Chapter 509 - 275: Duel 2
After stabilizing the Flying Cloud Shuttle and ascending to an altitude of four to five hundred meters, well above most of the mountain peaks, Cheng Zongyang slowly stood up.
He needed to identify the route below. At a thought from him, the Flying Cloud Shuttle gradually accelerated. About a dozen breaths later, once Cheng Zongyang had determined the general direction, the shuttle shot off toward the northwest in an instant, becoming a streak of white light with a SWOOSH.
Li Cungang watched the rapidly receding scenery below, aware that their flying speed was extremely fast.
Yet he felt no discomfort, nor the effects of the terrifying wind that should have come with such speed.
"Boss, where are we headed?" Feeling as steady as if on solid ground, Li Cungang dared to take a few steps on the Flying Cloud Shuttle.
Cheng Zongyang said, "I have a base of power in Jade Peak County. I’ve returned this time to build an Immortal City Marketplace here..."
He didn’t hide anything, explaining his entire plan to Li Cungang, including how it would be built, what it would require, and its future development.
Li Cungang’s heart raced as he listened, and he said with immense excitement:
"Boss, if this comes to pass, Jade Peak County will become a destination for the entire Martial Arts Realm. All the powers will have to follow your orders! I’m afraid Jade Peak County won’t be able to hold so many people then."
Cheng Zongyang shook his head. "Space is not an issue at all. What I want is to concentrate the resources of the entire Martial Arts Realm for my own use. For those willing to pay a great price, I can even send them to the Cultivation Immortality Realm, but whether they can survive there will be up to their luck."
"Of course, talented individuals can also join us in Jade Peak County and receive my Cultivation Techniques to practice. Li Cungang, as long as you serve me well, I will make good arrangements for you."
"Thank you, Boss!!" Overcome with emotion, Li Cungang involuntarily dropped to one knee in gratitude.
"Sit tight. I still need to navigate."
Cheng Zongyang said no more, continuing to watch the official roads below to find his way.
「Meanwhile, outside the South Gate of Jade Peak County Town.」
Seven members of the Liu Family and seven from the Cheng Family were facing off in an open area in front of Tiantuan Village.
The Liu Family group was led by Liu Qingfeng, but Liu Song was not among the seven. The other six were guards and high-ranking members of the family.
The guards’ Cultivation ranged from the Seventh to the Sixth Grade, and among them were two Fifth Grade family Elders, second in power only to Liu Qingfeng.
On the Cheng Family’s side, Zhou Zhendong was at the head, flanked by two middle-aged Fourth Grade men. Beside them were Li Xuejin, Li Lu, Lu Wushuang, and Ma Yue, making up their group of seven.
Aside from the two outside experts, the rest had Cultivation levels ranging from the Seventh to the Sixth Grade.
However, Liu Qingfeng’s expression was currently very grim.
Over the past two months, he had truly come to understand the depths of the Cheng Family’s cunning!
They had silently sown discord and amplified the darkness in Liu Song’s heart, causing the Liu Family no small amount of turmoil these last two months.
But what angered him even more was that the Cheng Family had actually brought two outside experts and claimed they were their own clan’s Elders. And those two men even admitted to being from the Cheng Family.
For them to go that far, all while playing innocent, showed Liu Qingfeng the true meaning of shamelessness and duplicity.
But Li Mingxin could neither comment on the matter nor investigate it, so he could only acquiesce. The experts they found were Fourth Grade, which was conveniently within the Middle Third Grades Realm and not the Upper Three Grades. Otherwise, he could have pursued the issue of their registration.
"Now, the two-month period is up. There’s nothing more to say. Will you agree to what we discussed or not?" Liu Qingfeng wasted no more time. It was pointless to dwell on things he couldn’t change.
The two sides were now evenly matched in strength, completely erasing his initial advantage.
This was a constant source of regret for him. In the beginning, he had held back from being ruthless in order to seize the secret to cultivating Wilderness Rice, merely making an example of someone to intimidate them.
But then the other side had shamelessly used the mediation as a pretense to threaten him in return, and he had been forced to agree.
Now, they had shamelessly brought in two Fourth Grade Martial Artists! His advantage was completely gone! This had earned him a severe scolding from the person backing him.
Therefore, he had to get what he wanted today! ’Even if it means bathing the entire Cheng Family in blood!’
Zhou Zhendong snorted. "Enough nonsense! Your Liu Family won’t be leaving Jade Peak County today! Elders, proceed as planned!"
"Yes!" The two middle-aged men on his left and right drew their weapons and immediately charged toward Liu Qingfeng of the Liu Family and one of the Fifth Grade Martial Artists.
