Starting with a blind date with a female constable, you acquire the Nine Swords of Dugu.

Chapter 191 The Seventh Master of the World, Gu Guanqi (Seeking Monthly Tickets)

Qinghe City.

Sunlight filtered through the gaps in the clouds, illuminating the green tiles and upturned eaves of the manor in the east of the city, casting a faint golden hue on the copper bells hanging from the eaves.

Deep within the manor, in a grand hall, wisps of smoke rose gently from a bronze incense burner on a table.

A huge statue of a god is enshrined in the hall.

The statue, carved entirely from bluestone, stood about ten feet tall. Its face was solemn and serene, with slightly lowered eyes and a white crystal the size of a pigeon's egg embedded between its brows, refracting delicate rainbow light in the sunlight. Intricate sun-shaped patterns were carved around the statue, radiating outwards in concentric circles, as if endless light was emanating from within the stone.

This statue is of the sun god of light, who has been worshipped in the temple for generations.

In front of the statue, an old man was sitting cross-legged on a futon.

He wore a black and white Taoist robe, with black as the base and white as the pattern. His white hair was like silver, tied up with an ebony hairpin, and a few strands of silver hair fell from his temples, swaying slightly with the rhythm of his chanting.

His face was kind and gentle. Although his skin was wrinkled, it still had a warm glow, as if it had been bathed in incense and sunlight for many years, giving his skin an indescribable softness.

The old man's eyes were slightly closed, his lips moved slightly, and his chanting was low and long, like the lingering sound of an ancient bell in the empty hall, unhurried and gentle.

This person is none other than Wei Qi, the Grand Priest of the Heavenly Gate among the three gates of the Heavenly, Earthly, and Humanity Gates of the Divine Temple.

Footsteps sounded outside the door.

Soon, a middle-aged man dressed in a black Taoist robe appeared. He was about forty years old and had a thin build. This man was Xiong Yin, the Grand Master of the Heavenly Gate.

He stood at the doorway with his hands at his sides, without saying a word, just waiting quietly.

When Wei Qi finished reciting the last verse, slowly kowtowed, and straightened up, he took half a step forward, clasped his hands in front of him, bowed slightly, and said, "High Priest, Chief Situ just sent someone to report something."

Wei Qi slowly stood up. He first straightened the hem of his Taoist robe, then turned to the statue of the Sun God of Light and bowed deeply, his movements very solemn.

Then he turned around.

Sunlight streamed through the high window, slanting across his face and illuminating his eyes with exceptional clarity. Despite being over seventy, his eyes showed no sign of cloudiness; instead, they possessed a serene and transparent luster, as if they could see right through people's hearts.

"What is it?" Wei Qi's voice was not loud, and his tone was gentle.

Xiong Yin hurriedly said, "Gu Guanqi, the leader of the martial arts alliances of Qing, Yun, and Hong prefectures, has come to Qinghe City with Bai Xu, an elder of the Qi prefecture martial arts alliance. Chief Situ suspects that Gu Guanqi may get involved in the Dragon King Sacrifice."

Wei Qi listened without any change in expression.

He walked slowly to the temple gate with his hands behind his back. Sunlight shone in from behind him, making his black and white Taoist robe half bright and half dark.

He gazed at the old pine trees in the courtyard, remained silent for a moment, and then slowly spoke: "Gu Guanqi—the commotion he caused in the capital a while ago was quite significant. Left Prime Minister Zhang Jiexi and General Yan Kunlun both died at his hands. And he killed both of them single-handedly with a sword amidst a vast army. In our temple, apart from the sect leader, I'm afraid no one can match his skill."

Upon hearing this, Xiong Yin frowned slightly, hesitated for a moment, and then asked, "High Priest, Chief Situ said that if Gu Guanqi really intends to interfere with the Dragon King Festival, he cannot handle it, and asked us how we should respond?"

Wei Qi did not answer immediately. He turned his head slightly, his gaze falling on the faint white light on the distant horizon, as if he was thinking about something.

After a long while, he finally asked, "Where is the Martial Arts Alliance now?"

Xiong Yin said, "Chen Shanhe has led his trusted men out in full force, and they should arrive in Qinghe City in two days at most. Bai Xu and Gu Guanqi's group should arrive around the same time."

The Tianhe Gang has also run into trouble; their leader, Chen Guozhong, has been captured by Bai Xu. Now that they've come to Qinghe City, they have a legitimate reason to investigate the Dragon King Sacrifice. If we let them investigate, our secret money-making schemes will likely be exposed.

