Chapter 57 - A Sure Win

The monkey-faced Deputy Hall Master was hand-picked and trained by Wan Youlong, and he was highly treasured by him. As such, he was first to open his coffers and set the stage for Wan Youlong.

Indeed, with him setting an example, the other deputies and elders were no longer in a situation where they could feign ignorance. Biting the bullet, they came together and offered up some real treasures.

First were the Invincible War Boots made from the hide of a Fire Rhino. They possessed a staggering defensive strength and could withstand enormous weight. It was truly a premium battle item.

Second was the Golden Tiger Helmet. It was made out of a combination of pure gold and silver metal forged into a helmet. Pure gold coins themselves were worth five hundred gold each. This helmet had great defense and a hefty price tag.

Third was the Silkworm Gauntlets, created with the silk spun by the Emperor Silkworm as the main material. Wearing these gauntlets on the offensive, they can protect the fists and increase punching power at the same time, making them an important tool in both offense and defense.

Lastly, there was the set of Supersonic Throwing Knives, coming with a total of seven knives. These were made out of Golden Gust Rock, possessing the element of wind. When thrown, these knives possess shocking speed and destructive power, making them almost impossible to defend against.

After the treasures were introduced and promised to Wan Youlong, he was overjoyed. Patting each and every one of the elders and deputies on the shoulders, he said, “With all of you working together on this, there is no place on this wide earth that Black Dragon Hall cannot go. Do not worry, brothers, just take it that I am borrowing these items. Once the duel ends, I promise that each item will go back to its rightful owner. I will not allow my brothers to suffer any losses.”

Those words were pretentious to the extreme. There was no taking back gifts once they were given, even more so when given to a junior.

Although the monkey-faced Deputy and the rest of them could not bear to part with their treasures, they had no choice but to put on a front and reply with generous words.

After ripping his men off, Wan Youlong had no more interest in keeping them around. With a wave of his hand, he dismissed the meeting.

After they left, he called over Ma Wensheng, and they entered the elegant room that Wan Tengyun had come from earlier. There, he went straight to the point. “Wensheng, to be honest, with Young Yun going up for battle, I believe there should be no problem, but I can’t help worry that an accident might happen again. My mind is clouded by my worry, but yours is clear. Help me to analyse this from a bystander’s perspective. For Young Yun’s battle this time, is it possible to make it a sure win?”

Ma Wensheng replied, “Since Hall Master has asked, please pardon me for sharing my analysis. As the saying goes, in battles between practitioners, know the enemy, know yourself, and you will emerge victorious in every battle. The extent of that man’s capabilities has basically been assessed after the battle with Gao Pan. His strengths lie in his nimble body movements, impressive defense, as well as an abundance of stamina. His weakness lies in his Martial Techniques. As such, we can determine that he does not come from a legitimate line of practitioners, hence the lack of Martial Techniques.

“It is also worth mentioning that this man is extremely quick-witted. Before the battle even began, he had already come up with his plan to target Gao Pan’s weaknesses and utilise his strengths. He even resorted to trickery at the opening of the duel, disarming Gao Pan’s silver spear and completely negating all of Gao Pan’s advantages over him. He then made use of his nimble movements so that Gao Pan could not get away. Because neither of them could break through the other’s defense, the duel became a pure contest of stamina.

“I initially thought that Gao Pan was strong, had plenty of energy, and would not necessarily lose a contest of stamina. However, that man’s endurance greatly exceeded what I had initially imagined, and he literally exhausted Gao Pan to his death. No, that’s not right. I missed out on one thing. Gao Pan was on his last leg and prepared to use the snake ring but was foiled by a single shoe from that man. Evidently, he must have already known that Gao Pan would resort to that. If he had simply guessed what Gao Pan was up to based on pure wit, that makes him too scary, but if he did not guess, and had known that Gao Pan would resort to that, then…that is even more alarming.”

Ma Wensheng was indeed the brains of Black Dragon Hall. He had already dissected every little detail of this complicated situation.

