195: Xiang Wentian's test, counterattack from the bottom

"How many days will this boat be at sea?"

A few days later, sounds of arguing came from the cabin.

"That's right, I can't take it anymore. This place is tiny, just like a dog kennel. It's suffocating! Why do they get to live in big rooms, and some even get a whole floor to themselves?"

Someone was venting their dissatisfaction.

Because most of them came from the inland, many were not used to traveling by water. After several days of drifting, many were already vomiting, their faces pale, and their legs weak.

This made the air in the already cramped and confined cabin smell pungent, unpleasant, and unbearable.

Those who could board the ship, even the worst among them, were Sect Heads.

Within their own Schools, they were masters served by others.

Wherever they went, they were treated with respect; when had they ever been so humiliated?

Therefore, after these few days of being stifled, it finally erupted at this moment.

"Right, where are the people from Xia Ke Island? Come out!"

Someone shouted with their head tilted back.

"You invited us here; is this how you treat guests on Xia Ke Island?"

"Look at this, is this a place for humans to live? We want to live on the upper deck!"

"There are so many rooms on the upper deck, why should we be squeezed down here?"

One person spoke, and immediately two, three, and then dozens of people started to chime in.

As more people joined in, having strength in numbers, they found Zhang San and Li Si, demanding an explanation from the two.

"Two envoys, is this the hospitality of Xia Ke Island?"

"I do not believe the Island Master of Xia Ke Island would be so rude."

Everyone voiced their inquiries one by one.

Zhang San and Li Si frowned at the commotion caused by so many people.

Although their martial arts were peerless, they couldn't just kill everyone, especially not all of them.

After all, these people had other uses once they reached the island.

"Then what do you want?"

Zhang San snorted, "The rooms on this ship are divided according to strength. If you are dissatisfied, you should reflect on yourselves, why you are inferior to others, instead of shouting and yelling here."

"If you have enough ability, perhaps when you return from Xia Ke Island, you will be able to live on the top deck."

"Since it is divided by strength, then who is doing the dividing? Why do you think they are stronger than us?"

Someone questioned.

"Right, we haven't fought, so why are they stronger than us?"

"I think it should be decided by strength. Who is strong and who is weak should only be known after a fight."

Others immediately joined in the heckling.

In literature there is no first; in martial arts there is no second.

Unless it was an absolute crushing of power, the others wouldn't admit they were inferior to anyone else.

If word got back to Jianghu, and people in Jianghu learned that they could only live on the bottom deck of this ship, while so-and-so lived on the second deck, wouldn't that be admitting they were weaker than others?

"So you don't trust our judgment and want to compete yourselves?"

Zhang San and Li Si understood and, after looking at each other, turned their heads and said: "Since that's the case, you are welcome to try."

Zhang San and Li Si stood with their hands on their hips and said loudly.

This kind of thing didn't affect them anyway; as long as people arrived at Xia Ke Island alive, it was fine.

As for what happened in between, it didn't matter.

"Good, since that's the case, then we will rely on our own strength."

Having received permission, many people showed joy and turned to look for their own challengers.

Bei Haishi, Shi Qing, and Min Rou were among them.

No one dared to challenge Bai Zizai.

Although Bai Zizai had previously lost to Ning Yuan, the strength he displayed was enough to let people know he was not comparable to ordinary people.

Ning Yuan stood on the top deck, overlooking the fighting below, leisurely sipping wine.

"Alliance Leader Yue is truly carefree."

At this moment, footsteps approached, and Xiang Wentian appeared behind Ning Yuan.

"A person from the Demon Cult?"

Ning Yuan said without turning his head.

The smile on Xiang Wentian's face stiffened, but then it returned to normal in an instant, "Alliance Leader Yue has excellent perception. I had only just arrived, and my identity was already discovered by Alliance Leader Yue."

"Do you know the relationship between the Demon Cult and my Five Mountains Sword Sect?"

Ning Yuan asked indifferently.

"Naturally, I know."

Xiang Wentian bowed slightly.

"Since you know, and you still dare to appear before me, aren't you afraid I will kill you?"

Ning Yuan glanced at Xiang Wentian and continued drinking.

"I believe Alliance Leader Yue is different from others. Otherwise, you wouldn't have gone to save Liu Zhengfeng, who was a bosom friend of a Demon Cult Elder, nor would you have saved the granddaughter of a Demon Cult Elder."

Xiang Wentian chuckled and said respectfully.

"That is different."

Ning Yuan turned his head, glanced at Xiang Wentian, and said with a half-smile: "Liu Zhengfeng is a member of my Five Mountains Sword Sect. It is no big deal who he associates with. As for Qu Feiyan, she is just a little girl; she could not choose her birth. Yue cannot bring himself to not spare even such a little girl."

"But you are different. As a Demon Cult envoy, you are in a high position. There is no lack of reasons to kill you!"

Ning Yuan said with emotion.

Xiang Wentian's expression changed slightly, but he soon returned to normal, "With your strength, Alliance Leader, if you wanted to kill me, how could I have lived until now?"