Wei Qi pondered for a moment and said, "Chen Shanhe is unhappy that I expelled him from the temple, and now he wants to use this as an excuse to cause trouble. However, he is not a threat. He has no idea about his current situation. The Martial Alliance is a very dangerous position. The more he makes a move, the more the temple will suppress him. At that time, I won't even need to take action; he will have no way out."

The main problem now is Gu Guanqi. His cultivation is too high, and his background is too powerful. If we're not careful, he could cause turmoil in the martial arts world. Moreover, he acts without any scruples, and even the Divine Temple doesn't want to provoke him.

Xiong Yin asked, "Should we talk to him? According to what Chief Situ said, this person may not be here for the Dragon King Sacrifice, but just to stand up for Tang Batian, the fourth young master of the Yunzhou Mechanism Sect."

Wei Qi asked疑惑地问道, "Tang Batian of the Mechanical Gate? What's his connection to him?"

Xiong Yin said, "The thief who stole the Dragon Mother before was Tang Batian of the Mechanical Gate."

"I see," Wei Qi nodded and said, "I was wondering why Gu Guanqi would get involved in my Qizhou affairs out of nowhere. It seems it was just a coincidence."

Xiong Yin quickly said, "Then shall we go and talk to him? As long as Gu Guanqi doesn't interfere, Chen Shanhe alone is easy to deal with. We just need to guide him a little, and we can say that the Martial Alliance intends to unify the martial arts world. Then we can directly and forcibly suppress them."

Wei Qi nodded and said, "Okay, send someone to reply to Situ Jian immediately and tell him to talk to Gu Guanqi and find out Gu Guanqi's true purpose so that we can make the necessary preparations."

"Okay," Xiong Yin said, "I'll go now."

Wei Qi curled his lip and said, "Why are you going to do it yourself? Just send someone. Then, pack your things immediately, and we'll leave the city right away and return to the temple. Just the two of us."

"Huh?" Xiong Yin asked in confusion, "High Priest, what—why is this?"

Wei Qi said, "Who is Gu Guanqi? He dared to kill Zhang Jiexi and Yan Kunlun, and even wiped out the Hanyue Sect. In particular, he cultivates the Path of Passion, and now he's with Bai Xu. There must be something fishy going on between them."

He will most likely get involved in this matter. Even if he himself is not interested in getting involved, if Bai Xu intervenes and causes a conflict, will he sit idly by? It is very likely that a conflict will break out at that time.

Furthermore, aren't we aware of how heinous our Dragon King Festival was? Gu Guanqi is a man with a reputation for chivalry, and he's notoriously fond of meddling in other people's business. Do you think the two of us are a match for Gu Guanqi?

"So, let's go first. If Situ Jian can handle it, and Gu Guanqi really just came to inquire about Tang Batian's matter, then we can come back later. There's no harm in it; staying here is too risky."

Xiong Yin was taken aback for a moment, then said, "But if we just leave like this, the Dragon King Festival has only just begun, and we haven't even prepared all the maidens to be offered this time. What if the Dragon King gets angry?"

Wei Qi said, "What does this have to do with me? I support the Dragon King Festival just to make money, not to really help that damned Dragon King. We're not cooperating anymore."

"It's just that we might not make that money; it's not like we'll lose our lives. When I return to the temple, I'll still be the High Priest, you'll still be the Chief Master, and the Dragon King can continue being his demon. If things get out of hand, Heaven will take its revenge!"

Xiong Yin said, "High Priest, once we leave, it will be very difficult to continue the Dragon King Festival in the future."

"If you can't bear to leave, then you can stay here," Wei Qi said. "After all, it's quite possible that Gu Guanqi won't get involved in this matter. In the end, you can take the lion's share of the Dragon King Festival's revenue, and I'll only take a small portion, how about that?"

Xiong Yin slowly said, "Then I'll go with you!" After saying that, Xiong Yin asked again, "But, High Priest, if we just leave like this, won't we offend the Dragon King?"

Wei Qi waved his hand and said, "We are just getting what we need from each other. Strictly speaking, he is the one taking advantage of us. He just shows up to cooperate, and we offer him several hundred virgins every year."

Look, now that a problem has arisen, we're the ones bearing the risks, and we don't even know who he is, whether he's human or demon.

Xiong Yin frowned slightly.

