Chapter Twenty-Six: The Invincible East

Chapter 26: The Undefeated East

“Sir, the young lady in the sedan is from the Pan family! Could you please make an exception?” One of the servants outside the sedan pleaded with the soldiers.

“Pan family, Li family, even if you’re an official from out of town, you still need to get out and be inspected,” the inspecting soldier replied arrogantly.

“Uncle Tong, open the sedan curtain and let the officer check,” a gentle voice drifted from within the sedan, soft as silk. The soldiers outside, upon hearing Wuteng Lan’s melodious tone, felt a strange tingling sensation coursing through their bodies.

Their haughty demeanor dissolved halfway in an instant.

As the servants lifted the curtain, the officers saw a graceful lady seated inside, her cheeks delicately flushed. All the hardened soldiers felt as if a spring breeze had washed over them.

Just as Wuteng Lan began to move, preparing to step out, the previously righteous soldier hurriedly said, “Miss, there’s no need for an inspection! There’s no one else inside except for you. Let them pass!”

The officer shouted the order.

“Hehe—then I must thank you, officer,” Wuteng Lan’s voice was bewitching, and after hearing it, the soldiers at the city gate seemed to lose their souls, staring fixedly at the departing sedan long after it entered the city, unable to snap out of it.

The soldiers were utterly dazed, looking nothing like disciplined guards. Some even shamelessly let drool escape the corners of their mouths.

“I say, officer, could you hurry up? My goods are fresh fruit, and if we wait too long, they won’t be fresh anymore!” A plump merchant waiting to enter the city, noticing the checking soldiers in a trance, couldn’t help but remind them from the side.

Interrupted from his reverie, the officer instantly grew angry. “You, fatty, you look suspicious! Come, unload everything from the cart for a thorough inspection!”

“Please, sir, don’t! Isn’t there any other way?” The merchant, hearing this, put on a pitiful face, stepped forward, and slipped a large piece of silver into the officer’s sleeve.

“Hmph—if it weren’t for your cart of fruit, I’d teach you a lesson today! Be off,” the officer grumbled, pocketed the silver, muttered a few words, and let the merchant through.

Though the sedan was already far from the city gate, Wu Hong could still clearly hear the exchange between the officer and the fat merchant.

“Phew—we’re finally in!” Wu Hong crawled out from beneath the seat, catching sight of Wuteng Lan’s still flushed cheeks. Remembering their earlier moment of passion, he too blushed. “Miss, just now—”

“Young master, it was my own impulse, nothing to do with you,” Wuteng Lan replied, a hint of embarrassment in her voice as she recalled their intimate encounter, her face growing even warmer, nearly burying her head in her ample bosom.

Wu Hong couldn’t help but wish to embrace her again, to lose himself in her softness.

“Miss, your feelings for me—I understand! If the day comes, I will surely repay you!” Wu Hong declared solemnly, revealing his true name.

“I ask for no repayment, only that you remember me,” Wuteng Lan replied, her eyes glistening with tears, knowing their brief time together was coming to an end.

Wu Hong never removed his mask. Seeing Wuteng Lan’s tearful gaze, his heart wavered. If he could be with such a woman and live an ordinary life, perhaps that would be happiness. But fantasies are fragile things. As soon as he recalled his ambition and his father’s murderer, all such dreams were shattered.

The sedan stopped on a bustling street. Wu Hong stepped out, followed by Wuteng Lan, drawing the curious whispers of bystanders.

“Do you know whose lady that is? She’s the daughter Mr. Pan recognized from outside the family. That old man sowed wild oats in his youth, and she’s his flesh and blood,” someone explained, eliciting sympathetic sighs for Wuteng Lan’s background.

Many men stared at her, swallowing hard, but seeing the distinguished attire of her servants, none dared approach.

Wu Hong’s figure faded into the crowd, while Wuteng Lan gazed longingly after him.

“Miss, you seem unusually fond of that man,” an old servant quietly remarked.

“He’s unlike any man I’ve ever met,” Wuteng Lan replied earnestly, deeply shaken. Her charm was irresistible to all men, yet just moments ago, in the sedan, Wu Hong had radiated such a powerful masculinity that she found herself drawn to him irrepressibly.

She’d met many men and treated them all with gentle grace, but none had ever touched her heart. Yet in that brief moment, Wu Hong had planted a seed within her.

“So that was Wu Hong? He’s not as the rumors say,” she murmured to herself.

Wu Hong, asking directions, made his way to the largest inn in Yunluo City—a place where martial artists often gathered.

The moment he entered the lavish inn, he noticed the patrons all appeared ordinary but their eyes gleamed with intensity; clearly, all were martial experts, likely drawn here by the rumored Book of Heaven’s Cave.

“Waiter, bring me two pounds of pork and a pound of white wine,” Wu Hong ordered from a secluded corner.

