The Path of the Martial Arts BOSS
Chapter 446 - 258 Negotiations

Chapter 446: Chapter 258 Negotiations

Just outside a forest near Linchuan Prefecture in Yan Province, there stood a small cottage at the foot of a mountain.

According to the documents Six Gates had submitted to the Northern Zhou government, the fugitive, namely Li Xin, was hidden in these woods.

However, the dozen or so Six Gates constables who had come to capture Li Xin had arrived at this location early but had not entered the woods. Instead, they waited inside the cottage, silently biding their time.

This vigil had lasted two days.

On this day, perhaps because someone could not bear the allegation of neglecting duty by not pursuing a criminal, shadowy figures emerged sporadically from the woods, slowly encircling the small cottage.

Dozens of swordsmen, dressed in black and wearing black iron masks, were the first to emerge from the woods and head towards the cottage.

"The people from the Azure Dragon Association have finally arrived, huh?"

The door of the cottage swung open, and fully armed Six Gates constables walked out. The leader, facing the fierce-looking Demon Blade Guards as well as the figures in the woods who had yet to emerge, spoke with unshakable resolve.

"Teng Rui, Bai Chenglin, Lin Yuan... all renowned Silver Seal Constables of the Six Gates. So, does capturing an Innate Realm fugitive really require the mobilization of over ten Silver Seal constables? When did Six Gates fall so low?"

Another figure stepped out from the woods, draped in a blood-colored cloak and with two sharp hand axes at his waist—it was Blood Bat No.1.

"Are you Blood Bat No.1? The bloodsucking lunatic..." Teng Rui, leading the group, frowned tightly as he stared at the figure draped in blood-red, "A mere Innate Realm, and you have the audacity to speak to me. You are not qualified to talk to me, tell Gong Ziyu to come out."

"You are equally unqualified to speak with Dragon Chief," retorted Blood Bat No.1, gripping his two hand axes as a chilling cold radiated from his body, frosting the axes with a faintly dark layer of frost, "Your life might just be in the hands of this Innate Realm individual."

The silently foreboding Demon Blade Guards drew their iron swords, a dark murderous aura overflowing from them, their True Qi restless within, ready to unleash the Heavenly Demon Disintegration Technique at any moment.

More black-clad Demon Blade Guards continued to emerge from the woods.

"..."

Teng Rui and his ten companions stood in silence.

The black-clad swordsmen of the Azure Dragon Association, also known as the Demon Blade Guards, bore a fearsome reputation in the worldly society. Ten Demon Blade Guards in unity, an early-stage Divine Origin individual would face certain death against them.

Even a Divine Origin Middle Stage would fare poorly in a fight to the death against these black-clad swordsmen.

And there were already more than fifty Demon Blade Guards present, with their numbers still rising.

With so many of them, they already possessed the strength to leave more than half of Teng Rui and his group behind.

’Damn it, are the assassins of the Azure Dragon Association so cheaply used?’

Though he had already known the answer to this question to be a resounding ’yes,’ Teng Rui could not help but curse inwardly.

What made the Azure Dragon Association most commendable was its ability to replenish its ranks: cannon fodder seems to be available in endless supply. In a true dogfight, the Azure Dragon Association could wear down ten Silver Seal Constables of the Six Gates through sheer attrition.

"These ten men are not enough to coax me out. So Divine Constable Lu, won’t you show yourself?"

The voice echoed through the mountain breezes in a layered chorus, Gong Ziyu had arrived.

A flicker of relief, along with a hint of scorn, passed through Teng Rui’s eyes.

With Gong Ziyu’s arrival, his fate was almost sealed. He shouldn’t think that hiding out of sight would save him – with Chasing Wind Divine Constable present, there was no one that couldn’t be found.

"How foolish to think that by carrying one’s voice on the mountain wind, one could evade Mr. Lu’s tracking. Toying with the Dao of Wind before Mr. Lu is nothing but a novice trying to show off in front of a master," Teng Rui sneered to himself.

In his view, Gong Ziyu really overestimated himself. Despite knowing that Chasing Wind Divine Constable was present, he still dared to make a sound, which was essentially a death wish.

Then, "Chasing Wind Divine Constable" Lu Qifeng appeared.

But to Teng Rui’s surprise, there was no joy of success in Lu Qifeng’s eyes.

"What’s the matter, Divine Constable Lu, giving up the search? If you’re unwilling to let it go, you can continue," the voice of Qing Yu lingered in the wind.

"Is this how you evaded my search?" Lu Qifeng’s face turned livid, extremely ugly; he couldn’t fathom how Qing Yu, whose Realm was a level lower than his own, had managed to elude his ’Wind Listening Technique’.

It was utterly illogical.

"Heh, Divine Constable Lu, do you think I would tell you?"

Laughter echoed in the wind. Within the forest, a shadowy figure traced a slight arc at the corner of his mouth.

Qing Yu had used "Harmonizing Light with Dust" to conceal his form, mergingly seamlessly with heaven and earth, existing as if he was nothing, yet everywhere. In this forest, one could say Qing Yu’s presence was ubiquitous, or that there was no trace of him at all.

For Lu Qifeng to try to locate Qing Yu using the ’Wind Listening Technique’ was like a fool’s dream.

"How about it? Divine Constable Lu, since you can’t find me, shall we have a proper talk now?" a deep, resonant voice echoed in the air.

At this point, Lu Qifeng too hid his displeasure and calmly said, "Indeed, we can have a proper talk."

Before this, Lu Qifeng had been determined that once he got close to Qing Yu, he would use the ’Wind Listening Technique’ to pinpoint his location and go straight in for the kill.

Given the gap between their Realms, it was almost certain that Lu Qifeng would not make a mistake.

So, Lu Qifeng had been harboring the intention to kill all along.

But now, seeing that the ’Wind Listening Technique’ couldn’t locate Qing Yu, the plan to kill naturally came to naught.

At this point, the only option left was to have a proper talk.

"I only have one demand, give up your plan. If you are willing to abandon it, the Six Gates and you will never cross paths again, as if two parallel lines," Lu Qifeng said indifferently.

"To give up is absolutely impossible. Divine Constable Lu, stop daydreaming. This proposal lacks sincerity. If I gave up, not only would I lose the victory that’s within my grasp, but that person on the other side would not let me off either. Compared to these consequences, I’d rather continue to oppose the Six Gates.

Divine Constable Lu, you lack sincerity," Qing Yu said.

"Think carefully. If you persist in this way, I can’t guarantee that I will continue to keep your secret. And Li Xin’s life is also in your hands," Lu Qifeng threatened bluntly.

"What secrets do I need to be afraid of leaking now? If this so-called secret could be used against me, why would Divine Constable Lu bother to go in such big circles? Wouldn’t it be better to just disclose it directly? Divine Constable Lu, you’re still not showing enough sincerity," Qing Yu’s scoffing could be heard amidst the mountain winds.

"But since you came, it proves that the threat does have an effect, doesn’t it?" Lu Qifeng retorted.

With these words, Qing Yu suddenly fell silent, and for a long time, his voice was not heard again in the mountain winds.

Seeing this, Lu Qifeng felt reassured; his threat was bigger than he thought. Even if the negotiation couldn’t make Qing Yu give up control over Northern Zhou, it could still force him to make other concessions.

There might even be a possibility...

A chill flashed in Lu Qifeng’s eyes; he might just be able to force Qing Yu to show himself.

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