Wei Qi continued, "Besides, so be it. Unless he has the ability to chase us to the temple and cause trouble, and the ability to fight the sect leader and the great God of Light!"

Xiong Yin pondered for a moment and then said, "I understand. I'll go pack my things now."

After speaking, Xiong Yin bowed to Wei Qi and then turned to leave.

He turned and walked out of the hall, his black Taoist robe casting a long shadow in the sunlight.

The hall fell silent once more. Only the wisp of smoke from the incense burner continued to rise, slowly dissipating in the sunlight. Wei Qi slowly turned around, his gaze falling on the lowered eyes and face of the statue of the Sun God of Light.

Then, he clasped his hands together in front of him, bowed, and said, "Sun God above, please send down light to the world and dispel the darkness!"

That evening, a heavy rain was imminent.

The sky was terribly gloomy, with leaden-gray clouds drifting in from the direction of Qinghe City, pressing low and creating a hazy, misty atmosphere that almost touched the treetops on both sides of the official road.

Gu Guanqi and his group arrived at a market town about 20 miles outside Qinghe City and found an inn at the town entrance.

Bai Xu dismounted and entered the inn first, negotiating with the innkeeper to book the entire inn.

A short while later, the shopkeeper took out a wooden sign that read "Closed for Business" and hung it at the entrance.

Bai Xu then came out and directed the martial arts alliance members to escort the Tianhe Gang members into the backyard of the inn.

Gu Guanqi, Pan Lin, and the others entered the inn's lobby.

Tang Batian then helped Xu Rongrong upstairs.

Although Xu Rongrong's cold had improved in the past few days, she was still very weak. Apart from eating, she rarely showed her face. When traveling, she stayed in the carriage, and when she arrived at the inn, she would go to her room to rest immediately.

Tang Batian was very attentive to Xu Rongrong, and the two were very close, always being affectionate with each other.

Watching Tang Batian and Xu Rongrong go upstairs, Gu Guanqi poured two cups of tea, pushed one towards Pan Lin, and chuckled, "Fourth Young Master seems to have really fallen in love; he's even taking such thoughtful care of people."

Pan Lin picked up his teacup, sighed, and said, "I don't know if the sect leader will agree. He has put a lot of effort into the Fourth Young Master's marriage these past few years, finding him many young ladies from wealthy families or disciples from reputable sects, but the Fourth Young Master doesn't like any of them."

The sect leader was furious and threw several tantrums, but the Fourth Young Master remained unmoved. As a result, this trip led him to fall for a peasant girl.

Gu Guanqi picked up his teacup, took a sip, and chuckled, "I don't think there's anything wrong with it. Fate isn't something that can be determined by social status. However, Fourth Young Master is completely different from Sect Leader Tang. Sect Leader Tang was quite the ladies' man when he was young."

Pan Lin laughed and said, "It's strange, none of the sect leader's four sons have followed his style."

Gu Guanqi said, "Sect Master Tang shouldn't stop him. He's done a lot of outrageous things for love, so what Fourth Young Master is doing now isn't considered outrageous."

Pan Lin shook his head, a hint of helplessness on his face: "That's true. But the sect leader has high hopes for the Fourth Young Master. Although he's a bit flamboyant in his daily life, his talent is indeed the highest among the four brothers."

The sect leader has always wanted to find him a suitable and virtuous wife to help him with the sect's affairs in the future. This Miss Xu—" He paused, carefully choosing his words, "is decent-looking and gentle, but she is too ordinary after all, and I'm afraid she won't be of much help in the future."

Gu Guanqi put down his teacup and glanced thoughtfully at Pan Lin: "That's quite extraordinary. An ordinary woman couldn't save herself in a raging river and swim more than ten miles to escape."

Pan Lin was slightly taken aback: "What does Alliance Leader Gu mean?"

Gu Guanqi laughed and said, "I didn't say anything."

He really didn't know what to say.

He had previously taken Xu Rongrong's pulse and hadn't found any trace of internal energy within her. However, considering the circumstances of their meeting as described by Tang Batian, it seemed quite strange.

Let alone an ordinary farm woman, even a martial arts master would find it difficult to save himself if he were thrown into a turbulent river while bound hand and foot, let alone swim several miles while being chased.

However, he had been observing Xu Rongrong these past few days and hadn't noticed anything unusual about her.

Pan Lin's gaze sharpened slightly, his brows furrowed, and he was about to speak.

Just then, footsteps came from the stairs.

