A Long Grind to Daoist Monarch-Chapter 110 - 101: Life and Death by One’s Own Hand, Not Heaven’s Will

"Brother Han, it seems we've arrived late; nothing left for us to do."

Mu Chun of the Broken Blade Sect stared blankly at the wide long street. The Red Eyebrow Bandits scattered, all dropping their steel knives, shouting for mercy and fleeing wildly, cursing their parents for not giving them two more legs.

The doorman uncle of Tongwen Hall, once kindly and gentle, now seemed transformed. With a red lotus above his head, naked to the waist, he moved like a dragon and a tiger, crushing heads one by one.

Anyone with bulging pockets, having plundered gold, silver, and jewels, with a trace of bloodlust on their face, was slaughtered without mercy.

The scene was extremely bloody; bodies fell helplessly like crops in a field, harvested cleanly by a sharp sickle.

Mu Chun, the hot-tempered leader of the Broken Blade Sect, gained his fame by killing brigands and mountain bandits. Wielding the Nine-Ring Saber with great prowess, he had beheaded hundreds.

But looking at Master Dao's peaceful, smiling face as he brutally twisted the necks of Red Eyebrow Bandits, Mu Chun couldn't help but feel a chill from the bottom of his heart.

Killing felt like performing a ritual, damn it's chilling!

"I never thought, within Tongwen Hall, besides the instructors, there would be such a powerful master!"

Han Yang of Celestial Eagle Martial Arts Hall squinted, noting how deeply this doorman uncle hid his skills. He recalled when Ninghai Zen first arrived in Black River County, he visited several times, always received by this doorman.

Observing his words, manners, and walking, there was no hint of him being at the third training great perfection of the Water and Fire Immortal Robe.

Even though breaking through the Second-Training Mercury Blood Silver Marrow allows someone to hide their qi blood in their marrow, suppressing their aura and concealing their training level.

Yet achieving complete concealment, mastering the divine essence, is not so easily done.

Especially to hide from fellow martial artists at the third training, it's as hard as reaching the heavens.

"What do we do now, Brother Han? Blood Vajra, Eight-armed Ape, and Ghost Head Monk, all the leaders are done for.

The great demon over at the outer city seems to be dead too; the drama is over, and we've just arrived."

Mu Chun led a group of disciples, initially set on a desperate battle, only to have gone through the trouble for nothing, finding the leaders already executed and the scattered Red Eyebrow Bandits akin to disbanded stragglers.

"Just handle the aftermath, let our students take advantage and pursue, clear out the remaining bandits! Although they are like lambs to the slaughter against third-training martial artists, utterly unable to resist, if they escape Black River County, fleeing to nearby villages and strongholds, they would be a major menace!"

Han Yang's demeanor became solemn, calling his son Han Li to his side, instructing him seriously. He ordered him to take the martial arts hall apprentices versed in qi blood control and refined power, form teams of three or five, and pursue the bandits.

He set a bounty: kill a bandit, take their head and ear, and exchange for ten taels of silver!

If it's a leader, even more money!

"Brother Han spoke wisely; these bandits numbering hundreds to thousands are indeed a significant threat, they must be uprooted completely!"

Mu Chun's eyes flashed with killing intent, turning to give orders:

"Ah Yong, you handle the waterway interception, block the escape routes of the Red Eyebrow Bandits! Oh, and call Lei Xiong back, don't let him lead everyone's families toward Yihai County City!"

Deng Yong nodded, eyes glancing at the Qiansi Sect Street resembling an Asura battlefield, swallowing hard.

What place is Tongwen Hall?

Even a doorman is fiercer than a master!

Only knew before that the golden black plaque of the Yihai hidden dragon had great significance, seemed that the instructor's background in the impoverished countryside was extraordinary, yet never truly witnessed its might!

Today, he truly saw it, a great demon king, dozens of feet high, swallowing clouds and mists, was killed with a single punch.

Several ferocious leaders of Red Eyebrow were killed with broken skulls, like chickens!

What capability does this little pond called Black River County have to nurture two flood dragons?!

It's truly incredible!

"Ah Qi's good luck, to have such a fierce man as a master.....as long as he doesn't stir the urge to storm Yihai County City, he can walk freely within a few hundred miles, securing a lifetime of wealth."

