Chapter 8: Dispute
After leaving the Origin Bureau, Su Chen wasn’t in any hurry to return. He went on a leisurely walk around the street.
Clear River was not a large city, but the soil was quite fertile, so the civilians lived quite peaceful lives. Because of the clear river running through the city, trade was convenient, so the market was also pretty busy.
As Su Chen walked, he could hear many vendors hawking their wares. What shocked him was the fact that some were actually selling Origin Qi Scholar level ingredients.
Even though they were relatively common medicinal herbs like the Golden-Horned Chestnut or the Eight-Leaf Laurel, it was rare for them to appear in the hands of commoners. No wonder people said that the Crow Region was rich in natural resources; indeed, many different medicinal herbs grew and originated here.
Because this was origin and they were being sold by commoners, these medicinal ingredients were being sold for far cheaper prices than usual. Some were even merely a tenth of the price found in medicinal herb shops in Long Coiling City. Thus, Su Chen ended up buying a few as he continued to browse.
Suddenly, Su Chen stopped and glanced at an old woman next to him.
The old woman’s basket contained some Graywire Grass, a common ingredient used by alchemists. Su Chen walked over and asked, “Ma’am, how much are you selling this Graywire Grass for?”
The old woman replied in a trembling voice, “One silver per stalk; if you want to buy them all, a single tael of gold.”
The old woman didn’t have much Graywire Grass, only ten or so stalks lying all alone in the basket. Perhaps it was because she didn’t dare bring any more; she was only willing to bring roughly a tael of gold’s worth of ingredients with her at once, or else there might be trouble.
Su Chen laughed and reached into the basket, pulling out a single Graywire Grass. “Look, this Graywire Grass has a silver thread next to it, implying that it has completely transformed from Graywire Grass into Silverwire Grass. Silverwire Grass is much more valuable than Graywire Grass, roughly a hundred times as much.
He placed that Silverwire Grass carefully into the old woman’s hand. “This stalk is worth at least ten taels of gold. Don’t sell it too cheaply.”
The old woman stared at him, dumbfounded. Su Chen shook his sleeves and left.
The old woman hurriedly said, “Many thanks for Young Master’s guidance!”
However, she picked up her basket and left. Evidently, this price of ten taels of gold had stunned the old woman. She didn’t dare to try and sell it here; instead, she would search for another way to sell it.
Weaker people always had their own ways of surviving. Su Chen wasn’t worried about that old woman, but her cry of “Young Master” made him chuckle.
He continued to advance when he suddenly heard a loud boom come from behind him.
He turned around and saw a wave of energy rolling towards him. A number of people had been thrown into the air, as if they had been caught by a tornado.
At least ten people were swept up by the wave of energy, including that old woman. She flipped through the air, then slammed into the ground. Because she was already old, this sudden impact killed her instantly. Her hand was tightly gripped around that Silverwire Grass, even unto death.
Su Chen found that the source of the wave of energy was two males, who were currently entangled in battle.
Both of them were Origin Qi Scholars, so every move of theirs was filled with power. Rocks flew everywhere, and energy billowed out from them. Who knew how many more people would be affected by this battle or even injured on the spot.
However, those two completely ignored their surroundings, continuing to fight to their heart’s’ content. They were even trash-talking each other while they fought: “Yu Chengshui, have you used all of your energy up on women? You want to fight me with such little strength?”
“Shut your mouth, Sun Mao. Even if I were to finish off ten women, I’d still be able to knock you out.”
“Nonsense! I’m right here, show me how you’re going to knock me out!”
Boom, boom, boom!
A flurry of fists and feet flew through the air, the waves of energy from their strikes surging every which way. A few of the established businesses were affected too; the peddlers and hawkers could still run away, but those running the businesses could only cover their heads and hold on, allowing the waves of energy to rush through their stores and throw everything into disarray.
Su Chen’s temper flared when he saw this.
As a Knowledge Executor, he was responsible for handling any conflicts between Origin Qi Scholars. But even if he wasn’t, he couldn’t possibly ignore this situation.
He struck out with his palm at the two people. This palm strike seemed normal, but once it was unleashed, the surrounding turmoil disappeared, and the waves of energy subsided. Su Chen barked, “Fighting in the middle of a public street and harming the innocent? Stop this instant!”
He never expected that the two of them would suddenly turn around and yell, “Where did this brat come from? Mind your own business!”
They simultaneously struck out at Su Chen.
When a person obtained power, it was hard for them not to become arrogant, and even to look down on commoners like they were ants. This wasn’t an uncommon occurrence.
The only reason the strong didn’t rule over everything, with the weak under their tyrannical control, was because they still had other enemies, individuals who were still stronger than them.
Even so, in this day and age, where bullies ran riot, many people viewed the commoners like weeds and had no qualms about killing them.
These two were evidently no exception. It was clear that they weren’t mortal enemies, yet they insisted on fighting in this busy marketplace, completely ignoring the damage they would cause. Their attitude was quite despicable. Even when Su Chen tried to stop them, they attacked instantly.
A trace of killing intent flashed across Su Chen’s eyes. “Are you looking to die?”
There were still people behind him, so he didn’t attempt to dodge these two blows. Instead, he activated his Adamantine Battle Body and forcefully endured the blows, then gestured as an Erupting Firehawk took flight and rammed into Yu Chengshui.
He carefully controlled the power output so that there weren’t any obvious energy fluctuations, but all of the energy was contained within the Firehawk’s body.
Yu Chengshui growled and struck out with his palm, a shadowy, cold light gathering there before it shot at the Firehawk. The moment the two blows impacted, Yu Chengshui’s shadowy light was instantly neutralized, but the Firehawk continued to advance at Yu Chengshui.
“Dammit!” Yu Chengshui cursed. He leapt into the air, not caring what might happen if Su Chen’s blow were to land somewhere else. As long as he escaped, everything was fine.
The Firehawk flew past beneath him. Just when he thought he had avoided the blow, however, he felt an intense heat at his back. He instinctively gathered all of his energy at his back, but with a loud BOOM, the Firehawk had already slammed into him. The flames engulfed Yu Chengshui almost immediately, causing him to howl in pain.
Su Chen ignored him. After all, this guy was an Origin Qi Scholar; that wouldn’t be enough to kill him.
Sun Mao had already charged forward at this moment, now wielding a hidden dagger that he stabbed at the left side of Su Chen’s small back.
Su Chen clawed out behind him, grabbing onto Sun Mao’s wrist. The two struggled briefly, with Sun Mao unable to extricate himself, allowing Su Chen to land a fierce kick onto Sun Mao’s kneecap. Sun Mao cried out in pain and kneeled.
“You know now to kneel and ask for forgiveness?” Su Chen laughed. He waved his right hand, and another Erupting Firehawk slammed into Yu Chengshui, who had just gotten to his feet. Simultaneously, he spun his left hand around, reversing Sun Mao and capturing him.
“You!” Sun Mao yelled loudly. A black edge began to gather on his left hand, which he stabbed at Su Chen.
His Extermination Jab was pretty powerful, but it expended too much energy, so he wasn’t willing to use it casually. He hadn’t used it in his earlier battle with Yu Chengshui, but at this point he risked it all.
Unfortunately, this finger strike slammed into Sun Mao’s own right hand – Su Chen pulled Sun Mao’s arm, using it as a shield to defend himself.
“AHHH!” Sun Mao howled in pain. His right arm had suddenly turned into a pile of mangled flesh.
“How vicious.” Su Chen’s eyebrows jumped. This jab really wasn’t weak; if he had been struck by it, he would have been seriously injured even if his arm wouldn’t have been reduced to this state.