Tang Batian strode down.

Pan Lin saw Tang Batian and quickly waved.

Tang Batian walked over and asked, "Uncle Lin, what's wrong?"

Pan Lin hesitated for a moment, then asked, "Have you thought it through? Are you really planning to take Miss Xu back to Yunzhou?"

Tang Batian nodded and said very seriously, "Of course I've thought it through. I'll marry her when we get back to Yunzhou."

Pan Lin said, "I think you should talk to her parents first. You said it yourself, she wasn't abandoned by her parents, but forcibly kidnapped by the Tianhe Gang. Right now, her parents must be heartbroken. If you want to marry her, you should let her parents know, right?"

Tang Batian quickly replied, "Uncle Lin is very thoughtful. Once we reach Qinghe City and settle things with the Tianhe Gang, I will go to her house to propose marriage."

Pan Lin said, "How about this, you tell me Miss Xu's home address, and I'll send someone to talk to her first, then you can go and visit her, okay?"

"Okay," Tang Batian said, "Rongrong told me that her home is in Baideng Lane, Qinghe City."

Gu Guanqi sat to the side, but didn't say anything.

He only felt that Xu Rongrong might have something going on, but he hadn't actually discovered anything wrong. Besides, this matter concerned Tang Batian's lifelong happiness, and although the two were friends, it wasn't appropriate for him to interfere too much.

He reminded Pan Lin that that was enough.

Just then, a series of loud hoofbeats came from outside the inn, rapidly approaching.

Almost simultaneously, everyone in the lobby looked up and gazed towards the entrance.

A short while later, a group of people appeared outside the door and immediately stopped.

The leader was a middle-aged man, around fifty years old, with a burly build, dressed in a black close-fitting outfit, and with a pair of heavy iron gauntlets hanging from his waist.

At this moment, all the members of the Qizhou Martial Arts Alliance branch in the inn stood up, walked to the door, clasped their hands in greeting, and bowed, saying in unison, "Greetings, Alliance Leader!"

Upon hearing this title, Gu Guanqi, Tang Batian, and the others immediately understood that Chen Shanhe, the leader of the Qizhou Martial Arts Alliance, had arrived.

Sure enough, the next moment, Bai Xu ran out from the backyard, exclaiming with delight, "Master, you're here!"

Chen Shanhe entered the inn and said, "I received your letter and dared not delay any longer, so I rushed over as fast as I could."

As he spoke, Chen Shanhe turned his gaze to Gu Guanqi, quickly walked over, and cupped his hands in greeting, saying, "This must be Alliance Leader Gu!"

Gu Guanqi returned the greeting with a cupped hand and said, "It is indeed I, Alliance Leader Chen. I have long admired you!"

Chen Shanhe quickly said, "Alliance Leader Gu is indeed as elegant and unparalleled as the rumors suggest." He then bowed to Gu Guanqi and said, "Thank you for your righteous assistance, Alliance Leader Gu. If it weren't for your help, Xu'er would likely be in grave danger!"

Gu Guanqi said, "Alliance Leader Chen, you flatter me. Please have a seat!"

Chen Shanhe sat down.

Bai Xu pulled up a stool and sat down beside him, asking, "Master, did you encounter any interception from the Tianhe Gang on your way here?"

Chen Shanhe nodded slightly and said, "It's strange, actually. Logically speaking, with Chen Guozhong and Liu Qingning in your hands, it should be very disadvantageous for the Tianhe Gang. They should have taken some action. But my journey here has been very smooth, without any obstacles."

Bai Xu said, "This is indeed quite strange. We haven't encountered any interception, nor have we heard any other opinions. Normally, the Tianhe Gang would definitely try to smear us and confuse the public."

Qinghe County is Tianhe Gang's territory; it should be easy for them to stir up public opinion and distort the truth, yet Tianhe Gang has remained completely silent.

Chen Shanhe said in a deep voice, "I'm also wondering. In Qinghe City now, not only is Situ Jian there, but also Wei Qi, the High Priest of the Heavenly Gate of the Divine Temple. Wei Qi has a deep grudge against me, and the Tianhe Gang is his money bag. He can't just sit by and watch me deal with the Tianhe Gang, but he hasn't reacted at all."

Bai Xu frowned and said, "Could they be plotting some kind of conspiracy?"

At this moment, Tang Batian suddenly said, "I think you're overthinking it. According to my calculations, it's normal for them to have no reaction at all. In fact, if I were in their shoes, I would have already made my escape!"