Recalling how his master occasionally mentioned, in a few brief words, the past deeds of Ninghai Zen, Deng Yong's eyes clouded with envy.

Yet the Yihai hidden dragon plaque, pressed down, holds the blood debts of nineteen families.

From Pai Bang, government offices, to the prestigious Thirteen Lines of County City.

Just naming the foes makes one's scalp tingle.

"As the saying goes, the father's debt, the son repays!

But what his master has done, Ah Qi, the disciple, likely can't make even!

Keeping low and discreet is the way to remain safe."

Deng Yong pushed troubled thoughts aside, shouted a few times, leading fellow disciplined apprentices, raising steel knives and fish spears, encircling the Red Eyebrow Bandits fleeing toward the river.

...

...

Duijin Street was equally chaotic, blood stains everywhere.

Perhaps because Zhang the Fifth led his water thief brothers, pretending to be the tea master handling funeral affairs, with music and drums, departing from here, the cold wind blew, causing the scattered paper money to flutter, adding to the grim atmosphere.

Yang Meng carried his bag swiftly, walking as if on a road to the Yellow Springs.

He hastened into the residence, heading directly for the backyard.

A few exiled laborers who snuck in from the outer city were still rummaging for valuables, only to be caught by the hemp-clad Yang Meng, their throats torn out, dying instantly.

"Aligning with a demon king, even the strong-backed Red Eyebrow Bandits couldn't succeed. Could it be that fate favors Liang Laoshu and Bai Ahqi?"

Yang Meng felt regretful, his pace unrelenting, soon arriving at the old dry well, jumping in.

His right hand, every knuckle strong, formed into a tiger claw, digging through the moss-covered stone wall.

After borrowing strength several times, he landed steadily at the damp well bottom.

Darkness surrounded him, yet Yang Meng seemed utterly familiar.

Finding his bearings, he stepped cautiously yet firmly into the slippery mud, striding forward.

It turns out this is a secret passage leading to the mudflat of Black Water River!

Zhang the Fifth's nest of water thieves silently slipped into the Yang Residence backyard through here, plotting an attack on Black River County with Yang Meng.

"Father in his lifetime did too many heinous things, murdering and stealing, exterminating families and setting fires, sinking families to the riverbed...even sleep was uneasy, only the sound of Black Water River waves could allow him to close his eyes."

Yang Meng cradled the memorial tablet of Yangquan against his chest, whispering as if to his own son:

"Therefore, father didn't want to move into the Inner City, disappointing your filial intentions. Quan'Er, father had you align with He Tai because that boy's scheming is far less than He Wenbing, following him makes for easy work, promising a decent future, didn't expect it to harm you.

Father also regrets deeply, every time he thinks of how you were devoured by the Demon Fish leaving no remains, his heart aches as if being twisted by a knife, and he wonders if his own misdeeds brought about your tragic end.

In the gloomy underground, Yang Meng's old and low whispers echoed, his sorrowful voice colliding against the narrow passage, a dull sound like ashes shifting in a jar.

"Father came from hardship, had neither food nor drink, and could only sell himself to the fishery as a beast of burden. Having experienced too many days of poverty, watching those wealthy merchants going in and out of restaurants, he was unconvinced, blaming Heaven for being blind.

I didn't want to remain poor, nor bullied, so I practiced martial arts with determination. When He Wenbing took notice of me, I thought I had found a way out, willing to become a dog licking the soles of his shoes.

Later, I realized that being a dog for the employer wouldn't bring true wealth because merchants are stingy, splitting a copper coin in two, so one must be a thief, rob and seize, only then does money come quickly."

Yang Meng laughed twice, his face like dry bark shifting, a sharp light shot from his eyes, as if he could see in the dark as clearly as day.

"Quan'Er, you walked too slowly, many have gone down to keep you company.

It's just a pity that I didn't manage to kill Liang Laoshu and Bai Ahqi to let you rest in peace."

The light ahead grew clearer, the narrow passage finally reached its end.

A small sampan lay on the mudflat, secured with a thick rope tied to a stake; once it sails into the reed marsh of the Black Water River, it would be a true escape to freedom.

Yang Meng stepped forward, just as half his body protruded, his ears suddenly twitched like a startled beast; the muscles in his feet tensed and sprang back as though he had touched a flame.

Whoosh!

