“Uoooh…”, Wun Fan yawned and replied lazily, “That is very kind of you, brother. I was very worried about you as well when you were badly injured and unconscious.” Wan Fan’s sixth sense told him that something was wrong. That smell of a conspiracy was getting thicker and thicker by the moment. It seemed like he would have to deal with some trouble today. Wun Siu Lan stood by Wun Fan’s side, giving Wun Ping a frosty stare full of disdain.
The little girl seemed ready to strike at any moment, like she had been possessed by a god of war.
A flicker of hatred flashed in the corner of Wun Ping’s eyes at the mention of the New Year’s banquet. He would never have endured such humiliation if it hadn’t been for Wun Fan. He wanted nothing more than to get rid of him forever. It was chilling to think that a fourteen-year-old like Wun Ping had such murderous hatred in him. Wun Ping ignored Wun Siu Lan entirely. He stared at Wun Fan, switching between relish and feigned lamentations, “Unfortunately, brother, you stepped into the mountain right after you recovered. What is the meaning of this? You know that the mountains are currently off-limits, as per the clan master’s orders.”
Wun Ping was truly a genius who should have went on to be an actor instead of pursuing martial arts.
“What do you mean?” Wun Fan dug his ears casually as he shot Wun Ping a nonchalant glance from the corner of his eyes.
Wun Ping stood tall and proud as he put on an indignant tone, “On the night of the second day of the year, the clan master ordered that no disciple of the Wun Clan is to be allowed on the mountain. Those who violate these orders are to be heavily punished. You, Wun Fan, abused your status as the son of the clan master, refused to abide by the orders and forced your way onto the mountain. The Enforcer’s Hall had intended to simply let this slide, but for the sake of the clan master’s reputation, I have no choice…”
Wun Fan interrupted Wun Ping before he could finish, “Shut the hell up. All this fancy talk and theatrics. Just say what you want. I’ll take anything you throw at me.” Wun Fan understood what they were here for. Those in the know will always have an upper hand over those who don’t. The Enforcer’s Hall had intentionally laid a trap for him last night, taking advantage of the fact that he didn’t know about the order. No wonder he had sensed someone at the entrance of the mountain last night, even though it was already really late.
Wun Fan understood everything after a moment’s thought.
A disciple in enforcer uniform stood forth, placing one hand over the other and bowing* as he said, “I am Leung Ming, non-house disciple of the Wun Clan and Fifth Squad captain of the Enforcer’s Hall. Young Master Fan trespassed on the mountain last night. Please follow me to the Enforcer’s Hall and await judgement by the third elder.”
“Oh, I see,” Wun Fan took a deep breath and replied curtly, “But I did not go to the mountain.”
“Lies!” Spittle flew out of Wun Ping’s mouth as he started spouting off, “There were witnesses last night that can attest that you entered the mountain at eleven in the night. Don’t even think about lying your way out of this!”
“Heh, if a sixth-level Martial Disciple like myself could have broken through the Wun Clan’s perimeter, what does that say about the Enforcer’s Hall? Am I simply too strong, or is the Enforcer’s Hall completely inept at its job?” Wun Fan found the hole in Wun Ping’s logic and immediately struck at it. Wun Ping had nothing to say in return. A Martial Vassal of the Enforcer’s Hall had seen Wun Fan enter the mountain last night and came up with a plan of his own accord. He let Wun Fan pass by without saying anything, then reported the incident to Wun Ping this morning, in hopes of earning favor from the young master.
Both Wun Ping and Leung Ming were speechless at Wun Fan’s rebuttal. They didn’t know what to say. They looked at each other, only now realizing that there was such a big loophole in their plan.
Wun Siu Lan couldn’t help but chuckle when she saw this. She knew the Enforcer’s Hall couldn’t explain their way out of this. They needed a proper reason to frame Wun Fan for the crime.
Wun Ping’s face turned bright red. The humiliation quickly turned into anger as he shouted, “Forget all that! We will figure it out once we’ve brought you to the Enforcer’s Hall.”
“And if I refuse to go?” Wun Fan was still smiling. He was a different person now. He glanced at Wun Siu Lan and assessed the situation in his mind.
He then shouted in his mind, “Old Lei, would you mind taking a look at these guys and telling me what level they are at?”
“A total of nineteen people. One peak Martial Mortal, three advanced Martial Mortals, three intermediate Martial Mortals, ten tenth level Martial Disciples, 2 ninth level. A single sneeze from me would kill them all,” Old Lei’s unique voice echoed in Wun Fan’s mind. He couldn’t help but be impressed. Truly a living radar. To think he would be able to sense everyone’s martial level so easily. Old Lei continued in his head, “The kid thinks of you quite highly, eh? To think he mobilized seven Martial Mortals just to capture you.”
“Haha, not at all,” Wun Fan knew that these Martial Mortal disciples were only here because Wun Siu Lan was always with him. Wun Ping would never have gone through the trouble of bringing out seven Martial Mortals otherwise.
“Refuse, and I’ll bring you with me on a stretcher,” Wun Ping smiled viciously, a hint of killing intent flashing in his eyes. The expression on his face was so vile, he seemed like a madman.
The members of the Enforcer’s Hall immediately placed their hands on their swords when Wun Ping said this. They were prepared to draw their swords at any moment. They were confident they could restrain Wun Fan in a matter of seconds. Of course, that was provided Wun Siu Lan didn’t intervene.
