My Name Is 'Dugu Qiubai'

Not long afterward.

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

Behind him, Wu Clan Martial Hall disciples lay sprawled across the ground.

Wu Xu was severely wounded, covered in sword marks and spewing blood. He looked utterly wretched.

Whenever he thought back to the sword techniques his opponent had used, Wu Xu felt utterly powerless. Compared to before the other man had drawn his sword, it was as if his opponent had suddenly been switched out for someone else.

He was simply too strong!

Just as the dark-faced youth was about to step over the martial hall's threshold, Wu Xu gritted his teeth through his injuries and called out, "Wait... who are you, exactly? Do you dare leave your name?"

What he meant was: the Wu Clan Martial Hall wasn't a place people could just come and kick down!

Hearing him, the dark-faced youth stopped. He turned his head slightly and replied, "Want revenge? Then remember this well: my name is—Dugu Qiubai!!!"

With that, the dark-faced youth strode away, leaving the martial hall's disciples with nothing but his cold, aloof back.

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

What a wildly arrogant, confident name!

Just hearing it gave one the feeling of gazing up at a lofty mountain.

But... you haven't even reached the Transformation Yuan Realm. Do you deserve a name like that?

Overcome with emotion, Wu Xu opened his mouth and spat out another mouthful of blood.

And with that, the Wu Clan Martial Hall had lost and been eliminated!

"'Then remember this well: my name is Dugu Qiubai!'"

"Boss Zhou, I have to say, that line of yours was way too cool. And that alias you came up with is badass. How'd you think of it?"

Once they left the martial hall, the trio's cold, imposing air abruptly shifted, and they relaxed.

Dongfang Pangpang imitated Shen Zhou's earlier tone and shouted the line again, still thinking it had an incredible aura.

San Mazi gave Shen Zhou a thumbs-up, praising him again and again.

Shen Zhou put on an air of modesty and waved his hand, but his smugness had already spread for miles. "Great writing comes naturally; a brilliant line can come by happy chance. The name just came to me in a moment of inspiration.

"Well? Doesn't it sound impressive the moment you hear it?"

San Mazi immediately played along. "Impressive? That's an understatement. It's downright incredible!"

Dongfang Pangpang rolled his eyes so hard they nearly disappeared into the sky. Then he got back to business. "The first martial hall, the Wu Clan Martial Hall, has fallen. Which one are we going to challenge next?"

Shen Zhou and San Mazi answered without a moment's thought. "The Yang Family!"

They were both petty, after all.

Of the Five Great Families, the Wu Clan had earned the most resentment from them. The next one on the list was naturally the Yang Family, who had also given Shen Zhou trouble on Martial Hall Street.

Who else would they go after?

Meanwhile.

In a teahouse outside Martial Hall Street.

Wu Chen, one of the Wu Clan's three prodigies, had arranged to meet the Yang Family's leading young talent, Yang Feipeng, for tea.

They sat by the window, sipping tea as they watched the Flying Bird First Martial Hall not far away, waiting for the show.

The Wu Family Head and one of their prodigies had been killed. There was no way they would let such a grave grudge go unanswered.

But a full-scale war against the Qin Family would come at too great a cost and carry too much risk. To keep the other families from taking advantage of the chaos and kicking them while they were down, the Wu Clan had no choice but to proceed slowly with its revenge.

So, for this Martial Hall Grand Tournament, the Wu Clan had put Wu Chen in charge. He was to cause trouble for the Qin Family and White Deer Academy, where Shen Zhou was staying, and collect a little interest.

Otherwise, outsiders might really start thinking the Wu Clan was a sick cat.

Wu Chen had drawn up his plan before the Grand Tournament. As soon as it began that day, he would have the Wu Clan Martial Hall disciples challenge the Flying Bird First Martial Hall first, followed by the Qin Family's Qin's Martial Hall.

He would have both places eliminated on the very first day of the tournament and bring shame upon them.

To that end, he had also invited Yang Feipeng of the Yang Family, who shared his grudge against Shen Zhou, to watch the spectacle.