The staff bustled to fulfill his request.

“I hear the factions coming for the Book of Heaven’s Cave this time are truly extraordinary,” a table of drinkers whispered.

Wu Hong listened intently; his senses now surpassed even most martial artists of the Tendon Refining Realm, perhaps even those who’d refined their blood.

“That’s right! Our Chief Li is here too. The Book of Heaven will surely be his for the taking. Who would dare compete with our chief? With his Perfection of the Postnatal Realm and mastery of Eighteen Dragon Subduing Palms, he’s nearly invincible—so why bother with a legendary, elusive book?” a frail man in silks questioned. If not for overhearing their conversation, Wu Hong would never have guessed the two were members of the Beggar’s Sect.

“You don’t understand. It’s said that the highest level of martial arts today only reaches the Perfection of the Postnatal Realm. Whenever an Innate manual appears, the martial world is drenched in blood. Rumor has it that many at the Perfection level are here this time; even our sect may not secure the book,” his companion replied.

Their voices, though soft as whispers to ordinary ears, were clear as day to the many martial artists hidden throughout the inn.

As Wu Hong listened, pondering the mention of the legendary Innate manuals—

“What? Did you say ‘the Undefeated East’—Lin Nan—is here too?” a martial artist exclaimed, startled, his voice ringing through the inn before he realized how loudly he’d spoken.

His outburst set off a ripple of shock among the patrons.

The Undefeated East, though also at the peak of the Postnatal Realm, was rumored to be the closest to breaking through to the Innate level. Since his rise to fame, he’d never once tasted defeat, dispatching any challengers with ruthless efficiency.

Wu Hong’s heart raced as he heard names like Chief Li Haoyang of the Beggar’s Sect, the Undefeated East, Lin Nan, the mysterious Jade Maiden Sect, and one name that jolted him most: the Marquis of Martial Valor, and his son, Wu Lie.

In the martial world, reputation was everything, and Wu Lie, at a young age, had already reached the early Innate stage. Naturally, talk of Wu Lie led to comparisons with Wu Hong, once a notorious wastrel.

Wu Hong finished his meal, bored by the endless talk of chivalry and reputation, none of which concerned him. What he sought was the Mirror of Revival, yet it seemed none here knew of it.

He booked a room for the night and left the inn to wander the city.

Yunluo City, frequented by martial artists, bustled with business, and weapon stalls abounded in the streets and alleys—a scene forbidden in other cities but unrestricted here.

Bang—

Suddenly, a veiled beauty brushed past Wu Hong, bumping into him hard enough to make him feel as though struck by a boulder. Ever since training in the Great Sun Tathagata Sutra and reaching the Tendon Refining stage, he’d never felt so unsettled by a mere collision.

“Sorry! I didn’t see you!” he turned to see it was a woman who’d collided with him.

She wore a plain gauze dress, her long hair piled high with a golden jade butterfly pin. Tall and slender, she was even a bit taller than Wu Hong, her elegant figure exuding a unique beauty.

Realizing she’d bumped into someone, she hurriedly apologized and, without waiting for a response, quickly melted into the crowd.

Wu Hong was still baffled when—

“That girl ran that way! Damn, why are there so many people in the street? After her!” Before the scent of the woman’s perfume had faded from his shoulder, he saw two burly men shoving through the crowd in pursuit.

Wu Hong’s heart clenched. These two were clearly blood-refining experts, yet they would chase a lone woman in broad daylight? What had the world come to?

His anger stirred, Wu Hong quietly followed.

The street grew less crowded, and he could see the fleeing girl ahead, growing increasingly desperate.

As dusk fell and the crowds thinned, she grew even more frantic, darting into a narrow alley. The two brawny pursuers grinned and followed her in.

“This is bad! She’s panicked and run into a dead end!” Wu Hong quickened his pace, turning into the narrow alley, scarcely three meters wide.

He glanced around; the high courtyard walls soared over ten meters on either side. As he moved deeper, the light from above dwindled until even reaching out, he could barely see his own hand.

But for martial artists like Wu Hong and the two thugs, accustomed to darkness, the faint light was no hindrance.

Just as Wu Hong anticipated, a dead end emerged.

“Haha—little lady, where will you run now?” At the alley’s end, the woman pressed herself against the wall, trembling, and Wu Hong assumed she was terrified.

“Haha—brother, let’s not argue over who goes first. We’ll just take turns!” The two martial experts laughed, shamelessly discussing how to handle their prey.

The woman trembled but made no sound.

“Stop! In broad daylight, do you dare abduct a woman?” Wu Hong’s angry shout rang out behind them.

Startled, both thugs whirled around. Though skilled fighters, they’d failed to notice someone following them. In the martial world, there was no shortage of heroes meddling in others’ affairs.