The Martial Arts World is Full of Experts Chapter 34

100

Zhang Xiaoyuan sat in place, afraid to move, fearing the neighboring master and disciple would discover there were two living people in the adjacent room.

Concerned about this gossip-worthy matter, he worried that if Mei Leng'an found out they overheard, he might try to silence them permanently.

Ke Xingwen was flustered, wanting to explain but unsure of the right words. After a pause, he attempted to reassure Mei Leng'an, "Master, it's not what you think. I'm just worried that someone might overhear us."

Mei Leng'an: "So what if they do?"

Ke Xingwen: "You're the master of our sect..."

Mei Leng'an: "I've told you before. Next month on my birthday, I'll announce my retirement from the martial arts world."

Ke Xingwen: "And as I've told you, I don't agree with your decision."

Zhang Xiaoyuan felt like he had heard some incredible big secret.

Mei Leng'an chose to wash his hands with a golden basin? Was he retiring for love?

Genuine emotions here! Truly moving!

Zhang Xiaoyuan, listening to the conversation next door, quietly poured himself another cup of tea, finding it hard to conceal his excitement.

He realized that since entering the gates of the Martial Arts Alliance, he had been continuously watching the dramas of various sects.

"As soon as rumors spread within the sect, you decide to retire," Ke Xingwen said, slightly agitated. "Doesn't that just confirm their gossip?"

Zhang Xiaoyuan caught a crucial piece of information.

Rumors about the Scattered Blossom Palace... What rumors?

Mei Leng'an: "My decision is made."

Ke Xingwen: "But..."

"When the time comes, I'll pass the sect leadership to Junior Brother Lu." Mei Leng'an paused, suddenly sounding plaintive. "If I'm not the sect master, will you stop loving me?"

Zhang Xiaoyuan sprayed out a mouthful of tea, almost splashing Lu Zhaoming. Mei Leng'an was just discussing serious matters, how did the conversation suddenly shift to love?

Lu Zhaoming silently moved his sword away from Zhang Xiaoyuan and shifted his chair a bit, distancing himself from the table.

Zhang Xiaoyuan felt that Lu Zhaoming was disapproving of him.

Next door, Ke Xingwen, upon hearing Mei Leng'an's words, seemed somewhat resigned. The room fell silent for a moment, and then Ke Xingwen spoke again, "Master, why would you think that way?"

Another brief silence followed.

Mei Leng'an: "Xingwen, the luckiest thing in my life is meeting you."

Ke Xingwen: "Master, you don't have to say that."

Mei Leng'an: "Xingwen, I've said it before, in private, you don't need to address me as master."

Ke Xingwen: "An'an."

Mei Leng'an: "Wenwen!"

Ke Xingwen: "An'an, don't move."

Mei Leng'an: "But my heart is moved!"

Zhang Xiaoyuan: "......"

Zhang Xiaoyuan couldn't bear to listen any longer.

Ke Xingwen appeared upright, and Mei Leng'an was serious. How could their private conversations be so... like this?

Unable to resist, he glanced at Lu Zhaoming. Lu Zhaoming, with closed eyes, rapidly switched through the words on the sword manual atop his head. He probably didn't want to hear the cheesy exchanges next door, abandoning all distractions and earnestly focusing on the sword manual. As long as the sword manual was in his heart, he couldn't hear anything else.

But Zhang Xiaoyuan couldn't do that.

He covered his ears, afraid to make any sound that might disturb the adjacent affectionate master-disciple duo. He worried that Mei Leng'an might come after him tomorrow. However, even covering his ears couldn't block out the strange sounds from next door, and the voices became even more ambiguous.

Putting down his hands covering his ears, Zhang Xiaoyuan felt he needed to find a way to make Ke Xingwen and Mei Leng'an aware that there were people next door. Perhaps that would make them tone it down.

Looking around, he spotted the bowl of pastries Eldest Senior Brother had pushed to the edge of the table. Suddenly, an idea struck him.

All he had to do was knock the bowl off. The sound of breaking porcelain would be loud, and even if the room had good soundproofing, the duo next door would surely hear it. As long as he stayed quiet, Mei Leng'an and Ke Xingwen wouldn't realize that the room's walls couldn't muffle their conversation, and they wouldn't know someone heard what they were saying.

Determined, Zhang Xiaoyuan didn't hesitate to push the bowl off the table.

Lu Zhaoming jumped in surprise, slightly widening his eyes. Zhang Xiaoyuan pressed a finger to his lips, signaling him to stay silent. True to Zhang Xiaoyuan's gesture, Lu Zhaoming made no sound. He simply moved a bit farther away in silence.

The neighboring room fell silent in an instant.

Ke Xingwen whispered, "Seems like someone."

Mei Leng'an's voice was slightly breathless. "So what if there is?"

Ke Xingwen suggested, "Master, maybe you should go back first."

Mei Leng'an chuckled, repeating, "So what if there's someone?"

Ke Xingwen: "But..."

Mei Leng'an: "They can't hear our voices."

Zhang Xiaoyuan felt something was off.

It was way off.

What were the couple, with significant age difference, next door up to?

Not only did he hear their words, he heard them crystal clear!

He was still just a child! He didn't want to know what came next!

Zhang Xiaoyuan turned to look at Lu Zhaoming, hoping Lu Zhaoming could come up with a solution.

Lu Zhaoming continued to emotionlessly recite his sword manual, seemingly oblivious to what was about to happen next door.

The voices of Ke Xingwen and Mei Leng'an had become almost inaudible, but one could still catch a few words.

Ke Xingwen said, "Speak more quietly."

Mei Leng'an, with a smiling tone, replied, "Just don't talk."

Zhang Xiaoyuan covered his face.