Yang Feipeng was in his twenties, tall and strong, with handsome, regular features. His every movement carried an air of uprightness, just as one would expect of a scion of a great family.

He glanced outside at the disorderly scene on Martial Hall Street, where the martial halls were challenging one another, then shook his head and looked away. "Didn't you say you'd invited people from the Xu, Lin, and Chu Families too? Why haven't they shown up?"

Compared with the upright Yang Feipeng, Wu Chen looked rather delicate. He was about the same age and was idly turning a celadon teacup in his hand. With a faint smile, he replied, "The Lin Family only wants to keep its head down and wait for its two prodigies to grow up. They don't want to get involved in worldly affairs. As for Chu Tianqi of the Chu Family, he's always been a carefree playboy and can't be trusted with anything important. Then there's the Xu Family... now, they're an interesting case.

"I heard that ever since the negotiations at the North Mountain Mine, the Xu Family has been getting awfully close to the Qin Family. They practically seem ready to wear the same pants.

"But I think the Xu Family's behavior is too strange.

"Families like theirs, who would eat a man without spitting out the bones, don't just turn over a new leaf so easily. If they really could, would they still be a great family?

"So I sent people to keep an eye on the Xu Family.

"Guess what they found?"

Wu Chen's words immediately caught Yang Feipeng's attention. He prompted, "What?"

Wu Chen looked like he'd stumbled upon a delightful surprise. Leaning close, he lowered his voice. "My people sent word that the Xu Family has been acting furtively. Lately, quite a few of their people have been going back and forth to the North Mountain Fire Crystal Mine. They seem to be plotting something big.

"So I decided right then: whatever the Xu Family is planning to do to the Qin Family, I'm getting involved.

"I won't pass up any chance to target the Qin Family.

"What do you say, Brother Feipeng? Interested in joining me?"

After hearing Wu Chen out, Yang Feipeng was both surprised and taken aback.

He was surprised that the Xu Family's close relationship with the Qin Family was all an act, and that they were actually plotting something behind the scenes.

What took him aback was that Wu Chen had uncovered such a huge secret—and was even planning to get involved.

He had to admit, the man was bold!

Wasn't he worried the Xu Family would notice and cause more trouble?

Yang Feipeng thought for a moment before replying, "I'll have to think it over carefully first. One thing can set off a chain reaction, and our Yang Family hasn't reached the point of fighting the Qin Family to the death."

Hearing Yang Feipeng's response, Wu Chen's lips curled into a smile. He didn't mind. In his eyes, the Qin Family was merely a small second-rate family. Even if Shen Zhou's Divine Weapon kept them safe for a while, the Wu Clan would surely swallow them up in the end.

What's more, the Xu Family was a tiger hiding in the shadows.

He was already eager to see what the Xu Family was really up to.

After waiting a little longer, Yang Feipeng saw one group of challengers after another take their turn outside the Flying Bird First Martial Hall, yet the plaque above its entrance remained untouched. He couldn't help frowning. "Brother Wu Chen, why haven't your Wu Clan Martial Hall people arrived yet? Did something happen?"

Wu Chen snapped out of his reverie. After hearing Yang Feipeng, he stood up and looked out the window. Seeing no sign of the Wu Clan Martial Hall disciples, he was puzzled too. "That shouldn't be. I gave them clear instructions before I came: the moment the Grand Tournament began, they were to head straight here. What could've gone wrong?"

As they were speaking, a Wu Clan messenger hurried in from outside. The moment he entered, he shouted, "Young Master Chen, something's wrong! The Wu Clan Martial Hall disciples were attacked just as they were about to leave. They're all badly injured and can't get up!"

Wu Chen's eyebrows shot up. "What did you say? Someone beat up our Wu Clan Martial Hall people? Who? Which martial hall had the nerve to come challenge the Wu Clan at our own doorstep?"

Frightened by Wu Chen's imposing air, the messenger stammered, "W-we don't know which martial hall they came from. The man only gave us a name."