Wun Siu Lan flew into a rage when she heard this. She shouted at the enforcers, “You dare?”
The enforcers had awkward expressions on their faces. On one hand, you had Wun Siu Lan, the rising star of the Wun Clan, whose powers were growing at an extraordinary rate, someone always guaranteed to become a leader of the clan. On the other, you had the son of the second elder, whose every word and thought would be enough to decide their very fates.
They were screwed if they attacked and screwed if they didn’t. They were well and truly stuck between a rock and a hard place. Why was life so hard? All they wanted was to serve as members of the Enforcer’s Hall for a little extra pay.
“Who dares hold back?!” Wun Ping shouted once more and the enforcers had no choice but to strike. Even if they offended Wun Siu Lan, it would take her a couple more years to be influential enough to punish them, but their lives would become hell the very next day if they offended Wun Ping.
Schwing. The enforcers’ swords rang as they drew them. Leung Ming immediately expressed where he stood as he exclaimed, “My apologies for this, Young Master Fan.”
“Apologies my ass!” Wun Fan took the initiative. He sidestepped Leung Ming with a single movement and threw a punch straight at Wun Ping’s face, the force of which should not be underestimated!
Wun Ping was an incredibly petty person, without the skill to back up his attitude, but he was a tenth-level Martial Disciple. He definitely had the means to defend himself. Moreover, he was watching Wun Fan all this while. He stepped back, easily dodging the attack, only to pull at a still-recovering injury with his sudden movement. The sudden pain caused Wun Ping to wince.
Leung Ming immediately moved to protect his master. He tried to attack Wun Fan, but Wun Fan had already retreated, leaving him without a target. The other disciples in the arena started talking amongst themselves when they saw this, “They’ve started fighting. Someone hurry up and go tell the clan master and the great elder.”
Another person sighed and said, “The clan master and the great elder are out on the market, preparing for the reopening of the market for the new year.”
“And the third elder?”
“Him too.”
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Wun Siu Lan moved immediately, rubbing her knuckles as she stood beside Wun Fan, full of fighting spirit. She loved fighting. If it wasn’t out of consideration for her girlish image, she would have beaten up everyone in the clan.
Wun Fan narrowed his eyes and whispered, “Siu Lan, two against nineteen and seven of them are Martial Mortals. You good?”
“Hmph! I’ve always wanted to beat them up anyway. A bunch of tail-wagging dogs. I won’t have a problem, but you…?” Wun Siu Lan looked at the enforcers contemptuously, while the enforcers hesitated, fearing Wun Siu Lan’s status and skill.
“No problem!” Wun Fan was full of confidence. His fighting spirit was burning at its maximum. This was the first time he could fight with all his strength since he came to Heaven’s Martial World. This was his first fight as a ninth-level Martial Disciple. It had to be a win!
“Then, let’s—beat—their—asses! Martial soul, descend!” Wun Siu Lan sprinted forward, immediately picking Leung Ming as her target. She called on her martial soul’s power and a gust of hot air rushed forward. Soul energy coursed through her body as she threw a full-power fist at Leung Ming.
To capture the commander, first you shoot his horse! She knew that only Leung Ming was a threat to her. Everything would be simple once she dealt with him.
“Martial Mortals, with me. Martial Disciples, watch over the young master,” As expected of a captain, Leung Ming did not waste any words at a moment like this. Two brief sentences to start the fight. He ignored the thought of being punished by the clan master. Wun Ping and the second elder can deal with the pressure afterwards, the blame wouldn’t be falling on his shoulders. Moreover, it’s hard to punish everyone when there were so many offenders. He didn’t believe the clan master would punish all of them at once.
The group immediately split into two parties. Seven of them battled with Wan Siu Lan, while the other eleven faced off against Wun Fan with Wun Pping.
“Nice! Twelve Disciples! Come at me!” Wun Fan laughed boldly and strode forward as if he was a certain holy savior of the west walking forward to greet his twelve disciples!
“The clan master was there to protect you that night, Wun Fan. Let’s see who will protect you today,” Wun Ping drew his sword and shouted, “Go!”
Everyone immediately drew their swords. As members of the Wun Clan, their greatest proficiency was swordsmanship! However, while everyone rushed forward, Wun Ping slowly took a step back. It was not that he didn’t want to be part of the action, but rather that he still had not fully recovered from his injuries and couldn’t draw on his soul energy yet.
“Haha! Coward! All you know is hide. You don’t even dare to fight me,” Wun Fan’s words were filled with mockery and his gaze was full of disdain. He did not step back, even though his enemies wielded swords. That was because, as of yesterday, he became the owner of one of the twenty-one Imperial Zeniths—the Spiritstartler Ring!
From then on, he was destined for greatness!
Wun Fan identified a ninth-level Martial Disciple and closed the distance with a single step, nullifying the reach advantage of the sword. A close-range fistfight was his safest option. Wun Fan poured all the aether in his body into his fist. Every single punch was an all-out attack!
Boom. Crack. Cling.
Wun Fan struck the opponent in his stomach with his first punch and caught him in the ribs with the second punch. The sound of a breaking bone rang out as he dropped his sword. The ninth-level Martial Disciple groaned in agony as he lay on the ground. To think he couldn’t even take two punches from Wun Fan!
“Heh, sorry about that. I used a little too much strength!” Wun Fan did his signature little shrug, with an innocent expression on his face. Meanwhile, everyone else was stunned in disbelief395Please respect copyright.PENANACiMabZbK7M