Chapter 103

The Qingcheng Sect Leader was secretly delighted, and the group stepped into the fork in the road.

Not long after entering this cave, a thick, putrid smell wafted over, making Li Miao frown.

"It must be those grave robbers who didn't escape," Lao Qifeng said.

The group walked forward for a while and indeed saw corpses lying helter-skelter on the ground.

Just as someone was about to step forward to examine them, they were stopped by Lao Qifeng.

"Don't get close. There isn't even a large living creature in this cave; these people must have been killed by poison insects."

The person realized this and quickly thanked him.

The group bypassed the corpses and continued forward.

At first it was very narrow, only allowing one person to pass, but after walking a few dozen steps, it suddenly opened up.

They had actually entered a cave that was a hundred zhang square.

As soon as they entered the cave, they heard the Kongtong Sect Leader whisper: "There is writing on the stone wall!"

This drew everyone to look.

They saw that the stone wall was densely covered with writing.

Li Miao scanned it up and down and recited a few lines to himself.

"Martial Dao Zen Sect, Wedding Dress Divine Art. To use its benefits, first blunt its edge..."

Having deduced the "Li Family Wedding Dress Divine Art" from the fragments of the Wedding Dress Divine Art, he could naturally judge its authenticity.

What Li Miao didn't expect was that what was on the stone wall was the genuine Wedding Dress Divine Art! The kind you could actually practice!

Everyone present was an expert; looking at the text on the wall, their Qi circulated accordingly, and they immediately reached the same conclusion—it was real!

Once this conclusion was reached, the crowd did not feel joy at first; instead, they all circulated their Qi, gripped their weapons, and scanned those around them.

Men die for wealth, birds die for food.

Not everyone in this world has good luck. Those with good natural talent may not be able to enter major sects, and those with kind hearts may not be able to enter righteous sects. Most people practice martial arts that are actually just "making do."

Just speaking of those present, there were five or six who had been lingering at the second-class level and unable to make any progress because they lacked good, suitable martial arts.

For them, a divine art was enough to be a reason for bloodshed, infighting, or even betraying their sect.

Not to mention the three lone first-class experts; even if they had no interest in the divine art, they had to guard against these major sects killing them to silence them.

In an instant, the false unity the group had tacitly maintained fell apart.

Li Miao smiled, reached out to pull Yin Minjun, and stepped aside: "Elder Yin and I will not participate in this matter; please, everyone, do as you wish."

"Great Master, I won't help you."

Yongjie put his hands together and bowed to Li Miao: "This monk is already breaking the precepts; I dare not trouble the benefactor. Life and death are fated; even if this monk is to die, the benefactor need not intervene."

He had been afraid that someone would recognize his voice, so he had remained silent until now, when he finally spoke.

Immediately, the Kongtong Sect Leader frowned and looked at him: "The sound of your voice sounds like an old friend of mine."

Yongjie lowered his joined hands and straightened his back.

He had not come here as the Shaolin Yongjie, but as Tu Qingcang, to compete for the opportunity. Now that the truth was out, there was no need to pretend anymore.

A series of bone-cracking sounds erupted from his body, and Yongjie's figure seemed to grow taller in an instant. He clenched his fists and said in a deep voice to the Kongtong Sect Leader: "Sect Leader Liu, long time no see."

"It's you! Tu Qingcang! You're not dead!"

As soon as the Kongtong Sect Leader said this, the people from the Emei and Qingcheng sects also looked at Yongjie, showing hostility.

These three sects all had grudges against Yongjie.

"Thank you for your concern, I am indeed not dead, and today I will compete with you all for this divine art," Yongjie said.

The Kongtong Sect Leader swallowed and turned to look at the people from Emei and Qingcheng.

"Everyone, this man surnamed Tu is a supreme expert. Back then, he was arrogant and ruthless; he will certainly not let us be. Why don't we join forces to kill him first, avenge our grudges, and then discuss the rest!"

