Shi Ming's suspicion grew after hearing Ye Ling's challenge, and the meaning of the words changed completely.
"This kid, so young, no matter how high his talent, his strength can't be that great... He must be a lure sent by Fa Yun and Meng Hun to distract me. No... I can't fall for it! I won't fight him!"
Shi Ming's eyes flashed with a sharp light. He immediately dismissed the idea of fighting Ye Ling and returned to his grand sedan chair. He instructed his retainers, "This City Lord is tired. You will fight the Azure Demon Swordsman. Whoever wins will be rewarded with a hundred taels of gold!"
As soon as Shi Ming spoke, the retainers who had retreated to the sides of the street became excited again. Their gazes towards Ye Ling all turned into those of looking at a walking money bag.
Ye Ling, on the other hand, looked at Bai Lan speechlessly and said, "This is great. Fa Yun's letter of introduction not only failed to make Shi Ming fight me, but it made him even more cowardly. We've done this for nothing, haven't we?"
"Disciple didn't expect things to turn out this way either..." Bai Lan stuck out her tongue at Ye Ling. "But it doesn't make much difference. We've already seen Shi Ming. Whether we fight or not isn't up to Shi Ming."
"You little girl..."
Ye Ling shook his head and smiled, then looked back at Shi Ming, who had retreated into the sedan chair, and said loudly, "Shi Ming, if you don't accept the challenge, then I'll have to force you to!"
"Hmph! Clumsy acting!" Shi Ming sneered. "How can this City Lord fall for your trick? You defeat my retainers first!"
As soon as Shi Ming finished speaking, a swordsman wearing a bamboo hat and a straw cloak walked out, pointing his sword at Ye Ling. "Thirteenth Sword Under Heaven, Li Yi, please accept..."
*Bang!!!*
Before the straw-cloaked swordsman could finish speaking, Ye Ling kicked out. The straw-cloaked swordsman flew out like a cannonball, crashing through the wall and flying hundreds of meters away, causing a gasp of surprise.
The other retainers of Shi Ming, who were eager to try, were all stunned after seeing Ye Ling kick away a top-tier martial artist. No one dared to step forward to challenge Ye Ling alone.
Although Li Yi was not Shi Ming's strongest retainer, his strength was in the top tier, and he was quite formidable.
Yet now, Li Yi was kicked away by Ye Ling, which meant Ye Ling possessed the strength of a peerless master!
Shi Ming, in his sedan chair, saw this scene and his eyes narrowed slightly. He said solemnly, "This Wang Li Ren's strength is actually so formidable. That kick just now, even I... might not be able to dodge it easily. I didn't expect such a young talent to emerge in the Wu Dynasty. It's a pity... he cannot be used by me..."
After seeing the strength displayed by Ye Ling, Shi Ming became even more convinced that this was a scheme by Fa Yun and Meng Hun, and he resolutely refused to act. He ordered his retainers, "You good-for-nothings, if you can't beat him, then attack him together and capture this Wang Li Ren!"
"Whoever takes his head can claim the reward!"
After all, this Cang Yue City was his territory, and whatever happened here was decided by him alone!
Following Shi Ming's command, the retainers who were still considering martial ethics now had a fierce glint in their eyes as they lunged at Ye Ling.
With the purchasing power of the Wu Dynasty, five taels of gold could satisfy all the food and clothing needs of a wealthy family of five for a year.
With a hundred taels of gold, it was equivalent to a lifetime of worry-free food and clothing!
Under such immense temptation, these martial artists, who had become Shi Ming's retainers for money, were now like madmen, wanting to tear off a piece or two from Ye Ling to claim the reward!
Seeing these martial artists charging at him with killing intent, Ye Ling no longer intended to hold back. He said in a voice that could be heard throughout the city, "Remember, the one killing you today... is the Azure Demon Swordsman, Wang Li Ren."
As the words fell, Ye Ling took a step forward, raised his hand, and sucked. The sword of the swordsman who had been kicked away earlier appeared in his hand.
The next moment, countless sword marks appeared in the air.
The martial artists who had lunged at Ye Ling first had sword marks appear on their bodies, and then they were directly cut to pieces!
Scarlet blood splattered onto the expensive floor tiles. The surrounding onlookers were all stunned, their faces pale.
Most of the people living in Cang Yue City were from wealthy families. How had they ever seen such a bloody scene?
As Shi Ming's retainers were all wiped out by Ye Ling in one move, many people vomited on the spot.
"Such fast swordsmanship!"
Shi Ming suddenly stood up, staring intently at Ye Ling, who stood in the center of the corpses, unable to believe his eyes.
He hadn't even seen Ye Ling make a move, and Ye Ling had already killed all his retainers!
"With such swordsmanship, perhaps only Sword Saint Lu You can achieve it. This child, so young, already has Lu You's strength?"
Shi Ming stared intently at Ye Ling, who held the sword, his eyeballs almost popping out, his hands trembling slightly.
It was then that he realized he had been wrong, terribly wrong!
If Fa Yun and Meng Hun wanted to join forces to kill him, they wouldn't need any schemes or tricks. If they simply joined forces with the Azure Demon Swordsman, then no matter where he fled, there would only be death!
"It's likely that Wang Li Ren, relying on his superior martial arts, came alone to challenge my Cang Yue City. Otherwise, Fa Yun and Meng Hun wouldn't need to hide. If they teamed up with Wang Li Ren, they could kill me by force! This might be my chance!"
"I must kill him here!"
Shi Ming stared intently at Ye Ling. While shocked by the strength Ye Ling displayed, he also felt a hint of relief.
In his opinion, if it weren't for the Azure Demon Swordsman's arrogance, he might not have had a chance of survival.
"Just the Azure Demon Swordsman alone, with gunpowder, might not be able to kill him!"
Shi Ming stared at Ye Ling through the curtain of the sedan chair. As he planned something in his heart, his right hand gradually gripped the armrest of the chair and pressed a button.
*Click, click!*
A peculiar sound suddenly rang out from the sedan chair. The servants carrying the sedan chair all felt a slight sting on their necks, and then they all became inexplicably excited, wanting to tear apart everything they saw.
"Wang Li Ren, no matter how fast your sword is, you can never defeat me! This is Cang Yue City, and in this city full of mechanisms, I am invincible!"
Shi Ming said in a deep voice, then he slammed the sedan chair. The thirty-six people carrying the sedan chair, like frenzied beasts, lifted the chair and charged towards Ye Ling at an extremely fast speed!
Ye Ling looked at the thirty-six people carrying a sedan chair towards him, and the corner of his mouth twitched. He felt like he had walked onto the wrong set.
This...
Wasn't this the Realm of Extreme Martial Arts?
What happened to martial arts being supreme?
The next moment, Shi Ming rushed out of the sedan chair, soared into the air, and shouted at Ye Ling mid-air, "Wang Li Ren, turn to ashes!"
In his hand, he still held a fire starter.
*Bang!!!*
The sedan chair reached Ye Ling and exploded with a bang. The thirty-six people carrying it instantly vaporized, and Ye Ling was engulfed by the explosion flames. Even the surrounding onlookers were affected by the blast, suffering heavy casualties.
The entire Cang Yue City fell into chaos, shrouded in thick smoke!
Shi Ming landed gracefully like a feather, looking at the flames ahead with a smile. "My sedan chair is loaded with enough gunpowder. Even if Sword Saint Lu You were to be blown up, he would absolutely be annihilated!"
"Wang Li Ren, times have changed!"