Far East, Qingzhou, Fisherman’s Island.
This was an extremely small island, with only about a thousand acres of land left after the tide.
And yet, on this tiny island, there lived a family.
To be precise, an old, slovenly man lived there.
This old man looked ordinary, but if you went back fifty years, he was a legendary figure in the entire martial arts world – Bai Yi Wu Tianqing.
Bai Yi was both his nickname and his characteristic.
At the time, everyone recognized this white-clad hero who roamed the land, and countless women adored him. Countless young martial artists looked up to him as a role model.
However, no one knew when exactly this Wu Tianqing disappeared from the martial arts world.
Some said he was hurt by love, some said he was in seclusion to prepare for a breakthrough to the unprecedented first-rank realm, and some said he was secretly killed by the Heavenly Sect…
Martial arts news spread quickly, and people soon forgot about it after a while.
Even today, those who still remembered the name “Wu Tianqing” would never have thought that the man who once wore white and was so carefree had become such a slovenly old man.
And a hot-tempered one at that.
“Damn it, fishing, fishing, I can’t even catch a fish!”
The long bamboo pole was thrown aside, and Wu Tianqing angrily stood up from the giant rock, then slapped the seawater with his palm.
“Boom!”
The sea surface instantly erupted into a towering water column, and over a dozen fish of various shapes flew into the air, only to be slapped onto the rock by an invisible giant hand.
“Plop, plop, plop…”
The fish that had been pulled out of the water struggled to free themselves, trying to escape back into the sea.
Most of them succeeded, but one “salted fish” moved slower and was caught by a wrinkled old hand that grasped its gills.
“Hahaha, it’s still easier this way.”
Wu Tianqing nodded in satisfaction, then dipped the fishing pole into the sea and walked towards the small, isolated wooden house in the distance.
“Hehe, we can have fish soup for lunch, but this time I have to make sure to clean it up thoroughly, or else I won’t be allowed into the house for three days…”
From noble mtl dot come
“Last time I sneaked a roasted fish, and she didn’t let me in for three days, it was really excessive…”
He muttered to himself, his expression both tense and excited.
However, just as Wu Tianqing was about to step into the house, the big fish in his hand suddenly slipped out and fell to the ground…
Three hours later.
The remaining glow of the sunset cast a slanting reflection on the calm sea surface, like a wide silk fabric gently unfolding and swaying.
“Heh-la~”
The seawater on both sides of the shore suddenly parted, and a slender woman surprisingly emerged from the sea.
She was completely naked, yet showed no signs of shame, and walked briskly towards the only wooden hut on the island.
“Tian Qing, I’m back! Did you miss me……”
“Hmph!”
Her small feet suddenly stopped in front of the door, and her originally joyful tone instantly turned angry.
“Wu Tian Qing! Come out right now!!”
“You sneaked behind my back to eat fish again, didn’t you?! You’re so fond of eating fish, why don’t you just eat me whole instead!”
“……”
The woman scolded for a long time, but still didn’t get a response.
“Hmph, don’t think you can hide from me……”
She stepped over the threshold, wanting to catch the scoundrel who had eaten her “kind” multiple times and give him a good scolding.
However, what awaited her was a small note.
“Lian, I have something to attend to and will be back in at most half a month.”
“……”
Looking at the note, the woman was taken aback, but her anger didn’t decrease in the slightest.
“I’ll deal with you when you get back!”
“This time, I’ll make you remember……”
Muttering to herself, she finally vented her anger and looked at the large fish in her hand.
After being exposed to the sun for an entire afternoon, the fish was already dead and would soon become a genuine “dried fish”.
The woman’s eyes showed a hint of sadness, but after hesitating for a moment, she hung the fish on the eaves of the hut.
“This is the evidence of your fish-eating!”
“I’ll keep it, so you can’t deny it when the time comes……”
The wooden hut, the woman, the large fish……
The sea surface was calm and endless, as if one could see the edge of the world with a single glance……
Yan State, the boundless desert.
Liang State, the Snow Mountain of Heavenly Pillars.
Shun State, the Academy of Great Peace.
Ying State, the Swallow Spring Pavilion.
On the same day, a similar scene was being played out simultaneously in four different locations.
Five legendary masters, long forgotten by the world, were rushing towards Shu State day and night.
And just as they, for some unknown reason, chose to emerge from their reclusive lives, Wei Chang Tian was also not idle.
He was making his best effort, all for the chance to make Xiao Feng regret being born.
……
……
“Master, shall we set off now?”
It was night.
In the study, Zhang San had already packed up, with two men from the Tongji Association standing behind him.
“Mm-hmm.”
Wei Changtian stood facing the three, nodding lightly: “It has to be quick; after the letter is sent, I’ll let Zhu Yu notify me.”
“We understand! You can rest assured, young master!”
Zhang San didn’t waste any time, bowed again, and then left the room with the two men, jumping over the wall and disappearing into the darkness in the blink of an eye.
Their mission was to return to the capital to deliver a letter to Wei Xianzhi.
Although the letter could be sent through other channels, it would undoubtedly take longer, and Wei Changtian was worried that he wouldn’t get a response within ten days.
Zhang San and the others were all sixth-rank, and if they ran day and night, they could reach the capital in about four or five days.
Wei Changtian was in such a hurry because of his “ten-day agreement” with Xiao Feng.
This afternoon, he had just visited Qin Zhengqiu and secured a second-rank expert.
If he were to launch a surprise attack on Xiao Feng, a single second-rank or even third-rank expert would be enough.
But this time, it was an open battle, so only Qin Zhengqiu wasn’t enough.
That’s why Wei Changtian wanted to send a letter to borrow someone’s help.
The person he wanted to borrow from was his grandfather, Wei Zhao Hai, who was also a second-rank expert.
With two second-rank experts, plus a few third-rank uncles from the Liang family and the Heavenly Net Sect…
What about the Suspense Bureau? Forget it; Chen Bo was only a peak fifth-rank, a complete waste…
Could Qing Xuan’s side do something? It was worth a try, but the distance was too great, and it would take four days for a round trip…
Sitting at the desk, Wei Changtian racked his brains, thinking about how many high-ranking experts he could gather “to back him up.” After much thought, he realized that it would be about the same.
At most, he could gather three second-rank experts and four or five third-rank experts.
In fact, with such a strong force, if utilized well, it could shake the entire Da Ning. But Wei Changtian still felt it was a bit insufficient.
Of course, sufficiency was relative.
This involved a very crucial question—
How many high-ranking experts could Xiao Feng gather?
What made him dare to challenge Wei Changtian like this?