Book 4, Chapter 23: Opponent

Gan Guo was quite surprised when he saw how thin and short Yejian Hong was. He had noticed him from the start, because he didn’t fit in with the rest of the disciples. Not only did he look weak, but he also looked like he wasn’t all up there. However, it was clear that the other Serene Radiance School disciples took great care of him.

Because of it, Gan Guo had come up with several theories as to who the man was, but he did not expect him to be Yejian Hong himself.

He thought of something and tensed up.

With wariness coursing through his veins, he cast Yejian Hong a glance. “Please come with me, everyone. Talu is waiting for you.”

Shiyuan Ba bowed to him. “Please lead the way, sir.”

Gan Guo bowed to them again and led them up the mountain path. The Serene Radiance School disciples did not say a single thing, while the disciples who followed Gan Guo down felt their palms growing sweaty around their staffs from the stern and chilly atmosphere. They seldom got into contact with other martial artists.

Once they arrived at the school, Talu was standing in front of the biggest stone building. She wore Single Flow School’s black-and-white martial arts uniform with two crimson feathers by her temples, which was something she had to wear when she greeted guests.

Since she was tall, had tanned skin, thick, black eyebrows, and lively eyes, she left a deep impression. Her mental state impressed them as well, because even though she faced more than ten Serene Radiance School disciples, she showed no sign of wariness. Instead, she looked relaxed and fearless.

“This is Talu,” Gan Guo introduced her.

Shiyuan Ba praised her in his heart. Talu was as majestic as the great martial artists he had seen among the other island nations.

Once they got close, he raised a hand, and the disciples behind him stopped. Only Yejian Hong continued forward, though the people around him soon stopped him.

Shiyuan Ba took a few steps forward and bowed. “I’m Shiyuan Ba. Greetings, Talu. Before we set out here, our master asked us to send you his regards.”

All the Serene Radiance School disciples bowed to Talu.

Even though they came here with ulterior motives, Talu was the master of Single Flow School and shared the same status as their master. They needed to give her the respect she deserved.

Talu gave them the Single Flow School’s greeting and said, “Hello, and please thank your master for me.”

Gan Guo walked forward and whispered something to her.

Talu turned to Yejian Hong and said seriously, “You must be Mr. Yejian. Hello.”

Confused, Yejian Hong looked up. Someone beside him whispered to him, and he said numbly, “Hello. To you. Too.”

He looked in another direction like he wanted to walk over, but someone immediately grabbed him.

Shiyuan Ba took a few steps forward and shielded Yejian Hong behind him. Then, he looked at the training space and said in regret, “My master said that Single Flow School and Serene Radiance School once had the same master, and you’re the split that once produced fistmasters. I can’t believe things have ended up like this. It’s a real pity.”

He turned to Talu and said sincerely, “Madam, we can’t bear to watch our sister school fall into decline and are willing to help you regain your former glory.”

“My master said that nothing is eternal,” Talu replied. “Everything dies eventually, be it an object or a human. Even the world will die in the end. Single Flow School’s decline is natural, and there’s no need to force it to regain its former glory. Besides, what you care about isn’t really this, so you don’t have to say such things.”

She stated this frankly, as if she didn’t care about avoiding the conflict they would eventually arise from it. This surprised Shiyuan Ba, but it also fit what he wanted.

He took a few steps forward and said, “We originally had the same master, so you must know certain things. We have our reasons for coming here.”

Talu nodded. “I know what you want. Whether or not you can get it depends on you.”

Shiyuan Ba’s eyes grew fierce. He grabbed his saber and growled, “I was just about to challenge you.”

The Serene Radiance School disciples behind him placed their hands on their sabers. In an instant, the atmosphere grew murderous.

They had brought fifteen disciples. Even without Yejian Hong, there were four Third Limit martial artists among them. It wouldn’t be wrong to say that all the best martial artists in the school had come, and they had an overwhelming advantage over the already weak Single Flow School.

To Shiyuan Ba, the moment his school made its decision, they had already won. Talu stood no chance against them.

Talu shook her head. “I won’t be fighting you.”

Shiyuan Ba was stunned, then frowned. “What do you mean by that?”

He refused to believe that Talu was that naive. Even if she refused to fight them, they wouldn’t step back. Since they had come here today, they were absolutely going to achieve their objective.

“Your opponent won’t be me,” Talu said while looking straight at him.

