Stranger Danger

“Hmm? Jixia Academy disciples?”

Feng Qingyou cast Ye Qing a glance and remarked with an imperceptible smile on her lips. “This is going to be interesting.”

The scholars were all wearing the Jixia Academy uniforms, and their cultivation levels were pretty high. They were most likely Jixia Academy disciples.

“Yes. The show has just begun!” Ye Qing chuckled.

“Was it you who spoke just now?”

An expressionless Xiahou Qi turned to look at an arrogant-looking youngster who looked to be fifteen or sixteen years old tops.

“Forgive him, Brother Xiahou. Gongyang is young and foolish, and he is prone to speak irresponsibly. I apologize deeply on his behalf, and I ask that you show him the magnaminty of a great man.”

An older, calmer-looking man interrupted with a salute before the youngster could speak for himself.

Xiahou Qi paid him no attention, however. He simply stared at the youngster with an ice cold expression and repeated his question, “Was it you who spoke just now?”

The calm youngster was about to speak up again, but this time his rash junior managed to steal the lead instead. “A warrior practices virtue before martial arts; a virtuous person bears benevolence and generosity in their heart. With your strength, you could have bested him with ease, but you chose to toy with him instead. Just the same, you could have left him alive, but you chose to kill him instead. If someone like you isn’t virtueless, then who is?”

“Gongyang is right.”

“The sages say that only those who put virtue before anything else may possess the ability and right to right the world and treat the people. Those with power but no virtue are just violent thugs.”

“A lord’s way is one who combines virtue and power. A tyrant, one should not become.”

“A martial person is one who stops conflicts, not starts them. Virtue always comes first. Behavior like yours do not deserve even the title of warrior, much less the Martial Sovereign.”

The Jixia Academy disciples beside Gongyang echoed in agreement as well.

Everyone: “...”

The surrounding spectators could not help but looked at the proud-looking disciples with dumbfounded expressions on their faces. Did they forget who it was they were talking to? Did they think they actually deserve to teach the Junior Martial Sovereign? Had they become addled from all the books they read; dug one too many holes in their skulls to fit all the scriptures they studied? Were they suicidal?

This was Xiahou Qi, the man they called the Junior Martial Sovereign. Xiahou Qi hadn’t given himself the title, nor had it been bestowed by his father. He had earned it with every punch, kick, slash and stab he dished out to his enemies.

Xiahou Qi had begun practicing martial arts since he was three and became accomplished when he was nine. At the age of thirteen, he joined the army to temper himself and experienced what it meant to live on the edge of life and death. When he was eighteen, he concealed his identity and began exploring the jianghu as a nobody, challenging elites from all walks of life to hone his martial way.

Wei was a warlike country where countless evils and monsters bared their fangs against innocents and warriors alike. To duel another person was to challenge them to a life-or-death battle, and it wasn’t uncommon for one death to lead to countless others. That was why Xiahou Qi’s path was one full of bloodshed, war and death. He wasn’t devoid of mercy, but merciful was the last adjective you would use to describe him.

And what did these idiots just do? They had publicly criticized him to his face. They were like old men who ate white arsenic—suicidal.

As if on cue, everyone took a couple steps away from the Jixia Academy disciples. No one wanted to get their outfits dirty with their blood.

“Silence!”

By now, the calmer youngster recognized the serious trouble they were in. Blanching, he hurriedly commanded the youngsters to shut up before pleading, “This one is Yuan Buchen, a disciple of the Jixia Academy, and these young ones are my academy fellows. Unfortunately, this is the first time they set foot outside, which is why they understand neither etiquette nor restraint. I understand that they had offended Brother Xiahou, but please, show them some forgiveness.”

“Gongyang, Qinxuan, Mingxu, Wu’an, what are you waiting for? Apologize to Brother Xiahou already!”

“This young master said nothing wrong. Why should I apologize?” Gongyang argued vehemently.

