Returning after 10000 Years Cultivation - Chapter 178

Old Qiu’s face turned pale with rage. He leaped into the open space at the center and said coldly, “Hmph! I saw it clearly that day. It was your Hong Family and the Shennong Sect who set up an ambush, attempting to seize Master Jiang’s top-tier elixir formula. Master Jiang only fought back in self-defense. If your skills fall short and you end up dead, who else can you blame?”

“Yuan Qiuqiu, who do you think you are? You’re nothing but Ye Gufeng’s personal bodyguard, Jiang Taichu’s lackey and running dog!” Hong Hetu, knowing he was in the wrong, flushed bright red from the scolding but refused to back down verbally. He glared contemptuously and shouted, “You don’t even have the right to attend this Martial Alliance gathering. Get out of here with your tail between your legs!”

“This old man will be Jiang Taichu’s dog to the very end! So what if your Hong Family is a prominent clan? Come on, let me see what you’ve got!” Old Qiu rolled up his sleeves and roared, “If Jiang Taichu truly is the sworn enemy of the entire martial world, as bloodthirsty and ruthless as you claim, I’d be the first to fight him to the death. But even if we lined up a thousand heroes of the world, a petty coward like you, Hong Hetu, wouldn’t make the list. Who do you think you are? A young upstart who hasn’t even grown all his feathers, yet you dare to prattle on here!”

“You think I’m afraid of a useless old man like you?” Hong Hetu, considered a talented young elite, couldn’t swallow such an insult. He, too, jumped into the arena.

Clang! He drew his precious sword, only to see a slip of paper slowly drift out from the scabbard.

He looked down and saw a line of bold, flowing script on the note: “Respectfully submitted by Jiang Taichu!”

Hong Hetu was instantly stunned, his face turning deathly pale. Trembling, he murmured, “This is the notepaper from the hotel I stayed in yesterday. When did he get so close to me?”

All the boiling blood in his veins seemed to turn into cold sweat. His heart shuddered with absolute terror.

This Jiang Taichu is terrifyingly formidable. He could approach me without a sound, and I didn’t even notice my own sword had been tampered with. If he wanted to kill me, would I even be alive right now?

Seeing Hong Hetu momentarily hesitate, Zhao Yuankun quickly seized the chance to mediate. “The martial world is one family. Both of you are my esteemed guests. Please, let’s not lose harmony over this!”

Seeing this, Hong Hetu took the opportunity to back down. Wiping the cold sweat from his forehead, he returned to his seat.

“Hehe, for the Chinese martial world to produce such a stunningly talented figure is truly rare! I think he should be the chairman of the Martial Alliance!” Just as the assembled heroes were at a loss, a sinister, mocking voice suddenly rang out, like the screech of a night owl.

Hearing this, the crowd erupted in anger. “Who said that? Have the guts to show yourself!”
“Hiding in the crowd like a sneaky coward, what kind of skill is that?”
“Which bastard is spouting such nonsense?”

But after that one sentence, the speaker fell silent. The vast Assembly Hall fell into complete stillness.

The crowd searched for a long time but couldn’t identify the speaker. Though furious, they were ultimately helpless.

The heroes, mocked by this cold, sarcastic remark, were all furious. Martial artists were often rough and straightforward, not highly educated. Some began cursing loudly, others shouting, plunging the scene into chaos.

Wei Feilong frowned deeply and said solemnly, “Everyone, don’t panic. Please listen to me!”

The assembled heroes gradually quieted down.

That dry, hoarse voice sounded again from within the crowd: “Wei Feilong, you’re just Ye Zhan’s lackey, acting all high and mighty. What insightful opinion could you possibly have? It’s nothing but the same old talk about not needing to adhere to martial ethics when dealing with a madman like Jiang Taichu, about ganging up on him! How laughable, how laughable!”

This time, everyone was on alert, having observed carefully beforehand. Yet, no one in the entire hall appeared to be speaking. No one could tell where the voice was coming from.

Having his thoughts exposed, Wei Feilong’s old face flushed bright red, and he trembled with rage.

“Who’s talking?”
“Come out and fight me!”

Many in the crowd rolled up their sleeves. The sound of shua shua filled the air as cold light flashed—those with weapons drew their long blades and precious swords, shouting curses.

“Old Qiu, Li Zhenwei, was it you? Let’s fight!” Some even suspected Old Qiu and Li Zhenwei were behind it, nearly starting a brawl.

Wei Feilong and Zhao Yuankun stood up, urgently gesturing with their hands to suppress the chaos, but they could only hear the clamor of the crowd. The scene grew even more disordered.

Just then, guard Li Yang hurried in and whispered something in Zhao Yuankun’s ear.

Upon hearing it, Zhao Yuankun’s expression changed dramatically. He asked Li Yang a question, pointed outside, then leaned over to whisper in Wei Feilong’s ear.

Wei Feilong’s face also changed upon hearing the message. He then said something to Hong Junshan beside him, who too was struck with horror.

…

And so, word passed from one to two, from two to four, from four to eight, spreading faster and faster. Within mere seconds, the vast Assembly Hall fell silent, so quiet you could hear a pin drop.

Because everyone had heard one sentence:
“Jiang Taichu pays his respects to the manor!”

Wei Feilong and Zhao Yuankun put their heads together and whispered for a moment. Finally, the fear on Zhao Yuankun’s face gradually faded. He said slowly, “Don’t alert him yet. Let him stay. Take good care of him.”

“Yes!” Li Yang turned and left.

The hearts of the many heroes present pounded like war drums.

They speculated that if the hundred-plus inner force masters present, along with several Transformation Stage grandmasters, were to swarm him, they might just be able to cut Jiang Tian to pieces.

