouds gathered, and five divine lightning of differing colors—red, blue, black, purple and white—shot toward the sword qi like massive serpents. As the rain of sword qi clashed against the lightning bolts, the limestone floor cracked and gained countless blade marks and scorch marks.
“The five-colored lightning are divine, potent, and fierce like a dragon. Can rain stop a dragon? I think not.” Ye Qing beamed.
“Hmph! Dragon my ass! More like tiny snakes! Like some piss poor lightning can punch through Feng Yang Gentleman’s technique!” The scholar retorted in disdain.
As if on cue, the five-colored lightning joined into one and transformed into a massive dragon. They easily annihilated the sword qi headed their way, crushed the limestone floor underfoot, and flew straight toward Duanmu Yu.
A lightning dragon rises from the street, and no wind and rain could possibly trap it.
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