Chapter 75

Chang Ruowang and his group were openly prepared, waiting for the Qingyun Temple's reaction.

"Get out of the way—"

Suddenly, there was a commotion among the onlookers. A few thugs maintaining order were suddenly thrown out of the scene. Over a dozen young Taoists in blue robes rushed in from outside, directly blocking between the Qingyun Temple and the troublemakers.

They were Yun Chong, Yun Zhen, Yun Lu, and over a dozen other Qingyun Temple disciples who had been playing outside. At first, they were very happy watching the commotion, even when the troublemakers arrived, they thought it was just another performance and watched with delight. However, when the banners were unfurled and the slogans shouted, they realized these people had come to cause trouble at the Qingyun Temple.

The dozen young Taoists, young and hot-tempered, immediately flared up. They knocked the thugs blocking their way to the ground, and a few disciples with bad tempers even stomped on the thugs, causing a chorus of惨叫声. Several of the thugs couldn't stand up immediately.

Zheng Biao, seeing the attire of the few people, immediately whispered to a few Changkong Sword Sect disciples.

Chang Jingwang's eyes lit up, and he sneered maliciously, "Oh, you little brats are the Taoists of Qingyun Temple... Why don't you quickly call your elders out to welcome the grand arrival of the Changkong Sword Sect?"

"What Changkong Sword Sect? Never heard of it..." the leader, Qiu Yunzhen, shouted loudly. This wasn't a lie; the few young Taoists who had never left the mountain and had no contact with the martial world couldn't possibly know about the Changkong Sword Sect.

The many martial artists watching immediately caused a stir—

These young Taoists of Qingyun Temple really had guts, openly defying the Changkong Sword Sect. It seemed that a conflict was inevitable today.

Given the aggressive stance of the Changkong Sword Sect, just this one sentence made any negotiation impossible.

Sure enough, as soon as Qiu Yunzhen spoke, the faces of the Changkong Sword Sect disciples changed, and they all shouted angrily.

"A small temple in a desolate mountain dares to ignore the Changkong Sword Sect?" Chang Jingwang couldn't stand being looked down upon. He was determined to teach these ignorant wild Taoists a lesson.

With a sharp sound, his long sword was drawn.

Chang Jingwang stepped over the crowd, pointed his sword at the Qingyun Temple disciples, and said viciously, "Your Qingyun Temple is indeed arrogant, daring to look down on the Changkong Sword Sect. We'll have to settle this with our skills..."

"Let's just fight, no need for so much talk..."

One of the Qingyun Temple disciples couldn't stand it anymore and drew his sword, ready to fight.

"Wait—" A Qingyun Temple disciple stopped his fellow disciple's impulsiveness. One person stepped forward, a young Taoist about sixteen or seventeen years old with a square face, the eldest disciple of Qingzheng Daoist, and the eldest among the third-generation disciples of the temple—Yun Chong.

Yun Chong was always upright and had the spirit of his master. How could the Qingyun Temple, which had been attacked for no reason, start fighting without even explaining the situation?

Yun Chong bowed to the group and said slowly, "Greetings, esteemed guests. I am Yun Chong of Qingyun Temple. Qingyun Temple is just a small temple in a desolate mountain, and we have always stayed out of worldly affairs. I wonder why you are so hostile to our Qingyun Temple and have come to cause trouble? I hope you can enlighten us. If it is indeed our fault, the Qingyun Temple will not let the martial world be disgraced and will give you an explanation. If it is a misunderstanding, as the saying goes, 'enemies should be reconciled, not made.' I am willing to apologize on behalf of my sect. I hope you will not resort to violence..."

Yun Chong spoke with dignity and propriety, neither humble nor arrogant. The more knowledgeable martial artists around nodded in approval, secretly praising the young Taoist of Qingyun Temple for having the spirit of a righteous disciple.

However, the Changkong Sword Sect disciples fell silent upon hearing this.

They were being asked why they had come to attack. What should they do? Tell the truth? Admit that one of their martial artists was severely injured by a child and they had come to seek revenge? That would be too embarrassing.

"Ha—" Chang Jingwang sneered, saying disdainfully, "Are you Qingyun Temple disciples afraid to admit what you did? Let me introduce someone to you, to see if the Taoists of Qingyun Temple are so forgetful—Zheng Biao, my cousin—"

Chang Jingwang called out, bringing Zheng Biao from the crowd, and pointed at him, saying, "You must recognize this person, right?"

