A journey through the world of martial arts

Chapter 80: Successive Appearances
The Number One Manor Under Heaven

"I heard that another fellow practitioner has arrived today. I wonder what his title of 'Number One in the World' is."

"It's said that the manor lord will also come to welcome him. He must be someone important," someone said enviously. Only a very small number of people can be personally greeted by the manor lord.

"As long as it's not someone like that lazybones in the world, it's fine. That lazybones has lowered the standard of our Number One Manor by quite a bit."

Just as everyone was discussing who the newcomer was, a thin, plain-looking woman came from outside the manor. She was carrying a huge cauldron in one hand and stepped into the manor.

As soon as the woman appeared, everyone in the village turned their heads in disbelief.

"What incredible strength! This giant cauldron must weigh a thousand pounds, yet this woman moves it with ease and walks without any effort. Is she the strongest woman in the world? But we already have a strong woman in our village. This is going to be quite a show!"

"She looked so thin and frail, but I never expected her to be so strong. You really can't judge a book by its cover."

The woman gently placed the giant cauldron on the ground, and the ground did not crack at all, which amazed everyone. Just as someone was about to go up and greet her, someone suddenly shouted, "The master of the manor has arrived."

Upon hearing this, everyone turned to look at the source of the sound. They saw a white ribbon spread out in mid-air, with a handsome young man in white gracefully striding along on it. His demeanor was indescribably composed, like a bright moon hanging high in the sky and a gentle breeze caressing one's face.

The white ribbon landed on the ground. Shangguan Haitang, holding a folding fan, clasped her hands in a salute to the crowd and said, "Gentlemen, it's been a long time."

"Greetings, Master Manor," everyone bowed.

"No need for formalities, everyone," Shangguan Haitang said, gesturing for everyone to rise and ascend the palace steps.

"Master, who is she? Is she here to seize the title of the strongest man in the world?"

A rough voice reached Shangguan Haitang's ears. She looked in the direction of the voice and saw a burly, fierce-looking middle-aged man.

Fu Tian, ​​a member of the number one manor in the world, is known as the strongest man in the world.

The woman's appearance made him feel threatened, which is why he spoke up to ask her questions. Everyone remained seated, waiting to see what would happen.

The woman glanced at Shangguan Haitang, who nodded slightly to her. She stepped forward, walked to Fu Tian's side, and stretched out her hand to arm wrestle with him. Upon seeing this, Fu Tian grabbed her hand without hesitation. But as soon as they made contact, Fu Tian felt a tremendous force coming from the other side.

However, after a short while, the onlookers saw that Fu Tian's face turned red and his body trembled uncontrollably. In the end, he had no choice but to admit defeat.

"Even Lian Futian has lost; it seems the title of the world's strongest man is about to change hands."

"That's right. Fu Tian gained a lot of benefits because of this title, which is why he is where he is today. Now that he has lost it, it seems he will be reduced to his original form." Those who did not get along with Fu Tian couldn't help but gloat.

Hearing the voice, Fu Tian was furious, but dared not do anything. He could only clasp his hands in a fist and say to Shangguan Haitang, "Master, I am no longer qualified to be the strongest man in the world. Please take back this title. I will leave the number one manor in the world now."

As he spoke, Fu Tian strode towards the outside of the manor, his back view looking rather forlorn. But after only a few steps, he was stopped by Shangguan Haitang.

"Fu Tian, ​​you, the strongest man in the world, are gone. How am I supposed to be the head of this manor now?"

"But I'm no longer the strongest man; that woman is."

Upon hearing this, Shangguan Haitang and the woman both laughed. Not to mention Fu Tian, ​​even the others were puzzled.

"Let me introduce you. This is Qianhuan, the number one illusionist in the world. The giant cauldron and the arm wrestling with you were both illusions she used. She's not some kind of strongwoman."

Hearing this, Fu Tian felt a little better. He scratched his head and chuckled. The others were all amazed. His illusions were so skillful and realistic that he deserved the title of the best in the world.