At the same time, Zhou Zhendong and the others took out prepared Stone Skin Purses and put them on. Then, each of them produced a small metal box, opened it, and placed the purse from inside into their robes.
As the only one with a Sixth Grade Cultivation, Zhou Zhendong brandished his saber and charged at the other Fifth Grade Martial Artist from the Liu Family.
The rest of them each found their respective opponents!
The cumulative effect of their dozens of Geomagnetic Stones was mostly ineffective against Fourth Grades, Fifth Grades could resist most of it, Sixth Grades were significantly affected, and Seventh Grades were brought to their knees instantly!
"Despicable!" Liu Qingfeng roared. As his longsword met the attack of the Martial Artist of the same realm, he saw out of the corner of his eye that several of the guards with Seventh and Sixth Grade Cultivation were in trouble.
「On the city wall.」
The mediators, Li Mingxin and Li Tonghua, were watching. Also present were Chen Kaishan and Zheng Tianhai, who had a personal stake in the matter.
"It’s that thing again." Li Tonghua, standing to Li Mingxin’s right, frowned as he witnessed the strange phenomenon below.
Although he didn’t know what it was, its power was immense, affecting almost everyone below the Fourth Grade. Both the Liu and He Families had been defeated and wiped out because of this item in the past.
There was also something like it in the underground space beneath Tiantuan Village, which led to an unknown destination, and that was why he had been unable to investigate it properly.
Suddenly, Li Mingxin turned to Chen Kaishan, who was also watching the battle from his left, and asked:
"Steward Chen, they say the Da Yi Commerce Association gathers all the treasures under heaven and can identify anything. I wonder, do you know what that object the Cheng Family members are carrying is?"
Chen Kaishan smiled at his words. "Steward Li, you flatter me. There are countless treasures in this world; how could the Da Yi Commerce Association possibly recognize them all? I am merely a steward of a branch of the Commerce Association. I’m quite curious myself what they’re carrying. But the Cheng Family is extremely secretive about it, so I have no way of knowing."
Li Mingxin gave a faint smile. "It seems Steward Chen is quite invested in the Cheng Family’s affairs, to go so far as to find two Fourth Grade Martial Artists for them despite your busy schedule."
The smile on Chen Kaishan’s lips faltered for a moment. He replied in a calm tone, "Then why doesn’t Steward Li intervene?"
Li Mingxin, still wearing his gentle smile, said, "The Li Family mediates countless disputes every year. But having one less thing to worry about makes life more comfortable, doesn’t it?"
Chen Kaishan was taken aback and couldn’t help but turn to look at Li Mingxin.
’This guy... he really doesn’t want to get involved in anything. This is the first time I’ve met someone so completely devoted to their cultivation.’
Now he understood. Li Mingxin had delegated all authority in the County Town simply because he didn’t want the hassle, not because he had some ulterior motive.
"Then it seems the Cheng Family owes you a debt of gratitude for not pursuing the matter," Chen Kaishan said coolly.
Li Mingxin didn’t respond, simply continuing to watch.
’Although I don’t want to get involved, I still have to go through the motions. After all, the Li Family is getting paid for this.’
As he watched the chaotic battle below, his gaze fell only upon the two Fourth Grade Martial Artists.
Only their fight could be of any benefit to him.
As for the other Fifth Grade Martial Artist from the Liu Family, he was being thoroughly suppressed by the other Fourth Grade fighter hired by the Cheng Family, forced into a constantly defensive position.
If this continued, the outcome was more or less clear.
Because of the Geomagnetic Stones, the Seventh Grade Martial Artists had lost their ability to fight from the very beginning, and the Sixth Grades weren’t much better off. As a result, in less than the time it takes to drink half a cup of tea, only three of the Liu Family’s seven members remained on the field.
Two Fifth Grades and one Fourth Grade!
On the Cheng Family’s side, however, the two Fourth Grades and the one Sixth Grade were still fighting, while the rest had already retreated to the side to wait.
Zhou Zhendong lacked combat experience in his Martial Arts, and would normally have had no chance against a Fifth Grade.
But with the help of the ten Geomagnetic Stones in his robes, his opponent was affected, negating their advantage in realm! The interference even caused them to make mistakes during the fight.
And so, the two were locked in a back-and-forth struggle. For the Liu Family’s Martial Artist, it was utterly infuriating!
"Son of a bitch!"
The Liu Family Martial Artist roared. He was forced to use his True Qi to stabilize his Spiritual Power, then suddenly threw a punch to force Zhou Zhendong back. He then quickly retreated to his Fifth Grade companion, helped him force back his opponent, and then they both fell back to Liu Qingfeng’s position.
As the three Liu Family members joined forces, the second Fourth Grade Martial Artist from the Cheng Family also retreated to assess the situation.