Observing Wanfa from the martial arts school servants

Chapter 133 The Man Who Holds the Weeds

The golden-winged phoenix on the horizon flew swiftly closer.

His body was enveloped in explosive energy, and golden light trailed a sharp tail in the morning light.

Wherever it passed, the air was torn apart by a visible white wave of air, and even the gravel on the hillside was swept up and scattered everywhere by the wave.

The golden-winged phoenix charged into the Xuanmen formation, crushing everything in its path like a meat grinder, with bursts of blood mist erupting wherever its golden aura passed.

In an instant, three Xuanmen Core Formation cultivators were cut in half at the waist by the Golden Wing Slash. Before their bodies even hit the ground, they were shattered into pieces by the aftershocks of the qi.

The newcomer landed on the ground, and golden wings slowly folded behind him, revealing a square face.

He had thick eyebrows that reached his temples, a high jawline, a jawline that looked as sharp as if it had been carved with a knife, and broad shoulders. Standing there, he resembled an unshakeable mountain.

Power struggle.

The Quan family's strongest members, who possess the Gang Jin (罡劲) strength, are stationed year-round at the Quan family's main residence in Qingzhou Prefecture. They are the Quan family's sharpest weapon in the open.

Elder Quanxin smiled for the first time in days upon seeing his arrival.

"You're finally back."

"Ten Core Formation cultivators have come from the Xuanmen sect today, so the pressure is considerable."

Quan Zhan glanced expressionlessly at the fallen corpses on the battlefield, his tone indifferent.

"There are seven left now."

Then the battle intensified.

Lin Mu hid behind the rocks on the back mountain, watching the commotion.

"Hmm, using the Golden Wing Slash here might be more effective."

"Why not use Golden Wing Flash? You could hit the opponent with just two flashes."

"Good, another Core Formation cultivator has been taken down."

The addition of power struggles completely tilted the battlefield.

Every time the Golden Wing Slash strikes, a cultivator at the Core Formation stage falls to the ground; every time the Golden Wing Flash sweeps by, a cloud of blood mist explodes.

Soon, all the Core Formation cultivators brought by the Xuanmen collapsed to the ground, their corpses lying haphazardly across the hillside behind the Zou family's residence. The dark blue robes of the Seven Star Demon Eyes were soaked in blood, gleaming with a dim and oppressive luster in the morning light.

Only Yu Qiubai was left barely holding on.

His ice shield had cracked with countless fine cracks under Quan Xin's Golden Wing Slash, and each crack was oozing out a bluish-white cold aura.

His left leg was grazed by Quan Zhan's qi, his trouser leg was torn to shreds, and a deep wound that exposed the bone appeared on his calf. Blood flowed down his ankle, and with each step back, he left a dark red footprint on the frozen mud.

His ice arrows could no longer cool the air; even the bluish-white glint on the arrowheads had faded, and the speed at which they were fired was so slow that even a martial artist at the Transformation Realm could easily dodge them.

His breathing became very heavy, his chest heaving violently, and each breath felt like it was tearing his lungs apart.

Lin Mu used his Insight Technique to clearly see Yu Qiubai's injuries.

The injury to his left leg was the most severe, reducing his movement speed by at least 70%.

The ice shield's chill was no longer enough to withstand the direct impact of the Golden Wing Slash; the cracks widened with each hit.

His breathing was disordered, and the Icefield Wolf Beast markings within his body were fading at a visible rate. The markings on the back of his neck had changed from bluish-white to a dull leaden color.

He wondered if he could kill Yu Qiubai if Yu Qiubai was seriously injured to that extent.

Quan Zhan took a step forward, and the Golden Wing Slash on his right arm condensed into an arc-shaped blade that shone with golden light. Golden energy flickered on the blade, ready to seize the opportunity to cut off Yu Qiubai's head.

Just then, a high-pitched and sharp voice came from down the hillside.

"etc!"

A middle-aged constable dressed in a dark brown yamen uniform scrambled up the hillside.

His hat was askew, and the scabbard at his waist clanged against the stone.

He bent over and panted for a while before managing to squeeze out words intermittently.

"Elder Quan, hold on! The Prefect and Young Master Jin Yu are here immediately."

Lin Mu frowned.

It's truly a coincidence that such a dramatic scene of sparing someone's life at a crucial moment would occur.

Behind the constable, a young man dressed in a moon-white robe was slowly walking up the hillside.

He held an ivory folding fan in his hand, with a small, dark red jade pendant as the fan tassel, which swayed gently with his steps.

Two guards dressed in dark gray short khakis followed behind him, their mere presence making the surrounding air seem heavier.

That was the young master Jin Yu, whom I had met once at the Zou family.

When Lin Mu saw the Golden Jade Prince arrive, he sensed that something was wrong.

The youngest deacon of the Tongzhou Society ruined Zou Qingshu's reputation with just one question at the Zou family's birthday banquet, and then used the Questioning Heart Sword to make all the guests in the hall look ridiculous.

His appearance at this time is definitely not to uphold justice.

Sure enough, the young master Jin Yu walked up to Quan Zhan, tapped his folding fan lightly in his palm, and bowed with a smile.

"Elder Quan Zhan, I am Jin Yu from Qingzhou Prefecture. I have been ordered to come here in the hope of resolving the misunderstanding between the Quan family and the Xuanmen."

He unfolded the folding fan, and the landscape painting on the fan surface shimmered faintly in the morning light, while the emblem of the Tongzhou Association was engraved on the fan ribs.

A three-masted sailing ship cuts through the raging waves.

Quan Zhan looked at him without saying a word.

Quan Xin stepped on Yu Qiubai, raised her head, and spoke in a cold tone.

"The loss of the Quan family's beast-pattern design is no misunderstanding."

"The disciples of the Xuanmen sect have already admitted it."

He lifted a blood-covered figure from his feet and threw it in front of the young master Jin Yu like a dead dog.

That was Lin Qi, whom Quan Xin had interrogated before. His face was covered with dried scabs, and the Golden Wing Slash wound on his left arm was so deep that the bone was visible. His breath was so weak that it seemed as if he would break at any moment.

Young Master Jin Yu glanced down at Lin Qi, closed his folding fan, and put away his composed smile, his tone becoming more serious than before.

"Some people in the Tongzhou Association hope to downplay this matter and make it disappear altogether."

Quan Zhan frowned slightly.

"The Tongzhou Society surely knows how important the Quan family's beast pattern is. How can we resolve this?"

The young master took out a piece of jade from his waist.

It was a piece of warm and translucent white jade, on which was carved a person wearing a straw hat, pushing a small boat with a bamboo pole, slowly emerging from a dense thicket of reeds.

A faint ripple spread across the water beneath the boat, each ripple etched in a three-dimensional and lifelike manner.

Quan Zhan's pupils contracted slightly.

"A person carrying a hoe?"

"Yes, sir."

The young master put the jade pendant back into his waistband, unfolded his folding fan again, and his tone returned to its usual composure.

"The master said that the beast pattern painting must be returned to the Quan family within three days to the end of the martial arts examination. If that is not possible, something of equal value will be given in exchange."

He turned his head and slightly raised his chin at the two bodyguards behind him.

The two men took a step forward and stood in front of Yu Qiubai.

The golden winged blade on Quan Zhan's right arm slowly dissipated in the morning light, which meant he had agreed.

ah~

Seeing that the two sides had reached an agreement, Lin Mu sighed softly.

The Quan family is just like that; if you don't cut the weeds at the root, they'll grow back in the spring breeze.

Keeping Yu Qiubai around would definitely be a disaster.

His eyes gleamed, revealing a dangerous light.