He started contemplating reporting the age-discrepant couple next door to Chief Pei!

He wanted to change rooms! He would demand an immediate room change!

Right at that moment, Second Senior Brother's thunderous snoring sounded like a savior. The sudden noise made the duo next door momentarily quiet. Zhang Xiaoyuan felt rescued and without second thoughts, he immediately pushed the door open and shouted in the courtyard, "Second Senior Brother! You're too loud!"

Jiang Jianyu showed no reaction.

Hua Liuque also opened the door, poking his head out and grumbling, "I agree, he's too noisy. Can I come over and sleep with you guys?"

......

When Zhang Xiaoyuan returned to his room, aside from the snoring, there was no other sound to be heard.

There were no peculiar sounds from next door. After a moment, the door opened, perhaps Mei Leng'an had left, maybe taking Ke Xingwen along. Zhang Xiaoyuan finally breathed a sigh of relief, feeling that for at least a long time to come, he wouldn't be able to look at this master-disciple duo normally again.

Eldest Senior Brother continued to recite his sword manual.

Sighing, Zhang Xiaoyuan gave up on talking with Eldest Senior Brother. It was already late, and he thought of getting to bed early. Just as he was about to ask if Eldest Senior Brother should also go to sleep, he looked up... Lu Zhaoming's ears were slightly red. He was sure he had heard all the cheesy words the duo next door had spoken.

Suddenly feeling awkward, Zhang Xiaoyuan couldn't bring himself to say the words that were on the tip of his tongue. He silently climbed into bed, quietly lay down, silently covered himself with the blanket, and then pulled the blanket over his head.

This martial arts world.

It was truly terrifying!

101

The martial arts conference was today.

There had been no major events in the martial arts world recently. The Demon Sect had been quiet for a long time. The martial arts conference mostly served as a competition and disciple selection among various sects. The most anticipated part was the sword discussion, where sects competed and attracted young people who had recently entered the martial arts world and had not yet joined a sect.

The first day was just registration. They found the affairs manager and filled in their names. In matters of martial arts competitions, there was no need for others to interfere. Lu Zhaoming registered under his own name, and Zhang Xiaoyuan believed he could at least make it into the top ten. What they should be more concerned about was Lu Zhaoming's opponents.

After filling out their name cards, they gathered with disciples from other sects outside the Heavenly Star Hall of the Martial Arts Alliance. Typically, Pei Wuluan would spout some nonsense in front of everyone. Although Zhang Xiaoyuan had never participated in the martial arts conference, he had heard enough stories. It was probably the usual talk about righteousness, peace in the martial arts world, and today's competition being the focal point — even closing his eyes, he could guess the gist of it.

But this time, something was different.

Pei Wuluan stood on the elevated platform and only managed to say the first sentence, "Today, martial arts fellows gather here—"

Before he could finish, he suddenly took a step back. A whistling sound echoed, and a feathered arrow was embedded where he had stood. The arrowhead held a piece of white paper with a few words written on it. Pei Wuluan looked towards the direction the arrow came from and saw a man in black with a massive bow on his back — too far away to catch if he tried to escape. For a moment, it was difficult to discern the man's identity.

Since the Demon Sect had calmed down, it had been a long time since anyone dared to openly provoke trouble at the martial arts conference.

Surrounded by astonishment, someone shouted at the man, "Who dares to cause trouble at the martial arts conference!"

But they were too far away, and even though they yelled, the man just smiled. The more agitated they became, the happier he appeared. Pei Wuluan remained still, and for the moment, the others hesitated to take any reckless actions.

The man stood still from a distance, provoking them. Pei Wuluan pulled out the arrow from the ground and glanced at the note attached. Frowning, he saw no need to hide the contents, so he directly read it aloud.

"Ethereal Illusion Palace Master Cao Zilian sends his regards," Pei Wuluan furrowed his brows, "Ethereal Illusion Palace?"

He had never heard of this sect.

Meanwhile, Zhang Xiaoyuan tilted his head, squinting, earnestly scrutinizing the distant man in black.

He had never attempted to identify someone's details from such a distance, unsure if he could succeed.

After staring for a moment, the man's head suddenly brightened, revealing a line of small words.

「Cao Zilian, Master of Ethereal Illusion Palace, son of the former master of the unorthodox Phoenix Shadow Pavilion, ranked 71st in the martial arts world.」

「Ethereal Illusion Palace has two members.」

Huh? Two people counted as a sect?

He blinked, and saw a new line of words appear above Cao Zilian's head.

「I'm a damn accurate shot! Hahaha!」

Zhang Xiaoyuan: "......"

What's wrong with this person!

Zhang Xiaoyuan turned back and saw Lu Zhaoming seemingly estimating the distance between him and Cao Zilian.

Zhang Xiaoyuan felt a sudden unease.

Before he could say anything, the next moment, Lu Zhaoming had leaped towards Cao Zilian.

He moved gracefully, but at such a distance, it was impossible for him to catch up with Cao Zilian.

Pei Wuluan feared he might suffer, so seeing him give chase, he hastily followed. The rest, seeing their Chief take action, hurriedly followed suit.

Zhang Xiaoyuan didn't want to witness this familiar plot again.

Cao Zilian burst into laughter, leaping down from the eaves. As he fled, he continued to mock and shout, "You can't catch me, hahaha!"

Lu Zhaoming unsheathed his sword.

Cao Zilian laughed, "Hahaha, even if you draw your sword, it won't reach me!"

Lu Zhaoming tossed the scabbard aside.

Cao Zilian continued to taunt, "Hahaha, you can't hit me—"

Cao Zilian: "Aaaaaaah!!!"

A miserable scream pierced the air.

Hua Liuque's legs shook, while Zhang Xiaoyuan covered his face.