parentshiftbook Chapter 18 Duel
Chapter 18 Duel
In the past few days, Lu Cheng did not just practice his skills from morning to night.
During meals or rest periods, he would chat with a few familiar people, such as Little Fatty and the Hu brothers.
I have a pretty good understanding of the martial arts forces in Yangcheng County.
The most prestigious are Tianquan Temple and Cuiyun Temple.
In addition, the Zhenwu Camp, established by the imperial court's Zhenwu Guard in Yangcheng, was also a behemoth.
Although it is called Zhenwu, it is actually "Zhenwu". The reason why Dayun was able to maintain the legitimacy of the court was because of the Zhenwu Guards that were spread throughout the country.
In Yangcheng Zhenwu Camp, both the captain and the deputy captain were martial artists in the late stage of Body Refinement Realm.
Further down are various sects and martial arts schools with varying numbers of Body Refinement Realm martial artists.
For example, the Chen family, the number one family in Yangcheng, has two late-stage Body Refinement martial artists.
The Lin Family Martial Arts School, the top martial arts school with one student at the mid-stage of Body Refinement and one at the late-stage of Body Refinement.
The Four Symbols Martial Arts Schools are led by the Vermilion Bird and Black Tortoise Martial Arts Schools, forming an alliance of four schools.
The Xu and Huang families, who have been related by marriage for generations and are as close as one, are two martial arts families.
Further down the line are smaller sects and martial arts schools, such as the Sanyang Sect and the Yuntao Sect, which only have a few martial arts practitioners who have mastered internal energy.
These are also the most numerous and belong to the lowest tier.
But regardless of whether they are considered low-ranking or not, there are seventeen sects and martial arts schools here today.
They account for two-thirds of the total number of martial arts sects and schools in Yangcheng.
There are four at the Body Refinement Realm alone.
The oppression emanating from these people standing here is immense.
This should have been the time when the sun was rising and the sky was bright and clear.
But as this group of people arrived, several gray clouds suddenly drifted in from high above, completely blocking out the already limited sunlight.
Feng Qi, seated at the head of the table, watched the group enter the courtyard, his deep gaze sweeping over each person before he slowly spoke:
"Master Zhang, what brings so many people to my Changfeng Escort Agency?"
Feng Qi was asking the question to the Master of the Vermilion Bird Pavilion, but as soon as he finished speaking, the old man in the middle of the dozen or so people opposite him suddenly lunged forward.
He walked past the crowd, came to the middle of the two sides, and knelt down on the ground with a "thud".
Then he shouted shrilly:
"Lu Cheng, a disciple of the Changfeng Escort Agency, bullied the weak and killed my beloved son without cause. I beg you, esteemed martial arts masters, to seek justice for me!"
"boom!"
The square erupted in chaos.
The old man's actions took everyone by surprise.
Who would come up and kowtow without saying a word?
What a terrible injustice!
After understanding the meaning behind his words, all the disciples looked at Lu Cheng in surprise.
Lu Cheng practices martial arts from dawn till dusk every day, so how did he suddenly become someone who "bullies the weak with his martial arts"?
But judging from the old man's appearance, he didn't seem to be faking it at all.
Feng Qi remained silent for a while, then sighed.
He didn't even glance at the kneeling Fish Gang leader, but instead stared at the Vermilion Bird Martial Arts School master, who was dressed in a crimson robe, his jujube-like face full of disdain:
"Zhang Rensheng, at your age, you're really getting worse as you get older."
The master of the Vermilion Bird Martial Arts School immediately turned red in the face, pointed at Feng Qi, and angrily said:
"Feng Qi, what do you mean? Your Changfeng Escort Agency prides itself on benevolence and righteousness, but who would have thought that things would turn out this way..."
"Trying to be a prostitute while also wanting to maintain a virtuous image? Didn't expect you wouldn't be able to do that today, huh?"
Before the master of the Vermilion Bird Martial Arts Academy could finish speaking, Feng Ji interrupted him mockingly, pointing at the kneeling Fish Gang leader and saying:
"Master Zhang, look at yourself! You don't look like the head of a sect at all!"
"A dignified body-refining martial artist, bringing a local thug to your door demanding some so-called 'justice'? Is this how a martial artist seeks justice?"
"Even if they really wanted to seek justice, who would the fishermen who were driven to their deaths turn to for justice?"
As a martial artist in the Body Refinement Realm, he still picked a pretext to try to occupy some kind of "righteousness," but unfortunately, this "righteousness" itself is a joke.
Feng Ji's words had been expected to enrage the master of the Vermilion Bird Martial Arts Academy, but to his surprise, the master suddenly burst into laughter.
"Hehehe, alright, since you want to discuss this according to the rules of martial arts, then let's discuss it like this."
As he spoke, he pointed to the Fish Gang leader on the ground:
"This was my sworn brother from back then. His only son was tragically murdered. It's pitiful that an old man outlives his son."
"Today, I'm standing up for him and demanding his release from your Changfeng Escort Agency. Is that reasonable?"
Feng Ji smiled nonchalantly:
"That's right. Avenge your grudges and settle your scores. That's how a martial artist should act decisively and efficiently."
As he spoke, the smile that had been on his face vanished instantly, and his tone turned icy:
"We've reached an agreement, but just because you want people doesn't mean I have to give them to you."
The head of the Xuanwu Martial Arts School was an elderly man with white hair and a hunchback, leaning on a cane. Upon hearing this, he struck his cane again and replied sternly:
"What an overbearing Changfeng Escort Agency! The entire martial arts world of Yangcheng is saying that you and your two fellow disciples can fight against a peak Body Refinement cultivator together, but no one knows whether it's true or not."
