Chapter 14: Three Against One, No Match for One

Silver Hook Workshop.

Located west of Donglan City.

This place doesn't belong to any of the Five Great Families' territories; it's a gathering spot for the three teachings and nine streams, with a very complicated crowd.

However, there is a "Little Fragrant Tavern" here; the wine is exquisite and the dishes are delightful,

even the young masters and missies of the Five Great Families and other minor families often come to sample it.

Heng Xian sits in a corner of the Little Fragrant Tavern, wearing a leather hat and a half cat‑head mask on his face.

Like a typical wandering swordsman!

He eats while glancing at a gambling den outside.

He receives word that Ye Qingyi will soon come to capture people.

To avoid unnecessary trouble, he decides to disguise himself and have a fight with her!

The tavern has quite a few patrons.

At a nearby table sits a man and a woman.

The man is eighteen or nineteen, dressed in white, and looks rather handsome.

The girl is sixteen or seventeen, with peach‑blossom eyes and a slender figure; she frowns and sighs.

The white‑clad youth asks in surprise, "Little sister Jiaoer, still worrying about that guy?"

The girl replies, "Brother Li Tong, you don't know—my engagement to him was promised a few years ago by my grandfather to leverage the Heng family's influence!"

"But I, Xue Jiaoer, at only seventeen, have already broken through the fifth level of innate cultivation; why bind myself to that useless deadbeat who can't cultivate?"

"I heard that not long ago, the Ye Yu Shiba woman almost died, and after she recovered she bought all the city's Qiya Grass to bathe my little concubine!"

"Tell me, even Jiaoer finds this kind of person disgusting; how could she marry him?"

The youth called Li Tong shakes his head: "This year he's only fifteen, next year sixteen, and will formally set a marriage date with your Xue family; once that happens it can't be changed!"

Xue Jiaoer grits her teeth: "I swear I'll never obey; I will definitely persuade my grandfather!"

Li Tong says, "But how can the Xue family fight the Heng family?"

Xue Jiaoer says in a deep voice, "Grandfather said the Heng family is already a withered sunset flower!"

"Exactly!" Li Tong chuckles, "If the War to Destroy Heng starts early, you'll be free!"

What the heck?

Heng Xian initially finds it quite fun, but the more he listens, the more something feels wrong!

This… they can't be talking about me, can they?

I actually have a fiancée?

War to Destroy Heng?!

Just then, a group of fierce men rushes out of the gambling den opposite.

From both ends of the street, a harsh rebuke echoes: "City Lord's Mansion constables are arresting people! Civilians, step aside!"

Xue Jiaoer exclaims in surprise, "The City Lord's Mansion constables are arresting people; I wonder if Sister Ye Qingyi will come?"

Li Tong, intrigued, says, "She should come!"

Sure enough! A sharp shout comes down from the opposite rooftop: "Bold gambler, meet your death!"

Ye Qingyi!

Still wearing the constable uniform, her figure is quite striking!

The gamblers below, upon hearing, curse loudly and scatter in a rush.

But there are too many constables; with Ye Qingyi leaping from the rooftop, her movements graceful, swordsmanship superb, like autumn wind sweeping fallen leaves, she quickly deals with them all!

Ye Qingyi steps on the gambler leader's head and strikes her signature sword‑hug pose: "Before me, Fairy Ye Qingyi, you have nowhere to escape!"

"Good!" nearby ordinary townsfolk clap in delight.

Xue Jiaoer and Li Tong also step out of the tavern, clapping and cheering.

Ye Qingyi, who knows them, smiles lightly: "It's you two, why today…"

Before she can finish, a booming voice comes from opposite: "In front of my Niu Bi Sanren, you Fairy Ye Qingyi are nothing…"

Swish—

Everyone turns to look.

The speaker appears to be a youth, wearing a leather hat, a half cat‑head mask, tall and lanky, with a rather flowing hairstyle.

"Bold!" a group of constables quickly surround the area.

Ye Qingyi's face darkens, she says coldly, "Niu Bi Sanren? Huh… a familiar title? But looking at your aura, your realm seems low; are you really courting death?"

Heng Xian, too lazy for idle chatter, launches a three‑fold taunt: "You're a hideous fool, your swordsmanship is weak, you have no culture!"

"Bold!"

Ye Qingyi, enraged, plants a foot, leaps forward, her innate fifth‑level aura rippling outward as she swings her sword down with a momentum like a rainbow.

Heng Xian chuckles lightly, his innate fourth‑level aura surging forth; with a footstep, his sword shoots out like a dragon.