But Jiang Tian’s reputation was simply too great. After his rise, he had killed Fu Biao, slain the great circle magnate Xing Shanhu, executed Hubei Province grandmaster Hong Tianzhao on Mount Jialuo, crushed the Shennong Sect, killed the twin heroes of Lingnan, Mo Haoxiong and Wei Shuofeng, and dominated Lingnan. Ye Zhan had even ranked him among the top twenty young grandmasters.

Any one of these fierce achievements would be enough for a martial artist to stand proud in the world, dominate a region, and boast for a lifetime.

Moreover, Jiang Tian had killed so many powerful experts in just over half a year. Who wouldn’t be terrified?

And now, Jiang Tian had come alone to this meeting. No one knew what schemes or reliance he had, sending chills down everyone’s spine.

For a moment, no one could come up with a plan.

Just then, a disciple walked up behind Wei Feilong and said something. Wei Feilong’s face immediately brightened with joy, and he stood up, exclaiming, “He’s here?”

The disciple also nodded happily, then leaned in and whispered a few more things in his ear.

Wei Feilong sat back down, seeming to have gained much more confidence. His expression became unprecedentedly stern, completely different from his usual amiable demeanor. His gaze turned authoritative as he swept it over the crowd and said solemnly:

“Everyone, don’t worry. If this Jiang Tian truly refuses to listen to reason, we will not stand by and let him run amok. We will definitely join forces to suppress him!”

Everyone knew Wei Feilong was by nature weak, better at maintaining the status quo than forging new paths, and usually adopted a muddling-through attitude when problems arose. They couldn’t understand why his attitude had changed so swiftly and completely.

As everyone was puzzling over this, Wei Feilong suddenly declared solemnly: “The great magnate of the Central Plains, the veteran grandmaster Huo Qingtian, has also come to participate in the Martial Alliance gathering. He has said that he will uphold justice for everyone!”

“Elder Huo is here!”
“If Elder Huo is here, then no matter how capable Jiang Taichu is, he wouldn’t dare cause trouble!”
“That’s a relief. With Elder Huo holding the fort, let’s see how far this Master Jiang can push his tyranny!”
“Hmph, so what if he’s a Transformation Stage grandmaster? Compared to a veteran grandmaster like Huo Qingtian, he’s still far inferior, nothing but an ant, a speck of dust, a small fry!”
“Indeed, Jiang Taichu is still young. At best, he’s only at the initial stage of the Transformation Stage. Being able to push through all the way was probably due to luck and chance! How can he compare to Elder Huo?”
“Exactly. Elder Huo is ranked third on the Divine Leaderboard, second only to Ye Zhan! When they meet him, no matter if it’s Jiang Taichu, Garlic Too Spicy, or Scallion Too Long, they’ll all have to kneel!”

Upon hearing this, everyone’s hearts settled, filled with joy and excitement.

The entire hall erupted in a clamor. People discussed animatedly, as if Jiang Tian were already a dead man.

“Ah, if Elder Huo is willing to step forward and uphold justice, then our blood debts finally have hope of being avenged!”
“Heaven has eyes! Heaven has eyes!”

Those like Grandpa Hong Junshan, Zhang Wendao and his daughter, the Tang Clan of Sichuan, and the Mo Family of Lingnan—who had all been crushed by Jiang Tian—were invigorated, some even shedding tears of emotion.

It was no wonder everyone reacted this way.

Huo Qingtian was a veteran grandmaster, famous even before Ye Zhan. He had already reached the peak of the Transformation Stage decades ago and had been renowned throughout China for decades, commanding respect from all martial artists under heaven.

Although Ye Zhan rose to fame twenty years ago in a great battle, later surpassing him and taking control of the Dragon Group, Huo Qingtian’s reputation was not far behind.

Back in the day, he had sparred with Ye Zhan on Mount Tianzhu in the Central Plains for three days and three nights, ending in a draw.

When Ye Zhan later created the Divine Leaderboard, Huo Qingtian was ranked third, above Li Tuofeng of the Northwest and Ye Wudao of Jiangsu and Zhejiang. Ye Zhan had evaluated him as: “A master synthesizer of the world’s martial arts, proficient in all methods, a peerless powerhouse of our era in China with the potential to reach the Divine Stage within his lifetime.”

Compared to him, experts like Hong Tianzhao and Mo Haoxiong were far inferior.

Huo Qingtian had a good relationship with Ye Zhan; they were friends despite the age difference. He alone exerted pressure over the entire Central Plains region, his influence spanning both sides of the Yellow River. The Huo family controlled numerous industries across several provinces in the middle and lower reaches of the Yellow River, like Henan, Hebei, Shaanxi, and Anhui.

Learning that Elder Huo was coming, Wei Feilong’s confidence multiplied.

He swept his gaze over the crowd, gesturing for silence. When the noise died down a bit, he said with a smile, “Everyone, in my humble opinion, we should still focus on persuading and educating Jiang Taichu. Although this man is deranged and bloodthirsty, he is truly a rare talent in martial arts.”

Many present nodded in deep agreement.

To reach the Transformation Stage and become a grandmaster before the age of thirty—looking across China, over the past hundred years, Jiang Tian was the only one.

Although everyone disliked Jiang Tian’s arrogant character, they had to admit his immense strength and unparalleled natural talent.

Zhao Yuankun nodded. “If he awakens to reality and is willing to lower his head and submit, we might as well spare his life.”

“Yes, President Wei, you are truly far-sighted and profoundly wise in your planning, far beyond what we can match!” a master said with an ingratiating smile.

Immediately, a chorus of praise and agreement erupted from below.