A Journey Through the Martial World After Transforming into a Loli

However, Su Mengsha did not immediately help Lin Xueyi resolve her doubts. Instead, she directly pulled Lin Xueyi behind her and protected her.

"The Jiaolong Cave on Chongming Island is one of the evil sects in the martial arts world, and above them is the Youming Ghost Valley, the strongest force among the evil sects."

Blinking her eyes, she finally heard about the first villainous force. Could it be that the Netherworld Ghost Valley was the one that caused her trouble before and burned down her house? But why? There must be a reason for doing such a thing.

But then I thought about it again, aren't these kinds of unorthodox gangs just doing things for fun? They probably don't have any real reasons for doing things.

"What bad things has this Jiaolong Cave done? Or is it that they..."

"They've done quite a few bad things. Jiaolong Cave is on Chongming Island, which controls the sea entrance. Many times, if merchant ships don't pay enough tribute, they'll face a horrific looting. Jiaolong Cave has done a lot of murder and robbery."

"That's right. The Jiaolong Cave is notorious for its evil deeds. They have burned, killed, and looted several counties along the coast and wiped out many small sects. What is the purpose of their visit to Luocheng this time?"

"So you're from Jiaolong Cave. My Luocheng Sword Sect and Jiaolong Cave have always kept to ourselves. May I ask what brings you to Luocheng?"

This is, after all, part of the Luocheng Poetry Gathering. If someone comes here to cause trouble, it will ultimately be the Luocheng Sword Sect and the Luocheng martial arts world that lose face. Liu Changfeng still thinks it's best to maintain stability and not to have a conflict with these scoundrels for the time being.

"Ha, I was just passing by, but I didn't expect there to be such a bold person in the martial arts world of Luo City who dares to mess with me. So I had no choice but to come and have a proper contest with you heroes."

Did they dare to mess with him? What exactly did they do? Nobody knew. Judging from how furious the man was, it must have been something serious. But who did it remained a mystery.

"We don't know who did it, but tell us so we can see who this hero is."

"Haha, that's right. We still need to pay our respects to this kind of hero."

Seeing the crowd below burst into laughter, Liu Ling pointed his finger in the direction where Lin Xueyi was.

"Who are they? It's none other than the young lady of Flying Eagle Fortress and her little maid."

Young master, it was this woman and the little maid behind her who did it, I can vouch for it.

Upon hearing this, everyone turned to look, followed by a chorus of profanities from various regions. Forget about the young lady of Flying Eagle Fortress; the other party was just a little girl—what trouble could she possibly cause the people of Flood Dragon Cave?

"Oh ho, it's these two. I, Duan Canghai, am really easy to bully. I actually got tricked by two women."

As for how he was tricked, Duan Canghai didn't say, and he was too embarrassed to say it. Being tricked by two women wouldn't sound good. But when he did say it, everyone was shocked.

"Duan Canghai? Is he the only son of Duan Long, the Nine-Headed Flood Dragon and the master of the Flood Dragon Cave?"

"Ah? You know me? It's me. Alright, no more of this nagging. Hand over these two women, and I'll leave with them right away. If you dare to stop me, then I'll have to see what level the martial arts world of Luo City really is."

As he spoke, he slipped two steel claws onto his hands. The sharp spikes, gleaming with a cold light, sent chills down one's spine. At that moment, a flash of murderous intent crossed Duan Canghai's eyes.

"Heh, Miss Su is a guest of our Luocheng Sword Sect, and Lin Xueyi is the winner of the poetry competition. We must ensure their safety. Young Master Duan, I think it would be better if you left first, so as not to hurt the reputation of both of us."

Liu Changfeng stated that he would not give them any of the people the other party wanted, except for Duan Canghai. If they were to suppress them, their Luocheng Sword Sect would probably become a laughing stock in the future.

Main text: Chapter Twenty-Five - Did He chicken out?

