Chapter 35: The Martial Arts Alliance

“Are you still going to keep pretending?” Su Yifan asked.

Zheng Yuan hurriedly waved his hand. “Young Master Su, please don’t be angry. I’ll tell you everything.”

He ignored the pain on his face and climbed up from the ground.

“You’d better make yourself clear, or the next slap might kill you,” Su Yifan said in a low voice.

“Yes, yes…” Zheng Yuan nodded repeatedly. “Those men just now belonged to the War God Ye Wushuang.”

“Ye Wushuang? Who is he?” Su Yifan pressed further.

“Ye Wushuang is one of the five War Gods of our Great Xia. The two you killed just now were his personal guards.” Zheng Yuan continued, “The reason Ye Wushuang sent people to capture you is because of the King of the Southeast.”

Su Yifan was momentarily taken aback. “So the King of the Southeast’s superior is Ye Wushuang?”

Zheng Yuan covered his face and said, “Ye Wushuang isn’t just the King of the Southeast’s superior, he’s also his brother.”

“What?!” Su Yifan was surprised. He hadn’t expected the King of the Southeast to have such a formidable elder brother.

Impressive, indeed.

“What kind of strength does Ye Wushuang possess?” Su Yifan asked. Although he knew the man wouldn’t be a match for him, his curiosity was piqued. After all, a War God shouldn’t be weak.

Zheng Yuan thought for a moment before replying, “To be honest, Young Master Su, I’m not exactly sure about Ye Wushuang’s current strength. I only remember that three years ago, he was at the late stage of Grandmaster. Now that three years have passed, he must be at the peak of Grandmaster by now.”

He had never met Ye Wushuang; this information had come from other sources, and he couldn’t guarantee its accuracy. But one thing was certain: Ye Wushuang’s strength wouldn’t be below Grandmaster, as one needed at least that level to be a War God.

“Only a Grandmaster?” Su Yifan pursed his lips in disappointment. He had hoped to find a worthy opponent for a few rounds, but it seemed that fellow was only slightly stronger than the one before.

Hearing Su Yifan’s tone, Zheng Yuan’s jaw nearly dropped in fright.

What did he mean, “only a Grandmaster”? That kind of strength was something many struggled their whole lives to attain, yet to him it seemed as common as a cabbage on the roadside.

“Young Master Su, um… may I leave now?” Zheng Yuan asked cautiously.

Standing next to Su Yifan, he always felt his life was hanging by a thread. It was best to leave as soon as possible.

“You haven’t finished answering my questions.”

---

Su Yifan looked at him and continued, “Tell me, why are you here? Did you want to see me get subdued and captured by those men?”

Damn it!

How could he know?

Cold sweat broke out on Zheng Yuan’s forehead as he hurried to explain, “Young Master Su, you misunderstand. I witnessed your strength firsthand at the King of the Southeast’s mansion. I actually came to warn you that someone was coming for you, but I arrived a bit late.”

“Oh? Is that so?”

“It’s the truth. I just received the news and rushed over, but I was still too late. If only I had your number, I would have called you directly,” Zheng Yuan said sincerely.

Su Yifan watched his clumsy acting but didn’t expose him. “Alright, since you’re so thoughtful, I’ll give you my contact information now.”

“From now on, inform me at the first sign of trouble.”

With that, he handed over his details.

“This…” Zheng Yuan stared at the number, hesitating to take it.

“What’s wrong? Were you lying to me just now?” Su Yifan said coldly.

“No, no, not at all…” Zheng Yuan dared not hesitate any longer and quickly accepted the contact information.

For some reason, he felt as if he’d been tricked, but he couldn’t refuse under the circumstances.

“Very good. Remember to keep me posted. If your information is ever late again, I’ll come find you myself,” Su Yifan patted Zheng Yuan’s shoulder before heading back.

Zheng Yuan’s palms were drenched in sweat.

Wasn’t Su Yifan basically making him a spy?

He was a core member of the Martial Alliance—how could he be a spy?

But if he didn’t…

He dared not think any further.

A spy it was, then. At least he’d stay alive, and with enough caution, it would be fine.

---

Soon, Zheng Yuan returned to the Martial Alliance headquarters.

Hong Jinlong and his group were already waiting.

Seeing Zheng Yuan’s swollen, bruised face, they nearly burst out laughing.

“Zheng Yuan, what happened to you? How did you get beaten up again?” Hong Jinlong stepped forward to ask.

Honestly, he wanted to laugh, but his professionalism urged him to hold back.

Zheng Yuan replied bitterly, “Leader, my wounds don’t matter. I have something important to report.”

“Ye Wushuang’s men are dead.”

At these words—

---

Hong Jinlong and the others were visibly shocked.

What? Dead again?

Hong Jinlong quickly regained composure and asked, “Was it Su Yifan who killed them?”

“Yes.” Zheng Yuan nodded. “Those two were Ye Wushuang’s personal guards—one at the peak of Master, the other at the early stage of Grandmaster. Both died at Su Yifan’s hands.”

Hearing this, the faces of Hong Jinlong and his companions paled.

How could this be?

A peak Master and an early Grandmaster, both slain by Su Yifan.

Which meant Su Yifan’s true strength wasn’t what they’d guessed before—a Master—but actually a Grandmaster, and above the early stage at that.

Heavens!

He was so young, yet already a Grandmaster.

They had thought earlier that Su Yifan must have had help from some senior expert to defeat the War God Ye Wushuang’s guards.

They hadn’t expected Su Yifan himself to be that expert.

“So, your injuries…?” Hong Jinlong pointed to Zheng Yuan’s face.

Zheng Yuan winced and nodded. “I was watching from the sidelines, but was discovered.”

Several people gasped.

Thank goodness they hadn’t gone themselves, or they’d have been the ones beaten.

“Did Su Yifan just let you go?” Hong Jinlong asked again.

With someone as ruthless as Su Yifan, how could he let Zheng Yuan off so easily?

Zheng Yuan swallowed nervously and put on a pained expression.

“You don’t know, Leader. Su Yifan kills with reason. As long as you don’t intend to kill him, he won’t do anything to you.”

“Besides those two guards, Ye Wushuang sent dozens of soldiers, and Su Yifan let all of them go.”

At this, the group finally understood.

What surprised them was that Su Yifan possessed such a side.

“Leader, what should we do now?” Deputy Leader Guo Fei asked.

“What else can we do? We can only wait and see. Ye Wushuang certainly won’t let this go,” Hong Jinlong mused.

At that moment, Zheng Yuan spoke up. “Leader, I have an idea.”

Hong Jinlong turned to him.

Zheng Yuan continued, “Leader, perhaps we can recruit Su Yifan into the Martial Alliance.”