A feathered arrow deeply embedded into the stone wall, nearly a quarter in, the wooden shaft at the end vibrated violently, almost shattering apart.

It was evident the archer possessed immense strength!

Awoo!

In the distance, the river surface rippled, the damp wind whistling through the passage, echoing like ghosts wailing and wolves howling.

Yang Meng squinted, a fierce gaze cast upon the distant upright silhouette a hundred steps away.

"Only you?"

He asked.

There was no response.

Bai Qi stood atop a height, facing the river wind, the edges of his clothes fluttering, standing tall.

The cow horn hard bow in his hand was drawn, the sharp arrowhead exuding lethal intent.

He didn't know where Yang Meng would escape from, so he could only use the simplest method, waiting in ambush.

After searching carefully at the Yang Residence on Duijin Street, he discovered a sampan by the mudflat.

Perhaps, Heaven really stood by his side?

"Without the instructor as your backing, seeking me alone, how is this different from courting death?"

Yang Meng pulled out a wrapped packet, taking out Yangquan's tablet, carefully placing it on the ground.

His gaze shifted, glancing at the sampan washed by the waves, then to the hard bow and arrow shaft in Bai Qi's hand, inexplicably letting out a sigh as if finding his life's resting place.

Rather than spending the rest of my life fleeing in panic, forever displaced, better to kill this Bai kid and then die by the instructor's hand.

At least it would be a clean end!

This elder who had once manned a sampan to shoot down river thieves, earning the respect of Black River County's people, revered by many a Fisherman, silently grinned:

"Come! Kill me!"

...

...

"Master Dao, what should we do with these Red Eyebrow Bandits' bodies?"

Seeing the towering elder with a red lotus on his head approach, Mu Chun was slightly startled, as if a fishy wind had hit him, suffocating him with difficulty.

"Find a spacious place, pile up the wood and burn them. Chai Market and the kiln should be able to help."

Lao Dao, who had killed countless lives and bore many sins, reined in his vigorous qi blood burning like a furnace, maintaining a kindly smile of warmth:

"The subsequent arrangements still need you Martial Arts Hall Masters to oversee the overall situation, Tongwen Hall can't do much.

Oh, and there are too many corpses, the smell of blood is heavy, you'll need to wash the ground."

The more amiable the Doorman Uncle appeared, the more Mu Chun felt a chill, cold sweat nearly breaking out on his back:

"Master Dao, you're being too humble, without you and the instructor, Black River County might have fallen to the Red Eyebrow Bandits, thousands of lives endangered.

Just regret not capturing Yang Meng, that scoundrel, to be hacked into pieces and quench the anger within my heart!

This great disaster was entirely caused by him!"

Lao Dao tilted his body, his gaze traversing the long street, confirming Bai Qi wasn't at Tongwen Hall, then calmly remarked:

"Yang Meng's life, someone else will claim it."

Mu Chun was taken aback, then understood; to deal with someone like him, there was definitely no need for the instructor:

"Brother Bai? Yang Meng, after all, reached Second Training Great Success…"

Lao Dao clasped his hands behind his back, with not a trace of worry in his eyes, with two superior Grand Capture skills, the Demon Fish Inner Pill, and the flesh and blood from the treasured fish to fill the gaps, along with ripe Huangjing to enhance ancestral energy, if one couldn't handle a Yang Meng, that's what would be laughable:

"The Sect Leader Mu doesn't understand Tongwen Hall's rules, anyone who enters our door, their life and death is their own, not left to the heavens.

Yang Meng, blocking Young Master Qi's path, if he can't beat him to death, it's a hurdle hard to overcome.

A young sapling needs trials to grow into a substantial tree, only by surviving can it reach the sky."

Ninghai Zen's prior agreement with Bai Qi, the second clause among them!

Upon encountering obstacles or challengers, one must harbor a heart of fearless ruthlessness, even if the opponent is a divine Buddha, a malevolent entity, one must strive with all strength to slay, to testify to one's martial prowess!

The threshold for Tongwen Hall's personal disciple is not low, Yang Meng proves to be the first roadblock Young Master Qi encountered!

"Truly vicious…"

Mu Chun clicked his tongue.

With such a method of mentoring disciples, how many could survive to become great trees? 𝒻𝑟𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝑛𝘰𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝘤𝘰𝘮

No wonder only the instructor was left in Tongwen Hall.