"Sister Su, is this Nine-Headed Dragon very powerful?" Lin Xueyi, who was being protected behind Su Mengsha, secretly glanced at the man who had landed heavily on the arena.

"The Nine-Headed Flood Dragon is very strong. Huozhou is not actually located by the sea, so it has little interaction with the people of the Flood Dragon Cave. However, it is not impossible to have heard of the arrogance and domineering nature of the Nine-Headed Flood Dragon, Duan Long."

Liu Changfeng stared intently at the vast ocean while talking to Lin Xueyi about the nine-headed dragon.

"Legend has it that this nine-headed dragon is rampant in the East Sea. Its status as a master of innate cultivation makes many people dare not speak out against it. Some people even said a bad word about the Dragon Cave, and the next day their whole family disappeared. Finally, a few days later, their bodies were found floating in the sea. It is said that they were already soaked and unrecognizable."

"Is it that terrifying?" Lin Xueyi was shocked. There was such a being; it was simply insane.

“We clearly spent the night at Duoduo’s house last night, and we went to Gujiazhuang during the day. We didn’t meet him at all. Why should we listen to Liu Ling’s one-sided story?”

Lin Xueyi protested against this injustice, waving her little fists and gesturing fiercely at the other party, but this did not deter the other party at all; instead, the other party burst into laughter.

"This girl is really naive. But since you're like this, I'll spare your life in a bit and take you back to the Dragon Cave so you can tell me some jokes."

Seeing that the other party wouldn't even listen to her explanation, Su Mengsha frowned slightly. She realized that the other party was clearly targeting her and seemed to be deliberately trying to cause her trouble.

"Speak up, what exactly is your purpose? Stop beating around the bush. Just tell me directly."

"Haha, you're really smart. No wonder Shen Conglang of Haishan Cave likes you so much. However, I have some grudges with him, so I'll trouble you to come with me to Jiaolong Cave. After that brat Shen Conglang apologizes and begs for forgiveness, I'll hand you over to him. Hahaha."

As if struck by a sudden thought, Duan Canghai burst into laughter. However, his powerful internal energy caused discomfort to everyone's eardrums, and some disciples with weaker willpower and internal energy even covered their ears tightly, showing signs of pain.

"Kid, this is Luocheng. You'd better use your Dragon Roar Technique less often."

A clear, cool voice entered people's ears as a refined-looking man slowly descended. It was this voice that brought relief to those in pain, temporarily calming their condition.

"Ying Changfeng? I never thought that a nobody like me could attract the attention of a powerful figure like you."

Duan Canghai rubbed the steel claws in his hands until sparks flew, then gave a cold laugh, seemingly showing no fear whatsoever of the suddenly appearing leader of the Luo City Sword Sect.

Of course, he had no need to be afraid. In his eyes, there were two innate beings in his Dragon Cave, and his father was an outstanding innate being. This Ying Changfeng, the leader of the Luo City Sword Sect, was just a useless person struggling in the acquired realm. What did he have to be afraid of?

"Now that Sect Leader Ying has appeared, let's have a proper fight. I'll see if this senior martial artist can defeat me, a newcomer to the martial world, in just a few moves."

Before he could finish speaking, Duan Canghai made the first move. With his steel claws clashing, he passed Ying Changfeng almost instantly.

Upon seeing this, the unharmed Duan Canghai burst into laughter, "What Luo City Sword Sect? It's nothing but a hollow reputation. I, a junior, wasn't even defeated in one move. I think you, senior, should probably go back... alright..."

He didn't say anything more. He had no problems, but his claws suddenly snapped off. Looking at his once sharp claws, Duan Canghai was speechless for a moment.

A sword is a weapon, an instrument for killing, but why should someone who doesn't deserve death seek it out? Sheathing his sword, he slowly walked away. Ying Changfeng didn't say another word, leaving behind only a silhouette that inspired awe.

