Chapter 21

Chen Yi He sat at the stall of the disheveled old man from yesterday; the deep pit on the ground was still there, unfilled.

"Come take a look, have a look, the lost martial arts manuals of many years are right here!" Chen Yi He shouted loudly, "Lost martial arts manuals, super cheap martial arts manuals, excellent value, first come first served, opportunity not to be missed, time won't come again! Only selling for one tael of silver, only selling for one tael of silver!"

Chen Yi He indeed attracted many onlookers, who, just as they had surrounded the disheveled old man yesterday, surrounded Chen Yi He, staring intently, yet did not step forward.

"Lost? You're kidding—where in the sky do free pies just fall down…"

"Yeah, a martial arts manual for one tael of silver? Surely you're trying to get us to practice until we go qi deviation and bleed from the seven orifices to death!"

"Look at this kid—just one glance and you can tell he's not as reliable as that old senior from yesterday! Their stuff worth a hundred taels is the real deal!"

The disheveled old man was still a beggar yesterday, and today he's become the "senior" in the mouths of the common folk…

Chen Yi He was furious—there really are people who won't take advantage of a bargain—he instantly stood up and right there performed a set of "Huashan Sword Technique": proper and marvelous, seeking victory in danger, first with the move "Phoenix Comes to Roost" he executed, dodging and twisting, looking the part, and finally with the move "White Rainbow Piercing the Sun", even more so sword energy shot to the heavens, qi piercing the long rainbow, drawing cheers from the whole hall.

Chen Yi He was lucky to have his own cheat for copying martial arts; otherwise he really couldn't perform the "Huashan Sword Technique".

"How about it? Do you believe me now?" Chen Yi He sheathed his sword and asked the crowd.

"Really just one tael of silver?" someone in the crowd asked.

"Really! One tael of silver!"

"I'll offer ten taels of silver!"

"I won't accept price gouging! I won't accept high prices, only selling for one tael of silver!"

"What are we waiting for? Everyone hurry up and grab it, or it'll be gone!"

The disheveled old man and the young man, these two swindlers who were rushing over, witnessed this scene and were all dumbfounded.

"Old man, did you hear any sound?" the young man asked.

"The sound of my heart breaking." the disheveled old man replied.

The aftereffects of the dazing drug still haven't faded, making their heads feel like they're about to split…

"Thank you, hero! Thank you, hero!" the townspeople all expressed their gratitude to Chen Yi He.

"No need to thank me, it's only right." Chen Yi He almost blurted out, "After all, it's just getting something for nothing."

"People and money both gone…" This situation couldn't be accepted; when the crowd dispersed, the disheveled old man and the young man blocked Chen Yi He's way.

Chen Yi He feigned ignorance, "Who are you?"

"Hmph, you don't recognize us?" the disheveled old man asked with a cold smile.

"Keep pretending, keep pretending—I'll see how long you can keep it up! Return our banknotes and jewels! Otherwise, you're not getting away!" The young man was clearly getting serious; the money he had painstakingly swindled, how could he just hand it over to others!

"What are you talking about? I really don't know, little brother—I don't even know you, so how could I be pretending?" Chen Yi He continued to feign ignorance…

"If you won't drink the toast, you'll drink the penalty!" The young man raised his right hand; a dagger slipped from his sleeve, which he firmly grasped, then thrust toward Chen Yi He's face.

Chen Yi He didn't expect the swindlers to attack without a word; he narrowly avoided being stabbed by the surprise dagger, retreated six or seven steps, then gave the two swindlers a cold stare.

"Little brother, do you know who we are? Yet you dare offend us." The disheveled old man had his hands behind his back, stepped forward, blocked the young man, and asked Chen Yi He.

"I don't care who you are—cheating the common folk out of money makes you bastards! I'm done pretending, I've laid my cards on the table, I'm going to deal with you—what of it?" Chen Yi He could no longer restrain himself; he had almost been successfully ambushed, with such a violent temper, could he bear it?

"Whoosh!" A stone with tremendous force sliced through the air, coming from nowhere, yet heading straight for Chen Yi He!

"Clang!" The Azure Dragon Blade of the Dragon King deflected the stone; the blue blade bore half of Chen Yi He's face, only about ten centimeters away from his own face… The Dragon King's face showed displeasure as he snapped, "Wu Chuan Old Monster, a sneak attack—this isn't what a senior would do! And Zhang Shan, you master and disciple, do nothing but swindle and deceive, utterly disgracing the face of the martial world!"

"Heh heh, so stealing is what the juniors do?" It turned out the disheveled old man was known in the martial world as "Wu Chuan Old Monster." "Since there are two of you, you might as well both come to die! Quickly report your names!"

