Chapter 146: Another Battle

“The Dugu family’s martial arts from the Southern Frontier are truly formidable. I had always thought those techniques of borrowing an opponent’s strength and turning it against him were nothing more than rumors spread among the people, but now it seems I was simply too ignorant. Miss Dugu, might you do me the favor of letting my junior brother go?”

Just as Ye Hanguang was beginning to find himself unable to defend against her, a voice suddenly came from nearby. Perhaps everyone had been concentrating so intently on the platform that no one had noticed the speaker’s arrival. His words flowed smoothly, and he moved with astonishing speed, like a gust of wind. In the blink of an eye, he had reached the platform. With a forceful push from his foot, he leaped upward just as Ye Hanguang’s unsteady body was about to fall. Catching him, he swung with the momentum and sent him crashing back.

Using that force, Ye Hanguang swayed slightly before finally managing to steady himself. His expression was rather ugly. Losing to a woman was naturally unbearable for a young man as proud as he was. But a loss was a loss, an indisputable fact. No matter how desperately he wished to argue, it would do him no good—especially in front of this newcomer. All he could hope for now was that the man would teach the little girl before him a lesson. Even if it was not to avenge him, it would at least preserve Mount Qilian’s dignity.

“Senior Brother, this—”

He had not finished speaking when the newcomer stopped him. With merely a slight narrowing of his eyes, the man made Ye Hanguang avert his gaze. His head lowered, and his expression became that of a child who had done something wrong.

Ye Hanguang held considerable standing in the martial world and had always been exceedingly proud. Few people could make him behave like this. Xia Wuya happened to be one of them. If one asked who currently commanded the greatest attention among the martial artists, then aside from Dao Tianfeng, it was surely Xia Wuya. Some even speculated that once the old Daoist passed away, this young man might become the foremost figure in the world.

“What did our master warn us? Never assume that your abilities are unmatched or that your skills are extraordinary. You must understand that there is always a heaven beyond heaven and a person beyond every person. Even if your martial arts were the best under the sun, so what? Could you accomplish everything in the world by yourself? Junior Brother, you are no longer a child. Why do you still insist on causing trouble for everyone?”

No one knew whether Xia Wuya was merely putting on a show or genuinely fulfilling his duty as an elder brother, but regardless, his words were pleasing to hear. Seeing Ye Hanguang in such a state, he had no intention of continuing the reprimand. There was no reason not to leave him a little dignity.

His gaze soon shifted to Dugu Meng, and he spoke with a trace of respect. “It was my junior brother’s ignorance that offended you, Miss Dugu. All those who come from afar are honored guests. The fact that you were not properly invited was indeed an oversight on the part of our Martial Alliance. I, Xia Wuya, offer you my apologies.”

“Stop, stop, stop. Don’t waste such polite words on me. What I hate most is this kind of hypocrisy. Calling it an oversight? What a waste of breath. Since I lost face here, then I shall win it back here. I also want my timid old father to see that the martial arts of the Dugu family of the Southern Frontier are no weaker than anyone else’s. We have no need to bow and scrape before others!”

Dugu Meng clearly found Xia Wuya’s words distasteful. As she spoke, her tone was full of stubbornness, and she thrust her chest forward as though determined to seize the upper hand in sheer presence.

The sight filled Ye Hanguang with bitter resentment. He wished he could erupt at once, but he knew that he was no match for the girl; fighting her again would only make him humiliate himself. Besides, with Xia Wuya present, he naturally had no place to speak. Thus, apart from the unwillingness flickering in his eyes, he could only stand there in silence, hoping that something would happen next.

“This Dugu Meng truly is just as the letter described. Her father understood his daughter very well and had already anticipated that she would secretly come to the Central Plains. That was why he wrote a letter and sent it to Master at full speed. Since he entrusted her care to Master, I cannot allow her to be harmed. But with her temperament, unless I show her a little of my strength, who knows when this girl will be willing to stop? I may not wish to do this, but there is no helping it. Surely Master will not blame me. So be it.”

Watching her stance, Xia Wuya silently weighed the matter. His expression was one of considerable conflict. After a long while, he finally made up his mind. He stepped forward another two paces, doing his utmost to maintain the respectful expression on his face.

