Free Web NovelChapter 173: Chapter 173: Apology
Li Ting’s brow furrowed when she saw the man in black standing at the inn’s entrance.
His attire screamed Assassin, yet he stood openly at the entrance, creating a bizarre sense of unease.
’I need to get out of here first.’
Li Ting steeled herself.
Unwilling to stir up more trouble, she planned to lead the Li Family’s caravan out through the inn’s back door.
But the moment Li Ting took her first step, the man in black at the entrance moved!
’Such a fast Body Technique.’
Li Ting’s pupils constricted as she stared at the man in black who had appeared before her in an instant. His strength was far beyond her expectations.
Seeing this, the members of the Evil Wolf Gang inside the inn all fell back in unison.
Jianghu People like them naturally had sharp judgment. If they didn’t know enough to get out of the way now, they’d sooner or later be caught in the crossfire.
There were too many powerhouses in Huanglong Prefecture. Gangs like theirs had long ago perfected the art of not getting crushed like ants underfoot, so they decisively chose to flee the inn.
Seeing her opponent’s fierce advance, Li Ting gritted her teeth and shot out a palm strike.
She didn’t have time to draw her sword.
She was prepared to be seriously injured by taking the blow head-on, but that was better than being killed instantly.
Li Ting’s mind raced. ’There’s no way I could have provoked an expert of this caliber in Huanglong Prefecture.’
’There’s only one other possibility: this is the man who killed the other Wan Jun Peak disciples.’
A sliver of despair rose in Li Ting’s heart.
’The other disciples couldn’t escape. What makes me think I can?’
But just as the man’s palm was about to strike Li Ting, his body froze. To be precise, he had stopped to dodge a needle flying toward him.
Li Ting seized the chance to retreat several steps. Her face lit up with joy when she saw the figure at the entrance.
Bai Yuan had appeared at the inn’s entrance at some point.
The man in black saw Bai Yuan and, without a second thought, prepared to leap out the window. But before he could move, he collapsed to the ground, convulsing in agony.
Poisoned!
Li Ting’s eyes widened as she stared at the man struggling weakly on the ground. She couldn’t figure out when Bai Yuan had poisoned him.
Bai Yuan strode slowly to the man and ripped the black cloth from his face.
"Shi Ye?"
Seeing the man’s face, Bai Yuan raised an eyebrow. frёeweɓηovel.coɱ
He hadn’t expected to catch such a big fish today.
Shi Ye was a True Disciple, so of course Bai Yuan recognized him.
He had been using a Demon Hunter’s methods to find the person secretly targeting Wan Jun Peak. Li Ting had caught his attention the moment she descended the mountain.
He’d followed her the entire way, not expecting to actually run into such a major player.
Shi Ye struggled painfully to his feet, stripped of his usual demonic charm.
"You... you can’t kill me."
He knew Bai Yuan was strong, but not *this* strong.
He hadn’t even seen Bai Yuan make a move before he was caught. They were both True Disciples, but the gap between them was immense.
"Oh?"
"Give me a reason not to kill you."
Bai Yuan looked intrigued.
Shi Ye said, "My master is..."
His words cut off abruptly. He was dead, so of course, he couldn’t speak.
Li Ting watched the scene in terror. She never imagined Bai Yuan would actually kill a True Disciple.
After all, every True Disciple was precious to the Divine Mansion Sect. The death of one would always set off a bloody storm.
Bai Yuan said, "And here I thought he’d say something original."
’If Shi Ye had revealed something about Feishi Peak colluding with the Demon Sect, I might have been interested. I might have even let him live a little longer.’
’If I could get proof of their collusion, it would completely change the game.’
"Senior Brother Bai, what do we do now?"
"We’re going to pay them a visit and apologize, of course."
...
On Feishi Peak of the Divine Mansion Sect.
Disciples of Feishi Peak watched as Bai Yuan led a woman—who looked like an Outer Disciple from Wan Jun Peak—up the mountain.
Soon, the two of them reached the peak.
The Peak Master of Feishi Peak, Shi Bai Mountain, saw Bai Yuan, glanced at Li Ting behind him, and his heart sank.
He knew perfectly well that Shi Ye had just descended the mountain to kill Li Ting.
But now Bai Yuan and Li Ting were here on Feishi Peak and his disciple was nowhere in sight. Bai Yuan must have caught him in the act.
