Translator: Myuu Editor: Myuu
Even a deaf person could hear the mockery in that voice.
Yan Liqiang frowned slightly and turned toward the source of the voice. He didn’t even need to search for the person who spoke because he was already standing up.
He was a tall and strongly built man dressed in a blue outfit. His figure was probably two Yan Liqiangs put together. Even if he was clothed, one could still see his strong muscles underneath. With his flat face, sinister eyes, and those barely noticeable eyebrows put together, they left a deep impression on people because they made people feel uncomfortable. Apart from that, the man also had a scar which ran from his left earlobe to his left cheek. Though faded, it was still quite noticeable. It marred the man’s face like a crimson centipede.
“I don’t even think it’s an embarrassment to lose to experts like The Banes of Heaven and Earth. After all, my cultivation is not just a level inferior to theirs!” Liang Yijie smiled coldly. “Xu Lang, we are both Martial Grandmasters and in the same cultivation realm. If you think having one scar on your face isn’t enough, then let’s agree on a time to meet at the Imperial Capital’s Arena of Life and Death, so both of us can duel each other until one of us dies to see where we stand. If you don’t have the guts, then scram! Don’t stand here and make a fool out of yourself by running your mouth…!”
Liang Yijie was pretty much berating that person at the end of that.
Upon hearing Liang Yijie, the eyes of the person named Xu Lang instantly reddened. His face unexpectedly broke into a sinister smile as he licked his lips. “Why not? I’ve been waiting to get a taste of your Taibai Thirteen Slash technique. That’ll settle it. One month from now, we shall settle this once and for all at the Arena of Life and Death. I hope you won’t chicken out on that day!” After saying that, Xu Lang looked around at everyone. “I would like to ask everyone here to be our witnesses for today.”
“Sure!”
“No problem!”
Some guards among the crowd in the room immediately responded.
“Since Brother Xu and Brother Liang have set up a duel, why don’t I become Brother Xu’s partner? After all, good things come in pairs!” A thin guard beside Xu Lang stood up while he spoke, and he looked at Yan Liqiang with an insincere smile. “I heard Lord Sun recruited another personal attendant in Gan Province by the name of Yan Liqiang. That must be you, Little Brother. Are you brave enough to go up to the Arena of Life and Death with me as Brother Liang’s partner, I wonder?”
“You from the Gao Clan, I suggest you don’t overstep your boundaries! If you want to play so badly, wait till I finish off Xu Lang, then we can duel each other!” Liang Yijie’s expression instantly turned frosty. His eyes gleamed coldly as he stared at the person who stood up to invite Yan Liqiang to a duel.
“Hahaha, could it be that Lord Sun’s personal attendants are all so cowardly that they don’t even dare to stand on the Arena of Life and Death?” The person ‘from the Gao Clan’ shot Yan Liqiang a look of contempt, then chuckled mischievously. “You from the Liang Clan, do not talk about finishing anyone off. We’ll talk if you can make it out alive…”
“Brother Liang, how does this Imperial Capital’s Arena of Life and Death work?” Yan Liqiang turned his head around and asked Liang Yijie before he could even say anything.
“Participants in the same cultivation realm who are willing to duel will be responsible for their own life and death.” Liang Yijie answered bluntly.
After hearing that, Yan Liqiang nodded, then looked at the person ‘from the Gao Clan’ with a smile. “I am currently only a Martial Warrior. If you can find a Martial Warrior too, I don’t really mind dueling him in the Arena of Life and Death!”
“So Lord Sun’s newly recruited personal attendant is merely a lowly Martial Warrior! Hahaha! What a joke! It seems like Lord Sun has indeed run out of help. No wonder why the felon in his custody got beheaded by someone in Hui Provincial City, turning him into the butt of a joke…!” As soon as the person ‘from the Gao Clan’ and Xu Lang heard that Yan Liqiang was only a Martial Warrior, both of them roared with laughter together as though they had just heard a joke.
When the other guards in the servant quarter heard that Yan Liqiang was only a Martial Warrior, all of them stared at Yan Liqiang in surprise as though they had never expected Yan Liqiang’s cultivation level ‘to be so low’. Indeed, a Martial Warrior could be proud of himself in a small village in the countryside. However, in a place like the Imperial Capital, it would be ridiculous for a mere Martial Warrior to become the guard and personal attendant of a high-ranking imperial court official. Putting aside the rest, the guards and personal attendants in this servant quarter were at least Grade One Martial Masters. It had been a long time since a Grade One Martial Warrior could even set foot in this servant quarter on this side of the palace.
Liang Yijie couldn’t restrain himself from rushing over there, but Yan Liqiang pulled him back. He was still calmly looking at the two people who were laughing like mad. “I am only fifteen years old and I am only a Martial Warrior. What is so funny about that? All of you might not be stronger than me when you were my age. Lord Sun chose me as his personal servant not for my martial capabilities, but for my other strengths.”
“You have other strengths?” The person ‘from the Gao Clan’ immediately stopped laughing and probed.
“Of course.” Yan Liqiang replied with a poker face and looked around. When he saw everyone in the servant quarter looking at him attentively with curiosity written on their faces, he continued calmly. “My biggest strength is being able to make those shameless and despicable people pounce on me and bark at me like mad dogs as soon as they see me. When Lord Sun has me around him, he can easily identify those shameless and despicable people without wasting too much effort!”
“Hahaha. Well said!” When Liang Yijie, who was about to pounce on those people, heard Yan Liqiang, he couldn’t help but roar with laughter. The others guards and personal attendants in the servant quarter were also secretly commending Yan Liqiang when they heard him. A few of them couldn’t even stifle their giggles. No one could really rival Yan Liqiang’s standards in his insults. Without any curse words, he still managed to roast them good.
When the person ‘from the Gao Clan’ heard that, his smile was instantly wiped off his face that had turned as black as a pot’s bottom. He glared at Yan Liqiang coldly as a murderous look flashed across his eyes.
“This is the palace’s servant quarter. There are rules to be observed here. Do not blame me for being rude to whoever that starts a fight here!” Just then, an armored man who looked like a general appeared at the entrance of the servant quarter with a few guards. He looked at the four people who were confronting each other in the servant quarter and warned them coldly.
……
Liang Yijie shot a glare at Xu Lang and the person ‘from the Gao Clan’, then led Yan Liqiang to an empty table in the servant quarter wordlessly. Xu Lang and the person ‘from the Gao Clan’ looked at the man standing at the servant quarter’s entrance, then exchanged looks with each other before they also sat down…
…..
Although Yan Liqiang appeared to be calm on the surface, it was quite the opposite in his heart. He didn’t expect trouble to come knocking so soon on his second day in the Imperial Capital. Thinking carefully again, Xu Lang’s provocation was definitely not driven by sudden impulse. He seemed to have infuriated Liang Yijie on purpose by seizing the opportunity in challenging Liang Yijie to a duel of life and death. As for that person ‘from the Gao Clan’, he was probably trying to find out more about Yan Liqiang before he deliberately humiliated him to damage Sun Bingchen’s reputation.
Liang Yijie seemed to have come to a realization as well. When he opened his mouth earlier, he seemed to have fallen into the trap which had been set by the others. The look in his eyes involuntarily turned grave…
“Brother Liang…”
“It will be fine!” Liang Yijie smiled and shook his head to Yan Liqiang. “Things that are meant to come will inevitably come…”
“Those two are?” Yan Liqiang asked in a low voice.
“The personal bodyguards of Lord Sun’s political enemy. They’re not good people. I have some history with that Xu Lang and I taught him a lesson before…”
