“What about the third one?” someone else asked. “If you don’t reveal everything today, we won’t spare you!”
“Yes,” the crowd crossed their arms and stared at the Food God, clearly unfriendly. They were ready to gang up on him if any of his words failed to convince them.
“Well…” The Food God hesitated, glancing around and shifting his gaze. “Well…”
“Speak up,” the crowd urged.
The Food God said, “I’m really uncertain about the third one, but…” He glanced subtly at Huangfu Yuchen.
Some keen individuals immediately noticed his subtle movement and exclaimed, “Could it be Luo Fang?”
Huangfu Yuchen spared a glance at the intense battle between the other four and spoke calmly, “My wife and I are businesspeople, not martial artists.”
The crowd didn’t give up their verbal attack on the Food God because of his words.
“You have to explain who the third one is! Are Luo Fang and his wife considered part of the top masters? They’re just newcomers to the martial world, having entered only a couple of months ago!”
The food God sneered, “As you all know, Luo Fang and his wife had a fierce battle with lightening and the Zhantian Vine at Thunder Valley. Tell me, if it were you, would you dare to face such formidable lightning?”
The crowd still wanted to argue with him, but Huangfu Yuchen cast a cold gaze to stop them. His domineering aura was evident as he addressed the Food God, “Aside from my wife and me, who could be the third?”
The Food God looked at a righteous middle-aged man beside him and said, “This is Wan Junshan, the leader of the Flying Sword Sect. The Flying Sword Sect is the foremost righteous sect among the Ten Great Martial Arts Sects. Master Wan is upright and highly skilled. Even I, the Food God, willingly address him as ‘elder brother.’” He then respectfully saluted Wan Junshan.
Wan Junshan repeatedly waved his hand modestly and said humbly, “Master Xu, you overpraise. I dare not accept it.”
This time, the other martial artists surprisingly had no objections, indicating that Wan Junshan’s reputation in the martial world was indeed quite good.
“As for the fourth,” the Food God rubbed his chin and looked at the three individuals engaged in a fierce battle, “although I don’t want to admit it, it probably belongs to these three Black Tiger Elders.”
“Hmph,” Huang Shuya said disdainfully, “Those three old men are only worth one person. Ranking them fourth is giving them face.”
“Exactly,” another person said proudly, “Most of us here could defeat them in a one-on-one fight!”
“What about the fifth?” someone urged.
The Food God looked at the solitary figure of an old woman in yellow standing under a tree. “The Palace Mistress of the Evil Falling Flower Palace, Tian Ruyi. In terms of martial arts, she may not necessarily rank fifth, but her skill in using hidden weapons is remarkable. Even I feel apprehensive every time I meet her.”
At this point, he lowered his voice. “Young Master Luo may not know, but Tian Ruyi is actually only in her thirties. Three years ago, she suddenly turned into a sixty-year-old woman overnight. Rumors in the martial world say that she stole the ‘Poison Immortal’s’ man and was poisoned. She transformed from a beautiful woman into an old lady in a single night. What a pity…”
Before he could finish speaking, the Food God dodged aside. It turned out a silver needle flew past him and pinned onto a tree trunk, causing the lush green tree to wither instantly as if encountering winter.
“Hey, hey, I was complimenting you,” the Food God shouted at Tian Ruyi.
Tian Ruyi gave him a cold glance. “You can try complimenting a bit more.”
The Food God covered his mouth with his hand.
The top five rankings confirmed the suspicion that the leader of the Luna Worshipping Sect, Yin Sha, was the most suspicious. However, they hadn’t met the Luna Worshipping Sect at Xiguan Pass yet, so that couldn’t explain it.
Huangfu Yuchen’s heart sank, and he inadvertently caught sight of a familiar large green insect wriggling on a branch. A thought crossed his mind, and his gaze drifted to an inconspicuous young man directly below. He pushed aside several people with a palm and swiftly attacked the young man with his right palm.
“You are the leader of the ‘Centipede,’” Huangfu Yuchen said in a deep voice. “Since you’re here, why not leave your name.”
The young man was startled, clearly surprised, and managed to dodge his attack in time. Seeing the young man’s agile figure and light footsteps, it was evident he possessed extraordinary skills.
“It won’t hurt to tell you,” the young man said, “I am indeed the leader of the Centipede, Meng Xiaohun!”
