Volume One, Chapter 11: Are You a Grandmaster?

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At that very moment, in a corner on the opposite side of the room, an assassin had already aimed a sleeve dart at Gu Changfeng.

Before he could fire, Gu Changfeng cast him a sidelong glance.

The assassin’s heart convulsed. He abruptly retracted the hidden blade, then rolled and leaped several times before smashing through the window and escaping.

The inn fell utterly silent. No one dared question whether Zhao Yi had truly recovered anymore.

Some even noticed the hidden implication—particularly the woman in white.

“The assassin even Zhao Yi failed to detect was discovered by him,” she thought to herself.

The assassin who had been kicked away had suffered grievous internal injuries. Zhao Yi strode over, seized him by the hair, and lifted him bodily from the ground.

“Speak! Who sent you?”

The words had barely left his mouth when the assassin suddenly foamed at the lips. After a few violent convulsions, his head lolled to one side, and he breathed his last.

“Damn it!” Zhao Yi cursed under his breath.

“General Zhao, why not search their clothing? Assassinations of this level are usually the work of that organization.”

“And every member of that organization bears a scorpion tattoo on the left shoulder,” the woman in white said.

“Miss, do you mean the Tang Sect?” Zhao Yi understood at once. The organization was infamous; who in the martial world had not heard of it?

“Yes,” the woman replied.

With a few quick thrusts of their spears, they tore open the assassins’ clothing. Just as she had said, all four men bore scorpion tattoos on their backs.

“Ha! Tang Sect, you have chosen death!” Gu Changfeng thought coldly.

His creed was simple: whoever harmed him, no matter how far away, would be destroyed.

Once the Shiya Sword Gathering was over, he would surely track down the Tang Sect and annihilate it.

Gu Changfeng turned toward the woman. “My thanks, Miss.”

“You are too gracious, Your Highness the Prince of Liyang. I merely offered a reminder; I did nothing worthy of thanks.”

“I heard that Your Highness is heading to Divine Sword Manor. I happen to be going there as well, and I know a shortcut. Would you permit me to accompany you?”

Gu Changfeng’s eyes lit up—not because her bust was especially… impressive.

Rather, the two of them had lost their way. To reach Divine Sword Manor, they had to cross this desert, but their map was far too old and had not been updated in time.

As a result, they had temporarily become disoriented. Naturally, they could not admit that aloud; it would be too humiliating.

A former ninth-rank expert and a Grandmaster had gotten lost. What a joke that would make.

Though they could eventually find their way out if given enough time, time was precisely what they lacked. By the time they reached Divine Sword Manor, the Sword-and-Poetry Gathering would already be over.

“Oh? You know a shortcut? That would be excellent.”

At his words, the woman’s eyes brightened as well. “My name is Ling Yao. Your Highness, why not come over and sit with us? We can discuss the route.”

“That’s right, that’s right! We’re all just trying to make a living. Second Brother, go fetch some wine. I want to toast His Highness the Prince of Liyang.”

Seeing that the misunderstanding had been cleared up, the proprietress hurried forward to smooth things over.

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After the three of them sat down, the proprietress personally toasted Gu Changfeng three times.

He did not refuse. At his level, he had no reason to fear poison in the wine. He was a Grandmaster, after all—what was there to be afraid of?

Just as they had finished an entire jar of fine wine, the inn’s main doors were pushed open once more.

A drunken man with a skull tattoo carved across his face staggered inside. His hair was disheveled, and his clothes were filthy.

Yet he was dragging behind him the very assassin who had attempted to attack with a sleeve blade. He flung the man directly at Gu Changge’s feet.

“Here is your answer.”

With that, he did not spare anyone else a glance. He grabbed a jar of wine and began walking upstairs.

The other patrons, however, stared at him with gleaming eyes, as though they had just witnessed the arrival of some legendary figure.

Ling Yao immediately rose to her feet.

“Hero Thirteen! I heard that the Third Young Master will return for this gathering. Do you not wish to fight him once more?”

