Volume 2: Breaking into Fengdu Chapter 93: Fighting Innate Masters (Part 3)

Just as Xu Yan was about to obtain guardian qualifications, an uninvited guest appeared on the arena. Seeing the young man with a scholarly appearance before him, Xu Yan’s heart sank.

The opponent looked refined and cultured, but Xu Yan knew he had a chilling nickname: “Hypocrite.”

The newcomer was none other than the Paper Fan Gate young sect master who had ambushed that masked girl in the eastern suburbs of Horse King Town—Xiao Meng!

With the phrase “I came for you,” Xu Yan immediately put on a confused expression, scratching his head and appearing somewhat at a loss. At this moment, Grand Guardian Zhuo Shaoyu had already stood up.

“Xiao Meng, are you here to wreck our Ghost King Gate’s event?” Zhuo Shaoyu said coldly. “If you want to become a guardian, it’s easy. Today there are four positions total. We’re competing for the third one now. I’ll save the last position for you. You can acknowledge my father as your adoptive father, and we two can also address each other as brothers.”

“What are you saying, Brother Zhuo?” Xiao Meng waved his paper fan and laughed. “Ghost King Gate and Paper Fan Gate are allies. You, this Grand Guardian, and I, this young sect master, are already brothers.”

Before Zhuo Shaoyu could get angry, Xiao Meng continued, “Once on stage, one can compete—this is your Ghost King Gate’s rule. With so many people watching, if you, this Grand Guardian, go back on your word and use your power to force me down, your Ghost King Gate’s reputation will stink! Hahahaha!”

Having grasped Zhuo Shaoyu’s weakness, Xiao Meng was now fearless. He turned back to look at Xu Yan and said with utmost kindness, “Little brother, what’s so good about being a Ghost King Gate guardian? Come to our Paper Fan Gate instead. I’m Paper Fan Gate’s young sect master. As long as you nod, you’ll be my sworn brother Xiao Meng. Ten thousand people will obey your commands without dare to refuse. They have eighteen guardians in Ghost King Gate—even if you win, who knows what rank you’ll be. I, Xiao Meng, don’t have so many useless brothers.”

The implication was: as long as you join Paper Fan Gate, your status would be equivalent to Ghost King Gate’s Second Guardian!

The moment he saw Xiao Meng take the stage, Xu Yan knew he had been targeted. He wasn’t a beauty—the only thing Paper Fan Gate valued about him could only be his age and strength.

A sixteen or seventeen-year-old three-meridian innate—it seemed he would be a hot commodity in any sect…

“So it’s the young sect master. My apologies, my apologies.”

Xu Yan pretended to suddenly understand, then said somewhat hesitantly, “I appreciate the young sect master’s kind intentions, but I’m already a Ghost King Gate lay disciple. It wouldn’t be proper to go to other sects. Moreover, my home is in Fengshan City—I really can’t leave.”

“So what!” Xiao Meng snapped his paper fan shut with a whoosh and said proudly, “A good man has ambitions in all directions. A mere family business—can it really trap a carp at the dragon gate? As for your Ghost King Gate lay disciple status, you needn’t worry. With me, Xiao Meng, here, can Ghost King Gate really make things difficult for this young master’s sworn brother?”

Having said this much, Xu Yan was even more helpless. He didn’t have much time to begin with, and now he had become a hot commodity again. Especially this opponent Xiao Meng made his head ache endlessly.

A four-meridian innate Paper Fan Gate young sect master wasn’t so easy to fool. If they really fought, if Xu Yan still used three-meridian true qi, his chances of victory would be slim.

Wasn’t there a saying: three meridians against four meridians—it would be strange not to lose.

The sky had completely darkened. Xu Yan sighed in his heart. Paper Fan Gate people couldn’t control Ghost King Gate halls. He needed guardian status, not to be a Paper Fan Gate young sect master’s subordinate. Xu Yan could only speak frankly: “Thank you for the young sect master’s guidance. I’ve decided it’s better to stay with Ghost King Gate.”

“What a stubborn kid.” Xiao Meng wasn’t angry but nodded instead. “Since you’re unwilling, so be it. This young master will personally take action and knock you off the arena, cutting off your thoughts of becoming a guardian. Naturally, you’ll join my Paper Fan Gate then.”

