Chapter 1265: Jianghu Speak

Yes, Ye Qing was famous once more. This time, he was more famous than the time he defeated the Snow Sword Celestial at the Snow Garden, or the time he defeated Taba Xuanwu at Cloud Hue Pass.

It was because Ye Qing had, as a Great Grandmaster, defeated the Three Elders of Taisui Mountain, Sunlao Taijun, Old Man of Zhi and Taoist of Sleep; the Three Stewards, Warflight, Ironface and Cloudfacing; the six Shopkeepers of Westwind Inn, Thousand Change, Shadow, Qin princess, Fist Demon, One-armed Buddha and One Sword; and hundreds of Truemen and Grandmasters.

Not only did he manage to escape confidently, he killed Shadow and Fist Demon of Westwind Inn, severely injured the rest, and massacred almost all of the Truemen and Grandmasters who took part in the battle.

The Three Elders and Three Stewards of Taisui Mountain and the six Shopkeepers of Westwind Inn were all famous veterans of the

jianghu

. Most of them were Great Truemen or Great Grandmasters, and Sunlao Taijun in particular was a Half-Sage. Their line-up was technically perfect as they boasted Great Grandmasters with powerful bodies, Great Truemen with masterful secret arts, master assassins with unpredictable methods, and even hundreds of Trueman and Grandmaster fodders.

Forget a “mere” Great Grandmaster like Ye Qing, this line-up could have given a Sage a run for their money. By all rights, Ye Qing should have succumbed to his foes.

In reality, Ye Qing did not just escape his pursuers, he dealt a severe blow to both Taisui Mountain and Westwind Inn. He made them look like a bunch of weaklings who looked strong on the outside but were really pathetic on the inside.

This failure was so extraordinary that Taisui Mountain and Westwind Inn practically became the laughingstock of the

jianghu

, no, the entire world overnight. On the other hand, Ye Qing became the shiniest star using them as his stepping stones.

Before this, at least half of Ye Qing’s successes were attributed to the Earthly Sovereign Bell. But now, there was no longer any doubt regarding his strength. He was world famous not because he possessed the Earthly Sovereign Bell, but because he was truly powerful in his own right.

Speaking of which, countless people were gossiping about Ye Qing’s true strength once more.

Some people thought that he was no Great Grandmaster, but a Half-Sage masquerading as one. There was just no way he could be this powerful otherwise.

Some people thought that Ye Qing was a Great Grandmaster, but his strength far exceeded your average Great Grandmaster. He was at least on par with the top thirty Half-Sages of the Earth Champions Ranking.

Some people believed that, armed with the Earthly Sovereign Bell, Ye Qing could definitely give the top ten champions of the Earth Champions Ranking a run for their money.

And some people even thought that, armed with the Earthly Sovereign Bell, Ye Qing was the indisputable number one under Sage. Until a Sage deigned to enter the battlefield personally, the Mad Lord was invincible.

Of course, where there were believers, there were also disbelievers. Some people believed that the reason Ye Qing was able to escape from so many elites of Taisui Mountain and Westwind Inn was because he wasn’t alone. For example, Taba Xuanwu could have lent him a helping hand.

Someone believed that Ye Qing’s escape was solely attributed to the Earthly Sovereign Bell’s extraordinary power. Without it, he would have died for sure.

And some people believed that Taisui Mountain and Westwind Inn were in disagreement with each other, and Ye Qing exploited that fact to his advantage.

That said, the criticisms were much weaker and quieter than the praises. It wasn’t long before they were completely drowned out by the positive messages.

Regardless, Ye Qing had become a legend of the

jianghu

, a myth of the

wulin

, and the dream of the younger generation once more.

Ye Qing’s new fame elicited many reactions. Joy, worry, fear, anger.

Those who delighted in Ye Qing’s successes were his friends. They were happy that he managed to best his enemies, and took pride in the fact that his feats were sung throughout the

jianghu

.

Those who were worried were people who coveted the Earthly Sovereign Bell. If Ye Qing was so powerful, then how could they ever hope to take the Earthly Sovereign Bell for themselves?

Those who were scared were people who offended Ye Qing in the past. They were afraid that the young man would one day return to take revenge.

And those who were angry were, of course, those who had suffered in Ye Qing’s hands. Ghost Taisui was one such example.

Apparently, everything within fifty kilometers of Taisui Mountain had plunged into darkness and screams since yesterday. It was as if hell had transformed it into a ghastly domain overnight.

When a Sage was angry, the world responded.

There was only one Sage in Taisui Mountain, and that man was Ghost Taisui. It showed just how angry Ghost Taisui was.

Not only that, there were rumors saying that Ghost Taisui had sentenced everyone except the Three Elders to three months in a lightless water prison for their failure.

Of course, outsiders merely thought that this was a classic case of impotent rage. It was flavor on top of what was already a delicious slice of gossip.

In contrast, Westwind Inn did not respond at all. In fact, they were so quiet it was as if they weren’t a participant in the assault against the Mad Lord at all; as if the deceased Shadow and Fist Demon weren’t theirs.

The laymen thought that Westwind Inn had been cowed into submission. The insiders—those who were familiar with the behavior of Westwind Inn and their Boss—knew that it was the opposite though. Neither the establishment nor the head was the kind to take any slight without paying back in kind. More akin to vipers and wolves, they never forget their revenge. They were quiet now not because they were afraid, but because they were simply biding their time for something. Something big.

As expected, just a few days after that extraordinary battle, Westwind announced to the entire

jianghu

and

wulin

that they would offer any and all information regarding Ye Qing for free. His current whereabouts, his martial arts and Magia, his origin and background, his relationships and connections, everything. They would offer it all for the price of absolutely nothing.

The news caused quite the stir, of course. Everyone knew that Westwind’s intelligence system was spread throughout the

jianghu

. By doing this, they guaranteed that Ye Qing no longer had any privacy or hiding place to speak of. Anything and everything about him would be laid bare before the masses.

It was clear why Westwind was doing this. It was to encourage the masses to fight Ye Qing and take the Earthly Sovereign Bell from him, no bars held.

Was it despicable of Westwind to do such a thing? Duh. It was unbefitting of a powerful, famous faction that had existed for a long time.

Westwind still did it though, not even bothering to conceal or dress up his action. It was clear that this was a message to Ye Qing: Yes, I want you dead, and yes, I want the entire

jianghu

to know that

this

is the consequence of offending me.

Since ancient times, there was a saying called, “Misfortune came in pairs”. Not long after Westwind made the announcement, another news spread across the

jianghu

like wildfire. It was a piece of intel claiming that Ye Qing was seriously injured, and the Earthly Sovereign Bell severely depleted despite his successful escape from Taisui Mountain and Westwind Inn’s many elites. It claimed that it was unlikely that Ye Qing would be able to recover in a short time, much less employ the Earthly Sovereign Bell again.

At first glance, the piece of intel seemed to have nothing to do with Westwind. However, anyone who wasn’t blind knew that Westwind was either the one behind it, or the one fanning the flames at the very least. Otherwise, there was no way it would spread to every corner of the world at this sensitive timing in just one night.

Westwind’s goal was obvious. It was to egg on those who coveted the Earthly Sovereign Bell to go after Ye Qing.

Some people laughed, and some people scoffed. However, even more were growing restless.

Yes, it was very possible that the news was made up by Westwind. But what if it was real? What if they decided not to go after Ye Qing, only to find out that the news was real, and that someone had gotten to Ye Qing first before them? What a shame it would be, wouldn’t it?