Shangguan Hong rested his right hand on his sword hilt and looked up. "I want to see the Master of the Masses."
Some passersby had already noticed him and were pointing from a distance, but no one came near.
Shangguan Hong felt a surge of pride. He hadn't been overly nervous or afraid; the slight unease he felt had nothing to do with Wild Horse or the onlookers.
The so-called kingly bearing was really just bullying the weak with strength. That was the simple conclusion he'd reached: one glance from the Unrivaled King could scare a man to death because he was the most skilled fighter in Stone Fortress and kept a large band of assassins. The Dragon King was young, yet could command armies because his saber skills were formidable. Old Man Mu was an even clearer example: as his martial arts went from strong to weak, he became a completely different person.
His failure to achieve anything in Stone Fortress had nothing to do with whether he was clever. Zhang Ji had first supported him, then abandoned him, simply because he'd found Shangguan Yun, whose martial arts were better and whose background was deeper. In the end, he'd shifted all the blame onto Shangguan Hong, claiming that Young Master Hong was born with all sorts of weaknesses.
Hypocrite! Shangguan Hong thought furiously. His anger smoothly turned toward Wild Horse, and he even began to yearn for a chance to face the one-armed freak in a duel before a crowd.
But Wild Horse didn't give him what he wanted. The wide-eyed face disappeared, and even the window was shut.
The confidence Shangguan Hong had drawn from his sword hilt crumbled in an instant. He didn't know how to handle the awkward situation before him. The Unrivaled King and the