Wenren Qiang

Wenren Qiang shared the same generation as the Hundred Flowers Sect Leader, Liu Ruyan's master, making him the highest-ranking person present.

"Senior Brother, I heard this Wenren Qiang is also Taishu Sheng's senior brother. He disappeared for ten years; I wonder how much his power has improved," Sun Man reminded him with a frown, clearly abandoning the idea of pursuing Jiang Shuo.

Feng En and Liu Ruyan exchanged a look before Feng En stepped forward and said, "Senior Wenren, my Hundred Flowers Sect disciple trespassed into the Forbidden Ground. I hope you will be merciful and, for the sake of the Hundred Flowers Sect and the Dream Red Pavilion, let him go."

The situation was different now. Neither Feng En nor Shi Gangwei were juniors to the other two sects anymore. No matter how much they argued, there would still be elders to mediate later. Wenren Qiang and Taishu Sheng were of equal standing. If they offended each other to death, the two sects might face an endless conflict.

"Trespassed? Heh, when these two disciples said they were returning to the sect for medicinal herbs, our Mad Saber Sect kindly sent two disciples to guide them. Later, both those disciples fainted. Is that what you call trespassing?" With Wenren Qiang backing him, Shi Gangwei's confidence grew.

"Your two disciples don't even know how they fainted, so how can you blame my Hundred Flowers Sect?" Jiang Shuo and Sun Daoming each carried a dose of Sleeping Powder. The plan was to incapacitate enemies and then feign ignorance, making it impossible for the enemy to do anything without proof. This was a plan Feng En had discussed with them early on, but he didn't know something had gone wrong.

"Heh, Master Feng, Master Feng, today I've truly seen your ability to lie with a straight face. After one of my disciples woke up, he clearly told me that the two of them had conspired to knock him out. If you don't believe me, I can summon him here to confront you. Surely you won't claim my disciple was hallucinating or confused?" Shi Gangwei said confidently, his head held high. After Jiang Shuo trespassed into the Forbidden Ground, he had kept the news quiet to conceal it, which naturally prevented him from settling the score with Feng En regarding the disciples being knocked out. Thus, Feng En remained in the dark.

"What?" Hearing Shi Gangwei's words, Feng En showed a look of confusion. His intuition told him the other party wasn't speaking nonsense.

He trusted Jiang Shuo's abilities and turned his cold gaze towards Sun Daoming. Sun Daoming's eyes darted away, his expression strange, and he hid behind Sun Man, clearly guilty.

Seeing this, Feng En knew immediately that the mistake had occurred with Sun Daoming. He let out a cold snort. With a formidable enemy before them, there was no time for a detailed inquiry.

Watching their exchange, Wenren Qiang understood everything. He clasped his hands behind his back and looked at Feng En, asking, "Regardless of whether it was trespassing or not, he still trespassed, correct?"

"This... yes." Feng En hesitated but then answered affirmatively. The matter was common knowledge, and lying would be pointless.

"Then what do you have to say for yourself?" Wenren Qiang's tone sharpened, his eyes flashing with ferocity.

The mere presence of one person made the Hundred Flowers Sect members uneasy, and those with weaker wills showed fear.

They hadn't expected Wenren Qiang to be so aggressive. Just like his reputation suggested, he seemed to possess a mad, reckless aura.

Feng En frowned, pondered for a moment, then raised his head and said solemnly, "Jiang Shuo is my disciple. No matter what, I must take him with me today."

"Oh?" Wenren Qiang looked at Feng En with interest. He had made his intentions clear, yet the man remained stubborn, prompting him to look at him more closely. "I admire courageous people, but you shouldn't be courageous in front of me."

Facing the blatant threat, Feng En met Wenren Qiang's gaze without fear, neither subservient nor arrogant. "No matter what means 'no matter the cost'!"

His words shocked not only the Mad Saber Sect but also the Hundred Flowers Sect. Although Jiang Shuo had made significant contributions to the entire city's residents, he hadn't offered much to the Hundred Flowers Sect. If anything, his only notable contribution was risking his life for Yu Yuhan.

Little did they know, this was precisely why Feng En decided to protect Jiang Shuo; the reason was that simple and direct.

Yu Yuhan couldn't be present this time, but Feng En knew without her saying it that she would absolutely not stand by and watch Jiang Shuo be taken away by the Mad Saber Sect.

Liu Ruyan looked at Feng En in surprise. Although Jiang Shuo was a disciple of the Hundred Flowers Sect, he had come to the Mad Saber Sect primarily for the Dream Red Pavilion. Even she herself hesitated to go to war with the Mad Saber Sect for Jiang Shuo. Feng En had already declared his stance, forcing her to re-evaluate Jiang Shuo's worth.

"Liu Ruyan of the Dream Red Pavilion stands with the Hundred Flowers Sect." Liu Ruyan stepped forward, standing parallel to Feng En.

"You are... her disciple?" Wenren Qiang tilted his head, looking at Liu Ruyan as he asked.

"Yes," Liu Ruyan replied with a nod.

Although the name wasn't explicitly mentioned, both of them knew who was being referred to.

Wenren Qiang narrowed his eyes, a flicker of emotion passing through them before his gaze shifted back to Feng En. He chuckled and nodded, "Good, good. As expected, the younger generation surpasses the old. You juniors dare to speak to me like this. Truly remarkable..."