Chapter 398: The Water on the Continent was Very Deep
Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
Jiang Yi"s words were direct and very hurtful.
Though the Martial Arts Hall didn"t compete for hegemony, it was still the No.1 merchant a.s.sociation on the continent, with wealth comparable to a country. It was highly reputable among the low-grade martial artists and had maintained friendly relationships with every major force.
It had been millions of years since the start of the era of mankind. The hegemon that ruled this continent had changed one after another. However, why could the Martial Arts Hall be preserved all the time? It showed that the Martial Arts Hall was deeply entrenched and had a background that wasn"t known to the outsiders. Thus, the six major va.s.sal states all had great respect for the Martial Arts Hall. Even if they ma.s.sacred all the residents of a city, they wouldn"t dare to a.s.sault anyone from the Martial Arts Hall.
On the third day after Su Ruoxue ascended to the throne, she called for the Martial Arts Hall Branch Master. She was very polite to him, though she didn"t know what was special about the Martial Arts Hall. However, when the troops of the six major va.s.sal states plundered all the cities of the Great Xia Kingdom, they did nothing to any of the Martial Arts Hall in those cities. This suggested how powerful the Martial Arts Hall was.
The Martial Arts Hall Saint Ladies rarely revealed themselves to the world and were hardly known to the outsiders. Except for young masters from great aristocratic clans, common folks weren"t even qualified to see them. Becoming the son-in-law of the Martial Arts Hall was also the dream of many young masters from the great aristocratic clans.
Dugu Yan had heard about the legend of Jiang Yi. She was actually very satisfied with Jiang Yi. However, due to her privileged background, unrivaled beauty, and talent, she had always been surrounded by a bunch of young masters from eminent clans. She was used to being supercilious.
Dugu Yan thought she had treated Jiang Yi kind enough today. She even… suggested that she might consider marrying Jiang Yi. However, to her surprise, Jiang Yi returned her with explicit humiliation!
Therefore, her pretty face was immediately darkened to the extreme. Standing up instantly, she looked at Jiang Yi coldly. "Jiang Yi, do you think you"re so good that you can ignore all martial artists in the world? I can tell you clearly—that the Martial Arts Hall is ten times, even a hundred times more powerful than you think! Don"t you be mistaken."
"Idiot!"
Jiang Yi shook his head slightly. How did the Martial Arts Hall send such a r.e.t.a.r.ded woman? How did such a woman become a Saint Lady? Was her father a big shot in the Martial Arts Hall?
Revealing a faint smile, he looked directly at Dugu Yan. "Oh? How powerful is the Martial Arts Hall? I don"t really know, or does Lady Dugu want to enlighten me?"
"Hmm, Jiang Yi. Listen carefully!"
Raising her head proudly, Dugu Yan said, "The Martial Arts Hall has existed since the beginning of the human era. Rulers come and go, but the Martial Arts Hall stands strong. It has never been destroyed by anyone. No one has even attacked the Martial Arts Hall before. Do you know why that is so?"
Jiang Yi"s eyes brightened. He was indeed curious about it. He answered, "Why?"
Dugu Yan"s head was raised even higher; she sneered. "Because the Martial Arts Hall is so powerful, in a way that you can"t even imagine. Anyone who has offended the Martial Arts Hall only has one destiny… death!"
Nonsense!
Jiang Yi rolled his eyes and cursed in secret. He said impatiently, "Lady Dugu, if you have nothing else to say, I have something to do. Excuse me first!"
"Hold it right there!"
Seeing Jiang Yi get up and go, Dugu Yan finally became angry. Her eyes filled with fierceness, she shouted, "Jiang Yi, I may as well leak some information to you. In the history of Stellarsky Continent, many martial experts—and many of the great aristocratic clansmen—were the Honorary Elders of our Martial Arts Hall. Even now, more than half of the kings of the six major va.s.sal states and heads of great aristocratic clans are Honorary Elders of our Martial Arts Hall. This includes the late Su Diw.a.n.g!"
"Uh…"
Jiang Yi stopped his steps. This time, he was really shocked by the power of the Martial Arts Hall.
However, the Martial Arts Hall never competed for hegemony, then why did it need such great power? It was so simple for it to unite the continent with such strong strength, but in history, the Martial Arts Hall never fought for the hegemony.
