Wild Desolate Art

Silence hung outside the teahouse.

The passersby and the teahouse owner were dumbfounded.

Young Master Xu was being beaten like a disobedient grandson. If it weren't broad daylight, they would have thought they were dreaming.

The key was, that kid was way too bold. Wasn't he afraid the Xu Family would take revenge?

Xu Liansheng was thinking about the same thing.

As a direct descendant of the Xu Family, no one except his parents had dared lay a finger on him since he was little.

Yet today, he had actually been beaten by some nobody?

Xu Liansheng was stunned for a moment before coming to his senses. But though he was furious, he wasn't stupid. His opponent could easily unleash sword energy, sweeping away more than a dozen Xu Family disciples at the early stage of the Transformation Realm with one stroke. That was strength he could never match.

So he forced down his rage and demanded, "Who exactly are you? If you've got the guts, give me your name."

Though Shen Zhou held a Little Wooden Sword, his aura was as fierce and terrifying as a dragon looming over an abyss. He gripped Xu Liansheng, raised an eyebrow, and said, "Your young master never changes his name or surname. I'm Yang Guo. What are you gonna do about it?"

The Three Little Ones behind him: "!!!"

Again!

At least this time he hadn't called himself "Sinking Boat."

Xu Liansheng's gaze sharpened. "You're from the Yang Family?"

The teahouse owner and the passersby were shocked.

The Yang Family?

The Yang Family, one of Flying Bird City's Five Great Families?

No wonder.

This was a clash between dragons and tigers!

Shen Zhou had no idea what they were thinking. He only thought his opponent had something wrong with his head, so he swung his hand and slapped him again, then scolded, "I already told you my name's Yang Guo. If I'm not from the Yang Family, then what, I'm from your Xu Family? You idiot!"

"You..."

Xu Liansheng's face was bright red from the beating. He looked like he wanted to kill Shen Zhou as he said, "You Yang, you win this time. I'll remember this score, and one day I'll make you pay it back double!"

Shen Zhou raised his hand and slapped him again, scolding, "Still putting on an act? You've fallen into my hands and you still dare threaten me. Do you really think I wouldn't dare kill you?"

Xu Liansheng's head snapped to the side, and blood seeped from the corner of his mouth. Rage blazed within him. He had wanted to curse Shen Zhou out, but when he turned and saw the murderous look in Shen Zhou's eyes, his eyelid twitched and he immediately calmed down.

By the rules of the great families, their junior members could fight and make trouble, but it was all about slapping faces and losing face—petty matters. No matter how far things went, no one would die.

After all, they were all among the Five Great Families. If they truly fought, both sides would suffer.

But he could tell that this "Yang Guo" was not only strong, but also a reckless hothead. Once a person like that lost his temper, he truly didn't care about the consequences.

Even if the Xu Family settled the score afterward, what good would it do if he was already dead?

Thinking of this, Xu Liansheng had no choice but to bow his head and admit defeat. Gritting his teeth, he said, "Fine, I admit I lost. Yang Guo, what will it take for you to let me go? Name your price!"

Shen Zhou was the sort who wouldn't budge when coaxed, but backed down when pushed. Seeing his opponent admit defeat on his own, his expression finally softened. Then he grinned wickedly. "So you're not made of iron after all. I thought you'd keep that hard head of yours right to the end. Since you're begging me to spare you, don't make me name a price. Just toss down everything valuable on you and we'll see if it's enough to buy your life."

Xu Liansheng clenched and unclenched his fists, his face turning red and then pale. He felt utterly humiliated. After struggling with himself for a while, he resentfully pulled the money pouch from his waist and threw it onto the table.

When the pouch opened, it revealed a sackful of gold leaves.

Each one was worth a hundred taels of silver, and there were roughly thirty or more.

Then he took out two jade vials. One held Nourishing Origin Pills, used to improve one's cultivation, three in all; the other held healing pills, more than a dozen of them.

Finally, when he took out a square object wrapped in brocade from his robes, he hesitated for a moment. But he gritted his teeth and threw it out anyway.

After doing all that, Xu Liansheng couldn't bear to stay another moment. He turned and left. Only after his badly wounded subordinates had all mounted their strange horses did he look back at Shen Zhou with hatred and say, "You Yang, this isn't over. Just you wait. Giddyup!"

They had swaggered in, but in the end they left with their tails between their legs. The stark contrast left many people wide-eyed.

"Huh? Did I say he could leave?"

"A member of a great family goes out with this little stuff, and he doesn't even have a storage pouch or a ring. Some great family, huh? Bah, aren't they embarrassed?"

Shen Zhou checked the things on the table as he grumbled.

The teahouse owner and the passersby were speechless. Storage pouches and rings were high-end goods, rare even among the Five Great Families. Yet this "Young Master Yang" spoke of them as though they were cabbages.

A Dai and the others didn't think anything of it. They were already used to Shen Zhou's carefree nature. It was as though he had his own way of understanding the world.

That very understanding was what made Shen Zhou's thoughts so unconventional at times.

But San Mazi looked worried. "Boss Zhou, we haven't even entered Flying Bird City yet, and you've already beaten up someone from the Xu Family. What are we going to do now? There'll definitely be trouble."

Shen Zhou, however, didn't care. "What's there to be afraid of? It was 'Yang Guo' who beat him up. What's that got to do with me, Shen Zhou? Besides, look—we've got money now. Once we enter the city, we won't have to go around challenging martial arts schools, so won't that save us a whole lot of trouble?

"So, when you add it all up, we haven't lost out!"

