I Am Called 'Dugu Qiubai'

Not long after.

The dark-faced youth removed the plaque from the Wu Clan Martial Hall, then turned and left with his two companions.

Behind him lay the fallen disciples of the Wu Clan Martial Hall, scattered across the ground.

Wu Xu was severely wounded, his body crisscrossed with sword marks, blood gushing from his mouth—a truly miserable sight.

Recalling the sword technique his opponent had just used, Wu Xu felt a wave of helplessness. Compared to before the sword was drawn, it was as if he had suddenly faced a completely different foe.

Too strong!

Just as the dark-faced youth was about to step over the threshold of the martial hall, Wu Xu forced himself to speak despite his injuries: "Wait... who exactly are you? Dare you leave your name?"

He meant to say that the Wu Clan Martial Hall was not so easily kicked down!

Hearing this, the dark-faced youth paused, then tilted his head slightly and replied, "Want revenge? Then remember this—my name is Dugu Qiubai!!!"

With that, the dark-faced youth strode away, leaving only a cold, aloof silhouette for the martial hall's crowd.

Wu Xu murmured the name 'Dugu Qiubai' over and over, his body trembling violently.

What an arrogant and confident name!

Just saying it aloud gave one a sense of towering reverence.

But... a guy who hasn't even reached the Transformation Yuan Realm—do you deserve it?

Overwhelmed with emotion, Wu Xu opened his mouth and spat out another gush of blood.

Thus, the Wu Clan Martial Hall was defeated and eliminated!

"'Then remember this—my name is Dugu Qiubai'!"

"Boss Zhou, I gotta say, that line of yours was way too cool, and that alias is seriously awesome. How did you come up with it?"

After leaving the martial hall, the cold demeanor of the three challengers suddenly shifted, turning relaxed and lighthearted.

Dongfang Pangpang mimicked Shen Zhou's earlier tone and shouted the line again, still finding it dripping with swagger.

San Mazi, full of admiration, gave a thumbs-up and kept praising Shen Zhou.

In response, Shen Zhou waved his hand in feigned modesty, but the smugness radiating from him could be felt for miles. He said, "Great writing comes by chance, a stroke of genius. That name just popped into my head out of nowhere.

What do you think? Sounds impressive, right?"

San Mazi immediately played along: "Impressive? It's more than impressive—it's downright incredible!"

Beside them, Dongfang Pangpang rolled his eyes so hard they nearly disappeared, then got back to business: "Now that the first Wu Clan Martial Hall is down, which one do we hit next?"

Shen Zhou and San Mazi answered without hesitation, blurting out in unison, "The Yang Family!"

After all, both of them held grudges.

Among the Five Great Families, aside from the Wu Family, which they resented the most, the next was the Yang Family—the one that had also caused trouble for Shen Zhou on Martial Hall Street.

If not them, then who?

Meanwhile.

At a tea house outside Martial Hall Street.

Wu Chen, one of the three prodigies of the Wu Family, and Yang Feipeng, the standout of the Yang Family's current generation, had agreed to meet for tea.

They sat by the window, sipping tea and watching the Flying Bird First Martial Hall not far away, waiting to enjoy the show.

The Wu Family Head and one of their prodigies had been killed—such a great enmity could not go unavenged.

But an all-out war with the Qin Family carried too great a cost and too much risk. To prevent other families from taking advantage or kicking them while they were down, the Wu Family had to move slowly and exact revenge gradually.

So, for this Grand Tournament of martial halls, the Wu Family put Wu Chen in charge, tasking him with causing trouble for the Qin Family and the White Deer Academy, where Shen Zhou belonged, and collecting some interest.

Otherwise, outsiders might really think the Wu Family was a toothless cat.

To that end, Wu Chen had already laid out a plan before the tournament began. On the first day, he ordered the Wu Clan Martial Hall disciples to challenge the Flying Bird First Martial Hall first, followed by the Qin Family's Qin's Martial Hall.

He wanted both families eliminated on the first day of the tournament, ruining their reputations.