Bai Xu asked in confusion, "What do you mean by that, Fourth Young Master?"

Tang Batian raised an eyebrow and said, "My elder brother is here. Who is he? A sword immortal among men, the leader of the martial arts alliance of three states, chivalrous and righteous, always ready to help others, and with unparalleled martial arts skills."

In my opinion, it's because Situ Jian and that high priest were so scared when they heard my older brother was coming that they hid. They wouldn't dare to do anything else!

Chen Shanhe quickly replied, "It's not that I don't believe in Alliance Leader Gu's authority, but this matter concerns the martial arts world of Qizhou and has nothing to do with Alliance Leader Gu. Surely Situ Jian and Wei Qi wouldn't flee at the mere sight of him?"

Tang Batian chuckled, "The main issue is what they did. They have something to hide, so naturally they're sensitive. Even though my elder brother didn't explicitly say he'd get involved, they're still uneasy. They're afraid my elder brother might disapprove of them and casually stab them in the back. Where would they go to complain then?"

"This—" Chen Shanhe was slightly taken aback.

Gu Guanqi quickly said, "Alliance Leader Chen, Elder Bai, don't listen to Fourth Young Master's nonsense. Something is definitely amiss if things are not normal. You should be on guard to prevent Situ Jian and Wei Qi from having some kind of conspiracy."

Tang Batian curled his lips and said, "That's really what I think. Before, from my perspective, if I had done something heinous, I would definitely hide first without caring about anything else when I heard you were coming."

Gu Guanqi waved his hand and said, "Fourth Young Master, please don't talk nonsense. It wouldn't be good if it influenced Alliance Leader Chen's judgment."

.

Chen Shanhe said, "Actually, after thinking about it carefully, what this young man said makes sense. With Alliance Leader Gu's current power, Situ Jian and Wei Qi have something to hide in their hearts. They are afraid that Alliance Leader Gu is here to uphold justice, so it is reasonable for them to hide in fear."

Gu Guanqi waved his hand and said, "You're joking. What kind of power could I possibly have!"

Chen Shanhe said, "Alliance Leader Gu is too modest. You first destroyed the Hanyue Sect, and then you single-handedly fought and killed the traitors Zhang Jiexi and Yan Kunlun. How many villains in the world dare to face you now? The Tianji Pavilion has even ranked you as the seventh in the world!"

Gu Guanqi was slightly taken aback and asked in confusion, "What, seventh in the world?"

"It seems that Alliance Leader Gu hasn't received the news yet," Chen Shanhe said. "A few days ago, the Heavenly Mystery Pavilion suddenly released three lists to the public."

The first is the Earth Ranking, which lists seventy-two masters and honors them as Grandmasters; the second is the Heaven Ranking, which lists thirty-six masters and honors them as Supreme Masters; and the third is the God Ranking, which lists ten masters and honors them as Martial Saints.

"And you, Alliance Leader Gu, are ranked seventh on the God Ranking. In our Qian Kingdom, you are ranked fourth, only ahead of Jun Ziyou, Ye Wudi, and the Lotus Pond Saint Monk of the Great Bright Temple."

Gu Guanqi frowned and said, "Has the Heavenly Mystery Pavilion gone mad? They actually dared to release this list?"

Chen Shanhe hurriedly asked, "Alliance Leader Gu, did you already know that the Heavenly Mystery Pavilion had these three lists?"

"Yes," Gu Guanqi nodded and said, "The Tianji Pavilion compiled these three lists last year, but the Tianji Pavilion knew that these lists would have too great an impact and could easily cause a catastrophe in the martial arts world, so they did not release them."

Pan Lin said with a grave expression, "Has the Heavenly Mystery Pavilion gone mad? Aren't they afraid of retaliation?"

Chen Shanhe said, "At the end of last year, the peripheral members of Tianji Pavilion in various places announced their withdrawal from Tianji Pavilion. They were probably preparing for this."

The current members of the Heavenly Mystery Pavilion are all peripheral members, responsible only for collecting publicly available intelligence and not involved in internal affairs. Now that they have all publicly withdrawn from the Heavenly Mystery Pavilion, they should not face retaliation. The true internal members of the Heavenly Mystery Pavilion remain a mystery in the martial arts world.

Gu Guanqi said in a deep voice, "The Heavenly Mystery Pavilion's actions are utterly despicable!"