"Nephew Bai, coming up Feishi Peak without my permission... that seems to be against the rules,"
Shi Bai Mountain said, taking the offensive.
As a True Disciple, Bai Yuan had the right to be on a summit—but only that of Wan Jun Peak. His current presence before Flying Stone Hall was a violation of the Divine Mansion Sect’s rules.
He intended to use the rules to put Bai Yuan in his place.
"Junior Martial Uncle Shi, I have come today specifically to apologize."
Bai Yuan remained calm, neither surprised nor angered.
"Apologize?"
Shi Bai Mountain’s brow furrowed. He couldn’t figure out what this brat was playing at.
"I killed your disciple. Isn’t it only right that I come to apologize?"
Hearing this, Shi Bai Mountain’s pupils contracted. He stared at Bai Yuan in utter disbelief.
He had guessed his disciple had fallen into Bai Yuan’s hands, but he never thought Bai Yuan would be so audacious as to kill Shi Ye outright.
Shi Ye was a True Disciple! Even a Peak Master wouldn’t dare harm him, lest they face the wrath of Murong Tian.
Every True Disciple was a treasure to the Divine Mansion Sect, yet Bai Yuan had killed one just like that.
Shi Bai Mountain roared in fury, "You little bastard! Even Dong Wanjun wouldn’t dare kill my disciple! How dare you?!"
Bai Yuan shrugged. "Which is why I’m here to apologize, isn’t it?"
A provocation!
A blatant provocation!
Shi Bai Mountain had never suffered such humiliation. The corner of his eye began to twitch—a sign, to those who knew him, that he was about to kill someone.
In the end, however, Shi Bai Mountain managed to restrain himself.
It wasn’t that he didn’t want to kill Bai Yuan, but he had to wait for Murong Tian to return before doing so.
Ultimately, Murong Tian was the master of the Divine Mansion Sect. Even if Bai Yuan deserved a thousand deaths, the judgment had to come from Murong Tian. He himself was not qualified to pass sentence.
Bai Yuan dared to kill a True Disciple; he did not.
Shi Bai Mountain sneered ferociously. "Rest assured, I’ll break your arms and legs first. Then, when the Sect Leader returns, I’ll have you turned into a human swine."
Bai Yuan ignored him. "By the way, Peak Master Shi, you just said I broke the sect rules by coming up the mountain?"
Shi Bai Mountain laughed in fury. "You whelp, what clever tricks are you trying to play with your words now?"
Bai Yuan said, "The Divine Mansion Sect has a rule: a formal challenge between members bypasses all access restrictions."
Shi Bai Mountain’s brow furrowed again. He had no idea what Bai Yuan was up to.
’Challenge me?’
’A final, desperate act of madness?’
Before the shocked eyes of Shi Bai Mountain and Li Ting, Bai Yuan spoke slowly, "Shi Bai Mountain, I challenge you."
"What?!"
Shi Bai Mountain stared at Bai Yuan in astonishment, but his expression quickly twisted into something even more savage. "Since you’re so eager to die, I’ll grant your wish!"
He originally had no grounds to kill Bai Yuan, but he never imagined Bai Yuan would hand him a reason on a silver platter.
His seniority far surpassed Bai Yuan’s. According to the Divine Mansion Sect’s rule against the strong bullying the weak, he could not have challenged Bai Yuan.
But a challenge from Bai Yuan was perfectly acceptable.
By the rules of the Divine Mansion Sect, once both parties agree to a duel, life and death are decided by fate.
Countless disciples of the Divine Mansion Sect died in duels every year.
Just then, an old man with white eyebrows appeared on Feishi Peak.
It was Murong Qing, the Supreme Elder from the Instructor Hall who guarded Dubhe Pavilion. It was unclear how he had heard the news.
Ever since Murong Tian had descended the mountain to quell a rebellion, he and Ge Zhen had been representing the main peak.
Murong Qing looked at Bai Yuan. "Are you serious about what you just said?"
"Of course."
Bai Yuan nodded.
Seeing that Bai Yuan himself had confirmed it, Murong Qing showed no intention of stopping the duel.
It was an open and aboveboard duel. Even if Murong Tian himself were present, he would have no reason to intervene.
Shi Bai Mountain let out a savage laugh, no longer able to suppress the killing intent in his heart.
He had been worried about being held accountable by Murong Tian for killing Bai Yuan. But now, with Murong Qing as a witness, he could kill Bai Yuan without any repercussions.
"Little bastard, die!"