“Yeah, Yuan Buchen! Did you read all the books of the sages for nothing? If you can’t even tell right from wrong, then how can you call yourself a disciple of the Jixia Academy?” ṝ𝘈ΝòꞖÈs̩

“Have you forgotten the teachings of the Great Confucians, Yuan Buchen?”

The disciples did not hesitate to turn their ire on Yuan Buchen.

“Shut up!” Yuan Buchen rebuked them furiously, “The same Confucians also told you to obey me during this outing. Or have you forgotten their orders already?”

He then turned to Xiahou Qi and apologized again, “I apologize again for my junior brothers’ foolishness. On their behalf, I deeply apologize for their offense.”

“No need for an apology,” Xiahou Qi said coldly.

“You are most magnanimous, Brother Xiahou! This one—”

Yuan Buchen thought Xiahou Qi was willing to overlook his junior brothers’ offense and cracked a smile, but before he could finish, Xiahou Qi continued, “Dead people need not apologize for anything.”

The next moment, Xiahou Qi threw out a punch. His vigor was great like rainbows, and his crimson sun scorched the heavens.

“Brother Xiahou!”

Stunned, Yuan Buchen summoned an inkstone with ink letters dancing in it. Scholarly qi billowed around him as he defended his junior brothers.

Unfortunately, Xiahou Qi’s punch easily punched through the ink letters and the scholarly qi. In fact, the inkstone itself crumbled into pieces.

At a critical moment, several items flew out of the junior disciples’ body: a book, a brush, a walking stick, and a Confucian hat.

All four items were overflowing with grandiose and righteous scholarly qi.

Words began appearing on the book’s pages:

“Beneath the brush lies stunning poetry.

Behind the bamboo sticks billows grandiose qi.

Above the Confucian hat spans infinite skies.”

Xiahou Qi’s fist was enveloped by the book, the brush, the bamboo stick and the Confucian hat. Thanks to them, the Jixia Academy disciples were able to survive his punch.

Even so, the four items instantly lost their glamor and scholarly qi.

The Jixia Academy disciples themselves were throwing up blood and waning rapidly due to the impact of the Red Sun Everlasting Force.

Ye Qing was crossing his arms as he made a comment, “Looks like these Jixia Academy disciples had pretty impressive backgrounds!”

The Strange Artifacts that just saved the disciples’ lives were quite extraordinary. Clearly, they were bestowed to them by their seniors.

As expected, a terrified Gongyang began shouting threats at Xiahou Qi, “My father is the Great Confucian Xia Yuanli. You dare kill me?”

“My master is the Great Confucian Zhang Xuanlang. Have you considered the consequences of killing us?”

“Kill us, and the Jixia Academy will not let this go unanswered!”

“Brother Xiahou, please calm—”

“What does your identity have anything to do with me?” Xiahou Qi’s voice was cold and disdainful. He did not seem to care about his quarry’s background or origin at all.

The next moment, brilliant columns of dark red light illuminated heaven and earth. Xiahou Qi threw his second punch.

“You dare—”

“This is the end!”

Despair colored everyone’s features when they sense the killing intent in Xiahou Qi’s punch.

“Mercy, Brother Xiahou.”

It was at this moment a warm, mellow voice rang, accompanied by what felt like the breeze of spring. Droplets of ink began appearing as if the air was an invisible canvas and transforming into flowers.

At first, the flowers were dark-colored and clearly ink-made. But over time, the ink marks began fading, and the flowers gradually became colorful and lifelike.

In just an instant, spring wind and flowers filled the entire area.

As soon as Xiahou Qi’s punch entered the garden of flowers, it devastated everything like an all-killing hurricane.

The flowers withered and died before turning into ink droplets once more, dyeing the ground black. However, Xiahou Qi’s punch also disappeared with it.

The next moment, a mellow-looking man appeared in front of Xiahou Qi.

“It’s Mister Farseeing…”

“Mister Farseeing…”

“We greet you, Mister Farseeing…”

Yuan Buchen, Xia Gongyang and more were overjoyed by the mellow man’s arrival.

He was none other than Fang Muyun.

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