"Is this the leader of the Luo City Sword Sect?" Lin Xueyi looked at Ying Changfeng, who had just drawn his sword, and suddenly thought that she could defeat him directly in dozens of ways, capture him in hundreds of ways, and suppress him in thousands of ways with this move.

It seems that things aren't as exaggerated in this martial arts world as Ruoxue described. Is this all the power a sect leader has? This is far too exaggerated.

Su Mengsha had no idea what Lin Xueyi was thinking. She thought Lin Xueyi was shocked by Ying Changfeng's methods.

"Sect Leader Ying is a renowned figure in the martial arts world, but dealing with Duan Canghai is a bit of an overreaction. After all, he is a junior, and winning is not something to be proud of."

"Hmph, since we're outmatched, we'll take the lead. But the road ahead is long, Miss Su, so please be careful. Hehehe... Hahahaha..."

"Can you please stop laughing like that? Are you trying to make sure everyone knows you're a bad guy?" Lin Xueyi said, finally unable to bear it any longer. He had laughed so horribly before, making everyone around him laugh uncontrollably, and now he was still laughing like that. Didn't he know how annoying that was?

Once again, Duan Canghai was rebuked by this little girl. This time, he was no longer as arrogant as before, so he took a closer look at her, and then...

"Holy crap, isn't this the little girl Lin Xueyi that the elder was talking about? What's she doing here?"

Suppressing his fear, Duan Canghai thought about what he had said and done before. It seemed that he hadn't done anything too outrageous, so he breathed a slight sigh of relief.

"May I ask your name, young lady?"

In stark contrast to his previous arrogance, his speech even carried a hint of caution. He hoped this was the person they were looking for, but deep down he didn't want it to be the person he was looking for.

"My name is Lin Xueyi, what do you want!"

"My name is Lin Xueyi, that's fine, why add that?" Suddenly, Duan Canghai felt his legs go weak. The elder had made it very clear before that this was the person that great one had specifically asked to find. Finding her should have been a very lucky thing, but he had done something wrong before.

"No...it's nothing, miss. I'll leave now, I'll leave now."

Duan Canghai, having abandoned his previous arrogance, was now so submissive and even somewhat timid towards Lin Xueyi. Yes, timid, which made Su Mengsha find it rather strange.

"Young Master Duan, you..."

"What is this? Get lost! Can't you see they're practicing martial arts here? Don't cause trouble."

After speaking, ignoring the bewildered expressions of the others, Duan Canghai leaped sideways and vanished from their sight.

Chapter Twenty-Six: Short Thorn

Liu Ling stood alone on the martial arts stage, at a loss for words. Hadn't they agreed on something before? Why did they suddenly change their minds?

However, Liu Ling still harbored a sliver of hope. He remembered the mysterious person who had previously advised him to find Duan Canghai; it was this same person who had given him those poems, intending for him to sabotage the Luo City Poetry Gathering. But the little girl opposite him had still managed to ruin it, causing him to lose face in front of those people.

But in such a critical situation, they certainly wouldn't stand idly by, would they? They definitely wouldn't. Liu Ling thought to himself, but a persistent sense of unease lingered in his mind.

"Liu Ling, I think you owe us all an explanation. At least during this important martial arts competition, you colluded with outsiders to cause trouble here. Do you have any conscience at all?"

As Liu Changfeng and his group relentlessly pressed forward, Liu Ling's unease grew. He felt they would come to his rescue, but nothing had happened. Panic began to creep into his heart.

"Liu Changfeng...you...you're also a member of the Liu family, do you really intend to kill me here?"

"You've done something like this, and you still call yourself a member of the Liu family? You've completely disgraced the Liu family. Do you really expect anyone to forgive you?"

"No, no, you can't kill me, you can't kill me! I'm still useful. Don't you find it strange? My poetry skills weren't much better than yours before, so why am I able to..."

"Watch out..." Lin Xueyi suddenly sensed a murderous aura and turned around without thinking, only to find a bright light piercing towards Su Mengsha's direction.