Everyone stepped forward to talk to Qianhuan, while Shangguan Haitang called out to a middle-aged man in blue.

"Mr. Bai, please wait a moment. Haitang has something to discuss with you. Please."

Bai Wuxia paused, a sudden tension rising in her heart, but seeing the smiling face of Shang Huan Haitang, she slowly calmed down.

“If the master has something to do, Bai Wuxia will be happy to assist. Please, master.”

Shangguan Haitang led Bai Wuxia to a waterside pavilion, then turned to Bai Wuxia and said, "Young Master Bai, you have held the title of the Number One Gentleman in the World for five years now. Your name is renowned throughout the martial arts world, and even the imperial court praises you highly."

Shangguan Haitang's tone shifted abruptly, and she asked sternly, "But why did you frame Lord Yang Yuxuan of the Ministry of War?"

Bai Wuxia was still smug when she heard the first part of the story, but her expression changed drastically when she heard the last part. She hurriedly tried to explain, but when she saw the secret letter in Shangguan Haitang's hand, she could no longer speak. She stared at Shangguan Haitang with hostility and secretly pulled out a hidden weapon.

"This is the letter you wrote to Cao Zhengchun of the Eastern Depot. I specially commissioned the world's number one thief to steal it from the Eastern Depot. Now what do you have to say? Go and be buried with Lord Yang Yuxuan!"

Before he could speak or release his hidden weapon, Bai Wuxia had his throat slit by Shangguan Haitang, who then casually covered his face with the secret letter.

"This letter was forged by the world's number one imposter. I only tried a little trickery, and you gave yourself away. The people of the Eastern Depot are nothing special."

With a wave of his hand, Shang Huan Haitang suddenly appeared, bowed to him, and left with Bai Wuxia's corpse.

"Big Brother and Yidao should have arrived by now."

In an unnamed valley, a group of soldiers were escorting Yang Yuxuan's family as they fled, closely followed by the elite black-clad archer squad of the Eastern Depot.

"Brother Chen, the Eastern Depot's men are closing in. You should take the madam and young master and leave first. We'll hold them off for a while, quick!"

Captain Wu shoved Captain Chen hard. The latter's eyes were bloodshot. He gave him one last look, roared, and left with Yang Yuxuan's family.

Captain Wu, with a calm expression, led his fifteen men to meet the approaching black-clad archers, sword in hand.

On a nearby high cliff, Da Dang Tou Pi Xiaotian used a telescope to observe the situation below.

"Boss, why don't you get rid of Yang Yuxuan's family and remaining troops as soon as possible? Is there some other reason?"

The confidant was somewhat puzzled. Given the fighting strength of the black-clad archers, these people shouldn't have been able to hold out this long. This was all the boss's plan, but he knew nothing about the specific details.

"Keeping Yang Yuxuan's family alive as bait is, of course, to catch a big fish. Yang Yuxuan and Iron-Blooded Marquis have a very close personal relationship. Iron-Blooded Marquis won't stand idly by and will definitely send someone to help. That's my real purpose."

"Aside from Iron-Blooded Marquis, it seems that there are no particularly outstanding masters in the Dragon Guard Manor. The chief is highly skilled in martial arts, and unless it is Iron-Blooded Marquis himself, they are just sending him to his death."

Pi Xiaotian was very pleased to hear the flattery from his confidant.

"According to intelligence from the Eastern Depot's secret network, the Iron-Blooded Marquis secretly sent the three to various places for training. All we know now is that the three are highly skilled in martial arts and have fully mastered the Iron-Blooded Marquis's teachings. I will use Yang Yuxuan's family to force these three to reveal themselves."

Looking down at the bodies of Captain Wu and the others, killed by the black-clad archers, Pi Xiaotian said, "If we could bring these three bodies back, I'm sure Chief Supervisor Cao would be very pleased. Without their help, how can Iron-Blooded Marquis fight against the Eastern Depot?"

