Under the heavy rain, the small street by the riverbank fell into a deathly silence.
All the disciples of Honghua Tower stared blankly at the young man in a black robe standing by the riverbank with a spear in hand, their eyes filled with shock and suspicion.
Ta ta ta——
Amidst the rippling water, Song Chi and Chen Yuanqing, the two leaders, landed on the riverbank with one hand gripping Blood Bodhi's shoulder. Their gazes towards Ye Jingtang were no longer those of dealing with a younger generation, but rather quite solemn.
Chen Yuanqing first examined Ye Jingtang's complexion. Seeing that he wasn't injured, he then looked at Blood Bodhi who was pinned down:
"He takes money to do things for others. Since he doesn't know the identity of the employer, there's no use keeping him alive."
Ye Jingtang indeed wanted to ask about the mastermind behind the scenes. Upon hearing this, he didn't say anything more and was about to stab him to death with a spear.
However, Blood Bodhi, who was pinned down, angrily cursed:
"I haven't even spoken yet. How do you know I don't know?!"
Chen Yuanqing frowned and said: "We all understand the rules of the martial arts world. You're also an elder in the martial arts world. Act with some dignity and don't die like a stray dog."
Ye Jingtang raised his hand to signal the two hall masters to wait and asked:
"Who sent you?"
Blood Bodhi, who was forced to kneel on the ground, gritted his teeth and said:
"A mysterious employer in the capital, who calls himself 'Yan Bugui'."
Yan Bugui...
Ye Jingtang pondered for a moment and then nodded slightly: "How did you make contact?"
"Yan Bugui provided a hiding place. We always left coded letters for contact. I only met him once when I entered the capital, and he hasn't shown up since then."
Chen Yuanqing shook his head and said: "In the martial arts world, when hiring an assassin, if the identity is revealed, the assassin will be sold to the enemy in no time. The person who dared to hire Blood Bodhi is definitely not an ordinary person. Tracing the clues provided by him will only lead to an ambush."
Blood Bodhi looked at Ye Jingtang and gritted his teeth:
"Everyone here is an experienced martial artist. I really don't know the identity of the employer, but I have a secret that Young Master Ye will surely be interested in."
"Speak."
"The Green Bandits offered the 'Minglong Diagram' as a reward to persuade me to take this job. As long as Young Master Ye spares my life, I can teach you this secret technique."
?
Everyone was taken aback upon hearing this.
Ye Jingtang was indeed intrigued. He wiped the rainwater off his face, inserted the long spear into the ground, and squatted down halfway in front of Blood Bodhi:
"You know the secret technique of the Minglong Diagram?"
"The Yan Bugui who hired me taught me the secret technique. I've only practiced it for two or three months and haven't made any progress yet. However, I've witnessed Yan Bugui's prowess. He can carry a thousand-jin boulder with one hand and walk around leisurely. He practices the legendary 'Dragon and Elephant Diagram' of 'The Turtle Carries Three Mountains'..."
Although Blood Bodhi didn't learn the Dragon and Elephant Diagram, he had indeed witnessed Yan Bugui's power. Therefore, his voice was steady without the slightest sign of guilt. Even Song Chi and the others thought he wasn't lying, and they felt a bit hesitant.
But...
Ye Jingtang felt a mix of emotions in his heart and secretly thought:
If you want to live and just randomly mention one of the nine diagrams, I might hesitate. But you're talking about the one I have in my arms?
Were you hired by the fierce ghost transformed from the 'Wingless Owl' to take revenge?
Ye Jingtang thought that Blood Bodhi's time had indeed come. He tracked Ye Jingtang all the way to the main altar of Honghua Tower and tried to find an excuse to live by talking about the thing Ye Jingtang had. He was so unlucky that there might not be a second person like him in the entire martial arts world.
Chacha——
A flash of sword light.
Before Blood Bodhi could finish his confident words, his gray head fell to the ground in the rain.
Dong dong dong...
Song Chi and Chen Yuanqing looked at the rolling head and felt a bit puzzled:
"Aren't you going to listen some more, Young Nephew Ye?"
Ye Jingtang sheathed his sword and tried his best to suppress the inexplicable feeling in his heart:
"I know the current Prince Jing and have seen the Minglong Diagram once. The Minglong Diagram can't be passed on orally. One can only comprehend it by looking at the diagram oneself. Even if the Green Bandits have it, they definitely wouldn't give this diagram to a small-time martial artist."
"Oh..."
Song Chi and Chen Yuanqing suddenly understood and slightly beckoned, signaling the disciples to come and deal with the body.
