Chapter 190: Confronting the Meng Family
Translator: Transn Editor: Transn
Storm clouds gathered darkly, the sound of thunder rolling, coming closer and closer. In the center of the dusky clouds and at the edge of it burst white lights flashing once in a while.
Gathering, dank winds grew stronger by the minute and the entire River Heart Island was surrounded by this depressing environment.
Contrarily, the navy barrack at River Heart Island was indulging in joy and celebration.
The soldiers and officers drank liquor and ate meat while they sang and danced. The sounds of their excessive excitement could be heard halfway across the River Heart Island.
The day had been a good one and the goods yard for the River Heart Island had been completed. Which also meant their commander Zhou Bao had exit training.
Two months earlier, the young lady Meng Qingrong from the Meng Family in Ningzhou suddenly appeared at River Heart Island and collided with the Navy here. She defeated the Navy’s experts including Wang Cheng the Vice Commander, Zhu Ba the captain, and Jiang Xiao. Zhou Bao, who was the Navy Commander, confronted her in person.
The battle Zhou Bao participated in had become an event in Jianghu. As he not only defeated the youngest genius Meng Qingrong from the Meng Family in Ningzhou but he also fought with the Dragon Granny, who was a Level Seven expert from the Meng Family in Ningzhou. He astonishingly bombarded her to death in front of hundreds of people, shocking the world!
Obviously, the world had been shocked!
This was the first time that a Level Four expert bombarded a Level Seven expert to death. The battle had overturned people’s previous perceptions about phase gaps.
It was common enough for a Level Four expert to defeat a Level Five expert. Sometimes, the guy happened to be fortunate enough to use special techniques and defeat a Level Six expert, and his prestige would spread across Jianghu.
However, why would a Level Four expert bother to take on a Level Seven expert?
Ultimately it was fine that he challenged the expert, but going so far as to bombard his rival to death, with his bare fists against her cane, in front of so many people.
How could such a thing happen?
However, it did happen. Zhou Bao used his powerful fists to compensate for the vast gap between Level Four and Level Seven and it turned out to be the most shocking act Jianghu had seen in a hundred years.
After that, Commander Zhou Bao of the Jiang City Navy had become world famous!
Those that had witnessed the event recounted the battle as being of epic proportions. Especially Junior Leopard’s rivalry with Dragon Granny that had evoked booming explosions from his fists. The repercussion from it caused one-third of the spectators to faint and almost decimated the near-to-completion goods yard, leaving it devastated as if an earthquake had hit it.
Of course, this was all hearsay in Jianghu and it was normal that most people doubted the rumors.
Which made sense since the rumors had been too outrageous to align with most people’s perceptions.
However, two days after the battle, the word spread that the Meng Family in Ningzhou had confirmed that the rumors were indeed true and Jianghu burst into an uproar. As they were astonished that a Level Four expert could actually defeat a Level Seven expert, they also anxiously waited to see how the Meng Family in Ningzhou would respond.
After all, this particular family in Ningzhou was a millennium family. Their power was greater than the Wu Family in Yunzhou that had only risen a few hundred years ago. Now that a Level Seven expert had been killed, nobody believed the Meng Family would just let it go. Even though the Level Seven expert had been defeated in a justified contest.
So, naturally, nobody wanted to believe it. In this world, no matter the status of the school, a Level Seven expert would have an important position in it. Experts were considered significant criteria for identifying a clan’s power. How many Level Seven experts a clan or a school had would basically determine their level of power.
Now that a Level Seven expert had lost her life at the River Heart Island, in such a disgraceful manner, could the Meng Family drop the matter peacefully?
No, definitely not. They would no doubt find a way to regain face, and the best way to do that was to kill Zhou Bao, the freak.
Would it really be that easy?
Except for being anouter core elder in the Wu Family, Junior Leopard also had another identity: the commander of the Navy of Jiang City. The reason why Junior Leopard had collided with Dragon Granny, including the process of the conflict, had also been made clear.
Dragon Granny ambushed Junior Leopard and this forced him to fight her.
As powerful as the Meng Family was they couldn’t do things in an obviously unreasonable manner. The conflict had been caused by the Meng Family. It was already pathetic enough for a Level Seven expert to attack a Level Four expert. Unfortunately, the fact that the conflict took place at the River Heart Island, that was governed by Junior Leopard, placed him the favorable position in public opinion.
In addition to Junior Leopard’s dual roles. He was also the outer core elder of the Wu Family. Although the Wu Family in Yunzhou couldn’t compare to the Meng Family, they weren’t a family that just anybody could trample on. Not to mention, the incident in question had involved the youngest and most promising genius in the family’s history. Meanwhile, Junior Leopard’s identity as the commander of the Jiang City Navy had encouraged the Meng Family to be more scrupulous. Attacking an official of the imperial court, at the place they governed, was considered taboo.
That’s why, even though Junior Leopard easily bombard Dragon Granny to death, the Meng Family wouldn’t be able to find a good excuse to retaliate.
