Chapter 307: Respective Situations

Chapter 307 -305: Respective Situations

Wang Xuangan often acted without any regard for gains or losses.

Chen Yuan had saved Luo the Thirteenth Lang, and Wang Xuangan had taken a liking to him. Therefore, no matter who Chen Yuan offended, he would step in to help.

By the same token, he couldn’t stand these Noble Sects. If this bunch ganged up on a Martial Artist he didn’t even know, he would still step in to help.

Now that the person in question was Chen Yuan, he had even more reason to act.

At that moment, Song Yanluo of the Mist Rain Alliance suddenly sighed softly. “Liu Suifeng asked me to look after you, but I never thought I’d nearly fail to hold them off.”

“If it weren’t for Alliance Leader Chen, Alliance Leader Wang, and the others lending a hand, these guys wouldn’t have retreated so easily.”

Song Yanluo truly felt a bit ashamed.

In all these years, Liu Suifeng had never asked her for anything. The one time he finally did—asking her to help look after his disciple—she had nearly failed to protect him.

If anything had actually happened to Chen Yuan, Song Yanluo didn’t know how she could possibly face Liu Suifeng.

“Alliance Leader Song was the first to come to my aid. This junior is endlessly grateful. Without your intervention, I’m afraid I couldn’t have even blocked a single strike from Jiang Ziping,” Chen Yuan said quickly.

Of course, he was just being modest. He still had two Divine Artifact Incarnations on hand. He could have blocked an attack even from a Grandmaster of the Eighth Realm Divine Platform.

Beside them, Chen Longbi looked at Chen Yuan with a hint of admiration in his eyes.

“After the Furnace-Opening Assembly ended, that boy Lu Chuanshan told me he had met a remarkable young talent. Seeing you now, I can tell it’s true.”

“To battle through the talents of the Hidden Dragon Rankings and still face so many Ninth Realm Celestial Profound experts without batting an eye… truly remarkable.”

“Compared to you, that boy Lu Chuanshan is like a blockhead.”

Lu Chuanshan gave a wry smile. “Master, even if Brother Chen is outstanding, you don’t have to put me down like that, do you?”

“Brother Lu is also a great talent of our time. Alliance Leader Chen, you’re too kind.”

Chen Longbi shook his head. “He’s a far cry from you. Alright, you younger generation of Martial Artists can catch up. We old geezers won’t disturb you.”

With that, Chen Longbi turned to Wang Xuangan. “Alliance Leader Wang, shall we find a quiet place to talk? Our subordinates have been handling the business until now. Since we’ve finally met today, we can have a proper chat.”

The Jianghai Alliance controlled the canal transport business across the land. The Sun-Swapping Alliance, which opposed the Court, had numerous disciples and naturally required all sorts of provisions and resources.

These provisions couldn’t be bought through official channels, of course, so the Sun-Swapping Alliance had always purchased them via the Jianghai Alliance’s transport routes. The two sides had cooperated more than once, but this was the first time their leaders had met in person.

Wang Xuangan laughed heartily. “Alliance Leader Chen, your shipping fees aren’t cheap! I’ll have to haggle you down today!”

Then, Wang Xuangan turned his gaze to Song Yanluo.

“Alliance Leader Song, your Mist Rain Alliance controls a good deal of the Spiritual Medicine trade. As it happens, my Sun-Swapping Alliance is also short on Spiritual Medicine. Shall we discuss it together?”

The Sun-Swapping Alliance occupied half of Yan Province and had even broken into a Prince’s Mansion; they certainly weren’t lacking for gold, silver, and jewelry.

However, they were short on things like provisions, resources, and medicinal supplies like Spiritual Medicine.

The Court was also blockading the Sun-Swapping Alliance, hoping to weaken their power. Wang Xuangan could only purchase these resources through Jianghu forces like these.

Song Yanluo nodded lightly and said to an adorable young girl with pigtails beside her, “Ling’Er, you should go interact more with these young heroes of the Jianghu.”