"Today, we seventeen families will test your mettle."
The disciples in the square were immediately astonished.
Individually, none of these seventeen sects could rival the Changfeng Escort Agency, but together they were terrifying.
Changfeng Escort Agency only has three escort leaders who are at the early stage of Body Refinement, but the other side has four.
However, Feng Qi and the other two in front of the hall were not too worried.
Although their side had one less Body Refinement Realm cultivator than the opposing side, the three brothers had grown up together since childhood.
With proper teamwork, they wouldn't be at a disadvantage even against four martial artists of the same level.
"Hmph, do you all think my Yangcheng is too peaceful?"
Just as tensions were running high, another voice rang out.
Immediately afterwards, the famous singer's voice rang out again:
"Commander Shen Yi of the Zhenwu Battalion has arrived!"
Lieutenant Shen?
Lu Cheng was greatly surprised and immediately thought of the two disciples who had just run away.
At the time, I thought they had gone to call for reinforcements, but now it seems that the reinforcements were actually the Zhenwu Battalion.
Changfeng Escort Agency is actually connected to Zhenwu Camp?
As he pondered, several men dressed in tight-fitting clothes strode in.
The man in the lead was about forty years old, with a thin face and slightly narrowed eyes, revealing no emotion.
He glanced around and said calmly:
"Shen Moutian served as a captain in the Zhenwu Battalion of Yangcheng. During his ten years in office, he cleared out more than 140 bandits of all sizes in the surrounding area."
"Although the contribution was not great, the hard work was certainly worthwhile."
"Now that we're facing promotion evaluations, you're all threatening violence at this crucial juncture. Do you have some kind of problem with me, Shen?"
Upon seeing the newcomers, Feng Qi and his two companions visibly breathed a sigh of relief.
On the other hand, the dozen or so people opposite him immediately turned pale upon hearing Shen Yi's words.
The leaders exchanged glances, and Zhang Rensheng gritted his teeth, cupped his hands, and said:
"Lieutenant Shen, you are wise. It is not that we deliberately caused you trouble at this critical juncture."
"It was the Changfeng Escort Agency that condoned its disciples' use of force to kill, and we had no choice but to..."
Shen Yi waved her hand, indicating that he didn't need to say anything more, and turned to look at Feng Qi:
"Chief镖师 Feng, is this true?"
Feng Qi said in a deep voice:
"That's right, my镖局 disciple Lu Cheng did indeed kill two people."
No one saw Lu Cheng kill the young leader of the Fish Gang and his henchman Shi Da.
But Feng Qi didn't bother to use that as an excuse. Killing someone is killing someone. For a martial artist, having a clear conscience is essential, regardless of anything else.
"But the person who was killed was the young leader of the fish gang. This man exploited fishermen and drove them to their deaths. He deserved to die."
"When Changfeng Escort Agency accepts apprentices, the most important thing is their character; eliminating evil is promoting good."
"Even if he hadn't intended to kill Lu Cheng, if we had stumbled upon him, we would have eliminated him as soon as possible."
"That sounds nice!" The Xuanwu Hall Master slammed his cane down. "Murder is murder; there's no point in arguing about it."
Shen Yi raised her hand to stop the argument and said calmly:
"There's no need to argue."
"Master Zhang, let me ask you this: is what Chief Escort Feng said true? Are you aware of the evil deeds committed by the Fish Gang?"
"This..." Zhang Rensheng was speechless for a moment.
Seeing this, Shen Yi already understood:
"You are all prominent figures in Yangcheng's martial arts world. If word gets out that you're fighting and killing over a local thug, won't people laugh at you?"
Upon hearing this, the representatives from the seventeen organizations, including the Vermilion Bird Escort Agency, all showed resentment.
Changfeng Escort Agency was quite powerful; originally, it was just a delivery service, so it didn't really have much to do with them.
But opening a school and taking on apprentices is a different story.
Yangcheng County is such a small place, and all its resources are fixed.
If Changfeng Escort Agency takes a bite, it means that the other companies will take one less bite.
They had targeted Changfeng Escort Agency before, but without much success.
Having finally seized an opportunity, I certainly wasn't willing to let it go.
But this could offend the Zhenwu Camp, which represents the imperial court.
That's a completely different matter.
Just as I was about to accept today's defeat, Shen Yi spoke up again:
"Since you keep talking about revenge, then I'll give you a chance."
Upon hearing this, Feng Qi suddenly looked 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 the matter through a contest."
"Including Lu Cheng, each side will send out three disciples. Whoever wins will get to decide."
"Captain Shen..." Feng Zhan couldn't help but speak, but Feng Qi stopped him from saying the rest.
Shen Yi glanced at Feng Zhan, her mouth still moving:
"However, it's not nice to have a fight without a prize."
"I heard that the Dongyang Sect has given the Changfeng Escort Agency three spots. Why don't we use these spots as a prize?"
"What does Chief Escort Feng think?"
Feng Qi's expression changed, and he wanted to speak, but he saw that Shen Yi's gaze was already icy cold.
The two stared at each other for a moment, and finally Feng Qi gave in:
"We will do as Commandant Shen says."
……
——————I am a cold dividing line——————
P.S.: The main character's screen time was a bit short in today's two chapters. The main purpose was to use this as a setup to introduce the power distribution and background of Yangcheng.
Lu Cheng will achieve minor success in refining his internal energy tomorrow!