M49S Vol 1 Chapter 56. Stop This Nonsense

Chen Boyan’s withdrawal put Gushan Sword at the center of attention, their reputation soaring. In contrast, Beidou and the Wang clan drew widespread criticism. Beidou, in particular, had lost both their dignity and their standing. The humiliation was beyond repair

Yu Yao was furious. Once back inside the tower and away from prying eyes, he pulled Wang Changlin aside. “You said there was no chance anything could go wrong with the competition. And now?”

“A small sacrifice prevents a greater disaster, Elder Yu,” Wang Changlin replied calmly.

“Hold back? How much longer do you expect me to hold back? At this rate, that brat Meng Qiqi will be riding on my neck!” Yu Yao growled, lowering his voice.

Wang Changlin, however, smiled. “Has Elder Yu not realized that we’ve already achieved our goal?”

Yu Yao froze. Wang Changlin continued,
“No matter how you look at it, Chen Boyan has withdrawn from the competition. His name will be removed from the Knock upon the Immortal Gate rankings, which means your sect’s Ran Yuguan naturally moves back to his original position.”

Yu Yao finally caught on. Wang Changlin was right. Regardless of the circumstances, Chen Boyan was out, and the remaining contestants posed little threat.

“Without Chen Boyan, Gushan Sword is a tiger with its fangs pulled. Don’t worry, there’s nothing they can stir up now.” Wang Changlin’s gaze turned darker. “Come, Elder Yu. Let us go check on Jiang Xie”I happen to have an excellent injury salve with me. I’m sure you’ll find it useful.”

Yu Yao, now placated, led the way to visit Jiang Xie. But Wang Changlin couldn’t help glancing back at the terrace once more. Despite his calm appearances, his heart was far from at ease.

The disciples of Gushan Sword left him genuinely uneasy. They bore too clearly the mark of their sect, a righteous spirit passed down through generations and brought to its fullest expression by Zhou Ziheng. It was a force not easily subdued.

To completely destroy Gushan Sword, one had to sever its spine, grip it by the throat, and cut off that spirit at its source.

But now Meng Qiqi had returned. He was even more unpredictable and sinister than Zhou Ziheng. Perhaps Wang Jing had been right. He should have strangled Meng Qiqi in the cradle before he could grow into a threat.

Out on the terrace, the air pulsed with fighting spirit.

“Take this!” Tu Youqiong shouted as always, bolstering his own courage with sheer volume. He charged in with a wild flurry of strikes like a storm breaking loose, swinging as if wielding a cudgel to beat off stray dogs, not a gleaming sword.

“You dare bully my senior brother? You’re asking for it!” Tu Youqiong leapt high into the air and brought his sword crashing down.

His opponent, a disciple of Beidou, was already deflated from the incident with Chen Boyan and had little fight left in him. Faced with Tu Youqiong’s wild and furious assault, even with superior cultivation, he was quickly overwhelmed and lost his footing.

“Tsk tsk.” Dai Xiaoshan stood with his arms crossed, watching the match. “With that kind of posture, anyone watching would think something terrible had happened to our senior brother…”

As he spoke, Tu Youqiong had already won. On his way back, he kept muttering under his breath,“That’s what you get for bullying my senior brother.”

Dai Xiaoshan stepped forward, intending to speak with him, but Tu Youqiong suddenly spotted someone in the crowd. His eyes lit up, and in the next instant, he shot forward like an arrow loosed from a bow. “You! Yes, you! You’re the one who insulted my senior brother. Don’t you dare run!”

In the blink of an eye, Tu Youqiong had vanished. Left behind, Dai Xiaoshan could only turn and go looking for Xiao Yu’er.

Xiao Yu’er was crouched in a corner, his single eye observing the passing cultivators with quiet focus. His fingers absentmindedly stroked his bow and arrows. When Dai Xiaoshan called out to him, he looked up. The sharp glint in his eyes made Dai Xiaoshan pause for a moment.

“Senior Brother Xiaoshan.” In a flash, Xiao Yu’er was once again the adorable little boy carved of jade and powdered sugar.

Dai Xiaoshan blinked, then acted as if he had seen nothing at all. He waved Xiao Yu’er over.

Just then, Mu Guinian happened to pass by. At first, he planned to keep walking when he saw Dai Xiaoshan, but after glancing at Xiao Yu’er, he hesitated and came over in the end.

Xiao Yu’er was still young. He couldn’t let Dai Xiaoshan corrupt him.