“Is that so?” Shiyuan Ba’s eyes moved to Gan Guo. While the man was the teaching instructor, he had neglected his training and was old. While some martial artists did not care for age, they were the ones who fought every day at the front lines. A martial artist’s strength was reflected in their appearance. Hence, Shiyuan Ba could tell with just one glance that Gan Guo couldn’t fight.

Did they have reinforcements?

But who would help Single Flow School among the island nations?

Could it be...

He frowned. There was one possibility that they absolutely didn’t want to see—Single Flow School offering their gap to the government or some company. But was there a need for Single Flow School to do that? It was precisely because they were worried that they would end up backing Single Flow School into a corner that they had always let them have room to breathe.

Talu turned around and walked away. “Come with me.”

Shiyuan Ba watched her for a while. After some consideration, he followed her. The others did the same, and they went to a cliff.

Talu pointed downward. “What you’re looking for is down there. If you want it, go and get it.”

Shiyuan Ba was first surprised, then delight appeared on his face. In disbelief, he asked, “Are you saying...”

“You brought it with you, didn’t you? Use it to see whether I’m telling the truth,” Talu offered.

With sparkling eyes, Shiyuan Ba took out a beautiful stone whistle from his waist bag. Then, he blew into it. The whistle wasn’t loud, but he needed to use all his strength to blow it. In an instant, his face turned red.

Soon, tremors came from under his feet, and clear ripples appeared in the water under the cliff.

Shiyuan Ba grew excited. With great delight and excitement, he cried out, “It’s here! It’s right here!”

He then ignored Talu and Gan Guo to stride back to Yejian Hong. With great exhilaration, he said, “Eldest Senior Brother, it’s down there. We—”

“I heard.” Yejian Hong looked up. There was no longer any confusion in his eyes. Instead, his gaze had turned extremely sharp.

The moment the disciples heard his voice, their eyes flew wide open, and respectful expressions appeared on their faces.

Shiyuan Ba, too, was shocked. He took half a step back.

His voice was incredibly similar to that of Xiaoyue Zhai, their master.

Yejian Hong looked ahead and said to Shiyuan Ba, “Continue blowing.”

“O-Okay!”

Shiyuan Ba blew into the whistle again, and the seawater churned once more. As the sounds continued, they noticed that the ripples in one particular spot were incredibly strong. Even though they weren’t obvious amid the surging waves, the people in the area were all incredibly observant martial artists and quickly discovered the discrepancy.

Yejian Hong walked to the edge of the cliff and stared at it. Then, he spread his arms and let his body fall.

“Eldest Senior Brother?”

The disciples were shocked.

Shiyuan Ba took a few steps forward and saw Yejian Hong falling dozens of meters down before plunging into the water. Without any hesitation, he jumped down as well.

When the other disciples saw this, they did the same. None of them stayed on the cliff, as if they didn’t care about the people from Single Flow School.

Complicated emotions welled up in Gan Guo. He knew that Serene Radiance School didn’t care about Single Flow School, only about their gap. This was a good thing for them, but being ignored this way still made him uncomfortable.

***

After Yejian Hong entered the sea, he swam toward the place where he had detected the ripples. Soon, he reached the gap. Then, he felt his body growing lighter. The water around him receded, and he appeared in a space that glowed with green light.

Up ahead stood a man with a saber stuck in the ground beside him. Brilliant light was shining behind him.

After hearing that the people from Serene Radiance School were about to come, Chen Chuan had decided to wait for them here. He chose this place because it was hard to destroy and would not result in collateral damage.

He took a look at the person before him. At first glance, he appeared thin and weak, as if he didn’t even have any muscles, but Chen Chuan didn’t look down on him because of it.

It just seemed like that on the surface. A great power was hidden within the thin man, and it was slowly awakening after he entered the gap.

Yejian Hong slowly walked forward. Snapping sounds came from his body as his bones and tendons began moving. Then, he started growing taller. His loose robes started fitting him better, and his hair broke free of the hair tie.

He extended his now firm, muscular arm and yanked off his shirt to reveal a fit, well-defined upper body. Only a black undershirt remained to cover his torso. He tore off a strip of his shirt to tie up his hair.

When he reached Chen Chuan, he was a bold and wild-looking young man, completely different from who he was a moment ago. He bared his terrifying teeth at him.

“I’m Yejian Hong, the eldest disciple of Serene Radiance School!”

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