Wan Youlong’s face paled in shock. “Wensheng, this is an important matter. Young Yun cannot come to any harm.” As he said those words, he clutched Ma Wensheng’s wrists.

Ma Wensheng’s thin face turned pale as well as he hurriedly replied, “Hall Master, you are worrying too much. This man’s ability to see through a person’s intentions through subtle hints may be impressive, but it’s only useful against sneak attacks in battle. This time, when Young Master is dealing with him, it will be an open and fair fight. Even if he knows what is coming, what can he do? This is like a mountain crumbling. Even if an ordinary man knows it is happening, what can he do to stop it?”

Wan Youlong finally let go after hearing those words. He nodded his head, agreeing with Ma Wensheng’s analysis. But then, he suddenly thought of something, and the rude awakening made him break out in sweat. “Wensheng, now that you mention the snake ring, it is now in the possession of that little thief! Young Yun will be doomed in this battle!”

Ma Wensheng said, “Hall Master, do not worry, I have already considered this matter. To ensure a win, why not…” Ma Wensheng softly whispered a vicious scheme.

Wan Youlong listened, then murmured, “This is against the rules!”

Ma Wensheng laughed. “That is why we shall have one of the Fiery Boor Clan to do it. When it comes to illegal things, the nobles and all the big names in Guang’an have done plenty. As long as they have no evidence to hold against us, no one can do anything about it.”

Wan Youlong got to his feet, “That’s right! For Young Yun, there is nothing that we will not do.”

Ma Wensheng: “Hall Master is right, Young Master is the future of our Black Dragon Hall. There must be no mistakes here. Other than the snake ring, that man still has one more advantage. If we do not deal with that, we will be allowing more risk in Young Master’s upcoming battle.”

Wan Youlong: “You are talking about his movements! Indeed, his body seems to float like a spectre, but it somehow does not look like any kind of Martial Technique. It is extremely perplexing. Wensheng, since you brought this up, you must have a solution for me.”

Ma Wensheng indeed lived up to his status as one of Wan Youlong’s most important followers whom he relied on greatly. He was quick-witted, and the plans he came up with were never bad. The moment Xu Yi and Gao Pan’s battle ended, he had already begun his preparations for the next duel.

At this moment, coming up with a solution for what Wan Youlong asked was not a problem for him. He simply replied with a single sentence.

Wan Youlong blurted out, “What, ten thousand gold?” But after a moment, he calmed down. “That is right. For such a divine treasure, even if it were in a broken state, it would still be worth that much. For Young Yun, what price is too much?”

Ma Wensheng got to his feet and held his fists in a solemn salute. “With that, I can assure you that unless heaven and earth flip over, this will be a sure win for the Young Master!”

…

It was noon. The sun shone on the window ledge, casting a shadow on the ancient book and creating a lattice pattern over the words of the book.

Xu Yi lay on the bed, quietly reading. This book, Annals of Guang’an Prefecture, was what he had Yuan Qinghua specifically find for him. In order to quickly understand as much as he could about Guang’an City, there was no faster way than to read the Annals of Guang’an Prefecture.

The book recorded the past thousand years of Guang’an City’s history, but Xu Yi was not interested in studying history. He looked specifically into the records of the past fifty years, paying extra attention to affairs regarding martial arts and information regarding a few well known weapon shops.

While he was absorbed in his reading, Little Qiu came over dragging along a large cloth bag. Her little mouth was huffing and puffing the whole time as she wobbled over, evidently using all her strength.

Xu Yi quickly jumped off the bed and picked up the little girl in his arms. He smiled. “So, what good stuff have you brought for Uncle Beardo this time?”

Little Qiu might have been young, but she was smart. She knew that Xu Yi was pretending to be sick and could not openly eat good food. As such, under the pretense of getting food for herself, she had secretly brought food over to Xu Yi. Before this, she had already made two such deliveries to Xu Yi.

“Chicken drumstick. Hurry and eat. Don’t let anyone see or it won’t look like you’re sick.”

The little girl sat on Xu Yi’s lap, took out a red roasted chicken drumstick, and handed it over to Xu Yi.