At once, the man stopped. The wine jar he had raised to his lips slowly lowered.

He was Yan Shisan, who had vanished from the world for so long—the true enforcer behind Dragon Gate Inn. Many people had come precisely in hopes of seeing him once.

Yan Shisan stood stunned for a moment before turning around and fixing Ling Yao with a calm, murky gaze.

But in the next instant, he suddenly sprang into the air. With a casual gesture, the long sword at a swordsman’s waist flew from its sheath.

“Yan Shisan! Stop!”

Madam Thirteen cried out anxiously.

But it was already too late. In the blink of an eye, the atmosphere in the main hall changed completely.

A clear clang rang out.

The sword tip stopped a mere fraction of an inch from Ling Yao’s eye.

Boom!

A surge of powerful inner force sent the tables and chairs flying, smashing them against the walls with a series of heavy crashes.

The gale lifted Ling Yao’s hair and blew away her veil, revealing a face of peerless beauty.

The diners who had risen around them all stared wide-eyed. Two fingers had caught the tip of the sword with effortless ease.

“Hiss!”

The crowd drew in a collective breath.

The owner of those two fingers was none other than Gu Changfeng.

Yan Shisan was stunned as well. In all the world, there were scarcely any who could halt his blade with such effortless composure.

Indeed, since he had risen to fame, only that master from Mount Qingcheng had ever accomplished such a feat.

“Hero Yan, this young lady is under my protection now. If you wish to kill her, you will first have to ask whether I agree.”

“Crack!”

The only answer was a crisp snap.

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The sword shattered, its fragments clattering onto the floor.

Gu Changfeng gave a slight nod, his expression serene. “Hero Yan, the sword is broken. Let this matter end here.”

Yan Shisan said nothing, but the murkiness in his eyes brightened somewhat.

Then, gripping the sword hilt, he turned unsteadily and began making his way upstairs.

“Hahaha!”

“Hahahaha…”

He laughed as he walked, like a man possessed by madness.

Everyone in the inn fell silent once more. Only his laughter echoed through the hall.

“Gulp!”

Someone swallowed, breaking the frozen stillness.

“Oh, my, there is no need for everyone to be so tense.”

Seeing the atmosphere grow strained again, Madam Thirteen hurried forward, swaying her hips as she approached. The long-stemmed pipe in her hand waved lightly while her eyes moved between the gathered guests.

“The affairs of the martial world are unpredictable by nature. What happened here at Dragon Gate Inn today was nothing more than a minor disturbance.”

“His Highness the Prince of Liyang is a man of exalted status, while Hero Yan is a renowned figure of the martial world. Why become so hostile over such a trivial matter?”

She came to Gu Changfeng’s side and bowed slightly. “Your Highness, you are generous by nature. Please do not take offense at Hero Yan. He acted on impulse and meant no deliberate disrespect.”

“It is nothing.”

Gu Changfeng returned her a faint smile. After all, one did not strike a smiling face.

“However, Madam Thirteen, please convey a message to Hero Yan. The Prince of Liyang’s residence welcomes his visit at any time.”

As he spoke, he cast a deep look toward the upper floor. A master of such caliber ought to serve under his command.

Madam Thirteen understood immediately and smiled ingratiatingly. “I certainly will. I certainly will!”

As for the other guests, they quickly invented excuses and retreated to their rooms. The Northern Mang commandant fled straight through the door.

Gu Changfeng exchanged a glance with Zhao Yi. The two understood each other without words.

Zhao Yi immediately followed the commandant. Before long, he returned to the hall carrying several money pouches, which he tossed onto the table with a loud slap.

By then, only the three of them remained in the main hall. Madam Thirteen had gone upstairs to find Yan Shisan.

Ling Yao shifted restlessly in her seat, her heart beginning to stir. Anyone could tell that the man before her was even more formidable than Yan Shisan.

He was perhaps even on par with a Grandmaster—and he had just saved her life. What woman could remain unmoved by such a man?

After holding back for a long while, she finally bit her lip and asked, “Your Highness, are you a Grandmaster?”