The leader of the Emei Sect was an elder; he looked at Yongjie and nodded.

The Qingcheng Sect Leader felt that if he didn't kill Yongjie, his own plans would be hard to succeed, so he also nodded.

The three sects had thirteen people. Six first-class, seven second-class, against one supreme expert—the outcome was yet to be determined.

Li Miao, however, smiled.

He had said the first time he met Yongjie that Yongjie was a first-class expert, not a supreme one.

Because the Qi in his body was clearly the foundation of Shaolin's direct lineage, similar to Liu Baiyun's. It was likely that he had crippled his own martial arts back then and switched to practicing Shaolin techniques.

But Li Miao was not worried that Yongjie would die.

Jianghu struggles are not like playing cards; the one with the higher points doesn't necessarily win.

Being able to do what others cannot is what makes a prodigy.

A struggle of life and death is decided by a single thread!

In an instant, the Kongtong Sect Leader lunged forward, a "Seven-Injury Fist" striking toward Yongjie's face!

The Emei elder hid behind him, his long sword thrusting out in a "Seven-Evil Sword Technique."

This sword technique was the Emei Sect's town-guarding sword art, divided into seven stages, with seven swords in each stage; every sword was extremely vicious and deadly, each strike aimed at Yongjie's fatal acupoints.

The Qingcheng Sect Leader used a "Heaven-Escaping Sword," appearing in front and then behind, the sword light flickering, weaving through the gaps in the other two's moves, sealing off the space for Yongjie to maneuver.

All three were long-famous first-class experts, and all had been active in the southern Jianghu, understanding the strengths and weaknesses of each other's sects. In an instant, they formed a coordinated attack.

Facing an offensive that few in the Jianghu could receive, Yongjie laughed loudly: "Well come!"

He did not retreat or dodge, but faced the Kongtong Sect Leader in front, countering with a punch!

Bang!

A muffled sound.

Thump, thump, thump, thump—

The Kongtong Sect Leader retreated several steps to dissipate the force, his right hand trembling, and looked at Yongjie abruptly.

"He is no longer a supreme expert! We can take him down today!" he shouted.

Yongjie was bleeding from his mouth and nose, but his figure had not retreated half a step.

In that exchange, both being first-class, Yongjie had suffered a loss.

The Kongtong Sect Leader had retreated to dissipate the force, but Yongjie had stood his ground and taken the "Seven-Injury Fist" head-on.

The Seven-Injury Fist was a technique that injured both the user and the opponent, damaging the heart, lungs, and liver; by taking it head-on, Yongjie immediately suffered internal injuries.

Was he being arrogant?

No, it was because he could not retreat.

This was not a fair duel, but a fight of one against many. If he had retreated like the Kongtong Sect Leader to dissipate the force, his stance would have been scattered, making it difficult to withstand the joint killing moves of the other two first-class experts.

No sooner said than done, the sword moves of the Qingcheng and Emei sects reached Yongjie.

"Hahaha—" Yongjie laughed wildly.

His left fist suddenly lifted, smashing into the Emei elder's sword blade; his right fist struck from bottom to top toward the Qingcheng Sect Leader's temple, attacking where the enemy must save!

Clang!

Hiss—

Two sounds rang out simultaneously.

The Emei elder's sword tip was knocked high, but he played along, turning it straight down in a "Splitting Mount Hua" strike toward Yongjie's head!

A deep wound was slashed on Yongjie's right arm, and blood was spraying out.

The Qingcheng Sect Leader had ducked to avoid the punch, thrusting his sword upward to wound Yongjie's right arm. Then, he immediately used a "Zhong Kui Gouges the Eyes" move, thrusting toward Yongjie's eyes.

Behind him, the Kongtong Sect Leader, having caught his breath, also attacked.

The other disciples of the three sects also prowled around, their eyes scanning Yongjie, waiting for a single flaw to make him unable to attend to everything at once.