"Boss, Yang Yuxuan's family has been trapped in the abandoned village in the valley."

"Let's go down," the three said, riding down the cliff to the abandoned village in the valley. At that moment, the black-clad archers were searching everywhere. Soon they captured Yang Yuxuan's wife, tied her with ropes, and pulled her along by horses.

"The show is about to begin," Pi Xiaotian said, staring intently ahead through his binoculars. He watched as a child wielding a knife swayed toward the black-clad archers. One of them grinned maliciously, mounted his horse, and galloped off, ready to cut the child down.

Suddenly, a gray shadow flashed by, and the scabbard struck the horse like lightning, causing the guard to fall off. Then, the gray shadow drew his sword, cut the rope with one stroke, and rescued Madam Yang.

“Number One in the Heavenly Order, Duan Tianya,” Pi Xiaotian said in a deep voice as he looked at the newcomer.

Upon seeing Duan Tianya appear, the black-clad archers immediately spurred their horses forward. Duan Tianya's figure was like a ghost, leaping and dodging through the air, his blade flashing and men falling. In just a few breaths, several men had lost their lives.

The black-clad archers immediately adjusted their formation, setting up the Sky-Locking Arrow Formation. Countless arrows rained down, their target Duan Tianya. The latter spun his blade, his sword energy crisscrossing, blocking all the incoming arrows. However, the increasing number of arrows left him somewhat overwhelmed.

Just then, an invisible blade of energy suddenly slashed towards the black-clad archers. Before they could dodge, more than a dozen men and their horses were cleaved in two with a single blow, their formation thrown into chaos, and the two men seized the opportunity to break through their defenses.

"Number One in the Earthly Domain, Guihai Yidao".

Seeing the two top secret agents of the Heaven and Earth appear one after another, Pi Xiaotian held his bow in his hand and shot a dozen long arrows containing internal force at the two of them.

Duan Tianya and Gui Haiyi hurriedly swung their swords to block, deflecting all the flying arrows.

Gui Haiyi nodded to Duan Tianya as he looked in the direction the arrow had come from, then swayed away from the battle and rushed a few steps to Pi Xiaotian's side.

"How dare you!" Two trusted henchmen drew their swords to meet the attack, but Gui Haiyi slashed dismissively. His sword energy overlapped, and the two who blocked the first wave of sword energy had no time to react and were instantly cut in half at the waist. "Good swordsmanship!" Seeing the incoming sword energy, Pi Xiaotian retreated and slashed the air with his sword, dispersing the sword energy. He then unleashed the Youluo Sword Technique and engaged Gui Haiyi in battle.

After a brief but intense battle, Guihai Yidao grew impatient. A flash of ferocity crossed his face as he leaped into the air and roared. A fierce and incomparable blade aura slashed fiercely at Pi Xiaotian. The blade wind swept across the surrounding area, destroying all the houses.

Upon seeing this, Pi Xiaotian was horrified. He hurriedly raised his sword, but a loud explosion rang out. The sword in Pi Xiaotian's hand shattered into pieces, and a clear bloodstain was visible between his eyebrows. Pi Xiaotian let out a miserable cry as his body exploded into pieces, his flesh and blood scattered everywhere.

"Ugh!" Gui Hai spat out a mouthful of blood, his face paling. He had just forcibly used the Overlord of the World technique, which had damaged his internal organs.

"Yidao, are you alright?"

Duan Tianya, who had dealt with the black-clad archers, arrived and looked at Gui Haiyidao with some concern.

Guihai Yidao shook his head upon hearing this.

"Let's go to the number one manor in the world. Begonia is still waiting for us there."

Bringing Yang Yuxuan's family along, Duan Tianya and Gui Haiyi rode their horses toward the Number One Manor in the World.

Dragon Guardian Villa
Jiang Wentai successfully met with the Iron-Blooded Marquis and hurriedly knelt down, saying, "This humble servant, Jiang Wentai, pays his respects to the Marquis. Marquis, the traitor Cao has already murdered Lord Yang and is now hunting down Lord Yang's family. I beg the Marquis to lend a hand."

