Chapter 411: Arrangement 2

His words immediately sparked a great deal of speculation.

Now, they finally understood why Xuanyuan One Slash had become Jiang Ran’s disciple.

Since the incident had occurred at Qiuci Posthouse, it also connected to the story Jiang Ran had told earlier about the Thunderbolt Hall.

Clearly, Xuanyuan One Slash had wanted revenge on Jiang Ran. They must have agreed to a duel, with the loser having to take the winner as his master.

Xuanyuan One Slash, true to his word, had actually become Jiang Ran’s disciple after his defeat.

Though the Blood Saber Hall was known for its tyrannical ways, Xuanyuan One Slash’s integrity—keeping his promise and honoring his word—was truly admirable.

Xuanyuan One Slash said in a deep voice,

“This disciple is listening.”

“Good. The first lesson I shall teach you today is this: control your temper. Do not let others provoke you, and above all, do not be reckless.

“Especially when you have the upper hand, why risk your own skin?”

At this, Jiang Ran raised his head and looked out at the crowd.

“Among everyone here, apart from these fiends from the Heterodox Manor, most of you are fellow members of the Path of Chivalry.

“The Heterodox Manor has been a blight upon the martial world for a long, long time.

“Their victims are countless.

“No matter how eloquently this Young Manor Lord speaks, no matter how he tries to praise himself…

“…his Heterodox Manor is nothing more than a sewer rat, afraid to show its face in the light of day. Even when they do appear, they are furtive and skulking, terrified of being discovered.

“Yet today, these very fiends dare to show themselves in broad daylight, right here at our grand assembly.

“I ask you all: when faced with such malevolence, how should we, the followers of the Path of Chivalry, respond?”

“We must slay the wicked, defend the righteous, and protect the innocent!”

The first to cry out was, naturally, Ruan Yuqing.

Gu Shengyan glanced at Ruan Yuqing and chuckled softly. “Slay the wicked, defend the righteous! Leave no evil standing!”

“That’s right. It must be done.”

Feng Xianzhi shot to his feet. “Fiends from the Heterodox Manor dare to run wild here on Sunset Plateau? If we let them leave today, what face would we have to call ourselves righteous? How could we continue to walk this path in the martial world? We might as well retire and go home to be farmers!”

“Manor Lord Feng is right.”

“Slaying the wicked and defending the righteous is our bounden duty!”

“If we can slay these fiends from the Heterodox Manor today, our names will be known throughout the lands tomorrow!”

“I seek not fame in the martial world, only a clear conscience before the people!”

One person spoke, then two. Once the words entered their ears and took root in their hearts, a great wave of people was stirred.

And once that wave began to swell, it swept everyone along with it.

In an instant, the entire area was in an uproar.

“On any other day, we would draw our swords to help at the mere sight of injustice! To cower in fear before heretics from the Heterodox Manor today would be a joke!”

“So what if they’re masters of martial arts? When it comes to sheer numbers, who here can match us?”

“Hall Master Xuanyuan was right! With this many of us, we could drown them all if we each took a piss!”

“The women don’t have to piss!”

“Damn you! Who says you can look down on women?”

It was, after all, a massive crowd. Inevitably, as the shouting continued, some of the conversations went off the rails.

Overall, however, the collective fury had been successfully ignited.

Someone else shouted at the top of their lungs,

“Defend the righteous, make your name—today is the day!”

“Today is the day!”

Xuanyuan One Slash looked around in a daze. ‘They’re riled up just like that?’

He couldn’t help but glance back at his master. He realized that despite his master’s youth, he was not to be underestimated.

He also snapped back to his senses. He had indeed been provoked by the Young Manor Lord’s words, and when the Niu Sect had goaded him, he had been ready to fight for his honor without a second thought.

Looking back, he had been about to throw away a perfectly advantageous situation and walk right into the enemy’s trap.

The Young Manor Lord, seated in his soft sedan chair, watched the murderous intent swirling around him, his expression completely unfazed.

The crowd on Sunset Plateau today was indeed massive, far outnumbering the members of his Heterodox Manor. Even though he had made preparations and had his own people hidden within the crowd, the numbers were simply incomparable.

As for trying to tamper with the wine and water…

…that was next to impossible.

After all, the Hundred Treasures Association was in charge of provisions.

No matter how he had postured and preened moments before, the Hundred Treasures Association was not just for show.

No one could get past them and meddle with their wares.

So, he sighed softly.

“Young Hero Jiang, what a talent. With just a few words, you’ve incited this mob of fools who don’t know they’re about to die.”

His Inner Energy was profound. His voice carried, instantly quelling the furious din and reaching every single person’s ears.

“A pity, however, that victory in today’s match is already mine.

“But Heaven has a love for life, and I am reluctant to begin a massacre. I urge you all not to seek your own doom!”

“What shameless boasting!”

“You’re full of shit!”

“Enough talk with this villain! Let’s kill them!”

Whether for fame or fortune, for chivalry or justice, everyone was now of one mind. It didn’t matter if Jiang Ran had his own selfish motives or had intentionally fanned the flames.

At least one thing was certain.

If they could distinguish themselves in the coming battle, fame and glory awaited them this very day!

And so, the crowd was growing impatient.

All it would take was for one person to make the first move, and everyone would charge in at once.

“Shameless boasting?”

The Young Manor Lord chuckled and shook his head.

“You truly underestimate me…”

He crooked a finger, muttering a word no one could understand.

“Right one.”

The moment he spoke, a figure suddenly shot up from within the crowd.

With a flick of his wrist, he hurled a Celestial Thunder Pearl to the ground.

The people standing where he had just been didn’t even have time to react before the Celestial Thunder Pearl detonated.