Chen Shanhe nodded and said, "Most people who come out into the world are only after fame and fortune, especially fame, which is highly sought after."

Now, Tianji Pavilion's move has directly placed its name on the list, which will immediately stir up disputes, especially since many people on the list have grudges against each other, and no one will accept being suppressed by their enemy.

Those who aspire to fame have found a shortcut to instant success, inevitably leading to conflict and disputes.

Pan Lin sighed and said, "The martial world was already turbulent, and now it has been further inflamed. It's likely to descend into chaos."

""

Immediately, everyone fell silent.

Just then, Tang Batian spoke up: "What I'm really curious about is, if my eldest brother, with his unparalleled martial arts skills, can only rank seventh, then who's number one?"

Chen Shanhe said, "I don't know if the Heavenly Mystery Pavilion did it on purpose, but they actually gave the number one spot in the world to a foreign race, the ancient kingdom of Tan Yue, and that Fuke Gyatso who claims to be the living Buddha of this world in the Yangfu Palace!"

"What the hell?" Tang Batian said, "A monk from the barbarian lands of the Western Regions dares to claim the title of number one in the world? If you said it was Junzi You or Ye Wudi, I'd accept that, but what makes a monk from a small barbarian country worthy of it?"

Chen Shanhe shook his head and said, "I don't know anything about the Western Regions, and I've never heard of this Fuke Jiacuo. I'm afraid many people in our Qian Kingdom haven't heard of him either. I don't know why the Tianji Pavilion would rank them this way."

"And why is my eldest brother only ranked seventh?" Tang Batian roared, "He killed Zhang Jiexi alone amidst ten thousand troops..."

"Yan Kunlun, this list is just a mess, it's completely awful—"

Gu Guanqi waved his hand to stop Tang Batian from speaking, and said, "These things are not important. Since ancient times, there has been no first place in literature and no second place in martial arts. As long as there is a ranking, there will definitely be people who are not satisfied."

At first, everyone would restrain themselves, understanding that this was tantamount to sowing discord. But as time went on, once this list became deeply ingrained in people's minds, people would start fighting for it in order to gain fame, gradually increasing the list's recognition and ensuring that the conflicts in the martial arts world would never cease.

Chen Shanhe said, "This list hasn't been fully circulated yet, but it won't be long before everyone in the martial arts world knows about it!"

"Boom—"

'

A thunderclap finally exploded deep within the clouds, and a torrential downpour instantly followed.

At almost the same time, the innkeeper and the waiter came out together with trays and began serving the dishes.

Gu Guanqi waved his hand and said, "Never mind, let's eat first. After eating, get some rest. We have to go to Qinghe City tomorrow!"

Immediately, everyone began to eat.

Tang Batian then asked the innkeeper to prepare some food separately, and said with a smile, "I'll take it to Rongrong and eat with her."

After saying that, Tang Batian carried the food upstairs.

He soon arrived at Xu Rongrong's room.

An oil lamp was lit in the room, casting a dim yellow light, making the surroundings somewhat dark.

Xu Rongrong was resting on the table when she heard the sound. She quickly looked up and saw that it was Tang Batian. A gentle smile appeared on her face, and she said softly, "Young Master Tang, you've arrived."

"I brought you some food."

Tang Batian placed the tray on the table.

"Thank you, you've worked hard," Xu Rongrong said.

"What's so hard about this?" Tang Batian wiped the chopsticks and handed them to Xu Rongrong, saying, "By the way, Chen Shanhe, the martial arts leader of Qizhou, is downstairs right now. He looks quite imposing."

Xu Rongrong asked, "Is he very capable?"

"Well," Tang Batian said, "he is a martial arts master, but it's hard to say exactly how powerful he is. However, if we have to say who is more powerful, then my elder brother Gu Guanqi is definitely more powerful."

"How powerful is Young Master Gu?" Xu Rongrong asked.

"You're not a martial artist, so I don't know how to tell you how powerful he is," Tang Batian thought for a moment and said, "Let's just say this: there's a martial arts ranking list in the martial arts world now, and he's ranked seventh in the world, not just in Qian Kingdom! However, I think that ranking is wrong; it puts him too low."

Xu Rongrong's eyes lit up, and she said, "Is he that powerful? Then can he beat a dragon?"

"Dragon?" Tang Batian said, "You mean the dragon from the Dragon King's Sacrifice?"

"Mm." Xu Rongrong nodded.