However, just because they didn’t have a good excuse didn’t mean the Meng Family would drop this matter easily. Since they had lost face because of Dragon Granny, it would be impossible to take back and they would only be able to save face in other ways.
A good way to save face was by killing Junior Leopard.
Regrettably, killing Junior Leopard would be difficult because of the aforementioned reasons and there would be little chance for them to scheme. They had to kill him in a reasonable way.
Which meant, they had to kill him in a contest, just like the one in which he killed Dragon Granny.
However, it would be nearly impossible to do it in such a way!
In a face-to-face fight, Junior Leopard could take down a Level Seven expert. Which meant they would need to find a fighter that was stronger than Dragon Granny, otherwise it would just be a waste of a person’s life.
Ultimately, the only way to rid themselves of Junior Leopard was to dispatch an expert that exceeded a Level Seven.
Even so, it would still be humiliating. It would be obvious they were targeting Junior Leopard if they challenged him with anyone above a Level Four.
Moreover, they had already lost a Level Seven expert. The Meng Family’s thousand-year prestige would be ruined if another dispatched Level Seven expert also died by Junior Leopard’s hands. Although unlikely, it had already happened once, and the Meng Family undoubtedly wouldn’t let it happen again.
Therefore, the best solution was to dispatch a Level Eight expert!
Was that realistic?
To dispatch a Level Eight expert to challenge a Level Four expert?
Did the Meng Family have enough face to issue another challenge?
Even if they had enough face to dispatch a Level Eight expert, what if Zhou Bao wouldn’t accept their challenge? Could the expert then attack, engaging by force?
God observes what people do and it was not an easy task for a millennium family to establish their prestige. Therefore they had to be more cautious than the ordinary man from Jianghu. They feared doing something that could be used against them later. So, they were thinking twice before taking action over the incident.
Hence, the Meng Family’s decision to release the news that confirmed the death of Dragon Granny by Junior Leopard’s hands. They were relying on the accompanying news to help them save some face. Which was Meng Qingrong, who was defeated in the River Heart Island, had sent a challenge to Junior Leopard. The only catch was the challenge was for later in time.
Meng Qingrong challenged Junior Leopard to a battle at the River Heart Island, in three years time, to end the resentment.
The whole incident ended with the challenge. As for the final result, it was going to have to wait three years.
The biggest beneficiary of this battle wasn’t Junior Leopard. Even though he had earned his name in Jianghu through fighting, being famous wasn’t always a good thing, especially at his current age and ability.
The actual beneficiaries were the Wu Family and the Jiang City Navy.
The Wu Family gained another powerful outer core elder and their control improved in Jianghu. Their influence across the entire Zhonghe City would now increase because of Junior Leopard, taking up more developing rooms of their rivals.
As for the Jiang City Navy, they had the largest gain. After Junior Leopard’s show of strength, no one would dare to challenge the navy. Plus, the navy was now in charge of Broken Dragon Beach, the port for River Heart Island. This was a huge benefit for the navy. This meant that they could get from the port without the greedy stares. Most of the gains went to the navy and the Jiang City Navy had become really powerful.
So, in celebration of the goods yard’s completion and Junior Leopard’s training finishing, the Vice Commander Wang Cheng decided to give the navy members one day off, in the hopes they would have a good time.
One purpose was to celebrate the completion of the goods yard, another was to welcome Junior Leopard.
The feast started at lunch and ran past midnight, with no one leaving. Junior Leopard and Jiang Xiao were the only ones still conscious and standing at the party.
“Your Excellency, let me toast you again!” Carrying a liquor crock, Zhu Ba lurched into Junior Leopard, spilling alcohol down his body. “Your Excellency, I wish you…!” His eyes rotated before the words finished and then his body crumpled at Junior Leopard’s feet. Junior Leopard couldn’t help but frown.
“Your Excellency, please don’t be offended, everybody is simply too excited!” Jiang Xiao smiled and meditated. He wasn’t entirely drunk, but right now he was also flushed red, spirit high with liquor.
“I know that everybody is happy. The goods yard is ready for use and we will have another fiscal resource!” Junior Leopard laughed. “Your Excellency Jiang, you’re really a good drinker. You have had a lot to drink and yet you are still sober!”
“Compared to Your Excellency, I am nothing. All the soldiers in our camp have toasted you, but your face hasn’t even gotten red!”
“I used techniques to force most of the alcohol out of my body,” Junior Leopard replied frankly.
“Ah ha! That is Your Excellency’s clever technique!” Jiang Xiao said enviously, “anyone else, he would not have the capability to force the alcohol out!”
“You’re really developing a way with words.” Smiled Junior Leopard, “But, it’s good that you are not drunk, I have a matter that needs your help.”
“Your Excellency please go ahead. Any assignment, I will fulfill it no matter what!” Jiang Xiao spoke in an impassioned way.
“It seems that you have also had a lot to drink.” Junior Leopard whispered merrily, close to Jiang Xiao’s ear. Jiang Xiao’s face changed immediately.