Chapter 127: Ding Ling’er

　　Xingyang Jie was so angry that he almost coughed out a mouthful of blood. He thought that by announcing his name and his family, his opponent would tremble with fear before kneeling and licking his shoes. Instead, it took away the guy’s doubt and made him kill even more wantonly. That had dealt him a blow greater than when his fingers were cut away.

　　In the face of Yunxiao, Martial Masters were nothing but cannon fodder. Soon, only a Great Martial Master was left. With his pupils constricted, the guard drew his sword and unsealed it as he rushed over.

　　Amidst the crowd of onlookers in the distance, a girl in red gently curled her hair with a finger as she frowned and said, “Sir Yu, is that the young man Master Yuan Hao was talking about, a third-tier alchemist, Li Yunxiao?”

　　Standing next to her, an old man with a head of white hair and a youthful face smiled and said, “Yes. I’ve been following him ever since he stepped into the trade fair. He is a boy with a pair of sharp eyes. Luckily, I had hidden myself deep enough. Otherwise, he would have discovered me.”

　　The girl looked surprised. “How’s that possible? Look, although he is only a four-stars Martial Master, that three-stars Great Martial Master is already showing signs of losing. If I’m not wrong, he’s only about fifteen, isn’t he? And yet, he’s already such a genius in martial arts. How can he also be a third-tier alchemist?”

　　There was a look of amazement in Yu Rong’s eyes as well as he said, “Each age brings forth new geniuses on this noble land. You, for one, are a peerless genius, but I didn’t expect this Li Yunxiao to be so inhuman.”

　　The girl gave him a sweet smile. “You’re flattering me, Sir Yu! I’m not a genius. Do you think we should stop them? He’ll be in trouble if he really kills Xingyang Jie.”

　　Her words put a frown on Yu Rong’s face, and he said worriedly, “The Xingyang Family itself is nothing, but one of their ancestors is the elder of Jutian Sect, and we cannot overlook that. I think I better stop them.” He took a step and vanished instantly.

　　“Stop it!”

　　Yu Rong lightly pointed at Yunxiao’s sword with a walking stick, knocking it back. The Great Martial Master, who thought he was about to die, trembled with fear and fell to his knees, staring gratefully at Yu Rong.

　　“Be lenient wherever it is possible, lad! You don’t have to be so ruthless. Besides, the Xingyang Family is an existence you cannot afford to offend,” Yu Rong said with a kind smile.

　　Yunxiao’s eyes turned cold as he mocked, “Since I stepped into the trade fair, someone had been watching me, and now he has finally showed up. So, it is you, old man.”

　　“What!” Yu Rong was shocked, and his eyeballs almost dropped out. “How… how could you possibly sense my presence?!” he said in horror. He had thought he was well hidden, but it turned out that he was long under his target’s observation.

　　“Hmph! Move aside, I’m not in the mood to talk to you now. I’ll deal with you after I have killed these two men!” He lifted his sword as he moved around Yu Rong and stabbed the blade toward the Great Martial Master again.

　　“Forget it, lad!” Yu Rong’s walking stick moved in a cunning pattern and tapped three times in a row on Springwater, sending a great force down the blade that broke the skin in Yunxiao’s palm and knocked the sword out of his grip.

　　A trace of anger flashed through Yunxiao’s eyes as he said, “A seven-stars Martial King, Plum Blossom Spear Technique!”

　　Yu Rong was shocked once again. “How…how did you know my cultivation level? How did you know I’m using the Plum Blossom Spear Technique?”

　　“Hmph!” Yunxiao snorted angrily. “If you save this man today, you will be my enemy, and you will bring yourself a great disaster in the future!”

　　Yu Rong found that it was getting harder for him to see through this young man. He smiled wryly and said, “I did this for your own good, Li Yunxiao. Although the Xingyang Family is nothing, they have an ancestor who is the elder of Jutian Sect. If you kill Xingyang Jie, you will bring yourself a great disaster!”

　　Meanwhile, Hong Bing and the Martial Lord had stopped fighting as well. With a venomous look on his face and holding his injured hand, Xingyang Jie said, “So, your name is Li Yunxiao. I swear I will kill your whole family! Let’s go!”

　　After saying that, he turned and left hurriedly with the Martial Lord and the Great Martial Master.

　　Yunxiao stared coldly at Yu Rong. “You heard him. You ask me to be lenient, and now he wants to kill me. Besides, he took away the herb that I urgently needed to save my friend’s life. How am I going to save him now?”

　　He was boiling with rage, not only because he had failed to kill Xingyang Jie, but also because the Hundred Water was taken away from him. He gave Jia Rong a meaningful glance, who understood at once and immediately brought Meng Wu, Meng Bai, Chen Zhen, and Han Bai away, melting into the crowd.

　　“This…” Yu Rong smiled wryly. “Xingyang Jie has always been arrogant. He will naturally not let this matter rest easily after taking such a big hit from you today.”

　　“Since only death can resolve our grudge, you have caused me harm by releasing him. Don’t worry, I’ll make you pay for what you’ve done today in the future.” After saying that in a cold voice, Yunxiao turned to leave.

　　“Hold on!” Yu Rong did not take his threatening remark to heart, and instead he chased up and said, “A young lady I serve wishes to have a word with you.”

　　“I’m not free!”