Pei Xiangjun, wearing a wide-brimmed hat, walked over and wanted to escort Ye Jingtang back to the building to check his injuries. Ye Jingtang had been struck by a claw just now. Although the soft armor had blocked it, Chen Ming's strike was quite powerful. It was equivalent to being hit in the chest through the soft armor, and it was estimated that there would be several bruises on his chest.
However, Ye Jingtang had no intention of leaving. He glanced at the silent disciples of Honghua Tower and found Song Changqing, who was watching from the rooftop:
"I'm fine. Elders, please continue with the meeting. Due to my personal matter, the sparring with Brother Song was interrupted. Please forgive me, elders. Brother Song, shall we continue the sparring?"
As he spoke, he picked up the long spear and walked towards the round building, ready to have a fair and square fierce battle with Song Changqing.
?!
All the hall masters of Honghua Tower, including Pei Xiangjun, almost stumbled upon hearing this.
Continue the sparring?
Are you serious?!
You were so ruthless when you killed people just now. You shattered them, and there wasn't a single intact body on the ground. Your strikes were extremely heavy. Who dares to spar with you?!
Judging from the momentum of your strikes, you definitely have the foundation of a grandmaster. Letting Song Changqing, who is barely considered first-class, come up for a one-on-one fight. Do you want to teach his son a lesson in public?
Song Changqing, who was standing at the back of the crowd, was originally shocked. Upon hearing this, his expression turned stiff with a hint of embarrassment, and he looked at his father:
"Uh..."
Song Chi also didn't expect Ye Jingtang to say such a thing. He wanted to say, "Young Nephew Ye is injured. Let's talk about this after you recover," but this statement was really shameless, and for a moment, he didn't know how to say it.
Fortunately, the third leader, Chen Yuanqing, came to the rescue:
"What's the point of fighting now? Young Nephew Ye's potential is enough to be the young leader. If Second Brother Song has any objections, I'll talk to him. There's no need for the leader to intervene."
The hall masters, incense masters, and even countless disciples present all nodded in agreement without the slightest objection:
"Yeah, Changqing is powerful, but it's just normal powerful. Young Nephew Ye is completely... Well..."
"He has the potential to be one of the Eight Grandmasters."
"Right, the potential to be one of the Eight Grandmasters!"
"At Young Master Ye's age and with his martial arts skills, there's no second person like him in the martial arts world. If he doesn't become the young leader, who else in Honghua Tower is worthy of this position?"
"Yeah, our Honghua Tower hasn't had such a promising talent in thirty years..."
"Sigh, Yuanming wasn't this fierce back then. I guess only the old leader when he was young could have this kind of momentum..."
...
The heroes of Honghua Tower talked among themselves.
Upon hearing the words of the hall masters and incense masters, Song Chi's expression gradually changed from complicated to helpless.
Song Chi indeed wanted to be the leader. After all, Pei Xiangjun couldn't hold up the reputation of Honghua Tower at all. Now that the Azure Dragon Hall has a successor with much greater potential than him, a fifty-year-old uncle, and all the hall masters and incense masters have recognized it, he couldn't find any fault with it. What else could he say?
After thinking about it, Song Chi smiled with relief:
"Young Nephew Ye's talent is unprecedented. He's probably already a genuine grandmaster now. Not to mention being the young leader, even if he were to be the leader, we wouldn't have any objections."
Pei Xiangjun shook her head and said: "Jingtang has just entered the martial arts world and doesn't even know all the martial arts forces. He can be the young leader to maintain the appearance of the organization, but he's not ready to be the leader yet."
Ye Jingtang had a clear understanding of himself and smiled: "Just now, when my spear was pinned down, I already counted as losing. I was able to counterattack purely relying on my natural strength. I estimate that I have the foundation of a grandmaster, but I don't have the martial arts attainments of a grandmaster. I'm not worthy of the title of grandmaster yet."
Song Chi and the others didn't say anything more. They cupped their hands in salute to Pei Xiangjun:
"Leader, take Young Nephew Ye to check his injuries. There were originally many troublesome matters in the organization, but now it seems that there's nothing to worry about. We can handle them ourselves."
The internal and external troubles of Honghua Tower can be summed up in one point - insufficient strength and a worrying future.
Ye Jingtang was like a reassuring pill. Now that the hall masters felt confident, naturally, there were no more messy objections.
Since Pei Xiangjun took the position, this might be the first time things went so smoothly for her. She didn't say much and left contentedly with the precious successor...