"What name?"

"D-Dugu Qiubai!"

"..."

Hiss...

What an arrogant name!

'Dugu'?

'Qiubai'?

Wu Chen crushed the teacup in his hand and roared, "Investigate! Find out who this Dugu Qiubai belongs to. Let's see which martial hall he came from. They dare to stroke the tiger's whiskers? Do they really think our Wu Clan can be pushed around now?"

Yang Feipeng was also shaken by that name. He said, "Brother Wu Chen, since your Wu Clan Martial Hall disciples have all been beaten, does that mean your plan for today is..."

The meaning was obvious.

The Wu Clan Martial Hall had been eliminated, so their revenge plan for today was out of the question.

But Wu Chen wasn't willing to accept that. He turned to Yang Feipeng and said, "Brother Feipeng, last time on Martial Hall Street, that Shen Zhou humiliated your Yang Family and made you lose face. Are you really willing to swallow that insult?"

He wanted to egg the Yang Family Martial Hall on to challenge the Flying Bird First Martial Hall.

Just as Yang Feipeng was hesitating over whether to agree, someone from the Yang Family rushed over with a report: the Yang Family Martial Hall had also been eliminated.

Yang Feipeng was startled. "What happened? Who did it?"

The messenger replied, "The man didn't say which martial hall he was from. He only gave us a name: Dugu Qiubai!"

Yang Feipeng: "..."

Wu Chen: "..."

"Remember this well: my name is Dugu Qiubai!"

Outside the Chu Clan Martial Hall, Shen Zhou left with Dongfang Pangpang and San Mazi after removing the plaque above its entrance.

On the way, Shen Zhou asked, "How many have we challenged?"

San Mazi checked the points token in his hand and replied, "Four. Of the Five Great Families, only the Xu Family is left!"

Shen Zhou didn't hesitate. "Then let's keep going. We're taking down the Xu Family. Move out!"

Dongfang Pangpang was stunned. He hurriedly tried to stop him. "Didn't we agree at the start to only go after the Wu and Yang Families? Why are we taking on the other three too?"

Shen Zhou replied, "Didn't the Qin Family say that the Wu Clan had contacted the other Four Great Families to target us? We don't know whether the Lin and Chu Families agreed, but to be safe, we might as well take them all down."

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

Shen Zhou said, "Oh. Well, to keep the Xu Family from being exposed, I think they should lie down nice and neatly with the other four."

Dongfang Pangpang froze.

Was that even human speech?

In the end, Dongfang Pangpang couldn't talk Shen Zhou out of it, so he had no choice but to follow him to challenge the Xu Family Martial Hall.

But when they arrived, they saw a huge crowd gathered outside the Xu Family Martial Hall, lined up to take on the Xu Family's fighters.

In the crowd, Shen Zhou caught sight of people from the Golden Roc and Flying Bear Martial Halls, the two he'd insulted on the street a couple of days earlier.

They could even hear the Xu Family Martial Hall and the other martial halls arguing from the street.

"What do you think you're doing? You dare challenge our Xu Family Martial Hall? Are you looking to get yourselves eliminated?"

"Bah! What's so great about the Xu Family Martial Hall? You called us second-rate martial halls a bunch of trash, said we weren't fit to shine your shoes... Come on, then! Today, our thirteen martial halls are going to see just how great you really are—and find out who the trash is!"

"We never said that! Who called you trash?"

"Save it! You think you can deny it? Don't bother! The Golden Roc Martial Hall is taking you on today!"

"Yeah! Get 'em! Get 'em!"

The people from the Xu Family Martial Hall were dumbfounded.

What in the world was going on?

Had someone caused trouble outside?

The three of them were just as baffled outside the Xu Family Martial Hall.

Then San Mazi and Dongfang Pangpang looked at Shen Zhou in unison, their faces saying, 'See what you've done?'

Shen Zhou guiltily rubbed his nose, then said, "Forget it. Looks like the Xu Family doesn't need us to challenge them. Let's pick another place."

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