Duel

Over these past few days, Lu Cheng had not spent every waking moment solely on his training.

During meals or breaks, he would often chat with the chubby youth, the Hu brothers, and several other familiar faces.

He had gained a fairly comprehensive understanding of the martial arts landscape in Yangcheng County.

At the very pinnacle were, naturally, Heavenly Spring Temple and Emerald Cloud Abbey.

Beyond them, the Martial Suppression Battalion, established in Yangcheng by the imperial court's Zhenwu Guard, was also a colossal entity.

Though named "Martial Suppression," it was effectively "Martial Control." The Great Fortune dynasty maintained its orthodox rule precisely by relying on the pervasive Zhenwu Guard.

Within the Yangcheng Martial Suppression Battalion, the one chief and two deputy commandants were all martial artists in the late stage of the Body Tempering Realm.

Below them were various sects and martial arts halls, each possessing a varying number of martial artists in the Body Tempering Realm.

For instance, the Chen family, the premier clan of Yangcheng, boasted two martial artists in the late stage of the Body Tempering Realm.

Lin Martial Arts Hall, the top martial arts hall, had one practitioner in the mid-stage and one in the late stage of the Body Tempering Realm.

The Four Symbols Martial Arts Hall was an alliance of four, led by the Vermilion Bird Martial Arts Hall and the Black Tortoise Martial Hall.

The Xu and Huang martial arts families were linked by generations of intermarriage, acting as a single entity.

As for the rest, they were minor factions like the Three Suns Sect and the Cloud Billow Sect, which only possessed a few martial artists who had mastered the tempering of strength.

These were the most numerous and belonged to the lowest tier.

Yet, regardless of their standing, the seventeen sects and martial arts halls that arrived today accounted for a full two-thirds of the total martial arts factions in Yangcheng.

Among them were four practitioners of the Body Tempering Realm alone.

Standing there, the pressure they exerted was immense.

It should have been the time when the morning sun was rising, with the sky bright and clear.

However, with the arrival of this group, several gray clouds drifted across the high sky, obscuring the already meager sunlight.

Feng Qi, standing at the head of the group, watched them enter the courtyard. His deep gaze swept over each of them before he spoke slowly:

"Hall Master Zhang, what is the purpose of bringing so many people to my Long Wind Escort Agency?"

Feng Qi had directed his question at the master of the Vermilion Bird Martial Arts Hall, but the moment his voice fell, an old man from among the dozen or so people opposite him lunged forward.

He bypassed the crowd, reached the space between the two sides, and dropped to his knees with a heavy thud.

Then, he began to wail miserably:

"Lu Cheng, a disciple of the Long Wind Escort Agency, used his martial prowess to bully the weak and murdered my beloved son for no reason! I beg you masters of the martial arts to grant me justice!"

BOOM!

The plaza erupted like a pot of boiling water.

The old man's actions had exceeded everyone's expectations.

Who would come to someone's doorstep and start kowtowing without saying a word?

The grievance must be immense.

Once they grasped the meaning of his words, all the disciples looked at Lu Cheng in shock.

Lu Cheng spent every day training from dawn until dusk; how had he suddenly become someone who "used martial prowess to bully the weak"?

Yet, looking at the old man, it did not seem like an act at all.

Feng Qi remained silent for a moment before letting out a sigh.

He did not even glance at the kneeling leader of the Fish Gang, instead fixing his gaze on the master of the Vermilion Bird Martial Arts Hall, who was dressed in crimson robes. His jujube-red face was filled with disdain:

"Zhang Rensheng, you are getting on in years, and you truly are regressing as you age."

The master of the Vermilion Bird Martial Arts Hall flushed a deep red, pointing at Feng Qi as he shouted angrily:

"Feng Qi, what do you mean by this? Your Long Wind Escort Agency prides itself on benevolence and righteousness, yet to think that today..."

"You want to be a whore and still have a monument built to your chastity, but you didn't expect that you wouldn't be able to erect it today, did you?"

Before the Vermilion Bird Martial Arts Hall master could finish, Feng Ji interrupted him with a mocking laugh, pointing at the Fish Gang leader kneeling on the ground:

"Hall Master Zhang, look at yourself—is there any shred of dignity left for a sect leader?"

"A dignified martial artist of the Body Tempering Realm, yet you bring a local thug and bully to someone's door to demand so-called 'justice.' Is this how a practitioner of the martial arts demands justice?"

"Even if you truly wanted to demand it, to whom should the fishermen who were driven to their deaths go for justice?"

As a martial artist of the Body Tempering Realm, he had still picked a pretext, attempting to occupy the moral high ground, yet this very "moral high ground" was a joke in itself.

He had expected the Vermilion Bird Martial Arts Hall master to be enraged by Feng Ji's words, but instead, the man suddenly let out a laugh:

"Heh heh heh heh, very well. Since you wish to discuss matters according to the rules of the martial arts world, then let us discuss it that way."

As he spoke, he pointed at the Fish Gang leader on the ground:

"This man is my sworn brother from years past. His only son was brutally murdered; it is a tragedy for a white-haired man to bury his own child."

"Today, I am acting on his behalf to demand the culprit from your Long Wind Escort Agency. Does this not make sense?"

Feng Ji smiled nonchalantly:

"That's more like it. A debt of blood must be paid in blood, and a grudge settled with a grudge; that is how a martial artist should act—clean and decisive."

As he spoke, the smile that had been hanging on his face vanished instantly, and his tone turned icy:

"However, while the logic holds, just because you want someone, does that mean I have to hand them over?"