　　“You! Don’t be a fool who can’t tell good from bad!”

　　“Why? Are you going to force me? Don’t think a seven-stars Martial King is invincible!”

　　Yu Rong was a little angry. As a Martial King, he was held in high respect wherever he went, and yet he was already mocked many times by this young man today. Had it not been because of a reason he could not speak now, he would have killed this ungrateful lad.

　　“Although Hundred Water is rare, I do have some.”

　　A sweet voice rang out, and then the girl in red walked slowly out of the crowd with a bright smile on her face. “Don’t be too impetuous, young man! It is really for your own good that Sir Yu stopped you from killing Xingyang Jie. Although there is still resentment between you, at least there is still room to talk it over. But, if you had killed him, there would be no turning back.”

　　While frowning, Yunxiao sneered, “Room to talk it over? What if he brings some other expert to kill me again?”

　　The girl in red chuckled and said, “How about I take charge of the reconciliation? I believe I can manage it. Let me introduce myself, my name is Ding Ling’er.”

　　Yunxiao smiled and said faintly, “Well, Ding Ling’er, it’s up to you now. Turn and look behind you.”

　　Ding Ling’er and Yu Rong froze for a moment and turned back at the same time. They saw Xingyang Jie, who was fuming with rage, walking toward them with a group of men. His malevolent eyes were fixed on Yunxiao, and there was a ferocious look on his face.

　　The crowd around them quickly dispersed in all directions, as if a storm were coming. No one dared to stay in this street, and everyone was watching from a distance.

　　The leader’s face was calm, with a hint of a smile on his lips. Judging from the aura of the people around him, he should also be the son of some super aristocratic family, and his status was even higher than Xingyang Jie’s.

　　When the man saw Ding Ling’er, the smile on his face turned into astonishment. “I didn’t expect to see you here, Miss Ling’er,” he said in surprise.

　　Ding Ling’er had a wry smile on her face. She had just promised that she would settle this for Yunxiao, and in the next moment, Xingyang Jie had come back. “I didn’t expect to see you here either, Young Master Cheng Feiche. I have witnessed this matter from the beginning to end, and I know there are many misunderstandings. I hope I can be a peacemaker for them.”

　　“Oh?” Cheng Feiche gave a weird smile. He glanced at Yunxiao, then said thoughtfully, “Who is this guy? To have Miss Ling’er intercede for him?”

　　Xingyang Jie’s face flickered. Fearing that Cheng Feiche would agree to her, he said hastily, “Brother Feiche, you mustn’t be fooled by her. This Ding Ling’er is a merchant who sees only profits. She must have been paid handsomely by this boy to intercede for him!”

　　“Hmph! Paid?” Yu Rong tapped the end of his walking stick against the ground, breaking several bricks. “If I hadn’t saved you just now, would you still be standing here? Have I been paid by you?” he said angrily.

　　Xingyang Jie was ungrateful, as he said with a sneer, “You saved me just to save him, because if I die, he will be doomed, even if he has a powerful background!”

　　“Haha!” Yunxiao burst into laughter, then he said mockingly, “What else do you have to say now, old man?”

　　Yu Rong’s face turned livid with anger. “Think of me as saving a dog!”

　　A trace of a sulky look crept up Ding Ling’er’s face. The grace of saving one’s life was greater than anything, but Xingyang Jie did not appreciate it at all, which proved him to be a bad guy. Looking at Cheng Feiche, she said, “Young Master Feiche, think of this as a favor you sell to me. Although I’m just a merchant, my company, Tianyuan Trading Company, is involved in many businesses with the four major families of the Firecrow Empire—Zhou, Wang, Mo, and Cheng. Moreover, we have a very wide network, and you can find our men in almost every corner of the Heavenly Martial Continent. So, what do you think?”

　　Yunxiao was slightly taken aback. ‘So, they are from Tianyuan Trading Company…’

　　Tianyuan Trading Company was one of the members of the Commerce Alliance. Its influence was widespread, spanning the entire Heavenly Martial Continent. The Commerce Alliance was formed by numerous trading companies of different sizes on the continent, including seven permanent members and thirteen ordinary members. Tianyuan Trading Company was one of the permanent members while Myriad Treasures Store was not only a permanent member, but also the leader.

　　These trading companies were originally business organizations scattered across the continent. Later, to avoid being bullied by others, seven of the strongest companies and thirteen smaller companies formed the Commerce Alliance under the call of Myriad Treasures Store. At present, the council had developed into one of the superpowers on the continent that no one dared to underestimate.

　　Cheng Feiche thought about it for a while, and then said, “Miss Ling’er, it’s not that I don’t want to sell you this favor. We came here together, and Brother Jie represents the face of all the aristocratic families in the Firecrow Empire. This guy not only killed Brother Jie’s men, but also cut off his five fingers. This is a slap in the face of our families. I can’t just forgive him like this.”

　　He looked up with a trace of cruelty in his eyes. “But, I have to give Miss Ling’er’s some face as well. As long as this guy kneels and kowtows ten times, destroy his dantian, cuts off his hands, and kneels at the entrance of the trade fair until the end of the fair, I’ll not kill him. What do you think?”

　　With a grateful look, Xingyang Jie said excitedly, “Brother Feiche, you are such a compassionate person. This boy should count himself lucky to be punished so lightly!”