The Expert on the Top Floor

"Could there be an unrivaled master on the top floor too?"

Yang Xiao's mouth went dry. By instinct, he turned and left, without the slightest thought of prying into secrets.

Peerless divine arts were all well and good, but the top floor was crowded with too many eyes and ears, an absolute mess.

Yang Xiao did not want his eyes to weep bloody tears again, have someone notice something was wrong, and invite hidden trouble for no reason.

"Brother Yang."

Ye Feng hurried over from the distance.

"Little Ye, you came at just the right time. The honored guests have already left. Hurry over to the private room and clean it up. Don't delay. Go."

Yang Xiao did not stop walking.

"Brother Yang, there's no rush for that."

"I've already asked around. After the honored guests leave the private room, they won't receive new guests again for half an hour, so the kitchen has enough time to prepare the dishes."

Ye Feng said excitedly, "Lei Jie from the Martial Hall, Hall Master Lei, is about to begin a public lecture on martial arts. This is a great opportunity. We can't miss it."

"Lei Jie is personally lecturing on martial arts?"

Yang Xiao was instantly tempted.

Lei Jie was a bronze-token waiter of Vermilion Bird Tower. His status was higher than Uncle Liu, an iron-token waiter, and he had once been the chief guard of the entire Ding Pavilion.

This man's martial arts were extremely powerful, and he was tremendously famous in the jianghu. Even among the many two-blood martial arts experts in the capital, he could be considered outstanding. Later, he was severely wounded for some reason, so he simply opened a Martial Hall on the top floor.

As the Martial Hall's reputation grew greater and greater, Lei Jie no longer accepted disciples. Instead, he switched to lecturing on martial arts as fate allowed, with no fixed schedule.

"Lei Jie has an excellent reputation. He's wholeheartedly dedicated to training and discovering talent for Vermilion Bird Tower. If I can listen to his lecture, it will bring me plenty of benefits. But... safety comes first. Better to lie low!"

After only a brief hesitation, Yang Xiao forcefully suppressed the itch stirring in his heart and still decided not to go.

"Yo, isn't this Little Yang? You're heading to the Martial Hall too? Come on, the three of us brothers will go together!"

Before Yang Xiao could speak, Zhang Long appeared from who knew where, enthusiastically threw an arm around Yang Xiao's shoulders, and strode forward with him.

"Forget it. I'll take it one step at a time."

Yang Xiao had already refused Zhang Long once, and for the moment, it was hard to refuse him again, so he could only follow along.

The group crowded around Zhang Long and soon arrived at the Martial Hall on the easternmost side of the top floor.

The area around the Martial Hall was already a sea of people, mountains of them, with no fewer than a hundred people standing just below the stone steps at the entrance, and even more people constantly surging over.

"There are actually this many people. We can't squeeze in at all. What do we do?"

Zhao Hu immediately frowned.

"That's not difficult."

Zhang Long smiled and said, "I have a good friend who's a Martial Hall disciple. It just so happens he prepared three recommendations. With these, we can enter the Martial Hall's main hall, sit on meditation cushions, and listen to Hall Master Lei's lecture up close."

"It's just that these recommendations are hard to come by, and taking them for nothing wouldn't be too good. How about I put up three hundred taels, and Brother Zhao and Brother Yang each put up one hundred taels? The three of us pool five hundred taels. What do you think?"

What a fine idea!

Without the slightest hesitation, Zhao Hu took a silver note from his sleeve and handed it to Zhang Long.

Zhang Long did not waste words either and pulled a three-hundred-tael silver note from his sleeve.

"With such a shoddy honey trap, do you really think your father is a fat sheep? You're ganging up to put on an act for me, are you?"

Seeing the two of them looking at him with burning eyes, Yang Xiao instantly felt speechless. He deliberately patted himself down, and finally pulled out a single copper coin. "Two big brothers, this... I'm truly sorry. This little brother used up his family fortune on medicine, and now my purse is shy. Sigh."

With that, Yang Xiao, "ashamed of his own inferiority," covered his face with the edge of his sleeve and pretended to "flee like a rat."

"Big Brother, does this kid really have no money? Then six days from now, won't we..."

Looking at Yang Xiao's departing back, Zhao Hu's face immediately turned ugly.

"No matter. When the time comes, we'll catch that kid and beat him with the Holy Sect's secret methods. That kid won't be able to hold out. Naturally, he'll tell the truth."

Zhang Long sneered.

"Big Brother, that kid has been sickly since he was little, a whole medicine jar. What if he can't hold out and dies? Then..."

