I Am the One Pulling the Strings

"Those who do not enter the Skin-Flesh Realm are nothing but ants."

"You all experienced yesterday's events firsthand."

"Li Kuai, you speak first. If I had not come to the martial hall, if Hu Rong had not stepped forward righteously—

when Pockmarked Sun caused trouble at the martial hall gates, when that vicious jackal forced his way into the martial hall, how would you have stopped him?"

Wu Yi's gaze was like a torch as he stared at Li Kuai.

Li Kuai lowered his head slowly, like a timid little mouse.

"I... I don't know..."

Seeing Li Kuai's cowardly appearance, Wu Yi's bearing turned stern as he cut him off.

"Hmph! Then let me tell you. Your best possible outcome would have been being dragged into the martial hall by that jackal and beaten to death, only to end up as a corpse in the street!"

He ignored Li Kuai after that and turned his gaze to Zhou Man.

"Zhou Man, if I had not gone to Cloudwater Wharf to bring you back, what would have become of you?"

"No, I... I definitely would have made it back."

Seeing Zhou Man deny it in a hoarse voice, Wu Yi snorted again.

"Wishful thinking! If I had not gone to Cloudwater Wharf, not only would your bones have been left behind with only your wronged soul wandering the world, your mother would also have suffered herself to death in the bleak, freezing wind!"

At those words, Zhou Man's eyes immediately reddened as he muttered to himself that it was impossible.

Seeing his two disciples so devastated by his rebuke, Wu Yi felt a little moved and wondered whether he had spoken too harshly.

He could only turn around and face away from them.

"What I said today was not meant to crush your confidence.

It was meant to tell you a cruel truth: in this world, only those with the bigger fists get to have their say.

Those as weak as ants can either cling to life and die alone while being stripped of everything, or endure humiliation and silently gather strength. When they can endure no longer, there is nothing wrong with an ordinary man flying into a rage and splattering blood ten paces away.

The Wild Wolf Gang's current audacity, their reckless bullying of my disciples, is nothing more than their belief that Wu is merely a Skin-Flesh Realm martial artist.

If True Intent Martial Hall were at its peak, this insignificant Wild Wolf Gang would be no more than a roadside dog..."

At this point, Wu Yi let out a faint sigh, but Li Kuai and Zhou Man, kneeling on the ground, caught it sharply.

The two secretly regretted not working harder during their usual training. Why had they not put in more effort? Why had they not trained with every ounce of strength they possessed? If they had, they should have entered the Skin-Flesh Realm long ago.

It seemed Brother Yi truly had not had it easy, guarding the martial hall alone all these years...

Then Wu Yi's words drifted into their ears again.

"From today onward, I will personally supervise and guide the two of you in your training every day. Remember, no slacking off.

In the future, this great True Intent Martial Hall will depend on you two."

Wu Yi turned around, his expression solemn. Under the sunlight, he appeared towering and immensely imposing.

Seeing Wu Yi more serious than ever before, Li Kuai and Zhou Man immediately said respectfully, "Master Wu, we will remember this in our hearts and never dare forget it."

Yet what Wu Yi was thinking was that he would eventually have to go to Demon Suppression Pass, but he could not leave the martial hall unattended.

He had spent four years with Li Kuai and Zhou Man at the martial hall and understood both of their characters. One was naturally kindhearted and responsible, while the other treated people sincerely and was filial to his mother and respectful toward his elders.

That was why Wu Yi intended to leave the martial hall to the two of them in the future. Before that, however, he had to help them break through into the Skin-Flesh Realm.

As he thought, a faint sob reached Wu Yi's ears.

When Wu Yi looked over, Li Kuai was wiping his tears with his sleeve.

"Li Kuai, what's wrong with you?"

Wu Yi could not help doubting himself. Had he really been so harsh just now that he had scared Li Kuai into tears?

"Brother Yi, are you... are you going to die?"

After saying that, Li Kuai seemed unable to bear his emotions any longer. Tears kept pouring from his eyes, and he burst into loud sobs.

At those words, Zhou Man, who was kneeling nearby, and Wu Yi, standing before Li Kuai, both wore utterly baffled expressions.