Watching Shen Zhou happily shake a pouch full of gold leaves, San Mazi was at a loss for words.

If you think this book is good, remember to add it to your bookshelf so you can find it again next time.

Could you really do the math like that?

He admired Boss Zhou's way of thinking more and more.

A Dai picked up the square object wrapped in silk and asked curiously, "What's inside?"

As he spoke, he opened the silk and peeled away layer after layer. Inside was a book, its cover bearing three gilded characters: Wild Desolate Art.

"Huh, it's a cultivation manual." A Dai paused in surprise.

"Let me take a look..." Shen Zhou, Xi Mei, and San Mazi immediately crowded around.

Shen Zhou took the book and looked it over. Besides the written text, it also contained methods for cultivating and circulating energy, along with illustrations of a complete set of Wild Desolate Fist techniques. It was remarkably comprehensive.

San Mazi exclaimed in surprise, "It really is the Wild Desolate Art. This is the Xu Family's clan-guarding cultivation art. Even ordinary direct descendants aren't qualified to practice it. Outsiders say that cultivating with this art makes one's advancement especially solid, and greatly tempers the body as well. Once a practitioner masters it completely, they can even use it to break straight into the Celestial Firmament Realm.

"Countless people outside have coveted this art. And now it's just fallen into our hands?"

By the end, San Mazi sounded incredulous.

A clan-guarding cultivation art wasn't something you could buy for any amount of money!

Hearing how serious San Mazi sounded, A Dai furrowed his brows and looked at Shen Zhou. "Boss Zhou, since this art is so important, the Xu Family definitely won't let this go."

Shen Zhou wasn't worried at all. Instead, he cheerfully said, "It's fine. We were just worrying about where to learn martial arts, and now a cultivation art has practically been delivered to our doorstep. We'd be fools not to practice it.

"But I just flipped through it, and it's only part of the art. It's incomplete. We'll practice what we have for now. If the Xu Family doesn't come after us, great. If they dare, then we'll make them hand over the rest of the art too. That'll save us the trouble of switching cultivation arts later."

San Mazi: "..."

A Dai: "..."

Why did it feel like the Xu Family was the one in trouble here?

After traveling for another day, the four of them finally reached Flying Bird City before noon the next day.

Looking at the walls that rose like sheer cliffs and the city gates that seemed to open into the Southern Heaven, Shen Zhou and San Mazi exclaimed in unison, "Holy crap, that's tall!"

A Dai slapped his forehead in exasperation. "Boss Zhou, if you can't give a proper compliment, then don't."

Shen Zhou curled his lip. "What do you know? This is called being genuine and speaking plainly. Understand?"

San Mazi chimed in, "Exactly, exactly..."

A Dai: "Uh..."

Xi Mei covered her mouth and giggled.

The four of them then followed the crowd into the city.

Once inside, A Dai and Xi Mei were instantly stunned by the scene before them.

As far as the eye could see, tall buildings stood everywhere, packed together in orderly rows. Pavilions and towers filled every corner, and the sound of music drifted through the streets. Crowds surged along the roads, bustling with activity. There were food vendors, street performers, martial artists showing off their skills, and all sorts of other sights. It was dazzling and almost too much to take in.

"Brother Zhou, look! It's so lively!" Xi Mei beamed with delight, then pulled Shen Zhou and San Mazi around to browse the various street stalls.

"No wonder it's the biggest city in the Southern Prefecture. It really can't compare to a little place like White Sheep County." Even Shen Zhou couldn't help nodding in admiration, feeling as though his eyes had been opened.

The group continued forward with the crowd. Amid the lively atmosphere, they gradually relaxed, and even the exhaustion of many days on the road seemed to vanish.

They hadn't gone far when the four of them noticed a martial arts school with a ring set up outside its entrance. A crowd had gathered around it.

Driven by curiosity, they went over.

At the ring, they saw a burly, middle-aged man trying to pull out a sword.

The sword was stuck in a huge slab of blue-gray stone, buried up to the hilt. Only its rust-covered grip remained visible, so they couldn't see the whole thing.

Above the ring hung a banner that read:

The Qin Family has a bright moon, still waiting in her boudoir;

A heavenly phoenix among geniuses, matched only with a dragon.

Today we set up this ring, choosing a husband by the sword;

Whoever succeeds shall win a pearl.

When the dragon enters our home, our families shall become kin;

The Qin Family will spare no effort to help him soar to the clouds.

"Huh. I've heard of choosing a husband through martial arts, but choosing one by pulling a sword is a first."

After reading the banner, everyone found it novel. Shen Zhou then nudged San Mazi with his shoulder and asked, "Old Third, what's the story with the Qin Family? Do you know?"

San Mazi prided himself on being a local of Flying Bird City. Hearing Shen Zhou's question, he immediately straightened up and replied with an air of importance, "The Qin Family? Of course I know them.

"The Qin Family used to be one of Flying Bird City's Five Great Families. But in recent years, the older generation of experts in the family gradually reached the end of their lifespans and passed away, while no more prodigies emerged among the younger generation. So the family declined and was eventually replaced by the Xu Family as one of the new Five Great Families.

"Since then, the Qin Family has fallen back to the ranks of second-rate families. If they didn't still have an old ancestor in the Celestial Firmament Realm holding down the fort, they might even have fallen to the ranks of third-rate powers."

A Dai asked in confusion, "Even so, a skinny camel is still bigger than a horse. If the Qin Family wants to restore its glory, why resort to something like 'choosing a husband by pulling a sword'? Wouldn't it be better to marry into another family?"

San Mazi shook his head and replied, "That, I don't know."