Yun Chong looked carefully at the newcomer but couldn't recall who he was. As he hesitated, a voice suddenly broke through the murmurs of his fellow disciples, "Hey? Isn't this the person who fought with Yun Yong? Why is he here..."

Seeing someone respond, Chang Jingwang was overjoyed and immediately interrupted, not letting the other person continue, "If you recognize him, you should know why we're here. There's no need to say more, right?"

Yun Chong turned and saw that it was Qiu Yunzhen who had spoken. On the day Yun Yong and Zheng Biao fought, Qiu Yunzhen was one of the disciples who had watched the battle. Although Yun Chong hadn't personally seen Zheng Biao that day, he knew the details of the incident well. However, Yun Yong had been bullied and forced to fight back. Moreover, Zheng Biao was a martial artist, while Yun Yong was just an ordinary person. How could the Changkong Sword Sect be so shameless, coming to cause trouble over such a humiliating incident?

"Yun Yong and this gentleman had a fair fight, and—"

"Shut up—" Chang Jingwang quickly interrupted Yun Chong. He wanted Yun Chong to admit the incident in public, but if he were to explain the true circumstances, it would be extremely disadvantageous to their side. Chang Jingwang might not be good at many things, but he was skilled at assessing the situation and adapting. "The Changkong Sword Sect always stands by our word. Since you admit the incident, let's settle it with a fight. If you're afraid, let the old man Lingxu of your broken temple come out and kowtow to us. Then the Changkong Sword Sect will—"

"Shut up—" Hearing the insult to his sect, Yun Chong, despite his usually gentle nature, couldn't help but flare up with anger. "I don't care about your Changkong Sword Sect. Insulting my sect is a sin. Since you are determined to cause trouble, the Qingyun Temple will accept it—"

As soon as Yun Chong spoke, there was another wave of surprise among the onlookers.

"Master, well said..."

The young disciples of Qingyun Temple also cheered, their momentum not falling short of the other side.

Both sides were on high alert, forming a standoff.

**********

The surrounding villagers naturally cheered for the familiar Qingyun Temple disciples, and the many martial artists also secretly praised the young Taoists for their courage in the face of power.

Everyone thought the same thing: the Changkong Sword Sect was arrogant and aggressive, but the young Taoists of Qingyun Temple had great courage, daring to rebuke even the disciples of the Changkong Sword Sect. Even if they didn't know the background of the Changkong Sword Sect, they would still stand up to them.

Not far from the crowd, in a slightly higher teahouse, the few imperial experts who had come from Luoyang were also discussing while drinking tea.

"This young Taoist has some courage and responsibility... I didn't expect this small Qingyun Temple to have some talent..." The young man surnamed Hua, a hot-blooded youth, admired the young Taoist's courage.

"Though he has some courage, he lacks the ability to assess the situation, causing unnecessary trouble..." A soft, effeminate voice belonged to the eunuch surnamed Liu from the "Imperial Attendant Supervision."

"Assessing the situation, what can it do? Can the Changkong Sword Sect really settle things peacefully?" The young man surnamed Hua couldn't tolerate the eunuch's criticism and spoke with some irritation.

"True, but his cultivation is too weak. Without strength, his words are just a joke—Old Huo, what do you think? Hey, Old Huo..."

The eunuch surnamed Liu smiled slyly and turned to speak to Huo Dong, but saw that the "Golden Eagle with Divine Eyes," who usually looked old and frail, was now closed-eyed with a serious expression.

"What's wrong, Old Huo?"

Huo Dong took a deep breath, gazing at a dense forest in the corner of the distant wall of the Qingyun Temple, and said solemnly, "This Qingyun Temple is deeply hidden and not to be underestimated..."

The young man surnamed Hua and the eunuch surnamed Liu were shocked and asked together, "What do you mean?"

Huo Dong pointed to the distant forest and said, "There are four experts with cultivation no less than ours, all hidden forces of the Qingyun Temple..."

"Old Huo's 'Heavenly Vision and Earthly Hearing' is indeed miraculous, but how do you know the experts hidden there are disciples of the Qingyun Temple?"

"Hmph, these people were deeply hidden, and I didn't know there were experts there. But when the Changkong Sword Sect disciple insulted the Qingyun Temple's Lingxu, one of the experts there instantly felt a killing intent, revealing their presence... This shows they have a close relationship with the Qingyun Temple. Upon closer investigation, I found four equally calm heartbeats, confirming that there are indeed four experts of the same level there..."

The young man surnamed Hua and the eunuch surnamed Liu looked at each other, both impressed by the "Golden Eagle with Divine Eyes'" extraordinary skills and experience.