With a helpless note in his voice, he continued, “My master and your respected father, Senior Dugu Xinyang, have long been friends. Senior Dugu grew weary of life in the martial world and withdrew alone to the Southern Frontier, taking no interest in its affairs. Whenever Master speaks of him, he always tells us that Senior Dugu is the truly carefree one, and he does so with unconcealed envy. As for this matter, I imagine he was simply afraid of disturbing your father’s peace. He never expected it would lead to such a misunderstanding.

“If you are truly displeased and insist on fighting, then I, Xia Wuya, can only do my best to accompany you and dispel your resentment. A contest is acceptable, but let us stop once the outcome is clear. We must not allow this to damage the harmony between us. What do you say?”

“Then fight. Why all the needless talk? I will say it again, and I do not mind saying it to you as well: if you can defeat me, I will naturally obey you without another word. But if you lack the ability, then surrender that ridiculous position of Alliance Leader and let me sit in it for once!”

As Dugu Meng spoke, her movements never paused. From the newcomer’s identity and Ye Hanguang’s reaction—not to mention the way he had leaped onto the platform—she understood that this Xia Wuya was no opponent who could be dismissed casually. In such circumstances, seizing the initiative was of the utmost importance.

Before her voice had even faded, her sleeves were already sweeping through the air. Spiritual power whirled around her. Though her figure still seemed to dance, the force behind her movements had grown incomparably greater.

Wind spiraled around them. The flags hanging near the platform were tugged by the force and whipped violently from side to side, producing sharp, ear-piercing cracks. Even Xia Wuya’s hair was blown into disarray.

Others might not have sensed much beyond this, but as her opponent, Xia Wuya felt as though he were facing an enormous vortex. The suction was tremendous. If he did not channel spiritual power into the soles of his feet, he feared he would struggle even to remain standing.

At that moment, before considering how to respond, he could not help admiring her.

“I never expected Dugu Meng to be so formidable despite her young age. It is no wonder my junior brother lost to her. Her stubborn temperament is understandable now. If I am not careful, I may well lose to her myself.”

Of course, his thoughts were partly the result of excessive caution. That was simply his nature, and it could not be changed in an instant. Had the opponents been Han Tanyi or Qiu Wan’er, they probably would not have considered so much. They would have charged forward first and worried about victory or defeat afterward. Such things were simply not that important to them.

Xia Wuya, however, could not be so carefree. Thus, although his reputation and status already placed him among the foremost of his generation, he still did not feel truly happy.

His sword remained sheathed. Divine weapons and sharp blades were certainly important, but they required powerful spiritual energy to support them. Once one’s spiritual energy reached a certain level, however, such weapons became unnecessary.

With a turn of his hand, Xia Wuya’s entire body pressed close to Dugu Meng’s dancing form. Those who used long sleeves and flowing robes as weapons relied heavily on maintaining distance. Once an opponent came too close, the effectiveness of such weapons would naturally diminish. In this respect, Xia Wuya saw the matter far more clearly than Ye Hanguang and the others.

As for Gong Shaohua, his feelings had been conflicted from the beginning. When he saw Ye Hanguang defeated, he had nearly rushed onto the platform himself. But with Xia Wuya’s arrival, that impulse naturally subsided. At present, he stared fixedly at the two figures above.

Xia Wuya’s existence was an aspiration held by countless younger martial artists throughout the world. Yet all they knew of him came from rumors. No one truly knew how much ability he possessed. Perhaps this was a rare opportunity. As the saying went, one could not know whether a creature was a tiger or a cat until it bared its fangs.

On the platform, wind and rain seemed to rage together. Ye Hanguang had already withdrawn to one side of his own accord, watching the two combatants as intently as Gong Shaohua.

This was precisely the scene he had hoped to see. His senior brother’s martial arts were extraordinarily profound. No matter how formidable Dugu Meng might be, she could not possibly gain the slightest advantage against him. In the end, she would surely suffer an embarrassing defeat and pay the price for her rash actions.

At that moment, however, if anything seemed unusual, it was the four strange figures standing in the corner.

Joy, anger, sorrow, and happiness were words used to describe emotions. Yet judging from the way those four remained utterly unmoving, their faces expressionless, it was difficult to associate them with such feelings at all.

Even so, that very stillness seemed to reveal just how extraordinary they were.