Dai Xiaoshan gave him a sideways glance. “Are you joining us?”

“What?” Mu Guinian asked.

“Xiao Yu’er is going after Wang Ziqian. You can take Wang Zi’an. Xiao Xiao and Wing Gu are over there beating up Beidou disciples, each hit square in the face, ruthless as can be. No wonder Little Martial Uncle’s disciples are all so extraordinary. We can’t fall behind either,” Dai Xiaoshan said.

Mu Guinian replied, “…And what about you?”

Dai Xiaoshan answered righteously, “I’ll bring up the rear. If you two lose, I’ll step in and finish it with a couple of strikes. Victory guaranteed.”

Mu Guinian was increasingly convinced that ever since Little Martial Uncle returned, this senior brother of his had become more and more unreliable. He probably figured that since he and Little Martial Uncle were the same type of person, he no longer had to worry about being scolded by their senior brother.

Xiao Yu’er nodded solemnly. “Master once said, ‘If you kill, then kill to the end. If you chase a Buddha, chase him all the way to the West.’ I understand now. I’ll defeat Wang Ziqian for sure.”

Mu Guinian: “…”

Dai Xiaoshan nodded in approval. Catching sight of Wang Ziqian in his peripheral vision, he gave Xiao Yu’er a firm pat on the shoulder. “Go, Xiao Yu’er!”

Xiao Yu’er darted off, and Mu Guinian went to look for Wang Zi’an as well.

Dai Xiaoshan narrowed his eyes. In the blink of an eye, all the teasing vanished from his face. This situation, for Gushan Sword, was decent, but far from ideal.

Their reputation had been preserved, yes. But if they lost too badly now that their senior brother was gone, that too would become a mark against them.

Was Chen Boyan really the only one in Gushan Sword worth anything?

Had the disciples of Gushan Sword all turned to cowards and deadweight the moment they were separated from him?

They had to uphold Gushan’s name. They had to become the new spine of the sect. But what they had done so far was not enough. Nowhere near enough.

On the other side, Tu Youqiong had suffered a narrow defeat and now sat heavily on the ground, panting hard.

Dai Xiaoshan walked over and handed him a water flask. “Take a drink and rest a bit before going again.”

“No way!” Tu Youqiong scrambled to his feet. With a loud rip, he tore off the sleeve that had been sliced open by sword qi and tossed it aside. “They think I’m scared of them? I, Tu Youqiong of Gushan Sword, fear neither heaven nor earth, only my senior brother’s scolding. Who the hell do they think they are!”

He turned to the rogue cultivator who had just defeated him. “Come on! Let’s go three hundred more rounds!”

That rogue cultivator, provoked by Tu Youqiong’s arrogance, couldn’t back down. The two clashed once more, and the fight turned fierce.

Dai Xiaoshan stood where he was, tapping the flask lightly with his fingers, his thoughts racing.

Youqiong was young, hot-blooded, full of momentum. As the saying went, “First charge brings victory, second falters, third runs dry.” That kind of chaotic, aggressive fighting was what suited him best.

As for himself…

Dai Xiaoshan was still waiting. He had a feeling Wang Changlin hadn’t played all his cards yet.

Elsewhere, leaning against the railing, Meng Qiqi had taken in everything in silence. After a moment, he extended his hand. Chen Boyan, already holding a teacup, instinctively refilled it for him.

Meng Qiqi asked, “What’s Dai Xiaoshan’s background?”

Chen Boyan replied, “He’s the son of a butcher who lives at the foot of the mountain.”

Meng Qiqi was surprised by the answer. He took a sip of tea and asked, “What about his strength?”

Chen Boyan didn’t answer directly. Instead, he asked, “Little Martial Uncle is quite interested in Junior Brother Xiaoshan?”

Meng Qiqi raised an eyebrow. He was about to explain himself, but the words took a turn at the last second. He smiled and said, “That’s right. Your Little Martial Uncle has always loved clever minds. When you return to the Chen family, why not let him take your place as my senior nephew? He’s so sharp, he’ll grasp anything in an instant.”

Chen Boyan looked straight at him. “Little Martial Uncle, that wouldn’t be proper.”

“And why would that be improper?” Meng Qiqi arched a brow. “Wherever I, Meng Qiqi, stand, that is reason enough. That is the rule.”

Chen Boyan shook his head. “There is only one Little Martial Uncle. And there should only be one senior nephew.”

“Is that so?” Meng Qiqi looked at him with a half-smile, though doubt flickered behind his eyes.