This young girl was Song Yanluo’s personal disciple, Yue Ling’Er. She was currently ranked twenty-ninth on the Hidden Dragon Rankings, which was not a low position at all.

Then, Song Yanluo looked at Chen Yuan. “Young Friend Chen, my disciple doesn’t have much experience in real Jianghu combat. If you run into her after entering the Heaven-Reaching Tower, I hope you’ll look after her a bit.”

Yue Ling’Er pouted, a little displeased. “Master, I’m not a child anymore!”

Song Yanluo glanced at her and said coolly, “You earned your Hidden Dragon Rankings placement through sparring matches. How many real life-or-death battles have you actually fought?”

“Outside, I can protect you, but inside the Heaven-Reaching Tower, you must rely on yourself. Don’t forget the key points I told you about the tower.”

“The path of the Martial Dao is fraught with danger. I can’t protect you forever. How far you can go in the future will ultimately depend on you.”

Hearing her master speak so gravely, Yue Ling’Er didn’t dare to be cheeky anymore. She quickly said, “Don’t worry, Master. I will be careful.”

Song Yanluo nodded and went with Wang Xuangan and Chen Longbi to discuss business, leaving only Chen Yuan and the other junior Martial Artists behind.

“My brothers, for the grace of your assistance, I won’t say much more than ‘thank you.’ I will engrave this kindness in my heart.”

Chen Yuan once again gave a solemn, cupped-fist salute to everyone present.

Of the experts who had just stepped forward, aside from Song Yanluo who was invited by Liu Suifeng, all the others had come because of the relationship their own junior Martial Artists had with Chen Yuan.

Lu Chuanshan smiled. “Brother Chen, there’s no need to be so formal with us. Back at the Furnace-Opening Assembly, you helped me detoxify a poison and get my revenge. I’ve also engraved that favor in my heart.”

Cui Xuanye, holding a Jade Folding Fan, opened it and fanned himself. “This Jianghu is full of deceit. True friends are hard to find, and confidants are rare. Of course, we must cherish them.”

“Last time Brother Qin was in trouble, Brother Lu and I couldn’t get there in time to help. It was fortunate that Brother Chen and Brother Gu were there to intervene. We missed out on quite an exciting story, which is a bit of a pity.”

Lu Chuanshan had a straightforward and generous personality. To him, a friend was anyone he took a liking to and got along with.

Cui Xuanye, on the other hand, was more meticulous and thought more deeply about things.

He had been friends with Lu Chuanshan and Qin Suguang for many years, but hadn’t known Chen Yuan and Gu Lichuan for long.

Yet when Qin Suguang had called for help last time, Chen Yuan and Gu Lichuan had rushed a thousand li to assist without a second thought. When Cui Xuanye heard this news, he was deeply moved, and it was then that he truly began to see them as sworn brothers with whom he could entrust his life.

At this point, Chen Yuan didn’t forget to introduce the two newcomers to them.

“This is the disciple of the Mist Rain Alliance’s leader, Miss Yue Ling’Er. When we enter the Heaven-Reaching Tower later, if any of you happen to meet her, I hope you’ll help look after her.”

Song Yanluo had been the first to step up and protect him this time, and Chen Yuan had committed this favor to memory.

Yue Ling’Er had a cute and charming appearance, but with Song Yanluo no longer by her side, she seemed much more at ease, revealing a hint of heroic spirit.

She cupped her fist to the group and said in a crisp voice, “Yue Ling’Er greets you, brothers. But you don’t have to listen to my master. I’m not that weak!”

Cui Xuanye raised an eyebrow slightly. “I believe that. Miss Yue possesses an Innate Spiritual Body. Even if you lack some combat experience, your future potential is limitless.”

“As expected of the successor of Celestial Official City. Your eyes are sharp!”

Yue Ling’Er didn’t deny it, expressing her admiration.

Chen Yuan gave her a surprised glance. He hadn’t expected this young girl to have such an extraordinary background.

The Innate Spiritual Body was a rare constitution in the practice of the Martial Dao. A person with this body was born with a flawless physique, free of any impurities, and possessed a natural affinity for the Power of Heaven and Earth.