What a domineering young sect master!

With the phrase “personally take action,” Xu Yan finally saw this young sect master’s domineering nature. It seemed that heirs of massive sects like Xiao Meng and Zhuo Shaoyu all had a kind of arrogance in their bones. Since the opponent was so arrogant, Xu Yan, who was pressed for time, could only beat all their arrogance into inferiority.

Holding his steel blade horizontally, Xu Yan’s eyes became completely calm as he stared at the youth opposite him. That Xiao Meng was also straightforward. The paper fan in his hand opened with a whoosh. Chuckling lightly, he stepped forward, his pace getting faster and more urgent. The lightness of a four-meridian innate martial artist was fully deployed.

The obvious characteristic of four-meridian innate martial artists was extremely fast movement, much more agile than three-meridian. In the time of one misstep, Xiao Meng had already reached Xu Yan’s vicinity. The paper fan in his hand lifted lightly and skillfully, looking as if he were flirting with someone else’s daughter. Fine dust sprayed out from that paper fan like smoke.

Another despicable poisoning technique!

In the eastern suburbs of Horse King Town, Xu Yan had personally witnessed this Paper Fan Gate young sect master’s methods. At that time, the masked girl had suffered greatly under Xiao Meng’s poison attacks.

Since he already knew his opponent was a poison expert, how could Xu Yan not be prepared? His form turned as he began racing around the arena’s edge at extreme speed, completely tearing apart that poisonous smoke.

With his first move returning without success, Xiao Meng valued the youth before him even more. If he hadn’t seen this youth’s extraordinary strength, with hidden weapon skills that were both concealed and masterful, plus his young age, how could he, this young sect master, personally take the stage?

You must know that by taking the stage, he was essentially slapping Zhuo Shaoyu’s face.

For the sake of a good seedling, Xiao Meng had already offended Zhuo Shaoyu. This time, regardless of whether Xu Yan agreed or not, he was determined to succeed. So once he made his move, he held nothing back. When the poisonous smoke was broken, he immediately flew up, using his paper fan as a weapon. As it flipped up and down, it completely enveloped Xu Yan within.

A four-meridian innate martial artist’s full-force attack—if it were an ordinary three-meridian innate, they could roughly hold out for a while. But for some unknown reason, just as Xiao Meng began his full assault, Xu Yan’s footsteps started becoming unsteady, as if he had been suppressed by the opponent’s momentum before they even properly engaged. If this situation continued, victory and defeat could probably be decided in moments.

This fight left everyone below the stage dumbstruck.

Xiao Meng’s reputation—basically no one in Ghost King Gate didn’t recognize it. Everyone knew this Paper Fan Gate young sect master was a four-meridian innate expert, but they hadn’t expected him to be so relaxed against a three-meridian innate.

Xu Yan’s deliberately displayed disadvantage not only deceived Xiao Meng but also deceived everyone. As the battle continued, Zhuo Shaoyu, whose face had originally been gloomy, now looked iron-blue. If Xiao Meng won like this, Zhuo Shaoyu even decided to forcibly drive Xiao Meng away after Xu Yan’s defeat.

Anyway, they were juniors in their sects. As long as the alliance between sect masters remained deep-rooted, some conflicts between these young sect masters wouldn’t matter.

In the crowd, Eight Fingers Wang’s forehead was sweating. He clenched his hands tightly, and every time Xu Yan avoided a strike or retreated in embarrassment, he would shudder all over, extremely anxious inside. If Xu Yan could really become a guardian lord, he, Eight Fingers Wang, could also benefit from the association.

On the arena, Xu Yan, who seemed about to be defeated, had quietly circulated the warm current in his body to both arms—that is, he deployed four-meridian true qi.

No matter how agile his body, Xu Yan couldn’t match a true four-meridian martial artist’s speed. To match Xiao Meng’s speed, he needed the lightness of a four-meridian martial artist. Since he had circulated four-meridian true qi, it was time to decide victory and defeat. Xu Yan didn’t want his true strength to be seen through by outsiders.

A paper fan came cutting across toward him. Xu Yan’s body leaned backward, appearing to be a helpless move with no way to avoid it. However, the stone he had already gripped in his hand was thrown out as he leaned back and fell backward.