"If he dies, he dies. Just that house of Yang Xiao's in the inner city is worth quite a bit. That place will also make it convenient for us brothers to hide our identities..."

In the distance, Yang Xiao listened to the two men whispering behind him, and the killing intent in his eyes grew denser and denser.

You two dog bastards, just you wait!

Six days from now, there would be no need for you lot to make a move. As long as the timing was right, I would send you to meet King Yama first!

Yang Xiao was just about to leave.

Ye Feng suddenly squeezed out of the crowd. "Brother Yang, a brother who shares my common bunk helped save me a good spot in advance. If you don't mind, why don't you come with me?"

Ye Feng knew his own place. He knew he was only a menial servant, and after seeing Zhang Long and Zhao Hu's aloof expressions, he had sensibly left just now and had not dared come over at all.

"Then... I'll have to trouble you."

Seeing the sea of people around him and that there was no way to squeeze out, Yang Xiao could only nod helplessly.

In truth, Yang Xiao's physique was quite good now. If he forced his way through, he could still leave this place.

But that would be far too high-profile!

Lei Jie's martial lecture was a grand occasion. Everyone else wanted to press closer and listen, yet you suddenly left—wouldn't that make people suspicious?

Keeping a low profile and clinging to life was the true kingly way!

Following behind Ye Feng, after a hard struggle of people packed against people, Yang Xiao suddenly felt the space around him open up.

Only then did Yang Xiao discover that he was actually standing in a side room off the Martial Hall's main hall, not too far from the Instruction Platform in the center of the hall.

"Brother Yang, this is Huo Zhen, Senior Brother Huo. Although Senior Brother Huo is a menial worker, his roots and aptitude are excellent. Hall Master Lei has already taken him as an inner disciple, and his future is limitless."

Ye Feng took the initiative to introduce him to Yang Xiao, then said with a smile to the youth in a white training uniform, "Senior Brother Huo, this is the waiter-attendant from the same private room as me—Yang Xiao, Brother Yang."

"Mm!"

The young menial worker named Huo Zhen casually swept a glance over Yang Xiao and gave a slight nod. Then his gaze turned toward the window, and he paid Yang Xiao no further attention, appearing extremely aloof.

"Brother Yang, Senior Brother Huo has a chance to become a one-blood expert in the future. After he completes blood exchange, he plans to directly take the iron-token waiter qualification exam, so he can get extra rewards..."

Ye Feng wore a bitter smile.

"Brother Huo has extraordinary talent. In the future he's sure to become a great figure. Most capable people are proud; that's nothing."

Yang Xiao looked completely unconcerned. Instead, he comforted Ye Feng, then asked curiously, "Right, Little Ye, why do you call Brother Huo senior brother? Could it be..."

"Thanks to Brother Yang helping me look after the swill bucket, as soon as I came here today, Senior Brother Huo brought me along and had my aptitude tested at the Martial Hall."

Ye Feng was a little embarrassed and said in a low voice, "I have medium aptitude. Senior Brother said I have a fifty percent chance of succeeding in blood exchange. It just so happened that Hall Master Lei arrived, and after Senior Brother's recommendation, Hall Master Lei has already accepted me as a nominal disciple."

So that was it!

"Brother Ye, then this old brother will congratulate you in advance and wish you success in breaking through to one-blood and becoming a martial expert."

Yang Xiao's face was full of warmth, and he instantly changed his form of address.

In the next moment, before Ye Feng had even come back to himself, there were already three taels of broken silver in his hand.

"Brother Yang, this... I can't accept it."

Ye Feng hurriedly refused.

"Brother Ye, you need to buy medicinal herbs for martial training, and you'll also need to manage relationships here at the Martial Hall. This is all the silver this old brother has right now. If you disdain it, then that means you look down on me."

Yang Xiao deliberately pretended to be angry, patted Yang Xiao on the shoulder, then turned to look out the window and ignored Ye Feng.

"Brother Ye, don't worry. Even if I truly can succeed in blood exchange, I will still treat you like an elder brother and never let you down!"

Clenching the broken silver tightly in his hand, Ye Feng's eyes reddened, and an indescribable feeling of gratitude filled his heart.

"Lei Jie, Hall Master Lei, has arrived!"

Along with an excited, ringing ceremonial announcement, the crowd of hundreds, even thousands, instantly began to boil over.

Under the eyes of everyone present, a burly middle-aged man slowly walked out from behind the screen in the main hall.

And the instant Yang Xiao looked toward the burly man, a dazzling beam of golden light shot up from the man's head into the heavens, blazing like the great sun and lighting up every direction.