Chapter 285: Accepting the Challenge, a Storm Brews

The three people standing back-to-back were intensely tense. It seemed they had no other choice. Fight desperately? Could they break out? Did they even dare?

"Zichun, it's up to you now." One of the men lowered the sword in his hand.

"Zichun, we believe in you." The other man lowered his weapon as well. Believe or not, he had no choice.

Clearly, the two men themselves had agreed to remain as hostages. Xuan Zichun looked toward Niu Youdao with grief and anger in her eyes. Gritting her teeth, she accepted it. Hadn't she rushed here precisely because she hoped that one day she too might possess power like Niu Youdao, might look down on others from above like this, might carry herself with this same overbearing confidence?

"Fine!" Xuan Zichun said loudly. "A word once spoken is settled. I agree! Tomorrow morning, Flying Waterfall Terrace on North Mountain, outside the city. Do you dare keep the appointment?"

"That's settled, then." Niu Youdao nodded and waved a hand. "Let her go!"

The people surrounding them opened a path. Xuan Zichun walked out of the encirclement, then turned around again, backing away slowly as she watched her companions.

The surrounding cultivators stepped forward at once, seized the two men's weapons, placed restrictions on their bodies, and detained them as hostages.

Neither man resisted. Since they had already agreed to become hostages, there was no point struggling now. Both watched Xuan Zichun retreat. At last, Xuan Zichun resolutely turned around and strode away. Linghu Qiu and Feng Entai exchanged a glance. Why did this whole affair feel strange?

Xuan Zichun had clearly come here to challenge Niu Youdao, yet somehow it felt as though Niu Youdao had turned the situation around and forced her to challenge him instead.

Feng Entai said, "You accepted this one, but there'll be another after her. I'm afraid these challenges will never end."

Niu Youdao said, "Even if I refuse, people will still keep coming to my door."

Linghu Qiu said, "You can't possibly keep accepting challenges forever like this."

"If I can't even deal with a minor nuisance like this, there's no point in my traveling the jianghu." Niu Youdao gave a smile that did not reach his eyes.

Then he suddenly gestured toward the pavilion entrance, stopping the group that was about to escort the two men away. Everyone halted and looked back, unsure what other instructions he had.

Niu Youdao said blandly, "Cut off both their heads. Tomorrow, take them along and deliver them to Xuan Zichun."

Everyone froze. The two detained men stared in shock.

One roared, "Niu Youdao, you don't keep your word!"

The other cried, "Niu Youdao, going back on your word makes you a petty villain!"

They had barely shouted before someone struck their acupoints and silenced them. The two struggled desperately, but it was useless. This truly was a dying struggle with everything they had.

Niu Youdao remained expressionless. He casually lifted his wine cup and slowly sipped, no longer sparing the scene outside another glance. Only then did everyone understand his meaning. He was not frightening them. He genuinely meant to kill them. The two men were immediately pushed in front of a flower bed. Two cold flashes. Blades rose and fell.

Blood sprayed wildly into the flowers. Branches battered by the gush of blood swayed, drops pattering from their leaves, while two perfectly good heads had already rolled to the ground. Linghu Qiu and Feng Entai looked at each other in speechless silence.

They had thought Niu Youdao truly intended to keep the pair as hostages. Who could have guessed that what he actually wanted were their heads? The two had not even been given a chance to resist. Stay behind, lose your lives. It was that simple.

Earlier, Xuan Zichun had warned that fighting here would alarm the cultivators guarding the capital. Yet there had been no fight at all. With a few casual sentences, Niu Youdao had effortlessly taken two heads without stirring the slightest disturbance. Today, Linghu Qiu and Feng Entai finally experienced firsthand how ruthless this young man could be without lifting a finger. He truly killed without blinking, and not a single drop of blood touched his own hands. Both men gained a new understanding of Niu Youdao.

He looked so young, yet carried himself like someone whose hands had already been steeped in blood countless times. For some reason, the incident also left them with the feeling that Niu Youdao had not come here bearing much goodwill. Whoever dared provoke him would receive no courtesy. He would kill.