"That's fake," Tang Batian said. "It must have been a scam orchestrated by the Tianhe Gang to make money. Although many people claim to have witnessed the Dragon King's appearance, it's easy to fake with a little illusion magic."

"Oh, is that so?"

Xu Rongrong lowered her head, shoveled a mouthful of rice into her mouth, then looked up, a hint of hesitation flashing in her eyes. However, after thinking for a moment, she swallowed the words that were about to come out.

Qinghe City, government office.

The rain was pouring down, and the few lamps in the hall flickered in the wind. Prefect Yang Hui stood at the door, a worried look on his face.

"Old Master Dong!"

At the courtyard gate, a middle-aged scholar walked in with an umbrella, his hurried steps splashing rainwater that had already soaked his trouser legs.

The visitor was Yang Hui's advisor. He quickly closed his umbrella and said, "The Tianhe Gang said that two days ago, Gang Leader Situ had a sudden enlightenment and has gone into seclusion. The matter has been temporarily handed over to Hall Master Xiang Chun. Because it was too rushed, Xiang Chun couldn't react in time, which is why there were some problems at the Dragon King Festivals in various places."

Yang Hui frowned and said, "Why is it being handed over to Xiang Chun? Hasn't Zhang Chuan always been Situ Jian's top confidant?"

The advisor quickly replied, "According to the Tianhe Gang, Zhang Chuan was temporarily reassigned due to some business. The specifics involve Tianhe Gang secrets, and I cannot find out."

Yang Hui said in a deep voice, "Then, what about Wei Qi, the High Priest of Tianmen, over in Dongli Alley? We haven't seen him come out these past two days."

The advisor said, "They said that Wei Qi has also gone into seclusion, and Grand Master Xiong Yin has gone to protect him. No one knows his exact location. To prevent sabotage, even the temple's guards don't know their whereabouts."

Yang Hui asked in confusion, "What a coincidence? Situ Jian is in seclusion, and Wei Qi is also in seclusion? Something feels off to me."

The advisor asked疑惑地问道, "Sir, what do you mean?"

Yang Hui pondered for a moment, then suddenly his expression changed, and he burst into a tirade: "Those two bastards, they wanted to use me as a scapegoat! I heard that Sword Immortal Gu Guanqi was on his way to Qinghe City, and those two bastards sent me messages saying they would handle it and I shouldn't worry, but now they've run away!"

Yang Hui took a deep breath and said, "Let's go, let's go too. I'm not going to be this damned official anymore. Gu Guanqi killing an official won't have any impact on us. The court will definitely back him up."

The advisor hurriedly said, "No, sir, if you leave, what will happen to the Dragon King Festival? If you anger the Dragon King, what will happen to all the people of Qinghe County?"

"I—" Yang Hui froze, then said, "But who cares about me? My people's lives are lives, but mine isn't? I've heard that Gu Guanqi is a chivalrous and righteous man, intolerant of any injustice—"

"But what we're doing is for the sake of the millions of people in Qinghe County," the advisor said. "We lack the ability to defeat the Dragon King, so we can only sacrifice a small number of people to save the majority. We're doing this out of necessity, not because we truly want to waste resources and manpower!"

Yang Hui shook his head and said, "But I really did get greedy—"

The advisor said, "Qizhou is the domain of the Temple, and Qinghe County is the territory of the Tianhe Gang. What can we do? If we don't join them, they will naturally find someone else to join them. We have no choice at all."

"Master, Situ Jian is a江湖人 (jianghu person), he can run away. Wei Qi is from the temple, he can run away too. But you are the prefect, where can you run to?"

"I—I—" Yang Hui said dejectedly, "But Gu Guanqi is intolerant of any wrongdoing. People say he's a god, but in reality, he's a killing machine. I don't want to die, I want to live!"

The advisor said softly, "Master, don't you understand? This is an opportunity. You can't send the memorial to the capital, but Gu Guanqi can. The court will find a way to deal with the Dragon King."

Although we've joined forces with the Tianhe Gang, we have no other choice. Our entire family, including wives, children, and elderly relatives, is in Qinghe City. We can't escape, so we might as well tell the truth. Let's take a gamble and see if Gu Guanqi is as heartless as the rumors suggest.

"Master Dong, Gu Guanqi has arrived! With that, Qinghe will have a clear sky!"

Yang Hui gritted his teeth and said, "That's right, with Gu Guanqi here, Qinghe will have a clear sky!"