Ch. 30
Chapter 30: A Mere Vagabond Swordsman Wants to Challenge Me? Are You Worthy?
On the official road of Qingjiang Prefecture.
Cheng Yu galloped alone toward Qingjiang Prefecture City, one man and one horse.
He had not brought the Jinyiwei under his command with him, instead choosing to send them to neighboring counties to confiscate the assets of weaker forces.
He had discovered that even if he did not personally participate in the confiscation process, as long as the Jinyiwei under his command carried out household raids and displayed their authority, the rewards would still be issued.
Since that was the case, he naturally would not waste his time on unnecessary matters.
To attend Ma Yuan’s Trap Banquet, he alone was enough.
Cheng Yu rode at full speed, kicking up dust behind him. After eating fodder mixed with Internal Strengthening Pills, the horse ran like a divine steed.
【The host has planned the strategy and directed the Jinyiwei to confiscate the assets of forces involved in the case. Reward: Ten Mid-Grade Antidote Pills!】
“They’re moving pretty quickly.”
The Jinyiwei under Cheng Yu had once trained their bodies for nothing.
All they could do was rot away in the Banner Office, bullied by a pack of hooligans from the Red River Gang.
Now that they had a chance to turn their lives around, they naturally treasured that chance more than ordinary martial artists ever could.
They treasured the chance Cheng Yu had given them.
“At this rate, the speed at which I obtain rewards and strengthen myself will only keep increasing.”
While Cheng Yu was planning his future development, a lone figure suddenly appeared on the broad official road ahead, standing proudly there with a saber held in his arms.
The carts and horses on the road hurriedly swerved aside in panic.
“Are you tired of living?!”
The pedestrians traveling on foot by the roadside immediately stopped and gathered at a distance when they realized there was a spectacle to watch.
In Great Qian, where the jianghu spirit flourished, what martial artists and many ordinary people who admired martial skill loved watching most were sparring matches and bloody fights.
Cheng Yu glanced at the fellow disrupting the flow of traffic and could not be bothered to care.
He had just been about to steer his horse around him when he suddenly heard the man blocking the road speak arrogantly.
“So this is the mighty General Banner Captain Cheng Yu of Qinghe County? You’re already so scared of me that you’re trying to go around? Why aren’t you as arrogant and fearless as the rumors say?”
The moment Cheng Yu heard those words, he realized that the other man had actually come for him. He tugged the reins and stopped his horse.
Then he coldly looked at the young martial artist before him.
“Who are you?”
“I am Zheng Ping of the Leaf Blade Sect. The friends of the jianghu have honored me with the title ‘Quick Saber.’”
Zheng Ping calmly announced his background.
The people around them were all quite shocked when they heard Zheng Ping’s name.
Someone immediately cried out, “It’s Quick Saber Zheng Ping! A Fourth Rank expert! A genius of the Leaf Blade Sect who fought his way onto the Tianji Tower Human Ranking with a Willow-Leaf Saber!”
“In all of Qingjiang Prefecture, he’s our only Human Ranking prodigy. I never thought we’d run into him today, and it even looks like he’s about to spar with someone. We’re so lucky!”
The prestige of Tianji Tower’s three rankings stood extremely high in the hearts of the jianghu’s martial artists.
Anyone who could ascend one of those rankings could be regarded as one of the most outstanding one hundred and eight people in Great Qian at their stage.
As Qingjiang Prefecture’s only seed on the Human Ranking, Zheng Ping’s place as the number one talent of the younger generation in Qingjiang Prefecture needed no further proof.
The surrounding spectators grew even more excited, attracting more and more people to stop and watch.
If they could witness Quick Saber Zheng Ping’s martial skill, it would be a rare experience indeed.
At that moment, someone else grew puzzled.
“Who’s the one on horseback? He looks like some sort of official, and he’s not very old either. Why would Zheng Ping be facing him?”
“Zheng Ping just called him Cheng Yu... I remember who he is now!”
One man recognized Cheng Yu’s name. His face instantly went pale, and he stumbled backward half a step before losing his footing and falling clumsily to the ground.
The others had just been about to laugh at him, but when they saw all the blood drain from his face, they became confused.
“I remember now! Isn’t Cheng Yu that Jinyiwei General Banner Captain who’s been slaughtering people everywhere and wiped out more than twenty martial forces?”
The moment that was said, every passerby’s expression changed drastically, and they all looked at Cheng Yu in terror.
For nearly half a month, all of Qingjiang Prefecture had been gripped by fear, and the weaker sects had all shut their gates and stopped venturing out. It was all thanks to this young King Yama before them!
“What is Zheng Ping looking for him for? Could it be that he wants to rid the people of harm by killing this brutal Imperial Hound?”
“Of course, of course! This man has committed so many crimes. The jianghu’s heroes value righteousness above all else. Naturally they have to step in and deal with this scourge!”
“Good! Young Hero Zheng, do your best! Kill this villain!”