Linghu Qiu glanced toward the people cleaning up the scene outside and reminded him lightly, "Little Brother, you've killed the two of them. How are you going to explain that to Xuan Zichun tomorrow?"

"I had no grievance with them, yet they came looking for trouble with me. If you dare do something, you should be prepared for the consequences." Niu Youdao raised his cup toward Linghu Qiu and asked with a smile, "Do I need to explain?"

Black Peony quietly looked at Niu Youdao a couple more times. Even she had been shaken by the invisible pressure of what had just happened.

Duan Hu, who had seen Xuan Zichun out, returned and paused slightly when he saw people cleaning the scene and carrying away the bodies. Still, he quickly entered the pavilion and presented another card.

"Master Dao, someone else has come to challenge you."

Linghu Qiu and Feng Entai exchanged glances, shook their heads, and smiled bitterly.

"I'm not reading it." Niu Youdao did not take the card.

Instead, he picked up Xuan Zichun's challenge letter from the table and handed it to Duan Hu.

"I don't have the leisure to deal with all of them. Take this challenge letter to the entrance and use it to block visitors. If anyone else comes, tell them I've already agreed to fight Xuan Zichun tomorrow at Flying Waterfall Terrace on North Mountain outside the city."

"Anyone who still wants to challenge me can wait until after my fight with Xuan Zichun. Tell them not to rush. One at a time!"

"Yes!" Duan Hu accepted Xuan Zichun's challenge letter and left.

Feng Entai asked, "You really mean to accept them one after another?"

Niu Youdao said, "As long as someone challenges me."

Feng Entai said, "Then will you still have time to worry about the warhorses?"

Niu Youdao replied, "When you meet a mountain, open a road. When you meet water, build a bridge. Problems are solved one at a time. Being anxious won't make anything happen faster."

Linghu Qiu was speechless. They had spent the entire journey strolling along slowly, and now Niu Youdao still had the leisure to deal with challenger after challenger. Did this man look as though he had come here for warhorses? Linghu Qiu could not understand what the fellow was actually planning. Unfortunately, Niu Youdao kept his mouth extraordinarily tight. If he did not want to say something, asking was useless.

Feng Entai was puzzled as well. He looked around and asked, "Do you still have any rooms available here? If so, save me a place."

Tianyu Sect had sent him a message saying that Niu Youdao did indeed have some ability. The matter concerned Tianyu Sect's interests across all of Nanzhou. As long as Niu Youdao could obtain the warhorses, Feng Entai was to cooperate with him as circumstances required. Feng Entai had waited and waited for Niu Youdao to arrive. Now the man had finally come, yet Feng Entai could not understand what he was doing. He wanted to remain here and see exactly what tricks this fellow intended to play.

"We do." Niu Youdao smiled at Black Peony. "Arrange something for Elder Brother Feng."

For Niu Youdao, unfamiliar with both the people and the place, having more experts nearby to strengthen his position was hardly a bad thing.

"Yes!" Black Peony answered...

Just as expected, challengers continued arriving one after another. Niu Youdao's side repeatedly used Xuan Zichun as the reason for refusing them, and the news immediately spread throughout the capital's cultivation circles, causing an uproar.

"Have you heard? That Niu Youdao accepted a challenge almost as soon as he arrived. Tomorrow morning, he's fighting outside the city at Flying Waterfall Terrace on North Mountain."

"I know. Xuan Zichun. I've met that woman before. She once tried to attach herself to a general's residence and was humiliated badly by the cultivators there."

"The moment I heard the news, I rushed over with a challenge letter too. Who would've guessed I was one step too late and that woman had already seized the opportunity?"

"Are all of you really so certain Niu Youdao is easy to provoke? He killed an envoy of the State of Yan while surrounded by cultivators, and he even took down Zhuo Chao. You think a man like that is easy to handle?"

"Who has ever heard of him being famous for martial strength? Only a ghost would believe he personally killed Zhuo Chao without something else going on."