Zhu Wushi walked down the steps, reached out to help Jiang Wentai up, and said, "Lord Yang is my friend, I will not stand idly by, you..."

Before he could finish speaking, a domineering palm strike suddenly hit Zhu Wushi. Looking at Jiang Wentai's ferocious face, Zhu Wushi said in a deep voice, "Shattering Palm, you are not Jiang Wentai, who are you?"

"Go ask the King of Hell," Jiang Wentai sneered, increasing the pressure on his hand. But before long, his face showed terror.

"The Absorption Technique?"

"Not bad, do you think your little tricks can fool me?" With a jolt, Jiang Wentai was immediately sent flying, crashing into a golden pillar and sliding down.

"The most powerful thing about the Dragon Guard Manor is not its martial arts, but its intelligence and strategy. Your identity has been exposed the moment you stepped into the Dragon Guard Manor."

Zhu Wushi took out a slip of paper and threw it to "Jiang Wentai". The latter glanced at it and was shocked. There were not only pictures on it, but also some important biographical records.

"So what if you see through it? Yang Yuxuan's family is being hunted down by the Black-Clad Arrow Team. They're going to die sooner or later, and it will be too late for you to rescue them."

Jiang Wentai made a sarcastic remark, but Zhu Wushi chuckled and said, "How could I not know what Cao Zhengchun was thinking?"

Jiang Wentai's expression changed drastically. He then suddenly lunged forward, trying to escape, but was pulled back by a suction force and forced to retreat to Zhu Wushi's side. A hand pressed down on his head, and after a few breaths, Jiang Wentai's internal energy was completely drained. Zhu Wushi lightly squeezed his hand, and Jiang Wentai instantly exploded into pieces.

"Get everything ready," Zhu Wushi instructed the guards who had entered, then turned and went into the inner hall.

East Factory
"My lord, urgent confidential report."

After Cao Zhengchun opened and read the letter, his face turned furious. He crushed the letter into powder, frightening those around him into silence.

"You Zhu Tiedan, not only did you save people, you even dared to kill my men. Do you really think I, the Grand Eunuch, am weak and easy to bully? I will remember this grudge and will take revenge in the future."

Pi Xiaotian was Cao Zhengchun's right-hand man, but now he has been killed by Gui Hai, which is equivalent to cutting off one of his arms. Although the Eastern Depot is not short of capable people, it is not easy to find someone comparable to Pi Xiaotian in the shortest amount of time.

"I have already made my move with Yang Yuxuan. Now, Zhu Tiedan, how will you deal with this next move?"

The capital city, a gold and silver gambling den

Cheng Shifei and his partner Zhang Laosan were gambling. Perhaps it was bad luck that day, but after two hours of gambling, they lost more than they won. Apart from winning a few big hands at the beginning, they kept losing afterwards, and the several hundred taels of silver they brought were now reduced to less than ten taels.

"I borrowed several hundred taels of silver, I can't let it go to waste like this, no, I have to earn the money back quickly, otherwise..."

Zhang Laosan dared not think that if he could not repay the money in time, he might lose his life.

With his eyes darting around, Zhang Laosan spotted a gambling table with high odds and bet all the money he had on it.

"Hey Zhang Laosan, are you sure you can win? If you can't beat us, we'll be sleeping on the streets," Cheng Shifei said, somewhat dissatisfied. They had agreed to play their own games, but Zhang Laosan insisted that he was a skilled gambler and guaranteed to win.

Zhang Laosan had won a lot of money before, so Cheng Shifei gave him all his money. He never expected things to turn out like this.

"Don't worry, we'll definitely win this round," Zhang Laosan reassured him, but he himself was uncertain, though he dared not show it.

