Chapter 266 - 137: Your Celebration Must Bow to My Mourning

Chapter 266: Chapter 137: Your Celebration Must Bow to My Mourning

’Looks like I might actually be able to take this kid down after all. So this is the so-called Golden Muscle and Jade Veins, the Mercury Blood Silver Marrow that the prodigious disciples of the Grand Lineage are always hyping up. It’s not all that, is it!’

The Fishing Trade Boss’s eyes flashed with a sharp glint. He patted himself down all over and couldn’t help but heave a great sigh of relief.

He was just about to summon his Outer Gang again for another palm strike, but—

"My... where’s my Outer Gang!?"

He tried to manifest the Outer Gang generated from his Flesh, Bone, Skin, and Membrane, but found he couldn’t gather it at all. A sense of panic washed over him.

Then, the flecks of char on his skin, like tiny sparks, instantly spread into a prairie fire. It was as if he had donned a Fire Robe that began to burn away all his skin, bones, and sinews...

In an instant, bit by bit, they were incinerated to nothing!

Great Five Decline Celestial Saber, First Decline: Tribulation Fire Burning Robe.

It does not strike the body, but the foundation!

For anyone who hadn’t yet achieved Golden Muscle and Jade Veins or Mercury Blood Silver Marrow... their fragile foundation was like paper-mâché before this saber!

An uproar erupted!

"Wh-what was that saber technique!?"

"Duan Chenzhou... Celestial Blade Style... they have a Secret Inheritance like this!?"

Gu Qix’s face was a mask of horror, his expression showing faint cracks. As a Qi Cultivation Grandmaster, he had sharp discernment. That saber strike...

It was by no means merely at the Grandmaster Level!

This kid...

His expression shifted like storm clouds.

Without the slightest hesitation, he dispatched someone to send a message to the ’Fishing Trade’!

Meanwhile.

Everyone at the dock who had witnessed Ji Xiu challenge the authority of the Fishing Trade was stunned, and they all began to whisper among themselves:

"Who is this young kid? Where did he come from?"

"He uses a saber, but that arrogant aura of his..."

"I doubt even Duan Chenzhou fifteen years ago, or Wang Xuanyang nearly a jiazi ago, could compare!"

"This Jiangyin Prefecture is vast and sprawling, supported by the Eight Dock. It’s truly a place that nurtures exceptional people."

"Every few decades, a peerless prodigy emerges. First, there was Marquis Beicang Xiao, then the master and disciple of Celestial Blade Style, Wang and Duan. Now there’s another one. I just wonder..."

"He’s just started to make a name for himself, and he’s already kicked the iron plate that is the ’Fishing Trade’."

"That Fishery Master oversees the Eight Dock and controls the entire fishing business. He’s a great lord, one of the ’Nine Lords,’ with immense power and influence. Leaving aside his influence, his Martial Power alone is comparable to that of an ordinary Sect Leader!"

"You think they’ll let him off easy?"

The noisy chatter spread throughout the entire dock.

Among them, hidden in the crowd of onlookers on the wharf, was an old man in shabby, patched gray clothes with messy, graying hair, watching the scene from afar. His eyes were originally dull and vacant.

But as he stared at the situation unfolding before him... his eyes suddenly widened:

"That’s the Great Five Decline Celestial Saber!"

The old man spoke with absolute certainty, his eyes shining with a frightening light!

But a moment later, he returned to that vacant state:

"But what in the world is the Great Five Decline Celestial Saber?"

He scratched his bird’s nest of a hair, squatted on the ground, and muttered to himself for a long time.

As for Ji Xiu, he observed the result of his saber strike, saw the Outer Gang dissipate, and chuckled lightly.

"So this is ’Jiangyin Prefecture’?"

"I, Ji Xiu..."

"...have arrived!"

He planted his foot firmly on the ground, his eyes burning with fire as he looked at the wide stone road in the distance, broad enough for six horses to ride abreast.

"Boss, maybe... we should lay low for a bit?"

"That Chen fellow from the Fishing Trade is no pushover, and on top of that, there’s Luo Daocheng from the Garrison Mansion. He’s a ruthless character. If he were to attack with his spear, I’m honestly not sure I could withstand it..."

Just then, the Cangming Monarch leaned in and sent a quiet voice transmission to Ji Xiu.

In response.

Ji Xiu raised his palm. Looking at his senior brother Qin Zhuo, who had already drawn his saber, he handed him the ’Profound-Scaled Dragon Carp’.

