Chapter 233 - 127: If one day I stand Titled, I shall have the Celestial Blade lineage crowned with the name ’True Sect

Chapter 233: Chapter 127: If one day I stand Titled, I shall have the Celestial Blade lineage crowned with the name ’True Sect

BOOM! CRACK!

A thick, hazy mist shrouded the wharf.

Two arrows WHOOSHED through the air, felling the giant, sky-piercing flagpoles that stood bound by iron chains on either side.

This caused the Fishermen’s Great Sacrificial Banner, bearing the words "Chen Family Fishing Trade" inscribed with a talismanic art imbued with Dao Nature...

...to collapse with a loud BANG, smashing onto the hard, lacquered wooden wharf and making it shudder violently!

The massive commotion gave everyone in the vicinity a huge fright, from the laborers unloading cargo to the men from the prefecture overseeing the canal transport:

"What the hell was that noise!"

It was still before dawn, and many people weren’t even awake yet. The violent shaking startled everyone.

And when they got a clear look at what had collapsed...

They looked as if they had seen a ghost, and their voices trembled:

"The... The Fishermen’s Great Sacrificial Banner!"

"Who could be so bold? To dare to shoot down the very symbol of the Chen Family’s prestige!?"

The Fishing Trade, the Chen Family!

That was a Grand Lineage that had stood tall in Jiangyin Prefecture for nearly a Hundred Years! They were one of the Upper Nine Professions, controlling the eight docks and dozens of fisheries, with several hundred ship captains in their employ!

As the saying went:

The Prefecture City belongs to the Prefecture Officials.

The surrounding islands are the domains of the Sect Leaders.

And as for the eight docks to the north, south, east, and west...

...that was the absolute domain of the Chen Family!

Even the Wharf Guard Team, which was part of the Chen Family, was made up of hand-picked experts. One had to be at least at the Second Refinement to even have a chance of joining.

Those reckless youths who got lucky, learned a few moves from a Martial Artist, and achieved Entering the Force and Refining the Tendons... they weren’t even qualified!

And as they say, every trade has its own rules.

This great sacrificial banner of the Fishing Trade—it didn’t matter if you were a Dragon Head, a Fishery Owner, or a ship captain...

...before heading out to sea, you had to first pay respects and make an offering to it. This was to secure the protection of the Fishing Trade and ensure favorable winds and calm waters on your voyage!

Rumor had it that the large words "Chen Family Fishing Trade" written on it had been personally inscribed by a Talisman Master specializing in Dao Skill, who had been invited years ago by Master Chen, one of the Nine Lords.

It possessed Dao Nature, inspiring reverence in all who gazed upon it. It represented the very honor of the Fishing Trade!

And ever since it was erected, the Fishing Trade had indeed remained as stable as a mountain for a full sixty years, without incident.

And yet today, it had been shot down just like that...

If the Leaders of the Fishing Trade found out, wouldn’t they hunt down this audacious fiend, flay him alive, rip out his tendons, and offer him as a living sacrifice to the Great Flood Dragon, letting his blood spill into the East Canghai!?

"What’s going on!"

WHOOSH!

A middle-aged man whose eyes shone with a lustrous divine light and whose body was wreathed in roiling currents of air strode forward like a dragon. The cold wind swirled around him, casting his face in shifting light and shadow.

This man’s name was Gu Qix. He was initially an Independent Cultivator recruited by the Fishing Trade as a Tributor. After establishing a Lower Grade Qi Sea and advancing to ’Grandmaster,’ he became the Dragon Head of a dock, a truly imposing figure.

A full twenty or thirty guards, all Martial Artists wielding weapons and dressed in the uniform of the Fishing Trade, followed beside the Dragon Head, Gu Qix. They arrived at the wharf and stared at the two fallen great sacrificial banners...

...and couldn’t help but gasp:

"They say you don’t hit a man where it hurts most. What kind of Overseas Fierce Dragon is this, to be so ignorant of the rules? To do this right off the bat..."

He cast his gaze out over the Canglang River, where night was yielding to day.

He saw a black dot growing closer and larger, cleaving the water in two and forcing the hundreds of other boats on the river to scramble out of its way in a panic.

The longer the middle-aged man watched, the wider his eyes grew:

’Wait a minute.’

’Isn’t that the Flood Dragon that Master Chen makes daily offerings to? I thought it was sent to deal with that Duan Martialist who popped up in Anning County. How did it get here so fast...’

’Hold on, that’s not right...’

When he saw the figures standing on the Flood Dragon’s head—one holding a blade, the other a bow, with the latter even lowering his large bow to gaze into the distance—and realized he was looking at the very culprits who had shot down the banners...

...he was utterly shaken:

’That one-armed Martial Artist in the purple robe is... Duan Chenzhou!?’

’The one beside him with the bow looks so young. Is that his disciple?’

’What incredible arm strength. To break a sacrificial banner imbued with a Dao Skill from that far away, through these winds and waves... He must be at least an expert of the Third Refinement of Flesh, Bone, and Skin...’

Gu Qix already knew from the news that had come back to Jiangyin Prefecture from Anning that this Sword Master, the pride of the prefecture’s younger generation, had already achieved a Superior Qi Sea and taken a disciple.

But according to the Lineage Master of the Fishing Trade, he had already joined forces with several other families to lay a death trap from which there was no escape, one that would ensure this fiend never had a chance to return.

But...

’This doesn’t seem to be going according to the plans of those great lords!’

Especially when Gu Qix saw the figures tied to the Flood Dragon’s back, his throat bobbed, and he instantly realized how thorny the situation was:

’Third Master Chen of the Fishing Trade, Chen Chuhe... the eighth-ranked direct son of the main family, Chen Chuan...’

’Grandmaster Xuu Mao of the Wood Element lineage... Young Master Xuu Nan, who was said to have mastered the fundamentals of Dao Skill and was only a step away from condensing a Divine Thought...’

’And men from the Purple Mist Daoist School and the Water and Fire Daoist School... plus Huang Chan, the illegitimate son from the side branch of the Medicine Shop family, the one whose grandson just died. He’s their most promising member now, already a Centurion General in the Garrison Mansion...’

’Looks like this whole group suffered a major defeat. How did even the Flood Dragon, the one the Lineage Master makes daily offerings to, defect to his side?’

’Duan Martialist... what is he planning to do?’

’Does he think that just because he’s a Grandmaster, he can force his way into the Prefecture City? Isn’t he afraid of playing with fire and getting himself killed!’

Anyone who made a name for themselves in the Prefecture City...

...had heard of these names.

And that wasn’t even mentioning Chen Chuhe, Third Master Chen. He was from the same clan as Master Chen and had fought alongside him to build the Fishing Trade’s business. They were like blood brothers!

And now, all of them were being trod upon by Duan Chenzhou!

Seeing a Qi Dao Grandmaster emerge on the wharf, Ji Xiu couldn’t help but click his tongue in amazement: