The Head of the Confucians' Promise

On a street in the capital, Bai Wangyu appeared once again as Li Ziye faced a crisis.

As though arranged by heaven, or perhaps dictated by fate, Little Red Riding Hood always appeared in time whenever Li Ziye was in danger.

Even his own father could not have been so attentive.

"Bai Wangyu!"

Yan Xiaoyu's expression darkened when he saw the newcomer. Why was he here?

"Divine Son, this is the capital of Great Shang, not the Divine Oracle Hall. Please abide by the laws of our Great Shang Dynasty and refrain from fighting in the streets."

As he spoke, Bai Wangyu walked over and drew the Taiyi Sword from the ground. "If you insist on a match, Divine Son, I will oblige!"

Ahead, Li Ziye's face was filled with emotion.

Sure enough, Little Red Riding Hood was still the most badass!

Thanks to Amitabha, amen, hallelujah, Little Red Riding Hood was always sent to his side whenever he was in the greatest danger.

"Very well."

Yan Xiaoyu looked at the Confucian School's foremost disciple before him, a hint of fighting spirit appearing on his face. "Our last encounter was two years ago. I would also like to see how much you have improved in those two years!"

As his words fell, divine light blazed around Yan Xiaoyu. Pure, flawless white radiance rose like a divine miracle, illuminating the entire street.

"Li... gentlemen, please step back a little."

Bai Wangyu looked at the two behind him. Just as he was about to utter that familiar form of address, he forcibly swallowed it and addressed them differently.

Hearing this, Li Ziye and Hongzhu exchanged a glance, then silently retreated without another word, leaving room for the two.

Fight!

Start fighting!

Cripple that stinking fish!

"Divine Son, please show me your moves!"

In the street, Bai Wangyu raised his sword and spoke calmly.

"Please!"

Yan Xiaoyu answered solemnly. Facing the strongest senior brother of the Confucian School's younger generation, he dared not be careless in the slightest. He unleashed his full cultivation at the peak of the Second Realm. Two Divine Repositories thundered, and an immensely powerful pressure spread.

The next moment, Yan Xiaoyu moved.

The white divine light surged like towering waves. Yan Xiaoyu's palm strike seemed powerful enough to startle the gods.

In the middle of the street, Bai Wangyu watched the surging palm strike approach without the slightest trace of panic.

The Taiyi Sword slashed, vast righteous Qi surged, and with a thunderous crash, he blocked the Divine Son's palm strike.

Only inches apart, their eyes met. Palm force and Sword Qi collided, and the shock waves swept past them.

Around them, waves of dust churned. Wherever the force reached, it left a scene of devastation.

Their first exchange ended evenly. The Confucian School's senior brother and the Divine Oracle Hall's Divine Son fully displayed the bearing of peerless geniuses of their age.

After that exchange, both figures moved at once.

Before an eye could blink, palm winds and sword light crisscrossed the street, growing faster and faster, their power ever more astonishing.

The shock waves from their battle spread continuously, leaving the surrounding street in increasing disarray.

Outside the battle, Li Ziye watched this clash between peerless geniuses of the younger generation, his face filled with shock!

So Little Red Riding Hood had not been serious at all during their earlier sparring.

So strong!

"Young master, watch carefully. Observe every move and technique, and even try to appreciate their breathing with care. Opportunities like this are rare and will greatly benefit your future path in martial arts."

Beside him, Hongzhu watched the fierce battle ahead and offered a reminder.

"Mm."

Li Ziye nodded lightly, watching the two combatants with burning eyes, unwilling to miss a single detail.

As the battle continued, Yan Xiaoyu increasingly felt that something was wrong. He glanced at the two spectators from the corner of his eye, then turned his gaze back to the Confucian School's foremost disciple before him.

Strange!

Bai Wangyu seemed to be deliberately dragging out the fight.

Why?

As these thoughts passed through his mind, Yan Xiaoyu increased his True Essence by another thirty percent. Divine light surged like towering waves as he struck with a thunderous palm.

Five paces away, Bai Wangyu stepped forward and flashed aside, evading the palm force. The instant he swept in front of Yan Xiaoyu, his sword slashed down.

Boom!

Yan Xiaoyu turned his palm and blocked the sword's edge with a thunderous crash.

"I've got you!"

The instant he blocked the sword, a chill flashed through Yan Xiaoyu's eyes. He closed his hand, actually gripping the divine weapon's blade with flesh and blood.

At the same time, Yan Xiaoyu gathered True Essence in his left hand. Vast True Qi surged, transforming into holy divine light that swept forth like a force crushing rotten wood.

At such close range, the palm strike was already impossible to evade.

Yet Bai Wangyu neither dodged nor retreated. Righteous True Qi surged around him, and he met the attack head-on with a palm strike of his own.

With a violent crash, the two powerful forces collided directly. The battle split apart at once, both figures retreating several paces, with victory still undecided.

"So you don't just know how to use a sword!"

Yan Xiaoyu looked at his opponent, his expression darkening as he spoke.

"I never said I only knew how to use a sword."

Bai Wangyu said calmly, "Palm techniques are also a foundation of the Confucian School's martial arts. As the Imperial Academy's senior brother, how could I dare not practice diligently and lead by example?"

Outside the battle, Li Ziye nearly shed two streams of tears at Little Red Riding Hood's words.

Look at him, so badass, then look at me.

Forget it. Better left unsaid.

"Bai Wangyu of the Confucian School, your reputation is well deserved. I have learned much today. Until we meet again!"

With his opponent difficult to defeat in short order, Yan Xiaoyu had no desire to prolong the fight. He spoke coldly, then turned and left.

"I won't see you out."

Bai Wangyu replied, then, after watching Yan Xiaoyu leave, turned toward the two outside the battlefield with a warm smile.

Li Ziye hurried forward, so excited that he almost wanted to pick Little Red Riding Hood up in his arms.

Little Red Riding Hood was so cool. He had driven off another one!

"Brother Li, how much did you understand?" Bai Wangyu asked with a smile.

"Three moves."

Li Ziye held up three fingers and grinned. "But I memorized the ones I didn't understand too."

"That's good, then."

Bai Wangyu nodded in relief. "That Yan Xiaoyu is formidable. I couldn't keep dragging out the fight forever."

"So you were deliberately stalling to let the young master watch."

Beside them, Hongzhu stepped forward and said calmly, "Fortunately, Young Master Bai arrived in time. Otherwise, the young master and I would both have been in serious trouble today. But how did you know we were in danger?"

"I didn't."

Bai Wangyu shook his head lightly and smiled. "I simply thought that, given Brother Li's personality, he would very likely stir up trouble after going out, so I came to take a look."

"Old Bai, you!"

At his words, Li Ziye's excited expression instantly looked as though a basin of cold water had been dumped over it. Gritting his teeth in anger, he said, "Are you calling me a troublemaker?"

Beside them, Hongzhu could not help covering her mouth and laughing softly. This Bai Wangyu really did understand the young master.

"Please don't misunderstand, Brother Li. That wasn't what I meant."

Bai Wangyu firmly denied it, then changed the subject. "How did you two get mixed up with this Yan Xiaoyu?"

"No idea."

Turning to serious matters, Li Ziye's expression grew grave. He shook his head. "After I slipped out of the Yin residence during the chaos, I immediately met up with Sister Hongzhu, and we took a carriage back. Nothing went wrong along the way. I don't understand why Yan Xiaoyu targeted us either."

"Strange."

Bai Wangyu looked at the youth before him in puzzlement. "With your current appearance, Brother Li, even I wouldn't recognize you if Miss Hongzhu weren't beside you. That Divine Son has never met Miss Hongzhu, so he shouldn't have been able to guess your identity."

"Strange things happen every year, but there are especially many this year."

Li Ziye muttered, raising his arm to sniff it. "Could there be something special about me? Was Yan Xiaoyu born in the Year of the Dog, able to sniff me out at once?"

"..."

Hongzhu was speechless. "Let's return to the residence first."

"All right."

Li Ziye nodded in agreement and headed toward Li Garden with the other two.

On the way back, Bai Wangyu pondered what Li Ziye had just said, unable to unravel the doubts in his mind.

There was indeed something suspicious about this. It seemed he would have to seek advice from Venerable Law Confucian or the Head of the Confucians when he had the chance.

At the Court of State Ceremonial, Liu Rongnü was waiting in the courtyard when Yan Xiaoyu returned.

Seeing him return, Liu Rongnü asked in a hoarse voice, "Divine Son, you were out for so long. Did you encounter some trouble?"

"I ran into Bai Wangyu and exchanged a few moves with him," Yan Xiaoyu answered.

"Oh?"

At this, a glimmer flashed through Liu Rongnü's aged eyes. "What was the result?"

"The same as two years ago. Neither of us won."

Yan Xiaoyu said calmly, "However, I did discover that Bai Wangyu is not only skilled with the sword. His palm techniques are also exceptional."

"Palm techniques?"

Liu Rongnü frowned. "As expected, the Confucian School is full of furtive people who dare not face the light. When the upper beam is crooked, the lower beams follow suit. The Head of the Confucians has hidden in that Imperial Academy for a hundred years without coming out, and his disciples and grand-disciples are just like him. They even hide what martial arts they learn."

"Bishop Rongnü, mind your words."

Yan Xiaoyu's expression shifted slightly. "In this capital, the Head of the Confucians' eyes and ears reach the heavens. He may well hear what we say."

"So what if he hears? Everything I said is true."

Liu Rongnü said darkly, "Since I dare to say it, would I fear him hearing it?"

"That shameless old fellow."

In the small courtyard east of the Imperial Academy, Kong Qiu shook his head speechlessly as he tended the garden. "Plum Blossom Sword Immortal, teach that old fellow a lesson for me when you have the chance."

"Whom do you mean, Head of the Confucians?"

Beside him, Qin Enuo straightened and carried the weeds from the garden to one side. "Liu Rongnü?"

The Head of the Confucians could know all that happened beneath heaven, but she could not. Naturally, she did not know which old fellow he meant.

"Who else could it be?"

Kong Qiu said helplessly, "He has no dignity befitting his age. If not for the fact that he is my junior and is now getting on in years himself, I would truly like to slap him dead."

Hearing this, Qin Enuo chuckled. "I can certainly do that. But if I help you, Head of the Confucians, you ought to offer something in return."

"Oh?"

Kong Qiu asked with a smile, "What would you like in return, Plum Blossom Sword Immortal? Your cultivation has already reached the pinnacle of the mortal world. Any further breakthrough can only depend on your own insight. I cannot help you."

"I don't need anything myself, but my disciple is still weak, and this capital of Great Shang is full of dangers. I was wondering whether you might offer him some guidance, or help him open two or three meridians." Qin Enuo seized the opportunity to state her terms.

"Ha-ha."

Hearing the woman's conditions, Kong Qiu could not help laughing aloud. "You truly refuse to take a loss, Plum Blossom Sword Immortal. Very well! However, I have a condition too. In a few days, those envoys from the Divine Oracle Hall will enter the palace for an imperial audience. When that happens, Great Shang will face quite a few troubles. If your disciple can help Great Shang resolve them, I will consider your conditions."