October 23, 2023 Author: Wen Chaogong
"My heart..."
After descending from Yuanhe Mountain, Fang Xi displayed his body techniques and hurried towards Sanyuan City.
While on the way, he was still pondering the previous confrontation with Linghu Mountain.
No, it wasn't really a confrontation, but more like one-sided oppression.
The power of a True Martial Saint was all-encompassing, almost pressing down on him in the fight, and the released martial energy was extremely sharp.
Several times, Fang Xi almost couldn't help but release his magical weapon and directly attack that old guy!
The key issue was that after the fight, he was still at a loss on how to condense True Martial Energy and break through to the Grandmaster level.
Upon entering Sanyuan City, Fang Xi was about to return to a martial arts hall.
Suddenly, he felt a movement in his heart, found a secluded place, and when he came out again, he had removed Fang Leng's disguise, revealing Fang Xi's true appearance.
...
In an outer city area.
Outside a small martial arts hall, two rows of willow trees swayed in the wind.
The signboard of the martial arts hall was very new, with four large characters written on it, 'Baiyun Martial Arts Hall', with cloud patterns on the edges.
In the sparring field.
Zhang Mingding looked determined as he boiled poison in an iron pot, training his palms.
Introduced by Fang Xi, he became a junior disciple under Mu Canglong at Baiyun Martial Arts Hall.
At this moment, he was practicing the White Cloud Palm diligently, and had even reached the level of the Dark Clouds!
He was only a step away from the level of a True Martial Warrior.
"Good!"
Mu Canglong, on the side, sipped tea from his beloved purple sand teapot, nodding frequently, "Among the eighteen rising stars in Sanyuan City, there are only two or three who can compete with you... This year's Martial Alliance will select the Eight Steeds, and you have a good chance... Cough, cough..."
"Father, your health is not good, don't run around."
Mu Miaomiao hurried over to support him. Her father almost died in Heishi City years ago, but luckily survived with a life-saving pill from Fang Xi. However, the residual poison was still not completely cleared, and his health had not been good during this period. Seeing him so happy now, it was probably because he was pleased to see the martial arts hall finally having a successor.
These people did not notice that there were eyes silently watching them from the wall.
"Mu Canglong won't live much longer..."
Fang Xi sighed inwardly, his clothes fluttered, and he entered the martial arts hall.
His lightness skills were extremely astonishing, and none of the disciples could detect him coming and going.
Inside a well-furnished room, Baihe was embroidering a piece of clothing with meticulous stitches, showing great care and dedication.
"Young Master..."
As she embroidered, Baihe looked at the clothing, seemingly infatuated.
"Sigh..."
Fang Xi sighed, but did not enter. Instead, he left.
He had come this time just to follow his inner feelings and see how everyone at Baiyun Martial Arts Hall was doing.
Seeing that they were doing well, he felt relieved.
"My heart... My heart of a Grandmaster... is getting stronger! Stronger!!"
"This is not the Southern Wilderness Immortal Cultivation Realm. As long as my strength is enough, strong enough... it is enough to suppress everything!"
"Even if I break through to the Grandmaster level, I will become much more carefree... no need to hide, no need to deliberately conceal my identity."
Fang Xi's expression gradually became firm, "Freedom without constraints... based on strength, this is... my martial arts heart?!"
...
Of course, Sanyuan City also had a black market.
And it was much larger in scale than Heishi City's.
At the end of a commercial street in the inner city, with a familiar customer's introduction, one could pass through several inconspicuous walls and enter another bustling street.
"Is this the black market of Sanyuan City?"
Walking through the black market, Fang Xi's gaze swept over rare weapons, secret manuals, precious medicines... Anything that appeared in the black market had unclear origins.
And there were many counterfeit goods!
He knew about this black market and had bought some monster materials before.
But today, he did not come to buy anything.
After passing by some small stalls, Fang Xi arrived at a building.
"Qianjin Building?"
Looking at the sign, Fang Xi chuckled, "I'm afraid it's more like Qianjin Building, right?"
He walked in immediately.
"What does this guest need?" A shop assistant greeted him with a smile on his face.
"Looking for someone! Is Han Fatty here?"
Fang Xi looked around and realized that it was a butcher's shop.
Han Fatty, without changing his ways, was still in the meat business, not forgetting his roots.
"Han shopkeeper? Let me inform him right away!" The assistant was startled by Fang Xi's confident appearance and hurried inside to inform.
Before long, he came out to invite Fang Xi into the inner room.
"Brother Fang... Old Han is eager to see you!"
In the inner room, there was indeed a mountain of meat.
Han Fatty sat on the ground, surrounded by many large pots filled with roasted chicken, duck, suckling pig... all kinds of delicious meats piled up like small mountains, which he casually threw into his mouth.
Seeing Fang Xi come in, he immediately dropped the chicken leg in his hand and greeted warmly.
"Han Fatty, you've gotten even fatter than before!"
Fang Xi couldn't help but comment on Han Fatty's increased weight.
This was the first time he had seen Han Fatty since coming to Sanyuan City.
Han Fatty waved his hand, and the assistant immediately left the inner room. He then looked at Fang Xi with a serious expression.
