Yan Zangfeng, the male lead, was the son of the Supreme Alliance's former Left Envoy. Acting on Guan Yutian's orders, his father had gone in search of the "Thousand Spirits Chess Manual," but after finding it, he hid it away rather than handing it over.
The reason was that he feared Guan Yutian would use the "Thousand Spirits Chess Manual" to open the treasure trove of Divine Trigram Mountain Chess City, causing countless deaths and injuries in his bid to dominate the realm.
Listen to that. Just listen.
Was that even something a human being would say?
How was what he did any different from Spider-Man's father in The Amazing Spider-Man?
He used someone else's resources to research his own things, then turned around and packed up all the results to take away, claiming it was to stop others from doing evil.
Damn.
That was why Yan Zangfeng's father deserved to die.
Yan Zangfeng took a deep breath and earnestly persuaded him, "Qianxing, listen to your big brother. Leave the Supreme Alliance. Guan Yutian is ambitious, brutal, and heartless. He has thrown the entire martial world into panic. Don't keep aiding and abetting him."
"Enough. Stop talking drunken nonsense."
"I haven't been drinking," Yan Zangfeng said anxiously.
"Zangfeng, haven't you understood yet? This despicable man simply refuses to give up his wealth and glory." Liu Yiyi spoke with a look of disgust.
"Say whatever you like. Zangfeng, did you bring what I wanted?" Fang Xuan asked.
A trace of struggle appeared on Yan Zangfeng's face. He shook his head. "Sorry, Qianxing. I can't give it to you."
"Sigh, I knew it would come to this."
In the next instant, Fang Xuan seized Liu Yiyi's snow-white neck with lightning speed.
Yan Zangfeng's expression changed drastically. Liu Yiyi struggled to breathe under Fang Xuan's grip, her face turning pale.
"Qianxing, what are you doing? Let Miss Liu go!"
Fang Xuan spoke coldly beside Liu Yiyi's ear. "Let me teach you something. In this martial world, strength is king. Don't think everyone will grovel before you just because you have a pretty face. Being beautiful is your advantage, but it is also the root of your disaster. In these troubled times, it is a path to death. And having a filthy mouth is one too."
"Cough, cough. If you've got the guts, kill me. Even if I die..."
Crack!
"Ah!"
Fang Xuan had never indulged her. With a sharp crack, he reached out and directly snapped Liu Yiyi's arm.
Agonizing pain instantly flooded through her body. Liu Yiyi let out a miserable scream, her face deathly pale.
"Qianxing, you..."
"I'll say it one more time. Give me the 'Heaven's Will Four Symbols Art,' or it won't be her arm that breaks next. It'll be her neck," Fang Xuan said coldly.
Yan Zangfeng's face was filled with conflict. After a moment, he finally pulled a slightly yellowed book from his robes and threw it to Fang Xuan.
Fang Xuan was overjoyed, but he remained cautious. "It really is the 'Heaven's Will Four Symbols Art.' This secret manual isn't fake, is it?"
Yan Zangfeng's expression visibly stiffened.
Damn it, I knew it.
Even thick-browed, big-eyed Guo Jing could forge something. Let alone everyone else.
Fang Xuan held Liu Yiyi with one hand and opened the "Heaven's Will Four Symbols Art" with the other. He said coldly, "Yan Zangfeng, to prevent you from deceiving me with a fake manual, I'll randomly recite a line from it, and you will recite the next. If you get even one word wrong, Liu Yiyi dies. Her life is in your hands."
Western Venom Ouyang Feng's deranged fate was the best example. With martial arts manuals, a single wrong word could lead one a hundred thousand miles astray. Fang Xuan had no desire to die without even knowing why.
"Wait."
Yan Zangfeng drew a jade bamboo slip from his sleeve and tossed it over.
"Let Miss Liu go."
Tiny characters, barely visible to the naked eye, were engraved upon the jade slip. Its material was extremely rare as well; forging it could not possibly be done in a short time. It was likely genuine.
Only then did Fang Xuan satisfactorily tuck the jade slip into his robes. With a burst of force from his right hand, he threw Liu Yiyi straight toward Yan Zangfeng.
Just then, a figure descended from the sky. Moving as fast as lightning, it lunged at Fang Xuan with thunderous speed.
"Hmph, I've been waiting for you, Master Baili." Fang Xuan sneered.
The newcomer was none other than Master Baili Qu'e of Chan Enlightenment Temple.
Yan Zangfeng could not possibly have succeeded so easily in obtaining the Heaven's Will Four Symbols Art from Chan Enlightenment Temple. Baili Qu'e had certainly learned every detail of what had happened.
Baili Qu'e had been friends with Yan Zangfeng's father, Yan Zhongyang. After learning of the situation, he naturally did not wish to see Yan Zangfeng threatened, nor did he want his martial arts manual taken so easily. Thus, he had hidden nearby, intending to kill Fang Xuan in secret.
Fang Xuan stepped on the Seven Stars, stamping a sizable crater into the ground. The muscles in his legs trembled, his blood and qi surged, and his arms shook like those of an immortal crane.
Immortal Crane Shakes Feathers.
His arms swept through the air, leaving behind afterimages as though they were a pair of crane feathers.
The immense power of five horses tore through the air with a vicious gale. The sharp wind currents sent the dust beneath his feet flying.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Baili Qu'e, descending from above, felt searing pain in both arms. His bones creaked as though they were about to snap. Had true qi not protected them, his arms would already have shattered.
What tremendous strength! Who exactly is this man? Even a tiger cannot match this monstrous power. No, I absolutely cannot let him leave. Guan Yutian is already highly skilled in martial arts. With this man aiding him, he will become like a tiger with wings. The martial world will be in grave danger.
With that thought, Baili Qu'e secretly resolved to eliminate Fang Xuan.
The name Baili Qu'e alone suggested a man who hated evil with a passion, and in truth, his temper was exceptionally fiery.
"You want to steal this old monk's Heaven's Will Four Symbols Art? Then this old monk will let you witness its power!" Baili Qu'e roared.
Wrath of the Wind God.
His shout rang across the wilderness. Wind and clouds churned around Baili Qu'e as vast amounts of heaven and earth energy gathered, while an enormous phantom suddenly formed behind him.
The phantom stood dozens of meters tall, its entire body blue-green. Hurricane winds gathered around it, tearing the white clouds in the sky to pieces.
A closer look revealed that the giant behind Baili Qu'e somewhat resembled the Jialan found in temples. Jialan was a Buddhist guardian deity, and Baili Qu'e was the abbot of Chan Enlightenment Temple. The azure figure, bearing the appearance of the guardian Jialan, gave one the illusion that a god or buddha had descended into the world.
Baili Qu'e pressed his palms together and silently chanted a Buddhist invocation. The blue phantom behind him likewise raised its palm. The millstone-sized hand generated powerful wind currents as it gathered force, leaving one with the feeling that there was nowhere to escape.
"Suppress!"
The enormous palm drew the hurricane along with it. The rocks, grass, and trees beneath it trembled violently in the gale, while the ground was scraped away by three feet out of thin air. The hurricane was like a blade, tearing everything apart.
"Fuck, run!"
Only an idiot would meet that head-on. Fang Xuan was not trying to defeat Baili Qu'e. If he did not run now, when would he?
As for pride, what pride was there to care about?
Once his cultivation became greater, he could come back and reclaim his pride later.
His blood and qi surged within him, and the muscles in his thighs instantly swelled by a full circle. Swift as an arrow and moving like the wind, he darted straight into the depths of the forest.
Yan Zangfeng and the others were left dumbfounded.
Baili Qu'e was so furious that he roared, "You brat!"
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