The master of the Black Tortoise Martial Hall was a hunched, white-haired old man leaning on a cane. Hearing this, he slammed his staff against the ground and replied grimly:

"What an overbearing Long Wind Escort Agency. The entire martial arts circle of Yang City whispers that the three of you brothers can resist a peak Body Tempering expert when working together, but no one knows if it's true or false."

"Today, let us seventeen factions test your mettle."

The disciples in the plaza were shocked.

Any one of these seventeen sects, taken alone, would be no match for the Long Wind Escort Agency, but together, they were terrifying.

The Long Wind Escort Agency only had three head escorts at the early Body Tempering stage, yet their opponents had four.

However, Feng Qi and his two brothers standing before the hall were not overly worried.

Although they had one fewer Body Tempering expert than the opposition, the three brothers had grown up together.

With their mutual coordination, they would not be at a disadvantage even against four martial artists of the same realm.

"Hmph, are you all finding Yang City too peaceful?"

Just as the two sides were at daggers drawn, another voice rang out.

Immediately following, the announcer's voice echoed once more:

"Captain Shen Yi of the Martial Suppression Battalion has arrived!"

Captain Shen?

Lu Cheng was greatly surprised, instantly thinking of the two disciples who had just run out.

He had guessed then that they were going for reinforcements, but he hadn't expected the reinforcements to be the Martial Suppression Battalion.

Did the Long Wind Escort Agency actually have ties to the Martial Suppression Battalion?

While he was pondering, several men in tight-fitting martial attire strode in.

The leader was about forty years old with a lean face and slightly narrowed eyes, revealing neither joy nor anger.

He scanned the area and said indifferently:

"I am Shen Yi, a captain in the Yang City Martial Suppression Battalion. In my ten years of service, I have cleared out over one hundred and forty bandits and outlaws in the surrounding areas."

"My achievements may not be great, but I have certainly put in the hard work."

"Now that I am facing a promotion review, you all choose this critical moment to threaten violence—do you have some sort of grievance against me?"

Seeing the newcomer, Feng Qi and his brothers visibly relaxed.

Conversely, the dozen or so people on the opposite side turned ugly at Shen Yi's words.

The leaders exchanged glances, and Zhang Rensheng gritted his teeth, cupping his hands:

"Captain Shen, please understand, it is not that we are intentionally causing trouble for you at this juncture."

"It is that the Long Wind Escort Agency has condoned its disciples using martial arts to commit murder, and we were left with no choice but to..."

Shen Yi waved his hand, signaling him to stop, and turned to look at Feng Qi:

"Head Escort Feng, is this true?"

Feng Qi said in a deep voice:

"That is correct. My disciple, Lu Cheng, did indeed kill two men."

No one had seen Lu Cheng kill the young master of the Fish Gang and the thug Shi Da.

But Feng Qi disdained to use that as an excuse; a kill was a kill. For a practitioner of martial arts, if nothing else, an upright heart was essential.

"But the men killed were the young master of the Fish Gang and his thug. That man exploited fishermen and drove people to their deaths; he deserved to die."

"The Long Wind Escort Agency prioritizes character when taking on disciples. Eliminating evil is the same as promoting good."

"Never mind that he intended to kill Lu Cheng; even if that hadn't been the case, had we encountered him, we would have eliminated him all the same."

"Well spoken!" The Black Tortoise Martial Hall master slammed his cane down. "Murder is murder; what kind of logic is that?"

Shen Yi raised a hand to stop the argument, saying coldly:

"There is no need for further debate."

"Hall Master Zhang, let me ask you: is what Head Escort Feng said correct? Are you aware of the evil deeds committed by the Fish Gang?"

"This..." Zhang Rensheng was momentarily speechless.

Seeing this, Shen Yi understood everything:

"You are all prominent figures in the Yang City martial arts world. To fight and kill over a local thug—wouldn't that make you a laughingstock if word got out?"

The representatives from the seventeen factions, including the Vermilion Bird Escort Agency, all wore expressions of unwillingness.

The Long Wind Escort Agency possessed considerable strength, and since they primarily focused on escorting, they hadn't had much conflict with them previously.

But opening a hall to take on disciples is a different matter entirely.

Yangcheng County is only so big, and its resources are finite.

If the Long Wind Escort Agency takes a bite, it means everyone else gets a smaller share.

They had targeted the Long Wind Escort Agency before, but none of those attempts had yielded significant results.

Having finally seized an opportunity this time, they were naturally unwilling to let it go just like that.

Yet, offending the Martial Suppression Battalion, which represents the imperial court, would be a completely different story.

Just as they were prepared to accept today's failure, Shen Yi spoke up once more:

"Since you keep harping on about seeking revenge, I shall give you a chance."

Upon hearing this, Feng Qi looked sharply at Shen Yi, only to be met with a pair of eyes devoid of any emotion.

"In my opinion, it would be better to follow the old rules of the martial arts world and settle right and wrong through a duel."

"Counting this Lu Cheng, both sides will send out three disciples each. Whoever wins, their word shall be final."

"Captain Shen..." Feng Zhan couldn't help but speak up, but Feng Qi cut him off before he could finish.

Shen Yi glanced at Feng Zhan, his words continuing without pause:

"However, a duel without a wager would be rather dull."

"I hear the East Sun Sect granted the Long Wind Escort Agency three quotas. Why don't you put those quotas up as the wager?"

"What does Head Escort Feng think?"

Feng Qi's expression shifted; he wanted to speak, but he saw that Shen Yi's gaze had turned icy cold.

The two stared at each other for a moment, until finally, Feng Qi conceded:

"We shall do as Captain Shen says."