"You are quite clever. No wonder you could serve under two Sect Heads, Ren Woxing and Dongfang Bubai, and still hold a high position. Tell me, what do you want to talk to me about?"

Ning Yuan put down his wine glass, narrowed his eyes, and looked at Xiang Wentian, asking.

"Actually, I have had a question I wanted to ask Alliance Leader Yue for a long time."

Xiang Wentian took a deep breath, and his expression became serious.

"Oh? What question?"

Although Ning Yuan had already guessed in his heart, he still asked indifferently.

"I want to know..."

Xiang Wentian's face became stern, and his words became solemn, "I want to know, where is my Sect Head?"

"Isn't your Sect Head on Black Cliff? Where your Demon Cult Sect Head is, you should ask your own Demon Cult people, not come to me, an opponent of the Demon Cult, to ask. That doesn't make sense, does it?"

Ning Yuan said playfully.

"Alliance Leader Yue, let us speak plainly. You know I am not referring to Dongfang Bubai, but to Sect Leader Ren, Ren Woxing."

Xiang Wentian stopped covering up and asked directly.

"What a joke. You should ask Dongfang Bubai where Ren Woxing is, not me."

Ning Yuan said indifferently.

"Headmaster Yue, it seems you still don't trust me. I have returned from Plum Manor. The Four Friends of Plum Manor—no, now there are only three—they have already told me the truth. I just want to know, is Sect Leader Ren alive or dead now?"

Xiang Wentian took two steps forward, his emotions a bit agitated.

Ning Yuan's eyes narrowed, and a daunting aura erupted. Xiang Wentian stopped immediately. The invisible pressure caused cold sweat to seep from Xiang Wentian's forehead.

Ning Yuan narrowed his eyes, and only after a long time did he speak, "Do you want me to answer whether he is alive or dead?"

Ning Yuan asked playfully.

As Ning Yuan spoke, this invisible pressure dissipated, and Xiang Wentian let out a long breath.

Hearing Ning Yuan's question, Xiang Wentian's heart sank. Such an answer gave him a very bad feeling.

"If the Sect Head were still alive, then with such a mysterious Opportunity on Xia Ke Island, given the Sect Head's personality, he would never have missed it. But I searched the whole ship last night and didn't find any trace. Plus, with Yue Buqun's current rhetoric, I'm afraid..."

Xiang Wentian's heart sank sharply. Although he had a premonition, this feeling was becoming stronger now.

Xiang Wentian glanced at the person opposite him and couldn't help but lick his dry lips. Last night, when he was looking for Ren Woxing's tracks on the ship, he accidentally saw a figure walk into Yue Buqun's room.

It was an hour later when she came out, her clothes slightly disheveled and her face flushed.

Therefore, Xiang Wentian knew very well that the Gentleman Sword, who seemed famous throughout Jianghu, was definitely not truly upright in private.

Otherwise, how could he do such a thing, having an affair with someone else's wife?

Just this one point was enough to show the other's deep schemes and unscrupulous methods.

Therefore, anything could happen.

The only thing that confused him now was that previously in Jianghu, especially Zuo Lengchan, died from the Star Absorbing Skill. This was Ren Woxing's unique skill, and no one else knew how to use it.

Even Dongfang Bubai did not understand this unique skill.

He hadn't fully figured this point out yet.

Actually, he already had a guess in his heart, but he dared not be sure, nor was he willing to be sure; it was hard to believe.

"Headmaster Yue is a righteous gentleman. I just want to get an answer to settle my own heart."

Xiang Wentian took a deep breath and clasped his hands again.

"What if he is alive, what if he is dead? Why be attached to life!"

Ning Yuan patted Xiang Wentian on the shoulder, "Right Envoy Xiang is truly a loyal person. If Ren Woxing knew he had such a loyal subordinate serving him, he would be very comforted."

Xiang Wentian was stunned for a moment, and then his heart sank.

This didn't sound right.

"Could it be that Sect Leader Ren really..."

Xiang Wentian's expression changed, and he couldn't help but say.

"The truth and facts are no longer important. There is no need for you to ask more."

Ning Yuan said casually.

Xiang Wentian clenched his fists, watching Ning Yuan's back disappear, his face ugly.

He wanted to ask several times if he had obtained the Star Absorbing Skill, but he restrained himself.

"If the Sect Head is really dead, then there is only one truth about why someone on Jianghu is using the Star Absorbing Skill, and that is that another person has obtained the Sect Head's unique skill. And this person is very likely Yue Buqun."

"Only his strength has been advancing by leaps and bounds recently, which best matches the effect of the Star Absorbing Skill."

"But if I ask about this to his face, I'm afraid it will easily bring trouble upon myself, making Yue Buqun develop a murderous intent towards me."

"This person seems upright, but now it seems he is despicable, ruthless, and deep-scheming. He even thought of a way to frame others, making people mistakenly think the Sect Head has returned to Jianghu, so no one would suspect him."

