Fellow Disciples' Melee

What kind of people are gathering to fight in that dense forest to the east?

Is it a vendetta, a robbery, or a struggle over some treasure?

Ye Qin paused, feeling a flicker of curiosity.

Counting it up, he had been a member of the Herb Gathering Hall for five or six years, which technically made him half a man of the pugilistic world. However, because he spent his days gathering herbs in deep mountains and dense forests and rarely lingered in the county town, he had never actually witnessed the common brawls and skirmishes of the martial arts world, let alone participated in one.

Given Ye Qin's current cultivation level, ordinary martial artists posed little threat to him. After a moment's thought, he decided to go and witness this "legendary" martial arts brawl for himself.

He tapped his feet, leaped into the air, and sprinted toward the woods.

Upon arriving at the forest to the east, he found a large, flat grassy area spanning several hectares. Two groups of people stood on opposite sides of the clearing, confronting each other with palpable hostility.

The larger group consisted of young men and women in green robes, numbering at least sixty or seventy, all wearing expressions of righteous indignation. The smaller group consisted of young men and women in white robes, numbering only about a dozen or twenty, yet they carried themselves with an air of extreme arrogance.

In the center of the wasteland, two youths were locked in a fierce, desperate struggle.

The crowds on both sides were shouting and cheering for their respective fighters, occasionally punctuated by jeers and insults.

Ye Qin was slightly taken aback when he saw the large crowd, recognizing the green and white robes that were so familiar to him.

These people were none other than the outer hall herb-gathering disciples and the inner hall medicine-refining disciples of the Herb Gathering Hall. They were all apprentices between the ages of fifteen or sixteen and twenty-five or twenty-six; there were no young children among them.

A sense of absurdity rose in Ye Qin's heart. He had come to watch the drama of the martial arts world, never expecting to stumble upon his own people fighting.

Leading the outer hall disciples were Yang Yicheng, Xu Zhi, and other active youths who hailed from commoner families in the county. Sun Ying, Qian Ruoxiu, and others also stood among the outer hall disciples, glaring angrily at the inner hall group.

The inner hall disciples were led by youths from wealthy local families, such as Cao Yu'an and Zhou Huiliu, whose fathers were prominent grain and cloth merchants in Zhuqi County. In the Wu Kingdom's Ping Province, while merchants were technically of the lower commoner class, they were wealthy and lived lavishly. Furthermore, they learned more advanced martial arts than the outer hall disciples, which naturally made them arrogant and disdainful toward those in the outer hall.

After observing the standoff in the clearing, Ye Qin gradually understood what was happening.

It seemed this private feud had been sparked by the recent incident where Sun Ying and several other female outer hall disciples had been harassed by members of the inner hall.

The mutual hostility and conflict between the inner and outer hall disciples had existed for a long time; it was not a matter of just a few days. However, this incident had escalated, inciting the collective anger of the outer hall disciples; otherwise, it would not have drawn so many of them here to show support.

The two youths were still dueling in the center.

The burly youth from the outer hall wielded a large broadsword with simple, sweeping movements. Every strike whistled with fierce wind, but his foundation was unstable. He possessed raw power but lacked composure; his strikes often overextended, leaving him swinging at empty air.

The inner hall had sent a lean youth who wielded a light steel sword. He favored a nimble style with tricky, precise strikes. In theory, such agile swordplay should have completely countered the broadsword's heavy, sweeping style. However, he was clearly intimidated by the burly youth's ferocity and feared suffering a serious injury, so he dared not close the distance. Consequently, he fell into a disadvantage, suppressed by the burly youth's overwhelming, frantic blade.

Ye Qin had never studied sword or blade techniques and understood nothing of their intricacies; he couldn't see anything profound in their movements.

The only thing he could discern was that both of their movements were stiff and lacked flexibility, marking them as, at best, second or third-rate fighters. With such skill, whether their techniques were profound or not made no difference; they were riddled with openings, and a single casual strike would be enough to defeat them.

With Ye Qin's current strength, watching these two fight was no different from watching children brawl. After watching for a short while, he found it utterly uninteresting and lost his enthusiasm.

In terms of pure martial arts, the outer hall disciples were not necessarily a match for the inner hall. After all, the inner hall disciples had more time to practice and the wealth to purchase high-level martial arts manuals.

But in terms of actual combat, the outer hall disciples spent their years in the wild, often risking their lives to fight wolves and tigers. Their ferocity was something the inner hall disciples could never match; they fought with a disregard for their own lives. The inner hall disciples, however, cherished their lives and were unwilling to trade blows, hoping instead to win through superior technique, which inevitably led to their downfall. If it came to a group brawl, the sheer numbers of the outer hall disciples would surely make the inner hall disciples cry for their mothers.

Therefore, whether in single combat or group brawls, the outer hall disciples had the upper hand. Ye Qin was not worried about them suffering, nor did he intend to intervene.

Just as Ye Qin was considering whether to leave, a light breeze stirred the branches above his head. His heart skipped a beat, and he looked up to see a very familiar, nimble figure.

Feng Xiao was squatting on a thick branch like a large monkey, staring at Ye Qin in surprise.

"Second Senior Brother, I just used my light-body technique to leap over here quietly, hoping to give you a scare. How did you notice me?"

Feng Xiao felt a sense of disappointment and, widening his eyes, added, "Sigh, Second Senior Brother, where have you been these past few days? I looked everywhere for you. You said you'd avenge Sun Ying a few days ago, but you were nowhere to be found. That's not very loyal."

Ye Qin said calmly, "I've been wandering around the county town these past few days, busy with some matters. Besides, with so many outer hall disciples, one more or one less doesn't make a difference. With you and the Senior Brother gathering so many people, I wasn't worried about Sun Ying not getting justice. By the way, how is this duel being conducted? Are we winning?"

Feng Xiao didn't think much of it and excitedly explained the rules: "We made an agreement with the inner hall to fight thirty rounds; whoever wins the most wins the whole thing. The losing side has to kneel and kowtow to the winners and promise never to provoke them again. It's a pity you didn't see it, Second Senior Brother. Our outer hall has already fought dozens of rounds with those inner hall bastards over the last two days. Haha, we've already won thirteen rounds, and they've only won ten. If we win this one, that'll be fourteen. Plus, the inner hall can't even field any more experts. We only need to win one or two more, and we're guaranteed victory. You should see those inner hall guys; they're practically foaming at the mouth with rage."

As an outer hall disciple, Ye Qin naturally stood with them and was pleased to hear this. "Heh, that's good. Once those inner hall disciples kowtow, they'll have to keep their tails tucked between their legs from now on and will never be able to hold their heads high again."

As the two were talking in the woods, a new development occurred in the clearing.

"Ah~!"

A scream rang out from the dueling ground. The lean inner hall disciple, having let his guard down, was struck on the shoulder by the burly youth's blade. A deep, several-inch-long gash opened up, and he dropped his sword, clutching his bleeding left shoulder as he was forced to retreat from the arena.

The outer hall apprentices cheered as their side won another round.

"Senior Brother Xu Zhi, well fought!"