Ye Qingyi, hovering in midair, sneers, "So you're at innate fourth level, and you think your…"

Before she can finish, Heng Xian's sword already pierces through her blade and strikes her chest!

Ye Qingyi lets out a muffled hum, the blade passes her, she lands on the ground, staring at her own chest in disbelief.

Fresh blood drips, drip… sliding down.

How… did it pierce me?

He clearly is a realm lower than me!

I've been practicing sword for over a decade!

I still didn't understand that sword just now?!

"Qingyi?" Xue Jiaoer and Li Tong behind them were startled.

The surrounding constables also moved forward.

"No need!" Ye Qingyi lifted her head, looked at Heng Xian: "You've completely enraged me—Autumn! Wind! Sword! Technique!"

Her figure flashed, she rushed forward quickly, and midway her long sword emitted a faint blade aura, thrusting out in a bizarre posture.

It dazzled the eyes!

Li Tong's eyes brightened slightly: "All martial arts and techniques are divided into four realms—Heaven, Earth, Mysterious, Yellow—with twelve grades each! The sword technique Ye Qingyi used must have reached the lower grade of the Mysterious realm!"

Xue Jiaoer looked at Heng Xian: "Just watch what sword technique this person uses; from the technique we can tell his background!"

If he comes from the wild and lacks refined sword defense, he'll likely lose his life... huh?

Before finishing, she shouted in surprise.

Heng Xian showed no flashy sword technique, just a simple forward charge, thrusting a sword.

It seemed like a simple thrust.

Yet it broke Ye Qingyi's sword technique!

It wounded her left arm.

"Hmm..." Ye Qingyi muttered, stepping back six or seven paces, her face paling, eyes panicked: "W-why?!"

Xue Jiaoer and Li Tong exchanged glances, each seeing a flash of horror in the other's eyes.

Impossible!

How could that ordinary sword thrust shatter Ye Qingyi's Mysterious Realm sword technique?!

"Why the hell, I said I'd duel you within a month, kept my promise, so stop the pretension and I'm out!"

Heng Xian felt greatly disappointed; he had expected a fierce clash with a master.

"Stop! You and I decide life and death!" Ye Qingyi's mindset collapsed, she entered a berserk state, a footstep away, she lunged again.

"Sister Qingyi!"

Xue Jiaoer and Li Tong, fearing she would be at a disadvantage, drew their spiritual artifacts together and rushed forward.

Two were Innate Fifth Tier, one Innate Sixth Tier.

Three versus one?

Heng Xian slightly frowned, but felt no fear at all.

He also wanted to know how a sword technique one level higher could so easily defeat Ye Qingyi!

What would happen if one higher level challenged three?

Seizing the moment before Li Tong and the other arrived, he placed a footstep and rushed to Ye Qingyi's side, slashing a sword!

This thrust was cunning and bizarre!

"Clang!"

The berserk Ye Qingyi became even more vulnerable; her sword was instantly knocked away.

Heng Xian's sword momentum did not lessen; he violently slashed a deep blood mark across her chest.

"Pfft!"

Ye Qingyi muttered, falling back on her back.

At that moment, Xue Jiaoer and Li Tong arrived just in time.

One wielded a blade, the other a short sword, their coordination perfect, flanking from both sides: "Die!"

"Die, you old sister, you dog couple!"

Heng Xian chuckled lightly, his body flashed, stepping back one step, then swung his long sword at an impossible angle toward Li Tong, using the momentum to also thrust at Xue Jiaoer.

Watching the incoming sword, Xue Jiaoer and the other widened their eyes instantly, finally grasping Ye Qingyi's desperation!

This man's sword was fast, accurate, ruthless!

It could change at any moment!

It seemed to anticipate his own movements!

What kind of freak is this?

This... this is completely on a different level!

"Bang!"

"Bang!"

Their spiritual artifacts slipped from their hands instantly.

Just as they were about to use movement technique to dodge, Heng Xian's sword arrived again.

"Ah—" Li Tong's left arm was nearly cut off.

Xue Jiaoer's right hand was almost sliced off.

"Bold!"

At that moment, a wind‑splitting sound came from afar.

"Dodge!"

Heng Xian's footstep brushed aside two constables, leapt into the crowd, and vanished in the blink of an eye.

Behind him, Ye Qingyi, drenched in blood, fainted.

Xue Jiaoer and Li Tong were both injured, sweating from the pain!

The crowd erupted into chaos instantly.

(End of Chapter)