Could it be that Chen Fangjun had remembered something?

“I see…” Meng Qiqi suddenly drew out his words, as if troubled. He appeared to think it over for a moment, then lit up. “I’ll just go ask Third Senior Brother to give me Xiaoshan as a disciple. He dotes on me the most—he’ll definitely agree.”

Chen Boyan said, “Little Martial Uncle, do not make a scene.”

“How would you know whether I’m making a scene or not? You’re not me,” Meng Qiqi replied with a grin, then shoved the teacup back into Chen Boyan’s hands and turned to walk toward Dai Xiaoshan.

Chen Boyan watched his retreating figure, his gaze growing darker. He tightened his grip around the cup. Even knowing that Meng Qiqi was doing it on purpose, he still found it difficult to stay calm.

If this had been before, he could have stopped him outright. He could have told him he was not allowed to go anywhere.

Before?

Chen Boyan suddenly frowned. Fragmented images flashed through his mind. At the same time, the small sword within his dantian began to hum and tremble, emitting a faint glimmer of light.

Chen Boyan’s sudden pause unsettled Meng Qiqi. When he didn’t follow as expected, Meng Qiqi couldn’t help but glance back, only to find Chen Boyan staring absentmindedly in the direction of Ruizhu. His gaze never once landing on him.

Meng Qiqi’s expression instantly darkened.

At that moment, a steward from the Wang clan came over to invite him into the tower. Meng Qiqi frowned and snapped, “Scram.”

The steward froze in place, caught in a dilemma. He could neither retreat nor remain, completely unsure how he had offended this master.

Meng Qiqi was still in a foul mood. He turned back, walked right up to Chen Boyan, hands clasped behind his back and expression sharp, ready to kick him straight into Mochou Lake to feed the fish.

But before his foot could lift, a commotion erupted behind him.

It was Xiao Yu’er’s voice.

Meng Qiqi immediately abandoned Chen Boyan and, with a few light steps, dropped into the center of the crowd.

A surge of vital force had just rippled out, forcing the surrounding cultivators to retreat. Xiao Yu’er and Wang Ziqian were both flung backward, crashing heavily into opposite ends of the crowd.

Everyone scrambled out of the way in a panic. Meng Qiqi reached out to catch Xiao Yu’er, but stopped short when he met the boy’s gaze.

Blood stained the corner of Xiao Yu’er’s lips, yet his eyes remained clear. As he landed and rolled to a crouch, his left hand shot into his spatial ring and pulled out two arrows. His reaction was so quick that even the surrounding cultivators were left in awe.

He was only twelve years old.

Xiao Yu’er steadied himself just enough to draw his bow and nock two arrows. In the same breath, both arrows shot from the string, aimed straight at Wang Ziqian. Though Wang Ziqian’s injuries were no worse than Xiao Yu’er’s, his reflexes and combat sense were far inferior. He dodged the first arrow—but not the second.

Panic flared wide in Wang Ziqian’s eyes. But just as the arrows were about to strike, a figure flashed in from the side, dropping to one knee in front of him and catching both arrows firmly in his hands.

Meng Qiqi frowned and stepped forward to shield Xiao Yu’er. Then, in a clear voice, he asked, “And who might you be?”

The man rose to his feet, cupped his fists respectfully, and replied, “Junior Wang Ning greets Little Martial Uncle Meng. We concede this match. I ask that Little Martial Uncle end it here. Would that be acceptable?”

Wang Ning?

Meng Qiqi thought for a moment. Judging by the name, he didn’t seem to be one of the Wang clan’s core disciples, and Meng Qiqi was certain he hadn’t seen him before. But even at a glance, he could tell this man had reached full perfection of the second realm.

“And what if I say no?” Meng Qiqi asked, testing him.

Wang Ning gave a wry smile. “Then how about this. I’ll take Ziqian’s place in the next bout. No matter who Little Martial Uncle sends out, I, Wang Ning, will not refuse the challenge. What do you say?”

Hearing that, Meng Qiqi reached his conclusion. This man was likely the final piece Wang Changlin had kept hidden. Aside from Shen Qingya and Chen Boyan, and Ran Yuguan who had lost his will to fight after being defeated, a someone with cultivation at second realm full perfection was more than enough to dominate the field.

Still… Meng Qiqi turned his gaze toward Dai Xiaoshan.

Dai Xiaoshan stepped forward and said, “Little Martial Uncle, I’m ready to fight.”