A Long Sword that resembled jade appeared in Shi Bai Mountain’s hand.
He cultivated the Shi Family’s ancestral Jade Shattering Sword Technique, so he wielded a jade sword instead of an iron one. This particular sword, however, was forged from a special, incredibly hard material.
The long saber on Bai Yuan’s back was also drawn.
’Just how powerful is a Peak Master of the Divine Mansion Sect?’
A surge of fighting spirit rose within him.
’This is a being I once could only look up to, and now I’m challenging him.’
Shi Bai Mountain brought his jade sword down with ferocious might.
Bai Yuan raised his saber horizontally to block.
CLANG!
The jade sword and long saber collided in mid-air.
Bai Yuan’s body spun. With a twist of his wrist, his long saber slid around the jade sword and swept toward Shi Bai Mountain’s legs.
As a veteran Entry-level Powerhouse in Huanglong Prefecture, Shi Bai Mountain’s strength was far beyond that of Thunderbolt Hand Xu Kang, whom Bai Yuan had killed.
A potent energy enveloped the jade sword as it chopped toward Bai Yuan’s head.
Neither man showed any sign of retreating.
If both blows landed, Shi Bai Mountain would lose the lower half of his body, and Bai Yuan would be sent straight to his next life.
Murong Qing’s brow furrowed at the sight.
’Does Dong Wanjun’s disciple have a death wish?’
However, the next moment left him stunned.
He saw Bai Yuan’s other hand suddenly snap up toward Shi Bai Mountain’s face. The dark muzzle of a gun, hidden in his sleeve, aimed squarely at Shi Bai Mountain’s pupil.
BANG!
The steel ball was so fast that it reached a point an inch from Shi Bai Mountain’s eye before the jade sword could strike Bai Yuan.
WHOOSH!
The steel ball grazed Shi Bai Mountain’s cheek and flew past.
In the end, Shi Bai Mountain chose to retract his sword and fall back.
He stared intently at Bai Yuan’s sleeve. In his decades of roaming the Jianghu, he had never seen such a bizarre technique.
The unknown is what inspires the most fear.
And so, Shi Bai Mountain ultimately lost his nerve. After all, in his eyes, his life was far more valuable than Bai Yuan’s. There was no need to trade his life for another’s.
"Trying to take me down with you?"
A cruel smile played on Shi Bai Mountain’s lips.
He finally understood. No wonder this True Disciple of Wan Jun Peak was acting so bizarrely today, even daring to challenge him. He was planning to take them both out.
’Luckily, I was cautious enough.’
He curiously sized up Bai Yuan’s sleeve. The object hidden within must be a killing trump card that old scoundrel Dong Wanjun had left for his disciple.
’With Dong Wanjun’s abilities, he really could have created something capable of killing me.’
A wave of fear washed over Shi Bai Mountain. If he hadn’t retreated just now, he might have actually lost his life.
Murong Qing also looked at Bai Yuan with a frown.
He had read all the ancient texts in the world, yet he had never heard of such a device.
Bai Yuan held his long saber in a reverse grip, facing Shi Bai Mountain from a distance. The way Shi Bai Mountain had dodged the bullet surprised him slightly.
’An Entering Martial Artist really is something else.’
’Dodging bullets... In my past life, that was something you’d only see in a movie like *The Matrix*.’
’These tricks are already starting to struggle against an Entering Martial Artist.’
’I need to make some improvements... If I had a Barrett, let’s see who could dodge at this range.’
The corners of Bai Yuan’s mouth curved up slightly.
’I’ve practiced the saber for a thousand years and have never truly shown my skill. This Shi Bai Mountain will make for a fine whetstone.’
’Let’s see just how many of my strikes an Entering Martial Artist can take.’
Shi Bai Mountain said, "Little bastard, let’s see what other tricks you have up your sleeve!"
He kept calling him a "little bastard," but inwardly, he grew even more vigilant.
This True Disciple from Wan Jun Peak might have other unexpected tricks. He couldn’t afford to let his guard down.
Dong Wanjun cultivated countless techniques and had an endless array of methods. He had once killed an Entering Martial Artist without even appearing to make a move. If Dong Wanjun had passed on some of his special techniques to Bai Yuan, he might actually fall into a trap.
Shi Bai Mountain was already on one hundred and twenty percent alert.
He swore that today, he would slay Dong Wanjun’s disciple and offer his life to the spirit of his departed nephew.