Amidst the shouts of the crowd, the dealer moved the betting cup aside, revealing a leopard hand. The dealer won all the bets, and Zhang Laosan's face turned pale; he was about to lose dozens of taels of silver.

"Zhang Laosan, what do we do now?" Cheng Shifei also sensed that something was wrong and kept shaking Zhang Laosan's hand.

"What's the rush? I still have connections. You wait here for me, I'll go find Brother Liu. You just wait here."

Zhang Laosan's composure calmed Cheng Shifei down. He watched as Zhang Laosan walked into the inner room of the gambling den and sat down. Several guards around him had unfriendly faces, and Cheng Shifei's heart was pounding. He just hoped that Zhang Laosan would bring the money over quickly.

After a short while, Zhang Laosan didn't arrive; instead, a wiry middle-aged man came, sized Cheng Shifei up and down, and nodded without thinking.

"He has a decent appearance. This deal is worthwhile. Take him with you."

Seeing that something was wrong, Cheng Shifei hurriedly shouted, "Brother, where is my brother Zhang Laosan? He said he would bring money to save me."

"Oh, you mean him? He mortgaged you to the gambling den and has already left."

"What?" Upon hearing this, Cheng Shifei tried to run away, but was stopped by the casino thugs who were prepared. They stuffed a rag into his mouth, tied him up with rope, and took him to the backyard, where he was locked in the woodshed to await the boss's judgment.

The next day, the gambling den owner was talking to a eunuch, fawningly saying, "Eunuch Wang, isn't it a coincidence? I happen to have a suitable candidate in my gambling den. Bring him over, would you like to take a look?"

"Hmm," Eunuch Wang took a sip of tea and nodded.

Boss Qian gave his subordinate a wink, and the latter understood, soon bringing Cheng Shifei to the living room.

"Raise your head and let us see your family."

Cheng Shifei had been drugged beforehand and was currently unconscious. A servant reached out and turned his face so that it was facing Eunuch Wang.

"Not bad, with a handsome face, he's top-notch. Boss Qian is indeed quite capable."

"That's all thanks to Eunuch Wang's patronage. Otherwise, I wouldn't be where I am today. I'll leave this boy to you."

"Of course, of course," Eunuch Wang's smile remained unchanged, his previous gloom completely gone.

A few days ago, another eunuch died in Princess Yunluo's palace, which made the other eunuchs afraid to work in her palace.

The eunuch could only try to find someone from outside the palace to fill in for a while; how long that would last was up to fate.

"I'm taking this person with me. You'll get your share of the benefits," said Eunuch Wang, flicking his whisk as he led his men away.

When Cheng Shifei regained consciousness, he found himself in a cage. He didn't know where he was at first, but when he saw a person dressed as a eunuch holding a small knife and cutting into the underside of the person on the torture bed, Cheng Shifei's body tensed up and he almost urinated.

Hearing the screams outside, Cheng Shifei felt a chill run down his spine; this was the place where eunuchs were castrated.

Watching helplessly as a man turned into an oddity, Cheng Shifei was anxious and furious, desperately trying to think of a solution. After much thought, he realized that if he could injure his face, he might escape this predicament.

His eyes scanned the cell, and finally he pried a blue brick off from under the stone bed. Just as he was about to hit it on his head, a gentle breeze came from inside, which made Cheng Shifei's heart skip a beat.

“Where there’s wind, there’s an exit,” Cheng Shifei said, lying on the ground and peering inside. It was pitch black and he couldn’t see anything. He removed a few bricks, revealing a large hole, and the wind picked up a bit more.

"There are too many people now, so let's wait until people are eating before sneaking away."

Before long, Cheng Shifei heard someone calling for food. The eunuch who had carried out the execution had already left, and this was the perfect opportunity.

After opening a large enough hole to pass through, Cheng Shifei gritted his teeth and crawled inside. The road ahead was unknown, but it was better than becoming a eunuch. As soon as he crawled in, Cheng Shifei screamed and tumbled down, finally hitting a solid wall and passing out.

(End of this chapter)