"If he hadn't killed Zhuo Chao, no one would be looking for him. His cultivation is only at the Foundation Establishment Realm. An opportunity like this doesn't come often. If there's a chance, who wouldn't want to try?"

"Xuan Zichun is probably hiding somewhere today. Otherwise someone might decide she's blocking the road and kill her first."

"Stand anywhere in the prosperous part of the capital and who would dare attack openly? Still, she'll definitely avoid unnecessary attention."

"I say, even if Xuan Zichun defeats Niu Youdao, then what? Isn't she afraid people will challenge her afterward?"

"What nonsense. Niu Youdao killed the envoy of the State of Yan. Niu Youdao killed Zhuo Chao. Can defeating Niu Youdao be the same as defeating Xuan Zichun? One is direct, the other indirect."

"Besides, Niu Youdao is in the Foundation Establishment Realm while Xuan Zichun is in the Golden Core Realm. Which one do you think is easier to beat? Isn't everyone challenging Niu Youdao precisely because his cultivation isn't high?"

"I still think Niu Youdao won't be that easy to deal with. If you don't believe me, we'll know tomorrow."

The discussion buzzed through a hilly district inside the city. Halfway up one slope stood a tavern, difficult to reach by ordinary road. Most of its patrons were cultivators, and it was one of the places where cultivators in the capital gathered to meet and exchange news.

At Among the White Clouds, Qin Mian came through the depths of the pleasure house and entered the secluded rear compound. She hurried straight into Su Zhao's private room. Steam rose from a bathing tub. Su Zhao was bathing.

Qin Mian closed the door, approached, and said with a smile, "Proprietress, just as expected, someone really did go challenge Niu Youdao."

Su Zhao looked back. "Did he accept?"

Qin Mian giggled. "He did. Our people have been watching the place the whole time. The very first person who arrived with a challenge letter was accepted."

"More challengers went afterward, and Niu Youdao's side publicly gave them an answer: one at a time!"

Su Zhao twisted around with visible excitement. "How strong is the challenger?"

Qin Mian considered it briefly. "An independent cultivator named Xuan Zichun. Her cultivation isn't weak—she's in the Golden Core Realm. As for actual combat ability, she's on the lower side. Nothing especially impressive."

Su Zhao smiled. "Looks like plenty of people want to borrow Niu Youdao's fame. Weak or not doesn't matter. Aren't there still others lining up behind her?"

Qin Mian said, "Proprietress, I feel there's something odd about Niu Youdao. Someone comes to his door with a challenge and he agrees immediately. Isn't that a little too easy?"

"Should we send word to Young Master Shao and see what he thinks?"

Su Zhao lifted one dripping arm from the bath and waved it dismissively. "We aren't directly involved in this matter. It has nothing to do with us, so nothing will happen."

"Don't tell him. He may very well try to stop it, and there's no need to trouble him over such a minor affair."

"Besides, by the time a Goldenwing flies to Beizhou and back, the winner and loser will already have been decided and we'll have seen the result."

"We'll simply watch what happens tomorrow. Make arrangements. I'll go too. It will be a convenient chance to see what Niu Youdao actually looks like."

Night descended over the imperial palace, vast and deep. On some pavilions and towers, and within shadowed corners, numerous cultivators kept hawk-eyed watch, alertly guarding the peace of the palace. In the open, squads of armored soldiers carrying sabers and spears periodically patrolled past. Security was strict.

Inside a brightly lit courtyard, a young woman dressed in nomadic clothing rushed out of a room with a sword in her hand, the many small braids across her head swinging behind her.

Another woman chased after her, calling, "Princess! Princess, you can't go out!"

A plainly dressed older woman flashed forward and blocked the entrance. Her voice carried a note of reprimand.

"Princess, it's already this late. Where do you think you're going?"

The young woman was extraordinarily beautiful. Her skin was fine and white as porcelain, her star-bright eyes clear and brilliant. Nobility mingled with a trace of alluring wildness. Her soft, full lips pouted, and she lifted her chin arrogantly.

"Third Aunt, tell me the truth. Has something interesting happened outside the palace? Are you deliberately hiding it from me?"

[End of Chapter 285]