For this, he had also brought along Yang Feipeng of the Yang Family, who also held a grudge against Shen Zhou, to watch the excitement.

Yang Feipeng, in his twenties, was tall and sturdy, with a square, handsome face and a righteous air in every move—truly a scion of a noble family.

He glanced outside at the chaotic Martial Hall Street, where challenges were flying back and forth, then shook his head and withdrew his gaze. "Didn't you say you also invited the Xu, Lin, and Chu families? Why aren't they here?"

Compared to the upright Yang Feipeng, Wu Chen's features were far more effeminate. He was also young, and as he toyed with a celadon teacup, he replied with a faint smile, "Those three families? The Lin Family just wants to quietly wait for their two prodigies to grow and doesn't care about worldly affairs; Chu Tianqi of the Chu Family has always been a playboy, not up to anything serious; as for the Xu Family... now that's interesting.

I heard that since the North Mountain Mine negotiations, the Xu Family has been getting chummy with the Qin Family, practically ready to share the same pants.

But I think this is too unusual for the Xu Family.

A family like theirs, which devours people without spitting out bones—if they could change so easily, would they still be a noble family?

So I sent people to keep an eye on the Xu Family's movements.

And guess what?"

Wu Chen's words piqued Yang Feipeng's interest, and the latter followed up: "What?"

Wu Chen leaned in with a look of unexpected delight and whispered, "My people reported back that the Xu Family has been acting sneaky. Lately, quite a few of them have been going back and forth to the North Mountain Fire Crystal Mine, as if they're plotting something big."

So I decided right then, no matter what the Xu Family was planning against the Qin Family, I was going to wade in and stir things up too.

Any chance to target the Qin Family, I wouldn't let it slip.

What do you think, Brother Feipeng? Interested in joining?"

After hearing Wu Chen's words, Yang Feipeng was both shocked and taken aback.

What shocked him was that the Xu Family's current good relations with the Qin Family were all an act, with ulterior motives hidden beneath the surface.

What surprised him was that Wu Chen had uncovered such a huge secret, and that he actually wanted to get involved too.

He had to admit, this guy had some nerve!

Wasn't he afraid the Xu Family would catch on, or that something else might go wrong?

Yang Feipeng pondered for a moment before replying, "I'll need to think it over carefully. One move affects the whole board—our Yang Family and the Qin Family aren't at the point of fighting to the death yet."

Hearing Yang Feipeng's attitude, Wu Chen smirked and didn't take it to heart. In his eyes, the Qin Family was just a minor second-rate clan. Even if they could stabilize for a while thanks to Shen Zhou wielding a Divine Weapon, they'd still end up devoured by his Wu Clan in the end.

Besides, there was the Xu Family, a deeply hidden tiger.

He was almost eager to see what schemes the Xu Family was cooking up.

After waiting a bit longer, Yang Feipeng watched as challengers at the Flying Bird First Martial Hall came and went in waves, yet the token on the hall's door remained untouched. Frowning, he said, "Brother Wu Chen, why haven't your Wu Clan Martial Hall people arrived yet? Did something go wrong?"

Wu Chen snapped out of his daydream. Hearing Yang Feipeng's words, he stood up and looked out the window. Seeing no sign of Wu Clan disciples, he grew puzzled too. "That's strange. I gave clear orders before I came—they were supposed to head straight here as soon as the Grand Tournament started. What could have gone wrong?"

Just as he spoke, a Wu Clan member rushed in from outside with a message, shouting as he entered, "Young Master Chen, it's bad! Our Wu Clan Martial Hall disciples were attacked the moment they tried to leave. Now all of them are seriously injured and can't get up."

Wu Chen's brows shot up in disbelief. "What did you say? Our Wu Clan people were attacked? By who? Which martial hall dares to come knocking on our Wu Clan's door?"

The messenger stammered under Wu Chen's intimidating presence, "We... we don't know which hall they're from. The one who came only gave a name."

"What name?"

"Du... Dugu Qiubai!"

"..."

Hiss...

What an arrogant name!

'Dugu'?

'Qiubai'?