"Brother Fang, you must have come to Old Han with something important in the black market. As long as you say the word, I'll go through fire and water for you!"
"No need for you to sacrifice this ton of fat." Fang Xi shook his head, "I just want you to keep an eye out for monster materials in the black market for me. I will purchase them at a high price..."
As he spoke, he directly threw out a package filled with gold coins.
"Monster materials? No problem... Although such items are rare, they appear from time to time!" Han Fatty accepted the package, his smile even more sincere, "Brother Fang, where did you go after we last met?"
"Just wandering around... After you receive the materials, keep them here. I will come to collect them every once in a while."
Fang Xi instructed and was ready to leave.
"Wait, Brother Fang..." Han Fatty called out to Fang Xi, "Do you know... Baiyun Martial Arts Hall has recently encountered some trouble?"
"Oh?" Fang Xi was truly unaware and immediately stopped in his tracks, "Please tell me more..."
"It's related to the Martial Alliance. Since the Huang family was wiped out, the 'Feihong Martial Arts Hall' and 'Huangyu Martial Arts Hall' they secretly controlled have encountered consecutive incidents, their power has declined significantly, and they had to withdraw from the core circle of the Martial Alliance. Moreover, in the past two years, several small martial arts halls have risen unexpectedly... Power struggles have arisen! And coincidentally, with the recent selection of the Eight Steeds, Zhang Mingding of Baiyun Martial Arts Hall has also been involved..."
Han Fatty quickly provided the intelligence.
"It seems... Some people are not willing for small martial arts halls to gain fame and then rise to power?" Fang Xi's eyes darkened.
This was not just about Zhang Mingding. His own martial arts hall, Havejian Martial Arts Hall, might not escape either!
"Hmph, those people probably don't know how formidable I, Gu Jianchou Fang Leng, am!"
Fang Xi muttered to himself and asked, "Which martial arts halls are involved?"
"The West Gate Patriarch of the Liefeng Martial Arts Hall, the Ximen family, was once known as the number one expert in the Martial Alliance. He was always suppressed by the Huang family, but now he is showing signs of wanting to unite the Martial Alliance..."
Han Fatty answered promptly.
"Thank you."
Fang Xi clasped his hands, turned around, and left.
He certainly wouldn't believe everything Han Fatty said with just one word, but he could find out the truth with some investigation.
Watching Fang Xi's departing figure, Han Fatty immediately called the assistant over, "I remember... The Ximen family secretly lends money with high interest rates, right? Quickly send more people to borrow, don't be afraid of high interest rates... Wait!"
As the assistant agreed and was about to leave, Han Fatty called out again, "Forget it, let it go!"
He still had an inexplicable fear of Fang Xi.
Even for such an easy opportunity, as long as there was a possibility of displeasing Fang Xi, he tried his best to avoid it...
...
"Liefeng Martial Arts Hall, Ximen family?"
After leaving the black market, Fang Xi thought for a moment and decided not to transform into Gu Jianchou and go kill someone.
Otherwise, the streets and alleys of Sanyuan City would soon be filled with rumors of the entire Ximen family being wiped out because they stepped out with their left foot first.
"Who would believe such nonsense? Unless I can prove that Gu Jianchou is mentally ill..."
"If I am to play the role of an ordinary person as instructed by Linghu Mountain, does that mean I have to let myself be exploited? How frustrating!"
"His path of transcending the mortal world and refining the heart is not my path!"
"My heart... My heart..."
Thinking all the way, Fang Xi entered a dark alley.
When he came out again, he was no longer Fang Xi but Fang Leng's appearance!
...
Havejian Martial Arts Hall.
Qingsang walked out, with a gentle smile on his face, ready to return home.
Snap!
The next moment, a stone was thrown, and he caught it in his hand, "Who's there?"
A figure flashed and disappeared.
Qingsang immediately chased after.
One chasing, one fleeing, they quickly arrived in a deserted alley.
"Qingsang... Watching Qingmu surpass you day by day, you must be uncomfortable, right?"
The figure turned around, wearing a mask, only revealing a pair of eyes.
"Hmph, boring tricks!"
Qingsang assumed a fighting stance.
He and Qingmu had a life-and-death friendship!
"Hehe... Your master has never valued you, he only values Qingmu... One day, he will hand everything over to Qingmu, not you!"
The masked figure smiled, "And... Havejian Martial Arts Hall is about to face a great disaster, do you know?"
"Haha... Empty threats, trying to scare me? When I was playing with wild dogs on the roadside, you didn't even know where you were!"
Qingsang roared, throwing a punch.
He had practiced the Mixed Yuan True Technique for many years, and his cultivation was profound. He could gather most of his body's strength into one punch, which was extremely powerful!
But in the next moment, the masked figure just flashed and dodged his punch, moving like a ghost.
With a missed punch, Qingsang suddenly felt a pain in his back, and he fell forward, unable to get up for a while.
"A True Martial Warrior?"
He looked at the masked figure, somewhat incredulous.
Since when did the realm of martial arts hall masters become so common?
"Hehe... I'm just a pawn. Behind me, there is a true martial master... And your Havejian Martial Arts Hall only has two martial warriors..."
The masked figure said indifferently, "It's up to you whether to die with the martial arts hall or find a way out!"
(End of this chapter)