What the hell? Was this brat cursing him to die?

Wu Yi then realized that the problem lay in his final remark.

The more he thought about it, the more it sounded like a dying wish. Combined with Wu Yi's recent abnormal behavior, Li Kuai had concluded that Wu Yi was acting this way because he did not have long to live. Suddenly, everything made sense.

Wu Yi looked at the sobbing Li Kuai with a face full of black lines.

"Stop crying already, you unfilial disciple.

Are you really in such a hurry to mourn me?

Even if the sky collapsed, I still would not die!"

At those words, Li Kuai actually quieted down a little.

Wu Yi glanced at Zhou Man beside him, who was nearly holding in enough laughter to injure himself.

"Why are you two still standing around? Go train! Whoever fails to hold a stance for two hours today will not be allowed to eat!"

After tossing out those words, Wu Yi turned and strode away with his hands behind his back, leaving only his dashing silhouette for the two of them to admire.

Zhou Man could only blame Li Kuai. "Li Kuai, it's all your fault for making Brother Yi angry. Looks like we won't be eating lunch today."

As he spoke, he saw Li Kuai crying so hard his face was a mess and could not help laughing.

"Ha ha..."

Late at night, Wu Yi opened his eyes in bed.

He pushed open his door and glanced at Li Kuai, sleeping soundly in the room next door.

These past few days, he and Li Kuai had both been staying at the martial hall. It was not only to guard against the Wild Wolf Gang making another move in the shadows, but also to prevent them from coming to vandalize the martial hall under cover of darkness.

But tonight, offense and defense had switched...

At that thought, Wu Yi smiled to himself.

He took out the night clothes he had prepared long ago and changed into them.

I've recovered to the peak of the Meridian-Piercing Realm, and I still need to avoid their edge? Then what was the point of recovering at all?

Today, Wu would also play the role of the one pulling the strings and let the Wild Wolf Gang see what true evil looked like.

In the southwest corner of Cloudwater City lay the Wild Wolf Gang's headquarters.

Though it was already late at night, the Wild Wolf Gang's headquarters remained brightly lit.

Patrol squads of five constantly moved about on the ground, while people in the watchtowers above kept watch for any movement in the darkness.

Inside the main hall, Chen Dao sat on a beast-hide seat, drinking one jar of wine after another in silence. There was neither sorrow nor joy in his eyes, only exhaustion.

The taciturn second-in-command saw the empty jars scattered at his elder brother's feet. He stepped forward and snatched the wine jar from Chen Dao's hand.

"Big Brother, you can't keep drinking. Look how many jars you've already had."

Chen Dao raised his eyes and looked at the second-in-command beside him. Rather than scolding him, he merely stared blankly ahead.

"Second Brother, when do you think these days will finally end?"

Chen Dao spoke slowly, without a trace of emotion in his voice.

The second-in-command knew Chen Dao was talking about their upside-down days and nights within the gang.

Ever since they learned that the current Wu Yi might be a demon in disguise, they had remained in the gang's headquarters, sleeping during the day and guarding the gates all night.

The reversed schedule had left them all a little mentally unbalanced.

And ever since Big Brother Chen Dao returned from the Zhang Household that day, he had been somewhat gloomy. When asked what they should do next,

he had only said they should remain inside the gang's headquarters and await the Zhang Household's next instructions.

"Big Brother, perhaps we'll be able to return to normal tomorrow."

Chen Dao heard this and looked at the second-in-command again, feeling that his second brother was being far too optimistic.

He gave a couple of dry chuckles and said nothing more.

"By the way, Second Brother, where has Third Brother run off to again?"

"Maybe... maybe Spring Fragrance House again."

At those words, veins bulged on Chen Dao's forehead as he stomped an empty wine jar on the ground to pieces.

The fragments scattered in every direction before falling to the ground with crisp clattering sounds.

"At a time like this, he's still out there chasing pleasure! That damned lecher is nothing but a lust-crazed dog!"

Chen Dao's brows stood on end, and fire flickered in his clouded eyes. He was clearly furious.

Just then, a thud suddenly sounded from outside...

"Not good..."