"Tiger Mountain Dragon King."

"Chen Yi He," Chen Yi He thought, since martial artists all have epithets, he too wanted a cool one—"Twenty-Two Middle School Chen Chief!"

"Twenty-Two Middle" refers to Chen Yi He's high school, the Twenty-Second Middle School of H City; his classmates all called him "Chen Chief," so he simply combined them into "Twenty-Two Middle School Chen Chief."

……

"Twenty-Two Middle School Chen Chief?" Wu Chuan Old Monster and his disciple stared at each other.

The Dragon King also hadn't expected Chen Yi He's mouth to suddenly blurt out such a title.

"No matter what chief you are, the grudge over the banknotes and manuals will be avenged!" Wu Chuan Old Monster roared angrily, then charged at Chen Yi He; while running, his hands never ceased, continuously shooting out stones!

Dense stones shuttled through the air, aiming to turn Chen Yi He into a sieve!

This time Chen Yi He was prepared, so he wouldn't be so easily thwarted—"Let's just try this Cloud-Pushing Palm!" He settled into a horse stance, opened his hands like drawing a bow; though it looked light and breezy, it actually concealed inner strength, combined with the true qi cultivated by the "Withering and Flourishing Heart Sutra," it burst forth with a howl!

"Bang bang bang!"

The stones were blasted to powder! Chen Yi He remained unharmed; he drew his long sword, intending to fight Wu Chuan Old Monster to the bitter end.

But the Dragon King's Azure Dragon Blade had already struck first—"Yi He, I'll take on the old monster; you go deal with his disciple!"

"Good!" Chen Yi He turned and slashed; Zhang Shan was right behind him!

The street, which had just calmed down, became lively again, drawing crowd after crowd of onlookers, including many martial arts masters, but they wouldn't intervene, just watching for fun with no gain, so there was no need to take it seriously.

Zhang Shan's own strength hadn't even reached the second heaven; how could he be a match for Chen Yi He? Moreover, he wielded a short dagger—without solid skill, facing a longsword is just suicide!

Chen Yi He's sword dance was blindingly fast, dazzling to the eyes; Zhang Shan watched and watched, actually becoming disoriented, feeling intense vertigo! For a moment his steps faltered, and Chen Yi He seized the initiative.

Though he managed to block Chen Yi He's deadly long sword, he couldn't dodge the flying kick—Chen Yi He kicked Zhang Shan in the waist, "crack!" a crisp sound, his ribs broke! His whole body slid across the ground…

Chen Yi He didn't pursue to deliver a fatal blow; instead he hurried to join the Dragon King's side of the battlefield, wanting to help his brother defeat Wu Chuan Old Monster.

Wu Chuan Old Monster hadn't expected the famed Dragon King of the martial world to possess such formidable strength; at only twenty years old, he had already made this old bone suffer, and now with the addition of Chen Chief, who could withstand it!?

With Chen Yi He's help, they could defeat Wu Chuan Old Monster in no more than ten moves.

The blade's light was thick and powerful.

The sword's shadow was elusive and mysterious.

Wu Chuan Old Monster wasn't a pushover either; as his palms waved, scattered stones flew… his body was agile, his steps light, hardly like an elderly old man—several times he nearly broke through from Chen Yi He's side.

But in the end he still didn't succeed… Chen Yi He had even fought a white-furred giant tiger; what was there to fear about a mere old man?

Finally, the Dragon King lifted his blade from the ground; after a dragon's roar, the blade's qi wrapped around the azure dragon, overturning Wu Chuan Old Monster onto the ground.

By the time Wu Chuan Old Monster lifted his head, he already saw a green great blade pressed against his neck; the stones hidden in his sleeve scattered all over the ground.

Wu Chuan Old Monster immediately panicked, hastily raising both hands, trembling as he begged, "Let's talk things out, let's talk things out…"

"When you were cheating and swindling, how come you didn't know to speak nicely?" the Dragon King asked coldly; as long as he slowly dragged the Azure Dragon Blade, the neck of the Wu River old monster would be sliced open by the slightly uneven blade, killing him on the spot.

"We master and disciple are just conning, we don't harm anyone; surely you wouldn't kill us, would you?"

"Selling copied martial arts manuals at high price is bad enough, but you also intentionally omitted parts, causing others to deviate into madness when they practice—what's the difference from murder?" Chen Yi He questioned.

"Wu River's reputation has been ruined by the two of you; if we don't kill you, someone will surely want to make you look bad. Today I have recognized your master-disciple identity—it's exposed. You've stolen martial arts from other sects; who knows how many people in the martial world will hunt you down from now on!" The Dragon King sheathed his blade and shouted angrily, "Get lost now!"