"Senior Brother."

"Please go to the ’Beicang Marquis’s Mansion’ in my stead. Present this Spiritual Object as a gift to the Young Lady Heir."

"Just say..."

"’Ji Xiu has come to the prefecture. In gratitude for the Young Lady Heir’s high regard, he specially presents this one Spirit Fish!’"

Then, he turned to Jiang Li.

"Miss Jiang, I might have some trouble on my hands here."

"You mentioned your connections..."

Ji Xiu rubbed his hands together, his meaning clear.

In response, Jiang Li raised her hand. A phantom-like Spiritual Object, resembling a ’Sun and Moon Pearl,’ rippled as she manipulated it, seeming to send out some kind of message.

At the same time, the woman said with a musical laugh:

"Don’t worry. Anning County is a backwater; I didn’t have any acquaintances there to leave arrangements with."

"But here in Jiangyin Prefecture..."

"This big sister still has some old foundations left."

"See? I told you to bring me to Jiangyin Prefecture. If you’d come by yourself, I’m afraid there are some things you might not have been able to handle, right?"

"This big sister has eaten more salt than you’ve eaten rice, and you still don’t believe me."

Hearing this, Ji Xiu gave a sheepish smile, and the burden on his heart instantly lightened considerably.

’If you were to ask where his confidence came from after Duan Chenzhou’s fall...’

’First, the Beicang Marquis’s Mansion.’

’And second, this mysterious Sister Jiang, Jiang Li!’

’His own network...’

’Was it limited to just Anning County?’

’Even in Jiangyin Prefecture, it wasn’t like he couldn’t get by!’

And just as this storm with the Fishing Trade was brewing...

A warship, dispatched from the ’Garrison Camp’ at sea, suddenly bore down on them!

Before the Captain of the Fishing Trade could even arrive...

Armored and armed ’Government Soldiers’ arrived on the ship, fully equipped!

"By order of the Garrison Commander! We are to take Ji Xiu of Anning County! No one, not even the Grand Lineage Daoist School, is to interfere!"

A solemn, imposing young voice roared from one of the elite soldiers, causing the faces of everyone at the dock who heard it to change.

’This young man...’

’He has a connection to the Garrison Commander, too?’

When Ji Xiu unconsciously glanced over...

He immediately saw a familiar face.

It was Zhang Qing, clad in armor, his head covered by a Helmet. After seeing Ji Xiu and proclaiming the Garrison Commander ’Luo Daocheng’s’ order...

His expression thrilled, he immediately disembarked from the ship and bowed.

"Big Brother!"

"With General Luo here, you can rest assured. At this dock..."

His eyes swept around, and he pounded his chest, his words ringing like steel:

"Not a single person will be able to take you away by force!"

"The General said he wants to meet with you!"

"Come with me!"

Hearing this, Ji Xiu recalled that Master Duan had once said that their Ancestral Master had helped this General Luo out of a dire situation. With just one man and one saber, he had overturned the Chaotic Heaven Thieves’ Nest, earning the general a sky-high merit. At this thought, a long, turbid breath escaped his lips.

’With this, he wouldn’t even need to play his other cards. With just Luo Daocheng on his side...’

’A mere Fishing Trade.’

’Could they even touch him?’

For a moment, Ji Xiu looked at the silent Grandmaster Gu Qix and smiled.

"Wait for me a moment."

He took a few strides forward. After watching Jiang Li and Qin Zhuo leave with great strides, seemingly relieved after hearing his instructions, he withdrew his gaze. He looked up at the festive red banners, hung up for a celebration, fluttering in the sea breeze...

Then, he took the great bow from his back.

"Why hang so many red streamers? What’s with all the celebration."

"I came to attend a funeral. How can I run into a joyous occasion?"

"Since they’ve both happened at the same time..."

SWISH, SWISH SWISH SWISH!

"Then, I’ll just have to make this joyous occasion of yours bow its head to me!"

His faint words drifted out as the young man nocked arrow after arrow on his bow, sending them splitting through the sea wind!

In just a few breaths...

Across the entire vast wharf.

Not a single red banner was left hanging!

Only a flash of white robes remained, stepping onto the warship. As a Flood Dragon churned the clouds and rain beside the ship, acting as an escort, he departed in style.

A touch of frosty white, eclipsing all the crimson maple!

「On this day.」

Once the aftershocks of these events spread...

The name of Anning’s Ji Xiu...

...would surely make its grand debut in this capital of waterways, Jiangyin Prefecture City!