Chapter 326

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“Shut up!”

Before the man could finish his words, the youth shouted sharply.

Startled, the man fell silent, and the three exchanged glances, gripping their weapons tightly and watching warily.

Zhang Xiaohua, noticing he had frightened the Piaomiao Sect disciple, cupped his fists and said: “Senior brother, I used to work at Huanxi Manor. My name is Zhang Xiaohua. I was with He Tianshu from the Medicine Hall, tending medicinal herbs. I just heard what you said and was confused, so I came out to ask. Could you please explain in detail?”

“Medicine Hall’s He Tianshu?” The disciple frowned. With thousands in the Piaomiao Sect, how could he know everyone? After a moment’s thought, he sneered: “I don’t know anyone named He Tianshu or the like. There are so many in the Piaomiao Sect, if you make up a name, there’s a good chance someone by that name exists. Such tricks are useless on me.”

After saying this, his gaze shifted to the small sword embedded in the ground. Zhang Xiaohua paused, immediately understood, and smiled without saying a word. He walked forward at a measured pace. The Piaomiao Sect disciple was surprised and backed away, asking: “What are you doing?”

Zhang Xiaohua ignored him and walked straight to the small sword, bending down to pull it out. In truth, if he had used his divine sense to manipulate the object directly, it would have been effortless, but he didn’t want others to know he practiced the Immortal Dao to avoid unnecessary trouble.

Seeing Zhang Xiaohua pick up the sword, the three Heaven’s Way Alliance members grew restless. They had just played psychological games with the Piaomiao disciple, but not only had they failed to capture him easily, now a new obstacle had appeared. If they hesitated any longer, something unexpected might happen. At this moment, with two against three, they still had confidence to win, but if things dragged on, that might change.

Although Zhang Xiaohua’s qinggong had startled them earlier, after hearing he was just a medicinal herb worker from Huanxi Manor, a mere subordinate in the Piaomiao Sect’s Medicine Hall, they began to look down on him. Thinking of this, one of the Heaven’s Way Alliance disciples sneered: “Hehe, another Piaomiao remnant. But you’re hardly worth anything, just a lackey. Huanxi Manor is only a minor branch of the Piaomiao Sect, so you’re worth even less. Still, since you’ve delivered yourself to us, how could we pass up such an easy merit?”

With that, the other two blocked the escape routes behind Zhang Xiaohua and the Piaomiao disciple, preventing their escape. The last one, sword in hand, lunged straight at Zhang Xiaohua’s face.

Zhang Xiaohua had left his longsword on the back of the Sibu Xiang and wasn’t carrying it with him. As his opponent’s sword thrust toward him, he shifted his body with a flash, employing the Piaomiao Steps to evade the blade. At the same time, he passed the small sword to his left hand and, with his right hand, unleashed a move from the Big Dipper Divine Fist. The Heaven’s Way Alliance disciple, seeing Zhang Xiaohua so arrogant as to fight barehanded instead of using a weapon, was furious. He reversed his sword and slashed directly at Zhang Xiaohua’s right arm. Zhang Xiaohua remained calm, continuing to use the Piaomiao Steps, engaging his opponent in close combat.

After several exchanges, the opponent’s longsword hadn’t even touched the corner of Zhang Xiaohua’s robe. The Heaven’s Way Alliance disciple he was fighting grew increasingly astonished, while the other three felt a mix of anxiety and relief. The two Heaven’s Way Alliance disciples worried that this youth, who had appeared out of nowhere, possessed such high martial skill, was clearly not just a mere servant, but even stronger than the legitimate Piaomiao Sect disciple from before. They feared their mission might fail. Meanwhile, the Piaomiao disciple was delighted, realizing that the steps Zhang Xiaohua used were none other than the Piaomiao Sect’s signature technique, the Piaomiao Steps. By displaying it so openly, Zhang Xiaohua was clearly signaling his identity!

Seeing that his life might be spared, how could he not be overjoyed?

But on closer thought, he grew suspicious. How could a youth claiming to be a mere servant from Huanxi Manor have mastered the Piaomiao Steps? Even he himself had only recently witnessed this sect-guarding divine skill. Judging by boy’s prowess, how come he never heard of it after being in the Piaomiao Sect for more than ten years?

Could this be a trap set by the Heaven’s Way Alliance?

While the Piaomiao disciple was lost in thought, the situation in the arena remained unchanged. Zhang Xiaohua continued to use the Big Dipper Divine Fist and Piaomiao Steps to tangle with the Heaven’s Way Alliance disciple. Years ago, even when Zhang Xiaohua’s martial arts were still unrefined, he had used these two skills to defeat young experts from Dalin Temple at the martial arts tournament. In the years since, his abilities had improved far beyond what ordinary people could imagine. Not only the Piaomiao Steps and Big Dipper Divine Fist, but even the ordinary Luohan Fist or Six Harmonies Fist, under his divine sense, could achieve miraculous effects in combat. The Heaven’s Way Alliance disciple was utterly outmatched.

Seeing his attacks having no effect, the Heaven’s Way Alliance disciple grew anxious. With a loud shout, he thrust his longsword straight at Zhang Xiaohua’s chest. Zhang Xiaohua dodged to the side with another flash of Piaomiao Steps. At the same time, the disciple’s left arm lifted, and with a “whoosh”, a sleeve arrow shot directly at Zhang Xiaohua, who was still midair. The nearby Piaomiao disciple gasped quietly. This kind of hidden weapon attack, launched when one is airborne and between movements, is notoriously hard to guard against. Many martial artists had surely fallen victim to such a move.

But what happened next left all four people present utterly stunned. Zhang Xiaohua didn’t make any extra moves; he simply reached out with his right hand and, as gently as picking a flower, caught the sleeve arrow between his thumb and forefinger. The blue-tipped arrowhead glinted clearly in the moonlight.

The Heaven’s Way Alliance disciple, seeing his hidden weapon fail, shouted: “Nianhua Finger? You’re from Dalin Temple! Brothers, help me!”

The other two, no longer watching the Piaomiao disciple, raised their blades and rushed forward.

At this moment, a soft laugh echoed through the field: “Since you’ve chosen to strike ruthlessly, don’t blame this Zhang for returning the favor. Hahaha!”

Zhang Xiaohua’s figure shot forward like a wisp of smoke, leaping straight at the Heaven’s Way Alliance disciple. The disciple quickly raised his sword to block, but it was as if his blade met empty air. Zhang Xiaohua’s movements were ghostly. With a sudden leap, Zhang Xiaohua rose even higher, and his left hand thrust the small sword forward with a natural motion before instantly pulling it back. He somersaulted backward, meeting another disciple who was swinging a blade at him. Again, Zhang Xiaohua sprang up, the small sword stabbing out from a bizarre angle, aiming directly at the disciple’s throat. Unable to stop his momentum, the disciple seemed to send his own throat onto the sword’s tip. With a light touch to the throat, Zhang Xiaohua withdrew the blade and, without pause, spun toward the last disciple.

[TL_Note: “Nianhua Finger” (拈花指) is a legendary Shaolin technique, renowned for its subtlety and power, allowing the practitioner to catch or shatter objects with their fingers]

The last disciple was a clever one. Seeing the situation turn dire, he didn’t try to press forward. With a sidestep, he leapt out of the arena. By the time Zhang Xiaohua turned around, the disciple had already run quite a distance. Since Zhang Xiaohua had already revealed his name, he felt no need for mercy. Unleashing his floating technique, his body seemed to glide just above the ground, and in the blink of an eye, he caught up behind the fleeing disciple. With a gentle kick to the man’s back, the disciple, who had been feeling confident thanks to his head start and decent qinggong, suddenly felt as if struck by a thousand-pound weight. Dazzled by stars and coughing up blood, he instantly lost consciousness, his body flying off at an angle before collapsing limply to the ground.

After delivering the kick, Zhang Xiaohua paid him no further attention. He sheathed the small sword, clapped his hands, and strolled back with a cheerful smile.

The Piaomiao Sect disciple stared at the approaching, ordinary-looking, thin-faced youth as if seeing a monster. “You… you…” he stammered, but couldn’t finish the sentence.

Zhang Xiaohua glanced at him, sat down cross-legged, and smiled: “Senior brother, with those annoying flies gone, the world is quiet again. Can you tell me about the Piaomiao Sect now?”

Then, noticing the disciple’s bloodied right hand, he added: “Senior brother, you’d better take care of your hand, or any other wounds, yourself. I don’t have any experience with this, nor do I have any trauma medicine on me.”

Only then did the Piaomiao disciple snap out of it, replying quickly: “It’s nothing, it’s nothing, just a minor issue. Brother, wait a moment, I can handle it myself.”

He then calmly took out some supplies from his robe and skillfully dressed the wounds on his hand and body.

Once finished, he stepped forward and saluted again. “Junior Brother, forgive my earlier caution. These past years have been perilous for Piaomiao disciples, I had to be wary. By the way, what did you say your name was?”

Zhang Xiaohua chuckled: “I’m just a humble herb servant from Huanxi Manor, named Zhang Xiaohua. I’ve always worked under your sect’s Medicine Hall disciple, He Tianshu.”

“Oh, so your name is Zhang Xiaohua. I am Chu Yunfei from the Divine Forging Hall.”

“Divine Forging Hall? Hehe, I have some impression of it, but I’ve only been to Piaomiao Manor a few times, so I don’t really know many disciples.”

“Sigh, in today’s Jianghu, unless someone is plotting something, no one would willingly admit they’re from the Piaomiao Sect. As for Divine Forging Hall, it’s basically in name only now. Oh, by the way, junior brother, are you really just a herb servant from Huanxi Manor? How is your martial arts so advanced? And you even know our Piaomiao Sect’s Piaomiao Steps?”

“This…” Zhang Xiaohua hesitated.

Seeing this, Chu Yunfei quickly added: “Junior Brother Zhang, if it’s difficult to say, you don’t have to answer.”

Zhang Xiaohua smiled: “It’s nothing too difficult, it’s just that I made some promises to Sect Master Ou before, so it’s not convenient to explain in detail. But I truly am from Huanxi Manor, and I’ve met Qiu Tong and Villa Chief Ou Yan before.”

“I see. Then I won’t press further.”

“By the way, earlier I heard those Heaven’s Way Alliance disciples say the Piaomiao Sect was exterminated. Where is Sect Master Ou now? What’s the situation at Huanxi Villa? What exactly happened? I only caught bits and pieces just now and am still confused. Please, senior brother, enlighten me.”

Chu Yunfei gave a bitter smile: “Junior Brother Zhang, have you been away from the Jianghu for a long time?”

Zhang Xiaohua nodded: “Yes, I was trapped somewhere. After leaving Huanxi Villa, I haven’t set foot in the Jianghu for four or five years.”

“Sigh, so that’s how it is. Junior Brother Zhang, the Piaomiao Sect was destroyed three years ago. As for Sect Master Ou…”