Without thinking, she tackled Su Mengsha to the ground. Although it was comfortable to have Su Mengsha's soft body as a cushion, Lin Xueyi quickly got up to check if Su Mengsha was injured.

However, at that moment, the two heard a cry of alarm. When they went to look for the sound, they heard other people say that Liu Ling was actually dead, killed by a short black thorn.

"What is this?" Lin Xueyi suddenly thought of the black thorn that had been used to stab Su Mengsha earlier, and realized that after she tackled Su Mengsha, the direction of the black thorn was exactly in the direction where Liu Ling was.

No, it should be that the other party was originally targeting Liu Ling, but she mistakenly thought it was to harm Su Mengsha, which is why she tackled her. Although she knew she was wrong this time, Lin Xueyi did not feel regret.

At that time, any speculation was pointless. What if she guessed wrong? She would regret it for the rest of her life. It was just the death of an insignificant person; what could she possibly...?

Lin Xueyi's thoughts changed slightly afterward because she saw the short black thorn piercing Liu Ling's neck. This wasn't the first time she had seen such a thorn; she had seen it once before.

Moreover, it was something she had witnessed vividly: on that night when flames were burning, those men in black attacked her, and their initial attack was launched with these short black spikes.

If she hadn't been vigilant, she probably would have been pricked into a pincushion by those spikes. She later deliberately searched weapon shops and blacksmiths, but couldn't find any similar spikes. This shows that these short black spikes were specially made, not some ordinary weapon that a martial arts practitioner could easily obtain.

"Xueyi, what's wrong?"

Seeing a slight change in Lin Xueyi's expression after she had just saved her, Su Mengsha's heart tightened, and she became somewhat worried. She was afraid that Lin Xueyi would become aware of the dangers of the martial world because of this incident and deliberately distance herself from those martial arts practitioners. Of course, her main concern was that Lin Xueyi would distance herself from her.

"I'm fine, Sister Su, you..." I was about to ask Su Mengsha if she had any impression of these black thorns, or if she knew their origin, but after thinking about it carefully, I realized that if she knew, she probably would have already told me, so she probably didn't know much about them.

Are those people in black with the same group who assassinated Liu Ling? What is their purpose? Lin Xueyi suddenly felt that this martial arts world seemed a bit dangerous. It was completely different from the carefree, chivalrous life she had imagined.

"Senior Brother Liu, I'll head back now. Xiao Xueyi seems to be frightened."

When Liu Changfeng heard Su Mengsha say this, he suddenly remembered that there was another girl here who was about the same age as his junior sister, and she was not a member of the martial arts world. He thought she would probably feel resistant to what had just happened.

"Junior Sister Su, you should take Xueyi back first. I'm truly sorry for what happened during our martial arts competition. When we have the chance in the future, I'll take you to see the sights of Luo City. As an apology."

"Senior Brother Liu, you're being too serious. Nobody wanted this to happen, and I can understand that. But since this has happened, I'll take Xueyi and leave first. I expect you'll have a considerable amount of time to investigate, and my presence here would only be in your way."

"That's fine too. We don't have much time to entertain you. It was such a grand event, but this happened. Next time, I'll treat you to a proper meal."

"Alright, it's a deal, Senior Brother Liu. Don't complain about the expensive wine or food we ordered."

"I'll empty my pockets to treat you all properly when the time comes."

Liu Changfeng shook his head with a wry smile, then watched Su Mengsha lead Lin Xueyi away slowly, and finally could only sigh softly.

This time, Luo City has really lost face. People came to their doorstep to kill, but they didn't even know where their opponents were. Putting everything else aside, their master hadn't actually been gone for long and could have easily returned in time, but he didn't. It's likely that their master himself was caught off guard.

What exactly is the other party's purpose? Is it just to humiliate the Luo City Sword Sect?

"Sister Su, shall we go back to your house now?"