Once a Martial Artist with such a constitution reached the Eighth Realm Divine Platform, their power would undergo an explosive increase.

The fact that Yue Ling’Er could rank twenty-ninth on the Hidden Dragon Rankings without much experience in real Jianghu combat was a testament to the formidable foundation of her power.

Next, Chen Yuan pushed Luo the Thirteenth Lang forward and introduced him to the group.

“This is Luo Lie, the adopted son of Alliance Leader Wang of the Sun-Swapping Alliance. He is a Fierce Battle General of this era. He once charged through enemy lines thirteen times in a row, which is why he is also known as Luo the Thirteenth Lang.”

Luo Lie smiled honestly and cupped his fist. “Luo Lie greets you, brothers. I never thought I’d get to meet so many talents from the Hidden Dragon Rankings today.”

“Brother Luo, you’re too modest. I’ve heard of your renown.”

Lu Chuanshan said with admiration, “Brother Luo, all these years you’ve been charging into battle arrays, leading the charge, and slaying generals. Even my master says you are the most peerlessly brave and fierce of the younger generation.”

“It’s just a pity that the Hidden Dragon Rankings don’t take into account achievements in battle array combat. Otherwise, you would have ranked in the top twenty long ago.”

The reason Luo Lie still hadn’t appeared on the Hidden Dragon Rankings was that his combat achievements were indeed difficult to calculate.

This was because Luo Lie had no record of one-on-one duels in the Jianghu; his achievements were almost exclusively on the battlefield, within battle arrays.

The battlefield was chaotic. Most of Luo Lie’s achievements involved fighting many opponents at once and leading charges. Although he had an extremely high kill count, this kind of record was different from those on the Hidden Dragon Rankings and was difficult to assess.

Therefore, the Celestial Wind Listening Rain Tower had never included Luo Lie on the Hidden Dragon Rankings, just as many talented young experts from the Court’s military were also absent from the list.

After greeting each other and getting acquainted, the group began to chat idly, each sharing what they had been up to recently.

Chen Yuan didn’t have much to say. His rank on the Hidden Dragon Rankings had been soaring, so everyone knew what he had done.

Luo Lie’s situation was also simple. The Sun-Swapping Alliance and the Court had begun a standoff. Most of the time, the two sides engaged in small-scale skirmishes. Luo Lie would periodically lead elite troops to battle the Court’s vanguard, trading wins and losses.

Lu Chuanshan had turned his past shame into courage. He had entered the Jianghai Alliance’s secret ground, Destruction Island, to undergo a life-or-death trial, and his cultivation and strength had advanced by leaps and bounds.

Afterward, he had tempered himself in the Jianghu for a while. He now ranked twenty-first on the Hidden Dragon Rankings.

Cui Xuanye, on the other hand, had been in Celestial Official City divining celestial phenomena. He usually spent his time in secluded cultivation. His cultivation had also progressed greatly, and he was also at the Condensing Truth Realm Late Stage.

However, because he had remained in Celestial Official City and had no new combat achievements, his position on the Hidden Dragon Rankings hadn’t changed.

Chen Yuan also asked about Qin Suguang’s recent activities, only to be surprised to learn that Qin Suguang was no longer in Qin Province. He had been transferred to the Capital City, which stunned Chen Yuan.

In the original storyline, Qin Suguang’s transfer to the Capital City was because the Chief Constable of Qin Province, Lei Yuanhong, was displeased with him and always made things difficult for him. This forced Qin Suguang to go to the Capital City to make a living.

But now, Lei Yuanhong had been killed by Wang Xuangan. Logically, Qin Suguang should have been doing well in Qin Province.

Unexpectedly, it was precisely because Lei Yuanhong had been killed that when Qin Suguang went to report on his duties, he was noticed by a high-ranking figure from the Capital City’s Six Gates who had come to investigate. This figure then took him back to the Capital City.

This made Chen Yuan sigh with emotion. ‘The power of the plot is truly immense,’ he thought. ‘I thought things would deviate, but in the end, they returned to the original track.’