"Truly a good strategy."

Xiang Wentian muttered to himself.

Thinking back to seeing Min Rou enter the other person's room in the middle of the night last night and only coming out after an hour, this gave him a deeper understanding of Yue Buqun.

"Gentleman Sword, Ice and Snow Divine Sword—both are incredibly holy titles in Jianghu. I never thought they would get together. This Righteous Path is truly full of filth; it's not as good as our Divine Cult."

Xiang Wentian sneered in his heart, his eyes rolling, thinking: "The gap in strength between me and Yue Buqun is too great; I'm afraid it won't be easy to threaten Yue Buqun, but perhaps this secret can be released at the right time to ruin Yue Buqun's reputation."

"And there's Shi Qing; perhaps I should find an Opportunity to tell him first and let him go find Yue Buqun to settle the score."

Xiang Wentian sneered.

Now that Ren Woxing was dead, he had nothing to worry about.

Although he was no match for Yue Buqun, he would never let Yue Buqun have an easy time.

He was bound to cause some trouble for the other party.

What's more, he was the Demon Cult in the eyes of the Righteous Path, and Yue Buqun was the leader of the Righteous Path. The two sides were already hostile forces, so there was no hesitation in plotting against each other.

"Yue Buqun and Shi Qing are both famous heroes of the Righteous Path. I must watch this commotion."

Xiang Wentian clenched his fists.

Now he just lacked a suitable Opportunity.

"Hearing is false, seeing is believing. If I tell Shi Qing directly, he might not believe it. I need to find an Opportunity for him to see this scene with his own eyes."

"I don't believe these two dogs will be able to resist the loneliness in the next few days."

Xiang Wentian's eyes were firm.

Then he looked down, looking at Shi Qing and Min Rou.

A flash of inspiration, "Perhaps, this is an Opportunity."

Xiang Wentian narrowed his eyes, and an idea formed in his mind.

...

On the deck.

The challenges continued.

Shi Qing and Min Rou also encountered challenges one after another.

Because the husband and wife were in one room, the two of them fought the enemy together.

But after several challenges, the two of them were also exhausted.

Although their strength was good, the people who could board the ship were the strongest of each sect.

Those who could get the Xia Ke Token were all carefully selected by Zhang San and Li Si; there was no one making up the numbers.

Therefore, no matter how strong the couple was, they were not much stronger than the others.

After several challenges, they had already lost their initial sharpness.

This allowed more people to see the Opportunity. The number of challengers not only didn't decrease but increased.

"Two envoys, I'm afraid this is not fair, right?"

Shi Qing couldn't help but speak, "Those of us who defend the ring have to constantly accept challenges. This is a wheel war; we will be defeated sooner or later. But the challengers are all full of energy and have the advantage. If we are defeated because of this, we are not convinced."

"Right, we are not convinced either!"

Several other Sect Heads in similar situations to Shi Qing also spoke up.

"In this kind of wheel war, I'm afraid even Sir Weide of the Snow Mountain Sect couldn't hold on, and perhaps even the Five Mountains Alliance Chief might not be able to hold on. If we are defeated like this, that is too unfair to us who are defending the ring."

Many people shouted loudly.

"On this ship, strength is respected. Since you cannot defend the ring, then you should take the initiative to give up the room and hand it over to others. Then there will naturally be others to challenge him, and you can even go and challenge to win the room back!"

A challenger said sarcastically.

"Hahaha, well said, I agree. This is fair. If you have the ability, rest and recharge after leaving the ring, and then challenge to win it back."

Many people chimed in.

Among them, many had completely lost the qualifications to compete, but they couldn't get it, and obviously didn't want others to have it easy.

They were afraid the world wouldn't be chaotic enough.

These words made the faces of Shi Qing, Min Rou, and others look ugly.

Zhang San and Li Si looked at each other, and after considering for a moment, they stepped forward a few steps and said loudly: "What they said does have some truth. How about this: those who defend the ring only need to withstand three challengers a day to continue living in their original room, and the challengers can only challenge three times a day."

"This..."

Shi Qing and others looked hesitant, but others had already responded one after another.

This still had benefits for them.

After all, everyone who could board the ship was an expert, and they wouldn't be much worse than each other.

Facing experts of this level, three battles were about enough.

Next, Shi Qing and Min Rou also encountered their third opponent.

If it were their Peak period, the two would naturally have nothing to fear.

But in the current situation, both of them looked nervous.

Because their Internal Energy was severely damaged at this moment, and their physical strength was also severely depleted; they were no longer confident.

And once they were defeated, they would have no strength to challenge others, and they were afraid they would have to live on the bottom deck tonight.

Thinking of such an environment, Min Rou felt disgusted.

Only just done two days of calisthenics, my arm muscles are starting to ache. The flesh on both sides of my ribs is also aching to the touch this time. After doing a set of introductory squats, my legs felt weak going downstairs, but I still have to persist!!! Finally broke a hundred pounds after dinner, the first time reaching a hundred pounds, even if it's after dinner!