The crowd instantly became fervent, and many people began shouting along, hoping that Zheng Ping, the Human Ranking hero, would kill the evil Cheng Yu.
What no one noticed was that in the excited crowd stood a lone figure.
He was a mysterious man dressed in coarse hemp clothing, with a staff-like object wrapped in cloth strapped to his back.
His deep, weathered gaze rested on the distance as he quietly murmured to himself in a voice that only he could hear.
“Rid the people of harm? Heh...”
As for Cheng Yu, after hearing Zheng Ping announce himself, he frowned.
“Quick Saber? Never heard of you. Are you very fast?”
Zheng Ping, who prided himself above all on his reputation, instantly flew into a rage when he heard Cheng Yu’s words.
He refused to believe that anyone in Qingjiang Prefecture could fail to know him, the only Human Ranking martial artist from the prefecture.
He only felt that Cheng Yu was humiliating him.
“Sure enough, you really are a slave of Great Qian who doesn’t understand a single bit of proper conduct and possesses none of a martial artist’s bearing.”
He drew a thin, slender Willow-Leaf Saber from his arms and pointed it at Cheng Yu.
“You have committed endless evil and killed people like flies. Today I challenge you, and just in time, I’ll be acting on heaven’s behalf!”
Though he spoke of acting on heaven’s behalf, excitement shone in his eyes.
If he killed Cheng Yu today, his achievement would surely spread far and wide.
It would be of tremendous benefit to his reputation.
Killing an Imperial Hound of the court in exchange for fame was a very worthwhile deal!
“Oh?”
Cheng Yu had not expected Zheng Ping to be lying in wait specifically to intercept and kill him.
It was not hard to guess that the man wanted fame.
If he could make the Human Ranking, then he had to be at the Fourth Rank, yet he had come to challenge Cheng Yu, who was only Third Rank.
Sure enough, for the sake of meaningless fame, the people of the jianghu could be dignified and righteous on the surface while being utterly shameless underneath.
Still, Cheng Yu did not fear his opponent in the least. Lowering his gaze, he looked at Zheng Ping.
“I am a Jinyiwei General Banner Captain, one of His Majesty’s personal guards. You, a mere vagabond swordsman, want to challenge me? Are you worthy?”
“You ignorant fool!”
Zheng Ping had come with the mentality of bullying someone weaker than himself, yet Cheng Yu had turned around and said that he was the one who was unworthy.
And on top of that, his proud identity as a hero of the jianghu had been reduced to that of a mere vagabond swordsman.
His rage instantly boiled over, and he drew his saber at once, launching a ferocious technique as he attacked.
A Mid-Grade martial art, the Willow-Leaf Quick Saber!
But the instant he made his move, several hidden weapons shot toward his vital points from concealed angles.
Zheng Ping’s expression changed drastically. Hidden weapons!
He hurriedly swung his saber to block them, forcibly weaving a net of saber-light around himself.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
Several Tang Sect Poison Darts fell to the ground.
“As expected of a sinister, vicious, shameless Imperial Hound of the court!”
“And a road-blocking killer dares speak of others?”
Cheng Yu sneered and dismounted.
“You still dare insult me? You’re courting death!”
People of the jianghu could least bear being called murderous bandits, and Zheng Ping instantly charged over with reddened eyes.
Today, he was going to kill this Imperial Hound of the court!
Cheng Yu did not underestimate him either. He drew his saber and met the attack head-on.
The moment the fully mastered forms of the Hundred-Battle Reincarnation Saber Art were unleashed, coupled with his purified and refined Internal Energy, he forcibly fought the Middle Three Ranks prodigy to a standstill despite only having the strength of the Lower Three Ranks.
Zheng Ping’s fast saber slashed out in a storm, yet to his surprise, every single strike was blocked by Cheng Yu’s smooth, overbearing saber art, wave after wave.
“So I thought there was something special about you. In the end, you’re still only Third Rank!”
Zheng Ping let out a cold laugh.
But inwardly, he was astonished beyond measure.
A Third Rank martial artist could actually fight him head-on? Where had this Cheng Yu come from?
He no longer dared relax in the slightest. A faint green glow immediately spread across his saber.
When Cheng Yu’s blade collided with his again, he actually felt it become difficult to withstand, and the shock made his hand ache sharply.
“Internal Energy Infused into the Weapon!”
Cheng Yu’s gaze turned cold. This was a method only Fourth Rank martial artists possessed.
It was also the greatest advantage they held over those of the Lower Three Ranks.
There was an enormous difference between using Internal Energy merely to strengthen the body while wielding a weapon, and fusing Internal Energy through the body and the weapon into a single whole.
It was the difference between heaven and earth!
And there were even martial artists with tremendously powerful Internal Energy whose Internal Energy itself was tyrannical enough to produce miraculous effects through the weapon they wielded.
Zheng Ping could not yet reach that step, but he had still brought Cheng Yu no small amount of trouble.
“You dog official, you vile criminal—let’s see what you do now!”