Huangfu Yuchen’s eyes darkened as he swung a powerful and forceful palm. The palm wind whistled. It was as sharp as a blade, severing a nearby large tree, which crashed down with a thunderous noise.
Meng Xiaohun leaped up to avoid it once again.
Huangfu Yuchen had finally found the trace of the Centipede’s leader, so he wouldn’t let him escape. Regardless of the many ordinary martial artists present, he unleashed his true cultivation level, exuding a menacing killing intent. His speed was as fast as lightning, continuously thrusting towards Meng Xiaohun.
The killing Intent swept through like a stormy wave, spreading in all directions. The martial artists present were stunned by this shocking scene, retreating hastily towards a distance. Even Yin Sha and the three Black Tiger Elders, who were in the midst of battle, were astonished and ceased their actions, standing nearby to watch.
Meng Xiaohun muttered something under his breath, and a gust of wind suddenly rose in front of him, forming a transparent barrier. Behind the barrier, the wind was calm, like another tranquil world.
This was not something that simple inner strength could accomplish! Huangfu Yuchen suppressed his astonishment and said with a deep voice, “Why don’t you fight back?”
“Now is not the time to deal with you,” Meng Xiaohun said with a faint smile.
“Is that so?” Huangfu Yuchen immediately guessed that his current goal was Yan Ge and said coldly, “I’m afraid you’ll never live to see that time!”
“Boom!” The powerful true qi transformed into countless tiny needles, shooting towards Meng Xiaohun.
Meng Xiaohun’s expression changed slightly. He muttered once again, raised his right hand, and a stream of energy rose like a huge axe, tearing apart the true qi and splitting it into two, surging towards Huangfu Yuchen.
“Zirui!”
Yan Ge, who had been waiting in the inn and had not seen Huangfu Yuchen return, noticed the cautious expressions of Gao Feng and Jiang Gan. He knew something was wrong, so he quickly left Yan Jin in Gao Feng’s care and rushed over. He arrived just in time to witness the battle between Huangfu Yuchen and Meng Xiaohun.
Yan Ge was secretly amazed by Meng Xiaohun’s peculiar power. This world indeed had other mysterious powers besides him and Huangfu Yuchen, but he couldn’t determine the exact nature of Meng Xiaohun’s power at the moment.
“Baby, why did you come?”
Yan Ge drew his sword. “You promised not to hide anything from me. We’ll settle the score later.”
Huangfu Yuchen was helpless, but at this moment, he couldn’t spare any more words. Meng Xiaohun’s abilities might not necessarily be stronger than his, but he was extremely difficult to deal with.
Yan Ge raised his sword and attacked Meng Xiaohun. However, before he could get close, his whole body seemed to be struck by electricity. He suddenly lost his strength and experienced an intense pain in his chest. He couldn’t help but cry out in pain and collapsed to the ground.
“Baby!” Huangfu Yuchen’s face changed drastically!
Yan Ge covered his chest, struggled to lift his head, and stared at Meng Xiaohun in astonishment. Who was he? Why did he feel such discomfort when he approached him? For a moment, he even felt like he was going to die!
Upon seeing Yan Ge arrive, Meng Xiaohun’s eyes flashed with wild joy. Although Yan Ge’s reaction was somewhat strange, it didn’t hinder him from taking action. He abandoned Huangfu Yuchen and swiftly rushed towards him, leaving a trail of afterimages in the air.
Huangfu Yuchen flashed in front of Yan Ge and thrust both palms forward, hitting Meng Xiaohun’s chest heavily.
Meng Xiaohun let out a muffled groan and fell to the ground.
Huangfu Yuchen quickly embraced Yan Ge in his arms, anxiously asking, “Baby, what’s wrong? Where does it hurt?”
“Zirui…” Yan Ge could only manage to say his name before another sharp pain struck his chest, causing him to uncontrollably spit out a mouthful of blood and faint.
“Baby!” Huangfu Yuchen was shocked. He suddenly turned his head and saw Meng Xiaohun charging towards them once again.
“Young Master Luo.” Elder Yingzun came over with a serious expression.
“Take care of him for me!”
“Don’t worry,” Elder Yingzun nodded solemnly.
Huangfu Yuchen stared at Meng Xiaohun as if he was staring at a dead man. “You… will die!”
Boom!
A majestic force erupted from his palms, creating a thunderous roar like a collapsing mountain and a tsunami, rushing fiercely towards Meng Xiaohun.
The onlookers were already stunned. Was this really caused by internal qi?