Wu Chen crushed the teacup in his hand, then roared in fury, "Investigate! Find out! I want to see which martial hall this Dugu Qiubai belongs to. They dare to stroke the tiger's whiskers? Do they really think our Wu Clan is someone to be bullied now?"

Yang Feipeng was also shaken by the name. "Brother Wu Chen, since your Wu Clan Martial Hall disciples have been beaten, doesn't that mean your plan for today is..."

His meaning was clear.

With the Wu Clan Martial Hall eliminated, today's revenge was off the table.

But Wu Chen wasn't willing to give up. He turned to Yang Feipeng and said, "Brother Feipeng, last time on Martial Hall Street, your Yang Family was also humiliated by that Shen Zhou until you lost all face. Can you really swallow that anger?"

He was trying to incite the Yang Family Martial Hall to challenge the Flying Bird First Martial Hall.

Just as Yang Feipeng was hesitating over whether to agree with Wu Chen, suddenly a Yang Family member also ran in to report that the Yang Family Martial Hall had been eliminated too.

Yang Feipeng was startled. "What happened? Who kicked them out?"

The messenger said, "The one who came didn't say which hall he was from. He only gave a name—Dugu Qiubai!"

Yang Feipeng: "..."

Wu Chen: "..."

"Remember this, I am Dugu Qiubai!"

Outside the Chu Family Martial Hall, Shen Zhou led Dongfang Pangpang and San Mazi away after taking down the token from the door.

On the road, Shen Zhou asked, "How many have we kicked so far?"

San Mazi glanced at the token in his hand and replied, "Four. Out of the Five Great Families, only the Xu Family is left to kick."

Shen Zhou didn't hesitate. "Then let's keep going. Hit the Xu Family, let's move!"

Dongfang Pangpang was dumbfounded. He quickly stopped him. "Didn't we agree from the start to only go after the Wu and Yang Families? Why are we not letting the other three off either?"

Shen Zhou said, "According to the intel the Qin Family got, didn't the Wu Clan contact the other four families to target us? Even if we don't know if the Lin and Chu Families agreed, better safe than sorry—kicking them all is the way to go."

Dongfang Pangpang pressed on, "What about the Xu Family? They didn't agree, and they were the ones who tipped us off."

Shen Zhou replied, "Oh, well, to keep the Xu Family from being exposed, I think it's better for them to lie down neatly with the other four."

Dongfang Pangpang was stunned.

Was that even human speech?

In the end, Dongfang Pangpang couldn't argue with Shen Zhou and had to follow him to the Xu Family Martial Hall to kick it.

But as soon as they arrived, they saw a huge crowd gathered in front of the Xu Family Martial Hall, lining up to challenge it.

And among the crowd, Shen Zhou vaguely spotted the Jinpeng and Feixiong Martial Halls, the ones he had cursed out on the street a couple of days ago.

Even standing on the street, you could hear the ruckus inside between the Xu Family Martial Hall and the other martial halls.

"What do you think you're doing? Daring to challenge our Xu Family Martial Hall? Are you asking to be eliminated?"

"Pah! What's so great about your Xu Family Martial Hall? Calling us second-rate martial halls trash, saying we're not even fit to tie your shoes... Come on, come on... Today, the thirteen of us martial halls are here to see just how impressive your Xu Family really is, and to see who the real trash is!"

"We never said that. Who said you were trash..."

"Save that act. Still trying to deny it? Let me tell you, it won't work! This old man's Golden Roc Martial Hall is here to fight you today!"

"That's right, fight him, fight him!"

The people from the Xu Family Martial Hall were dumbfounded.

What the hell was going on?

Had someone stirred up trouble outside?

Shen Zhou and the other two stood outside the Xu Family Martial Hall, equally dumbfounded.

Then, San Mazi and Dongfang Pangpang simultaneously turned to look at Shen Zhou beside them, their expressions clearly saying, 'See, this is what you've done.'

Shen Zhou guiltily rubbed his nose and finally said, "Forget it. Looks like the Xu Family doesn't need us to kick them anymore. Let's just pick another one."

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