Turning back and looking at Dugu Yan, Jiang Yi was going to inquire about it. However, when he saw the contempt on her face and the condescension in her eyes, he didn"t even have the mood for asking. He turned sideways and said, "Jiang Yi has a lot of enemies. There are many people on the continent who wish me dead. I never like to cause trouble, but I have never been afraid of it either. Please tell the Martial Arts Hall Master that I won"t be an Honorary Elder. You can do whatever you want. I just want to say one thing—whoever wants to be hostile to me must be ready to bear my rage!"
After finishing his words, Jiang Yi strode out firmly without any hesitation. When the Martial Arts Hall Master and Manager Yang saw Jiang Yi came out with a gloomy face, they had their hearts jolted and knew something was wrong. It looked like this stupid Saint Lady offended him thoroughly.
Bang!
As expected, they heard a crisp sound of bowls being thrown when Jiang Yi just left the side hall. Looking at each other, the two had no choice but to walk in with their heads hunching between shoulders. They heard a fatal and icy remark: "Jiang Yi, you asked for it!"
Though Jiang Yi chose not to compromise at last, he spoke with Su Ruoxue about the matter at the first opportunity after returning to Drifting Snow Palace. He solemnly asked, "Ruoxue, you come from the royal family and should know a lot of secrets. Is your King Father really an Honorary Elder of the Martial Arts Hall?"
"I don"t know. I am not eligible to know such a secret history as a girl." Shaking her head, Su Ruoxue got up and called for Eunuch Cao. "Go and invite Uncle Overlord over."
"Uncle Overlord?"
Jiang Yi frowned. Su Ruoxue explained. "He is my father"s uncle and used to be the military chancellor. He is over 100 years old now. He is no longer involved in political affairs and has been retired for a long time. When the Azure Dragon Empire and the five va.s.sal states launched the attack against the Great Xia Kingdom, he was so mad that he got really sick. He has been resting at home. I didn"t mention it to you as I didn"t have time to visit him."
"Oh!"
Nodding, Jiang Yi waited quietly with Su Ruoxue at Drifting Snow Palace. Over an hour later, a white-haired man sitting on a wheelchair was pushed in.
He looked really old. One hand was constantly shaking, and his face was full of age spots. Fortunately, he was in good spirits. He was going to bow when seeing Su Ruoxue who immediately helped him up.
Su Ruoxue exchanged a few words with him before bringing up the main thing and repeating Jiang Yi"s questions. Jiang Yi also stared at this Elder of the Su Clan attentively.
"Yes…"
Uncle Overlord nodded and said loudly, "That"s right. Diw.a.n.g was indeed an Honorary Elder of the Martial Arts Hall. And even… I was also an Honorary Elder back then. Ruoxue, Diw.a.n.g left suddenly and didn"t have the time to tell you something. What I"m telling you is that on the Stellarsky Continent, you can offend any va.s.sal state—even the Azure Dragon Empire; but you can never offend the Martial Arts Hall!"
"This…"
Jiang Yi"s and Su Ruoxue"s face darkened, for Jiang Yi had just totally irritated a Martial Arts Hall Saint Lady.
Jiang Yi gave Su Ruoxue a look. The latter immediately understood the meaning and asked earnestly, "Uncle Overlord, is the Martial Arts Hall really that powerful? Why is everyone so fearful of it? At what exactly is the Martial Arts Hall strong?"
A light glittered in Uncle Overlord"s eyes. He said in a low voice, "I also don"t know what its specific strengths are, but I know two things. Firstly, do you know what happened 10,000 years ago when the six va.s.sal states" army besieged the Heaven Star City? I can tell you explicitly… the reason why the army of the six va.s.sal states didn"t dare to march into the Heaven Star City was because of one man. That man was the Martial Arts Chief Hall Master back then! In addition, during the Kingdom War after that, the six va.s.sal states dared not to disobey when the Martial Arts Chief Hall Master gave his command."
"What?"
Jiang Yi and Su Ruoxue both cried out involuntarily. Jiang Bieli"s warning reverberated in Jiang Yi"s head. Jiang Yi suddenly felt that—the water on the Stellarsky Continent was indeed deep.
[0] It"s a Chinese expression, meaning the situation is very complicated with many unwritten rules.